ae219fl@prism.gatech.EDU (Fu-Lin Tsung) (09/21/90)
Hi,
I have just recieved a demo for Nisus 3.1, after playing around for
a couple of hours, I have few questions
1. can Nisus select text one column at a time? ie. if I have
several columns of data, can I select an entire coulmn w/o
select the rest?
2. for simple formulas like dy/dx = y , is it possible to have dy
underlined, over dx, and have '= y' be center between the dx
and dy row? or do I have to use something like Mathtype.
i.e. I want the same effect as .\ f(dx,dy) = y if I'm using
MS Word. better yet, does Nisus have any simple formula entries?
3. can Nisus change the sup and sub script postitions? i.e. if I
find the subscript for 2 in H2O is not low enough, can I move it
down more?
4. can I costumize (sp) the menu?
Thanks for your time.
owen@raven.phys.washington.edu (Russell Owen) (09/22/90)
In article <13922@hydra.gatech.EDU> ae219fl@prism.gatech.EDU (Fu-Lin Tsung) writes: > 1. can Nisus select text one column at a time? Yes. Hold down one of the modifier keys (option? command?) while dragging the cursor. > 2. for simple formulas like dy/dx = y , is it possible to have dy > underlined, over dx, and have '= y' be center between the dx and dy row?... I don't know > ...better yet, does Nisus have any simple formula entries? No. However, it does have graphics tools, so you can do some manipulation of formulas created in Expressionist and such. > 3. can Nisus change the sup and sub script postitions? i.e. if I I don't know. > 4. can I costumize (sp) the menu? You can assign key sequences to any menu item, and you can add macros, but I don't think you can rearrange menu items. Here is a partial list of differences between Nisus 3 and Word 4. My apologies if I have left out your favorite feature. I have not seen Nisus 3 yet, so I may have missed something important there. Some Nisus features missing in Word: - macros - multiple undos - search/replace text of a given style and/or font - search/replace with "regular expressions" - character-based styles (as well as paragraph-based styles, new in v. 3) - flexible text/graphics interaction (text flows around graphics, etc.) - graphics tools - saves documents as text, with formatting in the resource fork. This means if a file gets corrupted, you can probably recover most or all of it. If a Word file gets corrupted, odds are it's a total loss. - all commands are available at all times, in a fairly sensible arrangement of menus (I like the interface much better than Word's, but that is of course only my opinion!) - I have found Paragon's products to be much more reliable than anything I've used from Microsoft. Some Word features missing in Nisus: - hierarchical paragraph styles (but no character styles) - flexible tables - files don't have to fit in RAM - equations - menus can be rearranged Disclaimer: I have tried to be accurate, but please verify any information before making a decision based on it. If you spot an error, please let me know and/or post (as if I have to ask!). Russell Owen owen@raven.phys.washington.edu Astronomy Dept. FM-20 University of Washington Seattle, WA 98195
gdavis@primate.wisc.edu (Gary Davis) (09/23/90)
> In article <13922@hydra.gatech.EDU> ae219fl@prism.gatech.EDU (Fu-Lin > Tsung) writes: >> 1. can Nisus select text one column at a time? Hold down the option key while dragging the cursor. >> 2. for simple formulas like dy/dx = y , is it possible to have dy >> underlined, over dx, and have '= y' be center between the dx and > dy row?... I don't think this would be possible in the text layer. >> ...better yet, does Nisus have any simple formula entries? No. It's pretty easy to draw formulas in the graphics layer and copy and paste them into the text layer if desired. You probably wouldn't want to do lots of formulas that way, though I suppose you could keep a file with lots of standard formulas that you could easily modify for use. Incidently, Nisus does seem to insert formula PICTs (from Theorist, at least) in the proper position in a line of text, unlike Word which doesn't recognize the baseline information. Even if Nisus didn't, you can adjust the vertical position of a character graphic just by dragging it with the mouse. >> 3. can Nisus change the sup and sub script postitions? i.e. if I Nisus has two sub and super script positions. As far as I know you can't adjust them continuously as in Word. Gary Davis
sticklen@pleiades.cps.msu.edu (Jon Sticklen) (09/30/90)
I am evaluating Nisus from the perspective of a current FullWrite
user. There are some questions I cannot answer:
1) I am used to developing graphics in PowerPoint, then
copying them into FullWrite docs (using the PP "paste
as picture" first to get then get the sizing correct).
[I typically give a talk on a topic before I writes papers
on that topic...]
What I seem to see in Nisus is that when i copy in graphics from
PowerPoint (using the clipboard) that the graphics change. Eg,
lines that did not have arrowheads before now do have arrowheads.
This nasty behavior takes place whether I am using the
"character graphics" or a "graphics sheet" in Nisus. The bottom
line is that I then have to correct the graphics in Nisus.
Is there some way to copy in graphics from other applications
(like pictures from PowerPoint) such that Nisus will leave them
alone?
2) A related question - again having to do with graphics
capabilties of Nisus.
In FullWrite, I got very used to using "Sidebars." These
were areas that I could place anywhere on a page I wanted,
and into which I could insert pictures, and text, or whatever.
I typically used this to build Figures+Captions that I could then
place.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions. By the way, I find Nisus to be
really good for performance, and for easy of use - especially for
using the styles in it. It would be a LOT more friendly if
you could define one style on top of another. That would allow
a user to change all the font of a paper at once instead of
changing each major styles font. Ditto line spacing, and ditto...
The graphics problems I am having with importing is my real hang up
with Nisus right now although.
---jon---baumgart@esquire.dpw.com (Steve Baumgarten) (10/03/90)
In article <1990Sep30.154758.5562@msuinfo.cl.msu.edu>, sticklen@pleiades (Jon Sticklen) writes: >Thanks in advance for any suggestions. By the way, I find Nisus to be >really good for performance, and for easy of use - especially for >using the styles in it. It would be a LOT more friendly if > you could define one style on top of another. That would allow > a user to change all the font of a paper at once instead of > changing each major styles font. Ditto line spacing, and ditto... You can do that easily -- just create paragraph styles without a font. In some ways, Nisus' styles aren't as "sophisticated" as Word's, but in many ways they're a whole lot easier to use. As for spacing and all, remember that it's really easy to do a search and replace based on styles, so you can change all of one style into another, for example. -- Steve Baumgarten | "New York... when civilization falls apart, Davis Polk & Wardwell | remember, we were way ahead of you." baumgart@esquire.dpw.com | cmcl2!esquire!baumgart | - David Letterman
pollock@screamer.csee.usf.edu (Wayne Pollock) (10/05/90)
After playing with the demo of Nisus, I feel certain that by designing styles in layers (just as you do in Word; style X is Normal+<stuff>, style Y is X+stuff, etc.), then apply the styles in sequence. You don't have to do this manualy either - make a macro to apply the styles in order and call it something like "personal letter style". Then to globally change something, such as font A into font B, do a simple find&replace operation. To globably change one entire style with another is also possible, I'm certain, with marcos (but may not be trivial). I have two basic questions after playing with the demo. Inserted graphics can be made to be fixed on the page (under the text, or over the text, but not XOR), to float with the paragraph (the graphic is a fixed distance from the upper left corner of the paragraph), but apparently not to float (or flow) with the text. So any change to the style or text or margins of the paragraph cause the graphic to be misplaced. How does one get graphics to float with the text? The second question is about secioning the document. Is it possible to have two columns for part of the document and one column for the rest? I'm thinking of business letters' hearders, with my name and address in the upper right of the page, and the recipient's name and address in the upper left. While I suppose I could make my return address a graphic, fixed to the page, I often change this around (never mind why!) so I would prefer text. There would be other uses for sectioning a document too. Wayne Pollock (The MAD Scientist) Internet: pollock@screamer.csee.usf.edu
jon@weber.ucsd.edu (Jon Matousek) (10/08/90)
In article <67@screamer.csee.usf.edu> pollock@screamer.csee.usf.edu (Wayne Pollock) writes: >After playing with the demo of Nisus, I feel certain that by designing styles >in layers (just as you do in Word; style X is Normal+<stuff>, style Y is >X+stuff, etc.), then apply the styles in sequence. You don't have to do this >manualy either - make a macro to apply the styles in order and call it >something like "personal letter style". Then to globally change something, >such as font A into font B, do a simple find&replace operation. To globably >change one entire style with another is also possible, I'm certain, with >marcos (but may not be trivial). Yes, you can apply the styles as you describe. > >I have two basic questions after playing with the demo. Inserted graphics can >be made to be fixed on the page (under the text, or over the text, but not >XOR), to float with the paragraph (the graphic is a fixed distance from the >upper left corner of the paragraph), but apparently not to float (or flow) >with the text. So any change to the style or text or margins of the paragraph >cause the graphic to be misplaced. How does one get graphics to float with >the text? To float graphics with the text, select the graphics on the graphics layer, cut it, click back into the text layer and do a paste. The graphic is now a character graphic, flowing with the text. A character grahpic can be double clicked and edited, just as if it were in the grahpics layer. By the way, XOR does exist. It is the invert mode. You should realize though that XOR only appears on the screen and image writer printers. XOR will not print to the laser printer because Postscript does not support XOR. > >The second question is about secioning the document. Is it possible to have >two columns for part of the document and one column for the rest? I'm >thinking of business letters' hearders, with my name and address in the upper >right of the page, and the recipient's name and address in the upper left. Currently Nisus does not allow multiple sections, Nisus does have some good work arounds that may suffice for a lot of situations. In your case with the business letter, place your information in a header. A header will span multiple columns. After the first page, insert an empty header for the remainder of the document. >While I suppose I could make my return address a graphic, fixed to the page, I >often change this around (never mind why!) so I would prefer text. There >would be other uses for sectioning a document too. Another way to mix the format within a Nisus document is to use the Placed Page. The place page can allow you to place a page of a multi-column document into a single-column document. The placed page can be edited with a double click, placed anywhere that you can put a graphic, and once placed, treated like a graphic--allowing for rotations, scaling, etc. > >Wayne Pollock (The MAD Scientist) >Internet: pollock@screamer.csee.usf.edu -jOn -------------------------------------------------------------------------- %% SoftwareEngineer: jOn mAtOUsEk; Internet: jon@weber.ucsd.edu %% AppleLink: D0405 Paragon Concepts, Inc. FAX: (619)481-6154 990 Highland Drive, #312 Solana Beach, Ca. 92075 (619)481-1477 ==========================================================================