A Leap Ahead in Word Processing
The most sophisticated word-processing programs available these days have moved far beyond mere words. They are document processors.
They are designed for production of finely printed pages complete with multiple type styles and sizes, as many graphics as you want, tables of data and multiple column layouts.
They don’t offer as much page layout versatility as desktop publishing programs, but they are often actually more convenient to use since you can create, edit and format the documents in one program. With most desktop publishing software, you also need a word processing program to create and edit the text.
The ability to do all that with one program is the strength of the latest version of Microsoft’s Word, version 5.0, priced at $450, which emphasizes document production with its list of new features. They include two ways to see on your screen what the final pages will look like.
One method is the “show layout mode” that allows you to see multicolumn layouts such as a newsletter or a screenplay. Text may be entered and edited in this mode, and you aren’t required to have a computer that will display graphics to use it.
Incidentally, you can have several types of columns in Word. You can have evenly spaced parallel columns in which each column is a separate body of text, or columns in which the bottom of one column wraps automatically to the top of the next. You can have columns of unequal widths and columns of unequal lengths. The latter is good for scripts in which the name of a character is placed in one column and the dialogue spoken by the character goes into a longer column beside the name.
What you cannot see in the layout mode is the actual appearance of the various type sizes and styles that have been selected for the document.
There is another mode, called “print preview,” that shows you the page on the screen just as it will look from the printer. If you have scanned photos or other graphic elements on the page, they will be shown as well. This feature, though, requires a graphics monitor to work.
Another enhancement makes it easier for a team of writers to compile and revise a document. Each can add annotations to the text, where they are treated as footnotes. A special reference code is placed in the body of the text to mark the area being commented upon and the comment is stored at the end of the page. The writer can then rewrite the text taking the comments into account. When the final revision is complete, all of the annotations can be removed with a single command.
If you create documents with fancy features such as headlines, multiple columns, graphic inserts and tables, they can be replicated in future updates or editions because Word controls formatting with a set of instructions stored in a “style sheet.” Custom style sheets can be created and saved to define virtually any look that you want to give your documents.
Most lengthy documents start with, or ought to start with, an outline, and Word has outlining built in. It also includes a good thesaurus and spell-checking function.
Word has several kinds of help available. There is context-sensitive help, in which you get instructions pertaining to the task that you are performing. And there is a tutorial providing lessons that may be viewed on screen at any time.
Even though Microsoft is making a big push for graphically oriented software with its Windows program and the OS/2 operating system with Presentation Manager, the latest version of Word remains a text-oriented program. Thus, it is not a Windows application, but it will operate under either DOS or OS/2. Under OS/2, multiple Word editing sessions can run simultaneously. (There is an earlier graphics version of Word for the Macintosh, but it does not match the features of the PC version.)
Word for the PC has a unique look with a three-line menu of program options that sits across the bottom of the screen. Not all of its options are listed on that menu, however. Many functions are assigned to the PC’s 10 function keys, often in combination with other keys. Still others are available by pressing the “alt” or “control” keys plus other keys. There are keyboard templates to help guide the user.
Word is a good choice for word processing if you really need to use some of its advance features--spreadsheet linking, multiple columns on a page, index and table of contents creation, footnoting, alphabetical or numerical sorting of lines or items in a data table.
One of the most difficult word-processing tasks is keeping the columns of words and numbers in a table properly aligned while creating and editing the table. Word takes care of that with a variety of tab stops that act as reference point markers within each line of a document. Along with basic tab and decimal tab markers (to align numbers around decimals), Word adds special tabs to align text or numbers flush with the left or right side of the column, or to center it in the column. Special “leader” characters also can be defined so that any or all items in a table will be separated by dotted or dashed lines.
The latest version is a marked improvement over Word 4.0, but some awkwardness remains. For instance, if you enter menu selections in the wrong order, you end up back at the beginning and have to start over.
No doubt it is asking too much to expect a program that is very flexible and has many complex features to also be simple to learn and use well.
But it is fair for buyers to ask themselves whether they need all of the features such a program offers or if a less complex, less capable package will fit their needs.
MICROSOFT WORD 5.0
Microsoft Word 5.0 is a document-processing program. Its list price is $450.
Features: Integrated outlining, spelling checker and thesaurus. Multiple column formats, table formats, print previewing and annotations by multiple editors. Automatic creation of tables of contents, indexes and footnotes. Files linked to spreadsheets are automatically updated. Links to database mailing lists. Automatic document saving at timed intervals. Use with more than 200 printers.
Requirements: IBM or compatible computer with MS-DOS or OS/2 operating system, at least 384 kilobytes of memory and two floppy drives or, preferably, a hard disk. Graphics display required to preview pages.
Publisher: Microsoft Corp., 16011 Northeast 36th Way, Redmond, Wash. 98073-9717. Phone: (206) 882-8080.
