Re: File extension for Xywrite needed

[Nathan Sivin nsivin@xxxxxxxx]

≪I am working on a project that accesses files from the web, but
displays them in their native format (assuming the user has the
native software installed). I am looking for the file extension
for Xywrite word processing files...hopefully there is just one,
but if more than one, then the one that would for the version
most likely to be used.≫

Since there is no standard file extension for XY, you can use any
one you want; I use *.XY for XyDOS and *.XW for XYWin (but there
is no pressing reason not to use *.XY for both). If your project
is under Windows, you can set it to use any application to open
any file; see HELP.

I think most people don't use a file extension with XY, so you
can't expect your system to work automatically with downloaded
files. File extensions came into common use with Windows merely
because of Microsoft's usual unwillingness to admit that users
are smart enough to use the OS in their own ways. I would vastly
prefer, for instance, to set *directories* to open automatically
with any application you set. That way XY would open all the
files you click in its own subdirectories, extension or not.

If you are working on something fancier, you might keep in mind
that Quickview Plus can recognize and read XY and NB files
automatically without opening the applications. If I want to
paste a XY message into an email file, I open it in QVP, select
what I want, and copy it to the Windows clipboard--something that
XY itself can't do. QVP is a cheap utility, and comes free on the
WordPerfect 8 CD-ROM--perhaps on others too.

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