Multiple documents open in multiple windows in AbiWord. Is there a way to change this? I greatly dislike this unusual behavior.
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That's the standard now. OpenOffice.org does the same thing. Word 2003 does the same thing. I would guess the current version of Word Perfect does the same as well. MDI (Multiple Document Interface) was pretty confusing for the non-techie end-user, so it's been phased out. The exception being tabs, which is kinda the re-incarnation of the MDI, but in a nice, understandable format.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
How ... disappointing. I do like tabs, and I guess they're a decent compromise. But multiple windows is quite the step backwards, whereas I'm concerned. Ah well ...
-- J44xm (http://j44xm.notlong.com)
With the multiple Windows. Especially when you think you're closing one and ALL of them close on you. That's the WORST.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
I believe only Excel still does that. I tested in Word, PowerPoint and Publisher... if you close one window with the window's close box (i.e. the one on the titlebar, not the MDI close button), the rest still stay open. Excel's behavior is definitely odd, though. If you open multiple windows, you only expect one to disappear when you close it--not all of them.
Not only is it non-standard (close one window and a *different* one closes) but it isn't even the same non-standard across all the office apps. Pure idiocy.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
Another reason why I hate Microsoft. Multiple windows work best when tabbed; otherwise just use Ctrl-F6. Of course, Office goes with the lowest common denominator -- meaning that not only is it geared for bozos, it is a bozo.
</rant>
~nm35 {blog} {projects} {standalone apps}
I've yet to see a tabbed word processor/spreadsheet/whatever. Excel sorta has tabs, but they're for different things within the same document (that is, an Excel file can have multiple worksheets stored in it).
I can hardly see where Office 2003 and lower (can't speak for Office 12... didn't try the beta) is geared for newbies. The menus are disorganized and confusing unless you know where everything is, and the programs can be very quirky at times (e.g. the discrepancy between Excel and the rest of the Office apps regarding the behavior of the close button), which would confuse the hell out of anyone who isn't familiar with a computer--those bozos you talked about.
So, if Microsoft was trying to design Office for bozos, they failed. Big time.
I've seen plenty of Word Processors (freeware) with tabbed windows and I actually quite like them.
I have a feeling that AbiWord has a limit to the number of documents/windows that can be opened. I haven't experimented to see what the limit is, but I think it isn't more than about 12.
I believe that's only a limitation with older versions of Windows: http://www.abisource.com/help/en-US/problems/problemsfaq.html (mentioned in section 4.2)
Thanks for the clarification, sum1. I was sure I remembered having a problem, but it must have been a while back on an older machine.
I've used AbiWord on and off for a number of years and, to be honest, sometimes I've loved it and sometimes I've hated it. That said, I still have a soft spot for it.
My biggest complaint with AbiWord is that the custom dictionary editor (which I use quite often in Word) is unimplemented. It drives me crazy because the controls are all there in the preferences, but they're disabled.
If yoo just stop spel cheking, it isnt a big deel.
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
I write lots of stuff, type about 100 WPM and so make quite a few errors. I don't use the spell check command--I rely on the red squigglies to find errors quickly. When names of my own stuff show up as spelling errors, I usually add them to the custom dictionary to avoid confusing myself later. Sometimes, though, it's good to be able to delete stuff from the dictionary. AbiWord has the controls to do that in the Preferences dialog, but they're unimplemented.
and note all the blatant spelling errors.
I was making a joke.
I thought it would be obvious... guess not
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
I noticed the intentional spelling errors and knew they were a joke, but I thought they were meant to be condescending, not sarcastic.
I forgot to add my tags. heh
Sometimes, the impossible can become possible, if you're awesome!
You're right about the disabled controls, but I thought I'd mention that it is possible to change custom dictionary entries by editing the custom.dic file in %USERPROFILE%\AbiSuite. It's not a very convenient workaround, but the file is just a plain text list of the added words, with one added word per line. Note: the file won't exist unless you've added a word to the dictionary.
I just found the custom.dic in Documents and Settings\Username\AbiSource--seems you're right. That means the custom dictionary is saved locally? How nice. It's a portable application. Still... I refuse to spoof the userprofile (I thought that was fixed in 2.4.2, John?), since when I save on the desktop, I invariably want the *local* desktop, not a fake Desktop folder.
not designed *
FOR
* bozo's, at least not specifically
Designed
*BY*
bozo's