Difference between revisions of "Competitor Analysis"
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+ | The Office 2010 column may not be completely precise, as I have never used it, but trust in one of my friends, [http://www.winsupersite.com/office/office2010_tp_ppt.asp info from the net], and similarities with Office 2007 instead. | ||
+ | |||
+ | There's more to come. Or, if anybody wants to add these topics, go ahead: Installation, updating, Help, adding/removing slides, audio/video (setting audio to start/stop on slides, embedding and playing back a video), inserting images, creating templates, and downloading and working with language tools (grammar/spell checking). Also be sure to add your opinions to the "Thoughts" rows. | ||
+ | |||
+ | You can also add screenshots (be aware of copyright issues [http://www.microsoft.com/about/legal/permissions/default.mspx#E3C] [http://www.apple.com/legal/trademark/copyright.html], as Apple is particularly known for suing people who post unauthorized screenshots), other presentation applications, comments, links, and other things that could be useful. And feel free to correct me if I'm doing this wrong. | ||
+ | |||
{|class="wikitable" border="1" | {|class="wikitable" border="1" | ||
|- | |- | ||
− | ! !!MS PowerPoint | + | ! !! MS PowerPoint 2010 (an early build) !! MS Powerpoint 2008 (Mac) !! Apple Keynote '09 !! Google Docs (as of June 2009) !! Zoho Office |
|- valign="top" | |- valign="top" | ||
| '''Default UI overview''' | | '''Default UI overview''' | ||
Line 11: | Line 17: | ||
* the Quick Access toolbar for the user's "favorite" commands | * the Quick Access toolbar for the user's "favorite" commands | ||
* inconsistencies in the UI: | * inconsistencies in the UI: | ||
− | |||
** the commonly-used buttons Undo, Redo, and Repeat are inexplicably not found in the ribbon, instead being in the QA toolbar | ** the commonly-used buttons Undo, Redo, and Repeat are inexplicably not found in the ribbon, instead being in the QA toolbar | ||
** the Help button, found on the right of the ribbon as the only button in the ribbon tab bar | ** the Help button, found on the right of the ribbon as the only button in the ribbon tab bar | ||
Line 32: | Line 37: | ||
* a toolbar with static, commonly-used options | * a toolbar with static, commonly-used options | ||
* a very spartan interface | * a very spartan interface | ||
+ | |||
+ | | | ||
+ | * '''MenuTab design''' Toolbar with tabbed menus that organise commands in context-based groups. The main point is the ability to use the tabs as menus: you can access these commands either by clicking the tab, which brings up the appropriate button set on your toolbar (similar to Microsoft Office 2007's ribbon) or by clicking the little arrow to the right of the tab title, which opens a drop-down menu without changing the toolbar beneath. | ||
+ | * Interface also has a staic toolbar at the left upper corner. This toolbar is separated from the rest of MenuTab and contains icons for most commonly used commands like save, copy, paste, cut, print, undo, redo, etc | ||
+ | Here are screenshots | ||
+ | [http://www.zdnet.co.uk/i/z5/rv/2009/03/zoho_writer_tabmenu.jpg] and | ||
+ | [http://www.zdnet.co.uk/i/z5/rv/2009/03/zoho_writer_collaboration.jpg] | ||
+ | |||
|- style="background:#FFFFDD; font-style:italic" valign="top" | |- style="background:#FFFFDD; font-style:italic" valign="top" | ||
| Thoughts | | Thoughts | ||
− | | colspan=" | + | | colspan="5" | |
− | I'd say the ribbon | + | I'd say the Zoho MenuTab as well as MS ribbon are most interesting quick-access interfaces of the pack. Ribbon provides one central place to browse through, provides the most common options right up front (except for the Insert options), but it does suffer a bit from slight illogical organization and lack of flexibility (no vertical interface, previously also lack of customizability). Zoho MenuTab UI combines tab-like approach of ribbon with traditional menu. This makes it familiar and easy to use for most users. The inspector palettes in iWork and Mac:Office are good contenders for a useable vertical interface, but both have their share of disadvantages. For example, the fact that they are floating means that they can hide portions of the document. The MS Toolbox is overstuffed with features, as the tools that iWork spreads out nicely in the Inspector are crammed into one tab in the MS Toolbox. Both also suffer from unclear tab icons. |
+ | |||
+ | '''There are legal issues with ribbon interface'''. Microsoft has started the process of acquiring a patent on the ribbon user interface concept and licenses the ribbon design to third-party developers royalty-free if their product does not compete with MS Office. This means that there is no way ribbon can be used in OpenOffice. | ||
+ | |||
|- valign="top" | |- valign="top" | ||
| '''Scrolling''' | | '''Scrolling''' | ||
Line 42: | Line 58: | ||
| Scrolls within the slide only | | Scrolls within the slide only | ||
| No scrolling by default (the zoom changes as the window is resized), but, with zoom, one can scroll the slide only | | No scrolling by default (the zoom changes as the window is resized), but, with zoom, one can scroll the slide only | ||
+ | | No scrolling by default | ||
|- style="background:#FFFFDD; font-style:italic" valign="top" | |- style="background:#FFFFDD; font-style:italic" valign="top" | ||
| Thoughts | | Thoughts | ||
− | | colspan=" | + | | colspan="5" | |
None of these behaviors is ideal or consistent with other applications in the suite (no option allows two slides to be shown at once) for no good reason, but the MS PowerPoint behavior is preferrable over the others. | None of these behaviors is ideal or consistent with other applications in the suite (no option allows two slides to be shown at once) for no good reason, but the MS PowerPoint behavior is preferrable over the others. | ||
|- valign="top" | |- valign="top" | ||
Line 57: | Line 74: | ||
| Same as its Windows counterpart | | Same as its Windows counterpart | ||
| | | | ||
− | * Double click to edit | + | * Double click (or two consecutive clicks) to edit |
* Click anywhere on the frame and drag to move it; not moveable when editing text | * Click anywhere on the frame and drag to move it; not moveable when editing text | ||
* Live preview | * Live preview | ||
Line 70: | Line 87: | ||
* Free movement | * Free movement | ||
* No way to rotate the frame | * No way to rotate the frame | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | *Single click to edit | ||
+ | *Click on border and drag to move the frame | ||
+ | *Live preview when resizing or moving | ||
+ | *Doesn't show guides | ||
+ | *Free movement | ||
+ | *No way to rotate the frame | ||
+ | |||
|- style="background:#FFFFDD; font-style:italic" valign="top" | |- style="background:#FFFFDD; font-style:italic" valign="top" | ||
| Thoughts | | Thoughts | ||
− | | colspan=" | + | | colspan="5" | |
Moving items in Keynote is a pleasure, due to the reasons listed above and the fact that the user doesn't have to struggle to select the textbox (it's one click anywhere on the textbox, as, unlike its competitors, double-clicking is required to edit it). This is definitely something OOo should take note of. | Moving items in Keynote is a pleasure, due to the reasons listed above and the fact that the user doesn't have to struggle to select the textbox (it's one click anywhere on the textbox, as, unlike its competitors, double-clicking is required to edit it). This is definitely something OOo should take note of. | ||
|- valign="top" | |- valign="top" | ||
| '''Lists''' | | '''Lists''' | ||
− | |||
− | |||
| | | | ||
* Text bulleted by default (in some masters) | * Text bulleted by default (in some masters) | ||
− | |||
* In PowerPoint, two consecutive "enters" creates a line break and continues with the list at the same hierarchical level | * In PowerPoint, two consecutive "enters" creates a line break and continues with the list at the same hierarchical level | ||
* In Word, however, two consecutive "enters" move the list to the superior level, and when there are no more, end the list | * In Word, however, two consecutive "enters" move the list to the superior level, and when there are no more, end the list | ||
− | * In | + | * In PowerPoint, a backspace deletes the bullet, but keeps the indent. |
* Custom bullets | * Custom bullets | ||
− | * No outline numbering in | + | * No outline numbering in PowerPoint, but present in Word |
− | * Moving items left and right arguably easy (although it makes the text smaller with each level); moving it up and down has to be done manually | + | * Moving items left and right arguably easy (although it makes the text smaller with each level and keeps the same bullet); moving it up and down has to be done manually |
+ | * Inserted and managed through the Home tab | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | Same as its Windows counterpart except: | ||
+ | * Inserted and managed through Format > Bullets and Numbering..., the Formatting Pane, or the hidden-by-default formatting toolbar | ||
| | | | ||
* Text bulleted by default (in some masters) | * Text bulleted by default (in some masters) | ||
Line 100: | Line 126: | ||
* Inserted and managed through a toolbar button | * Inserted and managed through a toolbar button | ||
* In Google Docs (both the presentation and the document editor), two consecutive "enters" move the list to the superior level, and when there are no more, end the list | * In Google Docs (both the presentation and the document editor), two consecutive "enters" move the list to the superior level, and when there are no more, end the list | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | *Inserted and managed through a toolbar buttons | ||
|- style="background:#FFFFDD; font-style:italic" valign="top" | |- style="background:#FFFFDD; font-style:italic" valign="top" | ||
| Thoughts | | Thoughts | ||
− | | colspan=" | + | | colspan="5" | |
None of these behaviors seem to be completely logical or expected. Google Docs at least maintains consistency across its suite's applications, but uses the strange behavior of enter, where, instead of giving new blank lines each time, as it does with non-bulleted indented lists, the indent is decreased. | None of these behaviors seem to be completely logical or expected. Google Docs at least maintains consistency across its suite's applications, but uses the strange behavior of enter, where, instead of giving new blank lines each time, as it does with non-bulleted indented lists, the indent is decreased. | ||
Line 112: | Line 140: | ||
| '''Customization''' | | '''Customization''' | ||
| | | | ||
− | + | * Customizable Ribbon tabs, groups, and commands, both static and contextual; these customizations are saveable. | |
+ | More to come... | ||
| | | | ||
* Customizable toolbar and menu items | * Customizable toolbar and menu items | ||
Line 134: | Line 163: | ||
* '''Auto-Correction''' | * '''Auto-Correction''' | ||
* Shortcuts can be customized for any Mac OS X application under System Preferences | * Shortcuts can be customized for any Mac OS X application under System Preferences | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | * No customization | ||
| | | | ||
* No customization | * No customization | ||
Line 142: | Line 173: | ||
| Split into two Edit options: "Paste" and "Paste and match style". | | Split into two Edit options: "Paste" and "Paste and match style". | ||
| No paste special | | No paste special | ||
+ | | No paste special | ||
+ | |- style="background:#FFFFDD; font-style:italic" valign="top" | ||
+ | | Thoughts | ||
+ | | colspan="5" | | ||
+ | Microsoft's implementation of paste special seems the best, as it allows the user to use the Command/Ctrl+V shortcut and then decide how it is pasted. | ||
|- valign="top" | |- valign="top" | ||
| '''Image manipulation''' | | '''Image manipulation''' | ||
− | | | + | | |
+ | * Easy rotating with a green "rotate" button above the image; also has a "size, rotation, and ordering" section in the toolbox, where the size can be typed in numerically, the image can be flipped, and distributed and aligned with other objects. | ||
+ | * Restricted positioning | ||
+ | * Outline, shadow, reflection, glow, soft edges, 3D, sharpness/softness, brightness, contrast, saturation, tone, recolor, filters, size, crop, and arrangement all set from the ribbon | ||
+ | * "Background removal" and "Set transparent color" features | ||
+ | * Live preview while cropping | ||
| | | | ||
* Easy rotating with a green "rotate" button above the image; also has a "size, rotation, and ordering" section in the toolbox, where the size can be typed in numerically, the image can be flipped, and distributed and aligned with other objects. | * Easy rotating with a green "rotate" button above the image; also has a "size, rotation, and ordering" section in the toolbox, where the size can be typed in numerically, the image can be flipped, and distributed and aligned with other objects. | ||
Line 159: | Line 200: | ||
| * Unrestricted positioning (but no live preview) | | * Unrestricted positioning (but no live preview) | ||
* No extra features except arrangement tools under the "Arrange" menu | * No extra features except arrangement tools under the "Arrange" menu | ||
+ | | * Unrestricted positioning (but no live preview) | ||
+ | * No extra features except alligment selection from image properties | ||
|- style="background:#FFFFDD; font-style:italic" valign="top" | |- style="background:#FFFFDD; font-style:italic" valign="top" | ||
| Thoughts | | Thoughts | ||
− | | colspan=" | + | | colspan="5" | |
− | The "Metrics" tab in iWork and the "Image adjustments" palette are wonderfully simple and straightforward while retaining a number of features. The best transparency feature seems to be in the planned Office 14 [http://www.beingmanan.com/wp/2009/05/office-2010-new-features/], where one can specify by drawing | + | The "Metrics" tab in iWork and the "Image adjustments" palette are wonderfully simple and straightforward while retaining a number of features. The best transparency feature seems to be in the planned Office 14 [http://www.beingmanan.com/wp/2009/05/office-2010-new-features/], where one can specify by drawing lines over the places the selection should include and different lines over the places it shouldn't, all with live preview that highlights in purple the areas to be removed. |
− | |- | + | |- valign="top" |
| '''Compatibility checks''' | | '''Compatibility checks''' | ||
− | | | + | | |
+ | * When trying to save to PPT, the user gets a precise list of what is incompatible. | ||
+ | * Saving to ODP (newly supported) gives a compatibility warning, but doesn't say what might be incompatible. It does this even with completely blank presentations. | ||
| | | | ||
* The "Save as..." dialog provides a "Compatibility Report..." button, but when a user tries to save to a not-completely-compatible format, he gets no forced warning. | * The "Save as..." dialog provides a "Compatibility Report..." button, but when a user tries to save to a not-completely-compatible format, he gets no forced warning. | ||
Line 174: | Line 219: | ||
| | | | ||
* No compatibility warnings, it seems. | * No compatibility warnings, it seems. | ||
− | |- | + | | |
+ | * No compatibility warnings. There is a separate plugin to publish documents from Microsoft Office to online storage. | ||
+ | |- valign="top" | ||
| '''Slide show''' | | '''Slide show''' | ||
− | | | + | | |
+ | * Accessible through: | ||
+ | ** Slide Show > From Beginning, From Current Slide, Broadcast Slide Show, or Custom Slide Show | ||
+ | ** The view selector in the status bar (on the right) | ||
+ | * Presentation mode gives four buttons: | ||
+ | ** Previous | ||
+ | ** Pointer | ||
+ | *** Arrow | ||
+ | *** Ballpoint pen | ||
+ | *** Felt tip pen | ||
+ | *** Highlighter | ||
+ | *** Ink color > | ||
+ | *** Eraser | ||
+ | *** Erase all ink on the slide | ||
+ | *** Mouse options | ||
+ | ** Options | ||
+ | *** Next | ||
+ | *** Previous | ||
+ | *** Last viewed | ||
+ | *** Go to slide > | ||
+ | *** Custom show > | ||
+ | *** Screen > | ||
+ | *** Help | ||
+ | *** Pause | ||
+ | *** End show | ||
+ | ** Next | ||
| | | | ||
* Accessible (by default) through: | * Accessible (by default) through: | ||
** Slide Show > View Slide Show | ** Slide Show > View Slide Show | ||
− | ** The view selector in the statusbar | + | ** The view selector in the statusbar (on the left) |
** The toolbar | ** The toolbar | ||
* Presentation mode gives a single menu with options: | * Presentation mode gives a single menu with options: | ||
Line 193: | Line 265: | ||
** Pointer options > | ** Pointer options > | ||
** End show | ** End show | ||
− | | | + | | |
− | | | + | * Accessible through: |
+ | ** A toolbar button | ||
+ | ** Play > Play Slideshow | ||
+ | * Presentation mode completely hides the cursor, and no buttons are provided when playing the slideshow | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | * A big Start Presentation button | ||
+ | * Presentation mode gives: | ||
+ | ** A pop-up menu offering jumping to any slide | ||
+ | ** An actions button including common export options (including printing and creating a copy), "Report inappropriate content", and "Show speaker notes" | ||
+ | ** The URL of the presentation | ||
+ | ** A "View together" button, which provides a URL for presenting it online and a chat window for chatting with the audience | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | *A Start slideshow toolbar button | ||
+ | |- valign="top" | ||
+ | | '''Collaboration''' | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | * E-mail sharing, as well as sharing through a document management server and creating a document workspace | ||
+ | * A "Broadcast Slideshow" feature, integrated with Microsoft's upcoming online PowerPoint application | ||
+ | * Comments (aka. notes in Writer) shown as a small box, which, when clicked, reveals its contents, and, when double-clicked, allows editing | ||
+ | * Comments easily added, browsed, deleted, and even shared through the Review tab in the ribbon | ||
+ | There's probably more. | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | * Practically no collaboration features, except classic e-mail sharing | ||
+ | * Comments (aka. notes in Writer) shown as a small box, which, when clicked, reveals its contents, and, when double-clicked, allows editing | ||
+ | * Comments easily added, browsed, deleted, and even shared through the comment bar | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | * Built-in iWork.com, e-mail, and YouTube sharing | ||
+ | * Comments very primitive, overlay the presentation (showing/hiding comments can easily be toggled) | ||
+ | * No serious collaboration features | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | * Benefits from being an online service (although it can be used offline) | ||
+ | * Can be simultaneously edited | ||
+ | * People can be invited to be edited or viewers | ||
+ | * A publish/embed option is available, along with the classic e-mail option | ||
+ | * Chat available in slide show, but not during editing | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | *Benefits from being an online service (offline mode is available) | ||
+ | *Can be simultaneously edited | ||
+ | *People can be invited to be edited or viewers | ||
+ | *A publish/share/send options are available, along with the classic e-mail option | ||
+ | *Chat available during editing | ||
+ | |- style="background:#FFFFDD; font-style:italic" valign="top" | ||
+ | | Thoughts | ||
+ | | colspan="5" | | ||
+ | It's surprising that nobody really has built-in chat (except Google Docs, when viewing a presentation). I heard this was to change with MS Office 2010, but we'll see. Otherwise, Google Docs is the clear winner in this category, but that's because it's an online service. iWork begins to pave the way toward integration with online services, but ties with only its paid iWork.com and is sure to attract only a very tiny audience. This is also something Microsoft is working on -- they're about to introduce an online version of Office, and it's almost definitely going to integrate with Microsoft Office. We need to work on this if we want to stay a viable competitor. | ||
+ | |- valign="top" | ||
+ | | '''Tables''' | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | Inserted through Insert>Table, which gives the "table insertion grid" as well as "Insert table...," "Draw table," and "Excel spreadsheet" options below the grid. The grid is 8-by-10 and doesn't expand beyond that. | ||
+ | |||
+ | Selected, moved and resized with: | ||
+ | * The table border becomes fat and glass-like when the user clicks within the table | ||
+ | * This border can then be used to resize and move the table | ||
+ | |||
+ | In Word: | ||
+ | * The table is moved with a corner handle box and resized with a square at the opposite corner. It's very hard to delete a table. | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | Inserted through: | ||
+ | * A toolbar button, which provides the "table insertion grid." The grid expands when more cells are needed. | ||
+ | * Insert>Table..., which asks for the number of rows and columns | ||
+ | * A "table styles" tab in the gallery, which also asks for the number | ||
+ | Selected, moved, and resized the same way as in Windows | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | Inserted through: | ||
+ | * Insert > Table | ||
+ | * A toolbar button | ||
+ | * Both of these insert a 3-by-3 table and trigger the "Table" tab under Inspector, which allows the user to edit various information, such as the number of rows and columns | ||
+ | Selected, moved, and resized with: | ||
+ | * Just like text boxes under Keynote, one click selects the whole table and allows it to be moved (by clicking anywhere within the table and dragging) and resized, two consecutive clicks allow the table to be edited | ||
+ | |||
+ | In Numbers: | ||
+ | * Clicking inside the table allows its contents to be edited and shows the table "headers" (A, B, C, D..., 1, 2, 3, 4, ...), along with a handle in the corner (to move the table with), and a "dragger" at the ends (left, bottom, and the left-bottom corner) that add cells | ||
+ | * When the aforementioned corner handle is clicked, the classic resize squares are shown | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | No obvious way to insert a table. Cells in tables in uploaded documents are changed to text boxes. | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | No obvious way to insert a table in Zoho Show. Insert Table action is available in Zoho Writer. | ||
+ | |||
+ | |- style="background:#FFFFDD; font-style:italic" valign="top" | ||
+ | | Thoughts | ||
+ | | colspan="5" | | ||
+ | The "table grid" insert behavior seems to be the quickest and most comfortable. The Apple behavior in everything else (moving, selecting, etc.) seems to be easiest, most logical, and most comfortable. The differences between Keynote and Numbers have their own reasons and benefits. | ||
+ | |- valign="top" | ||
+ | | '''Transitions''' | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | * Added and managed through a gallery under a new Transitions tab | ||
+ | * Custom: | ||
+ | ** Duration | ||
+ | ** Sound | ||
+ | ** Advance slide on click or after __ | ||
+ | ** Different directions presented under "Effect options" | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | * Added through: | ||
+ | ** A "transitions" tab in the Gallery | ||
+ | ** Slide show > Transitions... | ||
+ | * Managed through an "Options..." button in the Gallery | ||
+ | * Custom: | ||
+ | ** Speed (Slow, medium, and fast) | ||
+ | ** Sound | ||
+ | ** Advance on click or automatically after __ | ||
+ | * Different directions are presented as different transitions | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | * Added and managed through the "Slide" tab in Inspector | ||
+ | * Custom: | ||
+ | ** Duration (precise, in seconds) | ||
+ | ** Direction (for some transitions) | ||
+ | ** Start Transition (on click or automatic) | ||
+ | ** Delay | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | No transitions option. | ||
+ | | | ||
+ | No transitions option. | ||
|} | |} | ||
− | + | ||
+ | |||
+ | [[Category:User Experience Community]] |
Latest revision as of 14:30, 1 March 2011
The Office 2010 column may not be completely precise, as I have never used it, but trust in one of my friends, info from the net, and similarities with Office 2007 instead.
There's more to come. Or, if anybody wants to add these topics, go ahead: Installation, updating, Help, adding/removing slides, audio/video (setting audio to start/stop on slides, embedding and playing back a video), inserting images, creating templates, and downloading and working with language tools (grammar/spell checking). Also be sure to add your opinions to the "Thoughts" rows.
You can also add screenshots (be aware of copyright issues [1] [2], as Apple is particularly known for suing people who post unauthorized screenshots), other presentation applications, comments, links, and other things that could be useful. And feel free to correct me if I'm doing this wrong.
MS PowerPoint 2010 (an early build) | MS Powerpoint 2008 (Mac) | Apple Keynote '09 | Google Docs (as of June 2009) | Zoho Office | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Default UI overview
(the main interface is bolded) |
|
|
|
|
|
Thoughts |
I'd say the Zoho MenuTab as well as MS ribbon are most interesting quick-access interfaces of the pack. Ribbon provides one central place to browse through, provides the most common options right up front (except for the Insert options), but it does suffer a bit from slight illogical organization and lack of flexibility (no vertical interface, previously also lack of customizability). Zoho MenuTab UI combines tab-like approach of ribbon with traditional menu. This makes it familiar and easy to use for most users. The inspector palettes in iWork and Mac:Office are good contenders for a useable vertical interface, but both have their share of disadvantages. For example, the fact that they are floating means that they can hide portions of the document. The MS Toolbox is overstuffed with features, as the tools that iWork spreads out nicely in the Inspector are crammed into one tab in the MS Toolbox. Both also suffer from unclear tab icons. There are legal issues with ribbon interface. Microsoft has started the process of acquiring a patent on the ribbon user interface concept and licenses the ribbon design to third-party developers royalty-free if their product does not compete with MS Office. This means that there is no way ribbon can be used in OpenOffice. | ||||
Scrolling | Scrolls through slides, but doesn't show two slides at once | Behaves like its Windows counterpart | Scrolls within the slide only | No scrolling by default (the zoom changes as the window is resized), but, with zoom, one can scroll the slide only | No scrolling by default |
Thoughts |
None of these behaviors is ideal or consistent with other applications in the suite (no option allows two slides to be shown at once) for no good reason, but the MS PowerPoint behavior is preferrable over the others. | ||||
Dragging/editing textboxes |
|
Same as its Windows counterpart |
|
|
|
Thoughts |
Moving items in Keynote is a pleasure, due to the reasons listed above and the fact that the user doesn't have to struggle to select the textbox (it's one click anywhere on the textbox, as, unlike its competitors, double-clicking is required to edit it). This is definitely something OOo should take note of. | ||||
Lists |
|
Same as its Windows counterpart except:
|
|
|
|
Thoughts |
None of these behaviors seem to be completely logical or expected. Google Docs at least maintains consistency across its suite's applications, but uses the strange behavior of enter, where, instead of giving new blank lines each time, as it does with non-bulleted indented lists, the indent is decreased. Anyway, instead of repeating the same info over and over again, let me just say what I think we should have, based on logic:
| ||||
Customization |
More to come... |
|
|
|
|
Paste Special | A floating, contextual drop-down button, which presents three choices: "Keep Source Formatting," "Use Destination Theme," and "Keep Text Only" | Same as its Windows counterpart. | Split into two Edit options: "Paste" and "Paste and match style". | No paste special | No paste special |
Thoughts |
Microsoft's implementation of paste special seems the best, as it allows the user to use the Command/Ctrl+V shortcut and then decide how it is pasted. | ||||
Image manipulation |
|
|
|
* Unrestricted positioning (but no live preview)
|
* Unrestricted positioning (but no live preview)
|
Thoughts |
The "Metrics" tab in iWork and the "Image adjustments" palette are wonderfully simple and straightforward while retaining a number of features. The best transparency feature seems to be in the planned Office 14 [9], where one can specify by drawing lines over the places the selection should include and different lines over the places it shouldn't, all with live preview that highlights in purple the areas to be removed. | ||||
Compatibility checks |
|
|
|
|
|
Slide show |
|
|
|
|
|
Collaboration |
There's probably more. |
|
|
|
|
Thoughts |
It's surprising that nobody really has built-in chat (except Google Docs, when viewing a presentation). I heard this was to change with MS Office 2010, but we'll see. Otherwise, Google Docs is the clear winner in this category, but that's because it's an online service. iWork begins to pave the way toward integration with online services, but ties with only its paid iWork.com and is sure to attract only a very tiny audience. This is also something Microsoft is working on -- they're about to introduce an online version of Office, and it's almost definitely going to integrate with Microsoft Office. We need to work on this if we want to stay a viable competitor. | ||||
Tables |
Inserted through Insert>Table, which gives the "table insertion grid" as well as "Insert table...," "Draw table," and "Excel spreadsheet" options below the grid. The grid is 8-by-10 and doesn't expand beyond that. Selected, moved and resized with:
In Word:
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Inserted through:
Selected, moved, and resized the same way as in Windows |
Inserted through:
Selected, moved, and resized with:
In Numbers:
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No obvious way to insert a table. Cells in tables in uploaded documents are changed to text boxes. |
No obvious way to insert a table in Zoho Show. Insert Table action is available in Zoho Writer. |
Thoughts |
The "table grid" insert behavior seems to be the quickest and most comfortable. The Apple behavior in everything else (moving, selecting, etc.) seems to be easiest, most logical, and most comfortable. The differences between Keynote and Numbers have their own reasons and benefits. | ||||
Transitions |
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No transitions option. |
No transitions option. |