- Mellel keeps switching back to underline full#
- Mellel keeps switching back to underline professional#
Do note that such a program would of course need solid implementation of all the basic word processing features I focus here on the features that are either essential to the writer or for which I’ve heard many a writer express a fervent desire. So come with me on a fantasy trip into the set of features that in my opinion (bolstered by that of many other writers and editors with whom I work regularly), would exist in the ideal writer’s word processor, call it WriteRight.
Perhaps others have had better luck, and I always remain hopeful that a new version will make drastic improvements, but I’ve come to terms with the fact that I’m unlikely ever to have more than an arm’s length relationship with Word. For instance, Word’s Compare Documents feature has never produced sufficiently useful results for me. Its features are piled high and deep, and while they often claim to do something particularly useful, they’re often confusing to use while falling short of what’s actually necessary. At the same time, Word elicits more cursing from writers than any other. Microsoft Word remains the juggernaut of the industry, and to be blunt, aside from a few years when it seemed Nisus Writer Classic might have been able to make a run at the bloated and buggy Word 6.0, Word has been the most powerful and capable word processor on the Macintosh.
Mellel keeps switching back to underline professional#
They have occasional flashes of brilliance, and all show some promise, but for a serious writer who collaborates with other authors, works with a variety of editors, and produces text for professional publication, they simply don’t cut it. Alas, when I call these word processors "small," I mean it. It’s also worth considering TextWrangler from Bare Bones Software, a text editor descended from the venerable BBEdit. Other word processors were built into now-defunct integrated programs like BeagleWorks and GreatWorks also, both ClarisWorks (now AppleWorks) and the perennial underdog RagTime are still kicking.Īlong with the surviving programs, we’ve seen a revival of interest in small word processors: Nisus Writer Express (actually a completely new program that bears only a passing resemblance to the powerful and quirky Nisus Writer Classic), Mariner Write from Mariner Software, and the intriguing Mellel from the Israeli company RedleX. There were a few other good word processors back in the early days of the Macintosh, including the sprightly WriteNow, FullWrite (whose 2 MB memory requirement was shocking back in the day), and two more familiar names that have survived to this day: Microsoft Word and Nisus Writer. In the beginning there was MacWrite, which introduced the entire concept of WYSIWYG – what you see is what you get. It continues to amaze me that no word processor has attempted to appeal more directly to its most professional and accomplished users it would be like telling a Hollywood director to use iMovie instead of Final Cut Pro. I’m talking about real writers, the kind of people who spend their days in their word processors, creating text, tweaking it into shape, and preparing it for the next stage in its life, be that a Web page, a press release, a magazine article, a book, or some other form of published work. I’m not talking about students, who may knock off a few papers per semester, or managers who need to write up occasional status reports.
Mellel keeps switching back to underline full#
Although I’m not familiar with the full complement of word processors for other platforms, I’d be surprised if they were any better. There is no WriteRight, and, speaking as a professional writer, with thousands of articles and numerous books under my belt, I’m comfortable saying that the Macintosh world doesn’t have a word processor that’s designed for writers. Please accept my sincere apologies if the title of this article has raised your pulse along with your hopes. #1659: Exposure notifications shut down, cookbook subscription service, alarm notification type proposal, Explain XKCD.#1660: OS updates for sports and security, Drobo in bankruptcy, why TidBITS doesn't cover rumors.#1661: Mimestream app for Gmail, auto-post WordPress headlines to Twitter and Mastodon, My Photo Stream shutting down.#1662: New Macs, 12 top OS features for 2023, vertical tabs in Web browsers, watchOS 9.5.1.#1663: Exploring the Apple Vision Pro, 12 more OS features coming in 2023, new Apple service features, Apollo shuts down.
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