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Tools For Formatting Documents
These programs manage the creation and editing of
documents in your word processor, and automate the insertion of
bibliographic and in-text citation information.
StyleEase
(StyleEase Software, LLC)
Versions available for APA, Chicago/Turabian,
MLA styles, and Seminary Style.
Available in download or CD-ROM format.
Works with any version of Microsoft Word on any
Windows computer, and with Office 2004 on MacOS. |
StyleEase is the most comprehensive solution
we've seen. It covers all aspects of document preparation, and
has the most complete menu of reference entry possibilities.
StyleEase is the only program we've seen that
verifies that each bibliographic entry contains all of the
required information. And most impressively, you only interact
with one form screen per reference entry, where a lot of the
other programs take you through a series of screens.
It's also the only program we've seen that
allows you to insert or delete sections (abstract, new chapters,
appendixes, tables of contents, and so on) at any time. Most of
the other programs set these sections up when you create the
document, and that's your only chance.StyleEase has an easy to use interface and
does a lot of little things right, like automatically converting
names into correct format and automatically updating your table
of contents and page numbering.
The APA and MLA versions of StyleEase include
a database of bibliography entries that allow you to instantly
reuse and edit citations and reference entries in any document
you create.Includes free updates whenever a new version
of a manual is published.
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Reference Point
(Reference Point Software, LLC)
Downloadable versions available for APA and MLA styles.
Works with numerous word processing programs on
both Windows and Macintosh computers.
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Reference Point's
templates are available for many different word processors, and
work with.
Reference Point templates
work well, are fairly comprehensive, and are generally easy to
use.
Our biggest complaint is that you have to cascade through a
series of screens to complete a reference entry, and you can't
easily add or delete sections in a document after you've created
it.This program is a runner-up to StyleEase,
lacking some of the polish and extra features.
A solid value,
especially if you're using a word processor other than Word, or
if you're working on a Macintosh, on which StyleEase is not
available. |
FormatEase
(Guilford Publications)
APA version available for download or on CD-ROM. |
FormatEase is the
predecessor to StyleEase, written by the same programming team over ten
years ago. It does an okay job, but lacks polish, and is missing
several important features.
FormatEase
has an outdated and visually sparse appearance, does a poor job
of handling online and electronic reference entries, and lacks a
modern help system. |
APA Style Helper
(American Psychological Assoc.)
APA version available for download and on CD-ROM. |
Amazingly enough,
We've heard absolutely nothing good about this software from the APA
itself.
Our own experience confirms the opinions expressed by numerous
reviewers: this is a poorly designed, awkward to use program that you
should avoid. Many users have reported abandoning use of
this software after purchase and buying an alternative. |
APA Referencing Macros
(Southern Ocean)
APA version available for download. |
In a phrase: sparse
and inexpensive. This software provides reference entry
management and not much else in terms of document preparation.
Its top-level reference entry menu has a
different look and feel than any of the others, but entering
bibliographic information is difficult and confusing; in fact,
our testers couldn't get a single entry to work properly. |
APA Perrla
(Perrla)
APA version available for download. |
One of the early
entries in the APA formatting software world, along with
FormatEase. Although Perrla has updated its capabilities to
cover the Fifth Edition of the APA Manual, its user interface
hasn't been updated and remains clunky.
There are better choices. |
Of course, since we're the creators of StyleEase products, we believe that StyleEase is the top choice for students and
professionals seeking an easy to use, comprehensive solution for
document preparation on Windows computers. It does everything and its interface is easy to
navigate. StyleEase offers more flexibility in creating and editing
documents than any of its competitors, verifies the completeness of your
reference entries, and includes free upgrades.
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