dcanfield@yvax.byu.edu (07/06/89)
A few days ago I posted a message about a visit I had made to WordPerfect and I asked for any imput you might have on the subject of wp for the apple. I got a fairly good response and several people asked me to post a summary of what I found out, so here goes. As I said in my earlier posting, I had been out to wp and had talked to one of their support operators about wordperfect for the apple II series. I was not real impressed, but from what I have received from some of the users on the net I got the wrong impression. The one thing I personally liked about wp for the GS is that files transfer fairly easily and completely from GS to IBM to Mac and any combination in between. This is apparently not true with the IIE/C product. The E/C version must save files in generic word processor format and then transfer them which results in loosing a lot of the formatting codes like bold, underline, ect. The GS version overcomes much of this. I was concerned about the speed of wp, and the support people couldn't tell me if a transwarp card would work with it. I did get mail from some people who use wp with their transwarp cards and it works very well, with a great increase of speed. The big praise for wp comes under the title of powerful word processor. Most everyone who sent me mail praised its spell checker and thesarus. Its great number of formatting codes was also mentioned and the fact that it supports several (30+) printers was also a big plus for it. I had one person who had writen a 640 page book with appleworks and hated it, but since then has been using wp and believes it to be much better. The biggest con that was mentioned was that the GS version doesn't take advantage of the graphics and sound which the GS offers. This would be a nice addition in the future. The general idea I got from the responses was that wordperfect is just what it claims to be, a powerful word processor, and if that is what one needs, then wp is the way to go. For more info I gave WordPerfect a call and talked to their information group. Several of the people who sent me mail commented on a upcoming update that would incorporate the graphics and sound. I asked the gal I spoke with out at WordPerfect about this and she said the following. The IIE/C product is not going to be changed in the future. They feel that the E/C area is waining and the market doesn't warrant further developement there. As for the GS and future updates everything has been put on hold for now. They are working full tilt on a new Mac release which will be a major rewrite and update. Until that is finished and they see how it does there won't be anything new for the GS. This is regretable for those of us using the GS, but I can understand it. That is what I have been able to find out so far. I plan on sending a copy of my summary to the II group at wordperfect. I would imagine they will be interested to hear from people out in the world that use their products. That is all for now, Dan Canfield ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- These opinions are my very own. Any complaints, hate mail, money, ect should be sent to me. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DARROW@ITHACA.BITNET (07/11/89)
Dan Canfield recently posted a summary of the responses to his report of his visit to WordPerfect. I agree with his report with one exception. I used the IIe/IIc version for several months before getting a IIGS and found that the formatting codes _do_ transfer to the IBM version, so bolding, underlining, and so on _are_ preserved. I often edit material written on a IIGS with the IIe version, and visa versa, so conclude that the codes saved to disk are essentially the same. Of course, you have to have a way to get the file from the Apple II disk to the IBM. It is this portability of files between machines combined with the great power of WordPerfect that has me sold. I encourage Dan to send his summary to the II group at WordPerfect, and expect to send a note of my own, so as to encourage WordPerfect to continue its support of the Apple II version. In fact, if you use WordPerfect Apple II and like it, please tell them so, too. ---------- Frank W. Darrow, Chemistry Dept., Ithaca College, Ithaca, NY 14850 DARROW@ITHACA.BITNET (607) 274-3991