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BobMac
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New to Nisus

Post by BobMac »

Like everyone in the world I got mad at Word just one time too many, so I checked around and Nisus certainly topped the list of suggested replacements.

As a newbie I've only run into two questions and one "don't like" so far. The first question is how to change the default document title of "untitled" so it automatically contains the first few words of the document when the document is first saved. That was one of the few things I liked about Word. Of course the title should still be highlighted as it is in both programs so it can be instantly changed if needed. Is there any way to change the Nisus default "untitled" so it does this?

I'd also like to be able to open a new document to a default of a full page ("Draft View"). Can I achieve this?

A huge majority of the time I copy and paste with the keyboard, as do most people. But occasionally I do it from the menu and find I have to go to a sub-menu of both Copy and Paste. Seems a waste of time, though admittedly very minor. I'd like to see Copy on a line, then Copy... with the choices on the next line.

Thanks,
BobMac
dshan
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Saving Files Etc.

Post by dshan »

If you set your NWX preferences to automatically save documents to the document manager ("Preferences"->"General"->"Autosave:" and check "keep new documents in document manager withouts asking me") they will be saved there with a document name based on the contents of the document (i.e. the first sentence or so). However, if you wish to save your documents to a specific location manually using Save as... or shift-cmd-s then Untitled is the default document name and Untitled.rtf is the default filename; these cannot be changed.

To open new documents in draft view go to "Preferences"->"New Document" and set "View: Draft View" using the drop-down.
BobMac
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Location: South Carolina, USA

Post by BobMac »

All of life should be so easy. Thanks very much.

For the developers: these should be a bit more obvious. It really does pay to write dialogue boxes for the LCD, especially when marketing a product as a more intuitive and easier alternative to MSWord.

Thanks again.
BobMac
rmark
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Post by rmark »

Your first question was answered well.

Regarding you problem with Copy from the submenu…

You can simply choose Copy without selecting any of the submenu commands.

Did you try this and it did not work?
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Mark Hurvitz
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scottwhitlock
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Intuitive vs. Doing It Like Word...

Post by scottwhitlock »

Bob,

I think these are very intuitive, IMHO. However, a lot of people accuse software makers (especially word processors) of not being intuitive simply because the software doesn't work the way Word does. There is a difference. For example of true unintuitive software, look no further than Apple Pages (or actually Microsoft Word itself). Pages does not work like Word and it constantly gets in your way as well because it doesn't act like a word processor (mainly because it isn't). See also Mellel.

Nisus, much like Mariner Write (which I believe is the MOST intuitive word processor for the Mac but has its own problems), has a learning curve, but not a very steep one. Document Manager is a feature, and not a very complicated one at that, and is actually very intuitive, and is set in the Preferences. Setting the default view in Preferences is what every Mac program should do (and mostly does). The first thing I do with any program is check there, and Nisus's preferences are very well thought out and effective.

If it only takes you about three minutes to be completely productive in a program (and maybe three days to learn the intricancies), I would say that it is a completely intuitive program. Nisus is one of those programs.

Scott
Mark XM
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Re: Intuitive vs. Doing It Like Word...

Post by Mark XM »

scottwhitlock wrote:I think these are very intuitive, IMHO. However, a lot of people accuse software makers (especially word processors) of not being intuitive simply because the software doesn't work the way Word does.
I would modify that statement slightly, with experience of the various threads on this forum: "... people accuse software makers of not being intuitive simply because the software doesn't work the way the software they have been using hitherto does."

While I agree that, very frequently, that has been Word, there have, for instance, been examples of people on this forum being very frustrated because NWE doesn't work exactly like Nisus Classic.

I agree with you; to me NWE is very intuitive, though I also agree with someone on another thread who said that while NWE's approach to styles is very intuitive, it breaks down somewhat with list numbering which is a bit confusing. And yes there are features I would like to see, and yes there may be bugs--I encountered a very odd problem recently which I will forward to Martin ... it was to do with list numbering and language setting, as it happens. Apart from that, I find NWE the most intuitive word processor I've ever used.

Mark
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scottwhitlock
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Re: Intuitive vs. Doing It Like Word...

Post by scottwhitlock »

Mark XM wrote:
I also agree with someone on another thread who said that while NWE's approach to styles is very intuitive, it breaks down somewhat with list numbering which is a bit confusing.

Mark
That was me as well. I just wrote another long post about it in response to Martin.
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Mark XM
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Re: Intuitive vs. Doing It Like Word...

Post by Mark XM »

scottwhitlock wrote:
Mark XM wrote:
I also agree with someone on another thread who said that while NWE's approach to styles is very intuitive, it breaks down somewhat with list numbering which is a bit confusing.

Mark
That was me as well. I just wrote another long post about it in response to Martin.
Yes, I've just seen that, as I had written a post to that thread too a short while ago. I'll be interested to see Martin's reply to our posts in that thread.

Mark
BobMac
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LCD Intuitive

Post by BobMac »

Indeed, clicking Copy on the drop down does copy, but it didn't look like it did because a sub-menu opened which also had a Copy entry (with the keyborad shortcut). Granted that this is very minor and can be learned in about a second. I believe it would be better to make the path shorter the very common and straightforward Copy (no sub-menu) by moving the copy with shortcut into the previous menu, above a copy (ellipsis) which leads to the sub-menu. A very small refinement but why not?

Paste, however, does require the sub-menu as noted above. I believe it would be better if it followed the Copy and Copy... method of dual entries in the first menu per above.

Scott, I agree that people may be disappointed in some way that a new program doesn't work the way an old program works. But if you're going to present a common feature in a different way you have to have a better (quicker, more intuitive) solution.

The perfect software, to my mind, is an app that someone who is a computer newbie can open and use without ever looking at a manual, yet has power user features. I can see developers roll their eyes at this and I don't blame them. It's probably asking for the impossible.

Part of my job is to make things easy for people so they'll do business with us. I focus on making the difficult, obtuse, vague, and complex into something simple and attractive. The one thing I have to tell graphics, copy, and sales people over and over is "Make it easy to buy." So I'm probably more tuned to this and more critical than most. I didn't have time to screw around with Word any more, but then I don't really have time to sit down and read another software manual either.

Now I have a Nisus Documents folder where all my new documents are saved without a save dialogue box that lets me save them to folders within that folder (or even a little blip that says they were saved). There's probably a way to let me save to sub-folders.
And OSX already gives me a Documents folder where I've been saving my text. Off the top of my head it doesn't appear to be an improvement to now have two doc folders, but I'm sure there's some logic to it and some weekend when I have time to check out the Help, etc. I'll know what it is.

This discussion, because of its focus, sounds more negative than the reality. I like the app, would suggest it to friends, am sure I'll like it more when I know more about it, and it's already more appealing than Word.

Thanks for the responses.
BobMac
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scottwhitlock
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Re: LCD Intuitive

Post by scottwhitlock »

BobMac wrote:Paste, however, does require the sub-menu as noted above. I believe it would be better if it followed the Copy and Copy... method of dual entries in the first menu per above.
BobMac,

Actually Paste works the same way as Copy. You can simply click it and it pastes. Just like Copy you have other options if you need them in the menu. I agree that this is a bit confusing at first (but not that confusing really), but it pays off in dividends once you do figure this out, especially when you want to copy just the text or some other more complex operation. Your method would have you click Copy... or Paste..., which would inevitably open a dialogue box, which would require you to move your mouse to a dialogue box in the middle of your screen and and then make your selection, much like Word's Paste Special... Nisus' method is "Click Paste, move mouse to operation in Paste menu which is right where you clicked..."

The problem with so many first level menu items is that they suddenly overwhelm the eye (the Format menu in Nisus borders on this). Thus, what you gain in explicitness suddenly is lost in having to search for the command you want.

I agree with you, however, about Document Manager, which I have never found a way to work with, really. But like any good program, Nisus does not force the issue at all. You can easily turn it off in the preferences, and then suddenly Nisus works like any other program, with Save Dialogues galore.

Scott
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