Customer Reviews

APA Style Helper 3.0: Software for New Writers in the Behavioral Sciences (CD-ROM, Individual Version)

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1 star:		(11)

 

 

APA-Style Helper 3.0 claims to allow a user to create a manuscript by prompting the user for the title, running head, author, abstract information, and all of their references. After the user provides this information APA-Style Helper 3.0 creates a rich-text file that Microsoft Word can read - it fully supports paragraph styles.

The user encounters problems when entering references. If you edit a reference in your manuscript, your first reference is lost. If you add a reference after saving, closing the software, and opening it again, you lose two of your first references.

APA-Style Helper 3.0 is a very promising package, but the vendor's lack of testing is very disappointing considering this problem was discovered after adding only three references. The APA is aware of the problems and promises a patch is on the way.

Avoid APA-Style Helper 3.0 until version 3.1 or a patch for 3.0 is released.

I bought this, because my proffesor told us that we had to switch from 4th edition APA to the 5th half-way during the semester, without instructions on what was new! Well, I found this a very hard program to use. I basically used it to do my references. I found it very hard to save my manual as a Word document. The instructions provided are not very easy to folow, and even when you have finished your manual, and saved it as a Word document, you will still have to play around with the Word doc to correct some of the "assumptions" that this program makes. All in all, this is good when you are in a pinch, but it is not reliable enough to use for all of your papers.

After entering all of the required information in both the title page area and the reference area, the software fails to open the selected word processing program (Microsoft Word 2000). The references are lost if you try to modify them and they do not format properly. You cannot just print off the references, which I tried to do when Word would not open. Essentially all of my work was "lost" and I had to make multiple screen prints of the entries and try to recreate them from scratch. I am surprised that better quality control and testing was not done before marketing this product. I contacted "help" on the apa website on 1/26/02 and to date (2/17/02) have never had anything other than an automatic response to my inquiry for assistance. They promised to follow-up in 24 hours, but never did.

Guess I wasted my money on this software... it [stinks] big time. First of all, there is a HUGE update I have to download after installing the software from the CDROM.

Then, the reference and citation capabilities really is really bad. Difficult and non=intuitiative at all, talk about user-friendly (or rather how not to do it correctly).

Does NOT integrate into any word processor (MS Word) at all. It generates its files that you have to import from Word...

... like "ReferencePoint" and "StyleEase". Both are GREAT alternative to this [one].

Yeak! After spending my money on the APA book and then this CD, I am really [upset] at the quality of this software that these APA people produced...

This product was a complete waste of money. The reference entry facility isn't integrated in with your word processor, and the user interface is, to put it very politely, poorly designed. A nightmare of a software product. There are other APA style software products out there that do a much better job, notably StyleEase. Take a look at it or other products before even considering buying this product.

I really can't think on any use for this program other then creating a reference list. And it really doesn't do that well. Once you download to Word, that's right I said download. It doesn't integrate. ANyway after the download, you are on your own. No more help. It can't automatically cite your references. It won't help with format of the body. The only pieces of the paper it set-up are the Title, Header and Abstract. Nothing else!! Really just not worth any money yet alone $$$. I now use Reference Point Software's APA Templates. It opened in word and can even cite for you. Stay away from APA Style Helper.

This software does work better than most reviewers have let on, but it is a complete waste of time. As a time-saver, this software is a complete failure. I regret every single cent that I wasted.
The software does work; it will help you format your paper in APA style after you work out the complicated issues involved in making it integrate with your word processor (a process which makes even the most experienced computer user want to cuss). Even harder than the impossible task of making it integrate with your word processor is getting it to know what you want it to do. Luckily I have the Publication Manual (which I love, see my 5-star review), so I could double check the helper's output: it screwed up on more than one occasion. After all the time that I wasted, I decided that this software is a complete joke. The APA did not put the effort into this that they put into their Publication Manual.
DO NOT buy this software. DO buy the Publication Manual (ISBN: 1557987912)

I can only reiterate what everyone else has wrote, but if any potential buyer has any doubts about whether to purchase this program, let me put you at ease: don't. Maybe if you got it for free it might not seem like a complete waste of time and energy, but even then I'm not so sure.

Very disappointing material coming from an organization as substantial as the APA! They should be ashamed of themselves.

I have only used this software to format my references. I found it very limited in it's use. If you're looking for a comprehensive software that will manage your references, this is not it. I also had trouble using it with my MAC Powerbook 3400c. It would not function properly and the technical support did not get back to after they advised me to download a patch and it would still not work.

This program helps with formating your paper as far as the heading, the running head, and the references but I had a lot of problems "seeing" my paper without printing the paper first. Just like the APA Manual, I feel like this product is very difficult to use.