The Nisus Files: Converting to the Nisus Writer word processor

By Kirk Hiner

January 11, 2002

Okay, before I get into this month's article, I should point that a new version of Nisus Writer is available as the Nisus Software website. This is a paid upgrade available in boxed and downloadable versions, and a competitive upgrade is also available. Is it worth it for current Nisus Writer owners? Well, as with any other program's update, check out the new features in v6.5 and see if you need them:

• PowerPC only
• Runs in Classic mode under Mac OSX
• Runs on any Macintosh running 8.5 or later
• Added outlining (see the Outline submenu of the Tools menu).
• Added the Document Manager (see the Documents menu to the right of the Gear/Cogwheel menu).
• Changed: moving paragraphs (selected by "quadruple-clicking" 4-clicks) has been changed. Copy and Paste now allow you to copy a paragraph by pasting either at the end of the paragraph in front, or at the beginning of the paragraph behind the new location. Drag and Drop adds an additional return at the end of the selection.
• Changed: the "Plain Text" command no longer clears user defined styles. This was changed so that choosing plain text within an outline would not break the outline.
• Fixed a crashing bug when quickly typing more than 32 characters in the Catalog window.
• Fixed support for importing and exporting footnotes using the Mercury RTF filter. The changed filter itself (installed with this version) is also required for footnotes to work.

If you're using a version prior to v6.0.3, head over to the Nisus Writer updates page to see everything you're missing.

Now, let's reflect. Although I didn't publish my first Nisus Files article until April of 2001, it's been about a year now since the good folks at Nisus Soft agreed to assist me with this project. I'm somewhat embarrassed by the low volume of articles I've put up, but even more embarrassed by the lack of progress I've made on my novel. Marriage will slow a writer down, and the constant revisions of my previous work haven't helped, but I was still hoping to be further along. Back when I was in high school, I remember asking Mrs. Marble why all the authors we were reading served time in jail. She didn't have an answer, but I do now; it's the only place a man can get any work done.

I can also attribute my slow pace to the learning curve I faced when beginning work with Nisus. I'll insert my obligatory call for a printed manual here, but it's more than that. I'd spent so much time fighting my way through Microsoft Word that it took me a while to think the way Nisus Writer wants me to, which is actually however I want.

You see, Word comes with a billion tools you'll never use, I guess because everyone who works on it gets to add something. I picture four hundred people chopping away at stone to create a statue, but no one's allowed to see what the others are doing. They're told to work on the elbow or the thigh or the symbolic sword and never mind how the head is coming along. As a result, we've got this massive hunk of powerful, chiseled rock that makes about as much sense as a mining disaster. That's why Word forces you to work its way. Would you want to explore a dark, abandoned mine without a dancing paper clip to light your way?

Then there's Nisus Writer. It's crisp. It's exact. It's what you want it be at any point, all the while waiting for the chance to be more. It can be complicated, sure, but most of the complex features stay out of the way, well hidden until they're ready to be learned. I know it's trendy to sing the praises of Microsoft Office these days, but I wonder if this is because Microsoft's previous attempts were so horrible that we've come to expect less. Sure, Word 98 was an improvement over Word 6, but so was SimpleText. And although I liked many features of Word 98, it was still messy. It was a closet full of suitcases, old stuffed animals and 70s board games (10-4 Good Buddy) waiting to come tumbling out once the closet door was opened.

Nisus Writer has pretty much the same suitcases and board games (10-4 Good Buddy being replaced by Bonkers, perhaps), but they're stacked more neatly. They're organized. They don't conflict with each other and with what you want to do. I'll take the closet analogy further. My original point was that Nisus Writer is harder to use at first because it requires a little more thought coming into it. It looks and feels different from most other word processors you may have used in the past, and that can be intimidating and frustrating. With other programs, be it Word, WordPerfect, Appleworks, Mariner Write, etc., it's always been just a matter of hopping in and getting started. A quick glance at the interface and through the menu items is enough to get you going, the frustration sets in when you begin to feel more comfortable with the program and try to customize to your style. Because of it's unique toolsets and abilities, however, this is the exact opposite of Nisus Writer.

To use Nisus Writer effectively, you have to first sort the closet. Rather than toss any old item in there and hunt around for it later, Nisus asks that you start stacking early. Figure out what you need your word processor to do and learn how to do it. Nisus won't second guess and offer ridiculous tips ("I see you appear to be writing a letter," quoth the paper clip. "Would you like me to automatically choose your typeface, set your margins, adjust your kerning, correct your grammar, suggest a new an clever spelling for your name that makes use of the prefix 'Neo?' "), it just lets you work. And you know, as confusing as Nisus may have been early on, it still has taken me less time to learn than it did to figure out how to permanently shut off that damn Office Assistant in Word.

I'm getting a little riled up now, so let me reiterate here that I don't believe Nisus Writer is the pinnacle of word processors. There's plenty of room to grow, but Nisus is willing to let all of its users be teachers. With its Macro functions, anyone can add functionality to the program and share it with others in much the same organized method in which PhotoShop or web browser plug-ins work. Don't want it? Don't add it. Can you imagine Microsoft taking that approach with Word?

I'll have more on macros in a future article. Can't very well write about Nisus Writer without eventually getting to the Macros.

As I've mentioned in past articles, I like Nisus Writer because it allows me to focus on my writing, not on using the program. It's the closest I've come to sitting in front of the old Smith Corona back in high school, churning out episode after episode of The Twilight Zone or answering my friend John's latest additions to the novel we co-wrote, "There's Dog Hair On the Grape." Back then, all that mattered to me were the words.

You know, this edition The Nisus Files took a quite a different direction than I'd intended. I guess, with the new year just starting, I'm more inclined to reflection than normal. I'd say my new year's resolution is to get more writing done, but that's my resolution every morning. However, if I don't get something published soon, I'll be too old to be considered "America's most promising young author," so I'll refocus my efforts. Read more, write more, learn more; I guess that's my plan. I'll be back in February with comments on Nisus Writer's performance in OS X classic mode, the elusive header/footer observations, and whatever else I find back there in the closet.

See next article.

See past article.

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