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From: sipples@husc2.UUCP (sipples)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.apple
Subject: Re: Word processor files and mainframes
Message-ID: <1315@husc2.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 21-Oct-87 15:28:45 EDT
Article-I.D.: husc2.1315
Posted: Wed Oct 21 15:28:45 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 24-Oct-87 05:50:46 EDT
References: <8710210217.aa27716@SMOKE.BRL.ARPA>
Reply-To: sipples@husc2.UUCP (Timothy Sipples)
Organization: Harvard University Science Center
Lines: 27

WordPerfect seems to do the job.  It offers the following features in
relation to ordinary text files:
     o  Loading a text file as a macro keeps all CRs intact ("Hard Returns"
        in WordPerfect's language).
     o  Loading a text file normally (using Retrieve) will place "Hard
        Returns" only at the end of paragraphs.
        (Formatting text for inclusion in your own Apple-produced documents
        takes seconds using the Rewrite key.)
     o  Saving ordinary text files (margins/page endings removed) is done
        using the Text Out option under the Extra command line.
     o  WordPerfect supports files of "unlimited size."  The only limit is
        storage (and the operating system).  Although working on huge files
        slows down WordPerfect, it can be done fairly easily.  A GS or
        accelerator is recommended.
WordPerfect also comes with utilities to port documents to and from AppleWriter
and AppleWorks formats.  A few warnings:
     o  WordPerfect doesn't like loading text files as macros should the text
        file contain bytes with the high bit set.  (Otherwise, it wouldn't be
        text under ProDOS, would it?)  If, for some reason, the high bit is set
        on some or all bytes in a downloaded "text" file, a kludgey solution is
        to use Apple's CONVERT to port the files to DOS 3.3 then back to
        ProDOS.  CONVERT will set the high bit properly for TXT files.
     o  Do not use WordPerfect's CONVERT utility on TXT files.  It doesn't
        seem to work.  Instead, load them as macros or normally, depending
        on how you'd like the text formatted.
[Timothy Sipples: sipples@husc3.BITNET, sipples%husc2@husc6.harvard.edu,
...ihnp4!seismo!harvard!husc6!husc2!sipples]