Re: Rules for counting words in XyW 3+

["Jon Inggs" joni@xxxxxxxx]

Some time ago there was an enquiry about XyWrite's word count being
consistently different from MS-Word's.

Just recently I was notified by a ZDNet service I subscribe to of a freeware
word count program called FreeBudget which is aimed at translators and
writers who are paid by the word.

It boasts a feature it calls "smart count" with a set of examples which I put
through Xy4Dos, M$Word 2000, WordPerfect 8, NotaBene 5.5 and NoteTab
Light 4.86. Needless to say, you know which one came out best of all.

The results are included (in brackets) within the extract that follows at the
end of this message from FreeBudget's online help
(http://www.webbudget.com/freebudget/webhelp/). Take special note of the
M$Word compatible provisos at the end of the extract.

Counting the words of the extract below (including my specific results in
brackets), I got the following global totals:

FreeBudget:			501 words, 481 spaces (char 3008 +spc, 2527 -spc)
Xy4Dos:				497 words, 481 spaces
M$Word2000:		530 words, 481 spaces (char 3008, +spc 2527 -spc)
WP8:				491 words (char 2527)
NotaBene 5.5:		497 words (char 3183)
NoteTab Light 4.86:	495 words, (char 3008)

On a longer 9486 word document, chosen at random, I got the following:

FreeBudget:			9435 words (591 in footnotes)
Xy4Dos:				9486 words (602 in footnotes)
M$Word2000:		9269 words (531 in footnotes)
WP8:				9328 words (no footnote feature)
NotaBene 5.5:		9442 words (612 in footnotes)
NoteTab Light 4.86:	9411 words (613 in footnotes)

It seems that our tried and trusted EDITOR.EXE is naturally smart and
M$Word plain dumb when it comes to words.

Regards
Jon Inggs

=================================================
Smart Count
SmartCount is an exclusive built-in function that helps to consistently
manage the effects of word delimiters in the counting process. Below, you
will find some examples of how SmartCount handles any defined delimiter.

In short, this is how it works: any string of characters is considered part of
a word until an active delimiter is found. All characters following that
delimiter form a new word, which ends when the next active delimiter is
found, and so on.

By default, the space and tab are the built-in active delimiters and cannot
be disabled. SmartCount can also handle several other special situations,
such as certain repetitions of active delimiters.

The user can define and enable any other alphanumeric character as a
word delimiter, entering it in the relevant input box (Process window).

SmartCount has proven very useful for managing typing errors or special
strings that otherwise would not be properly accounted for.

Let's see some examples of how SmartCount can help you to get a
consistent count of your work:

Example 1

Without SmartCount,this sentence has six words
(Xy4 = 7, Word2000 = 6, WP8 = 6)

With SmartCount,this sentence has seven words
(Xy4 = 7, Word2000 = 6, WP8 = 6)

If you enable SmartCount with the comma (,) as an active delimiter, both
sentences will be counted as seven words.

Example 2

Without SmartCount:

This (phrase ) has six words
(Xy4 = 5, Word2000 = 6, WP8 = 5)

This (phrase) has five words
(Xy4 = 5, Word2000 = 5, WP8 = 5)

This ( phrase ) has seven words
(Xy4 = 5, Word2000 = 7, WP8 = 5)

With SmartCount enabled for both opening and closing parentheses, the
example would always be considered as a sentence of 5 words.

Example 3

Without SmartCount:

This phrase-has four words
(Xy4 = 5, Word2000 = 4, WP8 = 4)

This phrase-------has four words
(Xy4 = 5, Word2000 = 5, WP8 = 5)

This -phrase- has five words
(Xy4 = 5, Word2000 = 5, WP8 = 5)

This phrase --------- has six words
(Xy4 = 5, Word2000 = 6, WP8 = 5)

With SmartCount and the hyphen "-" enabled, all of these sentences would
deliver 5 words.

Example 4

With SmartCount and the single apostrophe activated

You're
(Xy4 = 1, Word2000 = 1, WP8 = 1)

You 're
(Xy4 = 2, Word2000 = 2, WP8 = 2)

Will always be counted as strings of 2 words.

Note: If you check MSWord criteria, SmartCount and special Count options
will be disabled.

MSWord compatibility
FreeBudget can provide now full compatibility with MSWord counting by
checking the "MSWord criteria" box.

If checked, FreeBudget passes the counting tasks directly to MSWord and
collects the statistics generated.

With this feature activated you still can benefit from the batch and reporting
features of FreeBudget.

The footnotes and endnotes counts will be grouped within the Text Body
columns, as MSWord usually does.

Pros:

You can have access to statistics in protected files
Full compatibility if you must deliver a MSWord counting.

Cons:

You will not be able to count Headers, Footers, Annotations or/and Text
Boxes.
The Smart delimiters feature will not work.
Inferior accuracy in many documents.
==================================================
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Try the Economic History Society of Southern Africa
WWW site at: http://home.intekom.co.za/joni/ehsoc.htm

Jon Inggs        e-Mail: inggsej@xxxxxxxx
Economics Department
PO Box 392
UNISA
0003
South Africa