Final Writer has the least powerful mail merging features, but is the easiest to use.
One of the most common uses of word processors is mail merging, a technique whereby a letter is typed once and then matched with a data file to produce hundreds of copies, each with a different name and address. All three packages perform mail merging either through the use of data files (lists of names and addresses usually) typed in using the word processor itself or by importing files saved from a database. All three WPs have sister database programs in the form of Prodata (Protext), Final Data (Final Writer) and Datastore (Wordworth).
Files from other database systems can be used through the standard Ascii format, but Wordworth also offers direct import of Superbase CSV files and those from the Mailshot Plus package. In terms of power, Protext is just ahead of Wordworth, with Final Writer lagging behind. The reason for this is that both Digita and Arnor provide for conditional mail merging.
This means that instead of placing a merge field in the text of your Form letter and having the package pick up all records in the database, a limited number of tests can be carried out to check the data in a particular field and filter out only those people at which the letter is aimed. You could, for example, use conditional merge to find just Birmingham addresses.
It's perfectly possible to create a sub-set of your data by carrying out the filtering process within the database before exporting the merge file, but conditional merging allows for easy testing without the need to produce a new address database every time you want to narrow the scope of a Form letter. Final Writer users are stuck with having to jump between their WP and Final Data, I'm afraid.
Protext's advantage over Wordworth is the In and Not In tests, which could - for example - be used to find everyone not in Central London by searching for 0171 numbers and excluding them.
This seemingly simple extension to the test procedure gives Protext a unique advantage. It's one which most home users would probably never need, but those running a small business should stop and think just how much time the In and Not In tests would save them.
