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Product: Keyword
Supplier: Swift Software, 6 Ennerdale Road, Stockport, Cheshire SK1 4NR.
Tel: 061-477 8405
Price: £9.95 (40 track 5.25" disc), £19.95 (80 track 5.25" DFS disc or 3.5" ADFS disc)

At one time word processors were simple to use - straightforward in application. Nowadays the opposite is too often true. However, there are certain features which have proven invaluable. The first of these was some form of spelling checker, now an essential component of almost any word processor that claims even modest respectability.

The latest and growing demand is for a thesaurus. Printed versions have been in existence for a long time, Rogets Thesaurus probably being the best known. This allows you to look up any word in an alphabetical index which directs you to a section containing similar, equivalent or related words and phrases. Such a thesaurus can be a boon to anyone who undertakes much writing.

Until now, I have been unaware of any such software for the BBC micro (or even the Archimedes), but Swift Software has galloped to the rescue with Keyword, which is available in versions on disc for all Acorn micros.

The software is supplied in a smart looking pack, but the documentation, though well printed, amounts to no more than two A5 sides of instructions. Pressing Shift-Break boots the software.

Enter a keyword and press Return twice to be presented with a list of possible categories. Use the cursor keys to select the one of your choice and press Return again to be presented with a corresponding list of words. Using the cursor keys, more words can always be selected from the list displayed, for further associations.

As well as searching for synonyms and antonyms, you can also type in, say th, and see displayed all words beginning with these two letters. It is also possible to browse through the 10,000 or so words which Keyword claims to provide (the 40 track version has 5,000 words).

In use the access times seemed acceptable, but I do have two points of criticism. The first may be considered temporary, in that it relates to the documentation. I did not find this really sufficient at the outset, and I learnt to use the package more by trial and error. Moreover, on my system at least, the main example used in the documentation fails to work as described!

My other disappointment concerns the method of operation. I would have liked to access Keyword while working on a document, in the manner of Computer Concept's Spellmaster. Unfortunately, this appears impossible. Instead, you must save your document, boot Keyword and do your searching. Then reload your word processor and original document. This seems to me to be a significant weakness in an otherwise admirable product. I understand from Swift Software that a ROM-based version is under development which will overcome this problem, and which will be available to existing purchasers for the cost of post and packing as an upgrade. Keyword also requires that its own disc be always available, as only parts of its dictionary are ever loaded into memory at any time.

In principle, this is an excellent product, offering as it does the facilities that many users increasingly are asking for in conjunction with a word processor. However, until the suppliers do produce a version which integrates better with the word processor of your choice, then I for one will still be reaching for my printed edition of Roget's Thesaurus when the need arises.