Don't Say the Word! 25/02/2006 Every so often I find myself raising a voice of protest against the almost universal use of Microsoft Word. It is not that I could care less which word processor others use but I do get annoyed when people refer to it as though it's the only word processor out there. Phrases like, "just open the file in Word" or, "format the text in Word" raise my hackles.Word is not the only word processor in the world and, in my humble opinion, it's not even the best. I know that our preferences in software are often set by whatever we happen to have learned first and this is certainly true of the word processor of my choice, WordPerfect. It has been a good friend to me over the years and works the way I expect it to work. It calls things what I would call them and so I can find anything in the Help files in seconds. Compare this to Word's childish paper clip assistant; it's just insulting to anyone of intelligence. Yes, I know you can switch the stupid thing off but why should I be expected to turn things off before an application becomes remotely usable?So, even before I mention aspects of WordPerfect that Word cannot dream of, I am already disposed to hate the Microsoft offering. If I mention just two facilities in WordPerfect, you may begin to understand why I get so irritated when people assume that I use Word. Take Reveal Codes for instance. WordPerfect has had this facility from the days when nobody had even heard of Word and it has never been successfully copied. Ever had the experience of formatting some text and it refuses to do what you want? In WordPerfect, all you have to do is hit the Reveal Codes button and all the secret instructions behind the text appear. It then becomes a simple matter to find which instruction is causing the problem and remove it. Believe it or not, this ability makes life much easier if you often format large amounts of text.Then there is the business of file formats. Every time a new version of Word is released, a new file format is produced so that earlier versions cannot read files saved in the latest format. This is clearly a blatant ploy to make all the poor Word users upgrade to the latest version, even though they will probably never use any of the new bells and whistles that occasion the new release. WordPerfect keeps its file format through its new versions, thereby allowing the users to upgrade only if they want to.I have given up trying to convert people to WordPerfect; Word users seem happy in their delusions and I cannot fight the whole world. But please, please, stop referring to Word as if everyone uses it. Without me, it ain't "everyone". And don't say, "just open Word" when what you mean is, "open any word processor".Although I concede that the battle for WordPerfect is lost, there are other options anyway. The most famous is OpenOffice, which is free and capable of anything Word can do. Personally, I don't like it, mainly because it mimics Word and saves in its file format. But it is very capable and includes spreadsheet, database and drawing applications. It's worth a try, at least.There are shareware word processors available too. Ability Office is one that bows to Word in importing and saving to its file format. Like OpenOffice, it includes spreadsheets and database and graphic applications. And all for a fraction of the price of Word or Office.My favorite shareware offering is WordExpress, however. This is a word processor only so you don't get loads of stuff you'll never use; and it takes up very little room as a result and loads incredibly quickly. It can do anything you're ever likely to want it to and, most importantly, completely ignores Word's way of doing things. It's usable and intuitive, folks! Naturally, it knows it's fighting against a world bewitched by Microsoft so it will read and save to Word formats (but only if you insist). I first tried WordExpress about ten years ago and it's still going strong, so someone must be using it.And that brings me back to my main point. These are just a few of the options available when it comes to word processors. And, as I've mentioned, it matters not to me which you choose. But please, Word users, have a little sensitivity to us minorities and don't speak of your (rather poor) word processor as if it were the only one in the world!Technorati tags: WordPerfect; MS Word; word processors.
Clive
Gary Charpentier Thank you, Clive, for articulating something that has been a persistant irritant to me for a long time. I had just given up, since my job and my editors had embraced the MS Godhead long ago. Here, however, is a little bit of revenge... I have loaded this silly little program onto my PC, which mimics the sound of an old-fashioned typewriter, and gives you that satisfying click or clack every time you press a key. The IBM Selectric is my choice, because the keyboard has the same feel and I learned to type on those. Here's a link for the free download: http://www.colorpilot.com/soundpilot.html Then you have to hunt around for the IBM Selectric, or choose one of the silly, video-gamesque sound effects to add on. Good luck, if you decide to try it. I find it quite satisfying, myself. Write well, =gc= Date Added: 25/02/2006
Gone Away Only on the internet, Gary! What a marvellous idea, to write a program that reproduces the sound of a clacking typewriter. Strangely enough, my dream is to find a keyboard that makes hardly any sound at all. At a computer fair years ago, I came across one that was delightfully squishy, sort of like typing into jello, and I debated whether to buy it or not. By the time I'd made up my mind, it had gone. So now I try every keyboard I come across and none has that soft, squidgy feel. Oh, wasted opportunity that defines my life... ;) Date Added: 25/02/2006
Deborah I enjoyed WordPerfect until they stopped making it for Macs. Now, my word processor of choice is Nissus Writer. It's much easier to use and lacks the bloat that continues to plague Word. Date Added: 25/02/2006
John (Syntagma) Surely that's the point, Clive. You can send a Word file to anyone and be virtually sure they can open it. As a writer I can send a file to any publisher in the world as Word, not having to bother converting it to PDF, and they will open it. That's worth a lot. If they replied: "Can you give it to us in BongoBongo format?" I'd know they were not the publishers for me.
As for the codes, you can get the symbols up in Word in a dropdown menu. File formats are about to change in Office 2007 (12), because Microsoft is implementing XML so that they can be read anywhere on the Web. But backward compatibility is also built in for .doc.
The problem with Word is that it's now so heavy with features, most of which are completely unknown and invisible to most users, that it can be baffling to new adopters.
But the universal nature of the format keeps me loyal. Date Added: 25/02/2006
Lee Pletzers I use power writer. A WP for writers and sometimes I use word or Open Office. I don't see what the big deal is? It's just words on a screen, and editors seem to like Courier font, size 12, anyway. Date Added: 25/02/2006
Gone Away As a Mac user, you're forgiven, Deborah. Microsoft haven't managed to conquer in that area yet. And I say "yet" because they already own a large part of Apple's shares... Date Added: 25/02/2006
Marti (Hangs head in shame) I admit I use Word, because it is all I have, all I even slightly "understand". My hard drive is not very big, and I don't have room to install new applications. I hate having to learn new technologies. So I curse and rant and bay at the moon, and go right on using Word. I feel like the wife who stays with an abusive husband. No, I'm sorry that is not a good comparison, I know domestic violence is no joking matter. I'm so frustrated myself, I can't think of a good one, sorry. But believe me, I'm not using Word to upset you! LOL Date Added: 25/02/2006
Gone Away That's the Microsoft line, John - you bought the story, obviously. In point of fact, all word processors will save to and open RTF (rich text format) files, so we already have a universal format. If the document is so complex that RTF can't retain the more esoteric formatting, there is always PDF. And WordPerfect has been able to save files as PDFs for about 6 years now. The Word compatibility argument doesn't float, I'm afraid. Just because the publishing industry has fallen for the lie, that hardly makes it true, does it? Backward compatibility? Sure, so later versions can read older file formats (any word processor does that). But try getting an older version to read the latest - can't be done. As I said, I know the argument's lost. I'll just carry on with anything other than Word, saving in RTF when I need to send files out (unless it's to a publisher, in which case WordPerfect can save it in DOC format for me), using WordViewer to read the DOCs people send me, and praying for revenge in the form of the ultimate conquest by Linux. :D Date Added: 25/02/2006
Gone Away I agree that it's just words on a screen, Lee. And yes, I get overly excited about minor matters at times. Perhaps I'm just a dinosaur bemoaning the passing of an age when there was some choice in how we put those those words on the screen... ;) Date Added: 25/02/2006
Gone Away Aw, Marti - you make me feel guilty for having a rant. I didn't mean to put you off using Word - it gets the job done just as Lee has pointed out. It's the way it's infiltrating the language that I really object to, trying to become the generic word for a word processor (rather as Hoover means vaccuum cleaner in Britain and Kleenex means tissue in the States). I don't think Word deserves such an accolade. Date Added: 25/02/2006
Mad Notepad man, that's where it's at... Date Added: 25/02/2006
Gone Away Notepad? Notespad, Mad, Notespad... :D Date Added: 25/02/2006
John (Syntagma) Funnily enough I don't use Word that much these days anyway, except for my longer documents, like books, and then I save two copies, one in DOC and another in RTF for PDF conversion. Usually I use EditPad, which is a hugely superior version of Notepad. The other option, WordPad, is no use to anyone. I can't see why Microsoft bundles it anymore.
Writely.com is a Web option that's Word compatible and you can save everything on the Web, so, if you have a small HD like Marti, it saves on memory no end, and you can make your documents public for publishers and others to read, without using bandwidth to send them off. Date Added: 25/02/2006
Gone Away Good point about Writely.com, John; it's definitely a good option for those with space problems. I had a look at it and considered using it but then wandered off and forgot to wander back... Date Added: 25/02/2006
Gary Charpentier Hello again, Clive. I've spent some time going through this blog, and I want to thank you for the time and effort you have put in here. This is some truly wonderful stuff! It got me thinking that blogs could be a great way for an older generation to pass on knowledge and wisdom to the next. If this generation that is currently in power doesn't completely wreck the planet, there may be some hope for us yet. One of your pieces on writing struck me, and I would like to share something with you. You wrote of the old, manual typewriters, and how you abuse modern keyboards because you learned to type on a manual. Well, I too learned to type on a typewriter, but it was a Smith-Corona electric. Long story short, I have found a program, a FREE download, which makes your keyboard sound like an old manual typewriter, or an electric, or pretty much whatever you like, when you type. It has made my writing much more enjoyable. You can find it here: http://www.colorpilot.com/soundpilot.html It is easy to uninstall, if you don't like it. But it has made a huge difference for me. If you decide to try it, please let me know what you think? Ride well, =gc= Date Added: 26/02/2006
Gone Away Thanks for the kind comments, Gary. As to this generation wrecking the planet, I think each generation has a go at that but we haven't succeeded completely yet. ;) And thanks for the info on the typewriting program - I'll have a look at that! Date Added: 26/02/2006
Mad Wow Gary, I think you forgot everything that happened before your long sleep! Date Added: 26/02/2006
Gary Charpentier Thanks Mad. Yes, insomnia was definitely affecting my writing and, I suspect, my riding. That's what happens when you do something you don't care about for a living, and then try to do what you really care about for a hobby. There aren't enough hours in the day! (But of course, I can't say this on MY blog... the bosses are watching!) That typewriting program works best on the Smith-Corona setting, btw. The manual one is a bit cheesy. Ride well, =gc= Date Added: 26/02/2006
Mad Hey, I'm just glad you caught up on your sleep Gary! And it's hard to find a way to get paid for what you love doing in this life eh? I'm lucky, I decided what I wanted to do a few years ago and found a way to do it.
You're right too, gotta watch what you blog. My old boss read my blog so I couldn't say much about my old company... Date Added: 26/02/2006
Gone Away Until now, that is. Hehehe... Date Added: 26/02/2006
Mad Never burn your bridges Dad ;) Date Added: 26/02/2006
Gone Away Good point, Mad. Date Added: 26/02/2006
Janus Word Perfect user and proud of it! Date Added: 13/03/2006
Gone Away Always knew you were the man, Janus! Date Added: 14/03/2006
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