Program Does a Little of Everything
Ican’t do eight things at a time, but my Apple Macintosh can--especially when it’s running GreatWorks. The new integrated program from Symantec, (408) 253-9600, lets you do word processing, database, spreadsheet, charting, drawing, painting, outlining and communications.
Integrated software has some advantages and disadvantages compared to regular “stand-alone” software. To begin with, it’s a bargain. Buying separate stand-alone programs that perform all of GreatWorks’ tasks would cost hundreds more than the program’s $299 suggested retail price. The Macintosh version of Microsoft Works--its chief competition--has a suggested price of $295. Actual street prices on most software can be considerably lower.
Integrated software is often easier to use. Once you’ve mastered one module in an integrated program, it’s easier to learn the others. GreatWorks, for example, has what the company calls “core technologies” that use the same procedures to perform similar tasks in each of the modules. For example, each module has a similar text tool to control the font, type size, text color, line spacing and other text attributes. The same 100,000-word spell checker and 660,000-synonym thesaurus are available in the word processor, spreadsheet, draw and database modules. A spell checker and thesaurus are standard for word processing, but they’re not generally included with other types of programs. What’s more, because the modules are integrated, there is no need to waste disk space and memory with separate program code and dictionary files.
The program also makes it easy to share data among modules. You can easily send a form letter to multiple people using data stored in the database. A drawing, painting, graph or spreadsheet can be incorporated into a word processing document. The communications feature can be used to deliver the final document to a remote computer anywhere in the world.
There is also the issue of convenience. Integrated software such as GreatWorks allows you to perform several tasks at a time without having to load in new software. You can have your word processing document in one part of your screen, your database in another and work on a drawing in yet another part of the screen. Switching from one task to another is as simple as using the mouse to move the cursor to another window on the screen.
Integrated programs, as a rule, use less memory and disk space than a suite of stand-alone programs. GreatWorks allows you to simultaneously work with several of its modules even if you’re using a Macintosh Classic with only one megabyte of RAM. Both the Macintosh and MS-DOS machines that run Microsoft Windows are capable of running several stand-alone programs at a time, but they require two or more megabytes of memory.
However, there can be drawbacks to integrated programs. While each of GreatWorks’ modules is reasonably robust, none is as sophisticated as the industrial strength stand-alone products. The spreadsheet, for example, isn’t as sophisticated as Microsoft Excel, and the word processing module doesn’t have as many features as Microsoft Word or WordPerfect. Its communications module is OK but not nearly as powerful as Microphone II.
As a writer who depends on word processing and communications for my living, I prefer more powerful stand-alone programs for those tasks. But the other GreatWorks modules are powerful enough for my modest needs. A professional graphics artist might invest in high-end painting and drawing programs but be perfectly happy with GreatWorks’ word processor. A financial analyst is likely to select a more powerful spreadsheet program.
The inclusion of both drawing and painting tools can be quite useful. Drawing tools allow you to create and manipulate objects such as rectangles, circles, lines and arcs. Painting tools give you the ability to create rich-looking freehand illustrations with electronic brushes, pencils and similar tools. Having both painting and drawing in one program gives you the best of both worlds because you can apply the appropriate tool to different elements of an illustration and use the Mac’s copy and paste feature to bring them together.
GreatWorks’ outliner makes it possible to create hierarchical documents with topics that relate to each other. Details within an outline can be displayed or hidden, and it’s easy to move topics up or down as the outline changes. The database allows you to create expandable fields that hold relatively large amounts of text. You can use the graphic tools and color to dress up the screen and reports.
GreatWorks offers considerably more features than its chief competitor, Microsoft Works. The Mac version of Microsoft Works 2.0 comes with word processing, spreadsheet, database, communications, charting and drawing modules but lacks painting, outlining and offers less integration between modules. Still, it’s an excellent program that has stood the test of time. The MS-DOS version of Microsoft Works, which lists for $149, has the same features as the Mac version minus the drawing feature.
Computer File welcomes comments but regrets that the author cannot respond to letters. Write to Lawrence J. Magid, P.O. Box 620477, Woodside, Calif. 94062, or contact the L. Magid account on the MCI electronic mail system.
