[Shohei Yamada’s Re: config.sys]If this column is not interesting, it is because of the application … –PC Watch

The role is great. In many cases, typos that could not be found on screen can be easily found by printing on paper. It also feels easy to grip the document. However, many documents are read on a PC screen and finish their function without printing. Paper is not used as the display device that everyone has. In such an age, is it okay to keep making documents with the premise of printing?

Let’s stop making documents without printing with the premise of printing

Document writing is indispensable not only for business, but also for study and hobbies. Word processing applications are used for various purposes. Among them, Microsoft Word, Google Docs and Ichitaro are the classics.

The other day, it became a hot topic that the use of Ichitaro was considered a problem in the government, and in particular, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries “used words in principle”, and this is said to be a de facto ban on Ichitaro. There was a scandal. Some reports are said to have caused an error in the text of the bill, and to Ichitaro it seems watery to the ears, which is a bit too much.

　Ichitaro just released the 2021 edition the other day.. Tried using it, but was a bit disappointed that the document creation method regulates the line width assuming the printing has not changed.

Of course, the same goes for Microsoft Word and Google Docs. Hardly, Microsoft Word has a mode called “Web Design” that allows you to create editor-like documents by removing paper-size-dependent elements from the editing screen as much as possible. However, both Word and a web application such as Google Docs are based on creating documents with a print layout.

When creating a document with a print layout, what gets in the way are the top, bottom, left, and right margins and the page breaks required for printing on paper. These are not required for editing. Also, unless you have to fit on a sheet of A4 portrait paper, you don’t need to separate the pages. Rather, it does not specify the wrapping position of the line.

When you view a Google Docs document with a smartphone app, a convenient edit screen appears that has nothing to do with print layout. However, if you pinch the image in and out, the size of the characters will increase or decrease, but the lines will not be redistributed accordingly.

On the other hand, the smartphone version of the Office application and the smartphone version of the Word application have a display mode called mobile view. In this mode, you can edit the screen regardless of the print layout, just like the Google Docs app, and if you pinch to enlarge or reduce, each line will be redistributed according to the size of the characters. This is really easy to use. This is because it is difficult to read the content carefully, even if it is displayed on the A4 paper print layout on the screen of a small smartphone.

In this series, “How often do people make documents on the premise of printing?It’s been 12 years since I asked. I am surprised that the situation has not changed much even though the zodiac is about to turn around, and at the same time I am a bit disappointed. Smartphones and tablets weren’t common at the time, but now everyone uses them with their PCs. However, the smartphone and the PC shouldn’t feel separate.

A new way of writing documents

It seems like new things will change our lives from now on, so I personally tried various challenges over the past year to try and change something a bit. As I am a writing profession, most of the work is writing sentences, but the tool for that was Hidemaru Editor as a simple text editor. Now, I am writing this manuscript using the Hidemaru editor.

First, to change this, I decided to write part of my work in Word. At first I was quite stressed, but when I started using the web design mode, my impression changed a lot. The name Web Design is misunderstood as a web page, but in reality, Word can be used as a simple editor to insert images and links. You can also enrich the decoration of the character. However, the only time to decorate the text is to set the heading or title, just apply the style.

There are many links in this script that I am writing, but the Hidemaru editor does not have the ability to link to strings. It is natural because it is a text editor. So I write the url directly. Also, only prepare the necessary image files for the plates. If you email it to the editorial department, the publisher will adjust it to match the default appearance of the site and it will appear as the page you are currently viewing.

I thought about switching to Word to write the manuscript for this column, but in May 2004,17 years from the first publicationAlmost every week, I have been writing in text using the Hidemaru editor, and there is also a mental aspect that the engine does not start unless Hidemaru is opened first. I think we have to change that, but it will take a little longer.

In any case, I was reluctant to use a word processing application to write website manuscripts, but I can’t say more. With Word’s web design screen, you can write elements that are unique to web pages, such as links and images, with a writing feel that is not that different from an editor. Even if you leave the final design next to the edit, it seems better to prepare for that.

If times change, so will applications.

In any case, I don’t know how many times the handwritten text will be printed until it is in the final form that the reader can read. At least in my process, I don’t print between the beginning and the end of writing a manuscript. Even in many documents in the world, when it is written and completed, it will be distributed by email, and the recipient will read it on the screen and that will be the end.

Compared to 17 years ago and now, the diversification of devices is remarkable. This means that the reading and writing environments are often very different. Even the paper has different easy-to-read designs for different sizes. More consideration should be given to the diversity of electronic display devices.

Read a written document on a PC with a smartphone. On the contrary, it is common to read emails written on smartphones on a PC. If so, it should be possible to set a document creation method that does not depend on the size or function of the display device.

It’s frustrating that word processing applications designed to support these changing times and come up with new document creation methods are hard to come by. It’s hard for people to change the norm, but the killer app can change that for granted in the blink of an eye. I would like to wait for the appearance of such an innovative application.