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PC-SIG Diskette Library (Disk #2346)
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Information about “TEXTOUT, CONVDW, & TEXTCON”
TEXTOUT/5 converts WordPerfect 5.0 and 5.1 document files to ASCII.
It improves upon WordPerfect's Text Out command, in both DOS Text and
generic word processing formats. TEXTOUT/5 translates the entire
document, including text, captions and equations from graphics boxes,
as well as footnotes and endnotes -- all items that WordPerfect
ignores. TEXTOUT/5 can mark certain font attributes, such as
underlining, in the ASCII file by using special characters. This is
useful if you want to transfer the ASCII file to another word
processor and restore the attributes.
CONVDW converts IBM DisplayWrite 3 & 4 document files to ASCII.
IBM does not publish the file format for DisplayWrite, so CONVDW is one
of the very few programs that can read DisplayWrite files. Create
files that omit the soft returns and retain the tab characters. This
format, very useful for importing to another word processor, is not
available from within DisplayWrite.
CONVDW omits most page-formatting characteristics. For example, the
left margin is not expanded to spaces, the top and bottom margins are
not expanded to blank lines, and page breaks, headers, footers, and
page numbering are omitted.
TEXTCON allows you to import ASCII files into your word processor
without having to manually delete carriage returns, remove extra
spaces, and generally reformat your documents.
Files can be imported with accurate paragraph breaks due to TEXTCON's
intelligent paragraph recognition algorithms. No more manual deletion
of hard returns. TEXTCON even works with difficult formats, such as
fully nested, outline style and hanging indents. TEXTCON also removes
excess spaces, blank lines, and headers and footers. TEXTCON can
accept any form of ASCII file, including those transferred from
Macintosh or UNIX, as well as WordStar.
CONVDW.DOC
ConvDW 1.2 Payment Form
-----------------------
NEW! Payment for ConvDW now entitles you to a free CompuServe
IntroPak, including a $15 credit toward on-line time!
Name ____________________________________________________________
Company _________________________________________________________
Address _________________________________________________________
City ________________________________ State ______ Zip __________
Country _________________________
NUMBER OF COPIES ____ DISKETTE SIZE __________
TOTAL PAYMENT $_____ ($20/copy suggested)
Payment of $20 or more per copy entitles the purchaser to a
printed manual (sized to fit the DW binder), the current
release of ConvDW without the on-screen payment reminder,
and a free CompuServe IntroPak.
SALES TAX _______ (Michigan residents only, 4%)
OVERSEAS
SHIPPING _______ ($5 per order)
PAYMENT METHOD:
___ Check enclosed (US Funds):
___ Bill company (enclose purchase order, add $5 processing fee)
___ Charge VISA / MasterCard
Card # __________________________________ Expires ___________
Signature ____________________________________________________
Call (517) 332-4353 to pay by MasterCard or VISA, or send your payment
or purchase order to: CrossCourt Systems
1521 Greenview Ave.
East Lansing, MI 48823
Prices are in U.S. dollars and include shipping within North America.
Foreign orders: payment must be by credit card, international money
order in U.S. dollars, or by check in U.S. dollars drawn on a U.S.
bank. Payment must also include $5 shipping for airmail delivery.
ConvDW
DisplayWrite-to-ASCII Conversion Program
Version 1.2
Another Shareware Product from:
CrossCourt Systems
(Member - Association of Shareware Professionals)
FEATURES
ConvDW is a standalone program for IBM-compatible computers that
converts IBM DisplayWrite 3 & 4 document files to ASCII. IBM does not
publish the file format for DisplayWrite, so ConvDW is one of only a
handful of programs, either shareware or commercial, that can read
DisplayWrite files. See the end of this file for information about
conversion to DCA/RFT and our DisplayWrite Conversion Package for
those who need to perform their own conversions to or from
DisplayWrite.
ConvDW improves upon DisplayWrite's ASCII output in several ways.
1. ConvDW can create files that omit the soft returns and retain the
tab characters. This format, which is very useful for importing
to another word processor, is not available from within
DisplayWrite.
2. It can mark certain font attributes, such as underlining, in the
ASCII file by using special characters. This also is useful if
you want to transfer the ASCII file to another word processor and
restore the attributes.
3. ConvDW can be run from the DOS command line, and will accept
wildcard filespecs.
4. It can be used by someone who does not have DisplayWrite, but who
may have received DisplayWrite files from elsewhere.
ConvDW's default ASCII format is very much like DisplayWrite's ASCII
output. It emulates indents, tabs and centering by the use of spaces,
and ends each line with a hard carriage return. The format is
suitable for electronic mail and many other purposes. See the
"OPTIONS" section for information on the other formats ConvDW can
produce.
ConvDW omits most page-formatting characteristics. This means that,
for example, the left margin is not expanded to spaces; the top and
bottom margins are not expanded to blank lines; and page breaks,
headers, footers, and page numbering are omitted.
USE
To run ConvDW, type CONVDW followed by two filenames. The first one
is the name of the input (DisplayWrite) file, the second is the output
(ASCII) file. For example:
3
CONVDW TEST.DOC TEST.OUT
The file names can include wildcards, employed in the same way as with
the DOS COPY command. For example,
CONVDW A:C*.TXT *.PRN
would convert all DW3 files starting with the letter C in the current
directory on drive A: to ASCII files with the extension .PRN on the
current drive and directory.
If no extension is specified for the source file, .DOC will be used.
If none is specified for the target file, .ASC will be used. For
example,
CONVDW \DOCS \TEXT
would convert all files with the extension .DOC from the \DOCS
directory to the \TEXT directory while changing their extensions to
.ASC. To use a filename with no extension, you must end the name with
a period.
If a file already exists under the output name, it will be replaced
without warning. If the input and output names are the same, ConvDW
will not proceed with the conversion. If the source file is not a DW3
or 4 document, ConvDW will report this, and will not perform the
conversion.
OPTIONS
ConvDW has many options which can be invoked by "switches" on the
command line. The switches start with a slash or a hyphen, followed
by a letter identifying the option, and, for some of the switches, a
numeric value. The identifying letter can be upper or lower case and
the switches can appear anywhere on the command line -- before, after,
or in between the filenames. There must not be any spaces between the
slash, the letter and the number. A typical command might look like:
CONVDW /T /R /B60 /C62 JULY \NEW
"Generic Format" Options
These two options would usually be used together. The resulting
format has tabs and carriage returns only where the operator
originally typed them, with no spaces or "soft returns" added.
This is usually the best format to use if you want to transfer the
resulting ASCII file to another word processor.
1. /R keep only hard <R>eturns
This will keep only DisplayWrite's hard returns in the ASCII
file, in effect turning each paragraph into a single long line
of text.
4
2. /T keep <T>ab characters
This will keep tab characters in the ASCII file, rather than
replacing them with spaces. This will also suppress the use
of spaces to position text that is centered between the
margins or flush to the right margin.
Font Attribute Options
These four options, two of which use two switches apiece, allow
the start and end of certain font attributes to be marked in the
ASCII file using special characters. They are usually used along
with the generic-format options in order to move the ASCII file to
another word processor and restore the original format.
The naming of these switches is intended to be mnemonic, but they
require some explanation. For bold and underline, which have both
a start and end code, the switch for the starting code is intended
to remind you of the function, while the switch for the ending
code simply follows the start switch alphabetically. Thus /B for
bold is paired with /C, and /U for underline is paired with /V.
Subscripting and superscripting do not have end codes in
DisplayWrite; you end a superscript by putting in a subscript code
(and vice versa), thus returning to the original level. The
switch names for these are less obvious, with /I intended to
remind you of things often used as subscripts, while /X might be
used as a superscript (powers).
1. /B# and /C# <B>oldface
There are several ways to use these and the following paired
options.
If you want to mark boldface text using the default characters
of { (ASCII 123) at the beginning and } (ASCII 125) at the
end, all you have to do is specify /B by itself.
If you want to mark boldface text, but want to use different
characters, perhaps because the default characters may occur
in your document, you can specify either or both of the /B and
/C switches with a numeric ASCII value (as indicated by the #
symbol in the switch template above). In the case of the /B
switch, the ASCII character corresponding to the numeric value
will be used to mark the start of boldface; the value given
for the /C switch will be used to mark the end.
The value must be decimal (i.e., hexadecimal is not allowed)
and cannot be zero. Only a single ASCII value can be used for
each switch; it is not possible to mark with a multi-character
code, such as [B]. So, for example, /B17 would cause a Ctrl-Q
5
to be used at the start of bold text, while /C35 would put #
symbols at the end of bold text.
In some ways the use of ASCII values is inconvenient, but DOS
puts restrictions on the use of many characters on the command
line, so something like /B< /C> will not work. The use of
numbers gives maximum flexibility.
2. /U# and /V# <U>nderlining
The description of /B and /C above explains how the paired
options work. If you use /U without a number, the beginning
of underlining will be marked with < (ASCII 60) and the ending
with > (ASCII 62).
3. /I# subscript
The description of /B and /C above explains how to use this
option. If you use /I without a number, the beginning of a
subscript will be marked with ~ (ASCII 126).
4. /X# superscript
The description of /B and /C above explains how to use this
option. If you use /X without a number, the beginning of a
superscript will be marked with ^ (ASCII 94).
REGISTRATION AND DISTRIBUTION
IBM and DisplayWrite are registered trademarks of International
Business Machines Corporation.
ConvDW is Copyright 1988-89, CrossCourt Systems.
If you try ConvDW and find it to be a useful and valuable product,
please complete your purchase of it by sending payment to CrossCourt
Systems at the address below. For $20 you will receive a printed
manual, sized to fit an IBM binder, and the current version of the
program, without the on-screen payment reminder. You will also
receive a free IntroPak for the CompuServe Information Service, the
premiere interactive electronic communication service. CompuServe
provides news, financial information, entertainment services, personal
computing services, special interest forums, and more. The IntroPak
includes $15 of free on-line time.
VISA and MasterCard are accepted. Volume discounts and site licenses
are available.
In the spirit of shareware, we believe that the value of a program is
best determined by you, based on the number of copies you are using,
the frequency of use, and the amount of time it saves you. Our
6
business policy is to accept payments both above and below the stated
$20 price.
ConvDW may be distributed to others, as long as 1) the program is not
altered in any way, 2) this documentation file is always included, and
3) no charge is made for such distribution beyond a modest disk
preparation fee. For bulletin board distribution, please use the file
name CONVDW.ZIP.
ConvDW has been tested and performs its functions essentially as
described above, without causing any damage to the computer in use or
any of its files. However, all users are responsible for backing up
their own files, and CrossCourt Systems assumes no responsibility for
any damage or losses incurred as a result of its use.
CrossCourt Systems supports ConvDW, by providing technical assistance,
bug fixes, and enhancements. CrossCourt Systems can be reached on
CompuServe at 72446,2704, or at the address and phone below. If you
encounter problems with any conversion, or have suggestions for
improvements, please let us know about them.
CrossCourt Systems
1521 Greenview Ave.
East Lansing, MI 48823
(517) 332-4353
CrossCourt Systems is a member of the Association of Shareware
Professionals (ASP), a group dedicated to high standards in the
design, documentation, and support of shareware products. ASP wants
to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are
unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member, the
ASP Ombudsman may be able to help. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman
at P.O. Box 5786, Bellevue, WA 98006 or send a CompuServe EasyPlex
message to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.
Other products from CrossCourt Systems
DisplayWrite Conversion Package - includes a report describing the
format of DisplayWrite files, as well as Microsoft C source code for
ConvDW, DWtoRFT, and DumpDW. Call for information.
DWtoRFT - converts DisplayWrite files to DCA/RFT using wildcard
filenames. Great for large conversions from DisplayWrite to other
formats. Available for $50 direct.
TextOut/5 - converts WordPerfect 5.0 or 5.1 files to ASCII, offering
many of the same options as ConvDW. Its conversion is much more
flexible than WordPerfect's own. It also converts foot- and endnotes,
text boxes, and equations, and formats tables better than WP does.
7
Shareware found as TXTOUT.ZIP or TEXTOUT5.ZIP on bulletin boards.
Available for $20 direct (includes printed manual).
ConvDCA - converts IBM DCA/RFT format files to ASCII, offering many of
the same options as TextOut/5. Shareware found as CNVDCA.ZIP or
CONVDCA.ZIP on bulletin boards. Available for $20 direct.
TextCon - a program to reformat ASCII files before importing them to
your word processor. TextCon performs extremely intelligent
"cleaning" operations on your ASCII files, so you have less editing to
do after importing them. It removes unneeded hard carriage returns
(even with tricky paragraph formats), strips excess spaces used for
margins or justification, and does other processing to get the
cleanest conversion possible. Can also perform other unusual
formatting tasks such as splitting long lines in generic-format files.
Shareware found as TEXTCN.ZIP or TEXTCON.ZIP on bulletin boards.
Available for $25 direct (includes printed manual).
FILE2346.TXT
Disk No: 2346
Disk Title: Textout, ConvDW, & TextCon
PC-SIG Version: S1
Program Title: Textout
Author Version: 1.3
Author Registration: $20.00
Special Requirements: None.
TEXTOUT/5 converts WordPerfect 5.0 and 5.1 document files to ASCII. It
improves upon WordPerfect's Text Out command, in both the DOS Text and
generic word processing formats. TEXTOUT/5 translates the entire
document, including text, captions and equations from graphics boxes, as
well as footnotes and endnotes - all items that WordPerfect ignores.
TEXTOUT/5 can mark certain font attributes, such as underlining, in the
ASCII file by using special characters. This is useful if you want to
transfer the ASCII file to another word processor and restore the
attributes.
Program Title: ConvDW
Author Version: 1.2
Author Registration: $20.00
Special Requirements: None.
CONVDW converts IBM DisplayWrite 3 & 4 document files to ASCII. IBM
does not publish the file format for DisplayWrite, so CONVDW is one of
very few programs that can read DisplayWrite files. CONVDW can create
files that omit the soft returns and retain the tab characters. This
format, which is very useful for importing to another word processor,
is not available from within DisplayWrite. CONVDW omits most page
formatting characteristics. For example, the left margin is not
expanded to spaces, the top and bottom margins are not expanded to blank
lines, and page breaks, headers, footers, and page numbering are
omitted.
Program Title: TextCon
Author Version: 1.7
Author Registration: $25.00
Special Requirements: None
TEXTCON gives you the ability to import ASCII files into your word
processor without having to manually delete carriage returns, remove
extra spaces, and generally reformat your documents. Files can be
imported with correct paragraph breaks due to TEXTCON's intelligent
paragraph recognition algorithms. No more manual deletion of hard
returns. TEXTCON even works with difficult formats, such as fully
nested, outline style and hanging indents. TEXTCON also removes excess
spaces, blank lines, and headers and footers. TEXTCON can accept any
form of ASCII file, including those transferred from Macintosh or UNIX,
as well as WordStar.
PC-SIG
1030D East Duane Avenue
Sunnyvale Ca. 94086
(408) 730-9291
(c) Copyright 1989 PC-SIG, Inc.
GO.TXT
╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ <<<< PC-SIG Disk #2346 TEXTOUT, CONVDW, TEXTCON >>>> ║
╠═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╣
║ To start the program TEXTOUT/5, type: TEXTOUT5 (press ENTER) ║
║ ║
║ To print out documentation for TEXTOUT5, type: ║
║ COPY TEXTOUT5.DOC PRN (press ENTER) ║
║ ║
║ To start the program CONVDW, type: CONVDW (press ENTER) ║
║ ║
║ To print out documentation for CONVDW, type: ║
║ COPY CONVDW.DOC PRN (press ENTER) ║
║ ║
║ To start the program TEXTCON, type: TEXTCON (press ENTER) ║
║ ║
║ To print out documentation for TEXTCON, type: ║
║ COPY TEXTCON.DOC PRN (press ENTER) ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
(c) Copyright 1990, PC-SIG Inc.
TEXTOUT5.DOC
TextOut/5 1.3 Payment Form
--------------------------
NEW! Payment for TextOut/5 now entitles you to a free CompuServe
IntroPak, including a $15 credit toward on-line time!
Name ____________________________________________________________
Company _________________________________________________________
Address _________________________________________________________
City ________________________________ State ______ Zip __________
Country _________________________
NUMBER OF COPIES ____ DISKETTE SIZE __________
TOTAL PAYMENT $_____ ($20/copy suggested)
Payment of $20 or more per copy entitles the purchaser to a
printed manual (sized to fit the WP binder), the current
release of TextOut/5 without the on-screen payment reminder,
and a free CompuServe IntroPak.
SALES TAX _______ (Michigan residents only, 4%)
OVERSEAS
SHIPPING _______ ($5 per order)
PAYMENT METHOD:
___ Check enclosed (US Funds):
___ Bill company (enclose purchase order, add $5 processing fee)
___ Charge VISA / MasterCard
Card # __________________________________ Expires ___________
Signature ____________________________________________________
Call (517) 332-4353 to pay by MasterCard or VISA, or send your payment
or purchase order to: CrossCourt Systems
1521 Greenview Ave.
East Lansing, MI 48823
Prices are in U.S. dollars and include shipping within North America.
Foreign orders: payment must be by credit card, international money
order in U.S. dollars, or by check in U.S. dollars drawn on a U.S.
bank. Payment must also include $5 shipping for airmail delivery.
TextOut/5
WordPerfect 5 to ASCII Conversion Program
Version 1.3
Another Shareware Product from:
CrossCourt Systems
(Member - Association of Shareware Professionals)
FEATURES
TextOut/5 converts WordPerfect 5.0 and 5.1 document files on IBM-
compatible computers to ASCII. It improves upon WordPerfect's Text
Out command, in both the "DOS Text" and "generic" formats.
1. TextOut/5 translates text, captions, and equations from graphics
boxes, as well as footnotes and endnotes; WordPerfect does not.
2. TextOut/5 formats tables much better than WordPerfect does.
3. TextOut/5 translates over 400 of WordPerfect's special characters
to ASCII; WordPerfect translates only 150.
4. TextOut/5 allows you to specify the line length you want in the
ASCII file, without any reformatting on your part.
5. TextOut/5 can use special characters to mark many font attributes,
such as underline, allowing you to transfer the file to another
word processor and restore the attributes.
6. TextOut/5 runs from the DOS command line, and accepts wildcard
filespecs.
7. TextOut/5 can recover text from damaged files that WordPerfect
will not load.
TextOut/5's default ASCII format is very much like that of the
WordPerfect "DOS Text Save" command. It emulates indents, tabs and
centering by the use of spaces, and ends each line with a hard
carriage return. The format is suitable for electronic mail and many
other purposes. See the "OPTIONS" section for information on the
other formats TextOut/5 can produce.
TextOut/5 omits most page-formatting characteristics. This means
that, for example, the left margin is not expanded to spaces; the top
and bottom margins are not expanded to blank lines; page breaks,
headers, footers, and page numbering are omitted; and line-spacing and
top-to-bottom-centering commands are ignored.
Over 400 of WordPerfect's special characters are translated to
equivalent or similar ASCII characters. Other WordPerfect special
characters are translated to ASCII 254. WordPerfect's overstrike
feature is translated with a backspace character (ASCII 8) inserted
between the characters.
Captions and text from graphics boxes are translated. Equations are
written in the command form used in the equation editor. Tables have
correct horizontal spacing, but, unfortunately, any cell containing
3
more than one line of text will cause the next cell to the right to
start one or more lines below where it should.
Footnotes and endnotes are placed at the end of the ASCII file.
Within the notes, a period and a single space are added after the note
number for readability. If a document contains both footnotes and
endnotes, the footnotes appear first, followed by the endnotes. The
footnote reference numbers in the text are enclosed in square
brackets, e.g. [1], while endnote reference numbers are enclosed in
braces, e.g. {3}.
For "Fast-Saved" documents, TextOut/5 will warn you that the
formatting may not be correct. Unless you have recently made a change
in margins, tabs or fonts without having gone to the end of the
document, the ASCII format will probably be fine. You can avoid
potential problems by changing your Setup options to disable Fast
Saves.
USE
To run TextOut/5, type TO5 followed by two filenames. The first one
is the name of the input (WordPerfect) file, the second is the output
(ASCII) file. For example:
TO5 TEST.DOC TEST.ASC
The file names can include wildcards, employed in the same way as with
the DOS COPY command. For example,
TO5 A:P*.*
converts all files starting with P in the current directory on drive
A: to ASCII files of the same name on the current drive and directory,
while
TO5 \DOCS \TEXT\*.TXT
would convert all files from the \DOCS directory to the \TEXT
directory while changing their extensions to TXT.
If a file already exists under the output name, it will be replaced
without warning. If the input and output names are the same,
TextOut/5 will not proceed with the conversion. If the source file is
not a WordPerfect 5 document, TextOut/5 will report this, and will not
perform the conversion.
OPTIONS
TextOut/5 has many options which can be invoked by "switches" on the
command line. The switches start with a slash or a hyphen, followed
by a letter identifying the option, and, for some of the switches, a
numeric value. The identifying letter can be upper or lower case and
the switches can appear anywhere on the command line -- before, after,
or in between the filenames. There must not be any spaces between the
slash, the letter and the number. A typical command might look like:
TO5 /T /R /B60 /C62 SAMPL SAMPL.ASC
4
"Generic Format" Options
These two options are usually used together to produce a format like
WordPerfect's "generic word processing" option. This format has tabs
and carriage returns only where the operator originally typed them,
with no spaces or "soft returns" added. This is usually the best
format to use if you want to transfer the resulting ASCII file to
another word processor.
1. /R keep only hard <R>eturns
This will keep only WordPerfect's hard returns in the ASCII file,
in effect turning each paragraph into a single long line of text.
It also changes the formatting of footnotes and endnotes, placing
them in-line where they occur rather than at the end of the file.
This makes it easier to change them back into footnotes in another
word processor, in many cases by using a macro. [[The note
numbers are omitted entirely, and the content of a footnote is
enclosed in double square brackets, as shown by this sentence.]]
{[Endnotes are enclosed as shown by this sentence.]}
2. /T keep <T>ab characters
This will keep tab characters in the ASCII file, rather than
replacing them with spaces. It differs slightly from
WordPerfect's generic format, in that it does not use spaces to
position text that is centered between the margins or flush to the
right margin.
Font Attribute Options
These four pairs of switches, allow the start and end of certain font
attributes to be marked in the ASCII file using special characters.
They are usually used along with the generic-format options in order
to move the ASCII file to another word processor and restore the
original format.
The naming of these switches is intended to be mnemonic, but they
require some explanation. The first switch of each pair, used for the
"start attribute" code, should remind you of the function, while the
switch for the "end attribute" code simply follows the first
alphabetically. Thus /B for bold is paired with /C, and /U for
underline is paired with /V. Subscripting and superscripting are less
obvious, with /I and /J intended to remind you of things often used as
subscripts, while /X and /Y might be used as superscripts (powers).
1. /B# and /C# <B>oldface
There are several ways to use these and the other paired options.
5
To mark boldface text using the defaults of { (ASCII 123) at the
beginning and } (ASCII 125) at the end, just specify /B by itself.
To mark boldface text using other characters, perhaps because the
default characters may occur in your document, specify either or
both of the /B and /C switches with a decimal ASCII value (as
indicated by the # symbol in the switch template above). In the
case of the /B switch, the ASCII character corresponding to the
numeric value will be used to mark the start of boldface; the
value given for the /C switch will be used to mark the end.
The value must be decimal and cannot be zero. Only a single ASCII
value can be used for each switch; it is not possible to mark with
a multi-character code, such as [B]. So, for example, /B17 would
cause a Ctrl-Q to be used at the start of bold text, while /C35
would put # symbols at the end of bold text.
In some ways the use of ASCII values is inconvenient, but DOS puts
restrictions on the use of many characters on the command line, so
combinations like /B< /C> would not work. The use of numbers
gives maximum flexibility.
2. /I# and /J# subscripts
The description of /B and /C above explains how the paired options
work. If you use /I without a number, the beginning of a
subscript will be marked with ~ (ASCII 126) and the ending with |
(ASCII 124).
3. /U# and /V# <U>nderlining
The description of /B and /C above explains how the paired options
work. If you use /U without a number, the beginning of
underlining will be marked with < (ASCII 60) and the ending with >
(ASCII 62).
4. /X# and /Y# superscripts
The description of /B and /C above explains how the paired options
work. If you use /X without a number, the beginning of a
superscript will be marked with ^ (ASCII 94) and the ending with \
(ASCII 92).
Layout Options
1. /L# line <L>ength
Documents that are formatted with small fonts or for wide pages
may have a large number of characters per line when translated to
ASCII. Similarly, documents that are formatted in columns may
have very short lines. Such long or short lines may be
6
undesirable in the ASCII file, so TextOut/5 lets you change the
line length.
The /L# option tells TextOut/5 to ignore WordPerfect's line breaks
(soft returns) and use a line length that you specify. /L70, for
example, would cause lines in the ASCII file to break just before
column 70.
Items that are tabbed beyond this column can cause formatting
errors. To avoid this, TextOut/5 ignores the WordPerfect display
pitch when the /L# option is used, and instead sets its own pitch.
If tabbed items still extend beyond the desired length, you can
try reducing the pitch further yourself, with the /P# option.
With some documents, of course, it is impossible to shorten the
line length without ruining the formatting.
The /L option overrides the /R option.
2. /P# tab-fill <P>itch
Word Perfect 5 measures all tabs, indents, centering, etc. in
absolute units, i.e. inches. It also allows you to intermix
different font sizes at will. This can cause some inconsistencies
in spacing when converting to ASCII files, where inches and font
sizes are meaningless.
For each document, WordPerfect calculates what it calls display
pitch, which is the average width of a character in the smallest
font in the document. This is not really a pitch, since it
denotes inches per character, and might typically have a value of
.083". Calculating the inverse of this gives a true pitch value,
measured in characters per inch. For example, 1/.083 gives a
value of 12 pitch.
TextOut/5 uses WordPerfect's display pitch to determine how many
spaces to use when expanding tabs and other alignment codes. This
normally works quite well, but sometimes WordPerfect assigns an
inappropriate display pitch to a document. This would affect,
among others, items that are tabbed, possibly putting them too
close together or too far apart.
To correct this type of error, which should rarely occur, you can
specify a different pitch for the tab filling by using, for
example, /P12 to indicate 12 pitch.
Other Options
1. /D <D>elimited merge file
The /D option converts a secondary merge file to ASCII delimited
format, consisting of quoted fields separated by commas, with
carriage returns only at the ends of records. Use this for
7
secondary merge files only; this option will convert a standard
document into a single line of text.
2. /H <H>eaderless WP file
This option can recover the text from a damaged file that may not
be usable with WordPerfect. There are many different kinds of
damage that may occur to a file, however, and the quality of the
results from TextOut/5 may vary widely.
BEFORE YOU USE THIS OPTION YOU MUST REMOVE THE HEADER FROM THE
FILE. If you don't, the program will still work, but probably
won't recover any text . To do this, you must have a byte-level
editor, such as WordPerfect's Program Editor or the Norton
Utilities, and you must know how to use it on binary files. Using
the editor, find the initial text of the document and delete
everything that precedes it. The WordPerfect header may contain
recognizable text that precedes the beginning of the document, but
you should delete this anyway; look specifically for the beginning
of the body of the document. Don't delete anything after the
initial text of the document, even though much of it may look like
junk. Save the result under a new name.
Run TextOut/5 using this new headerless file as input and
specifying the /H option. Use the generic-format options as well
as the attribute-marking options, because they will produce a file
that can be most easily restored to its original format. Since
the new file is ASCII, use the Retrieve command on the Text In/Out
- DOS Text menu rather than the standard document Retrieve.
If the first attempt is unsatisfactory, try editing the headerless
file again, this time looking for large blocks of a single
character. Try deleting these and running TextOut/5 again.
REGISTRATION AND DISTRIBUTION
TextOut/5 is Copyright 1988-90, CrossCourt Systems.
If you try TextOut/5 and find it to be a useful and valuable product,
please complete your purchase of it by sending payment to CrossCourt
Systems at the address below. For $20 you will receive a printed
manual, sized to fit the WordPerfect binder, and the current version
of the program, without the on-screen payment reminder.
You will also receive a free IntroPak for the CompuServe Information
Service, the premiere interactive electronic communication service.
CompuServe provides news, financial information, entertainment
services, personal computing services, special interest forums, and
more. The IntroPak includes $15 of free on-line time.
VISA and MasterCard are accepted. Volume discounts, site licenses,
and Microsoft C source code for TextOut/5 are also available.
8
In the spirit of shareware, we believe that the value of a program is
best determined by you, based on the number of copies you are using,
the frequency of use, and the amount of time it saves you. Our
business policy is to accept payments both above and below the stated
$20 price.
TextOut/5 may be distributed to others, as long as 1) the program is
not altered in any way, 2) this documentation file is always included,
and 3) no charge is made for such distribution beyond a modest disk
preparation fee. For bulletin board distribution, please use the file
name TEXTOUT5.ZIP or TXTOUT.ZIP
TextOut/5 has been tested and performs its functions essentially as
described above, without causing any damage to the computer in use or
any of its files. However, all users are responsible for backing up
their own files, and CrossCourt Systems assumes no responsibility for
any damage or losses incurred as a result of its use.
CrossCourt Systems supports TextOut/5, by providing technical
assistance, bug fixes, and enhancements. CrossCourt Systems can be
reached on CompuServe at 72446,2704, or at the address and phone
below. If you encounter problems with any conversion, or have
suggestions for improvements, please let us know about them.
CrossCourt Systems
1521 Greenview Ave.
East Lansing, MI 48823
(517) 332-4353
CrossCourt Systems is a member of the Association of Shareware
Professionals (ASP), a group dedicated to high standards in the
design, documentation, and support of shareware products. ASP wants
to make sure that the shareware principle works for you. If you are
unable to resolve a shareware-related problem with an ASP member, the
ASP Ombudsman may be able to help. Please write to the ASP Ombudsman
at P.O. Box 5786, Bellevue, WA 98006 or send a CompuServe EasyPlex
message to ASP Ombudsman 70007,3536.
9
Other products from CrossCourt Systems
ConvDW - converts IBM DisplayWrite 3 or 4 files to ASCII, offering
many of the same options as TextOut/5, including the generic-format
option that DW lacks. IBM does not publish the file format for
DisplayWrite, so ConvDW is one of only a handful of programs, either
shareware or commercial, that can read DisplayWrite files. Usually
found as CONVDW.ZIP on bulletin boards. Available for $20 direct
(includes printed manual).
DisplayWrite Conversion Package - includes a report describing the
format of DisplayWrite files, as well as Microsoft C source code for
ConvDW, DWtoRFT, and DumpDW. Call for information.
DWtoRFT - converts DisplayWrite files to DCA/RFT using wildcard
filenames. Great for large conversions from DisplayWrite to other
formats. Available for $50 direct.
ConvDCA - converts IBM DCA/RFT format files to ASCII, offering many of
the same options as TextOut/5. Usually found as CNVDCA.ZIP or
CONVDCA.ZIP on bulletin boards. Available for $20 direct.
TextCon - a program to reformat ASCII files before importing them to
your word processor. TextCon performs extremely intelligent
"cleaning" operations on your ASCII files, so you have less editing to
do after importing them. It removes unneeded hard carriage returns
(even with tricky paragraph formats), strips excess spaces used for
margins or justification, and does other processing to get the
cleanest conversion possible. Can also perform other unusual
formatting tasks such as splitting long lines in generic-format files.
Usually found as TEXTCN.ARC or TEXTCON.ARC on bulletin boards.
Available for $25 direct (includes printed manual).
Directory of PC-SIG Library Disk #2346
Volume in drive A has no label
Directory of A:\
TEXTCON ZIP 41706 1-21-90 11:49a
TEXTOUT5 ZIP 26862 1-17-90 6:06p
CONVDW ZIP 19941 1-21-90 12:10p
GO TXT 1385 10-05-90 1:41a
GO BAT 40 1-01-80 6:00a
FILE2346 TXT 3997 10-05-90 9:12a
6 file(s) 93931 bytes
65024 bytes free