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3.2 Detailed results

Our examination of visualisation tools is broken down into a number of software groupings including word processing software, spreadsheets, graphics packages, statistical software, image processing software, GIS packages and WWW related software. In each section findings, based on questionnaire replies, for a range of individual packages are listed.

3.2.1 Word Processing software

It is perhaps a matter of some surprise that we included word processing software in our preliminary list of groups of software used as visualisation tools. We were mindful, however, that now a number of word processors have additional graphics functions, for example, the creation of flow charts, limited editing of imported image files, the creation of elaborate text and the creation of simple graphs.

From the replies we have received from our questionnaire making mention of word processing software (and there were not many) these additional functions do not seem to be widely used. Instead it would appear that more specialised and, possibly, more powerful software is being used.

Users seem to see word processors as visualisation tools in the sense that they allow text to be set out in an accessible way to allow easier dissemination of concepts in presentations.

We received two reports each on the use of Microsoft Word and WordPerfect and one report on the use of WriteNow and Microsoft Publisher. The report on WriteNow should be excluded as it came from an academic in a Biology Department.

Reports are available on the use of the following software:

Microsoft Publisher

Publisher was used by one respondee for teaching in the creation of high quality course documentation.

Publisher was considered to be quite easy to use and very useful. It was principally used for general DTP work, image incorporation and the communication of information. For complex collections of text and documents file size was a problem, preventing easy transportation from one machine to another using floppy disks.

Microsoft Word

Microsoft Word was, based on the number of questionnaire replies, one of the more popular Word Processor in use in the social sciences (together with WordPerfect). Few if any of the software's visualisation tools seem to be being used however.

Users generally found Word to be fairly easy to use and very useful but all were using it as a basic word processing package and did not report using some of the more advanced graphic features of the software.

WordPerfect

We only received two questionnaire replies from users of this software. Both were using an old version of WordPerfect, version 5.1 for DOS. WordPerfect is now available in a number of Windows releases produced by different manufacturers as the company has changed hands. The latest release is version 8.

Neither respondees were using the visualisation tools facilities of version 5.1 which, in this early release of the software, would have been limited anyway. The software was criticised as having only a limited number of printer drivers but we suspect that this is due to its age.

WriteNow

One questionnaire, from a Biologist, was received. Version 4 of the software was being used running under MAC 0/S 8.0.

WriteNow is designed to be fast and require limited disk space. It achieves this by restricting the number of rarely used features present in other word-processing software. WriteNow 4.0 has improved graphics import and editing capabilities. It allows cropping, scaling, and positioning of any EPS, PICT, or MacPaint file anywhere in a document without leaving the program. It works in full colour or 88 shades of grey.

The main advantages of WriteNow were listed as:

However, visualisation tools associated with the software were not being used.

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