WordSmith Review: A Revolutionary Palm Writing Tool
by MaximumPDA Affiliate:

Mike Rohde of PalmTipSheet.com

As a writer, I'm always on the lookout for tools to improve the time I spend writing, whether it's a Stowaway foldable keyboard, a Hackmaster extension like MagicText or a powerful word processor like WordSmith. In this month's feature article I'll explore WordSmith's features, capabilities and explain why I think it has established a new standard for Palm OS word processors.

http://www.bluenomad.com/ws/prod_wordsmith_details.html

**Writing With A Palm** -- So you might ask me why WordSmith is such a big deal for writers using Palm handhelds? There are certainly many writing tools available, which I've already covered in my feature article 'Writing With a Palm' in Palm Tipsheet 7.0:

http://www.palmtipsheet.com/html.texts/tipsht07.html#writing

However, since adopting SmartDoc as my writing tool of choice in 1999, no other application has piqued my interest as much as WordSmith. This new word processor combines text editing and formatting, HotSync connectivity and foldable keyboard access into a revolutionary Palm OS application.

**What Makes WordSmith So Revolutionary?** -- Well, WordSmith is first and foremost a text editor, which in itself isn't that revolutionary. The application can edit Doc, Word, Rich Text Format (RTF) and Memo Pad files. But what puts WordSmith in a category of its own are extensive text formatting features, including bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, justification, tabs, indents, line spacing controls and even font controls.

It doesn't stop there. WordSmith also allows users to seamlessly sync Word or Rich Text files between the Palm handheld and a Windows PC via an included conduit (a Mac conduit is in the works). WordSmith's installation package even integrates with MS Word and the Palm Desktop application.

Finally, WordSmith was built around Palm Foldable and Targus Stowaway keyboards. This is significant, since WordSmith can be controlled by key commands, keeping your hands on the keyboard while writing.

**The WordSmith Desktop and Conduit** -- Running the WordSmith installer on a Windows PC installs the WordSmith desktop application and the HotSync conduit used to synchronize documents between the PC and Palm. WordSmith's installer can also add a menu item to Microsoft Word, for selecting documents to synchronize with the Palm handheld and can add a button to the Palm Desktop to activate the WordSmith desktop application.

WordSmith is also able to work with WordPad and other word processors capable of saving RTF formatted files, such as Word Perfect, so you don't have to use MS Word to take advantage of document synchronization. In this case, the WordSmith desktop application is used to mark documents for synchronization. Documents converted to WordSmith format are kept in the default 'My Documents' folder, though the location of a default folder is optional and is designated at installation time.

Mac and Linux users can use the simple conversion tools included with their installation packages to convert Word and RTF files into WordSmith documents for the Palm. I also understand from Blue Nomad that a Macintosh conduit is currently in the works to synchronize WordSmith with Word for Macintosh.

**The WordSmith Palm Application** -- On a Palm, the WordSmith application is installed, which can read, edit and create Doc, Word or RTF documents. The application first opens to the document listing screen, which lists all WordSmith readable files on the Palm device. At the top of this screen are two tabs: one labeled 'Memo' and the other labeled 'Doc'.

The Memo tab displays all of the memo pad documents stored on your Palm, while the Doc tab displays Doc, Word and RTF files. Word and RTF files are distinct as they are marked with 'W' icons to the left of the document title, while Doc files have no icon and memos are numbered. Clicking on either the icon or space next to any document pops up a menu to quickly edit, beam, delete, duplicate, rename, categorize or get info on it, saving multiple trips to the menu bar.

At the bottom of this screen, you'll find a 'New' button for creating new documents, a 'Filter' field to enter characters and quickly drill through a list of documents and a indicator displaying your Palm's free RAM space.

**Editing Documents** -- WordSmith's editing mode is where this application's power really shines. The Palm application offers full formatting of text (bold, italic, underline, strikethrough, superscript and subscript), control over tabbing, justification, indents, line spacing and even font designation. Unfortunately, the Palm's limited font display won't allow you to view different fonts but they are preserved for viewing on the desktop version of document.

These formatting functions can be easily accessed by WordSmith's menus or in the toolbar which resides at the bottom of the screen. To display more lines of text the entire toolbar can be toggled off by clicking the small arrow icon on the lower right corner of the screen, or you can view the full screen by selecting 'Full Screen' mode under the 'Options' menu bar.

WordSmith also provides a very nice Multi-Paste feature which stores the last 10 bits of clipboard text and can display them in a floating menu. A quick tap on a clip pastes it into your document wherever the cursor is.

WordSmith's cursor is especially smart, staying in sync with the up and down scroll buttons. This feature is especially useful for scanning a document and never having to 'find' your cursor before adding new text. The cursor is always where you want it!

Find/replace functionality is provided under the 'Edit' menu. Search your document matching the text case, whole words and even inside other applications. Automated find/replace is promised in the next release.

**Document Navigation** -- If you're thinking of editing or viewing very large text documents, you'll really appreciate the 'Go To Paragraph...' and 'Go To / Count...' functions WordSmith offers under the File menu.

The 'Go To Paragraph...' feature lists the first line of each paragraph in a menu form, letting you quickly jump to specific areas of large documents. This is also important as a substitute for bookmarks (which are being added to an upcoming version of WordSmith).

The 'Go To / Count...' feature provides a dialog box listing how many paragraphs, characters and words are contained in the document, along with the document location represented as a percentage. This dialog also includes two buttons for 'top' and 'bottom' for quick navigation.

If you own a Palm Foldable or Targus Stowaway keyboard, then WordSmith has even more features for you. Not only can you activate formatting functions like bold, italic and underline, WordSmith's menus can be entirely controlled via key commands. Key commands can also be used for scrolling, navigating line by line or even for selecting characters, words or paragraphs. It's a great way to stay focused, since you never need to switch between stylus and keyboard.

**Viewing Documents** -- While WordSmith's strengths are clearly as a word processor it also functions very nicely as a document reader. Opening a document automatically activates the editing screen, so to keep from altering files, you'll need to click the 'Edit' button along the base of the screen. Once you do this, you should see three new icons to the right of the 'View' button which work together with screen taps.

The first contains a stylus and lines of text and advances text a line at a time. The second contains up & down arrows and advances text one screen at a time. The third contains eyeglasses and auto-scrolls text based on tap location. The menu and toolbar can also be hidden as in the editing mode.

**WordSmith Limitations** -- After looking at WordSmith, it's hard to believe this application has any limitations, but it does. One must keep in mind this is a 1.0 application and many features are likely missing because this is only the first non-beta release of WordSmith.

* No Bookmark Support -- for hard core Doc editing and navigation of files on a Palm, bookmarks are essential. While 'Go To Paragraph...' offers a similar functionality, bookmarks are needed and are coming in the next release.

* Closed Access to Text -- MagicText, my favorite text editing hack won't work with WordSmith and I really miss drag and drop editing with a stylus. Closed access to text also limits third party dictionaries and thesaurus tools from interacting properly with WordSmith documents.

* Support for Tables -- Tables are quite common in Word documents, especially in business settings so WordSmith's inability to view these types of documents limits the applications usefulness for heavy table users.

* No Way to Save RTF/Word Documents back to Plain Text -- One feature I'd love to see is the ability to save a formatted Word or RTF file back to native Doc. This would be useful for quickly stripping formatting or converting files to Doc format so they can be beamed to other Doc readers.

* Color Support -- Color Palm handheld users are likely to increase as the platform matures. This is also being addressed in the next release.

Judging by what this app was able to accomplish, I have no doubts these limitations and many others will soon be addressed. In fact, I expect many more features will be added in future versions of WordSmith, pushing its power and capabilities even further.

**Conclusion** -- I firmly believe the combination of powerful word processing tools, seamless synchronization with MS Word and extensive keyboard support make WordSmith a must-have application for any writer wishing to use a Palm as a serious word processing tool.

Alexander Hinds of Blue Nomad and Scott Maxwell of Quick Sense should be highly praised for pushing the boundaries of the Palm platform further than ever before with this excellent tool. What they have managed to do with a 1.0 product excites me about what's in store for WordSmith 1.1 and beyond.

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Mike

Mike Rohde | | The Palm Tipsheet, a Free Monthly Newsletter for Palm Handheld Users