| Being
familiar with Windows and DOS-based word processors, we must admit that
DeScribe (possibly version 4.0) was the first serious attempt at a native
OS/2 word processor we had seen. Back then, it was a powerful alternative
to the WIN-OS/2 stronghold, and now it's even better. For those who
haven't heard of DeScribe, it is released for the mainstream on a CD-ROM
called Voyager that contains four different versions (OS/2, Windows 3.1,
95 and NT), all for $US49. You don't get any technical assistance, but you
get a plethora of printed and electronic documentation in a hard copy
manual of over five hundred pages, and seemingly endless online Help. The
manual is a vast improvement over the thing that came with 4.0, though you
can fax DeScribe with any problems, and the response is usually prompt and
effective.
If the first
thing you do with a new application is start configuring and customising,
you'll be satisfied by DeScribe. You can view documents in draft, outline
or WYSIWYG, and zoom in or out. If you don't like the arrangement of the
menus, the Menu Manager allows you to create, change and delete or move
menu options. The toolbars (default, drawing, editing, layout, macros, and
tables) can be customised, and there is virtually nothing you cannot do
via the toolbar. Each tool has æbubble helpÆ -- right-click and its
function is displayed in a text bubble.
Tables, macros,
spellchecker, dictionary, thesaurus, readability checking, mail merge,
style templates, tables of contents and indexes are all available, easy to
use and powerful. The manual instructions are easy to follow and, for
immediate assistance on a process, the online help is thorough and in
plain English.
DeScribe has an
e-mail component, but it only works if you have cc:Mail -- that's
disappointing, because there are many alternatives. The WYSIWYG display
often leaves a little to be desired -- often the spacing and positioning
of characters inconsistent.
If you use other
word processors, your transfer to DeScribe could be cumbersome -- the
menus and toolbars are unlike any others we've seen. But that's what the
Menu Manager is there for -- it takes a little bit of work, but is well
worth it. |
