You may still remember the shift you made from pencil to typewriter and from typewriter to computer and then perhaps from some other computer to a Macintosh. You can expect to experience something similar when you move from some other word processor to NISUS.
You can scroll through this file to read how NISUS differs in nine major categories:
1. NISUS' unparalleled Find/Replace ability — if you can describe it: you can find and change it;
2. the ability to open multiple documents at once and the ability to open one document from within another;
3. NISUS' unlimited Undo feature;
4. NISUS' interactive Layout (preview) window;
5. the ability to use ten different clipboards that can be edited just as any other document window;
6. the ability to string together many commands into "macros" which can automate your repetitive tasks;
7. one click and you are in the graphics sheets where you can draw in your text and have the words wrap around your drawing;
8. the ability to place markers in your text to which you can jump directly;
9 the ability to insert cross references to the page, or line number, or even the marked text itself and have them update as your document changes.
To learn more about any of the subjects mentioned above and listed in the box below, simply hold the Option key down and double click on the word.
You can return to the list at any time by holding the Option key and double clicking on the word "NISUS" wherever the word "NISUS" appears.
One other thought you must keep in mind when comparing NISUS with others word processors: When you read the reviews that do a feature for feature comparison, you get some idea of the power of NISUS, but the problem is that the feature lists used were compiled before NISUS. Only those features which the earlier word processors have are listed. This is like using the feature lists of a typical sports car to make comparisons between a sports car and an amphibious flying sports car!
If you are intrigued, but not yet convinced, then test drive NISUS and see for yourself what word processing power is all about.
Find (page ), Replace (page ), Open (page ), Undo (page ), Preview (page ), Clipboards (page ), Macros (page ), Graphics (page ), Markers (page ), CrossReferences (page ), More (page ). To return to the beginning of this document choose: "you" wherever it appears in the file.
1. Find Other word processors have limited Find/Replace capabilities. NISUS offers much more:
In NISUS you can choose to search or replace in the active window, all open windows, or in any number of designated files on disk that are not open.
In NISUS you can use an entire library of wild cards to help you find anything that can be described such as any telephone number, any address, any proper name in the middle of a sentence, any number at the beginning of a paragraph… anything that can be described. For example: you can find each instance where the page number is referred to in this document do the following (read the instructions first, as following them will somewhat obscure this text):
A. Select the following expression (all of, but only what appears inside the box)
(&0,!)
B. Choose Copy to Find from the Tools menu.
C. Choose Find/Replace from the Tools menu.
D. Click down on the words “Normal Search” and a menu will pop down. Choose PowerSearch from it.
E. Click to find the next reference to a page number in parentheses as in: “(page #).”
In NISUS you can have two or more lines, in any font size and or style you choose; you can search and replace just the text or the text with any of its attributes.
2. Open Other word processors can only open one file at a time.
In NISUS you can use a non-modal Catalog window that can remain in the background. From it you can select any number of files and open them with one command. You can copy the files and or folder list from this Catalog and paste it into your document. You can have NISUS remember the exact location on disk of all open files, save the locations in a file so that when you return You can, with one command, open them all. If you have a long list of files you can even search in the Catalog, just as you might search in a document, for a key word (including wild cards) in the file or folder name. You can examine the Catalog by choosing Catalog… from the File menu. It should resemble this:
Notice that the Catalog window can be resized. The font, size and style of the display can be changed to whatever you wish so that full name of long titles can be seen.
In NISUS you can even open a file directly from another document. All you need is the name of the path to the desired file, then select it and choose Open Selection from the File menu.
You can try this now (read the instructions first, as following them will obscure this text):
A. Select what appears in the box: Demo Format File
B. Choose Open Selection from the File menu.
C. Close the Demo Format File; we will return to it later when we explore the power of Nisus Macros.
3. Undo In most other word processors you have become accustomed to undo only one previous action. In NISUS you don't have this limitation.
In NISUS you can truly undo any number of past actions. You can work back to the beginning of work done in any session and then redo, or work forward again. All actions that change the text or its format (including page layout actions) are undoable.
4. Page Preview Most other word processors have a Page Preview window in which you cannot perform any editing functions. In NISUS you don't experience these limitations.
In NISUS you can view your layout page window while editing the document and watch it update immediately, you can re-size it with automatic scaling of the page view and you can reposition it anywhere on the screen.
Try it (read the instructions first, as following them will obscure this window)!
A. Click on the Layout Page icon above the up arrow in the right scroll bar: . You will see the How Nisus Is Different Layout window with its Info Bar showing. Here you can see your document at a 27% scale.
B. Grab the window's size box and drag it in or out (depending on the size of your monitor) to see how it updates. The margins are indicated by the little icons with the numerical values beside them: . The page icons on the left indicate whether you are viewing one page at a time, or
C. Click the middle one two pages side by side.
D. Click on the Document icon below the magnifying glass in the vertical scroll bar to return to this window.
5. Clipboards Other word processors have only one uneditable clipboard.
In NISUS you have ten clipboards to which you can append, and each of which is fully editable.
Try it!
A. Select this sentence below (triple clicking will select a sentence):
The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.
B. Choose Copy from the Edit menu.
C. Now select the following sentence:
Now is the time for all good people to come to the aid of the party.
D. Press the Shift key and choose Append Copy from the Edit menu.
E. Choose Show Clipboard from the bottom of the Edit menu. There you will see both sentences. You can change the text and/or the font size and style before pasting it back into your document.
6. Macros No other word processor makes it as easy to automate the many repetitive actions needed to make your text appear as you wish.
In NISUS you can turn on the macro recorder, and have NISUS copy your actions; you can edit the macro you've created to fine tune it; you can run through your macro step by step to confirm that it acts as you've designed it; you can have a macro call another macro, write a macro or even modify itself.
Try making the first character of every paragraph in this document Bold.
A. Choose Bold First Char from the Macros submenu of the Tools menu. (This will move your insertion point to the end of this file. After you scroll through the text to see how the macro has done its task, you can return to this point by pressing the Option key as you double click on the word “different.”)
With a macro NISUS can automatically extract the addresses from a document containing addresses, phone numbers and notes, and paste only the names and addresses into a new document for you to name and save. Try it (read the instructions first, as following them will obscure this window):
A. Select what appears in this box: Demo Address list
B. Choose Open Selection from the File menu.
C. Choose Address List… from the Macros submenu of the Tools menu (or press the Option key and click on the title bar of the window, the Macros menu will appear).
D. When you are finished examining the result of the macro, close the window.
NISUS can automatically copy all the phone numbers from a document and paste only the names and numbers in a new document for you to name and save. Try it (read the instructions first, as following them will obscure this window):
A. Select what appears in this box: Demo Address list
B. Choose Open Selection from the File menu.
C. Choose Extract Phone List from the Macros submenu of the Tools menu (or press the Option key and click on the title bar of the window, the Macros menu will appear).
D. When you are finished examining the result of the macro, close the window.
Format an entire file (read the instructions first, as following them will obscure this window).
A. Select what appears in this box: Demo format file
B. Choose Open Selection from the File menu.
C. Choose Format Example from the Macros submenu of the Tools menu (or press the Option key and click on the title bar of the window, the Macros menu will appear).
D. When you are finished examining the result of the macro, close the window.
Re-Format an entire Data Base file in minutes (read the instructions first, as following them will obscure this window).
A. Select what appears in this box: Demo Re-Format Data
B. Choose Open Selection from the File menu.
C. Choose Re-Format Data from the Macros submenu of the Tools menu (or press the Option key and click on the title bar of the window, the Macros menu will appear). In a few minutes the entire file will be reformatted, ready for publication.
D. When you are finished examining the result of the macro, close the window.
7. Graphics NISUS makes it easy to produce documents which contain both graphics and text.
In NISUS one click on the Graphics Palette icon: puts the drawing tools at your fingertips ready to draw over the text. With one menu choice you can have the text flow through or wrap around the graphic. With one click and drag you can draw an arrow to point to something, and another click and you can type a text box (such as a “callout” box illustrated above [press the Option key and double-click on the words “callout”]) and move it freely about the page.
To learn more about how graphics are handled in NISUS select what appears in the box: Text 'n' Graphic File and choose Open Selection from the File menu. When you are finished examining that file, close it to return to this file.
8. Markers Unlike other word processors NISUS allows you to jump directly to any marked text, much like using an electronic bookmark.
In NISUS you can prepare your document as you work, inserting markers, then all you need do is choose the marker name from the bottom of the Jump To submenu of the Tools menu, or, using the appropriate macro (as you've already learned in this demo document) press the Option key and double click on the word that refers to your marker.
9. Cross References Other word processors require that you manually update references in your documents (whether page numbers, line numbers, page line numbers, paragraph numbers, or a quote of some text passage).
In NISUS you can set markers in your document. You can then insert cross references to them (such as the number of the page on which some text appears). These are automatically updated. You can test this now. The following instructs you to insert a page break ahead of some cross referenced page numbers (in the boxed list of subjects above on page ). When you insert the new page break scroll down to the box and notice how the referenced page numbers inside the parentheses have changed. First read these instructions, then follow them. Note: the first instruction will move you out of reach of the remainder of the instructions!
A. Jump to flying (as you've already learned- with the Option double-click)
B. Place your insertion point at the end of that paragraph “flying sports car!”
C. Choose Insert Page Break from the Format menu.
10. Other Features
A. You can place the graphic image of any NISUS file (full size or scaled) within any other. This graphic image can be resized, cropped (even down to "button" size), rotated…. You can also open the placed file and edit it by double clicking on it. The changes will appear in the placed file. The file Nisus for Technical Writers is placed here, surrounded by this box. Double click on it to open it and experiment.
B. In NISUS you can number lines on screen (choose Line Numbers from the Display submenu of the Tools menu), or (if you are in a legal setting) you can have a special "Pleading Page" with its official double ruled numbered lines.
If you want to check a pleading page layout, select the text that appears in the box: Pleading Page Stationery and choose Open Selection.
C. For an introduction to the intuitive and powerful menu commands and window icons, select the text that appears in the box: Menu/Icon Tour of NISUS and choose Open Selection.
D. More information on how NISUS handles rulers and User Styles ("Style Sheets") is available by selecting the text that appears in the box: Info on ¶ & Rulers and choosing Open Selection. An example of a Stationery file with "Style Sheets is available by selecting the text that appears in the box: Stationery Example and choosing Open Selection.
These are but a few of the ways NISUS is different from other word processors.
