Re: Signature v Xy4DOS

[Harry Binswanger hb@xxxxxxxx]

>> A relatively painless transition. You certainly won't find
>> that you are left unable to function in going to Xy4, it's more that you
>> won't be able to take advantage of the new features right away.
>
>What new features are you referring to?
There has been discussion of that, and I remember only those I particularly
like. But... editable WYSIWYG (but be prepared for bugs), search & replace
with wildcards, slightly easier XPL programming (you can actually put in
line breaks and comments, and putting wildcards in the XPL code is easier,
more sensibly implemented), no 64K barrier for moving blocks etc. Ability to
specify an alternative name for init file (can be something other than
"startup.int"--helpful when you want to have different setups for different
users or different uses), more default specifications, option to wrap to fit
window-size. Also, one of the best features: you can specify type size and
typeface *directly*--you don't have to mess with (or even have) PT's
(printer tables). Nice to be able to just put in front of your headline.
 Other features are there, like document history stored in the file and
undelete stack, but I don't use them.

>Will I get the same sort of speed
>I'm used to from XyWrite III+?
Yes.
> Does it take advantage of extended or
>expanded memory?
Unclear. Not in any awe-inspiring way.
> What sort of new things or improvements could I expect? Do
>you recommend making the transition?
Yes, but it's not cut-and-dried.
> Is Xy4 still text-based and menu-less
>(if I want it to be)?
Yes.
If you make the transition, I recommend keeping your old .kbd. Keep their
suggested "Xy4.kbd" for reference only (you'll need it--the manual
assininely describes things in terms of keystrokes only, not in terms of the
underlying function calls, so it's a royal pain to figure out what keys to
use in your .kbd version).

Regards,

Harry Binswanger
hb@xxxxxxxx