lorner@csuchico.edu (Lance Orner) (07/16/90)
Ever since the dawn on Mac Time (or somewhere therebouts), Microsoft Word has always been known as the word processor to get if you want a heavyweight word cruncher. And for a long time, everything has been well and good in the world with that piece of knowledge behind you. But more recently, more and more whispers have contained the word 'Nisus' if you are considering a new processor. And this, by chance, happens to be my exact predicament. I am looking for a word processor to do a lot of writing with (school papers and such) and would also like one that wouldn't be to bad with writing code in one language or another. I have usually used Word for most of my jobs, and I have really come to like the overall completeness of the program. It does nearly everything well, and would seem like a hard program to top. (Using ver. 4.0) With Nisus, I have heard about the wonderfull powers of the macros, among other great things. I know that Nisus does lack the outliner (which I never use) and style sheets (which I don't use to their full advantage anyways), and so some of the features that Nisus seems to lack doesn't matter to me anyways. But what of the rest of the differences between Word and Nisus? What might be different about the two? What could give me reason to switch over? In short, which one is better? I'm asking quite a bit, but I've never been able to sit down with Nisus and experiment, although from what I've heard of so far, it seems really good. Has anybody used it? Or used the new Nisus 3.0? -- --Lance M. Orner | Without the software to run the California St. Univ., Chico | hardware, you get _nowhere_! lorner @ csuchico.edu | --unknown cartoon
baumgart@esquire.dpw.com (Steve Baumgarten) (07/17/90)
In article <1990Jul16.064351.1623@csuchico.edu>, lorner@csuchico (Lance Orner) writes: >And this, by chance, happens to be my exact predicament. I am looking for a >word processor to do a lot of writing with (school papers and such) and would >also like one that wouldn't be to bad with writing code in one language or >another. I'm not sure if Nisus would be great for coding. Something like Preditor or even QUED/M (the text-editor parent of Nisus) might be better. >I have usually used Word for most of my jobs, and I have really come to like >the overall completeness of the program. It does nearly everything well, and >would seem like a hard program to top. (Using ver. 4.0) True enough, though I could never stand the program's brain-damaged user interface. I still cringe when people ask me how to get fonts in the fonts menu... >With Nisus, I have heard about the wonderfull powers of the macros, >among other great things. I know that Nisus does lack the outliner >(which I never use) and style sheets (which I don't use to their full >advantage anyways), and so some of the features that Nisus seems to >lack doesn't matter to me anyways. The new version of Nisus (due out later this summer) will have true style sheets plus loads more features. In the current version you can very easily search for specific style attributes and change them (change all Helvetica Bold to 12 point Optima Italic), or search for words inside asterisks and change them to italics, or whatever. >But what of the rest of the differences between Word and Nisus? What might be >different about the two? What could give me reason to switch over? In short, >which one is better? Ease of use and consistency of interface. Builtin "grep", but one where you don't have to know the syntax of grep (nor do you need to know special magic characters like "^p" as you do in Word). Simple indexing and table of contents generation. Macros, of course, that let you do lots of things fairly simply. Also, the file format is text, with formatting stored in the resource fork. This means that you can open Nisus files directly with a DA like miniWRITER and browse through them. Or upload them directly without first having to "save as" text. Nisus also supports searching through multiple open or closed files; handy if you don't have a DA like GOfer or On Location. >I'm asking quite a bit, but I've never been able to sit down with Nisus and >experiment, although from what I've heard of so far, it seems really good. >Has anybody used it? Or used the new Nisus 3.0? 3.0 isn't out yet; 2.1 is the current version. Really, you can do almost everything in either program (some exceptions, like outlining and tables, and Word doesn't have macros); what I like most about it is that you never have to refer to the manual -- everything you think you should be able to do you can. Everything feels quick and intuitive -- you're never in arbitrary modes. Last, if you own a Plus or SE, you'll like working in Nisus because it scrolls like a bat out of hell -- no more waiting for slow screen updates. Anyway, I certainly like it. You should find a store or a friend who'll let you try it. To find out what's in the upcoming v3.0, give Paragon Concepts a call at (619) 481-1477. Standard disclaimers apply: I just like the program, I don't get paid for this. -- 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