Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!cs.utexas.edu!usc!henry.jpl.nasa.gov!elroy.jpl.nasa.gov!gryphon!jspear From: jspear@gryphon.COM (Jon Spear) Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc Subject: Re: Something else you can't do on the Mac Summary: Try Versaterm/Vantage Message-ID: <24107@gryphon.COM> Date: 2 Jan 90 00:21:04 GMT References: <1284@marlin.NOSC.MIL> <970@v7fs1.UUCP> <129727@sun.Eng.Sun.COM> <2702@aecom.yu.edu> Reply-To: jspear@gryphon.COM (Jon Spear) Organization: Trailing Edge Technology, Redondo Beach, CA Lines: 50 In article <2702@aecom.yu.edu> werner@aecom.yu.edu (Craig Werner) writes: > > I do this a lot. > Download a text file. Now try to display it. On a PC, use type. >On a Mac, you can't. > > A downloaded text file has no associated application. If you >double click it, it gives you an error message. > >[messy approach using a word processor and multifinder omitted] I do this a lot also, but I don't see the problem. There are several good Desk Accessory text editors that let you examine or edit a text file that has been downloaded, without leaving your terminal emulator. I like Vantage from Preferred Publishers (the commercial version of McSink). I normally use it with a monospaced font and tabs set every 8 characters. It is also handy for tab- or de-tabbifying files, add/strip prefixes, wrapping paragraphs and much much more. For dealing with text files, a word processor (with the possible exception of Nissus) is a very poor tool for the job. MicroEmacs, Jove, QUED, Preditor, or even Edit will do much better. With Versaterm (and presumably other terminal emulators) you can configure it (see Settings/Extras... dialog) to create text files with any creator ID you want (I use McSk to trigger the Vantager opener) so that an appropriate icon will be displayed by the finder, and an appropriate application can be launched when you double-click. > > Yet another reason to hate the Mac. >-- > Craig Werner (future MD/PhD, 4.5 years down, 2.5 to go) > werner@aecom.YU.EDU -- Albert Einstein College of Medicine > (1935-14E Eastchester Rd., Bronx NY 10461, 212-931-2517) > "Never go to a doctor whose office plants have died." Alas, your hate is due to ignorance. You are either failing to use your tools very effectively, or you are using the wrong tools. Is this a problem with the Macintosh? -Jon -- ----- [The following address is soon to evaporate. New address sought.] Jon L Spear: jspear@gryphon.COM !gryphon!jspear gryphon!jspear@elroy.jpl.nasa.gov "With computers we can make billions of mistakes every second!"