Xref: utzoo comp.os.msdos.apps:253 comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc:1365 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!cs.utexas.edu!usc!orion.oac.uci.edu!ucivax!ucla-cs!wales@valeria.cs.ucla.edu From: wales@valeria.cs.ucla.edu (Rich Wales) Newsgroups: comp.os.msdos.apps,comp.sys.ibm.pc.misc Subject: Comparison wanted -- Word 5.0 vs. WP 5.1 Message-ID: <38581@shemp.CS.UCLA.EDU> Date: 4 Sep 90 06:11:57 GMT Sender: news@CS.UCLA.EDU Organization: UCLA CS Department, Los Angeles Lines: 97 I would like to hear from people who are familiar with both Microsoft Word 5.0 and WordPerfect 5.1. Which do you prefer, and why? I currently use Word 5.0 (actually, the maintenance release 5.0A) with an HP LaserJet IIP and Bitstream Fontware. I have had a mouse or track- ball on my PC for several years, and I am very used to selecting text and commands via the mouse. Since (as I understand) WP 5.1 has mouse support, I am wondering whether there might be valid reasons for me to consider the possibility of switching from Word to WordPerfect for my word processing and desktop publishing needs. Are there areas in which WordPerfect has greater capability than Word (or vice versa)? I'm particularly interested in the following issues: (1) Support for downloadable and/or cartridge fonts in the HP LaserJet IIP and similar laser printers. (a) Kerning and ligatures. Word doesn't do either; I understand WP 5.1 can do kerning, but I don't know about ligatures. (b) Support for nonstandard accented letters. I understand WP 5.1 can handle hundreds of different accented letters -- including quite a few not in HP Roman 8 or ISO Latin 1 (such as Romanian A-with-breve, hooked-S, and hooked-T). (c) Customizing of printer drivers for arbitrary font collections. Word comes with MAKEPRD to let you edit printer drivers -- but if you have too many fonts and/or point sizes in one driver, the width tables can cause the .PRD file to exceed the 64K-byte size limit. I've heard that the corresponding software to build or modify printer drivers for WP costs lots of extra $$$. (d) Support for nonstandard font downloading software. For example, I want the option of invoking an external program to extract a little-used font from a compressed archive, generate a rare point size from scratch when needed, etc. Earlier versions of Word had this capability (Microsoft never admitted it, but you could replace their DOWN.EXE with your own nonstandard program). Word 5.0, however, has incorporated downloading into the main program and allows you no alternative to the standard method. (2) Support for running headers/footers, with the ability to set up a style sheet to stick a chapter and/or section title into the running header/footer automatically. I don't believe Word 5.0 can do this; if it can, I'd like it if someone could tell me how. What about WP? (3) Support for features used in, for example, screenplay writing. (a) When a character's dialogue is split across pages, the continued portion on the second page should be preceded by the character's name and the word "(cont'd)". I want to be able to do this as part of the style sheet entry I use to specify the character's name at the start of the dialogue -- without having to worry about where the page break might fall. (b) When a scene is split across pages, a "CONTINUED" flag should be printed both at the bottom of the first page and at the top of the second. This should =not= happen, though, if a scene ends at the end of a page. (c) Automatic numbering/renumbering of scenes. As far as I'm aware, Word 5.0 can't do any of the above as an auto- matic part of its pagination process. If WP supports the insertion of chapter/section titles into running heads, I would assume it can also be coaxed into doing at least the "continuation" features above. (4) Variability in text justification (e.g., how "open" or "tight" to do interword spacing) and paragraph splitting across pages (minimum number of lines to leave on either side of the split). Word, as far as I know, offers no variability in these areas. (5) Ease of setting up (for instance) a calendar with designated text to be printed for given days of the month, using macros or styles. I shudder at the thought of doing this in any readable way in Word. Since both Word and WP have their ample share of fanatic devotees and true believers, I am particularly interested in hearing the opinions of those who are familiar with =both= programs. Since I consider mouse support to be crucial, I especially want to hear from people who have used WP 5.1 and can compare its support for the mouse (for selection of text, commands, formatting parameters, etc.) with that of Word. I have invested a great deal of time and energy into learning Word, and would not change to WP on a mere whim. But in several areas (including those I have listed above), I believe I am starting to run up against limitations in Word -- and if WordPerfect handles these and other like situations better than Word does, I might be persuaded to switch. -- -- Rich Wales // UCLA Computer Science Department 3531 Boelter Hall // Los Angeles, CA 90024-1596 // +1 (213) 825-5683 "You must not drink the tea. It is deadly to humans."