The big question, why is this Appleworks 6.0 different from all other Appleworks programs?
Appleworks 6.0 Mac! The newest version of Appleworks is really several applications in one. It gives you six core modules for using word processing, spreadsheet, database, presentation, drawing and painting. Appleworks 6 works the way people think and work.
New Appleworks 6.0 features
Pictures Plus Sounds and Videos
Appleworks 6 works with images and photos in any of the following file formats: EPS, PICT, JPEG, BMP, TIFF, GIF, FlashPix, MacPaint, Photoshop, PICS, PNG, KODAK Photo CD, and more.
Sound file formats supported: AIFF, AU, Audio CD, Wave, Law, MIDI, MPEG-1, and MP3. Videofile formats supported: AVI, DV, Macromedia Flash, and QuickTime Movies.
Navigating Appleworks 6.0
You can click on Basic, Assistants, Recent Items and Templates. The Basic modules are Presentation, Word Processing, Spreadsheet, Database, Drawing and Painting. (The previous Communication module of Appleworks 5.0 is discontinued.)
Appleworks 6 Help menu uses Microsoft's Internet Explorer for navigating through the help menus.
You have icon ribbons running from West to East above each of the modules. Also, you have icon ribbons running from and North to South on the left side of your monitor. Turning on the System balloon help makes for easier recognition of the icons uses.
New Appleworks Treats
You now have playback capabilities, control modules, new table format, Clippings (vector Clip Art) which you download from the Apple website on the Internet. Also, included are Appleworks' AutoSave and Auto Recovery.
You can add a Spanish Dictionary and Thesaurus separately from the Appleworks 6.0 CD-ROM to your Dictionary folder.
Showing Them How
The Presentation module works well when you set the slides for viewing at 37.5 percent and for making your editing changes.
Previous Appleworks documents are opened with extension name (v.6.0). Your old document is not changed.
When I received the message that "Carbon" is missing to run Appleworks 6, I found it in my System 8.1 inactive extension folder. I then moved it back to the active extension folder. Then, the Appleworks 6 program launched properly.
Under the Hood in the Appleworks 6.0 folder
The Appleworks folder consists of 6.3 MB for Appleworks application. In addition, in the Appleworks folder, you have Clippings (Clip Art) for 21.6 MB, Appleworks Templates 15.5 MB, Appleworks Assistant for 6.7 MB, Appleworks Scripts for 5 MB, Appleworks Essentials for 6.3 MB and Starting Point for 15 MB.
Pro Reaction
AutoSave can be set by you for seconds, minutes or hours. Auto Recovery and Playback capabilities are new to Appleworks 6.0 program.
The vector clippings provide good printing of graphics without the "jaggies." Appleworks 6.0 program has Export to HTML.
The Appleworks CD-ROM includes 30 templates and 100 clip art images. More than 150 templates and 25,000 clip art images are available to Mac users from Apple.com website.
Con Reaction
There are no macros for help screen to Show or Hide Balloons. This is need to determine what the icons are and how they are used. You cannot see the display of the font size in the menu bar.
You cannot import nor export the Appleworks' Presentations as Microsoft PowerPoint Presentation. Note: If you have Adobe Acrobat you can save your presentation as a PDF slide presentation file for viewing on Mac and Window computer platforms.
Appleworks 6.0 Mac OS Requirements
Appleworks Pricing
Appleworks sells for $79 for single user and $39 for educational usage. On newly purchased Mac G4s and iMacs the Appleworks 6.0 application is free.
End Remarks
The "Think Different" credo is affective in Appleworks 6. The Graphic Artist's icon displays are three dimensional and are married well with the Appleworks modules. Experienced Macintosh users and first-time Mac owners will enjoy using the Appleworks 6.0 program from Apple.
Paul Gerstenbluth is President of the ARIE Foundation. The ARIE Foundation's mission is to provide VA hospitalized patients with hobby materials and computers that helps in their stay and recovery.
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