Desired NWP1.2 Features

Everything related to our flagship word processor.
Scotjohn
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Re: Desired NWP1.2 Features

Post by Scotjohn »

I used to like dropped capitals in some of the booklets I produced
"Even a lie is a psychic fact." Carl Jung (1875 -1961)
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greenmorpher
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Re: Desired NWP1.2 Features

Post by greenmorpher »

Groucho

If you worked in the best outliner the Mac has ever seen -- MORE 3.1 -- you would see it was like that. The headings were at one level, and the body text in separate windows which opened within the main window or separately.

It was like a database.

Cheers, Geoff

Geoffrey Heard, Business Writer & Publisher

"Type & Layout: Are you communicating or just making pretty shapes", the secrets of how type can help you to sell or influence, and "How to Start and Produce a magazine or Newsletter", now at the new low price of $29.95. See these books and more at http://www.worsleypress.com or Amazon.
Groucho
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Re: Desired NWP1.2 Features

Post by Groucho »

It's a pretty old application, Geoff. I had to google for it.
Anyway I acknowledge that, NWP being an all-purpose wordprocessor, it must perforce be a little of everything and find a balance point. Programs like MORE and JNW are specifically designed to make very few things, instead. JNW, for example, is all about writing novels and short stories. It does not even have a WYSIWYG view.

Cheers, Henry.
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greenmorpher
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Re: Desired NWP1.2 Features

Post by greenmorpher »

Could the outline view in the WP module of AppleWorks collapse to just the heads? I have a notion it could.

Cheers, Geoff

Geoffrey Heard, Business Writer & Publisher

"Type & Layout: Are you communicating or just making pretty shapes", the secrets of how type can help you to sell or influence, and "How to Start and Produce a magazine or Newsletter", now at the new low price of $29.95. See these books and more at http://www.worsleypress.com or Amazon.
Groucho
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Re: Desired NWP1.2 Features

Post by Groucho »

No, it could not. Word had a structure view (or something of the kind) with collapsible sections. Version 2001, at least, the last I used.

Henry
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martin
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Re: Desired NWP1.2 Features

Post by martin »

Elbrecht wrote:PS: I have a couple of Futura font versions installed and some seem to work, while others don't. So looks like it would work by now - it's more like finding out what fonts will do the job on most recent Leopard/Nisus Writer running Intel machines...

Martin help!
Unfortunately I don't have much information to add on this- we haven't made any changes to the hyphenation capabilities of NWP. It may be that Apple's text system under Leopard allows for additional hyphenation options for certain fonts, which we would automatically benefit from.
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Elbrecht
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Re: Desired NWP1.2 Features

Post by Elbrecht »

Hi Martin -

Soft HYphenation did change with Leopard - I don't need [SHY] myself, so please anyone in need check out for himself! The layouter's SHY is different from Unicode's - but with Leopard Apple seems to serve the rest of us doing layout just fine now!

I did a simple text line in Nisus Writer Pro 1.1:
"Hello - why should sof­thypen still disfun­cti­on?"

There are [SHY]s included - showing only when line actually breaks - for me and my fonts. Anyone try for himself? Lucida Grande should do anyway - try your favourites then. I guess it is a new AAT/OT feature coming with Leopard and only working with more recent or strictly standards conform fonts - but that's a wide range to check...

HE
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mythusmage
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Re: Desired NWP1.2 Features

Post by mythusmage »

I've been auditioning layout apps such as Swift Publisher and RagTime and it occurred to me, considering how much layout apps and word processors overlap, what about a publishing app? It would combine the capabilities of Nisus Writer Pro and RagTime in one package. A grid for precise placement of objects and text. Frames for sidebars and the like.

A feature of OSX I like is Services. I'd like to see NWP offer Services one could use with other apps.

Just stray thinking.
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Re: Desired NWP1.2 Features

Post by Agnostus »

I don't know...

In I way I might say that I use NWP just because it does not try to be everything, including a layout app. What I use NWP for is writing manuscripts that are then sent off to journals for publication (hopefully). That means I don't do any layout myself. What I need is a strong, traditional wordprocessor. NWP currently is pretty good at just that, and I don't know if I would want the good folks at Nisus spent resources on expanding into other fields like DTP. I know, it is currently seen everywhere. RagTime is btw a very old example of that approach. I have worked with RagTime for years, even written (and typeset) a thesis in it. Great app in many ways, but not the ideal tool for my needs (manuscript preparation). The same can be said about Pages, which basically seems to follow the RagTime approach (though, so far, the spreadsheet is not built in). Now, even Word has added a frame oriented layout mode like RagTime and Pages. Given that these apps already exist as options if you are looking for a hybrid, I'd rather see Nisus continue to focus on word processing. The thing is that, apart from Nisus and Redlers (Mellel), there don't seem to be that many developers left that do just that.

And if I really do need to do layout, I write in Nisus and then do the layout in iCalamus.

Martin
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Elbrecht
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Re: Desired NWP1.2 Features

Post by Elbrecht »

mythusmage wrote:...what about a publishing app?
Again -

just
(1) Vertical Ruler and
(2) Graphic Layer, please -
would do for me...

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greenmorpher
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Re: Desired NWP1.2 Features

Post by greenmorpher »

An interesting little WP/Office/Publishing app is Papyrus out of Germany. It's cross-platform and on Mac, Carbon.

Given the capabilities built into OS X, I am pretty amazed that there seems to be no integrated app. -- I would have expected something like a junior Canvas (my graphics and layout app of choice; totally integrated interface, everything on the same page, but now discontinued for Mac) to burst on the scene at any moment. But no.

I presume Pages is heading that way, but it sure is taking a long time about it.

I'm interested in that kind of app. not a Cocoa Office.

In the interim, I would suggest that NWPro should either continue to do what it is currently doing very nicely -- make itself into a top notch "WP-only" with plenty of Linkback partners, OR go the whole hog and exploit OS X to the full to produce a truly complete, integrated application like Canvas (which I use every day) or RagTime (which I have dabbled with for close to 20 years but, frustratingly, have never been able to grok).

Cheers, Geoff

Geoffrey Heard, Business Writer & Publisher

"Type & Layout: Are you communicating or just making pretty shapes", the secrets of how type can help you to sell or influence, and "How to Start and Produce a magazine or Newsletter", now at the new low price of $29.95. See these books and more at http://www.worsleypress.com or Amazon.
mythusmage
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Re: Desired NWP1.2 Features

Post by mythusmage »

Well, as an alternative to a grand, integrated publishing app, what about a bare bones layout app? All it handles is layout. You do typing and basic formatting in NWP, then export to the layout app to finish up the work. Or, use layout through Services.
Agnostus
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Re: Desired NWP1.2 Features

Post by Agnostus »

@mythusmage: that is exactly what I use iCalamus for

http://www.icalamus.net
zwick_genetics
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Re: Desired NWP1.2 Features

Post by zwick_genetics »

1. Better integration of figures with legends. The ability to flow text around a table would solve the problem for me. A 2X1 table could include the figure in the top cell and the legend below, and allow you to resize both from within the Nisus Document. Perhaps a graphic layer like in the old NisusWriter (it has been a while since I used it - but I remember writing grants and that it worked far better than the MSW alternative).

2. A method of handling track changes from MSW.

3. Ability to see more than one page at a time on your screen. Ideally, be able to split the document so that it is easier to examine and/or cut/paste from different parts of long documents.

4. And of course, better integration with Endnote.

I think #1 and #2 are critical upgrade, #3 less so (but the current implementation is annoying when working with large documents). I think if these changes were made, I think many scientists like myself would be able to use Nisus fully to format NIH grants. I imagine that there would be a lot of interest in switching from MSW, given the general level of frustration with using MSW. The NIH is about to change their electronic submission to a new .pdf based form format - but I have not seen the structure of these forms. In any case, the current system is certainly less dependent upon MSW documents, and it appears that future grants are going to become even less dependent upon using any specific word processor. It might be an opportunity for Nisus to expand their market share.

Cheers,

Mike
thewolfgang
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Re: Desired NWP1.2 Features

Post by thewolfgang »

1. I'd like to see the ability to send text to NWP through Services, either to start a new document or to append to an open or existing one.

2. An integrated "cheat sheet," like KeyCue provides, so that I could see all the menu choices. NWP is so rich that it's easy to go months or years without discovering some fabulous feature.

LV
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