The Last Word - A New Word Processor for the XL/XE! (now NTSC-compatible)

flashjazzcat · February 25, 2009

I added a feature to LW which might prove useful, and makes the tab comb less like an ornament:

(right click and "Save Target")

I think these expanding tabs (previously, LW simply inserted spaces up to the next tab stop) should enhance LW's usefulness as a program text editor, and this surprisingly complex modification (which is still buggy) is a first small step towards live on-screen formatting. Short of a major UI rewrite, I envisage dual-document views, akin to Word Perfect's "reveal codes" feature. For the time being, "normal" view will simply supress tab expansion (useful if you want to load in a binary file). In the future, depending on how far the machine (and my brain!) can be pushed, I might think about implementing proportional fonts, bold, italic, etc, on screen. I really feel by that point, though, you need a good GUI. Investigating possible non-proprietary GUIs for future versions of LW, I've been looking at Diamond GOS, which has a nice API but clearly a very limited user base, as well as presenting massive technical problems with regard to program size, etc. The other (probably more sensible) route is to write a custom GUI...

[pinches self]... anyway, back to the real world for now. I know some folks are waiting for a stable second beta and I hope to get one ready within a few days.

Edited February 25, 2009 by flashjazzcat