Re: Is XY-Write a word-processor or a text editor?

[jr_fox@xxxxxxxxxx]

Frank Heydenrych wrote:

> On this tack, I just can't get used to Xy 4. Many people told me Xy 3.52
> was the best ever made, and that Xy 4's improvements were marginal, and I'm
> inclined to agree ... I'm going to use the Christmas break to try and break
> through.

This is really worth doing, in my opinion. I resisted v. 4 for a couple years
after it came out, but once I made the changeover and got used to it, I've
never looked back. It's not that big of an adjustment (nothing like the degree
of difference to NB). You may or may not like the menu system at top,
something I use for only a few functions like selection of typeface and point
size, but -- unlike, I think, the case with XyWin -- you can avoid using most
of it if you wish. One thing you would probably want to do early on is to get
into the Preferences (which writes changes to the .INI-equivalent file
SETTINGS.DFL) to set some of your defaults to the XY 3+ conventions. (Never
like the CUA conventions IBM made standard, back in SIGNATURE.) I'll be glad
to lend some help on this, as needed.

Other than that, the differences that come to mind are things like the Units of
Measurement (having to specify, for example, ≪10di≫ for deci-inches, so that
you don't inadvertently get 10 inches -- but that might not even be a factor
you'd notice if you never work in Expanded Mode, or read the Prompt Line as
your cursor skims over a triangle. That was always one of those things that
posed a psychological roadblock to my father, whenever he'd take a brief foray
into ver. 4. It's not a big deal, though, just a small adjustment.

On the whole, I did much prefer the organization and presentation of the *base*
Help System in 3+. Most of the info may still be there in 4, but it can be
harder to find. For example, I used to consult the Color Table chart from time
to time in v. 3 Help. Danged if I can find it in the v. 4 Help. There are
several cases like that. At some point, I may try to import some of those
"missing" frames into the v. 4 Help. Tinkering with the Help system is one of
those things I did a bit of (in 3+), but never got proficient with after that.
(The v. 4 Help system is more complicated.) At one point, I had a 3+ Help Menu
bar where you could toggle between the standard (or your user-improved) Help
system, and Herb Tyson's POWERXY Help System (anyone remember that ? -- it was
sort of an early precursor of U2). And that was kinda neat. But now we have
the .U2, which goes well beyond anything you may have seen available for 3+.


Jordan