| ★ APPLICATIONS ★ BUREAUTIQUE ★ TASWORD 464 ★ |
| TASWORD 464 (c) Run informatique (AM-Mag) | TASWORD 464 (Computing Today) | TASWORD 464 (Personal Computer News) | TASWORD 464 (Mein Home-Computer) | TASWORD 464 (Cahier de l'Amstrad) |
The full word processor, Amsword, is in fact a revised version of the Tasword program which found considerable favour when released for the Spectrum. The Amstrad version operates only in the 80 column mode and right from the start presents itself as a more serious piece of software. It offers quite comprehensive facilities for formatting and printing text, but relies almost exclusively on the use of ctrl key operations to get at these options. I do question, however, the design philosophy adopted by Tasman in assigning control key letters as groups of acijacent keys on the keyboard. In use The confusion created is moderated somewhat by the comprehensive help screen incorporated into the system. At any time during text entry this screen may be called up and includes all the various control key definitions. Two further display options allow seven lines at the top of the display to show part of the help screen, or to remove all but the bottom two lines, leaving 23 available for text. The bottom two lines offer a ruler, showing margin and tab settings, and a status line giving various information. Again, there is a lack of a word counter, but this facility is available by calling up the main menu, which also lets you know the number of characters used and remaining (just over 14,000 characters—about eight A4 pages — are available) and the number of lines of text currently created. Printer control codes are shown on the text display as inverse video characters and most of the common options for dot matrix and daisywheels are covered. These characters may be set to produce the desired codes for your own printer, although there is no single code designed to set up the printer initially. My own daisywheel needs a single escape code to set it to print bi-directionally rather than performing a carriage return at the end of each line. There is no legitimate way of producing this. The documentation runs to 45 pages and covers most aspects in a fairly protracted way. The whole package gives the feeling of doing its job pretty well, but sometimes in an annoyingly fiddly way. When returning from the menu to the text display, for example the cursor is always positioned at the beginning of the text file. How much more useful to return to the point from which you left? When you perform the necessary control function to move to the end of text, you find that you're left with the cursor sitting over the last character, instead of to the right of it. Verdict Overall, Amsword is well worth the asking price, but may prove to have a longer running-in period than some word processors for other micros.
SIMON WILLIAMS, Personal Computer News #8 |
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