This has been a very interesting thread.
It has also been the single most posted to thread I've seen in the six or
so months I've been a subscrber to this group.
What fascinates me is that other than the three defender's of OO
"orthodoxy" regarding "styles" ve. alternative methods, like a WP "reveal
codes" approach, the overwhelming majority of posters appear to desire the
WP/Corel "Reveal Codes" option to the very steep learning curve of the
"styles " approach.
Food for thought.
If the programmers behind OO want to provide a word processor which will
attract users, and avoid the very high costs of the MJKS or Corel products,
those programmers might want to seriously consider the efficacy of
providing what the users who have expressed an opinion appear to want,
rather tahn take the "...my way or the highway..." approach expresseed here
so far.
Not trying to start a pissing contest. Just pointing out what the
admittedly unscientifif opinion sample in this thread has so far shown.
Is there a technical reason why a Corel/WP "Reveal Codes" function can not
be implemented in 5.x.x?
On Wed, May 14, 2014 at 3:38 PM, Doug <dmcgarr...@optonline.net> wrote:
>
> On 05/14/2014 02:12 PM, Bruce Byfield wrote:
>
>> On Wednesday 14 May 2014 05:29:45 PM Brian Barker wrote:
>>
>>> At 23:38 14/05/2014 +1000, Marina Tadiello wrote:
>>>
>>>> In general, and from a user's perspective, Styles are one example of
>>>> how common users are encouraged (or forced? :-) to think ("program")
>>>> and behave like computers.
>>>>
>>> Yes, manual formatting is available. But using it is kind of perverse,
>> because
>> it means doing more work than necessary, and cutting yourself off from
>> important features.
>>
>> Here's how I describe manual formatting in the introduction to the book
>> I'm in
>> the middle of completing:
>>
>> "Office suites are as old as the personal computer. Yet, after more than
>> thirty
>> years, few of us have bothered to learn how to use them.
>>
>> "Oh, we have learned how to get things done in them. Most of us can
>> format a
>> document and print it out, after a fashion. But what we haven't learned
>> is to
>> do these things efficiently, taking advantage of all the tools that are
>> available.
>>
>> "It is as if we have learned enough about cars to go down hill in them and
>> coast across level ground, but never learned about the ignition. We get
>> things
>> done, but with more effort and less efficiency that we should. Some
>> tasks, like
>> going uphill, we don't imagine are even possible because of our limited
>> view."
>>
>> I, being an enemy of "styles," in general, explain myself thusly: I
> probably
> never write anything more than three pages long. I am not writing a book.
> I don't have chapters. I don't use bulletted lists, altho I might if
> bullets were easier to use _without_ styles! I don't have "Front Pages" or
> whatever chapter heads are called in fancy books. I don't have chapters
> at all, so I don't need pages that end in the middle before going on with
> my text. I don't even indent paragraphs, but if I wanted to, it would be
> no big deal to push the tab key. (Actually, most word-processors have a
> format command that would do that for me, if I wanted it.) And since I
> don't write books, or edit them or publish them, i don't need a desktop
> publisher, which is what _I_ think OO/LO are aiming to be.
>
> On the other hand, if I needed a desktop publisher, and didn't want to
> or could not afford to purchase a "professional" one, I would certainly
> look at the possibility of learning and using OO/LO. From what I read
> in these lists, that would be a real possibility. Someone who is willing to
> spend the time to actually write a book can probably afford the time to
> learn desktop publishing.
>
> One more thing: I am not in any way trying to dissuade anyone from
> learning OO/LO, if that's what they want. I am, however, pointing out
> that it is hardly worth the effort for the average memo writer, letter
> writer, or even article writer. It would be like a numismatist learning
> metallurgy!
>
> I rest my case.
>
> --doug
>
>
>
>
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