Word processors: Can one fit all? Is your word-processing software well suited to your business tasks? This guide will help you find the right tool for the write job

Home Office Computing, Dec, 1990 by Steve Morgenstern

Good choices for these more complex mass mailings include Ami Professional, Microsoft Word, MultiMate, and WordPerfect; others are starred in the accompanying chart. If you plan to merge data onto preprinted forms, consider Word for Windows, which is exceptionally strong in its ability to precisely position merged text.

Ease of use. Some word processors make preparing a form letter a chore, and demand mastery of fairly complex programming logic to access their sorting and selectivity features. Others manage the process using menu items and fill-in-the-blanks dialog boxes. MacWrite II is noteworthy for both its mail-merge selectivity and its ease of use. When creating a MacWrite form letter, you choose field names from your data document and conditional statements used to create complex merges from an on-screen menu, eliminating the memory-wracking process common in other programs.

TASK 3: ILLUSTRATED DOCUMENTS

Charts and graphs can clarify and dramatize facts that might otherwise lie buried in a column of figures on my written reports or proposals. Line art and scanned photographs can put graphic images where they belong, next to the text that describes them. And in less formal communication, a bright, attractive graphic often packs reader interest and draws attention to specific parts of your document.

The availability of graphic images to serve a spectrum of purposes has grown dramatically. Statistical graphs based on spreadsheets used to be rudimentary bar or pie charts--now programs like Excel and Wingz put dramatic 3-D graphs just a menu choice away. A variety of high-quality clip art is now sold widely. And today's inexpensive hand scanners make it easy to capture a logo or photograph, ready to insert in a word-processing document.

The number of word processors capable of incorporating this newfound wealth of images has burgeoned as well--this graphic capability isn't just for Mac users anymore. Several traditional character-based MS-DOS word processors, such as WordPerfect and WordStar, now accept graphic files and display them in a separate preview mode. And with the emergence of several graphically capable word processors running under Microsoft Windows, like Ami and Word for Windows, the line between word processing and desktop publishing becomes very fuzzy.

Here are the fine points to look for in word processors well suited for combining words and pictures.

File formats accepted. There is a bewildering range of incompatible file formats used to store graphic images created with different programs. For example, most versions of Lotus 1-2-3 save graphs in PIC format. Scanned images are usually saved as TIF files. Clip art is often stored in PCX format (PC-Paintbrush-compatible) or EPS format for PostScript printers.

Decide on the kinds of images you'll be using, and be sure the word processor you're considering can accept them. For example, while Word for Windows does a capable job of merging graphics with text, some popular image formats (including PCX and EPS) are not supported. Among character-based word processors, WordPerfect accepts an extraordinary variety of file formats.