🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <25143@sybase.sybase.com> Bill McFarland, bill@sybase.com
writes:
>Anyone know anything about Word 5.1?  I have Word 5.0, it's ok
>on my IIsi, I'm rather happy with it.  I see the new toolbars like
>they have in Excel 4.0 are in Word 5.1.  What else??  Any bug fixes??
>
>Is it worth the trouble (the price is low--14.95 + 5$ shipping)
>to upgrade?  What would I get besides the new toolbar effect?  I am
>currently in love with my ribbon and ruler.  Does the 5.1 have a
>ribbon and ruler?

I'll give a more complete report when I get mine, but here's my 
impressions from the rumors I've read and reviews/ads I've seen.

First of all, there is a new customizable toolbar. Very similar to the 
one in Excel 4.0 (or Word for Windows 2.0), this supports up to 30 small 
icon buttons (on 21" screens; your mileage may vary) which can be 
selected out of close to 500. While many of these are simply icons 
attached to commands, some are more complex. For example, I am led to 
believe that they now have their new 'easier' table creation button that 
allows you to simply click on a button on the toolbar and drag out the 
size of the table. (If like the Windows version, a pop-up menu will 
appear under the button showing a grid of rows and columns that expands 
as you drag the mouse).

Another major addition is the Charting package, which enables you to 
select data (tables or whatever) and produce a variety of charts -- 
including 3D -- that will remain linked to the original data. While I 
still feel this is more the kitchen sink approach to word processing, 
this can be handy if you don't want the added expense of a spreadsheet 
program. If you already have Excel or similar, though, this is probably 
not that worthwhile.

They've also come up with a more customizable installer program, 
including an option for a stripped down PowerBook installation.

Other 'perks' include Odd/Even printing (finally!), automatic 
bulleting/hanging indents, and text annotation (electronic post-it 
notes), along with all the bug-fixes of 5.0a and the added QuickTime 
support.

As far as I can tell, it's worth the $20 they're charging, but not
everyone 
will want these changes and the bug-fixes are available for free... 

Hopefully, my upgrade will arrive within a week or two; more info then...

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  John T. Chapman                                     jtc1@cornell.edu
  Office of Computing and Statistical Consulting
  Cornell University - College of Human Ecology
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"I believe the word you're looking for is 'Aaaaaaaaaaaaa'."
                                             - Penguin, Batman Returns
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