Sending XyWrite Files to Non-XyWrite Users (Compatibility)

[Eric Van Tassel 101233.342@xxxxxxxx]

>What programs (other than XyWrite itself) have you discovered that
>are capable of either viewing or importing/editing XyWrite files?

>(I'm asking because I'm trying to figure out the best strategy for
>sending an entire novel's worth of Xyfiles to my co-author; the
>Xyfiles are the most compact of any wp file format I know, so if I
>can keep the files in their native format, and let the conversion
>take place at the other end, we both maintain maximum control with
>minimum bandwidth.)

At one time I routinely sent fairly large multilingual files to a
typesetter whose programs and procedures were always unknown to me. I just
wrote a simple XPL routine that would
(1) convert all >128 ASCII characters to unambiguous <128 groups (e.g.
e+acute became ;ea)
(2) convert all "MD..." strings to unambiguous (non-chevronized) <128
groups (e.g. replace guillemets with < > and omit "MD");
(3) delete any unnecessary formatting strings such as "FC" or "IP"(since
the designer and typesetter were going to reformat everything), but insert
ad-hoc <128 instructions for internal features (for instance,  for a
hanging indent, followed by  for a normal paragraph indent) -- all of
which could be inserted simply by asking the XPL routine to recognize
significant strings and replace them.

At the same time, the macro wrote an extra line at the top of the file for
each new substitution it made: if it encountered no e+acutes, fine, but if
it had to change an o+umlaut it would then jump to the top of the file and
insert the line ";ou = l.c. o+umlaut".

I admit there was a slightly evangelical element to all this: I always told
the recipient that this file had been written and codified in XyWrite (III+
in those days), and left it to them to figure out how their clunky MSWord
or WPerfect was going to reverse the kinds of substitutions that my macro
had performed in seconds.

Cheers
Eric Van Tassel