I kinda like the UI of Nisus Writer [0], prefer it over Microsoft Office and Pages. It's kinda basic which to me kinda evokes the ClarisWorks feeling.
Sadly, the Microsoft Office import / export has never been great when I used this app (perhaps improved now?). And sadly many companies still rely on Office, so compatibility is kind of a must.
WriteNow was even less bloated than Nisus Writer. I was thrilled when they added style sheets and then stopped. Well, I think they stopped more from going out of business but it was the right balance between lightweight yet usefull for moderately complex documents.
Yup, word is a beast but if you have a large, complex, structured/technical document it's pretty hard to beat. Once I learned just how easy section references were I would never do a contract in anything else. You mean as I move sections around all my references automatically update when I update the table of contents? Yes please!
Sadly, the Microsoft Office import / export has never been great when I used this app (perhaps improved now?). And sadly many companies still rely on Office, so compatibility is kind of a must.
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[0]: https://www.nisus.com