Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ncrlnk!ncrcae!PEDEV!rogerson
From: rogerson@PEDEV.Columbia.NCR.COM (rogerson)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc
Subject: Re: Is WordPerfect 5.0 any good?
Message-ID: <2352@PEDEV.Columbia.NCR.COM>
Date: 13 Jan 89 19:04:01 GMT
References: <1213@uwovax.uwo.ca> <6206@ecsvax.uncecs.edu> <14622@srcsip.UUCP> <7444@chinet.chi.il.us> <1371@mtunb.ATT.COM>
Reply-To: rogerson@PEDEV.Columbia.NCR.COM ()
Organization: NCR Corp., Engineering & Manufacturing - Columbia, SC
Lines: 51

>>Probably nothing that couldn't be done by the combination of emacs/vi
>>and tex/troff, but the integration of editor/formatter makes it a
>>lot easier to use.
The word processor I used to use was Allwrite.  It was written for the
TRS-80 Model III and IV.  It consisted of a loosely intergrated editor/formatter
in which the editor would call the formater for you.  The text you prepared
was controlled by the use of imbeded commands like Tex/Troff have.  This  
situp is ALOT more powerful than any of the standard word processing programs
like Word or Word Perfect.  However, it is not has easy to learn.  You must
change and reprint a lot.  Once you figure out what you are doing things are
not so bad, it ends up in many ways being faster.  However, the problem comes
when you have a deadline and must do something unusual or new to you.  These
WYSIWYG word processors have the advantage here.
 

>When I use a WYSIWYG word processor, I concentrate on the content of
>the document (or what I want it to look like), NOT how to tell the
>computer what I want it to look like.  The difference is the ability
The key issue is that computers should not interfere with the way YOU want
to do something..  

>Yesterday, I shot an hour while preparing a viewgraph talk,
>trying to get troff to give me the point-size changes I wanted
>in a page footer.  With Windows WRITE (my current WYSIWYG tool),
>I'd have accomplished it in under a minute; just change things till
>it looks right on my screen, not the troff way of:
>|    Dave Tutelman						|
	My main word processor now is also WRITE!  It is easy and quick.
	You do not have to think about which column you want your tabs at
	you just put them there.  Plus, you get good font control and the
	ability to mix in graphics. (One of the nice things about writting
	Windows programs is that you can write the documentation in write
	and distribute it with your program. Instant online manual with
	figures! )

	If I have to do something strange, then I use Microsoft Word ( and
	I can always load Word files into Write and kept the formatting).  
	The key is to use the tool that best suits the application.  Write
	does not do everything, but it will handle most of my needs.  I have
	noticed that many of the features I HAD TO HAVE, were really not 
	needed and when removed from my documents they looked better!	

	BTW: The Apple Guru in Computer Shopper recommends that everyone who
	wants to use an Apple Laserwriter get an Apple II and a normal word
	processor and write directly in Postscript.  This is indeed the most
	powerful way, but it is not the easiest, most convenient, faster, or
	economical way to do it.  If power were the answer, everyone would
   	program in assembler.

	-----Dale
		Rogerson-----