4.0621 Word Processing Format Conversion (5/92)

Elaine Brennan & Allen Renear (EDITORS@BROWNVM.BITNET)
Mon, 22 Oct 90 21:22:30 EDT

Humanist Discussion Group, Vol. 4, No. 0621. Monday, 22 Oct 1990.


(1) Date: Fri, 19 Oct 90 09:28:35 MDT (9 lines)
From: koontz@alpha.bldr.nist.gov (John E. Koontz)
Subject: Re: 4.0608 Qs: ... Alternatives to Word for Word

(2) Date: Fri, 19 Oct 90 12:58 EDT (17 lines)
From: Ivy Anderson <ANDERSON@brandeis.bitnet>
Subject: Alternatives to Word for Word

(3) Date: Fri, 19 Oct 90 10:01:00 EST (32 lines)
From: Michael_Kessler.Hum@mailgate.sfsu.edu
Subject: Alternative to Word to Word

(4) Date: Fri, 19 Oct 90 18:33 EDT (16 lines)
From: "Leslie Z. Morgan" <MORGAN@LOYVAX>
Subject: Alternatives to Word for Word

(5) Date: Fri, 19 Oct 90 10:12:57 EDT (18 lines)
From: "David R. Chesnutt" <N330004@UNIVSCVM>
Subject: Alternatives to Word for Word

(1) --------------------------------------------------------------------
Date: Fri, 19 Oct 90 09:28:35 MDT
From: koontz@alpha.bldr.nist.gov (John E. Koontz)
Subject: Re: 4.0608 Qs: ... Alternatives to Word for Word

In response to Hardy M. Cook's request for alternatives to Word for
Word, I noticed a list of programs in this area in PC Magazine 9.18:28
(October 30, 1990), in the Advisor column, under the heading `Speaking
the same format'. The same column refers to a review/test of such
software in the April 25, 1989 issue.
(2) --------------------------------------------------------------21----
Date: Fri, 19 Oct 90 12:58 EDT
From: Ivy Anderson <ANDERSON@brandeis.bitnet>
Subject: RE: 4.0608 Qs: Nietzsche Etexts; business ethics fiction... (5/66)

RE: The query about alternatives to Word for Word:

I have a shareware program called XWord. I've only used it once or
twice, and my copy is several years old. It converts between Wordstar,
WordPerfect, MultiMate, XyWrite II, and ASCII -- no mention of Microsoft
Word in the documentation (and no version number either). The developer
is Ronald Gans, whose address I have as 350 W. 55th St, #2-E, New York
NY 10019, CompuServe 74216,264, tel. (212) 957-8361. I imagine the
software is available on various bulletin boards. Perhaps someone else
has experience with this program?

Ivy Anderson, Brandeis University

(3) --------------------------------------------------------------42----
Date: Fri, 19 Oct 90 10:01:00 EST
From: Michael_Kessler.Hum@mailgate.sfsu.edu
Subject: Alternative to Word to Word

R-Doc/X ver5.1f will convert from and to XyWrite, WordPerfect 5.0,
ASCII, PC-Write 2.6 or later. The fact that it uses WP5.0 instead of
5.1, and especially PC-Write 2.6 rather than 3.X may indicate a version
that has since been upgraded. This version does not handle Microsoft
Word files. Someone has claimed that R-Doc/X did not receive good
reviews. I have had no problems with it, but the texts that I need to
convert are not very complex. (10 minutes later) I just tested it with a
PC-Write text that uses extensive columns, some created by tabs, some
created with PC-Write's column function. The result is that one type of
column or the other does not translate very well into the WordPerfect
format. Simply put: it is a mess, but all the text enhancement commands
(italics, underline, boldface, etc.), appeared to be properly converted.
I would not rule out any conversion system without trying it out myself.

WordPerfect's Convert program converts from WordStar and Word 4.0 to WP
5.1, and converts from WP to Wordstar 3.3 and ASCII Text files, but
apparently not to Word 4.0. Word seems to be the odd man out.

WordPerfect also converts ASCII files without using the Convert program.
Using the same file as above, the result was good in layout (but I had
to change the margins of the text because I used 78 characters per line
while WP assumes 65 characters), but text enhancements (underlining,
italics, etc.) came out as different letters preceded by a carets.
Accented letters came out fine.

MKessler@HUM.SFSU.EDU

(4) --------------------------------------------------------------21----
Date: Fri, 19 Oct 90 18:33 EDT
From: "Leslie Z. Morgan" <MORGAN@LOYVAX>
Subject: RE: 4.0608 Qs: Nietzsche Etexts; business ethics


Re transferring files between word processors:
Word Perfect is quite good about accepting other files. Both Microsoft
Word and ASCII can be loaded in via "Text in/Text out" (Control+f5). In
experimenting with a (desperate) colleague, we loaded a regularly saved
Microsoft word file into Word Perfect thus; there was a line of trash at
the top, but other than that all was fine. I've never tried this with
Word Star, so I don't know how (or if) that can also be loaded into Word
Perfect. Hope this may help a little.
Leslie Morgan (MORGAN@LOYVAX1.BITNET)
Dept. of Foreign Langs.
Loyola College in Maryland
(5) --------------------------------------------------------------27----
Date: Fri, 19 Oct 90 10:12:57 EDT
From: "David R. Chesnutt" <N330004@UNIVSCVM>
Subject: Re: 4.0608 Qs: Nietzsche Etexts; business ethics fiction

Re: Alternative for Word to Word

SoftwareBridge handles all of the WP conversions Hardy Cook requires. I
routinely use it for WordStar, MS Word, and WordPerfect. As to bringing
the ASCII files into a WP environment, both MS Word and WordPerfect
allow direct import. If the ASCII paragraphs are separated by an extra
line feed (blank line), macros can be used to eliminate the hard returns
at the end of each line while preserving a hard return at the end of each
paragraph.

There is probably a more elegant solution to converting ASCII text but
it's not a chore I work with much.

-- David