Re: Xy Win

[Nathan Sivin nsivin@xxxxxxxx]

Mimi, you can almost completely duplicate the XY3 keyboard in
XYWin except, of course, where the functions differ--and some
important ones do. As for the manual, if one of the brethren or
cistern doesn't have a manual for it that he, she, or it isn't
using, you can always get one from TTG--at least I hope so. It is
a very different program, and the XY3 manual won't carry you far.

Remember when you install it to do so from a reboot of Windows
with no other programs or drivers loaded. Rename your
autoexec.bat and config.sys programs for the moment if you have
them, and hold down the shift key as soon as you get the Starting
Windows message.

As for whether it will be comfortable for you, don't be
distracted by anyone who assures you that you will or won't.
That's a personal matter. I use both XY4 and XYWin regularly for
basic input. On my oldish 200MHZ computer they are both extremely
fast. XYWin has some notable plusses, including the excellent
quasi-WYSIWYG (I find it quicker than XYDOS for tables, graphics,
etc.) and the Windows fonts and other aspects of printing
(although you can't print in reverse order using Windows
drivers). The only problem that bothers me consistently is its
ugly draft mode screen font; in fact that's about the only reason
I still use XYDOS 4, which has a very comfortable one. The screen
font workarounds frequently discussed on this list do not work,
either on my present computer or my last one. On the other hand,
it is easy and fast to input in graphics mode, where you can
choose any TTF typeface, and I sometimes do. If that appeals to
you, you will have nothing to regret.

Cheers,
--
Nathan Sivin
History and Sociology of Science
University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia PA 19104-6304
(215) 898-7454
nsivin@xxxxxxxx