Write Z specifications in Word with these tools. The Z Word tools are a collection of tools for editing, checking and using Z specifications within Microsoft Word. This page is a guide to information about the tools.

Includes a unicode font for Z symbols and capabilities for editing, typechecking, creating diagrams, indexing & cross referencing. Supports large specifications in multiple Word document.

The tools include:
1. styles for laying out schemas and other Z paragraphs;
2. a Unicode font that includes all the Z symbols and is visually compatible with Times New Roman;
3. automatic layout of Z paragraphs like the LaTeX equivalent, with italic text, formatted keywords and so on;
4. the ability to enter symbols from a palette or (for died in the wool LaTeX hackers) typing in the markup;
5. one-click typechecking, with errors highlighted in the Word document;
6. generation of indexes and cross-references to definition and use of Z names;
7. generation of diagrams showing the structure of the specification;
8. the ability to hide the Z completely so the document can be used by maths-phobic readers;
9. miscellaneous tools such as checking matching brackets.

The intention of the tools is
1. to lower the barrier to the uptake of Z by removing at least one obstacle, the need to learn another document production method;
2. to allow easy integration of Z with natural language, diagrams, tables and other notations relevant to the domain;
3. to encourage incremental development of Z specifications by allowing frequent typechecking;
4. to encourage the writing of good natural language by producing documents with the mathematics hidden.

The tools currently uses Mike Spivey's fuzz as the underlying typechecking engine. They work by exporting LaTeX mark up and importing the fuzz error report: the intention is that this mechanism could be used with other tools, in particular tools supporting the Z standard. Typechecking does not require declaration before use and works across multiple documents: for example an operations document can be checked against a separate data model document.

The tools are written in VBA, which should work on a Mac, but they use some Win32 API calls which would have to be converted.

Requirements:
* Microsoft Word

The license of this software is Free, you can free download and free use this office suite software.