In brief:
A commercial office suite produced specifically for Linux.
Applix website
Plus points:
- Stable application.
- Low footprint and fast.
- Can handle huge files.
- Can handle Interleaf and Framemaker files.
- Powerful in-built macro language with a huge number of preconfigured macros, providing almost limitless configuration capability.
Gripes:
- Some relatively basic functions lacking; in particular, several testers pointed out that it has no word-count function - one function translators are particularly likely to look for. One tester did however point out that owing to Applixware's easy configurability, it took him only three minutes to write the function himself!
Compatibility:
Applixware Office 5.0 includes filters for a number of different file formats. The MS Word 6.0 and 97 output filters, however, are in fact for RTF. The quality of the filters can be described as "reasonable".
Applixware should be given credit for documenting the compatibility of its product with MS Word: a very comprehensive list of incompatible features is provided on the installation CD.
Language support:
English, French and German versions available. Japanese version of Applixware 4.4.2 also available.
Proofing tools (spellchecker and thesaurus) supplied as standard for Danish, Dutch, English (US and UK), Finnish, French (France and Canada), German (Germany and Switzerland), Italian, Norwegian (Bokmal and Nynorsk), Portuguese (Portugal and Brazil), Spanish and Swedish. The proofing tools do not appear to be linked to the text, meaning that blocks of text cannot be marked for proofing in different languages.
Conclusion:
The vendors of Applix Office renamed it Anyware Office at some point. But despite the name, it doesn't appear to be going anywhere. It has a solid history of use on UNIX, a mature range of features and a well developed macro language, yet the marketing policy seems to be based upon keeping it a secret. The majority of desktop Linux users have probably never heard of it, and it has now been overtaken not only by OpenOffice.org/Star Office, but also by Softmaker's Textmaker. A pity.
Tips:
- If you don't want to learn a whole new set of commands, select the "Redmond Interface".
- Applixware is not "idiot-proof". For example, if you save a file with the name of an existing file, Applixware will overwrite the existing file - it won't ask you first! (This setting can be changed, but it is the default.)
- The full version of Applixware 5.0 retails for around US$100 in the US; I paid slightly more than half that (including taxes) in Germany, however. US customers also have the option of a "lite" version for half the price.
- Comprehensive documentation of interest to developers, five books in total, is supplied on the CD. The full set can be ordered in printed form for US$99, which is probably well worth doing if you're interested in customizing Applixware.