Better Yet For Word?

[Susan]

Is it possible for just basic versatile word processing there might be a
better program to use then Word as a stand-alone? Of course whatever it is
it would have to be able to edit and save .doc files along with basic .txt
files. It also should be able to handle copy/paste html files with embeded
graphics. What are my options? I've used Word in the past but currently I'm
using Open Office Writer.

 

[Jay Freedman]

Is it possible for just basic versatile word processing there might be a
better program to use then Word as a stand-alone? Of course whatever it is
it would have to be able to edit and save .doc files along with basic .txt
files. It also should be able to handle copy/paste html files with embeded
graphics. What are my options? I've used Word in the past but currently I'm
using Open Office Writer.

It seems to me that "basic" and "versatile" are likely to be incompatible goals.
Programs generally achieve versatility by adding features, which makes them more
complicated rather than basic. Only you know the tipping point between the two
for your purposes.

Word is pretty near the extreme of the "versatile" end of the spectrum. Open
Office Writer is only a bit closer to "basic", and it's growing more
feature-rich with each release.

If "basic" is the more important attribute, try WordPad that comes with Windows,
or one of the many free WordPad imitators that are available on the Web. It can
edit and save .doc files, although some of the things you can find in documents
created by Word will be view-only. I haven't tried pasting Web pages into it,
but it should handle most or all of them.

 

[Susan]

Yes, let's drop the 'versatile' word. However as a frequent need it seems I
do like to copy/paste html into a word processor and then be able to edit
(delete) sections including embeded graphics out of the document once no
longer needed. That's pretty basic I think.