Re: WordPerfect Advice

[Marilynne Smith <mrsmith -at- CTS -dot- COM>]

At 08:52 AM 3/14/96 CST, Carl Rudorf wrote:
>TO Marilynne Smith (with empathy):

>I have been using WordPerfect to create end-user documents for years. Yes, the
>Master Doc feature is poorly designed. Currently I'm using WP 6.1 DOS (I tried
>6.1 Windows, but failed to get it to run under OS/2).
=================================================
My reply
No matter what anyone says, WordPerfect isn't compatible with OS/2.  Until
they make a special OS/2 version, I'm not going to attempt it.  (and I'm not
holding my breath waiting for it.)
=====================================================
Carl says
<snip>
One significant flaw in the design is that when you generate ToC, CRefs
>, & Ndx the procedure invariably looks for an Index Concordance file. In other
>words, even if you don't specify a path/file name when defining the index, the
>Generate procedure looks for one.
====================================================
I'm using a concordance file.  It's a bit over enthusiastic, but for my
purposes, it works.
===========================================
Carl says
<snip>
 Additionally, when the moon and stars are
>finally in alignment and you succeed (!), you're apt to discover the procedure
>has thrown out spurious hard returns, thereby destroying your page layout.
============================
My reply
Are you forcing a new page or using a hard page break?  I'm having problems
with page breaks I didn't ask for and can't delete.
============================
Carl says
>The strategy I've developed over time is ugly and time consuming. In essence, I
>create an index and ToC for each chapter and then compile the information
>"manually" for the entire document.
<snip>
====================================
My reply
Yes, this will help solve the problem.  We only have a few months to do the
documentation, I need a quick solution.
====================================
Carl says
>WordPerfect has been no help whatsoever on this front. Indeed, tech support
reps
>have told me that -- unofficially -- my attempts to create documents that
exceed
>500k are foolhardy. Gee, maybe I'm using the wrong tools.
=====================================
My reply
Are they saying that the customer is wrong?  <grin>  I gave up on help desks
after getting *help* from a major company that brought my computer to its
knees.  I just kept doing what they told me to do until the machine barely
worked.  At this point I was told I had all the *free* help I was going to
get and would have to start paying for it.  The end result of the discussion
that followed was that I received a personal customer support person who saw
to it that I had the help I needed to get my machine up and running again.
For a while it looked like they might need to send someone out to work on
the machine (it was my home machine).

If I was asked what tools I needed to do this job, I'd pick BookMaster or
Frame.  However, as is common, they just told me that I was doing the
documentation in WordPerfect.  (After all, the secretary does really nice
letters using WordPerfect.)
=====================================
Carl says
<snip>
>Thankfully, the boys in the front office here at TinkerTronics (sic) bought my
>proposal to upgrade to Frame 5.1. Let's see if their hype holds up to scrutiny
>-- or just a couple large, complex documents requiring a comprehensive index.
>Good luck.
================================
My reply
I've heard that the learning curve on Frame is a bit long, but the effort is
worth it.  I've tinkered with it and found it pretty agreeable.  Hope that
holds true for you.

Thanks for the help.

Marilynne
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Marilynne Smith
mrsmith -at- cts -dot- com
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