LETTER PERFECT IMPROVED
Version 6 has more perfectionby GEORGE JACOBS
Atari owners will be glad to learn that
LJK, Inc. has done it again! In their Version 6 they've added new
features to an already successful word processing program and made it even
more versatile. They've also come up with an improved manual.
A newcomer to word processing can figure out how to work the program without
outside assistance. The manual requires some close study but the
benefits are worth it.
Those familiar with earlier versions of Letter Perfect
will know there was very little it couldn't do in text writing with ease
and accuracy. Headers (repeating page titles), automatic page numbering,
change of type styles at will, various simple methods to correct mistakes
and add or subtract text - all the standard features of any decent word
processing - have always been available with Letter Perfect. Spell
Perfect has been available since version 1 and it makes spelling mistakes
a cinch to find and correct. The improvements are largely enhancements
of existing features to allow faster editing and correcting.
If I had to choose the niftiest adjustment to Letter Perfect,
it would be in the speedy access to the spelling checker, which is now
incorporated in the master disk. As soon as text has been written,
the writer can have it examined by the computer even before writing the
file to disk. This saves several steps common to most spell checking
procedures. When you have enough material to keep, you go directly
from "editing" to "dictionary" and the words are counted in seconds.
At that point, the computer begins a search in a dictionary disk and helps
you make corrections where necessary.
EASY CURSOR
The next important improvement is in the speed with which the cursor
can move through a text. Now Letter Perfect will allow you to move
a word at a time in either direction, instead of only one space at a time
as before. You can jump forward by paragraphs too, and also to a
marker which you can place anywhere in the text. You can have any
number of markers too. You could always move one video screen page
at a time, but even this action is smoother and easier on the eyes than
it used to be. You can delete a word at a time in either direction,
or any of a paragraph following the cursor. The deletion up to the
marker feature is also a big help in editing large chunks or shortening
files.
Letter Perfect menus are now faster to order from. To
tell the computer to load or save, move the <pointers> or type the first
letter of any choice. Not only do the <pointers> go directly to
the new choice but the order is fulfilled without hitting the return key
and the name of the file in editor is displayed.
Another new attraction is a command which will prevent the separation
of a paragraph into portions of two pages. This is particularly attractive
to those of us who want to incorporate small drawings or pictures into
text. After juggling margins and line widths to design a nice spot
for an insert, it's disconcerting to see it made useless by crude cropping.
EASY DENSITY
Letter Perfect has made it much easier to go back and forth between
single and double density. Double density will expand the storage
capacity of your floppies. Using double density is like writing a
long letter on a post card by condensing your penmanship. The information
will still be the same and the print size will also be its usual dimensions.
Single density Letter Perfect files, therefore, can be made to take up
half the space by converting them to double density on another disk.
The TAB key no longer deletes text as it shoots across your
screen. This is a big help in zeroing in on number tables and also
cuts down on accidental word deletions. The simple search command
now pauses at the expression you are looking for and allows you to correct
it without having to use a search and replace command.
PRINTER SET-UP
I've saved the clincher for last. Letter Perfect costs just under
$100! Atari computers are great value for money these days and with
a disk drive, interface and printer, you can set up a true word processing
facility for under $1000 - compatible with Spell Perfect and Data Perfect
too.
What's more, you can use just about any printer on the market.
Although it formerly came with a separate "printer editor" floppy, the
Letter Perfect master disk now includes built-in options for nine popular
printers. If you choose a non-listed machine, the disk provides an
easy system for setting up your own specifications to make your printer
function properly. Letter Perfect will drive dot matrix or letter
quality printers including those with proportional spacing,
When you boot up your Version 6, you can enter your specifications
for the types of writing you do the most often. For example, you
can program a letter writing set of commands. Set "j0" for no justification,
"l2" for single line spacing (that's a small "L", not a "one"), width of
page that you prefer, etc.... Then you can save this to one of the six
different printer programs listed. Make another program for texts
with justification, double spacing and so forth. Instead of
recalculating every different job, you simply boot in the printer program
of your choice and go to it.
LETTER PERFECT VERSION 6
LJK, Inc.
7852 Big Bend Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63119
(314) 962-1855
$99.95, 32K - disk
George Jacobs is a professional author, artist and photographer living
in Woods Hole, MA. He has owned and extensively used an Atari for
two years.