ClarisWorks 3.0 New Features

New tools to help you "get up to speed"
Among the new tools is the on-screen tour called "Introduction to ClarisWorks," a self-paced "movie" created in Director from MacroMedia. The movie gives you an overview of the features and concepts of each of the different environments of ClarisWorks, explaining the types of operations that can be performed and providing many demonstrations, a very useful tool for beginners or for people interested in learning more about a particular environment or module, such as the spreadsheet or drawing module.

Because the tour is organized in a modular format (one section for each environment) it makes it easy to learn about ClarisWorks at your own pace. You can view the section on spreadsheets, then quit the tour to get hands-on practice with what you have learned. When you are ready, return to the Introduction and start in on another module. For those completely unfamiliar with the program the tour can be accessed directly through the new Welcome dialog box, the first thing you will see on the screen after launching ClarisWorks. When you find you need a little help, the Introduction is available through the Question Mark icon (Macintosh) and Help menu (Windows).

Share Macintosh and Windows files

While both the Macintosh and Windows versions include the exciting new ease-of-use enhancements, the Windows version is also a major overhaul of the 1.0 version, adding hundreds of new features. Another increasingly important usability factor in today's heterogeneous computing environment is the ability to share files seamlessly between Macintosh and Windows-based computers. Since the 3.0 version on both platforms share an identical file format, file sharing between users of 2.0 and higher or 3.0 on Macintosh, and 3.0 on Windows is easy.

New on-screen help

To make the computing experience easier on all levels, Claris has completely revamped the on-screen help. The Help system has been greatly expanded and improved to provide you with step-by-step instructions for the operations you are trying to perform, without the need to leave the computer screen. Many hints and tips are also included, as well as a special Troubleshooting section. "Topics A to Z," a new entry under the Help menu, provides another way to get right to the information you are looking for.

New manual

To complement the on-screen help, the printed manual has been wholly redesigned to serve as a companion to the on-screen help. The manual addresses concepts and gives many examples of the types of things that can be done in ClarisWorks. It then points you to the exact section in the on-screen help that has the instructions for accomplishing that particular task. The new ? icon tells you when and where to consult the on-screen help for an in-depth explanation.

Other accessibility enhancements

In addition to making ClarisWorks easier to use and easier to learn, we have made it easier to keep track of information for a particular document, such as its author and version number, by using the Document Summary Info command (found under the File menu). While this is very useful, the most powerful application of this command is when it is used in conjunction with stationery documents. The New document dialog box now provides ready access to all of our pre-created stationery files and groups them into convenient categories (General, Home, and Small Business). Using the Document Summary Info command enables you to assign a category to a file before saving it as stationery. This way, your own stationery file will be listed under the pre-existing category you choose, or under a new category which you create, available directly from the New document dialog box.

Document statistics

The new "Word Count..."command, accessed under the Writing Tools submenu of the Edit menu, will tell you how many characters, words, lines, paragraphs, and pages there are in your document.

More customization options

New items in the Preferences menu allow you to customize ClarisWorks commands and functions, such as the function of the arrow and Enter keys in spreadsheets. These new controls, for example, also let you determine which dialog box displays at startup, which fonts display in the font menu, and which alerts come up when opening files created in previous versions.