AbiWord

Type of Program: Word Processor
Supported Platforms: Win95r2/98/2000/ME/NT/XP/Linux/Mac/BeOs
Company Name: AbiSource
Version: 1
Price: Free
Installed Size: 8 meg

Download/Homepage

AbiWord 1.0.1, from AbiSource, is a great mid-range word processor. It has standard formatting, actual headers, footers and columns, an automatic spell check and minimal support for graphics. In addition to its own document format, AbiWord opens MS Word, RTF, Word Perfect, Star Office, T602, Palm and others. The download file, setup_abiword1.0.1.exe, is just a shade over 3.1 megs. The website offers a number of optional plug-ins - additional graphic support, thesaurus, scripts and some Internet shortcuts.

Most of the kinks from early releases have been worked out. Unfortunately, unless you tab instead of using automatic indent, the spell check still craps out on quote marks at the beginning of a sentence. The HTML preview has an odd sense of humor and is best left unused. Initial graphic support is only for bitmaps and png formats and support for other formats must be downloaded separately. Unfortunately, downloading available plug-ins is frustrating for Windows users. Being an open source project, technical support is not available.

One of the benefits of using an open source application, such as AbiWord, is the possibility of getting involved in a project. Nice to have features, such as end notes and email support, will happen when someone takes an active interest.

Despite the spelling glitch, AbiWord is an excellent choice for people that need a word processor with moderate capabilities.

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Reviewed by Janice Chandler -
http://www.geocities.com/janicechandler/index.html

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