a544@mindlink.UUCP (Rick McCormack) (01/16/91)
Has anyone in NetLand had an opportunity to use Wordperfect 2.0 for more than a demonstration? I looked at it yesterday in a demo, and it seems to operate more closely to the way I expect a Mac program to work than Word 4.00b. I would appreciate hearing from someone using it to prepare documents about 5-20 pages long, using 2 or 3 newspaper columns, with headers and footers and some embedded gfraphics from Studio 1 or Superpaint.] Also, how well does it support the ImageWriter II? Thanks for any information. ______________________________________________________________ | Rick McCormack | IMAGISTICS BUSINESS THEATRE TECHNOLOGY | | Vancouver, BC | Information transfer - with a purpose. | | CANADA | ________________________________________ | | AOL: Rique | INTERACTIVE COMPREHENSIVE ENLIGHTENING | |________________|____________________________________________|
RAFST3@vms.cis.pitt.edu (02/06/91)
Hello out there. I am getting ready to upgrade my WordPerfect package from 1.0.x to 2.0. I have not yet seen any comments or reviews about this new version, and I was wondering if there was anyone that would like to put their 2 cents in. I'm not sure of what the major differences are, and I am curious. Looking forward to replies....... Read Fritsch RAFST3@vms.cis.pitt.edu
jness@ub.d.umn.edu (Joel Ness) (02/07/91)
In article <C34FB322141F2050CA@vms.cis.pitt.edu> RAFST3@vms.cis.pitt.edu writes: >Hello out there. >I am getting ready to upgrade my WordPerfect package from 1.0.x to >2.0. I have not yet seen any comments or reviews about this new >version, and I was wondering if there was anyone that would like >to put their 2 cents in. I'm not sure of what the major differences >are, and I am curious. > >Looking forward to replies....... > Well, I just got our software subscription copy from WP and, although I really haven't had a chance to try it out much at all, here are a few impressions. It is incredibly more powerful than V1.0.5. This wouldn't be hard since the previous version, although it had a few nice features, was one of the more brain-dead Mac word processors. WP is the campus standard here for both Mac and PC so the current version of WP on the Mac has been a major thorn in my side. My overall impression is that I am very much impressed with the new version. Additional features include several graphics layers (many of our users now won't need MacDraw), much more powerful layout facilities (don't have to go to PageMaker for a lot of stuff now), borders, text boxes, tables (using columns and the text boxes), sorting, indexes, TOCs and a whole lot more. The macro capability is a full programming language that seems to be able to do some amazing things. One of the supplied macros puts any text you enter onto a circle and pastes the resulting graphic into the text. WP 2.0 also now has style sheets. I haven't had a chance to compare these to the Word/PM type style sheets, but they seem comparable. When will WP or Aldus be coming out with a PM filter for 2.0? The entire interface is very much improved and much more Mac-like. Even a few nice innovations like dialog boxes having their own pull-down menus (cleans up some of the more complicated boxes nicely). Code view is still available, but it's not necessary to have to use it as much as with the older version. I've always said that a "code view" belongs nowhere on any true Mac word processor. A "Show paragraphs" command should be good enough (and WP 2.0 had it). In 1.0.X you _had_ to use code view a lot when reformatting because of the nightmarish way WP inserted codes into the document (kind of like having to be able to rebuild your transmission just to shift into reverse). You have three "Environment" options in WP 2.0. One way is just like the old WP, make a change to your tabs while your cursor is in the middle of a line and it inserts a tab change code at that point in the document which applies until the end of the document or until you hit another tab set code. This means that if you edit in the front half of the line the tabs are set one way, but move your cursor to the end of the lines and the tabs are set differently (you can start to get a feel for how much of a pain this can be). The second, default option is for all formatting "codes" to be inserted at the beginning of the current paragraph and they then apply from that paragraph on through the rest of the document as before. This is better. The third option, which I haven't had a chance to really evaluate to see if is best, appears to be much like the way that Word does it. Make a change in a paragraph and it affects only that paragraph. You'd have to select the whole doc to change all paragraphs. Now, I am used to doing things this way in Word, but I'm not sure if this means that this is best. Maybe the default option will make the most sense to our current users. Import capabilities are improved. WP can read in PC Wp versions up to 5.1 as well as graphics such as Pict, Paint and EPS. WP2.0 can also use the Claris XTND filters to read MacWrite, Word 30 and 4.0, etc. Here's where I'd like some info. WP2.0 does not come with these Claris XTND filters, meaning that you can't read any of these other formats until you get them. Are the XTND filters freely distributable? If not, it seems that WP2.0 takes a step back in what it can import "out of the box". I'll try to report more when I've had a chance to play with it. I've been getting a fair amount of quits and crashes but that just may be because I keep my system on the edge with lots of toys and add-ons. I'll know more as I play with it more. Potentially, it looks like we may have a very powerful Mac word processor here. It's still a little early, though to say for sure. Joel Ness INTERNET: jness@ub.d.umn.edu Information Services BITNET: JNESS@UMNDUL University of Minnesota, Duluth Phone: (218) 726-8841 Duluth, MN 55812
jkain@bronze.ucs.indiana.edu (Jeff Kain) (02/07/91)
jness@ub.d.umn.edu (Joel Ness) writes:
[... a lot of stuff about the new WordPerfect ...]
I agree - after playing with it a bit, it is a tremendous improvement.
I did a lot of playing with columns, tabs, and graphics, and not once
did I have to look at the codes (if you've used 1.0 WordPerfect, you
know that's quite a statement...).
And a few more random observations:
One of the nicest features is that EVERYTHING is non-modal. Even open
and save dialog boxes can be repositioned at will.
And the auto-flow around graphics will alleviate the need for
expensive DTP packages for those of us who only need basic page layout
capabilities.
It should give Microsoft a lot to think about for their next release
of Word.
And WP2 does GIFs, too....
Jefftrottiers@yvax.byu.edu (02/08/91)
RF> Hello out there. I am getting ready to upgrade my WordPerfect RF> package from 1.0.x to 2.0. I have not yet seen any comments or RF> reviews about this new version, and I was wondering if there was RF> anyone that would like to put their 2 cents in. I'm not sure of RF> what the major differences are, and I am curious. In my opinion, WordPerfect 2.0 is the best word processor I've ever seen! I used to be a heavy duty Word 4.0 user but WordPerfect 2.0 blows it away. (I've never used Nisus so I can't make comparisons there.) One of the best features is the very powerful macro feature. Programmable macros in WP can do just about anything. Also, I like the way you can attach resources to documents--much the same way you can do it in HyperCard. I tried WordPerfect 1.0.x but never used it because it wasn't orginized very well and wasn't "Mac-like". But this new version is a GREAT improvement over 1.0.x. Throw MS Word away! WordPerfect 2.0 is here!
jacobson@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (R J Jacobson) (03/20/91)
Just got my own copy of WordPerfect 2.0 this weekend. And while at first I was a little overwhelmed at the improvements/changes I now find I like it so much that I would not go back to WP 1.05. It is an immense improvement with all kinds of stuff. Overall it is much more intuitive and thus is as many have said already and is definately now a Mac product. I do have a few questions. First I have heard that already version 2.01 is available with Word 4.0 import (no Word export yet). Are there also some bug fixes with 2.01? I read about this new version in the new issue of MacWeek, but other than the Word importing additon don't know if it has any other improvements. I have only mangaed to crash it once, and screw up the keyboard input by messing with keybords in the Librarian before I knew what I was doing. I have noticed some bugs in the display of graphics when I leave the "drawing" program the screen of the document still has some of the paint program screen showing until I move to a next page. Also I use acess PC to read/write/format MS-DOS disks. When I tried to directly save a 5.0/5.1 to this disk it actually screwed up the disk. I had to save it to my Hard Drive and then use finder to drag the 5.0/5.1 file to the MS-DOS disk icon. Has anyone noticed any other serious bugs I should be aware of? (Besides the redraw/refresh flakyness of some graphics) All in all however I am very impressed and am glad I got this upgrade!!!!! BITNET jacobson@uiucux1 ARPANET jacobson%uiucux1@a.cs.uiuc.edu CSNET jacobson%uiucux1@uiuc.csnet USENET [ihnp4,pur-ee,convex]uiucdcs!uiucuxc!uiucux1!jacobson Russ Jacobson Illinois Geological Survey Champaign, IL 61820 217-244-2425