Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!uunet!husc6!sri-unix!sri-spam!ames!sdcsvax!ucbvax!UCONNVM.BITNET!SEWALL From: SEWALL@UCONNVM.BITNET Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple Subject: Word processor files and mainframes Message-ID: <8710210217.aa27716@SMOKE.BRL.ARPA> Date: Wed, 21-Oct-87 03:01:00 EDT Article-I.D.: SMOKE.8710210217.aa27716 Posted: Wed Oct 21 03:01:00 1987 Date-Received: Fri, 23-Oct-87 06:37:10 EDT Sender: daemon@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU Organization: The ARPA Internet Lines: 42 Thanks for the kind words about your favorite word processors, but I'd still prefer one that doesn't require all the intermediate steps (PIE Writer files and mainframe files are flat compatible with one another -- sadly Hayden is kaput and Spinnaker appears to have no interest in porting PIE to ProDOS ). I have yet to see a word processor worthy of the name that can't be cajoled into "printing" into a disk file (the good ones will eliminate the top, bottom, and left margins as well so that a simple mainframe text processor can produce very nice printouts). Heck, even the original VisiCalc would do that much (as will other spreadsheets). That's an intermediate step that's a nuisance, but a small one. Ah, but the difficulty occurs going the other way! Try downloading a file from your local neighborhood power-number cruncher and see how your Apple-whichever likes that! You can't strip ALL of the carriage returns because you want to keep those at the end of paragraphs (some of which will just happen to end exactly at the right margin), and if the document contains tables, carriage returns within them need to be retained too. It IS possible to filter such files IF they contain a double carriage return everytime a single one is needed by the word processor, but mainframe files (especially when received from elsewhere) may not be in a form that allows for that. Since PIE stores by lines anyway it has no problem with mainframe files (which store the same way). It's a nice, all in core, friendly little editor (and text processor). One of these days I'll be able to afford a Macintosh II+ (the one coming next year with the 68030), 4 Mbytes or so of memory, and a LaserWriter (I keep buying Lotto tickets and hoping its my turn) and then I won't need a mainframe anymore (except perhaps as a glorious bbs). Meanwhile, it would be nice to have a ProDOS word processor that allows for files of 50K or so and saves files by lines instead of by paragraphs. --------------------- ARPA: sewall%uconnvm.bitnet@wiscvm.wisc.edu Murphy A. Sewall BITNET: SEWALL@UCONNVM School of Business Admin. UUCP: ...ihnp4!psuvax1!UCONNVM.BITNET!SEWALL University of Connecticut