sewilco@mecc.UUCP (Scot E. Wilcoxon) (09/18/85)
(I hope this gets outside Minnesota..net been having some problems)
When deciding what might be needed in a word processing package, I found
it was helpful to start with a list of possibilities. It is
particularly helpful when asking people what features they want, as they
can start from the list rather than their memories. Especially because
two minutes ago they were using their memories for something completely
different and now they don't know where to start.
Although I made a reasonable attempt to make it exhaustive, I assume
I've missed something. Let me know if I've missed an obvious entry.
Typesetter directives (ie, kerning) were intentionally omitted as I'll
probably need to make a separate list for those needs (do you have
one?).
No list can tell you what people NEED, though it may help figure out
what they WANT.
The list was produced an early part (the part I just did) of the search
for a new WP/document system here at MECC. References to internal needs
have been removed. Let me know if this is helpful. Or if it is
considered harmful, so I'll know better next time...:-)
Scot E. Wilcoxon Minn. Ed. Comp. Corp. circadia!mecc!sewilco
45 03 N / 93 15 W (612)481-3507 {ihnp4,uwvax}!dicomed!mecc!sewilco
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Document profile
Document length limited only by disk size
Documents can be larger than disk capacity
Standardized document formats (default formats for memos, letters...)
Definition of special forms needed
Document versions
Document name
Document title
Document author
Operator
Comment
Keywords
Document statistics
Date created
Date last revised
Number of pages
Number of lines
Total word count
Number of characters
Total work time
Total keystrokes
Average sentence length
Average word length
Format features
Reformatting during editing
Multiple formats in one document
Section/outline/chapter numbering automatically maintained
Automatic generation of Table of Contents
Automatic index support
Change bars (bars on margin indicating lines changed)
Page by page format options
Adjustable top/bottom margins
Forced page break
Text block protected from page break
Automatic widow and orphan control
Multiple columns on a page (optional)
Column balancing
Footnotes:
Automatic numbering
Footnotes attached to a word
Automatic continuation
Notes - like footnotes, but printing them is optional
Footnotes or notes at bottom of page
Footnotes or notes at end of chapter
Footnotes or notes at end of document
Footnote format changeable
Headers and footers:
Automatic page numbers
Selection of location of page number
Selection of starting number of page number
Page numbering style
Header and footer positions adjustable
Header and footer size unlimited
Header and footer on/off
Several headers in one document
Several footers in one document
Alternating headers or footers (even/odd pages)
Line by line format options
Font (typeface, style, size, spacing)
Adjustable left/right margins
Center text between margins
Automatic paragraph indentation
Text block protected from formatting
Mathematical functions on numerical columns or data
Hyphenation manual or automatic
Spacing between lines
Character format options
Font (typeface, style, size, spacing)
Boldface
Italic
Underline
Double underline
Overstrike
Subscripts and superscripts
Shadowing
Left to right or right to left
Required hyphen
Required space
Automatic or interactive hyphenation optional
TAB options
Indent
Decimal tab
Center tab
Right justify tab
Any combination of tabs
Exchange meaning of comma and decimal point in numerical tables
Moving through document when editing
Skip forward/backward by (a number of)
character
word
line
sentence
paragraph
punctuation mark
number
uppercase character
lowercase character
control character
screen
page
Marking and returning to a location in a document
Jump to
left/right of line
top/bottom of screen
top/bottom of page
specific page (page name or page number?)
top/bottom of document
Search for
word, case sensitive if desired
sequence of words, case sensitive if desired
numbers
Text manipulation
Insert
Copy
Delete
Replace
Move
up to specific string
by characters
words
lines
sentences
paragraphs
screens
pages
Highlighting of text block selected for change
Repeat last command
Search and replace
automatic or interactive
selective or global
case sensitive if desired
Dictionary
Spelling checker
Check specified portion of text
Check only current screen
Add more words
Delete words
Listing of misspelled words, if desired
Leave or replace a word (adding to dictionary is optional)
Interactive spelling correction, showing list of words
Document-specific dictionary
Background spell checking
Number of unique word misspellings identified
Hyphenation assistance
Synonym aid
Glossary/abbreviation
Glossary of standard text ("boilerplate")
Word or phrase abbreviation
Named standard formats
Sequence of commands
Video display
Status line
Keyclick on/off
Tiltable display
Glare shield on screen
Function keys
On-screen page break indicators
Count of lines remaining on page
Current page number
Current document line
Current column number
Current document name and version
Horizontal and vertical scrolling:
Set amount of horizontal scroll
Set amount of vertical scroll
Horizontal or vertical folding, to compare sections of one document
Redraw screen
Automatic word wrap at margin
Automatic on-screen formatting and reformatting
Proportional spacing on bit map screens
On-screen display of special characters (BOLD,UNDERLINE,ITALICS,CONTROL)
Special characters (foreign language, mathematics, special symbols)
What you see is what you get (from screen to print out)
Optional symbols for tabs, returns, decimal tab, merge, required space/hyphen
On-screen format lines or rulers
Visible left and right margins
Visible tab settings
Editing multiple files (cursor/editing state remembered for each file)
Multiple editing windows and/or split screen
Security
Individuals access permissions
Group access permissions
All access permissions
Encryption of selected documents
Password protection of selected documents
When defining a non-echoing password, it must be entered twice
Merge
Merging list with a form (form letters, labels)
Insert and place markers for form fill in
Saving merged result in a WP file
Printing merged result
Sorting capability
Selection of items to merge (ie "Extract data from database")
ASCII compatibility and with files from other programs
Reading/writing ASCII text files
Writing to an ASCII file with formatting directives included
Printing to an ASCII file
Inserting text from a file
Extraction (automatic or manual?) of data from spreadsheets
Extract data from database
Can read electronic mail
Can send electronic mail
Ability to reference files within host's directory structure
Filter text through a program
Printing devices
Support for several printers on one system
Printers from several vendors, including at least one page printer
Print queueing (background printing)
Proportional printing
How many paper trays
Can it feed forms/carbon forms/envelope feed
Tractor feed
Documents dependent on one printer's capabilities default
to that printer
Printing capabilities
Multiple copies of a document
Begin at specific page
End at specific page
Double-spaced draft
Begin header/footer printing on first page or another page
Specific pages in specific bin (definable at print or input time?)
Convert tabs to spaces
Optional cover page
Directory support
Alphabetical listing of documents
Cursor selection of document
Search/selection/listing of fields in document profiles
Search/selection of names with wildcard
Search for files by keywords
Print out file names
Multiple directories
Access permissions
Filing flexibility
Editing occurs on a work copy of the document (or keystroke trail)
Overwrite original document
Discard editing session
Save as new file
Save as new version (if versions are supported)
Copy document
Delete document
Archive documents (make off-line or backup)
Load from archive (make on-line)
Easily switching document between off-line and on-line status
Ability to handle large documents (600 pages)
More than one operator access same document at a time
Recovery from crashes, errors, or mistakes
Undo the last change
Undo to previous version of line/sentence/paragraph
Stop executing current command
Automatic updating of backup information during editing session
Recovery after crash (most recent changes might be lost)
Recovery can be turned off (optional)
Restore pages selectively
Restore entire document
Automatic keystroke replay
Notify affected operator of error
Log errors
Customization
Support for different terminals
Reassign function key locations
Change wording of menus/prompts
Rearrange menu selection
Turn menus and prompts off
Personalize standard formats for various document types
Create new alternate characters
Add entries to the hyphenation exception list
Documentation
Training
Self-teaching guide
Quick reference summary
Reference manual
Technical reference manual
Online help
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Scot E. Wilcoxon Minn. Ed. Comp. Corp. circadia!mecc!sewilco
45 03 N / 93 15 W (612)481-3507 {ihnp4,uwvax}!dicomed!mecc!sewilco