LETTER PERFECT 6.0
by Arthur Leyenberger
Having been a user of LJK's Letter Perfect for almost two years, I've found it to be the premier word processor for the Atari. Now LJK has released a new version that adds significant capabilities to Letter Perfect's already long list of features. The new program comes with an entirely rewritten manual and a spelling checking program (Spell Perfect). Rather than review the entire package, I'll describe the new features and how they differ from the older version.
The most obvious improvement is in the documentation. The previous manual was unreadable and confusing. With the new manual, the first-time user has it much easier. The 86-page typeset manual is now in a 5x8 inch spiral bound format containing many user-friendly features.
How can a manual be user-friendly, you ask? Well, it now includes a good index, a glossary of word processing terms and a well-written tutorial on how to use the program. There are also several printer worksheets for Centronics, Epson, NEC, Prowriter, Qume and Okidata printers. Information on various printer characteristics and default values used by the program are also included.
The printer material contained in the new manual corresponds to the many printer configuration files on the disk. Any of these can be edited and permanently saved, should you decide to reconfigure your system. Also, proportional printing is supported for the C.Itoh Prowriter, NEC8023 and Centronics-type (like the Epson FX-80) printers. Blank worksheets are provided for users whose printer is not one of the above.
Another major change in Letter Perfect is the method of program delivery. Previously, two two-sided disks were supplied -- one with a 40-column program, the other with an 80-column program (for the bit-3 80-column board). The back of each disk contained the printer driver editor program. Now, one disk is supplied, containing three variations. When the program is booted, you are asked to select a 40-column, bit-3 80-column or Austin-Franklin 80-column mode. (LJK has told me that they will support the new Atari 80-column card in the 1090 Expansion Box, when it becomes available.) Once this choice is made, the user selects the applicable printer and can then edit the parameters of the printer file. A separate printer driver editor is no longer necessary.
When the configuration process is complete, the information is saved to the program disk, so that it will be automatically used the next time the disk is booted. Should you decide to change any of this information, holding the ESC key down when booting allows you to reconfigure the program. Since LP is not copy-protected, you may have several program disks, each with a different system configuration.
As mentioned before, Spell Perfect is included in the main program. It counts the number of words in your document and allows you to check for misspellings. Unlike the separate Spell Perfect package, this version does not allow you to add to the dictionary disk or create your own dictionary. There just wasn't enough room on the program disk. It's still a useful feature and adds to the product's value.
By the way, if you're an owner of the earlier version of Letter Perfect, you may obtain the new program simply by sending a copy of your registration form and $30 to LJK. Since the new Letter Perfect is larger than the original by about 6K, some very large files created by the first will not completely fit into the new editor. LJK is aware of this, and their policy of allowing you to keep the older version when you upgrade is quite considerate.
Among the many improvements, menu selections can now be made by either positioning the cursor over the desired choice and pressing RETURN (as before) or by pressing the first letter of the menu option. Once a file has been loaded or saved, the program remembers its filename -- and that becomes the default name when saving.
Double-density mode may be selected for your text disks, allowing you to save twice the amount of information on one disk. Trak, Rana, Indus, Percom and generic disk drives (with an ATR8000) are all supported. Although there is no direct single-to-double density conversion function, you can perform this operation if you have two drives. To do so, load a single-density file into LP and choose the configuration option on the main menu. Make your second drive the "file" drive and change the density to double. Then, all you have to do is save the file -- it will be saved as a double-density file. Repeat this process for each single-density file, one at a time.
Other useful new features include: easier and more understandable delete functions for buffer, paragraph, tabs, entire file, before and after cursor and up to marker; a blinking cursor indicating that you are in insert mode, or overwrite mode is being maintained, even if you leave and re-enter the =I conditional page breaks; special characters like tilde and curly brackets; non-overwriting tab; immediate cursor movement to the end of the file without scrolling; and the ability to fix the width of your edit window, to be able to see how your text will look on paper.
(Archiver's Note: That last paragraph appears as it originally did. That "=I" looks like something got left out.)
Is there anything I don't like about the new version of Letter Perfect? Yes, a couple of things. I use an Epson FX-80 printer and have gotten used to the way it works with the original. The new version uses half-spacing for all Epson printers, so you will need to change your printer spacing, margins and header/footers. But, once you get it right, you can forget about it.
Another minor irritation is the character delete function. In the earlier LP, pressing CNTRL-DEL would continuously and rapidly delete characters from the right. Now, that same command results in a slower, jerky movement. Of course, you can always use the new word delete command to accomplish almost the same thing.
Finally, some of the commands have been changed. As in any major software rewrite, the addition of new commands forces new meanings on some of the old ones. For example, the key sequence CNTRL-, used to mean global replace. This same command now produces a left-curly bracket. CNTRL-CAPS has become the command for a global replace.
Fortunately, none of the reassigned meanings are destructive -- you cannot inadvertently wipe out any text or files. In order to minimize confusion, I created a table of the old and new functions and commands (see Table 1 below). And, most importantly, the new Letter Perfect does not require the translator disk on Atari's XLs.
Aside from a few small gripes, version 6.0 of Letter Perfect is a major revision of the program that maintains its already impressive features while adding quite a few more. It remains the best currently available word processor for the Atari.
| Letter Perfect Comparison Chart | ||
|---|---|---|
| Function | Old LP | New LP |
| Cursor Movement | ||
| -Top of text | CNTRL-CLEAR | CNTRL-CLEAR |
| -One word right | CNTRL-Y | |
| -One word left | CNTRL-W | |
| -Previous page | CNTRL-; | CNTRL-Q |
| -Next page | CNTRL-Q | CNTRL-O |
| -Next paragraph | CNTRL-6 | |
| -Top of page | CNTRL-T | CNTRL-CLEAR |
| -Bottom of page | CNTRL-0 | |
| -Jump to marker | CNTRL-X | |
| Deletion | ||
| -Word right | CNTRL-N | |
| -Word left | CNTRL-L | |
| -Current line | SHIFT-DEL | CNTRL-5 |
| -All after cursor | CNTRL-Y | CNTRL-KA |
| -All before cursor | CNTRL-W | CNTRL-KB |
| -Up to marker | CNTRL-N | CNTRL-KM |
| -All text | CNTRL-X | CNTRL-KN |
| -End of Paragraph | CNTRL-KP | |
| -Copy Buffer | CNTRL-K | CNTRL-KC |
| -All tabs | CNTRL-KT | |
| Text moves | ||
| -Copy to buffer | CNTRL-/ | CNTRL-7 |
| -Copy from buffer | CNTRL-CAPS | CNTRL-9 |
| -Lift from buffer | CNTRL-L | CNTRL-8 |
| Continuous scroll | CNTRL-O | CNTRL-4 |
| Fix window width | CNTRL-3 | |
| Conditional pg. break | CNTRL-V% | |
| Halt printer | CNTRL-V! | |
| Global replace | CNTRL-, | CNTRL-CAPS |
| Show tabs | CNTRL-T | |