Re: Word/Weird

[Dianne Blake <write-it -at- home -dot- com>]

Kari Kristine Gulbrandsen wrote:
 
Just curious, why does everybody hate Word?  Granted, I have run into
some problems with it-- but nothing that I couldn't work around or do
differently.

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I don't actually hate Word, I just get frustrated about what I have to
do to get it to do what I want, instead of what it wants. Having been a
WordPerfect user where you can keystroke almost everything, it is a bit
of a hassle when Word forces you to use a mouse and then drill down on
several dialog boxes before you can get your work done.

For example, in WP, I can use a couple of keystrokes to create a new
header or footer, and then move on.  In Word, I have to create sections,
and then link or unlink them from other headers and footers. I have to
do this through a series of mouse and toolbar choices. I think I've
finally mastered section breaks and headers and footers, but what a
hassle.

Anchoring images/graphics in Word is also one of the more frustrating
things I have to deal with daily. I still haven't mastered this skill
yet.

In WordPerfect, I can create a table, I can create formulas, and then I
can lock down cells. Locking down specific cells keeps users from
accidentally overwriting column and row titles, and they don't have to
look at the cell first before typing. 

I can then reference tables and cells by names, and use this information
in macros to make decisions, or copy the information into other places
of the document.  Word has no cell lock ability (if it does, someone
please let me know - I need it desparately) or you have to use the form
features which really don't do what I need them to do.

In WP I use to use columns to do a lot of my work.  I could create
Newspaper, Balanced Newspaper, Parallel, and Parallel with Block
Protect.  In Word you get Newspaper and Balanced Newspaper.  But the
tool I used the most was the Parallel and Parallel with Block Protect.
To create the same effect in Word, I have to create a table, and it
doesn't have the same flexibility that the columns have.

In Word, all your formatting is hidden in the Paragraph marks and
Section Breaks.  In WordPerfect, the codes are all visible through the
Reveal Codes" feature.  I know it might sound petty, but I've been able
to better debug documents using this feature.  With Word, - well - it
isn't as easy.

It also seems like writing macros and creating templates is a lot easier
in WP also. So, although I'm an advanced Word user, I find that it just
takes longer to do what I need or want to do at any given time.

That said, I know that WP doesn't seem as stable as Word, but I think it
is because the product is more flexible.

Hope this helps.

Dianne Blake
write-it -at- home -dot- com