tjf@beta.lanl.gov (Tom J Farish) (10/28/89)
I am interested in buying a word processor which can produce output for both 24-pin printers and postscript printers. Can "Excellence"(TM)? Has anyone had experience with this WP? How easy is it for a non-computer-literate spouse to use? Thanks in advance for any info/experiences...
gaspar@stl-08sima.army.mil (Al Gaspar) (11/02/89)
I do not have either a 24-pin printer or a postscript printer, just a Panasonic 1091i (9-pin, Epson compatible. However, I do have Excellence!, and I have to say that I haven't been pleased. I have twice needed to produce term papers with footnotes using NLQ. Both times it failed. Micro-Systems Software recommended using Topaz 9 and 10 line spacing for the footnotes and Topaz 11 and 12 line spacing for the body. This fixed some of the problem; but, since I wanted double spacing, it wasn't a satisfactory fix. I have also noticed some other printing problems when using Excellence's 'Normal' (graphics) print mode, particularly on repetitions of horizontal lines (I lose the upper line on an '=', if I have multiple lines of equal signs this occurs consistently on say every fifth line (I don't remember the exact iteration)). Unless someone can recommend something better, I am considering getting WordPerfect and bagging Excellence altogether. Perhaps with a different printer, I would have had better luck, but... Cheers-- Al -- Al Gaspar <gaspar@stl-08sima.army.mil> (used to be <gaspar@almsa-1.arpa>) USAMC SIMA, ATTN: AMXSI-TTC, Box 1578, St. Louis, MO 63188-1578 COMMERCIAL: (314) 263-5646 AUTOVON: 693-5646 uunet.uu.net!stl-08sima.army.mil!gaspar
swan@jolnet.ORPK.IL.US (Joel Swan) (11/04/89)
Expires: References: <3141@nigel.udel.EDU> Sender: Reply-To: swan@jolnet.UUCP (Joel Swan) Followup-To: Distribution: Organization: Media Specialties Ltd. Keywords: DUMP EXCELLENCE! LOOK AT PEN PAL I have Excellence. It aint. It's trash. Slow, won't work right with printer fonts. They have a decent user interface and real-time spell checker- bu tofget actually trying to print with it. I also bought Pen Pal when it first came out. Since then, I have received TWO upgrades in the mail without even asking. The latest came two days ago. It included a disk and a small PROFESSIONALLY printed 20 or so page booklet with update info AND a set of often asked questions about PP. I don't plan to use the built-in database, but I am leaning towards PP as my Word Processor of choice. I must give Softwood a big PAT ON THE BACK. Free upgrades without asking and each one added some very nice features. They also have one of the best font selction methods aroung. You can either pull down a menu of point sizes that contain sub-items with font names OR pull down font names with sub-items of point sizes. Nice. Give PP a close look. It may be what you want. Oh yes, the nicest part? You can use your printers fonts AND Amiga graphics together at the same time (to a limited, but useful degree). Hope this helps. Joel