Path: utzoo!attcan!uunet!ncrlnk!ncr-sd!hp-sdd!hplabs!ucbvax!PSUVM.BITNET!ART100
From: ART100@PSUVM.BITNET ("Andy Tefft  862-6728", 814)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Re: Good Word Processors
Message-ID: <8903030025.aa13927@SMOKE.BRL.MIL>
Date: 3 Mar 89 04:02:00 GMT
Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Organization: The Internet
Lines: 68

Original note:
>
>>I am a faithful Apple II (Plus) user, and I must disagree with this last
>>sentence.  There has NEVER, EVER been a usable word processor of any sort
>>(in my own opinion) that runs on ANY of the Apple II operating systems
>>since the Apple II line came out.
..
>>                          I have never even HEARD of any word processor
>>that is not memory-based, permitting someone to write long documents.
>
>Seconded!  The best I've been able to say about any II-based WP is that
>it was "adequate".  I work with textfiles and "printing to a textfile"
>with AppleWorks is a royal pain; WYSIWYG editors are too clumsy and
>slow.  ProTERM's built-in editor is nice but only gives me 24k;
>AppleWriter gives more space but isn't very powerful . . . the command
>structure is sort of clumsy and 44k still isn't enough.
>
>I'd give my right leg for a decent TEXT-processing program that runs
>under ProDOS on a 128K enhanced //e and allows files of arbitrary
>size.  Does ANYTHING fit the bill?
>
>                                     Lazlo
>------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>cs1552ao@charon.unm.edu     Is chinet the only site named after a paper plate?

Hmmm... I rather liked Word Juggler, first piece of ProDOS software I ever
owned, although it was $289 when I got it and went down to $189 shortly
thereafter and went down to who knows what...

It's not 'WYSIWYG', although you just hit a key to see what's going to come
out on paper, with special features highlighted (super/sub, underline, etc)
and you can scroll sideways for documents wider than 80 characters...

As for long documents, I guess you're only limited by the amount of
online storage you have, as you can imbed documents as much as you want
(if you were writing a book you might have a main control file that ONLY has
imbed commands in it, then each chapter has its own file). This is VERY
handy and useful and I think BETTER than allowing one LOOOOONG file, because
this way you're less apt to lose the WHOLE document if you lose a file.

The commands are kind of hard to remember but it came (I say came instead
of comes because I don't know if it's sold any more) with keycaps to
replace your own (about 15 of them) and a keycap  puller... ours (//e)
even came with a keyboard mod and an ic puller... so you don't have
to remember any commands, they're all right there on your keyboard.

It even does form letters, variables... I had to write a printer
driver for it (imagewriter 2) to allow it to do super/sub scripts
in small type instead of moving the carriage)...

About the only limitation I've found with it is that you have to break
a line to do things like change color (on the iw II) or anything
that you have to send printer control characters for. It wasn't
copyable but comes with a backup (it's prodos but the actual program
file is on tracks 1-3 i think which are not standard track format).

enough memories... i still use WJ occasionally when I have a quick
thing to print but usually opt for the better text processing on the
mainframe.

I agree it would be nice to see something like troff or SCRIPT for
the apple (or even TeX)... Wouldn't very well like floppies though
(probably very Loooong, especially if multiple fonts/laser printers
were supported).


Andy
Art100@psuvm.bitnet or a1t@ecl.psu.edu