waggoner@dtg.nsc.com (Mark Waggoner) (04/06/90)
In article <14842@s.ms.uky.edu> kherron@ms.uky.edu (Kenneth Herron) writes: >In episode <4Apr1990145828134@BLEKUL11.BITNET>, >we heard GHGAQBA@BLEKUL11.BITNET say: Questions about word processor capabilities and answers specific to ProWrite. >|4 Styles or equivalent. > >Not sure what you mean. ProWrite handles italics, .... If you mean named styles for text or paragraph formatting, no, ProWrite does not have it. A real pity too. >|5 easy and FAST graphics import (as well paint as vector oriented ) >You can import IFF brushes and pictures. Colors are mapped to Prowrite's >standard set (you have some control over this). You can put text >on top of graphics and move pictures around once they're imported. With >the latest release, you can print text in your printer's text mode and >graphics at the same time. No vector graphics. >|6 high quality printer output, i.e. on a 24 pin printer I want graphic >| font output at 180 DPI . This can be done by vector fonts or scaling >| down e.g. a 72-size screen font to a 24-size printer font. > >It uses the standard abilities of the Amigados printer drivers. I only >have a 9-pin printer myself, but others on the net have said that it does >quite well with 24-pin printers and the 1.3 drivers. The truthful answer to your question is NO. You get chunky fonts even though you have 180 dpi potential. You don't ask, but ProWrite also is lacking multi-column capability. My overall impression is that ProWrite is a nice program that could use a few more features. I suppose you could get decent dot matrix output using ProScript and a postscript to dot matrix converter (I think there is one called pixelscript) but this would be rather slow. -- Mark Waggoner Santa Clara, CA (408) 721-6306 waggoner@dtg.nsc.com Unofficially representing National Semiconductor Local Area Networks Group Officially misrepresenting myself.
tell@oscar.cs.unc.edu (Stephen Tell) (04/09/90)
In article <400@icebox.nsc.com> waggoner@icebox.UUCP (Mark Waggoner) writes: >In article <14842@s.ms.uky.edu> kherron@ms.uky.edu (Kenneth Herron) writes: >>In episode <4Apr1990145828134@BLEKUL11.BITNET>, >>we heard GHGAQBA@BLEKUL11.BITNET say: > >Questions about word processor capabilities and answers specific to >ProWrite. > [lots deleted] >You don't ask, but ProWrite also is lacking multi-column capability. Could you elaborate? The ProWrite folks were at Commodore's NAB booth demonstrating 2-column text for video script-writing. Are you saying that this must have been a fake of some sort? Or are we dealing with different versions of the program. I got a printout sample from the HP color ink-jet they had (looked real nice) but didn't watch the actual demo of the program; I was too busy looking at the Video Toaster demo next door. >-- >Mark Waggoner Santa Clara, CA (408) 721-6306 waggoner@dtg.nsc.com > Unofficially representing National Semiconductor Local Area Networks Group > Officially misrepresenting myself. -------------------------------------------------------------------- Steve Tell tell@wsmail.cs.unc.edu CS Grad Student, UNC Chapel Hill. Former chief engineer, Duke Union Community Television, Durham, NC.
gmb@iclswe.uucp (Grahame Budd) (04/09/90)
I've just bought Word Perfect for the Amiga, (UK version). Apart from having
just about everything I've ever wanted in a WP it has to be about the best
Amiga implementation I've ever seen.
o It installed first time from an Icon marked INSTALL.
o I'm using an exotic blend of Swedish and English characters. No adjustments
were needed to persuade Word Perfect to use them, setmap was enough.
o It used all preferences settings without adjustment.
o Each feature uses the Amiga environment in exactly the right way.
o Every function is implemented both on keys and pull down menus.
o Each window uses Amiga style selection, gadgets, requesters and titles.
o Block functions can be fully controlled by the mouse.
o If the Amiga facilities are not used it works just like the I*M version.
o WordPerfect multitasks perfectly with other products.
o It also multitasks within itself! Each time a new document is opened it is a
new window and a new task, (if you still have another open).
o The printer task, which handles queues of requests from either WordPerfect
windows or for other files, is also a seperate task
o The various tasks work together very well, when you print a file from an edit
window you get passed to the printer control. It takes a while to realise that
you've just been passed between tasks.
o A total beginner managed to use every required facility and print a document
without reference to the manual and with minimum introduction, ("this is the
HELP key, this is how to get the menu bar"). This was because of the smooth
way the Amiga WIMP environment was used.
The product is a great word processor, it is a little expensive though. (170
pounds).
If anybody is looking to implement software on the Amiga, look at the way this product has been done.joseph@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (04/09/90)
In article <400@icebox.nsc.com>, waggoner@dtg.nsc.com (Mark Waggoner) writes: > In article <14842@s.ms.uky.edu> kherron@ms.uky.edu (Kenneth Herron) writes: >>In episode <4Apr1990145828134@BLEKUL11.BITNET>, ..... cut >>It uses the standard abilities of the Amigados printer drivers. I only >>have a 9-pin printer myself, but others on the net have said that it does >>quite well with 24-pin printers and the 1.3 drivers. > > The truthful answer to your question is NO. You get chunky fonts even > though you have 180 dpi potential. But one can make use of the printers built in fonts and get a neat printout. I use all the different fonts and pitches in my Star XB2410 and the color printout is great. > You don't ask, but ProWrite also is lacking multi-column capability. The ad for the ProWrite 3.0 claims the mutlti-colum capability and many more improvements over the ProWrite 2.5. Tomi joseph@kanvax.bitnet
waggoner@dtg.nsc.com (Mark Waggoner) (04/10/90)
In article <13310@thorin.cs.unc.edu> tell@oscar.cs.unc.edu (Stephen Tell) writes: In some other article, I wrote: >>You don't ask, but ProWrite also is lacking multi-column capability. >Could you elaborate? The ProWrite folks were at Commodore's NAB booth >demonstrating 2-column text for video script-writing. Are you saying that >this must have been a fake of some sort? Or are we dealing with different >versions of the program. I got a printout sample from the HP color ink-jet >they had (looked real nice) but didn't watch the actual demo of the program; I >was too busy looking at the Video Toaster demo next door. Apparently, Prowrite 3.0 (which is not yet available, as far as I can tell) has multicolumn support. Previous versions did not. -- Mark Waggoner Santa Clara, CA (408) 721-6306 waggoner@dtg.nsc.com Unofficially representing National Semiconductor Local Area Networks Group Officially misrepresenting myself.
sysop@tlvx.UUCP (SysOp) (04/10/90)
In article <13310@thorin.cs.unc.edu>, tell@oscar.cs.unc.edu (Stephen Tell) writes: > In article <400@icebox.nsc.com> waggoner@icebox.UUCP (Mark Waggoner) writes: > >In article <14842@s.ms.uky.edu> kherron@ms.uky.edu (Kenneth Herron) writes: > >>In episode <4Apr1990145828134@BLEKUL11.BITNET>, > >>we heard GHGAQBA@BLEKUL11.BITNET say: > > > >Questions about word processor capabilities and answers specific to > >ProWrite. > > > [lots deleted] > > >You don't ask, but ProWrite also is lacking multi-column capability. > > Could you elaborate? The ProWrite folks were at Commodore's NAB booth > demonstrating 2-column text for video script-writing. Are you saying that > this must have been a fake of some sort? Or are we dealing with different > versions of the program. I got a printout sample from the HP color ink-jet > they had (looked real nice) but didn't watch the actual demo of the program; I > was too busy looking at the Video Toaster demo next door. The May Amiga World has an ad for Pro Write that shows multiple columns in the picture. Maybe you're right, the other guy's referring to an older version? (Oh, it also mentions "multiple columns with snaking or parallel text flow" in the list of a couple of dozen features.) It also mentions controlling your printer's "dot density"; would that answer the problem that someone asked about 24-pin printers? (I wouldn't know....) Anyway, I think it's safe to assume ProWrite 3.0 has multiple columns. Does a wordprocessor really need vector graphics? Or, at what point does a program become "desktop publishing"? I have PageStream myself, and it has nifty keen things like vector graphics. BTW, I seem to remember a comment (in all this Mac/Amiga stuff) about problems with bit-map graphics; while I haven't exhaustively tested PageStream, the pictures I tried could be resized. I assume it stores the original pic internally? Also, it's pretty obnoxious to do "desktop publishing" on an Epson-compatible 9-pin dot-matrix (it triple-overstrikes with micro-form-feed inbetween passes to try to get over 200 dpi... it's sort of a fake 200 dpi though, since the pins are so [relative to 200dpi] huge). Sorry, I'm rambling again. As for using Lotus 1-2-3 for a word processor, I've seen it done. > > >-- >Mark Waggoner Santa Clara, CA (408) 721-6306 waggoner@dtg.nsc.com > > Unofficially representing National Semiconductor Local Area Networks Group > > Officially misrepresenting myself. > -------------------------------------------------------------------- > Steve Tell tell@wsmail.cs.unc.edu > CS Grad Student, UNC Chapel Hill. > Former chief engineer, Duke Union Community Television, Durham, NC. -- Gary "Still trying to cram it all into one message" Wolfe ..!uflorida!unf7!tlvx!sysop (Why won't inews read my .sig? *SIGH*)
jeff@cpoint.UUCP (Jeffrey J. Griglack) (04/10/90)
In article <401@icebox.nsc.com> waggoner@dtg.nsc.com (Mark Waggoner) writes: >Apparently, Prowrite 3.0 (which is not yet available, as far as I can >tell) has multicolumn support. Previous versions did not. > I talked with New Horizons Software yesterday. They said that the update notification cards where going out in the mail now, so I should get mine next week. If this is so, ProWrite 3.0 is available. Also, I have been very pleased with ProWrite's output on my 9 pin dot matrix printer. If I set the number of dpi higher (through the "print options" menu selection, or something like that) I got very good output. It took a while, but I am willing to wait. -- ============================================================================= Now I quess I'll have to tell 'em, that I've got no cerebellum - The Ramones Jeff Griglack {decvax, cybbax0, mirror}!frog!cpoint!jeff =============================================================================
UH2@psuvm.psu.edu (Lee Sailer) (04/11/90)
In article <1990Apr9.102630.26835@iclswe.uucp>, gmb@iclswe.uucp (Grahame Budd) says: > lots of nice things about WP deleted .... I use WP too, and it is OK. There are a few things I don't like about it. Perhaps I am just looking at it the wrong way. 1. When I create a new directory from the List Files requestor, it doesn't get a drawer icon. 2. WP creates bakup files that don't have icons, so WB users don't know they are there. 3. SPELL is an awful disk grinder. Thank god I've got memory and FACCII. 4. Exporting a text file removes all the WP codes, rather than translating their results. For example, if a paragraph is Indented (F4), then the Exported text should have an indented paragraph (padded by spaces, say). Still, it does the job, and only crashes occasionally. 8-)
waggoner@dtg.nsc.com (Mark Waggoner) (04/11/90)
In article <22793.2620669b@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> joseph@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu writes: Regarding ProWrite: >But one can make use of the printers built in fonts and get a neat printout. >I use all the different fonts and pitches in my Star XB2410 and the color >printout is great. How do you use "all the different fonts and pitches"? As far as I know, ProWrite 2.5 and earlier doesn't have any method of using more than one printer font or pitch in a document. You might be able to imbed printer codes somehow, but then you won't get anything close to WYSIWYG. The 3.0 ads claim to support a few printer pitches, but older versions do not. Also, I notice that the 3.0 ad says that it requires 1Mbyte of memory. I suppose this means I can't use it on my 768K A1000 (512K + 256K from kickstart eliminator). Memory inflation strikes again... -- Mark Waggoner Santa Clara, CA (408) 721-6306 waggoner@dtg.nsc.com Unofficially representing National Semiconductor Local Area Networks Group Officially misrepresenting myself.
jonc@uts.amdahl.com (Jonathan Chang) (04/11/90)
Prowrite has ALWAYS allowed you to used MULTIPLE fonts and pitches (point sizes) -- all on the same line (and with overlaid graphics to boot!) This has been true since (at least) v1.11. The big new features of v3.0 are speed, column snaking, bigger theasaurus, spell-as-you-type checking, and some other stuff (Postscript, etc).
gmb@iclswe.uucp (Grahame Budd) (04/11/90)
UH2@psuvm.psu.edu (Lee Sailer) writes: >I use WP too, and it is OK. There are a few things I don't like about it. >Perhaps I am just looking at it the wrong way. >3. SPELL is an awful disk grinder. Thank god I've got memory and FACCII. I havn't noticed this. It seems about as fast as other systems I've used. Is there a diference between the versions? ( I'm using 4.1.11, UK, adapted for Swedish and Danish). >4. Exporting a text file removes all the WP codes, rather than translating >their results. For example, if a paragraph is Indented (F4), then the >Exported text should have an indented paragraph (padded by spaces, say). Yes. Bit of a problem this. I find that in many cases one can print to a DOS text file and use that instead. Using the PrintDef program to customise the DOS text "printer driver" so that it only produces characters acceptable to your destination system, is very easy. I chose the WordPerfect/Amiga combination because of this and the wide range of disc formats the Amiga can use. >Still, it does the job, and only crashes occasionally. 8-) Never had a crash. Had a lockup once running three documents, the printer driver queue and SimCity together. :-)
joseph@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu (04/12/90)
In article <402@icebox.nsc.com>, waggoner@dtg.nsc.com (Mark Waggoner) writes: > In article <22793.2620669b@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu> joseph@kuhub.cc.ukans.edu writes: > Regarding ProWrite: >>But one can make use of the printers built in fonts and get a neat printout. >>I use all the different fonts and pitches in my Star XB2410 and the color >>printout is great. > > How do you use "all the different fonts and pitches"? As far as I > know, ProWrite 2.5 and earlier doesn't have any method of using more > than one printer font or pitch in a document. You might be able to I didn't say that I use all the different fonts and pitches in the same document. I use the draft mode in ProWrite and select the font and pitch using the printer console. However, I can use Italics, Bold , color and underline in the same page, even in the draft mode. > imbed printer codes somehow, but then you won't get anything close to > WYSIWYG. The 3.0 ads claim to support a few printer pitches, but True, the draft mode using the Topaz font is not true WYSIWYG. Then I'm more concerned with the printed document rather than what I see on the screen. Since 2.5 is able to handle most of my present needs I'm in no hurry to upgrade to 3.0. Tomi
dfrancis@tronsbox.UUCP (Dennis Francis Heffernan) (04/12/90)
RE Multi-column capability in ProWrite The new 3.0 version claims multi-column capability. I haven't seen it for myself yet. Dennis Francis Heffernan | "Great spirits have always dfrancis@tronsbox | encountered violent opposition ...uunet!tronsbox!dfrancis | from mediocre minds" Killer GM- Reasonable fees | --Albert Einstein
FelineGrace@cup.portal.com (Dana B Bourgeois) (04/14/90)
Don't quote me on this since I am not a big user of WP. BUT, I thought there was a place in setup that allowed you to have an icon created whenever a file was saved. Yes, I confirmed it. You can have files saved with an icon. The docs don't address sub-directories so a test is in order. Have you tried saving a file in a created sub-directory when the create-info feature is 'on'? If the sub-dir is created but no info file for the sub-dir isn't created also, then I guess a call to WP is in order. I think that is a bug. Dana Bourgeois @ Cup.Portal.Com Better .sigs through electro-chemistry