Re: Re. WYSIWYG vs. tags

["<Pam Owen>" <powen -at- MAIL2 -dot- LMI -dot- ORG>]

     Geoff Hart writes:


     "Here's another note on the WHYSIWYG vs. tag-based
     editors thread. One thing I absolutely love about
     WordPerfect is the "reveal codes" (tags) window.
     I've long since stopped counting the number of
     times I used it to discover and delete a strange
     formatting code that I could never see or debug in
     any other software. Marvelous feature, and
     thoroughly indispensible. WYSIWYG can be more
     efficient in creating the tags, but there are times
     when you simply can't understand and solve a
     problem without viewing the tags."

     After years of doing writing, editing, and desktop
     publishing on a consulting basis, using various
     word-processing packages, I've come to truly loathe
     "WordImperfect." Those codes that you like so much
     are easily deleted accidentally, sending the user on
     an often fruitless search to find the start (or end)
     code that has now reformatted a significant section
     of the document. In Word, you block text and you
     format it. The formatting is embedded in the text, so
     codes can't get blown off, and I've never had a
     problem "unformatting" text (hit CTRL-SPACEBAR).

     My consulting firm typically works with large,
     complex documents, and I've also experienced, on a
     daily basis, WordImperfect for Windows' penchant not
     only for locking up, but scrambling or losing the
     file in the process. IMHO, It's a big, volatile
     resource-hog that often takes numberable steps to do
     what Word does in one or two. While the WordImperfect
     for Windows 6.1 upgrade has a lot of great features,
     they're only great when they work, which, in my
     experience, is not often (at least not without
     crashing the system). Importing WordImperfect
     documents into other applications has also produced
     innumerable nightmares.

     I and my two partners refuse to take on clients who
     need documents delivered in WP. We tell them that
     we're happy to accept the document in WP, but we'll
     only deliver it in Word or a designated DTP package.

     This is not a question of which package I learned
     first and am, therefore, married to. I started on a
     dedicated word processor, moved on to WordStar, then
     to WP, then to Word, then to Ami Pro (which one - and
     only one - of my clients' uses). I believe Word,
     while far from perfect, is the best. Microsoft may be
     run by a megomaniac and have a lousy track record on
     delivering on its promises, but this is one product
     that does deliver.

     Whew! Glad I got that rant out!


     Pam Owen
     Nighthawk Communications
     Reston, VA
     Nighthawk1 -at- aol -dot- com & powen -at- lmi -dot- org