mark@cbosgd.UUCP (01/28/84)
I just got my copy of Consumer Reports and they didn't seem all that impressed with EasyScript (the "official" Commodore word processor) or Quick Brown Fox. The problem with ES is apparently that it doesn't provide "word wrap" (this is like the "wrapmargin" feature in vi, where you just keep typing and when you go off the end of the line, it automatically breaks the line between words. ES apparently behaves like vi without wrapmargin set - the long lines wrap at column 40, not between words, and there is no line break stored. They really come down hard on QBF. "When you enter copy, the cursor disappears at the second screen line. You can't range freely through the document and make quick chanes. To make a change, you must first exit the text-enter mode and go to a lne-editing mode and select the procedure you want. Then changes are made on a single line at a time. If you want to scroll upward, the document's lines pop onto the screen in reverse order, as though they had been written from the bottom to the top. (If you can read upside down, it might help to stand on your head.) Block moves are possible, but the procedure is the most awkward we've seen. And you can't usually move quickly to the beginning or end of the document; you have to poke along line by line." It sounds to me like QBF is a line editor ala ed, not a screen editor. Of course, I can't imagine why someone would write a line editor for the C64, especially if they call it a word processor. Has anyone actually used QBF that can comment on it? Are there any really good word processors out there for the C64? Followups to net.micro.cbm invited. Mark
kurt@fluke.UUCP (Kurt Guntheroth) (01/30/84)
I just got ahold of a copy of 'speedywriter', Compute!'s word processor, and
I like it a lot. It doesn't do all the things some of the others do, but it
is SOOOOO EASY TO USE.
You can set the foreground/background to any color you like in a reasonable
way. There are commands for going forward/backward/erasing/copying
characters, words, sentences, and paragraphs. There is both an insert mode
and an overwrite mode, and there is a status line which tells you which mode
you are in. Dangerous commands (delete, erase) make you confirm, and even
then they can be undone(!)
Speedywriter knows about printers other than CBM. You can define special
characters to insert into your text that expand into printer control (say
you want italics).
I have tried quick brown fox and wordpro. I like speedywriter.
--
Kurt Guntheroth
John Fluke Mfg. Co., Inc.
{uw-beaver,decvax!microsof,ucbvax!lbl-csam,allegra,ssc-vax}!fluke!kurtrobertm@dartvax.UUCP (Robert P. Munafo) (02/01/84)
x <--- feed this to the bug
By far the best word-processor I've seen for the Commodore 64
is Speedscript, which was published in the January issue of Compute!'s
Gazette magazine. (That's right, it's public domain, and practically
free!) It's 4.5 K of machine language, and you type it in using
the magazine's bug-free data entry program called 'MLX'. You can
order the back-issue from the publishers - pick up a current issue to
find out how to do this.
I highly recommend this program. It has word-wrap, and the user
is simultaneously in 'move around the file' mode and 'insert/delete
text' mode - and it's a true screen editor. It is also possible to
insert inverse characters into the document which serve as commands
for the following functions:
Toggle underlining on/off Set top and bottom margins
Center, right-justify text Set right and left margins
Automatic page numbering at top or bottom center, top right corner, etc.
Single or double spacing Send special characters to printer
Pause at the end of each page of output for user to hit RETURN
In addition, the output can be sent to any desired channel and secondary
address (including the screen for testing output.)
Anyway, both Speedscript and the MLX data-entry program are in the
January 1984 issue of that magazine.
Robert P. Munafo ...|{decvax,linus}|dartvax|robertmporter@inuxd.UUCP (02/04/84)
Mark, If you are intested in the Mercedes of word processors for the C64 might I suggest PAPERCLIP 64. Quick Brown Fox is definitly the poorest excuse for a word processor on the market today - only recently out done by HESwriter. PAPERCLIP might cost a little more, but some think it is worth it. Check it out before you buy however - everyone's tastes are different. If you are a little low on cash, COMPUTE'S Gazette published an all machine language word processor for the 64 in their January issue. I haven't finished typing it in, but it looks like it was design like VI - with nmeumonic (sp?) controls that seem easy to remember. Best of all, it costs only the price of the magazine. Wordpro3+ has been the defacto standard for Commodore word processing for many years. This is what everyone compares word processors to. Still a bit pricey. Easyscript is the most popular for the 64 and is an improved version of Wordpro3. If you have special requirements, maybe you want TOTL.TEXT or PAGEMATE - both written in BASIC with machine language routines to make them useful. The best part is that you can custom tailor the WP to your needs. TOTL.TEXT also is the only WP to do footnotes. PAGEMATE breaks lines only at spaces to make the text on the screen more readable. I haven't looked at CUT&PASTE from Electronic Arts, so I can't comment. Beware of their copy protection. The programs will only load with a 1541 drive - nothing else. WRITE-NOW has received favorable reviews from the Midnite/PAPER. The only ones to really stay away from are QBF and HESwriter. Jeff Porter (inuxd!porter) AT&T Consumer Products Indianapolis