psrc@cbnewsl.att.com (Paul S. R. Chisholm) (01/30/91)
We may have the opportunity (?) of getting a manual either in troff or
Ventura Publisher(R) form. I know how good vi/emacs + troff is; how
about Ventura Publisher? From what I've heard, it's a better word
processor than most page layout ("desktop publishing") programs . . .
but that may not be saying much. No spelling checks? How are the
search and replace facilities? Anything else come to mind?
(Yes, Chris, I know we just had this conversation; but I'd like the
opinion of people who use more "mainstream" word processing software
than vi.-)
Paul S. R. Chisholm, AT&T Bell Laboratories
att!mtunq!psrc, psrc@mtunq.att.com, AT&T Mail !psrchisholm
I'm not speaking for the company, I'm just speaking my mind.
Ventura Publisher is a registered trademark of Ventura Software, Inc.,
a Xerox company, or something like that.v105mahs@ubvmsd.cc.buffalo.edu (Peter P Donohue) (01/30/91)
In article <1991Jan30.060314.23809@cbnewsl.att.com>, psrc@cbnewsl.att.com (Paul S. R. Chisholm) writes... >We may have the opportunity (?) of getting a manual either in troff or >Ventura Publisher(R) form. I know how good vi/emacs + troff is; how >about Ventura Publisher? From what I've heard, it's a better word >processor than most page layout ("desktop publishing") programs . . . >but that may not be saying much. No spelling checks? How are the >search and replace facilities? Anything else come to mind? Ventura is meant to be a page layout program. As such, it expects that you have written the text in a word processor and imported it into the program. It has basic text editing commands, but is definitely not a word processor. If you have to do any major text editing, it is usually easiest to go back to the original word processed files. There are programs that you can add, such as VP to the Max by Aristocad, that add a spell checker and thesaurus to the program. This is something that I think should have been originally included with VP. Even with this add-in, you still wouldn't want to do anything but the most minor text editing. Hope this was some help. Pete ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Peter P. Donohue - University at Buffalo, Graduate School of Management bitnet: V105MAHS@UBVMS . "Education is a journey internet: V105MAHS@UBVMS.CC.BUFFALO.EDU . not a destination..."
lark@tivoli.UUCP (Lar Kaufman) (01/31/91)
In article <1991Jan30.060314.23809@cbnewsl.att.com> psrc@cbnewsl.att.com (Paul S. R. Chisholm) writes: >We may have the opportunity (?) of getting a manual either in troff or >Ventura Publisher(R) form. I know how good vi/emacs + troff is; how >about Ventura Publisher? From what I've heard, it's a better word >processor than most page layout ("desktop publishing") programs . . . >but that may not be saying much. No spelling checks? How are the >search and replace facilities? Anything else come to mind? I have used Ventura Publisher since version 1.1, and own version 2.0. My wife is currently using version 3.0 on a contract, and version 2.0 at home. When Ventura came out, I was quite taken with it. However, I am very disappointed at the rate of develoment of this package. Version 3 for the GEM interface is a legitimate upgrade but version 3 for Windows is basically a port of 2.0 with a few enhancements to use Windows features. Because I am dissatisfied with Xerox'es rate of development of Ventura, I have chosen not to buy the latest upgrade; likely we will abandon use of Ventura when superior packages are ported to the DOS/Windows environment. We have temporarily adopted the use of Word for Windows for some PC documentation. On the other hand, you can't exactly say that troff has made great strides in development, either. Troff is not WYSYWIG, unless you want a complex superset of what most people think of as troff. I would consider a combination of a good ASCII editor and Ventura a superior solution to the combination of that good ASCII editor and troff, IF the platform is irrelevant. Really, the hardware you are using will make a big difference in your decision. I had very good luck writing and editing primarily in microemacs, and adjusting layout and format using Ventura. I still work this way when I use Ventura; I always save my documents as ASCII files. It was actually easier for me to develop tables in emacs than in Ventura... On the other hand, my wife usually writes in Word and then formats in Ventura. Ventura handles different document formats pretty well, and I have on occasion used it as a document conversion tool with moderate efficiency. I have not used the Professional Extensions package for Ventura (basically included in the 3.0 version for GEM, and there are also third-party vendors that provide things like advanced tablemaking... My basic advice is to lean toward Ventura if you are PC-oriented, and toward troff if you are Unix-oriented. There are a lot of short-comings to both approaches, but a troff dot-jockey can probably accomplish a lot more ultimately than a Ventura wizard can. Final comment: If you can get a manual in Ventura form, you can probably also ask for it in Word form, or Xywrite, or ... Your choices may be broader than you thought. -lar -- Lar Kaufman I would feel more optimistic about a bright future (voice) 512-794-9070 for man if he spent less time proving that he can (fax) 512-794-0623 outwit Nature and more time tasting her sweetness lark@tivoli.com and respecting her seniority. - E.B. White
asmith@questor.wimsey.bc.ca (Adam Smith) (01/31/91)
psrc@cbnewsl.att.com (Paul S. R. Chisholm) writes: > We may have the opportunity (?) of getting a manual either in troff or > Ventura Publisher(R) form. I know how good vi/emacs + troff is; how > about Ventura Publisher? From what I've heard, it's a better word > processor than most page layout ("desktop publishing") programs . . . > but that may not be saying much. No spelling checks? How are the > search and replace facilities? Anything else come to mind? > Ventura is a DISMAL word processor. There is an excellent add-on spell checker froma terribly-run company (VP to the MAX), but that's about the end of it. Avoid doing text entry in VP at all costs. Scribbling on paper and running it through a scanner would probably be better. If you can get VP for Windows to work well (I'm still having problems aafter six months), you will have a wealth of excellent word processing options that will work cooperatively with VP. Don't forget that PageMaker in it's soon to be released verr 4.0 for the PC will have a built in story editor. This is bound to slow the program down, but will probabl;y work nicely with your desires. ######################################################################## Adam Smith Graphic Artist - Bad Mood Guy -> REFUSE TO FIGHT! The Chameleon Papers Vancouver, BC CANADA "Just when you thought it was safe to admit you're a human being..." ########################################################################
indra@brahms.amd.com (Indra Singhal) (02/01/91)
psrc@cbnewsl.att.com (Paul S. R. Chisholm) writes: >We may have the opportunity (?) of getting a manual either in troff or >Ventura Publisher(R) form. I know how good vi/emacs + troff is; how >about Ventura Publisher? From what I've heard, it's a better word >processor than most page layout ("desktop publishing") programs . . . >but that may not be saying much. No spelling checks? How are the >search and replace facilities? Anything else come to mind? Ventura Publisher should never be confused with word processing programs. VP is a page layout, desk top publishing program. For instance, there is no spelling check, no thesaurus, no search & replace. VP should be used with a word processing program to generate and manipulate raw text, and a separate graphics program to manipulate and edit graphics. When you need to put it all together use VP to put the publication together. It does Table of contents and both forward and backward references, indexes and the like. Just my thoughts... often people expect VP to be a wproc. and are disappointed. -- iNDRA | indra@amd.com or {ames apple uunet}!amd!indra | (Indra Singhal) (408) 749-5445; Advanced Micro Devices | MS 167; Box 3453; 901, Thompson Pl., Sunnyvale, CA 94088
BRAUN@FRECP12.BITNET (03/08/91)
Ventura Publisher is realy a good pgm, even if it is provided with bugs.
I'm using VP 2.0 (without the professional extension) with a genius(full
page) screen.
It is realy good to FORMAT text (put them in boxes, including graphics
(VP can resize a picture, and it does it well), using several text files
...). But it has not be made to TYPE text. There is nothing like
search/replace.
The way to process is to type the text on a 'traditional' word processor,
for exemple MS Word, import it, and then format it.
Hope it helps
Regards
Daniel Braun <BRAUN@FRECP12.BITNET>
NOT be made