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Author Topic: Writing Software  (Read 23629 times)

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MTH

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Writing Software
« on: June 23, 2009, 02:21:24 PM »

I have a hate-hate relationship with Microsoft Word. Does anyone use something other than Word?
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linda

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Re: Writing Software
« Reply #1 on: July 03, 2009, 08:48:27 PM »

MTH,

I love Microsoft Word, because it's what I learned on.  But I'm finding that my new laptop and the "Windows Vista" program is giving me fits.  When I'm typing in the Word program, my cursor jumps all over the page.  I have to keep an eagle eye on it so that I can catch it before I've got whole pages in the wrong spot.

Everytime I try to explain this to the computer people, they just give me a blank look.  So, I'm gettting to the point where my love-love relationship is turning into a hate-hate relationship.   >:(

If you find something really good to use, please let me know.  Calling the laptop dirty words doesn't seem to be helping.   :P

Thanks,

Linda
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Bob Mueller

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Re: Writing Software
« Reply #2 on: July 04, 2009, 11:37:08 AM »

Linda, does your laptop have a trackpad for a pointing device (instead of a mouse)? You're probably letting your thumb brush the pad. Happens to me a lot. I hate that part.
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Dave Freas

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Re: Writing Software
« Reply #3 on: July 04, 2009, 12:17:05 PM »

Linda

See my post, too, under Microsoft Vista.  Basically, I said there what Bob said here.

Dave
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MTH

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Re: Writing Software
« Reply #4 on: July 04, 2009, 12:51:09 PM »

Word jumps for me when I am using Page Up and Page Down. I will get to where I want to be, make an edit and next time I hit Page Down I find that it's gone several pages up again instead... That is the least of my issues with it, though.
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Lance Charnes

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Re: Writing Software
« Reply #5 on: July 04, 2009, 01:41:46 PM »

Page up/page down works from where the cursor is, not from where you are on the screen. Make a change, leave the cursor in place, scroll down using the scroll bar, and hit page up/down, and it's going to use the cursor location as its starting point. This looks like Word has jumped backwards, but it actually did just what you asked it to do.

Any full-featured word processor is going to be similarly complex. Wordpad (included in Windows) is a minimalistic text editor, but you'll very rapidly get frustrated with how limited it is. WordPerfect is no better/worse than Word, just different, which means your Word learning curve suddenly becomes useless. Better to stay with the devil you know.
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MTH

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Re: Writing Software
« Reply #6 on: July 04, 2009, 04:18:22 PM »

I was a computer typesetter for ten years and we had fantastic software so I am completely spoiled I suppose. One thing Word seems to do is if it hypenates a word for you and you change the text or the margins, the word appears in the middle of a sentence with the hypen still in there. Is there a way around it? We had something called a "discretionary hypen" in typesetting days.
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Lance Charnes

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Re: Writing Software
« Reply #7 on: July 05, 2009, 02:25:54 AM »

You can have Word automatically hyphenate by turning on, yes, automatic hyphenation (Tools -> Language->Hyphenation). It works better with fully-justified text (which isn't necessary in manuscript format); with standard left-justified text, it will simply wrap words to the next line, unless they come with built-in hyphens.

If you're doing hyphenation, you can further control the process by using nonbreaking and optional hyphens. A nonbreaking hyphen is one that prevents a hyphenated word from breaking at the hyphen at the end of a line; the example in the Word help file is a phone number. An optional hyphen dictates where a word will break if it falls at the end of a line; for instance, you may want a word to break at its prefix or suffix instead of between other syllables.

You enter nonbreaking hyphens with CTRL-SHIFT-HYPHEN, and optional hyphens with CTRL-HYPHEN. Optional hyphens are invisible unless you tell Word to display them by checking the "optional hyphens" box in Tools->Options.

For the full skinny, go to "Microsoft Word Help" and enter "hyphenation" in the search box.
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MTH

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Re: Writing Software
« Reply #8 on: July 05, 2009, 01:04:11 PM »

Ah so! Thanks for that tip.
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AleeshaW

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Re: Writing Software
« Reply #9 on: July 06, 2009, 02:13:09 PM »

Quote
Linda, does your laptop have a trackpad for a pointing device (instead of a mouse)? You're probably letting your thumb brush the pad. Happens to me a lot. I hate that part.


I had this problem too!  So, I (being a low tech sort of gal) cut out a piece of thin cardboard from the front of a note book and taped it along one edge, like a trap door.  I made sure there was a little flap on it so that I can grab it easily.  The trap door stays down while I'm typing and I flip it up when I need the mouse.  Works great for me! ;D
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Re: Writing Software
« Reply #10 on: July 17, 2009, 11:49:01 PM »

I do most of my "writing" in Microsoft OneNote or Celtx.  I like having multiple tabs I can rearrange, rename, and move text into.  There may be specialized writing programs that do this better, but I already have OneNote and haven't found any free software that's as good as Celtx.  Word (or OpenOffice on my laptop) is just there to format a final draft.  (I think I did my last finished piece of writing--something for work--in Scribus.)

OneNote also allows you to put blocks of text anywhere you want on a page, so you can write notes in the margins or layer text on top of other text (I do this mostly with big brackets).  Celtx is plain text only--not even web links.  Both programs allow you to store images in a directory alongside your text, but with OneNote you can paste images on the same page as text.  Then, Celtx has a unique database and index cards system, though it's geared more towards screenwriting.

Also, OneNote has drawing tools, so I'm sure you could write in it with a tablet.
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jmcmurray

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Re: Writing Software
« Reply #11 on: November 03, 2010, 09:02:07 AM »

For those who may be wondering about other software still, I use the yWriter software from spacejock software. It is a pretty robust program, and it is tailored to writing novels and stories. The link is below.

http://www.spacejock.com/yWriter.html

It really has helped me get stuck in my writing. It also allows for easy insertion of new scenes when you realize that you need to add one in. You can also shift chapters around with a simple drag and drop.

Oh, and it's free. Nothing wrong with free.
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MTH

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Re: Writing Software
« Reply #12 on: November 03, 2010, 11:21:08 AM »

Another issue with Word is that from time to time I go to save a file and get the message it's a read only file. How did it suddenly make itself into that? I have to copy and paste the entire
thing to a new file. I am not the only one I know who has this happen and I have no idea why it happens. Anyone?
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Lance Charnes

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Re: Writing Software
« Reply #13 on: November 04, 2010, 01:43:13 AM »

A bit gets flipped every time you open the file, which signals that it's read-only to any other process that tries to open it. Sometimes, the bit doesn't get reset when you close the file. This happens most often with an abnormal close, but sometimes it just happens because it can.

You don't have to copy and paste. Just select File --> Save As, stick a random letter on the end of the existing name (I use an 'x'), and save. Then delete the old copy and cut the added letter from the end of the new file's name. It's faster than mass cut-and-paste and less prone to dropping formats.
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MTH

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Re: Writing Software
« Reply #14 on: November 04, 2010, 10:09:47 AM »

ooooooooooooooooo of course!!!
Now why didn't I think of that just adding a letter.  Under normal circumstances I'd think of that  in a second.
I guess that I become so irate when the event occurs my intelligence goes out the window.
A lesson to me...
But I still don't like WORD.  ;D and I never will, I guess.
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