Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!lll-winken!lll-tis!ames!pasteur!ucbvax!CRNLVAX5.BITNET!ELFJ
From: ELFJ@CRNLVAX5.BITNET
Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac
Subject: Word Perfect for the Macintosh 1.0
Message-ID: <8805051742.AA19910@jade.berkeley.edu>
Date: 5 May 88 17:39:00 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Lines: 62

Word Perfect for the Mac is a nice program for those who also use it on other
machines (like IBM pcs, Vaxes, etc).  But I don't think it was quite ready
for release.


Word Perfect Mac bugs, annoying features and weirdnesses:

1. If you have an IBM WP 4.2 doc with foreign characters, and open in
WP Mac, you get the foreign character with the same ascii code, eg an ash
(ae ligature) becomes e umlaut. (code 145).  If you convert the doc back to
4.2, you get the same characters as on the Mac, eg e umlaut stays e umlaut
I presume the difference comes in that Saving As 4.2 format goes through
some type of conversion, while opening a 4.2 simply opens it.  Someone
named Kent from WPCorp is supposedly looking into this.

1a. By the way, why should we have to tell it creator and type to read
in WP 4.2 file?  Doesn't it know who it is?

2. While in WP, switch to Finder or other application.  Partially cover
the title bar of WP with another window, then move window away.  Title in
bar in messed.

3. Command W cycles through open windows, Command K is Close.

4. Start with blank doc.  Turn on Bold (or any other style, by any of the
documented means) and note how scroll box jumps.  Well, that's somewhat
explainable by the fact that a code has been inserted, but if you click in the
grey area to move the box back to the top, your code gets deleted!  This
doesn't happen for all kinds of codes, but it does for all styles.  In general,
the scroll bar frequently acts strangely.

5. You cannot resize windows while in reveal codes, but the zoom box
does work.

6. You can tell WP where to look for dict, thes, and macros, but help file
 must be in same folder (or desktop) as program.

7. You cannot use the mouse in the reveal codes window.  Cursor can
only be moved by doing things in the upper window or by arrow keys.

8. Clearing the ruler (via the little "x" box) does not revert column
settings.

9. Searches go forward or back, don't wrap.

10. When hierarchical menus are "torn off" the secondary menu choices
are sometimes numbered, sometimes lettered.  Is it just the Merge codes
submenu that is lettered, to be consistent w/ WP 4.2?

In general, the program has some nice features, but suffers in greatly
implementation from it other machine origins.  To my mind, FullWrite has
a far better user interface.  No I haven't gotten the release version yet,
but I check my mailbox eagerly each day!

By the way, one thing I can't complain about re: Word Perfect.  They have the
best customer support in the business.  Don't hesitate to give them a call
if you have a problem.

Linda Iroff
Humanities Computing Center
Cornell University
elfj@crnlvax5.bitnet
elfj@vax5.ccs.cornell.edu