Author Topic: Textmaker (Softmaker/Ashampoo Office) 2008 (Read 102,737 times)

TucknDar · « **Reply #25 on:** March 21, 2008, 05:54 AM »

Yes, I'm trying it and it seems to be very good Office suite. Still need some time to see whether it's worth buying though. It starts very fast, btw!

tomos · « **Reply #26 on:** March 21, 2008, 09:34 AM »

Yeah,
I should point out I was mainly concerned with "saving a doc in textmaker and opening it in MS Word"
But as said already I havent really tested/pushed it much

TucknDar · « **Reply #27 on:** March 21, 2008, 09:50 AM »

I tried a few simple things with boxes and images placed above each other and some wrapping here and there, and everything seemed fine txtmaker->word

But a full document with extensive formatting would make for a proper test. I think I've got some laying around...

TomColvin · « **Reply #28 on:** May 09, 2008, 09:52 PM »

I'm glad my search of the forum turned up this thread. I got a notice about the special discount of Ashampoo Office 3 [$29.95] and am now evaluating it. So far, I like it a lot. Will likely do a post about it on my writer's blog.

I'm also investigating word processors that run off a USB stick, as does this software. I've identified about 10 of them so far. As I travel a lot, the USB stick may be a useful option for me. Especially since the US court decision that allows US customs to examine and seize anyone's computer for no announced reason whatsoever!

Darwin · « **Reply #29 on:** May 09, 2008, 09:59 PM »

Quote from: TomColvin on May 09, 2008, 09:52 PM

Especially since the US court decision that allows US customs to examine and seize anyone's computer for no announced reason whatsoever!

Er... wouldn't that mandate likely extend to media as well?

tomos · « **Reply #30 on:** June 02, 2008, 10:00 AM »

this may be of interest to some

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Now available: SoftMaker Office 2008 for Pocket PCs
-------------------------------------------------------------------------

After extensive beta testing, we are proud to announce that SoftMaker
Office 2008 for Pocket PCs is shipping and ready for purchase.

This new version of our mobile office suite has significant advantages:

NEW: SoftMaker Presentations, the mobile alternative to PowerPoint
NEW: PDF export in all Office applications
NEW: Printing from all applications (JETCET PRINT is bundled)
NEW: Many new features in TextMaker 2008 and PlanMaker 2008

If you wish to edit Word, Excel, and PowerPoint files on the Pocket PC
without losing formatting or content, SoftMaker Office is your only
choice. There is no other mobile office suite that reads and writes
your Office documents as faithfully as SoftMaker Office 2008.

Find out more:
http://www.softmaker.com/

-
any further comments from those of you testing Word><Textmaker formatting -ah,
I just found Toms Colvin's review

TextMaker: Why It Excites Me

Published by Tom Colvin on May 14, 2008 11:25 pm under 6-Alternative Office Suites, 4-Alternatives to Word

http://becoming-a-writer-seriously.com/2008/05/14/textmaker-why-it-excites-me/
&
an update/some follow-up comments from Softmaker
http://becoming-a-writer-seriously.com/2008/05/22/update-on-softmaker-office/

tomos · « **Reply #31 on:** June 05, 2008, 10:12 AM »

and a service pack for Softmaker/Ashampoo Office

Service Pack 490 for SoftMaker Office 2008 for Windows

Darwin · « **Reply #32 on:** June 05, 2008, 01:27 PM »

Thanks for the heads up, Tom

What I LOVE about SoftMaker/Ashampoo Office is how quickly it opens up and how comparably fully featured it is. I'm waiting impatiently for DataMaker to be released - hope (with a sense of futility) that it will be included as part of a Service Pack for SM Office 2008. Suspect it will be sold as a standalone product initially and included in the next full Office release.

tomos · « **Reply #33 on:** June 05, 2008, 01:48 PM »

Quote from: Darwin on June 05, 2008, 01:27 PM

I'm waiting impatiently for DataMaker to be released

looks interesting - I havent a clue about databases though, guess I'm learning a bit using SQLNotes
Of course, you'll get academic pricing - Softmaker Office is dirt cheap with that
(- just realised that's how come you can afford to indulge your software habit without going bankrupt

)

Darwin · « **Reply #34 on:** June 05, 2008, 02:04 PM »

Nah... still morally bankrupt!

aquaplaning · « **Reply #35 on:** June 05, 2008, 04:20 PM »

Seems SoftMaker is handing out free copies of SoftMaker Office 2008 at the moment...

www.softmakeroffice.com

They claim that they will switch to an abridged office version soon, but right now it seems to be the full thing. So, hurry while it lasts...

CWuestefeld · « **Reply #36 on:** June 05, 2008, 04:36 PM »

Quote from: aquaplaning on June 05, 2008, 04:20 PM

Seems SoftMaker is handing out free copies of SoftMaker Office 2008 at the moment...

Wow! This looks legit. The referenced site is owned by the same people that own softmaker.com.

Darwin · « **Reply #37 on:** June 05, 2008, 05:55 PM »

Can't find any mention of it at PCWorld though...

tomos · « **Reply #38 on:** June 05, 2008, 06:08 PM »

Quote from: Darwin on June 05, 2008, 05:55 PM

Can't find any mention of it at PCWorld though...

looks like an offer with the current mag $:-\$

tomos · « **Reply #39 on:** June 05, 2008, 06:09 PM »

Quote from: tomos on June 05, 2008, 06:08 PM

Quote from: Darwin on June 05, 2008, 05:55 PM
Can't find any mention of it at PCWorld though...

looks like an offer with the current mag $:-\$

mind you the softmaker site is simply
softmaker.com
not
softmakeroffice.com

AND the softmaker link in the corner gets a 404
So,
who's willing to try it out

Edit/ Kapersky says it's okay

CWuestefeld · « **Reply #40 on:** June 05, 2008, 06:15 PM »

I checked WHOIS. The softmakeroffice.com domain really is registered by the exact same people that own the softmaker.com domain.

I suppose they could be hacked, and this is an elaborate trojan horse...

tomos · « **Reply #41 on:** June 05, 2008, 06:26 PM »

Quote from: tomos on June 05, 2008, 06:09 PM

AND the softmaker link in the corner gets a 404
So,
who's willing to try it out

Edit/ Kapersky says it's okay

Quote from: http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file/fid,69287-order,1-page,1/description.html

Softmaker Office
Download Now User Reviews Rate This Product
Softmaker Office
License Type: Trial
Price: $80
Date Added: Jan 2008
Operating Systems: Windows XP, Windows Vista
File Size: 38125KB
Downloads Count: 307
Author: SoftMaker
Replace Office 2003 with this fast, free, compatible suite.

that's the only ref to it I could find - they give the price, call it free, & at the end of the article call it a trial

Darwin · « **Reply #42 on:** June 05, 2008, 06:41 PM »

Ha, ha... thanks guys! I'd already downloaded it anyway, mind you. I have a licence for the suitie already, but thought I'd install the freebie on another computer. Haven't done so, yet, but will report back with the result after doing so

PPLandry · « **Reply #43 on:** June 05, 2008, 06:53 PM »

Strange...

I downloaded it from the softmakeroffice site and saved it to disk.
I then found the PCWorld page where it is referenced and evidently, it is a 30 day trial. I downloaded the PCWorld version and my virus checker clains it is Win32: Trojan-gen Virus/Worm...

Dormouse · « **Reply #44 on:** June 05, 2008, 06:56 PM »

Quote from: Darwin on June 05, 2008, 06:41 PM

I have a licence for the suitie already,

Of course

CWuestefeld · « **Reply #45 on:** June 05, 2008, 07:30 PM »

Quote from: PPLandry on June 05, 2008, 06:53 PM

I then found the PCWorld page where it is referenced and evidently, it is a 30 day trial. I downloaded the PCWorld version and my virus checker clains it is Win32: Trojan-gen Virus/Worm...

Of course that's a trial. The link from PCWorld is clearly to a trial. The question is whether the D/L from SoftMakerOffice.com is a trial (or a trojan, for that matter)

PPLandry · « **Reply #46 on:** June 05, 2008, 11:26 PM »

I inquired to them and got this answer back:

-----------------
yes, it is a legitimate offer. We were caught off-guard by PC World releasing
their magazine a bit early (the free offer is an ad in PC World), so we put up
the readily available Office 2008.

It will be replaced by SoftMaker Office 2006 in about one hour.

Best,

------------
And checking again, the page was indeed updated

Now since I downloaded it a couple hours ago, I have Office 2008 .exe. It scans clean.

Darwin · « **Reply #47 on:** June 06, 2008, 05:32 PM »

I installed the installation files for Office 2008 as downloaded from www.softmakeroffice.com yesterday and it installed on my other machine fine. It doesn't say it's a trial but it's not registered, either... I wonder if this is going to "die" 30 days from now, though it *is* the full installer and not the trial installer (when you purchase the software, you are given a link to download the non-trial version)?

Darwin · « **Reply #48 on:** June 07, 2008, 04:54 PM »

UPDATE: I hit "Register Now" in the pop-up dialogue that appeared when I started one of the suite's applications and was re-directed to a webpage promising that upon registration a serial number would be sent to me. This, indeed, is exactly what happened. So... if you downloaded the installer for SO 2008 from www.softmakeroffice.com the other day and have held off installing it - go ahead! This is the real deal...

Note: if you download now you'll get SO 2006, which lacks the BasicMaker and the Presentations modules but PlanMaker and TextMaker are excellent!

Curt · « **Reply #49 on:** August 28, 2008, 08:12 PM »

Quote from: SoftMaker

Service Pack 494 for SoftMaker Office 2008 for Windows
Can also be used to update Ashampoo Office 2008. Cannot be used to update trial versions.

List of changes in this Service Pack:

All applications:
The Swiss German spell-checker now suggests words with "ss" when a "ß" was entered.

TextMaker 2008:
Improved RTF import

Improved Word-Export
Word 6.0 files created by TextMaker can now be opened by itself again (this bug was introduced in revision 493).

PlanMaker 2008:
PlanMaker now correctly releases memory that was allocated during editing and scrolling through worksheets (this bug was introduced in revision 493). This led to very slow response times after some working with a worksheet.

Improved display of 3D charts
The OLE Automation property Sheet.Name now allows renaming a sheet to its already used name.

SoftMaker Presentations 2008:
Pictures can now be pasted with Edit/Paste (previously, you had to use Edit/Paste Special)

http://www.softmaker.com/english/servofw8_en.htm