WordPerfect Feedback & Addenda

• WordPerfect Feedback and Useful Addenda
• Seagate Barracuda Hard Drive Woes
• Quiet Fans
• Cat Haters, Control Freaks, and Toilet Paper

WordPerfect Feedback and Useful Addenda

Last week's column, High-End Word Processing for a Low-End Price: Free, was the second most popular Miscellaneous Ramblings since the column moved to Low End Mac in September 1999.

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From Scott Atkinson
Subject: re: WP

Charles;

As usual, very, very good.

I use both Nisus and WP, and prefer both to Word.

Best,
Scott Atkinson

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From John Rethorst
Subject: WordPerfect article

Hi Charles,

Thanks for your article about WordPerfect on Low End Mac. Nice to help spread the word. I wanted to point out a few inaccuracies in this paragraph:

Missing in WordPerfect are integrated outlining, character styles, and the extremely useful true glossaries found in Word and Nisus Writer.

The last version of WP has an integrated outliner, one that's been called the best outlining available for the Mac, equaling More 3.1. This began as a set of freeware macros I wrote for earlier program versions; in version 3.5e they were integrated into the program by WP development in Utah. When Corel in Ottawa subsequently released the free download, they made the mistake of adding back the macros from an earlier program release. The Outlining Fix that accompanies the OS 8/9 updater just deletes the macros, removing the conflict (i.e., same keystrokes) with the integrated commands.

It's still not an integrated outliner in the sense that one document can be moved back and forth from outlining to text mode, as does MS Word. A WP outline can automatically be converted to text, though.

Since it's a later addition, the enhanced outliner did not replace the primitive paragraph-numbering feature found on the Tools menu. Instead, it's available on the Outlining Button Bar - not a menu bar as shown in your screen shot, but the kind displayed when you choose Show Button Bar from the Layout menu. Then from the popup menu at the icon at the top of that bar, showing up and down arrows, choose Outlining Bar.

For a quick overview of the enhanced outlining commands, click the Help button at the bottom of the bar, and choose Quick Start, Ready Reference, and Command Overview. Full documentation is available at Info-Mac's text/wp directory and the ftp site of the mailing list host, ftp.r8ix.com/wp_stuff.

A large part of character style functionality was added to version 3.5e, called SpeedStyles (on the Font menu bar). These styles apply at the character level, but existing style applications don't update when the style definition is revised. That functionality is available, though, in my Auto Character Styles macro set, free at the web sites mentioned above. A capable text glossary, UltraClip, is available too.

Also, while the screen shot shows the full range of tools on the menu bars, I wonder if it's clear to most users that any or all of the bars can be hidden with one keystroke for a larger work area and less cluttered appearance. Any combination of the bars can also be set to open with each new document.

I hope you can add these updates. Thanks again for your article.

Regards,
John Rethorst

Thanks for your comments, John.

I confess that I was working partly from notes from a review I wrote of a former version of WP, although I do have a copy of WP 3.5e on my hard drive and used it for several days while I was writing the review. Outliners are not something I have ever gotten into for my own work, although I know that many people swear by them.

Charles

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From Winston Weinmann
Subject: WordPerfect Patch

Thanks for the tip on WordPerfect 3.5e. I have been using WordPerfect for years. I am especially looking forward to getting scrolling under control on my G3.

Two questions:

1) Why did you not mention the WP Patch? The abstract sounds like it would be useful. Is this patch already included in the version at Corel? (Also, the CD mentioned sounds interesting.)

Abstract of INFO-MAC archived encoded Mac binary file text/wp/wordperfect-35e-patch.hqx

This patch for WordPerfect 3.5e does three things:

1. makes the application incredibly stable.

2. adds several commands to the enhanced outlining.

3. fixes every bug that WP and a fine group of beta testers could find in nearly three months of testing.

It patches WP 3.5e, but not earlier versions (the CD with 3.5e, several hundred TrueType fonts, a ton of clip art, etc., is available for about $25 to every registered owner of WP 3.5 and later. That's available at 800-772-6735).

To install the patch, move or rename your Library first. Run the patch, and then copy your macros, keyboards, button bars etc. from the old Library to the new. Do not copy any outlining macros, as updated outlining commands have been incorporated into the program itself.

The patch is free.

Thanks,
John Rethorst

2) If I have DataViz's MacLinkPlus (v.10) and also the commercial version WP 3.5, is there any advantage to the conversions download?

Thanks,
Winston Weinmann

Thanks for the info.

I wasn't aware of this patch.

I'm guessing that MacLinkPlus has most of your file translation bases covered, but the WP Converter is free, so what the hey? ;-)

Charles

Seagate Barracuda Hard Drive Woes

From Wilfredo Garcia
Subject: SuperMac Seagate Trouble

Hi.

I saw your posting on Low End Mac and wanted to respond, because I just added a 4 GB Seagate Barracuda SCSI drive to my SuperMac C500LT. I installed externally in a case and could get it to work fine and even use it as the start up drive until I installed FWB Hard Disk Toolkit 4.0 on the Barracuda.

Then it would start up, display the desktop and then freeze. As soon as I uninstalled Hard Disk Toolkit app and extension, the drive worked fine again. I don't know which software you might've had installed on the your drive but maybe my experience might help! :-) Good luck!

Best Regards,
Will

Hi Will;

I gave the Seagate to my son for his SE/30 CD burner rig, and replaced it with a Quantum 4 GB drive. Since then the S900 has been behaving very well. I have to guess that the Seagate drive was the main culprit all along.

I had it formatted with Apple's Drive Setup.

Charles

Quiet Fans

From Martin
Subject: Quiet PowerMac

Hi!

I was hoping you may be able to assist me. I have a Beige PowerMac G3 with 500 MHz Newer Tech accelerator card. I want a silent Mac for my Music Studio. Do you know of anyone who can supply a replacement power/fan unit for the one inside my Mac?

- many thanks.

Martin

Hi Martin;

Good question. I don't know of any specifically. Fans are noisy mainly because of their basic function.

Replacing the one you have with a new one might quiet things down a little.

The current iMacs, iBooks, and Cubes are fanlessly quiet, and the fan rarely cuts in on PowerBooks.

Can anyone suggest a source of quiet fans for Martin?

Charles

Cat Haters

From Nick F.
Subject: Cat haters

Dear CW,

People who hate cats are generally those with a need to control (typically eldest siblings) - and cats are the very embodiment of uncontrollability.

People who like the toilet paper to hang next to the wall are simply retentive, in that they don't like "loose ends" just hanging around. Their retentiveness takes precedence over all functionality requirements, hence though it is self-evident that having the paper hanging to present itself to the user (i.e., non-wall side), they would still rather inconvenience themselves (and everyone else). On the other hand, maybe they're just thick (as likely).

Regards
Nick F.

Hello Nick;

For the record, I like cats, am not smitten with dogs, am an eldest sibling, and orient the toilet paper to roll from the top/outside.

I have control freak tendencies, but life has taught me to be in control; not striving to control.

Best,
Charles