What word would work? Ask WordWorks!
Along with desktop publishing application Impression-X, another product originally from the Computer Concepts stable is now available via !Store – WordWorks.
WordWorks is a dictionary and thesaurus application designed to work with any RISC OS word processor but which, originating from the same source, is more integrated with Impression. When a word is looked up in the application, the user is presented with an on-screen representation of the printed page, just as they would see if they looked up the word in a dead-tree dictionary or thesaurus, complete with emphasis, etc.
According to the timeline published in 2011 by Xara (the company Computer Concepts morphed into), RISC OS users were first introduced to WordWorks in 1994, some six years after Impression, which first appeared in 1988, and according to the old Computer Concepts website, cost £34.07 including VAT (at a time when VAT was 17.5%) if bought as a standalone product, although it was also bundled with members of the Impression family.
Purchasing it via !Store now, however, and the price is a touch less at £18.50 – although, just as it was in Computer Concepts day, it is also supplied with Impression-X.
The WordWorks package available on !Store doesn’t just include the dictionary application itself, but also CCshared, a resource needed by older versions of Impression – something that, apparently, has been giving a number of users headaches, with some reporting it missing or incomplete (as well as expressing confusion as to where it should be located). CCShared includes updated modules, file importers and other files utilised by both Impression and WordWorks.
Also included in the package are a number of fonts and typefaces used by the Impression family.
R-Comp‘s Andrew Rawnsley, who announced the release on behalf of the developer, stressed that it is better for customers to purchase Impression-X, which includes everything found in the WordWorks package, since Impression-X is the main product, and is seeing active development from Richard Keefe, who is gradually working towards making the software compatible with modern systems; at present, it still requires the use of Aemulor.
However, for those who don’t need to worry about 32-bit and ARMv7 compatibility – such as those still running an older version of Impression on their systems – the WordWorks option is a much less costly method of ensuring all of the support modules are present, and funds from the sale of this package will, naturally, contribute to Richard’s ongoing development of Impression-X.