!lm10
!rm76
Word Processors...................................Lee Meador

[The following is a summary of the talk given by Lee Meador at our Dallas Apple Corps general session on April 11th (1981).  The summary was written by Bob Sander-Cederlof, from notes taken at the meeting.]

What is a Word Processor?  I like to think of it as consisting of both a text editing system and a text formatting system.  You will see advertisements for so-called word processors which do not include both of these elements, but by my definition they are incomplete.

The text editing system should make it easy for you to enter a large body of text, make corrections and changes, rearrange words and paragraphs, and so on.  The text formatter is on the output side; it justifies the text within selected margins, paginates and adds page headings and numbers, and so on.

What is a Word Processor used for?  Writing letters, reports, manuals, and even full-length books.  Creating forms.  Generating personalized form letters.  Creating data bases, such as mailing lists.  Writing and modifying the source code for computer programs.  And whatever your imagination can suggest!

How much does a WP for the Apple cost?  Anywhere from $75 to $1000, depending on the features you want.  AppleWriter, the one sold by Apple Computer, costs only $75.  [I am using AppleWriter now, to write this article.  (Bob S-C)]   At the other extreme, Word Star costs about $450 for the software, plus another $550 for the required Microsoft Z-80 Card and an 80-column card.

You may find some cheaper than AppleWriter, but I don't have any experience with them.

What features should I look for in a WP?  I will break down the features into four categories:  screen format, lower case entry/display, commands, and file structure.

Screen Format:  Your Apple, straight from the factory, will only display 40 characters per line.  You can buy a card to plug into one of the empty slots which will display 80 characters per line.  Some word processors require the 80-column card to operate, such as the new Easy-Writer Professional Version and Word Star.  Having 80 columns of display is a real advantage, because it lets you see the text the way it will look on your paper.  The Pascal Language system editor works a lot easier with an 80-column card, too.

Other WP's get around the 40-column limitation in various ways.  AppleWriter merely wraps the lines around at the edge of the screen.  Words are split arbitrarily, unless you specifically type a carriage return.  Normally you only use the carriage return at the end of a paragraph.  This approach seems very crude, but some people like it.  The text is re-formatted when you print it out so that lines fit between the margins you select and are broken between words.

Apple-PIE, Super Text II, Scribe, Manuscripter, and others break the lines between words.  Most of these allow some sort of preview which allows you to re-format the text exactly as it will be printed by the text formatter, and then to scan around left-right-up-down to see it through the 40-by-24 Apple "window".

Magic Window keeps the text in an 80-column format all the time, and the screen acts as a floating window as you type.  Some people like this, but it can be distracting.

Lower-Case Entry/Display:  As you know, without some modification or special software, the Apple is UPPER-CASE ONLY.  Dan Paymar has made a lot of money because of this oversight by Apple Computer!  His $50-60 adapter plugs into your Apple mother board, and gives you lower-case display on the screen.  You still have all the other display modes.  For two years or more, the Paymar adapter was the only one on the market.  Now there are several others, some with additional features.

Another approach to lower-case display is to draw the text on the screen using hi-res graphics.  This is the approach used by my word processor (Alphonse II), which works in Hebrew and Greek as well as English.  The disadvantages to using hi-res graphics is the extra memory for the hi-res image, and the extra time to draw and scroll.

Most WP's will work without any adapter.  They display lower-case characters in normal video, and display upper-case in inverse video.  Many WP's are set up to work this way unless you specify that the Paymar Adapter is present.  AppleWriter requires a small patch to operate with the Paymar adapter (the patch code is available by writing to Dan Paymar.)

The Apple keyboard is wired up so that the shift key does not distinguish upper/lower case letters.  You always get upper case letters, and all the shift key does is allow you to get the punctuation symbols.  Some WP's get around this by using control keys or the escape key to swith between upper and lower case modes.  These usually have both a shift-lock mode and a captilize-next-character mode.  AppleWriter is like this.

Super Text II will work with control-codes for signalling upper case, or with a very simple modification to your Apple you get TRUE shift key operation.  You have to solder a wire (provided in the Super Text II package!)  on the bottom of the keyboard to one terminal of the shift key.  The other end of the wire goes into the game paddle connector, so it can be monitored by software.  (Your paddles still work normally.)

If you buy the Videx keyboard expander, you get normal typewriter-like shift key operation.  Most 80-column boards probide some means for entering lower-case letters.  Yet another option is to replace the entire keyboard in your Apple with a more expensive one having all the features built-in.  $$$$!!!!

Commands:  There are generally three types of commands you are interested in.  Editing commands allow you to move text around, insert new text, add new text, delete text (all or some), correct spelling, replace one word or phrase with another throughout your text, and so on.  Most WP's use control-characters for the editing commands.  Some use ESCAPE followed by a letter, and others use a menu-driven approach.  Naturally, some use a combination of all three.

Formatting commands are usually embedded in the text.  Super Text II uses embedded control characters.  AppleWriter uses separate lines like "!lm10" (which sets the left margin at 10).  Some WP's use a format form which you "fill out" just before printing.  The format commands are used to define the left, right, top, and bottom margins, single or double spacing, whether you want lines to be centered or justified, whether you want blanks to be inserted to make all lines the same length, and so on.

Printer commands are usually control-character sequences you want sent to your printer to enable special fonts, underlining, and so on.  Some WP's, like AppleWriter, make no provision for these at all.  Super Text II does allow you to enter these, although it is a little difficult to set up the first time.

File Structure:  The issue here is whether a standard DOS text file is used, or some other format.  Apple-PIE is one of the few that uses standard DOS text files.  AppleWriter uses binary files, with a strange non-ASCII code and a special beginning-of-text and end-of-text code.  Super Text II uses a modified DOS, so that the files are not accessible at all from your own programs.  EasyWriter is coded in FORTH, and has its own way of formatting disks which is completely incompatible with DOS.  Some WP's "lock" the data disks, so that they cannot be read or written from a normal DOS.

Some utility programs were on the February DOM to convert a standard text file to an AppleWriter file, and vice versa.  There are also ways to get at the Super Text II files, but the technique has not been published.
Which Word Processor should I buy?  It is entirely up to you.  Weigh the various factors such as cost, ease of use, capability, documentation, and so on.  Read reviews, such as the excellent one s published in Peelings II, Volume 1, No. 4 Nov-Dec 1980).  Talk to owners.  (Our club is full of them.)  But above all, try several of them out before you buy!

[After this talk, several Apples were set up with a multitude of Word Processors on hand.  For two hours Lee and others demonstrated and explained the features, advantages, and disadvantages of these to whoever was interested.]
