Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!wasatch!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!tektronix!tekig5!tekig4!briand From: briand@tekig4.LEN.TEK.COM (Brian Diehm) Newsgroups: comp.sys.mac Subject: MS Word 4.0 --- First (and Last) Impressions Keywords: Bugs Message-ID: <3914@tekig4.LEN.TEK.COM> Date: 24 Apr 89 20:40:25 GMT Organization: Tektronix Inc., Beaverton, Or. Lines: 129 April 24, 1989 Microsoft Customer Service 16011 NE 36th Way Box 97017 Redmond, WA 98073-9717 Dear Microsoft: I have just spent a few hours with Word version 4. From this short exper- ience, I can only conclude that I will not use this upgrade, even though I paid for it. I am not a complainer by nature. When version 3 came out, I was enthus- iastic about the program, the performance, and the documentation. I was amazed that it got a bad rap. However, in version 4 I have encountered bugs (some left over from version 3), dropped features, feature implementations that do not support the simple specifications I need, and instances where non-standard implementation leads to inconvenience. Here's the list: * When the Page Setup... setting for unlimited downloadable fonts (in the Options button dialog) is checked, documents using downloadable fonts show major portions in Courier font. This indicates that the LaserWriter is not getting the downloaded font when requested. Unchecking the unlimited down- loadable fonts option fixes the problem, but limits you to a very few downloadable fonts. This bug remains from version 3. * With page view on, I cannot place the insertion point in the header. The conditions for this are complex: I have a header that is a table. The table has one row of cells. The cell where I want to place the insertion point has three lines of text. Below this cell, on the page and not in the header, is a positioned paragraph in the right margin area. The vertical alignment of the positioned paragraph is in line. When I try to put the insertion point in the bottom of the cell, the cursor is placed in the positioned paragraph instead. I can get around this by going out of page view and opening the header. This is simply a bug. * In version 3, there was a difference between shift-return and command- return, when they were applied to justified text. Shift-return created an in-line return, where the last line before the return was justified to full paragraph width. Command-return also created an in-line return, but the last line was not justified. Though this was not a documented feature of version 3, it was well-known enough to be published in magazines such as MacUser. Version 4 has dropped the command-return feature, and does not use the command-return sequence for any other purpose. * I cannot adequately control the vertical placement of positioned para- graphs. I want to have a side paragraph appear in the margin area, at the same vertical height it would be placed if it were not a positioned para- graph. I assumed in line would do that, but it doesn't. Not having that, I could get by with vertical positioning relative to the top or bottom margin, just as I can do with horizontal positioning. After a long period of trying and playing, it appears I cannot do what I need at all. This in- dicates one of two problems: either the design of the human interface is too confusing (always a Microsoft weak point), or the feature which is otherwise fantastic has not been completely implemented. * The menus have been implemented with a custom font, one that mimics the standard Chicago font. Many Macintosh users have long since replaced the standard Chicago font with something more readable. For those users, Word menus appear as a sudden return to the bad old days. Of course, such a user is sophisticated enough to perform the same modifications on Word's fonts as on the System fonts. However, such non-standard implementation can indicate an attitude orientation within Microsoft that "we don't have to be standard, we're better." Microsoft should have learned by now, though the continued existence of such things as non-standard print dialog boxes indicates otherwise. * The Print... dialog box provides a series of boxes into which the user can type numbers. There are the typical boxes for number of copies, and for page range if a portion of the document is to be printed. There are also boxes for a range of sections, which is a new and useful feature. However, the tab ordering of these is non-standard. Usually, a Print... dialog box comes up with the number of copies selected, and tabs move you successively to starting and ending page boxes. Word 4.0 tabs you first to the starting and ending section boxes, and only then to the starting and ending page boxes. Thus, you have to remember when using Word 4.0 to hit two extra tabs to get to the normal function (page range), or else you get the unique feature instead (section range). Simply re-ordering the tab sequence of this dialog box would make the program standard and friendly. * The "feature" of having menus that are completely reconfigurable is two- edged. Version 3 got lots of complaints, many of which indicated that people were not willing to spend the time to learn to use their tools. However, version 3 was difficult to learn not only because it was powerful and feature-rich, but also because of its human interface. In version 4 the human interface problem has not been addressed, it has simply been thrown back at the user to solve as best he may. Word is the only Mac- intosh program to resort to this "solution," or to find it necessary to do so. It is a symptom of greater problems. Word version 4 is well-known in the industry as having been tested thoroughly. The fact that this user has encountered this variety of problems in a short time is symptomatic of beta-testing that does not rely on a wide-enough range of users. It might be that testing is being done by people familiar only with the Macintosh market, and not by people who are familiar with such top-end publishing tools as Interleaf running on Sun workstations. Without such a depth of background, testers might not have the experience with such page layout capabilities to thoroughly understand the usage of the features. I would hope that testing is being done by a wide range of users, with widely varying backgrounds. I would be interested in being such a beta-tester for the bug-fix release of Word version 4. From what I see, Microsoft needs to begin development im- mediately. Sincerely, Brian Diehm ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Three additional notes: First, yes, this is the OFFICIAL, COMMERCIAL release of Word 4.0. I am NOT a beta site, and yes, I've been waiting for this for a long time too. Second, the program has crashed on me, for no apparent reason. I realized when this happended that it has been a LONG time since a commercial program has done that to me. Like a couple of years. Still, it wouldn't be worth mentioning on a huge new release except for Bill Gates' arrogant promise. Third, I realize that Chuq has been a beta-test site for Word 4. Sorry Chuq, I do not question your capability or depth of experience with desktop publish- ing tools. But golly, Chuq, how much did you wring this howling dog out, anyway? -- -Brian Diehm (SDA - Standard Disclaimers Apply) Tektronix, Inc. briand@tekig4.TEK.COM or {decvax,cae780,uw-beaver}!tektronix!tekig4!briand