Tablet PCs for Dummies

Pulling Things Together with PenOffice Version 1.5

Manufacturer: Parascript, LLC

Web site: www.penoffice.com/piweb/downloads/index.asp

Estimated price: $29.95

PenOffice from Parascript is an application that adds some ease-of-use features when you use your pen in various other software products.

The PenCommander feature enables you to use your pen to automate certain actions, such as inserting text that you write frequently. You can define the command (as shown in Figure 14-5). For example, you could create a command called My Sign and then, instead of entering an entire signature block at the bottom of a letter, you just type My Sign, circle it with your pen, and the full text appears. The Inline Gestures feature lets you create your own control gestures for text input.

Figure 14-5: Add your signature to Pen- Commander; then simply write words, such as My Sign, and Pen- Commander inserts your signature into documents.

You can use a Shape Checker feature to select hand drawings and generate smooth geographic drawing objects, such as squares or triangles. The program also features a Letter Shapes feature that can improve handwriting recognition by enabling you to enter your own letter samples (as shown in Figure 14-6).

Figure 14-6: Write your own letters to help your applications recognize your handwriting.

PenOffice includes a robust dictionary and spell checker. And if you parlez-vous other languages, it has built-in support for handwriting recognition that works with French, German, and Spanish as well as English.

 Remember  If you use PenOffice to annotate Word documents, you can only do so if those documents were created in Microsoft Word versions 97 and later.

Another cool little feature is the RiteCalc handwriting calculator. Where other applications have difficulty recognizing input such as equations, this feature makes inputting mathematical information much easier.