Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cornell!batcomputer!itsgw!brspyr1!davef
From: davef@brspyr1.BRS.Com (Dave Fiske)
Newsgroups: comp.sys.cbm
Subject: Re: Word processor for C64
Message-ID: <5707@brspyr1.BRS.Com>
Date: 7 Apr 89 17:00:17 GMT
References: <5429@cbnews.ATT.COM>
Distribution: na
Organization: BRS Info Technologies, Latham NY
Lines: 49

In article <5429@cbnews.ATT.COM>, ewm@cbnews.ATT.COM (edward.w.mcfarland) writes:
> 
>      I am in the market for a word processing software package that has the
> capability to automatically merge a file of names and addresses to the blank
> area where the name and address would go on a form contained in another file.

I'm sure there are others that do this, but the one I happen to have is
Fleet System 2 (I have an older version--they now offer Fleet System 2+
for the 64 and Fleet System 3 for the 128).

I had never used this feature until last fall when I had to print
addresses on the back of flyers to be mailed out.  I made up a file
which would print the addresses in the right place on the page, and put
in the special characters (I think they call them Variable Blocks, or
something) where the names and address lines should drop in.  I had the
mailing list in a separate sequential file.  The only problem I had was
that some addresses had 3 lines and some had 4, and Fleet System would
not recognize a blank line (even if there were actually a bunch of
blank spaces in it) as data to be dropped in.  I had to go through the
mailing list and add some asterisks onto a new line for every 3-line
address.  This wouldn't have been so bad, except that the sequential
file which had the mailing list was too big to fit into Fleet System 2
at once, so I had to use a BASIC program to split it into two files.

That's the biggest drawback to Fleet System 2. You can only hold a
document up to about 4 pages in memory.  This is fine if you're just
starting something, since you can make the file in several parts, and
there is a feature that lets you link files in Fleet System. But if you
want to edit some big file that you had around before you got Fleet
System 2, you have to write your own utility to divide the file into
pieces small enough for Fleet System to handle.

I would imagine the C-128 version is not as bad, since more memory is
available.  I don't know if the Fleet System 2+ version has tackled
this problem.

Other than this, it's pretty amazing how much they managed to squeeze
into this package.  Important features for me are:  ability to read and
save files in CBM ASCII format, ability to save a file to disk with all
the Printer Codes included, and support of the User Port parallel
interface for connecting the printer (this lets me hook up my "good"
printer, which has a Centronics port, without unhooking my
"Commodore"-type printer, which is on the serial port).

-- 
"FLYING ELEPHANTS DROP COW           Dave Fiske  (davef@brspyr1.BRS.COM) 
 PIES ON HORRIFIED CROWD!"
                                     Home:  David_A_Fiske@cup.portal.com
Headline from Weekly World News             CIS: 75415,163  GEnie: davef