I have owned a copy of Wordpower ever since its release about two years ago when it superseded Wordsworth. Quite simply, I believe it to be the best BBC word processor on the market - and in my job I need to use all of them from time to time.

Wordpower runs on just about every kind of equipment, from an Electron to an Archimedes, and can use sideways and shadow RAM. I normally use it on a large E-Net network in Oxford. The program works fully in any screen mode, so it is just as happy on a television screen as on a high-resolution monitor. I dislike software which will not run with a second processor, so I was pleased to see that Wordpower takes full advantage of the extra memory which this offers and which is so invaluable for word processing. And there is no need to buy a separate 'hi' version.

The basic package consists of a disc, a fully-indexed manual, a function Key strip and an optional ROM chip. If you have a second processor or sideways RAM you need not buy the ROM (this can make the price very competitive for educational users). You are allowed to make a security copy of the disc, which can be obtained in various DFS and ADFS sizes and formats.

Even if you buy a ROM you must still insert the Wordpower disc when you start up (it can be removed immediately afterwards so a single drive is sufficient). At first this might seem a bit of a nuisance, but there is a very valuable benefit - the 'User Variables File' or UVF. This contains settings for screen mode, colours, line length, printer type, and many other features so that the program always starts up the way you choose. The settings are easy to modify, and I keep a library of different UVFs to suit various purposes.

It is hard to imagine an easier program to use than Wordpower. After pressing Shift-Break, you can start typing immediately - very encouraging for beginners and, I am pleased to say, especially young children. The program assumes sensible default values for everything, and text is formatted automatically all the time. When you start, the screen is blank except for a small information panel at the top, and a prompt at the foot inviting you to press Ctrl-H for help. The information panel tells you, for example, whether you are in insert (the default) or overwrite mode, and provides constantly updated figures for words typed and words free. The latter value is based on the average length of the words you have already used, and is far more meaningful to the novice than the usual 'bytes free'.

Ctrl-H produces a series of displays summarising the program's main functions: these can be used like menus or simply as on-screen reminders. Having introduced many newcomers to Wordpower I have seen time and again the remarkable amount people can do without even looking at the manual or function key strip.

Wordpower uses the function keys at all three levels. You can still create your own *KEY definitions, and f9 is left unused so you don't need to go too close to the Break key on a Model B. The cursor keys with or without Shift and Ctrl let you move around the text in a logical and flexible fashion. Ctrl combinations are generally easy to remember. Ctrl-R, for example, lets you modify a ruler or create a new one (as many as you like). Lines of up to 250 characters are allowed; margins and tabs are set by 'dragging' a cursor to the required position.

The problem of displaying long lines is overcome by a novel device called 'slicing', whereby you can look at your text in slices of 40 or 80 columns. It's easy to check the alignment of tables or figures, but most of the time you can see all the text at once. This beats sideways scrolling and is a better solution for most users than trying to read special screen modes with 100-odd characters to the line. Wordpower also provides a sort of 'Ctrl-Lock' for people who can only press one key at a time. This 'one finger' option is invaluable to the disabled.

Wordpower has all the facilities we have come to expect in a wordprocessor, such as block copy, move, and erase, and a versatile search and replace, together with some useful extras like erase word. But in addition it offers some unusually powerful features as standard. The professional but very friendly mail-merging option is a good example. It is quite possible to build up a simple database using Wordpower itself, with records containing up to 26 fields. Personalised forms, letters or labels can be produced with individual fields appearing in any order and position, correctly formatted and with any required printer highlights. Special links allow Wordpower to mail-merge using data from ViewStore, System Delta, SupaStore and a number of other databases.

Another advantage Wordpower offers is the facility to split the screen into two windows of variable size. These windows can show two separate files, or different areas of the same file, and you can edit text in either window. You might use one window to display a block of text to be moved, while you locate the target position in the other window. For specialised tasks such as translation the windows are a blessing.

Security is one of Wordpower's strong points, and error-trapping is excellent. It is virtually impossible to delete anything by accident. Break and even Ctrl-Break seem to have no effect (primary school teachers please note); if you really wish to leave the program you have to indicate this by pressing Ctrl-L first. When you edit an existing file the program can automatically preserve the previous version for you - a real sanity saver when you realise you have just confirmed erasure of the wrong 2000 words! Incidentally, Wordpower imposes no limit on the length of your text. One file could fill a whole disc, and even discs can be linked together for printing.

Printing is an area where Wordpower scores very highly. First of all, you can carry on typing new text (or indeed amend existing text) while printing takes place in the background. You can print from the computer's memory or straight from disc, link files together, and print as many copies as you want, complete with page and copy numbers, headings and footings, draft, elite or NLQ, enlarged, condensed, double strike, emphasised, italic or superscript type if required. Line spacing, page length and various other factors can be controlled by plain English instructions in the text.

Thousands of words must have been written explaining how to achieve simple printer effects or print pound signs using other BBC word processors. The Wordpower solution is quite simple. For example, to turn underlining on just press Ctrl-P (for 'print code') followed by U. You can do this even in the middle of a word, and the U appears in 'inverse video' on the screen (although the U takes up a space on the screen Wordpower compensates for this and the printed format will still be correct). If pound signs do not print correctly on your printer, press Ctrl-P followed by P instead and the correct character can be be printed.

Each letter of the alphabet can stand for almost any sequence of codes, so a single letter could select underlined enlarged emphasised italic printing. Because of the huge range of possibilities, Wordpower makes no attempt to represent the effects directly on screen, but the inverse video makes it easy enough to tell where they start and end. The program is supplied with pre-defined sequences to suit Epson and Juki printers, but you can easily create your own via the UVF. You can even include a simple instruction in your text to change all 26 definitions during a print run: this means that the same text can be printed on two incompatible printers by changing a single word.

I recently took delivery of Wordpower Version 4 which introduces the major new feature of Power Fonts. I (or rather my colleagues and students) can now word-process in Russian or Greek, not to mention Faeroese, Finnish, French, German etc ... and mathematics (see examples).

Up to 219 different characters can now be seen on the screen at once, just as they will be printed. This new dimension in WYSIWYG-ness even extends to multi-line physics equations complete with boxes, brackets, integral signs and the like. Typing the extra characters at the keyboard is delightfully simple and easy to remember. Each Power Font is supplied with a set of notes and a specialised disc to use instead of the normal Wordpower disc; this may still be removed as soon as the program is running.

A high-quality printing option, called Powerfont NTQ, is also available. This was specially developed from Permanent Memory Systems' excellent Multi-Font NTQ program, which provides variable height and width and right-justified proportional spacing. Ian Copestake Software has designed language and maths/physics NTQ fonts to an impressive standard - my students and colleagues have been drooling over their print-outs ever since the new package arrived.

If you need special character sets of any kind you must not miss the latest version of Wordpower. The author offers to design free Power Fonts to your specification - recent customers include a word processing bureau in Greece and a bible translation institute in Sweden.

It is rare to be able to speak to the author of a program on the telephone, but Ian Copestake always seems to be available to answer any little query. This is an extremely important consideration for anyone using software in their work. We have also been regularly informed of program enhancements, updates being offered at a nominal cost.

The Wordpower manual is thorough and detailed, running to 80 A5 pages, and has recently been improved by the addition of a good index and a lay-flat binding. Although easy to follow, the sheer amount of information could be daunting, although the Ctrl-H Help option pre-empts this I think. But Wordpower's friendly approach encourages you to learn about the more advanced features as and when you need them; in spite of its power the program never feels difficult.

Wordpower works with Beebug's Spellcheck series software and Computer Concepts' Spellmaster (except in immediate mode), and it is available in just about every disc format.

It is always easy to find fault with anything produced by someone else and I must say that there have been 'faults' with Wordpower's earlier versions. I cannot clearly remember just how many versions have been produced because Ian Copestake is always willing to listen to constructive criticism and I believe that I have given him quite a lot since Wordpower was released.

Product: Wordpower and Power Fonts
Supplier: Ian Copestake Software, 10 Frost Drive, Wirral, Merseyside L61 4XL. Tel: (051-648) 6287 Price: From £40.25 inc. VAT and p&p (Power Fonts extra)
Special starter pack for Education (inc. Wordpower, Powerfont NTQ and European languages) - £75 (exc. VAT)