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From: cohill@vtserf.cc.vt.edu (Andrew M. Cohill)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac.apps
Subject: Nisus questions: time to dump Microsoft?
Message-ID: <1765@vtserf.cc.vt.edu>
Date: 23 May 91 14:10:31 GMT
Sender: cohill@vtserf.cc.vt.edu
Distribution: usa
Organization: Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA
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Given the price ($129) of the Excel 3.0 upgrade, I expect to see similar
pricing for Word, which I've been using for 4 years.  It seems like a
good time to make a change.  I have some questions about Nisus:

Can someone provide a pointer to a review in something like MacWorld or
MacUser?

Is there educational pricing available, or special offers if I send you
my Word disks signed in blood, or something similar?

I understand that that automatic re-numbering of figures and tables is
included;  can you also assign variables in the text?  E.g., "....see
Figure figOfSomething for more information....."  where the caption of
the figure is:  "  Figure figOfSomething:  Important sounding title"
and the numbering is all automatic....

Does Nisus handle floating blocks?  These are usually figures and
illustrations that you want to "float" to the top or bottom of the
nearest page and have text automatically flow around them.  MS-Word lets
you anchor blocks, but does it badly; often two nearby blocks end up at
the top of the same page, and Word happily draws one right over the top
of the other--really, really stupid.  If you have to put figures on a
page by themselves (no text), you are in deep doo-doo.  You want the
figure to float to the top of a page, but I have never found a way to
anchor a page break to the block.  (I'll probably be flooded with RTFM
replies on this one....)

How is Nisus with rudimentary page layout stuff like multi-column
formats, flowing text around odd-sized blocks, and such. MS-Word is
actually pretty good at this sort of thing.

Does Nisus have a preview mode, where you can see a small full-page
depiction of the what will be printed?

Does it have true "page view" mode that lets you edit your pages in
their final format?  I have a full page monitor and use Word this way
frequently.

Does Nisus reference fonts by name?  Microsoft persists in referencing
by number, which causes havoc if you move the file to another machine.



I know I've asked a lot of questions, but I have a feeling that there a
lot of Word users who will be interested;  I'm sure I'm not the only one
tired of Microsoft's arbitrary and capricious upgrades and pricing.