aberg@math.rutgers.edu (Hans Aberg) (03/01/89)
Because of the recent postings about using FullWrite for technical word processing, I post some of the known problems with this program: First, on a MacPlus it is too slow for practical use. Also, you need at least 2Mb RAM, otherwise the program will protest already after typing only a few pages. What will happen is that finally you can't open your ms. Ashton-Tate only gives 90 days technical support. The manual is very sparse. So you are likely to end up with silly little things you can't figure out how to do. (Like, how do you delete a chapter?) FullWrite, like most word processors, does not produce professional typeset quality. FullWrite doesn't support the math axis, that allows for equations done with the Expressionist to be automatically aligned. You have to align equations by hand. Then there are some scary bugs, which Jan Harrington (sysop@harvard.harvard.edu), told me about: > Here's how to corrupt a FW document: > Place a token for a sidebar on page X. The sidebar is too big to fit > on page X so it appears on the top of page X +1. Place another token > for a sidebar on page x; this one will have to go on the top of page > x+2. Then place a third token for a sidebar on page x; this one must > go on the top of x+3. Try to scroll to x+3 and - bombo! [...] > The workaround is to place the anchor for a sidebar on the page just > before the sidebar is to appear. What that means is that anchors do_not > necessary appear close to where the figure is mentioned in the text, > which can make them hard to find... Then there are some other bugs, which has to do with the formatting of the output. One good question is what Ashton-Tate is doing to fix all these bugs. I haven't heard anything happen for some time now. To not make this article all negative, I must point out that I truly enjoy FullWrites features on a SE/30, where the program has a blistering speed. Hans Aberg, Mathematics aberg@math.rutgers.edu
kearns@read.columbia.edu (Steve Kearns) (03/02/89)
WARNING ABOUT ASHTON-TATE (actually Ann Arbor Software): Remember Fullpaint? It was the next generation paint program, WHEN IT FIRST CAME OUT. Then Ann Arbor Software, the creators, proceeded to go on to other projects, leaving Fullpaint to slowly die of obsolescence (sp?). One can only hope that FullWrite doesn't share the same fate; perhaps since Ashton-Tate took them over things will change. disclaimer: As you might guess, I don't work for AshtonTate