Professional Write, Version 2.2
                       Copyright 1990 David W. Batterson

     WordPerfect is still the best-selling word processing software, but many
users don't need its advanced features, or want to pay that high price.
However, there are dozens of other word processors to choose from.
     Software Publishing Corp. has now released Version 2.2 of Professional
Write, which is one of the easiest word processors to learn.  It also has the
power and features you need, without overkill.
     One of the major new features of Version 2.2 is a customized version of
Grammatik IV.  (We reviewed Grammatik IV in PC REVIEWS, and gave it 5 stars.)
     Previously, you could use a stand-alone copy of Grammatik IV with
Professional Write.  Now it's an option in the pull-down menus, and it requires
no separate installation.
     The Grammatik IV add-in program checks for common grammar, style, usage
and punctuation errors.  In setup, you can select "general," "business" or
"technical" writing, or customize it to your needs.
     Professional Write 2.2 has made one change in its excellent page preview
feature.  Besides font and/or style changes--and seeing how this affects line
and page breaks--you now can add automatic hyphenation.
     The previewed pages can be displayed side by side, or you can zoom in to
page portions for close detail.  For your documents that include a graph, the
placement of the graph is represented by a shadow box.
     Even without using page preview, you can add hyphenation prior to
printing as a print style option.  In this case, you don't see the hyphenation
prior to printing.
     There's additional printer support (over 150 now), including the HP
LaserJet III, HP DeskJet Plus and Canon LBP 8.  Ver. 2.2 has caught up with the
font frenzy too.  It supports most HP and compatible font cartridges, including
Pacific Data Product's popular 25 Cartridges In One.
     Since laser printers allow proportional fonts, this can cause problems
with your right margins coming out too wide.  At print time, Professional Write
rewraps lines to preserve the margin you wanted.
     Professional Write reads files from most popular word processors, so no
file conversions are required.  You can import files from WordPerfect 5.1,
WordStar 5.0, Microsoft Word 5.0, MultiMate 4.0 and others.  You can save in
those formats, or in ASCII.
     The spell checker (77,000 words) and thesaurus (20,000 keywords) have not
been upgraded from Version 2.1.  I wish they had beefed these up.  However, you
can add about 5,000 words to the personal dictionary.
     File length has been limited in earlier versions of Professional Write.
This problem is gone now.  Even if you have only 512K RAM and no EMS, it makes
use of your hard drive to allow extremely long documents.
     Form letters can be created using Professional Write's own Address Book,
or by using Professional File or dBASE files.  You can append delimited ASCII
files to your address book, or copy individual records to delimited ASCII
files.
     You may insert a Lotus 1-2-3 worksheet, or include a graph from Harvard
Graphics, Harvard Presentation Graphics 1.0, PFS: First Choice or Professional
Plan 1.0.
     In some word processing software, creating macros can be confusing.
Professional Write has online instructions to help you write macros.  You can
create as many as 35, with variable lengths.  If you forget what <Alt> key
combination it was, there's a handy menu of all your macros.
     Other useful features of Professional Write include a calculator, file
encryption, EMS memory support, and the Address Book.  The Address Book can
hold up to 2,000 names & addresses.  You can then insert these in letters, use
them for form letters (mail-merge), and print envelopes and mailing labels.
     There are a few minor omissions, that we may get in Ver. 3.0 some day.
One is support of .PCX graphics files.  The other is automatic saving of
documents (not crucial, but very useful).
     The suggested list is $249 but Egghead Software and other discount
software dealers sell it for much less, so shop around.  The upgrade from
earlier versions costs you $55 ($65 after September 15).  If you purchased Ver.
2.1 after April 16, you can get a free upgrade with proof of purchase.
     For more information, contact Software Publishing Corporation, P.O. Box
7210, 1901 Landings Drive, Mountain View, CA  94039-7210; 415-962-8910, FAX:
415-969-8466.
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     David W. Batterson is a freelance computer journalist who doesn't use the
"Big W" word processing programs.  Send comments via MCI MAIL: DBATTERSON.