Nisus Writer Pro

[bunnspecial]

I discovered Nisus when I got a copy of it on an HD-20(mid-1980s 20mb Macintosh external HDD), and have used it enough on my 512Ke that I started hunting for it on a whim and found that a current version is available.

I'm currently about 4 days into a 15 day trial of it, and am weighing whether or not I want to fork over the $80 for it when my trial runs out. So far, I like it. I'm an MS Word user from way back, so the learning curve is there but so far I like what I see. I also appreciate how easy it is to do things like tables vs. MS Word. Plus, everything saves as .rtf by default, so I won't be locked out of my documents if decide not to buy.

In any case, I'm wondering if anyone else is using it. I've managed to finish a couple of documents in it(including a syllabus, which was easier than MS word as far as getting it to look how I want) but am wondering if anyone else here uses it.

If you do, do you have any thoughts on it particularly as compared to MS Word? I like the the fact that the 15 day trial is full featured, but at the same time I don't know if that's enough time to learn it well since I don't generally spend hours a day in it.

Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[chscag]

I've seen it bundled along with other apps on special but that has been several years ago. However, you might want to check this link to see if you can get a 25% discount. Not sure I would want to pay $79.00 for a stand alone WP regardless of how good it is. But that's just me.

 

[baruchsienna]

I've had Nisus from the very beginning. Back then, it was my go to tool for almost every project. It was so powerful and could things no other WP could do (non-contiguous text, macros, multilingual processing). Now, many other tools have caught up, although sometimes Nisus still shines.

Does Nisus Express have enough features for what you need? It will only set you back $20 and supports the most important tools (Style Sheets, Tables, Multilingual Text, Footnotes & Endnotes) except for serious academic/book writing and advanced editing tools (Missing from Express: Bookmarks & References, Indexing, Macros, Drawing Tools, Watermarks, Line Numbering, Mail Merge). If you don't needs these, you can get their Express.

 

[bunnspecial]

Thanks guys.

Unfortunately, express doesn't cut it for me, as I actually need quite a few of those options.

With that said, I was able to get the academic discount(I am an educator) which brought the price down to $40. I've just bought it.

 

[exegete77]

Been using it since it first ported to OS X (used Nisus Writer Classic up to OS 9). Excellent, far more stable and easier to use than MS Word (have been using it since Word 5 in 1990). It is powerful, but don’t forget to learn about the macros available (you don’t have to write them), or you can write your own.

 

[Huntn]

Anyone using Nisus Writer Pro? First impression is good and I imagine a switch from Page to this will not be too painful and it does bookmakrs and a TOC! That said...

Subject Text Behavior: My goal is to change all the text in a selected group of text to the same size. In a text document, that I'm putting together by cut and paste, when I select a block of text of different sizes, in the Tool Drawer, the text size box gives no indication that text of multiple sizes are selected. Only one size is shown, the largest size selected. In this case 18 pts, but I've also highlighted another section of text with a size of 10pts. With the block selected as indicated below, when I change that size in the text box to 14 pts, the 18 pt text shrinks down to 14, but the 10pt text shrinks to 6 pts.

I've not seen this behavior in a word processor before. As most of you may know, when multiple text sizes are selected in Pages, the text box remains blank or has a dash in it (I forget which), and any change made to a block of text effects all of it, so the end result is all text matches what was entered into the text box. It's not a relative setting. I've been looking through the User's Guide but have not yet found the answer.

I assume that there is setting in NWP something along the lines of relative vs absolute and could possible be associated with a style sheet. Any advice appreciated.
Thanks!

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[exegete77]

Anyone using Nisus Writer Pro? First impression is good and I imagine a switch from Page to this will not be too painful and it does bookmakrs and a TOC! That said...

Subject Text Behavior: My goal is to change all the text in a selected group of text to the same size. In a text document, that I'm putting together by cut and paste, when I select a block of text of different sizes, in the Tool Drawer, the text size box gives no indication that text of multiple sizes are selected. Only one size is shown, the largest size selected. In this case 18 pts, but I've also highlighted another section of text with a size of 10pts. With the block selected as indicated below, when I change that size in the text box to 14 pts, the 18 pt text shrinks down to 14, but the 10pt text shrinks to 6 pts.

I've not seen this behavior in a word processor before. As most of you may know, when multiple text sizes are selected in Pages, the text box remains blank or has a dash in it (I forget which), and any change made to a block of text effects all of it, so the end result is all text matches what was entered into the text box. It's not a relative setting. I've been looking through the User's Guide but have not yet found the answer.

I assume that there is setting in NWP something along the lines of relative vs absolute and could possible be associated with a style sheet. Any advice appreciated.
Thanks!

View attachment 660646​

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I have never run into this problem with NWP. Perhaps you should post in the Nisus Forums. Very experienced and helpful people there. Nisus Forums

 

[Huntn]

I have never run into this problem with NWP. Perhaps you should post in the Nisus Forums. Very experienced and helpful people there. Nisus Forums

Did that today, have not yet checked back for an answer. Thanks! Of note, I'm only seeing this when using the text settings in the Tool Drawer, when I edit text from the Format>Font's pulldown menu, text size works as I expect it to.

 

[Huntn]

I have never run into this problem with NWP. Perhaps you should post in the Nisus Forums. Very experienced and helpful people there. Nisus Forums

I got my answer!
Text Size Editing
What you've described above about adjusting font sizes is true, and is the intended behavior. When you use the up/down arrow "stepper" to increment or decrement the font size of the selected text, the adjustment is applied to each font size independently. That is, if you click twice to increment the font size +2 points, then any selected text using a 10 point font size becomes 12 points, and some other text using 6 points becomes 8 points.

To achieve a uniform font size for all selected text, regardless of how many font sizes are in effect, you can do any of the following:

1. Hold down the Command key when you click the font size stepper's up or down arrows.
2. Use the font size slider, ie: drag the slider's knob left or right to adjust the font size.
3. Place the selection inside the font size text field and press the Return or Enter key on your keyboard.
4. Use the main menu Format > Size. That menu also will show you the different font sizes in play.

I hope that helps!

 

[Huntn]

Dec 2017
I'm working with a Nisus Writer Pro document and my goal is to place a text box in the document surrounded by an unfilled rectangle as to highlight the text box, so that when I add text above it outside of the text box, both the text box and the rectangle will move down the page maintaining it's relationship to the text outside of the text box.

When I place a rectangle, it is anchored, and it does move as text is entered above it, but the text box does not move. Ideally, I want both of them to be linked and move down the page together when new text is added above them (outside of the text box). Is this possible?
Thanks!

 

[Huntn]

Dec 2017
I'm working with a Nisus Writer Pro document and my goal is to place a text box in the document surrounded by an unfilled rectangle as to highlight the text box, so that when I add text above it outside of the text box, both the text box and the rectangle will move down the page maintaining it's relationship to the text outside of the text box.

When I place a rectangle, it is anchored, and it does move as text is entered above it, but the text box does not move. Ideally, I want both of them to be linked and move down the page together when new text is added above them (outside of the text box). Is this possible?
Thanks!

I have the answer:
Insert text box. It will come up on the page, with a line to an anchor point that is in your text somewhere. Drag your text box to where you need it, then drag the anchor point to the point or paragraph where you want it to float and move down at. In the placement dropdown in the shape wrap palette (which should have opened automatically) choose "Moves with Paragraph."

A separate rectangle shape is not required. In the shape stroke palette, assign a stroke other than "none." Now your textbox is outlined and stands apart. You can also add a shadow if you'd like to make it really pop out.