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From: dorner@uxc.cso.uiuc.edu
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Re: WriteNow
Message-ID: <174400011@uxc.cso.uiuc.edu>
Date: Tue, 20-Jan-87 10:25:00 EST
Article-I.D.: uxc.174400011
Posted: Tue Jan 20 10:25:00 1987
Date-Received: Fri, 23-Jan-87 21:18:16 EST
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Nf-From: uxc.cso.uiuc.edu!dorner    Jan 20 09:25:00 1987


I've been using WriteNow for a couple of weeks now, and have had both
good and bad experiences with it.  I have never used MS Word, so I
can't compare WriteNow to it, but I can give a brief list of the good
and the bad I've experienced.  I'm only commenting on what I have
personally used in the program, not giving the mfr's feature list.

Good:
    Multiple columns on-screen.
    Fairly nice built-in spelling checker.
    Can change specific fonts/sizes to other fonts/sizes.
    Can change all identical rulers (e.g., center all headings)
    Has a 'show space' mode where line break characters, tabs, the
	printing area of the page, etc. are all visible.
    Definitely WYSIWYG.
    Can use any character to fill a tab, to simplify things like:
	Water buffaloes................................232
    Can put special characters (e.g., ^t for tab) in find/replace dialog
    It IS fast at reformatting and saving.  It is not-so-fast at
	scrolling, however, even though it takes great pains to avoid
	redrawing the screen (it is amusing to watch it move hunks of
	screen bitmap around).

Bad:
    *********Has crashed more than once.  The tutorial in the manual
	makes a big point of saving your work every fifteen minutes.  I
	know why.
    Verrrrryyyy ssssslllllooooowwww to load into a 256K switcher partition.
    First line of first column on a page does not line up with first
	line of second column.
    Has 'Insert page break' option, but no 'Insert column break'.
    Allows you to insert the date anywhere in your document, but
	insists on doing the date like 'Tues, Jan 19, 1987'.  I'd much
	prefer having some other format options.
    No "find next and don't bug me with a dialog box" function.
    Once a document is defined as multiple-column, EVERYTHING has to
	fit in the columns (except headers and footers).  This is
	inconvenient for graphics, outboxes, etc.
    
In summary, I'd say that WriteNow is certainly quite capable, but I
think that it's not what it really ought to be.  I suspect that
WriteNow Version X, where X>1.0, needs to happen before I'll be
overjoyed with it.  You should definitely get the demo and try before
you buy.
-----
Steve Dorner
dorner@uxc.cso.uiuc.edu