TechWhirl (TECHWR-L) is a resource for technical writing and technical communications professionals of all experience levels and in all industries to share their experiences and acquire information.
For two decades, technical communicators have turned to TechWhirl to ask and answer questions about the always-changing world of technical communications, such as tools, skills, career paths, methodologies, and emerging industries. The TechWhirl Archives and magazine, created for, by and about technical writers, offer a wealth of knowledge to everyone with an interest in any aspect of technical communications.
Subject:Re: A bit more about wp programs. From:Richard Mateosian <srm -at- C2 -dot- ORG> Date:Fri, 2 Sep 1994 22:40:17 -0700
>What do other technical writers think are the advantages of MSWORD
>as opposed to WordPerfect 6.0?
Not having used WordPerfect, I have no opinion about it. One of the best
things about Word for Windows 2 and 6 is its programmability. You can
implement complex packages like RoboHelp, or you can quickly automate a
simple sequence of steps that you perform frequently.
Once upon a time Word's styles were hard to use and unintuitive. Ever since
Word for Windows 2, however, this is no longer true. Similarly, fields and
templates now exist within a clear conceptual model. And Word's
programmability makes all of these features even more powerful.
Word's biggest drawback, up through Word for Windows 2, is its inability to
handle multi-file documents smoothly and automatically. I believe that the
master document feature of Word for Windows 6 is intended to solve that
problem, but I haven't figured out how to use it yet, so I can't comment.
In looking at how Word has improved over the years, especially recently, I
think someone at Microsoft must be listening to users and trying to give
them what they ask for. ...RM
Richard Mateosian srm -at- c2 -dot- org srm -at- radiomail -dot- net (510)540-7745
