Many of the articles posted on these pages are about QuarkXPress® XTensions®, Acrobat® Plug-ins, InDesign® Plug-ins, and all sorts of other automation technology in the form of extensions to core applications that we use everyday.

X-Ray Magazine is actually published by ThePowerXChange, but ThePowerXChange is not in the business of publishing, per se. They are the largest distributor of extensions technology in the Americas and they revived X-Ray Magazine as a resource for helping end users realize their need for an extension, compare the feature sets of similar extensions, and lastly to enable them to master the skill set required to add an extensions module to their workflow.

For those of you who already realize the benefit of extensions, usually the most help you need is finding whether or not a product exists, and if there is more than one option, you want easy access to demos, and later to purchasing. ThePowerXChange's 2008 Extension Products Reference Catalogue lists more than 3500 products for both MacOS X and Windows, and is designed to do just that. This eCatalogue is a database version of their web site, but is fully self-contained and free to download. If you wish to use the one-click access to demos and updaters, you will need an internet connection.

The format of the catalogue makes everyone an instant database application expert, though its very easy-to-use interface. When you launch the FileMaker® Pro runtime application, the opening dialog box provides one-click access to all the inner workings of the system.

Figure 1 The home page of the catalogue application provides easy access to keyword and application searches, pre-defined application compatibility lists, and informational pages.

If you're in a hurry, the best bet is a keyword search. From this portal, you are able to find products that meet a particular need. Let's say, for instance, that you are looking for a product that will create transparent drop shadows in QuarkXPress. If you know the product name, you can type that here, but if you don't know the product name, you can find the product using other variable. Price may be particularly important to you and platform is likely critical, but you could also add the application in which you prefer to work. Type in one, some, or all of the fields, click Go, and the database does the rest.

Figure 2 A nice feature of the keyword search option is the ability to narrow your search to a price range. In addition to other criteria, type 99…199 to find a product that fits within your budget.

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