CompuServe Messages

There aren't really any unpleasant surprises per se with Final Writer 3. (Wayne Cole might disagree with me there, but I think you mostly get what you pay for with it.) Otoh, the interface isn't the prettiest. The screen can't be made public (neither can Wordworth's) and it uses its own bitmapped font instead of one you choose, so if you have a high-res display card, you'll be squinting a bit at the menus unless you use MagicMenu. Likewise, the buttons don't come in a large size, which isn't a problem unless you use a really high res display. It does have ARexx, which is a major plus as compared to Wordworth (which on the other hand does offer much more in the way of goodies like font setting) but unless I'm mistaken it doesn't let you inquire which document you're in from an ARexx script. FiW prints very well and supports Type 1, NimbusQ, and CompuGraphic fonts on any printer; NimbusQ fonts can even be downloaded to a PS printer. Wordworth supports Type 1, CompuGraphic, TrueType, and Amiga bitmap fonts, as well as some printer fonts. For display readability with either program you'll want to use a sans font like Univers or ShannonBook or something. I think Wordworth has a more readable display, but I tend to type in one font and print in another on any platform, since I'm picky – except for Courier, which both handle well, and which I need to type in anyway since scripts are too formatted to make font switching practical. Also, FiW supports paragraph and text style tagging, which WW doesn't. FiW4 is expected late this year, I don't know when WW4 is expected. Basically, it depends what you need to do. FiW is definitely more powerful, although there are a couple spots that WW edges it out in. WW is prettier. I use both for different purposes. Mr. Zombie – now 76375,1776 – Warped again?