BACKGROUND A word-processing program helps you write and edit sentences and paragraphs. Whatever you're writing and editing (such as a business letter, report, magazine article, or book) is called the document. Remember that a word-processing program is mainly for manipulating sentences and paragraphs. To manipulate pretty drawings, get a graphics program; to manipulate a table of numbers, get a spreadsheet program; to manipulate a list of names (such as a list of your customers), get a database program. To use a word-processing program, put your fingers on the keyboard. Type the sentences and paragraphs that make up your document. They appear on the screen. Edit them by using special keys on the keyboard. Then make the computer send the document to the printer, so the document appears on paper. You can also make the computer copy the document onto a disk, which will store the document for many years. How ``word processing'' was invented The first computers ever invented were used mainly to manipulate lists of numbers, names, and addresses. Those manipulations were called data-processing (DP). Computer centers were called data-processing centers (DP centers). Each center was run by a team of programmers and administrators called the data-processing department (DP department). Most of those old computer systems were complicated, expensive, and unreliable. They needed large staffs to provide continuous repairs, reprogramming, and supervision. They were bureaucratic and technological nightmares. The term ``data-processing'' got a bad reputation. Secretaries who wanted to write and edit reports preferred to use simple typewriters, rather than deal with the dreaded ``data-processing department''. When easy-to-use word-processing programs were finally invented for computers, secretaries were afraid to try them because computers had developed a scary reputation. The last thing a secretary wanted was a desktop computer, which the secretary figured would mean ``desktop trouble''. That's why the term ``word-processing'' was invented. Wang, IBM, and other manufacturers said to the secretaries, ``We know you don't like computers and data-processing equipment. But don't worry: the machines we want to put on your desks are not computers; they're just souped-up typewriters. You like typewriters, right? Then you'll like these cute little machines also. We call them word processors. Don't worry: they're not data-processing equipment; they're not computers.'' The manufacturers were lying: their desktop machines were computers. To pretend they weren't computers, the manufacturers called them word processors and omitted any software dealing with numbers or lists. The trick worked: secretaries acquired word processors, especially the Wang Word Processor and the IBM Displaywriter. Today, secretaries are less afraid of computers. Most secretaries use IBM PC clones, which they know are computers, and use word-processing programs for those computers. Three definitions of ``word processor'' Strictly speaking, a ``word processor'' means ``a computer (usually desktop) whose main purpose is to do word processing''. But some people use the term ``word processor'' to mean ``a word-processing program'' or ``a typist doing word processing''. In advertisements, an ``$800 word processor'' is a machine; a ``$300 word processor'' is a program you feed to a computer; a ``$12-per-hour word processor'' is a typist who knows about word processing. Which program to buy Which word-processing program should you buy? The answer depends on your personal needs and desires. Here are the major competitors. . . . Microsoft Word Microsoft Word is the fanciest word-processing program. It includes more features than any other word-processing program. You'll be amazed at all the fancy tricks it can perform! It's available for the Mac and the IBM PC. Nearly everybody who uses a Mac uses Microsoft Word. It's become the standard in the Mac community. The Mac magazines all recommend Microsoft Word, without exception. If you have an IBM PC, you can buy either a DOS version or a Windows version. The Windows version runs better. The DOS version should be ignored. The Windows version of Microsoft Word will probably thrill you. Though it's officially called ``Microsoft Word for Windows'', it's nicknamed Winword. The newest version, Winword 6a, is called ``the best word-processing program'' by nearly all the IBM and Windows magazines. (Version 6a eliminates the errors that occurred in version 6.) But though version 6.0a gets glowing reviews, it annoys folks like me for the following reasons. . . . Though it runs in 4 megabytes of RAM, it needs 8 megabytes of RAM to run quickly. It consumes 25 megabytes of your hard disk if you want to use all the fancy features the critics rave about. It also wants about 10 extra megabytes of free space to store temporary files, where the program makes notes to itself about what you're doing. Since the program consumes too much RAM and hard-disk space, it's called fatware. If you have just 4 megabytes of RAM instead of 8, the program tries to make 4 megabytes of your hard drive pretend to be 4 megabytes of extra RAM, and the program spends most of its time waiting for the hard drive to spin. The program runs too slowly on a 386 CPU. For the program to run well, you need a 486 or Pentium. The program requires that your AUTOEXEC.BAT file contain a line saying ``lh share /L:500 /f:5100''. Alas, that line slows down every access your computer makes to your hard disk, so your computer runs slow as molasses even when you're using different programs and even when you're not using Windows. What a drag! Windows runs slowly, and Winword runs even slower. Winword runs about the same speed on a 386 as a non-Windows word processor would run on an 8088. Winword runs about the same speed on a 486 as a non-Windows word processor would run on a 286. Winword runs about the same speed on a Pentium as a non-Windows word processor would run on a 386. Cynics say the definition of ``Winword'' is ``a program that turns a 386 into an 8088.'' As the computer-philosopher Herb Grosch remarked back in the 1970's, ``No matter how fast the hardware boys go, the software boys piss it away.'' Magazine reviewers praise Winword and don't mention its fatware problems, since the reviewers are rich folks who have 486 or Pentium computers, 8 megabytes of RAM, and huge hard drives. Many offices still use Winword 2 instead of Winword 6a. Though Winword 2 isn't as fancy as Winword 6a, it has the advantage of running fine on a 386 with just 4M of RAM and a small hard drive. The problems of Winword 6a also apply somewhat to Microsoft Word's Mac version. Though most Mac lovers are content using Microsoft Word for the Mac version 5.1 (which resembles Winword 2), they'll be upset when they upgrade to the forthcoming Microsoft Word for the Mac version 6 and discover it wants more than 4 megabytes of RAM and more hard disk space. Ami Pro The French word for ``friend'' is ami. It's pronounced, ``Ah, me!'' For a word processor that's friendly and professional, get Ami Pro for Windows. Sucking you into the world of desktop publishing, it lets you wiggle your mouse to easily create multiple columns, headlines, drawings, and bar & pie charts. Use it to create eye-popping ads, blaring front pages of newspapers, and whatever else you want to make hot and spicy. Admirers say that ``Ami'' stands for ``Amazing Marvelous Interface''. After you master it, you'll be saying, ``Ah, me: pro!'' It's hassle-free. The current version (3.01) runs fine on a 386 with just 4 megabytes of RAM and a small hard disk. It does not need a ``share'' line in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file. Ami Pro was invented by a company called Samna. Since Ami Pro was so impressive, Lotus bought Samna, so Lotus sells Ami Pro. Back in 1993, the computer magazines all declared Ami Pro the best word-processing program ___ better than Winword 2 in practically every way! When Winword 6 came out, the reviewers said Winword 6 was better than Ami Pro, since Winword 6 included extra-fancy word-processing features, and since the reviewers didn't notice Winword 6 was too fat. When Lotus finishes developing Ami Pro 3.1 (in late 1994) and Ami Pro 4 (in 1995), probably the reviewers will come back to recommending Ami Pro. Reviewers are so fickle! If you use Ami Pro, you must put up with one peculiar nuisance: while you're typing, the characters on the screen quiver slightly to the left and right (by a few hundredths of an inch), as they try to move themselves into perfect position. Their quivering resembles a troupe of drunk belly dancers. If you want to put a mathematical formula in the middle of your document, Ami Pro lets you do so, but Winword 6 lets you do so more easily. Word Perfect Though Microsoft Word is fancy and Ami Pro is pleasant, I used neither to write this book. Instead, I used Word Perfect. That's the word-processing program used in most businesses. Back in 1990, when Microsoft Word and Ami Pro hadn't been fully developed yet, there really wasn't any choice. Word Perfect was the only word-processing program that worked well on IBM-compatible computers. The choice was simple: if you wanted a full-featured word-processing program and your computer was IBM-compatible, you bought Word Perfect; if your computer was a Mac instead, you bought Microsoft Word. After 1990, Word Perfect faced serious competition from Winword and Ami Pro, which both require Windows. If your computer does not have Windows, Word Perfect is still your only choice for a good full-featured word processor. For example, if your computer's CPU is an 8088 or 286, or your RAM is less than 4 megabytes, you can't run Windows well so you should buy Word Perfect. The version of Word Perfect used by most businesses (and mine!) is called Word Perfect 5.1 for DOS. It runs on any IBM-compatible computer having a hard disk and 512K of RAM. If you have a least a 286 CPU with 640K of RAM, that version of Word Perfect runs fast. If you have at least a 386 CPU with 2M of RAM, that version of Word Perfect runs very fast. Even if you have a 486 or Pentium with lots of RAM so you can run Windows well, you should still consider getting Word Perfect 5.1 for DOS instead, since it runs so much faster than any Windows program. Users have two complaints about Word Perfect 5.1 for DOS: Since its commands are hard to remember, you need to keep peeking at a cheat sheet (a sheet of paper containing a list of commands). While you're typing and editing, the screen does NOT show exactly what will appear on paper. For example, if you give a command to make a big, tall headline, the headline WON'T look any bigger or taller than the rest of the text while you're typing; it will look bigger just on paper (or when you tell Word Perfect to show you a print preview, which is an uneditable screen view of what will appear on paper). If you try to put graphics in the middle of your document, you won't see the graphics until you print them out on paper (or stare at the print preview). But those complaints aren't so serious. After using Word Perfect a few days, you get used to typing the commands and don't need to peek at the cheat sheet as often. Though a newspaper's front page would be ridiculously difficult to create in Word Perfect (since you can't see the appearance of headlines, photos, and captions conveniently), Word Perfect is quite adequate for typical business letters and books having simple layouts (like mine). Those two complaints prove Word Perfect 5.1 for DOS is old-fashioned. Word Perfect Corporation has invented Word Perfect 6 for DOS and Word Perfect 6 for Windows, which are more modern ___ but they run slowly, require more RAM, and still aren't quite as modern as Winword and Ami Pro. Word Perfect 6 for DOS needs at least a 386 with 2M RAM. Word Perfect 6 for Windows needs at least a 486 with 8M of RAM to run well (though you can limp by with a 386 and 6M of RAM if you're very patient). Many secretaries who've used Word Perfect 5.1 for DOS complain when their bosses decide to upgrade to Word Perfect 6 for Windows, since that new version runs slower and uses totally different keystrokes, which the secretaries must relearn. Though Word Perfect Corporation hopes you'll buy version 6 (for DOS or Windows), the company still sells version 5.1 for secretaries and old fuddy-duddies (like me) who are too lazy to switch. The 5.1 version that's still sold is called version 5.1+. (The ``+'' means it includes a few features from version 6.) Versions of Word Perfect are also available for the Mac and for many other environments: Apple 2e, Apple 2GS, Commodore Amiga, Atari ST, Next, OS/2, Unix, Dec Vax, Data General minicomputers, and IBM mainframes. Little word processors The word processors I've discussed so far ___ Microsoft Word, Ami Pro, and Word Perfect ___ are all big and fancy. Discount dealers sell them for about $250 apiece. (Ami Pro and the Mac version of Word Perfect cost slightly less than $250; Microsoft Word and the IBM versions of Word Perfect cost slightly more than $250.) They're more than the average person needs. If you wish, get a word processor that's smaller, cheaper, and easier to learn how to use. For example, Windows comes with a free word-processing program called Windows Write. I explained how to use it in my Windows chapter. The Mac comes with a free word-processing program called Teachtext. I explained how to use it in my Mac Systems chapter. The next step up from Teachtext is a word processor called Write Now; it understands more commands than Teachtext, is as easy as Teachtext, and requires less RAM than Microsoft Word. My favorite database program, Q&A, includes a simple word-processing program called Q&A Write. If you buy Q&A, make sure you get the DOS version of it; the Windows version is disliked by everybody. You can get the DOS version for $189 from discount dealers such as Harmony (phone 800-441-1144 or 718-692-3232). Another way to get a simple word processor is to buy an integrated program such as PFS First Choice (for DOS), Microsoft Works (for DOS, Windows, or the Mac), Claris Works (for Windows or the Mac), or Appleworks (for the Apple 2). Each of those integrated programs costs about $80. Some computers (such as Packard Bell's) come with one of those integrated programs at no extra charge. But if you get one of those cheap programs, you'll eventually long for a fancier one and buy Microsoft Word, Ami Pro, or Word Perfect anyway. Old classics During the early 1980's, many folks used Wordstar (which was the first powerful word-processing program ever invented for microcomputers), Multimate (which was the first program making the IBM PC imitate a Wang word-processing machine), Displaywrite (which made the IBM PC imitate an IBM Displaywriter word-processing machine), PC-Write (which was shareware that you could try for free, before sending a donation to the author), and Xywrite (which ran faster than any other word processor). But by 1990, most of those users had switched to Word Perfect 5.1. What's in this book This edition of The Secret Guide to Computers explains how to use the following word processors: Word processor Operating system Pages Teachtext Mac 141-142 Windows Write Windows 152-154 Ami Pro Windows 162-166 Microsoft Word Windows & Mac 167-171 Q&A Write MS-DOS 172-182 Word Perfect MS-DOS 183-205 I expect the next edition will include a bigger word-processing section by including more word processors, more versions, and more commands. To find out about all that, get on my mailing list by using the coupon on the back page.