Re: WYSIWYG Word Processor for GS/OS?

[casa@unm.edu (Jim Pittman)]

romeo@anet-dfw.com (Romeo) wrote:

> Hi. I want to get a word processor that'll let me use different
> fonts and see them on the screen the way they'd print. I have
> GEOS and that has a nice WP, but I don't want to have to boot
> into GEOS every time to use it.
> 
> What other programs exist? I assume Appleworks GS is WYSIWYG, but
> I've read in CSA2 that it is prone to crashing.

My vote is to use TWO programs: first AppleWorks 5.1 as an editor,
then GraphicWriter III v.2 for excellent WYSIWYG page layout.

GWIII by itself is NOT a good word processor: it is much too slow
and awkward when doing a lot of editing. So first use a good editor
to compose your text, spell-check, etc and then start up GWIII and
import the file (or files) and do your layout as you wish. For years
I have been using AppleWorks 5.1 for my editor, then GWIII for page
layout. I have had relatively good success except for occasional
nasty crashes or lock-ups of GWIII. (Reduce the risk of crashes or
freeze-ups by minimizing your editing and spell-checking in GWIII.)

As soon as Nifty Spell is available (I'm still waiting for my copy
to arrive) it will be possible to edit with Hermes (AKA ShadowWrite)
and do spell checking with Nifty Spell, then load GWIII for final
page layout. I really like many features of Hermes and it's freeware.

Many IIgs gurus do a lot with AppleWorks GS; if you want to do simple
printing with any fonts and sizes in the word processor module, and
you want to see exactly what page you are on, it is a great program.
But I find it crashes without warning much too often to suit me.

The page layout functions of AWGS compare to those of GWIII but I
have always considered AWGS very slow and awkward compared to GWIII.
(Many will disagree with this last assertion.)

(Of course, I just said above that GWIII is slow and awkward as a
word processor, and that it has crashed or frozen up on me many
times, but I guess I feel, better the devils I know than the unknown
devils lurking in AWGS. Anyway, DON'T use GraphicWriter as an editor;
use AppleWorks Classic or Hermes or Word Works Pro or Spectrum or
ProTerm as your editor, then GWIII for page layout.)

My ][ cents.

- Jim Pittman - AppleQuerque Computer Club - casa at unm dot edu