Two Problems with the otherwise Excellent TextMaker

[ThoughtMaker]

1. The English dictionary. Some quite simple words, for example COMPLICIT are reported as spelling errors!

2. Capitalisation. If you convert some text to capital letters, when you copy and paste it elsewhere, you find they are still in lower case!

Another wordprocessor I sometimes use, uses a version of the Oxford dictionary, so it is really good and when you capitalise text it really is converted to upper case not just for the printer.

If those points were sorted, Textmaker would be a great wordprocessor.

[Devonboy78]

1) re spelling eg complicit, you can simply right click on the word shown as incorrectly spelt and click on the option Spelling:Add word
2) I cannot replicate copied Capitalized words becoming lower case.
I have tried selecting words change to capitals using the function Change Capitalisation, and also typing word in capitals. In both cases, copying the word/s then pasting does not change capitalisation for me

[ThoughtMaker]

Thanks for taking the time to reply. The route I was taking to capitalise text was character, styles, all caps. I have found that you can permanently capitalise text the way you suggest.

The more important point, though, is that the English dictionary is not really up to the job. If it were there would be no need to add words. For me the main reason I’d use a word processor as opposed to just dashing off some text on a text editor is to find, as far as possible, the exact word I am looking for. I wonder that Softmaker couldn’t come to some arrangement with Oxford, Collins or Chambers . . . to create a more comprehensive dictionary/thesaurus?

[raitis.veksejs]

We are working on a much more comprehensive English dictionary.

[ThoughtMaker]

EXCELLENT NEWS!

[Woody44]

2) I cannot replicate copied Capitalized words becoming lower case.
I have tried selecting words change to capitals using the function Change Capitalisation, and also typing word in capitals.

Do you know how to access this function when using the classic menu?

[Jossi]

Do you know how to access this function when using the classic menu?

Select the text you want to capitalize, then go to Format > Character... (or click the "Change character formatting" icon in the icon bar) and check "All caps". Capitalization remains after copy and paste.

[Woody44]

Do you know how to access this function when using the classic menu?

Select the text you want to capitalize, then go to Format > Character... (or click the "Change character formatting" icon in the icon bar) and check "All caps". Capitalization remains after copy and paste.

I thought that's what the OP said didn't work.

hanks for taking the time to reply. The route I was taking to capitalise text was character, styles, all caps.

What TextMaker really needs is a "Change case" menu option, as in (dare I say it?) Word.

[martin-k]

Format / Character applies formatting so that the text appears in uppercase.

For physically changing the casing, there is Shift+F3 which cycles through several types of capitalization.

[Devonboy78]

2) I cannot replicate copied Capitalized words becoming lower case.
I have tried selecting words change to capitals using the function Change Capitalisation, and also typing word in capitals.

Do you know how to access this function when using the classic menu?

You can customize your toolbar (Tools - Customize and select the Formatting toolbar]. I added the command Change Caps between Font size and Bold.
When you select text, you can then go to the new icon [to the right of font size in my suggestion] and you will have the options of ALL UPPERCASE, all lowercase or First letter only capitalized

[Woody44]

martin-k: Thanks. I tried using Shift-F3. It works, but it doesn't cycle through "several" types of capitalization, it cycles through three -- all lower case, all caps, and first letter capitalized. And you have to re-press the keys to cycle through the options rather than simply popping up a menu as in Word. And Word offers five options, not three. There's no way I'll ever remember that I need to press Shift+F3 to accomplish this. It should be something easily accessed thriough the menu system (both menu systems).

Devonboy: I think it's a good feature to be able to add custom icons and/or keys to do unusual things. However, we are in the midst of testing a beta edition of an office suite that competes against the 800 pound gorilla in the room, Microsoft Office, by advertising "seamless" document compatibility (which isn't the case), and implying that people familiar with Word can transition to TextMaker without incurring a learning curve. Custom icons and custom keystrokes should be used for unusual tasks that are unique to the individual user; they should NOT have to be used to create a work-around to accomplish something that is easily and quickly accomplished by Word.

I respectfully submit that when things in TextMaker don't work pretty much the same as they do in Word; when users have to search around to find how to perform simple, everyday tasks; and when users need to create custom keystrokes or custom menu icons to accomplish tasks that have been built into Word for decades -- that's not a good thing. It's the inability to accomplish simple, routine tasks easily that leads to poor reviews, and poor reviews lead to poor sales. Something as rudimentary as "Change Case" IMHO needs to be made to work more as it does in Word. With SoftMaker Office 2024 in beta testing, now would be the time to fix this oversight.

[BigMac]

Only two problems? While TextMaker and PlanMaker are great alternatives to Word and Excel, it is far from capable of replacing either. The features I use most in Word are Macros, Smart Lookup, and Text Wrap. I get why TextMaker doesn't have Macros (security issues and so on) but not having Text Wrap is pretty hard to understand. I use it extensively when adding images, graphics, and tables. Another issue is the way it handles tables—it's very hard to edit tables when it pastes a table and messes up the formatting, e.g., the text alignment changes to vertical top instead of center and there is no way to correct it as far as I can find. Smart Lookup is another great feature available in Word, but I can live without it, still some version of it in TextMaker would be great. I've only begun using TextMaker and so far it has performed well, but I suspect I will find other issues as time goes by. Now I know people will say, I'm being too picky, get over it and so on, but if an application is actually trying to supplant a program like MS Office all stops should be pulled out and every effort should be made, within copyright and patent laws, to make the application equal or better than the one being supplanted. And yes, I also understand the cost difference, which is huge and a real plus, but the profits in software is such that quantity is often based on quality, the better the app the more it will sell.

[BigMac]

I have to modify my above reply: I figured out how to use text wrapping, but it's not intuitive and really quite an odd indirect way of accomplishing it by choosing "New Picture Frame" from the Object menu and then choosing the image from a folder. Furthermore, you can't simply copy and paste an image or graphic.

I suppose it is all a matter of learning how everything works and getting used to doing things a bit differently, and I am impressed with how well it works for most functions compared to other wannabe Office replacements. Still, I miss macros as they are great time savers for things like changing the formatting of text or the size of a table along with reduction row height and the font size in the cells and so on. Thus far I would give TextMaker a 4.2 or so out of 5, and hope that will improve as I learn more about it.

[Jossi]

TextMaker has two separate ways to handle images: You can insert an image either as an embedded object or as an image frame. As an embedded object, it is treated just like a letter in the text (so, no text wrapping), as an image frame you have all options to handle it (including several ways of text wrapping).
If you are in Edit mode (as is the case when writing) and paste an image, it is inserted as an embedded object (part of the text). To paste an image as an image frame, you may either choose the way you described in your latest post (via “New image frame“) or change to Object mode first and then paste the picture.
If you get unwanted effects while inserting frames you might also try to change the options for "Insert frames and drawings immediately" in Tools > Options, tab "General" (I prefer "Never").