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Subject:Re: WordPerfect (Ugh!) From:Yvonne Harrison <yvonne -at- IHUG -dot- CO -dot- NZ> Date:Fri, 6 Dec 1996 06:17:24 +1200
Hi ya all - -
[snip]
> WordPerfect is by far the worst DTP program I have ever used.
> WordPerfect is the kind of program that once someone suffers
> through the agony of learning it well, they are not apt to let go.
> I can't blame them; they've invested too much blood, sweat, and
> tears. However, someone's current addiction does not justify
> encouraging others to suffer such trials.
Aaahhhhh come on Mike, ya big wussy! WordPerfect is a manly DTP program for
manly men. It'll put hairs on your chest - it certainly put them on mine :-)
> In particular, the fact that one has to look at the formatting
> codes and remove formatting tags manually, much like an HTML
> document, in order to achieve the desired text or paragraph format,
> reveals much about the deficiencies of WordPerfect.
And now for an history lesson about word processing programs... The first
manual I ever wrote was using WordPerfect 5.0 for *DOS*. At the time, those
formatting tags came in damn handy. Because believe me - Microsoft's version
of Word at the time was a huge dog. For many years WP was the best and only
program to use. If you made a mistake in your document it was actually
incredibly handy to be able to just go to the code and remove it. Since
things have gone to GUI the tags have become a little redundant.
> The U.S. federal government is a big user of WordPerfect. If that
> doesn't explain why you should avoid it...I don't know what to
> tell you.
It used to the be power word processor. Although my die hard friend who is a
big fan of WordPerfect still swears that it's better than Word. Apparently
it handles watermarks and other more creative aspects better... (She made
her own calenders to give to friends using WP).
> I have gripes about all of the DTP programs I've used, but they
> each have their place, except WordPerfect. The sooner it goes away,
> the better off we'll all be.
Actually, I'd like to nominate something I consider worse than WordPerfect or
Word. AmiPro.... Ack! (Yvonne hacks up a furball). Oh yeah, and Interleaf
for DOS can be a real nightmare to use at times...