Hello,
I just thought that I might suggest a few features which would make my use of Mellel easier. Perhaps there are others who might also benefit from these possible features. First though, I would like to say that, even without any additional updates of any kind, I still think that Mellel is the most perfect and elegant word processor I have ever encountered. I switched from Wordperfect when my last PC died. Since then, I have written a rough draft of a novel, half of a second one, and countless essays and letters - all on Mellel. There is a level of efficiency and intuitiveness that just makes it easier for me to write. As soon as I start the program, its interface somehow just invites and insights me to create pages and pages, before I even know what is happening. Being a musician, I can compare it to picking up my own guitar - friendly, warm, and comfortable - as opposed to another instrument. It inspires.
My first suggestion is that it might be of benefit to be able to read and/or write Wordperfect files. Currently I have to use Abi-Word to awkwardly translate files which are in this format, whether they are my older documents or files from others that I know who use this program. It would be great if Mellel could deal with these files.
My second suggestion is that the "save" portion of the menu should not be available if no changes are made. I must admit that I save with obsessive-compulsive frequency, and I am very conscious of the changes that I have made. In most of the other pieces of software that I use, the "save" function is grayed out when no changes are made. Perhaps there are other users who also expect this rather helpful feature.
And my third suggestion is not really a feature request, but a request to maintain an element of the status quo. As might be the case with many Mellel users, my writing computer is rather old. I have a G3 Pismo, which is an amazing personal writing machine (I bought it specifically for the purpose of working with Mellel). But as new features are added, and times change, I would like to make a plea to keep Mellel efficient and fast for those who continue to use old typewriters like mine.
Anyway, I appreciate being able to make these suggestions and I look forward to whatever improvements might be made to this already beautiful piece of software.
a few humble requests
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Re: a few humble requests
I cannot speak to your first or third requests, as I have no need for WP support, and my current system runs Mellel quite happily. However, in regards to your second point about saving and indication of the status of a document: Mellel follows the standard OS X notification. If you look at the close button of the document you are working in, it will tell you whether or not changes have been made in the document. If there have been no changes, it will appear as normal. However, if there are changes in your document, then there will with a black dot in the middle of the close button (far-left, and red in the standard settings). This is the default and recommended way for OS X programs to notify the user if there are changes in a document, and if a save may be required.
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Re: a few humble requests
Thank you for the tip regarding the black dot inside the close button. I never noticed that it was there before, and knowing that it is there is very helpful. Still, why would the save portion of the menu not be integrated with this function? I checked some of my other OSX software, and here are my findings: Emagic Logic 6 Pro uses both the menu and the dot separately for different types of changes, Photoshop 7 synchronizes the dot and the menu perfectly, and Corel Painter 7 ignores the dot altogether (but greys the menu). There seems to be quite a bit of variation. Textedit, however, operates exactly like Mellel in this way. Perhaps it is a difference between Carbon and Cocoa applications?
I'm sorry if anyone misunderstood my third request. Mellel runs perfectly on my system. My suggestion was that I hope that it stays that way with newer versions, given what I see as a recent trend of many software companies to unnecessarily raise the system requirements of their applications in proportion to the latest technology.
Thanks again for your helpful response.
I'm sorry if anyone misunderstood my third request. Mellel runs perfectly on my system. My suggestion was that I hope that it stays that way with newer versions, given what I see as a recent trend of many software companies to unnecessarily raise the system requirements of their applications in proportion to the latest technology.
Thanks again for your helpful response.
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Re: a few humble requests
I think Mellel is very good at this: the developers seem concerned to keep performance reasonable on older systems.Mellel runs perfectly on my system. My suggestion was that I hope that it stays that way with newer versions, given what I see as a recent trend of many software companies to unnecessarily raise the system requirements of their applications in proportion to the latest technology.
One advantage it has over some other software is that it has its own text engine. Apparently the Mac OS text engine in 10.5 is rather different from 10.4, and one consequence is that typing and scrolling in text on older Macs is much slower in 10.5 as a result in applications that use the built-in text engine. Scrivener is one example (see discussions on the Scrivener forum). Since it has its own text engine, Mellel has not been affected by this problem.
Re: a few humble requests
The save-portion in the menu... is that actually needed? Who still saves with the Menubar? You can have it graphically, and Mellel does it graphically: look for the icon in the toolbar next to the filename.Prunesquallor wrote:Hello,
I
My second suggestion is that the "save" portion of the menu should not be available if no changes are made. I must admit that I save with obsessive-compulsive frequency, and I am very conscious of the changes that I have made. In most of the other pieces of software that I use, the "save" function is grayed out when no changes are made. Perhaps there are other users who also expect this rather helpful feature.
when you save your file for the first time, a Mellel icon appears in the file toolbar (topbar) to the left of the filename. When you change something in your text, your icon is greyed-out. Until you save again, making the icon appear in full colour. That's a much better alternative to the Menubar-way, I feel. (Apart from that, save with Applekey+S).