Mellel 2.9 is fantastic

[ahankinson]

I just wanted to give a note of praise to the Redlers for a fine release. I've been using 2.9 in Beta, but now that it's out I'd like to say "thanks" for a job well done!

The new page layout system is great, and I'm really digging the new toolbar and palette appearance. And I hope the new OpenType features are a sign of things to come.

Cheers!

[AdamWysokinski]

I definitely agree - it looks a lot better and I really like all the improvements.

My writing work (I'm currently writing a mini-book on psychiatry) flows so smoothly thanks to the combination of Mellel and Bookends - it's so much better (despite certain Mellel limitations) comparing to Word + Endnote..

Great job!

[macsailor]

I agree as well. A good word processor and writing tool has suddenly become even better now.

Once again, thanks for a good work and for update of Mellel.

[suavito]

The internal name of this upgrade must be Troublemaker. Because it will cause the Redlers a lot of trouble finding out what on earth they can add to Mellel to make it 3.0.

I mean, this is just a .9 version and such a huge step forwards! It's amazing. Thank you, guys!.

[jannuss]

The internal name of this upgrade must be Troublemaker. Because it will cause the Redlers a lot of trouble finding out what on earth they can add to Mellel to make it 3.0.

I mean, this is just a .9 version and such a huge step forwards! It's amazing. Thank you, guys!.

I'm also very, very pleased with 2.9
BUT
it would take me more time than I have free at the moment to list all the important things still missing in the program

1. Sections
-- independent text flows (right column on page one to right column on page two, etc.)
-- ability to size columns independently, not merely split the page equally
2. Tables, lot of work needed here
3. Marginalia (I assumed it was coming with line numbering -- have I missed something?)
4. Track changes -- I haven't had the time to check. Is it truly compatible with WORD, both import and export?
5. Special handling for numerous languages -- just recently the Redlers were reminded of old requests to repair problems with Persian and French
etc., etc., etc.

And just to make myself perfectly clear : I think 2.9 is great and I'm enjoying working with it.

Janet

[shades]

I agree with Janet about features still needed. But this is a great update. The first thing I noticed was the speed, of everything, opening the program, using menus, responsiveness at every part of the program. Of course, I am exploring all the new features, slowly (operator slowness, not program).

But well done.

Rich

[dapenguin503]

I'll go a bit further;
parallel columns. In other words> all selected columns are synced such that paragraphs start at the same place on the page. Very useful when doing biligual works such as siddurs and haggadahs. I presently use tables and this gets a bit hairy in cases when a paragraph / section is overly long.
TCC:}


1. Sections
-- independent text flows (right column on page one to right column on page two, etc.)
-- ability to size columns independently, not merely split the page equally

[suavito]

Of course you are all right.

I didn't want to say that Mellel now is feature complete. I just wanted to point out that a full version number update like 3.0 in relation to a mere .1 (or more precisely: .08) leap will have to come up with something huge as this small version number leap is actually already a big leap forward for Mellel.

[jannuss]

A lot of people have been asking for Indexing -- I'd say that would be ".0" worthy -- but, as an outsider looking in [I don't need indexes], I wonder if special-purpose 3rd party package wouldn't be a better choice for something so complex.

Janet

[nicka]

It depends. When indexing is built into the word processor you get the advantage of being able to mark up terms as you go along, the approach this website on indexing calls embedded indexing:

The advantages of embedded indexing are based on the fact that, when using it, locators are virtual - i.e., they do not exist until the index is printed or displayed. Therefore, if you need to change the size of the page or to print the document in one size for an American audience and another for the rest of the world or to also print a large type version, you do not have to re-index the document because text may move from one page to another when you do those things. Nor do you have to re-index it if you add or delete text. You can also begin indexing earlier in the publication process because you don't have to worry about shifting page numbers. For example: you can begin indexing chapter 7 before chapters 5 and 6 have been written. And, when there is a major revision, These are important advantages in environments where time to market is critical and where documents are changed frequently or need to be printed or displayed in multiple formats. Generally, those are environments that produce lots of technical documentation.

There are also disadvantages, of course, and professional indexers usually work from a proof of a finished book and use dedicated software.

From the point of view of RedleX, I think it's probably not a question of if but when, considering i) that Word, Nisus Writer Pro and Libre Office all do embedded indexing (not very well, though) and ii) that Mellel is aimed, partly, at users who work with long documents, and who are more likely therefore to need embedded indexing.

[nicka]

As for what would a worthy update for 3.0 -- well, for 2.9 we got several things: line numbering, more versatile page layout (and a better interface for it) and improvements to the document window.

Perhaps for 3.0 we could hope for a similar bundle of improvements: indexing, ability to put comments, punctuation, list numbers in margins, and improvements to dialogue boxes and palettes (Find Set dialogue and Bibliography palette are the most in need of work, I think). And nobody in this thread has mentioned letterspacing or export of table of contents to pdf. Until now.

[DRB]

As to letterspacing, I point out in my Tutorial how to automate extra (regular+narrow) letterspacing between small caps. I suspect that a similar method could be done for other types of letterspacing too. It involves making a macro via the find/replace system. A similar macro could easily be made with a macro program too. But as far as full scale kerning is concerned, I'm not sure this would be a plus for Mellel. A well made font already has highly sophisticated kerning, and except in the hands of an expert I'm not sure it is something the lay user should fool with. But of course I may be wrong.

Don Broadribb

[ddauerbach]

I've been using the β. And now 2.9. I've only been doing a small project on it, but I have to say that it has been amazingly trouble-free (makes me feel like an inadequate beta-tester). All the changes to existing capabilities are improvements; and line-numbering is very nicely implemented. (And marginalia would be lovely...)

[Hans-Reinhard Koch]

Yes, Mellel N.N was always phantastic and Mellel 2.9 is even better. Congratulations to the Redlers team!

Still, most of us would agree that there is still room for improvement. And thank God, we have a forum where we can voice our wishes. Did you ever try to make suggestions to MS re WORD? I do not know, what the next version of Mellel will be. If is is going to be version 3.0, then indexing would really be an appropriate addition. If it is only 2.10 or 2.9.1, then I would really want the image options improved. Redlers have given us a wonderful improvement of image placement some versions ago. But this is still useless for all writers of scientic texts, who have to place legends under their pictures. And as is, there is no way to marry legends to pictures with float around text. Please support me in this wish. Because I do not want to reformat my book with Indesign or Quark in the end to have a printable version.

Hans-Reinhard

[Timotheus]

An image placement feature without the possibility to provide them of legends is indeed rather useless; and the same holds true for track changes without comments and without flawless interchange with Word.