New Wave Of Cool Image, Drawing Tools On The Mac.

Jim Mandigo said:

Perhaps I am an old foggy, but I keep searching for something to replace the AppleWorks suite. If I had the money, I would buy it, give it a basic facelift, and repackage it. Here is why.

First the word processor simply works though I don’t use it very often. That is because the draw and paint tools provide so many options that using a simple word processor is pointless.

The draw tools in AppleWorks, in particular, are simply fantastic. Need a paint canvas? Create it in draw tools any size you want. Need a small spreadsheet? Create it in draw tools any size you want. Need multiple object fields? Create them in draw tools any size you want. Need multiple text fields of various sizes? Create them in draw tools. Want to create your own images? Open the paint tools and set the window next to the draw window. Talk about productivity all coming from a single application!

It doesn’t end there. The AppleWorks database does what a database is supposed to do. No “excel” gobbledygook. And once the data has been entered the layout can be manipulated with text fields, various objects (graphics), can be used with any Avery Label, and of course, mail merge.

Then the spreadsheet looks and does exactly what a spreadsheet is supposed to do. It is not as bloated as Excel, but most people do not need a Hummer to run to the corner store. Furthermore, the spreadsheet tool in the draw program allows you to create a spreadsheet just the size (rows and columns) you need. No confusion or Video Doctor to create a spreadsheet.

And last but not least, AppleWorks does have a slide show. It isn’t as great as PowerPoint, but it does allow individuals to draw graphs and paste graphics and create multiple text fields and do other things that PowerPoint can’t do. (It is a great tool for teaching and a minimal cost.) PowerPoint is great for business, but students need to be drawing their graphics, not copying and pasting them from some template. Where is the creativity and problem solving in that?

I am searching for a whole package like AppleWorks. Yes, it was old and lean compared to Office, but it worked all the time and created documents that cannot be duplicated in Office. That is what I expect from an Apple product, and Pages and Numbers and stand alone draw and painting programs are not meeting my expectations.

ginalee said:

Yup, I’ve recently fell in love with Pixelmator.

It’s really sexier to use than PS although I find myself switching from app to app to get certain tasks done easily and quickly.