OS/2 e-Zine! - Review: Clearlook v1.5

Clearlook v1.5

- by Jon Cochran

Clearlook is a relative newcomer to the OS/2 word processing scene. Some of you may remember their solicitations for beta testers in OS/2 Magazine about a year ago. At the time, $20 to test the new word processor seemed to be a good deal, so I bought into the program. When the package arrived and I installed it, I was very impressed. Its overall speed was just fantastic, even under OS/2 2.1. Most of the features that make any word processor usable weren't yet included, but they were promised to be on the way. And, as far as I remember, it was the first word processor to check each word for spelling as you typed.

Finally, Clearlook was released and I was a bit disappointed. Most of the features needed to make a basic word processor still weren't there, import and export filters most notably. But, as with any product, there are good points and bad points, so let's get into them.

Installation

The installation is simple and quick. It allows you to specify install directories, what parts of the program to install and displays its progress as it works. Unfortunately, there is not any automatic uninstall feature. The program takes less than 3 MB of disk space and it runs adequately on my 4 MB laptop (using MDesk). Both the on-line documentation and the printed manual are good and thorough.

Performance

One thing Clearlook really has going for it is pure, raw speed. It is absolutely blazingly fast. Opening and closing files is very quick. Some people have reported problems with screen redraws, but this seems to be related to video drivers, and has reportedly been cleared up with the latest release. Spell check is almost instantaneous; click on the icon, and it's done. As I mentioned before, it will check spelling on-the-fly, but this feature seems quite buggy and I don't recommend using it unless you insist on showing off your computer/word processor. Printing is also fast, and takes place in a separate thread so the main program isn't locked up.

Features

Also, it's not called the 'Cellular Word Processor' without reason. Its ability to format cells is almost unrivaled. It far surpasses anything Ami Pro can do, and is also ahead of DeScribe in this ability. Tables are well supported, about on par with DeScribe, which is to say they are excellent. Footnotes and Endnotes are also supported, and they flow dynamically with text. Spell checking and thesaurus--standard equipment on any modern word processor--are included with dictionaries available in English, French, German, Swiss, Italian and Spanish.

As nice as it is, Clearlook still lacks a few features to make it livable. For example, there is no first line indent! You have to hit tab to indent. Isn't this why we don't use typewriters anymore? There are really no import/export filters to speak of, except Word Perfect--a glaring omission. Graphics support is limited. Readability tools are nonexistent. Obviously, the program needs a lot of work to catch up to today's standards.

As I type this, however, a new version of Clearlook (v1.6) is in beta testing. Don't let the minor upgrade number fool you, this new beta includes a communications module and a database. Hopefully it will address some of the above shortcomings as well.

Configuration

Clearlook is also reasonably customizable (gif 3.4k). You can change colors and fonts, but you can't change the toolbar layout. However, the toolbar is rather well laid out, and has some innovative features, like a sliding scale to change the point size of a font. Still, greater ability to customize would probably suit many users.

Overall the user interface (gif 14.5k) is rather well done if a little on the plain side. It's no beauty, though, even compared to DeScribe, which isn't winning pageants either. As someone once wrote of OS/2, "It looks like the programmers drew the icons." Take my advice Clearlook, hire a graphic artist on a short-term contract.

The user interface outside the word processor is another matter entirely. You may have heard of the dreaded Clearlook "Status Window." The Status Window (gif 4.2k) exists to let you have easy access to Clearlook templates and to open documents. It's like a big, ugly version of the task list that only supports Clearlook. One nice thing about having the Status Window is that you can open documents into separate instances of Clearlook; no need for a Multiple Document Interface here, folks. But luckily, if you just can't deal with the Status Window, the latest version lets you bypass it.

Pricing and Tech Support

Demo copies of Clearlook can be found on the major FTP sites. These are more or less fully functional and allow users to really get a feel for the product.

Balancing its drawbacks, Clearlook Corporation is marketing Clearlook very aggressively. The standard price of US$ 159 only jumps to US$ 219 for v1.5 and delivery of v2.0 when it becomes available, plus free lifetime support. Team OS/2ers and OS/2 user group members receive special deals and full-time students can take advantage of even deeper discounts. Customers can also opt to purchase a license to fully activate the demo copies (but not receive a printed manual) at a discounted rate.

Voice, fax and BBS phone numbers (non toll free) for technical support are listed in the on-line help menu, but these may be changing soon (see below).

At the time of this writing, there was a major shake-up going on within Clearlook Corporation. The former North American marketing person and part owner left the company, and future distribution channels are not clear. This should be resolved in the near future. There are also rumours of a name change from Clearlook Corporation to ClearSoft. The original developer remains with the company, however, and continues to work on the next version.

Conclusions

Overall, Clearlook will satisfy those with very simple word processing needs. Also, if you're short on memory, Clearlook will perform well where others can only churn enviously. If your needs are more demanding, if you need to share files between multiple platforms or if you want the latest gee-whiz features and a slick interface, you should consider one of its heftier competitors.

Clearlook v1.5
Clearlook Corporation
Orders: 1-800-818-LOOK
Office: 703-425-1163
SRP: US$ 169

Jon Cochran is a full time student at Rider University majoring in History/Secondary Education. He hopes (or at least his parents do) to graduate soon.

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