ejc@rayssd.UUCP (Edward J. Casey) (09/11/85)
In the very near future (like really soon) I'm going to be starting on several papers required for courses toward an MS degree. What I need from NETLAND are recommendations as to what word processing package is best for my needs. I currently have the ATARI WRITER and the ATARI WORD PROCESSOR but feel there must be something better. I've read the ads (articles) in the mags but have been left with the impression that they were leaving alot out. I currently have a 1200XL (maybe soon to be a 130XL), a RANA disk drive, and a GEMINI 10X printer. Intend to add a computer interfacable typewriter soon. Any comments (good or bad) about the various items of word processing software or computer interfacable typewriters is most welcome. If there is overwelming response I'll gladly post results to net. Thanks. ejc.
bfisher.ES@XEROX.ARPA (09/17/85)
A compendium of INFOWORLD reviews---- Atariwriter is adequate for casual word processing, but you can't use it to write documents larger than your computers's memory or to display more than 38 columns. Bank Street Writer is an excellent word processor for beginners. Its use of three operational modes makes learning the system easy. That same three-mode structure can hamper the editing process however, and if you tend to edit documents heavily this word processor probably isn't for you. Letter Wizard is an easy-to-use word-processing program. You can use it to create custom form letters, and you can do this without having access to a data base. Printing columnar information may give you some problems, however - you can't preview the final printout on the screen and the text screen is set in 40-column format even though most printers print in an 80-column format. Homeword is an easy-to-use word processor for Atari systems. Its use of icons makes it simple for novices to understand and use, although more experienced users can bypass the icons and use command codes. This is a good program, but it does have one limitation - you can only store documents that are up to three pages long. Super-Text--If you have never used the Apple version of the Super-Text word-processing program, you won't know what you're missing in this Atari version. This program lacks the math and form-letter capabilities of the Apple version, and it ignores the Atari's special operating features. Unless you are already familiar with Apple Super-Text, you will probably find this program cumbersome and difficult to use. Letter Perfect - contains many features that are usually available only on more excpensive dedicated machines. It can perform almost any word-processing task well, although its complexity may make it difficult to learn to use if you have no prior experience of either word processors or computers. Most of my experience has been with Letter Perfect and I would second JRCooper's comments. I have used it for lengthy documents as well as everyday letters and have found it quite satisfactory. bf
DYOUNG@USC-ISID.ARPA (C. David Young) (09/20/85)
bf, Of the word processors you mentioned, only one works 80 columns (with the addition of either the Bit-3, Austin-Franklin, or OMNIVIEW), namely Letter Perfect. Letter Perfect has the added advantage of being able to merge with the data base program Data Perfect, recognized as the most powerful (albeit complex to learn) data base for the ATARI 8 bitters. It has the disadvantage of being a memory hog; putting a single return at the beginning of a line takes up 80 bytes of text buffer! I have also found the program SpeedScript, published by Compute in May, to be more popular than any of those that you mentioned except Letter Perfect and ATARIWRITER. Its main advantages are that it is very easy to use and uses ATARI DOS format for its file storage. (The biggest gripe about Letter Perfect is that it has its own DOS, incompatible with everything else.) I found it to be such a nifty program that I rewrote it to work 80 columns with OMNIVIEW and greatly enhanced its operation in the process. It is provided free of charge with every OMNIVIEW. And how could you forget that old dog, the original Atari Word Processor? It is notable for its dozens of menus, proving just how user unfriendly a menu driven program can be, its support of only ATARI printers, and the original drop back mode (probably its only redeeming feature) for previewing the output using high resolution graphics to depict its structure. There are others that have not been mentioned; Text Wizard and Wordman both come to mind. I even used the combination of MEDIT (the ATARI program text editor) and FORMS (output formatter) for a while, which, while powerful, was slow and cumbersome. I shudder to think what we had to put up with back in the old days to create decent documents! David Young -------
kek@mgweed.UUCP (Kit Kimes) (09/23/85)
Another word processor that has gotten excellent reviews is: Paper Clip by Batteries Included. This processor along with their 80 column card gives you an 80 column word processor for less than $90 discounted. Kit Kimes AT&T Information Systems Montgomery Works Montgomery, Il. 60538-0305 ..!ihnp4!mgweed!kek