mike@dhw68k.UUCP (Michael J. Cleary) (12/03/87)
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## EVALuation of Shareware Word Processors Version 1 ##
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--------> T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S <--------
Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Cursor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Printer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Spelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Text . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Windowing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Modification Log . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
License Agreement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Disclaimer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Comments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
Copyright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
EVALuation of Shareware Word Processors Page 1
--------> P U R P O S E <--------
The purpose of this document is to provide information about shareware
word processors for IBM and IBM compatible personal computers.
1) General Information
A) Products
B) General
2) Specific Information
A) Block
B) Cursor
C) File
D) Printer
E) Spelling
F) Text
G) Windowing
EVALuation of Shareware Word Processors Page 2
--------> P R O D U C T S <--------
Product: Galaxy Version 2.2C
Date: July 1987
Vendor: OmniVerse
Post Office Box 2974
Renton, Washington 98056-0961
Voice (206) 228-7627
Data (206) 235-8760
Product: New York Word Version 2.2
Date: June 1987
Vendor: Magma Software Systems
138 - 23 Hoover Avenue
Jamaica, New York 11435
Voice (201) 792-3954
Product: PC-Type+ Version 1.0
Date: October 1986
Vendor: Buttonware
11058 Main Street - Suite 225
Bellevue, Washington 98004
Voice (206) 454-0479
Data (206) 454-2629
Product: PC-Write Version 2.71
Date: December 1986
Vendor: Quicksoft
219 First Avenue North # 224
Seattle, Washington 98109
Voice (206) 282-0452
Product: WordMgr Version Release 1.4
Date: July 1987
Vendor: Arrow Associates
6401 152nd Avenue North East
Redmond, Washington 98052-4763
Voice (206) 882-3031
EVALuation of Shareware Word Processors Page 3
--------> G E N E R A L <--------
| | | | P | W |
| G | N | P | C | O |
| A | Y | C | W | R |
| L | W | T | R | D |
| A | O | Y | I | M |
| X | R | P | T | G |
Function | Y | D | E | E | R |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Command driven | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Comments | No | No | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Drop to DOS | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
EGA (43 line) | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Footers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Footnotes | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Graphics | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Headers | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Index | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Macros | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Mail merge | No | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Math functions | No | Yes | Yes | No | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Memory requirements (kilobytes) | 192 | 256 | 256 | 320 | 256 |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Menu driven | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Mouse | No | No | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Online help | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Registration |49.95|45.00|69.95|89.00|79.95|
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Sort | No | No | Yes | No | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Table of contents | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Word count | No | No | No | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Wordstar (tm) commands | Yes | No | No | No | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Wordstar (tm) files | Yes | No | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
EVALuation of Shareware Word Processors Page 4
--------> B L O C K <--------
| | | | P | W |
| G | N | P | C | O |
| A | Y | C | W | R |
| L | W | T | R | D |
| A | O | Y | I | M |
| X | R | P | T | G |
Function | Y | D | E | E | R |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Copy | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Delete | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Move | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Read from disk | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Write to disk | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
EVALuation of Shareware Word Processors Page 5
--------> C U R S O R <--------
| | | | P | W |
| G | N | P | C | O |
| A | Y | C | W | R |
| L | W | T | R | D |
| A | O | Y | I | M |
| X | R | P | T | G |
Function | Y | D | E | E | R |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Block | Yes | No | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Column | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Display current location | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
File | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Line | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Markers | 9 | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Non-ASCII | No | No | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Non-blank | No | No | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Page break | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Paragraph | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Period | No | No | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Screen | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Word | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
EVALuation of Shareware Word Processors Page 6
--------> F I L E <--------
| | | | P | W |
| G | N | P | C | O |
| A | Y | C | W | R |
| L | W | T | R | D |
| A | O | Y | I | M |
| X | R | P | T | G |
Function | Y | D | E | E | R |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Backup at specified intervals | No | Yes | No | No | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Backup when loading | No | No | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Backup when saving | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Change DOS directory | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Cancel updates | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Copy | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Delete | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
List DOS directory | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Load | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Print | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Print to disk | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Rename | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Save | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Save as other name | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
EVALuation of Shareware Word Processors Page 7
--------> P R I N T E R <--------
| | | | P | W |
| G | N | P | C | O |
| A | Y | C | W | R |
| L | W | T | R | D |
| A | O | Y | I | M |
| X | R | P | T | G |
Function | Y | D | E | E | R |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Boldface | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Condensed | No | No | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Double underline | No | No | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Elite | No | No | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Emphasized | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Expanded | No | No | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Italics | Yes | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Lines per inch | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Line spacing | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Overstrike | No | No | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Page length | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Pica | No | No | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Proportional | No | No | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Subscript | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Superscript | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Underline | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
User Defined | Yes | No | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
EVALuation of Shareware Word Processors Page 8
--------> S P E L L I N G <--------
| | | | P | W |
| G | N | P | C | O |
| A | Y | C | W | R |
| L | W | T | R | D |
| A | O | Y | I | M |
| X | R | P | T | G |
Function | Y | D | E | E | R |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Add words to user word lists | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
External spelling interface | Yes | No | No | No | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Guess at correction | No | No | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Internal spelling interface | No | No | Yes | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Master word list size (thousands) | No | No | 100 | 50 | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Maximum dictionary size (thousands) | No | No |NoLim| 64 | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
EVALuation of Shareware Word Processors Page 9
--------> T E X T <--------
| | | | P | W |
| G | N | P | C | O |
| A | Y | C | W | R |
| L | W | T | R | D |
| A | O | Y | I | M |
| X | R | P | T | G |
Function | Y | D | E | E | R |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Case conversion | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Character delete | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Character insert | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Character overtype | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Column move | No | No | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Find / Replace | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Hyphenation | No | Yes | No | No | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Indentation | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Justification | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Line center | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Line delete | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Margins | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Reformat | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Repagination | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Restore deleted text | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Tabs | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Tabs decimal | No | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Text from other programs - copy | No | Yes | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Word delete | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Word wrap | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
EVALuation of Shareware Word Processors Page 10
--------> W I N D O W I N G <--------
| | | | P | W |
| G | N | P | C | O |
| A | Y | C | W | R |
| L | W | T | R | D |
| A | O | Y | I | M |
| X | R | P | T | G |
Function | Y | D | E | E | R |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Close | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Copy from one to another | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Maximum number | 2 | 12 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Open | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Switch | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Un-Zoom | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Variable length | Yes | Yes | No | Yes | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
Zoom | Yes | Yes | No | No | No |
--------------------------------------------------------------------|
EVALuation of Shareware Word Processors Page 11
--------> M O D I F I C A T I O N L O G <--------
Version 1 - 11/27/87 - Original version.
EVALuation of Shareware Word Processors Page 12
--------> L I C E N S E A G R E E M E N T <--------
EVALSWP is protected by United States copyright law and international
treaty provisions. All rights are reserved.
You are hereby granted, without charge, a limited license. This conveys
to you the right to freely utilize, reproduce, and distribute EVALSWP
with the following restrictions:
1) EVALSWP must not be modified in any way.
2) EVALSWP must not be related, either directly or indirectly, to
the generation of fees, charges or compensation of any type.
EVALuation of Shareware Word Processors Page 13
--------> D I S C L A I M E R <--------
EVALSWP is provided on an as is basis without any warranty, expressed
or implied. I will not be liable for any damages related directly or
indirectly to the use of this document. By using this document, you
agree to this.
EVALuation of Shareware Word Processors Page 14
--------> C O M M E N T S <--------
EVALSWP will be updated on an as needed basis.
I encourage nonflammable criticism related to the identification of
errors, information on new shareware word processors and ideas on other
software areas for evaluation.
To download any of the evaluated products, upload a new shareware word
processor for evaluation, or just communicate with me, please call:
The Shareware Syndicate BBS
Riverside, California, U.S.A
(714) 359-8489
1200/2400
8/N/1
Specializing in Business Related Shareware
If this document saved you minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, or
years; please feel free to express your thanks in the form of a
financial donation to:
Michael J. Cleary
Post Office Box 8627
Riverside, California 92515-8627
Thanking you in advance for your support.
EVALuation of Shareware Word Processors Page 15
--------> C O P Y R I G H T <--------
This document is: Copyright (c) 1987
Michael J. Cleary
Post Office Box 8627
Riverside, California 92515-8627madd@bu-cs.BU.EDU (Jim Frost) (12/05/87)
In article <3610@dhw68k.UUCP> mike@dhw68k.UUCP (Michael J. Cleary) writes: [...] > EVALuation of Shareware Word Processors Page 6 > > --------> F I L E <-------- > > | | | | P | W | > | G | N | P | C | O | > | A | Y | C | W | R | > | L | W | T | R | D | > | A | O | Y | I | M | > | X | R | P | T | G | > Function | Y | D | E | E | R | > --------------------------------------------------------------------| > Backup at specified intervals | No | Yes | No | No | No | > --------------------------------------------------------------------| [...] The entry for PC-Write is incorrect. PC-Write allows backups at specified intervals but is not set to do this in the distribution. What happens is every N characters you type (N is user-selectable) PC-Write tells you you should back it up. If you want to, you press a function key. If you do not, you press a different one. This is initially annoying but is easily learned and quite useful. One item left out of this report is "printers supported." PC-Write supports basically everything (some 400+ printers, I believe, including extensive laserprinter support for many models). This is especially important because PC-Write is easily redefined (by the user, if you like) to fully utilize your printer. Another item might be "user-modifiable." Almost everything about PC-Write is configurable if you try. If it sounds as if I like the program, you got it. It may not be the best there is but for the price it can't be beat. #include <std.disclamer.about.satisfied.user.not.related.to.company> jim frost madd@bu-it.bu.edu
jku@kolvi.UUCP (Juha Kuusama) (12/11/87)
I'm not at all questioning the value of the comparision, but (as a VERY satisfied and registered) user of PC-Write, I'd like to point out that: - PC-Write does support the ega in 43-line mode - PC-Write can remind you to do backups at specified time intervals or when you have entered a specified number of characters. --- Juha Kuusama, jku@kolvi.UUCP ( ...!mcvax!tut!kolvi!jku )
manes@dasys1.UUCP (Steve Manes) (12/12/87)
In article <17053@bu-cs.BU.EDU> madd@buita.UUCP (Jim Frost) writes: >Another item might be "user-modifiable." Almost everything about >PC-Write is configurable if you try. I was a die-hard PC-Write (registered) fan for years. Most of my work with editors however has been source code. So I began using MicroEMACS and have been extremely happy with it. The major problem I had with PC-Write was that I couldn't figure out how to get it to enter tabs into text rather than multiple spaces. The latter really slows you down on editing and adds about 30% to the size of an average C source file. -- +----------------------------------------------------------------------- + Steve Manes Roxy Recorders, Inc. NYC + decvax!philabs!cmcl2!hombre!magpie!manes Magpie BBS: 212-420-0527 + uunet!iuvax!bsu-cs!zoo-hq!magpie!manes 300/1200/2400
toma@tekgvs.TEK.COM (Tom Almy) (12/14/87)
In article <2215@dasys1.UUCP> manes@dasys1.UUCP (Steve Manes) writes: >In article <17053@bu-cs.BU.EDU> madd@buita.UUCP (Jim Frost) writes: >>Another item might be "user-modifiable." Almost everything about >>PC-Write is configurable if you try. > [...] >The major problem I had with PC-Write was >that I couldn't figure out how to get it to enter tabs into text rather >than multiple spaces. The latter really slows you down on editing and >adds about 30% to the size of an average C source file. I was an avid PC-Write user for about two years. I got the sources for version 2.5 and modified them for use as a program editor. I passed this information back to Quicksoft and asked about an editor stripped of formatting commands, but better suited for programmers needs (tabs, auto indent, matching delimiters, better windowing, etc). They seemed only interested in the word processing market (lets face it, they gotta eat). So I bought Epsilon. Recently I switched to WordPerfect for word processing (I wanted a word processor that was powerful yet easy to master so my family could use it -- PC Write is about the most powerful wp around but is nasty to learn). By the way, the original survey was wrong in stating PC Write didn't support 43 line EGA mode. It does. On the other hand, even though it has a spelling checker, it's pure garbage -- I continued using Turbo Lightning. Tom Almy toma@tekgvs.tek.com !tektronix!tekgvs!toma