Digital Workshop's Opus series has for many years incorporated a range of interactive tools to embellish applications and databases of all shapes and complexities. Each upgrade has been carefully developed in response to user enquiries (for instance, Opus Pro 4 appeared in 2004) and clients can either buy the whole Pro package, which adds a full scripting language and database connectivity, or a scaled-down version that offers quick and easy design and development of interactive multimedia.

Opus Pro operates like a desktop publisher with the interactive dimension enabled. So you can include pages of text, images, videos and buttons, whilst creating frames to contain shapes, symbols and clip art. Once they are ‘fixed' on the page you can then add a plethora of actions, animations and sounds to bring the page to life and invite audience participation.

Every object has a set of properties which will allow you to create borders, backgrounds and effects as well as transitions like scrolls and flips. The workspace looks similar to most photo and graphics editing packages (not surprisingly Digital Workshop also produced Paint Shop Pro), with a menu bar and toolbars at the top and a series of tabs (known as the Organiser) on your left.

The tabs give an overview of all the actions you've assigned to objects, a thumbnail of all your pages, a reference list of OpusScript functions, plus ready-made templates and components which you can slot into your publication.

Between the Organiser and the main Page View is a vertical toolbar which contains all you need to create your content. Simply form a box anywhere on the page, then draw, type or drag the relevant image into the box and enhance it as you like. As you progress, you can then preview the finished effect and make any alterations as you go, rather than waiting until it's complete. ‘Triggers' (such as Left Mouse Click or assigned key-presses) can then be added which will initialise an action.

Once you're happy with the finished version you can save it in a number of formats, including as a stand-alone Windows .exe file or as a Macromedia Flash file, and then burn it to CD or DVD.

If you're already an Opus Pro user then there's a host of new functions you'll be delighted with, including multiple monitor support, XP and Vista button styles, external DLL support, QuickAnim for one-click animations, plus AICC and SCORM compliance for connecting training materials to central learning management systems.

Digital Workshop's latest version of Opus Pro delivers a host of new and improved features for multimedia creativity which will ensure that no presentation or publication can now get away with being flat, lifeless and unimaginative.