Re: Concerning MAILPREP in XYWWWEB115.

["Robert Holmgren" holmgren@xxxxxxxx]

** Reply to message from "M.W. Poirier"  on Mon, 27
Oct 2003 08:36:03 -0400 (EDT)


> I thought
> that there might be a simpler way to do this by adding a small
> table of authorities to the MAILPREP programme to convert the
> accented letters to their ANSI equivalents

You sound disappointed. I thought that the procedure for changing XyWbMail.PRN
that I described was pretty simple -- much simpler done than described.

Converting ASCII chars to ANSI in a really rigorous fashion is *enormously*
complicated -- just ask Manuel Castelao. He and I together developed both
ANSI2XY and XY2ANSI (bidirectional character converters) as well as an ANSIfied
XyWrite (everything displays and operates in ANSI, not ASCII). It took a
coon's age. About 3 weeks! But now they're part of U2. It is *so easy* to
make the conversions now. Have you tried? This is not difficult:
ANSI2XY, XY2ANSI. Done.

> and a few lines to the MAILPREP programme to handle
> the italicized words in the text.

My main objection is that it's a narrow and parochial change, to oblige a
single user. I personally wouldn't want it -- I dunno about others. And what
about MDUL? MDBO? FR FU BU FL SO RV BR SD SU IT BI DN DB DU DL DR DV DD DS DI
DO IN IB IU IL IR and IV? What conventions (_*|<>! etc) will we adopt for
those MoDes? This is not trivial.

But look, if you want personalized results, just write your own little XPL
routine, which calls the various "canned" U2 routines in proper sequence,
adding just one "manual" command of your own, before everything else, to
convert  to "_". It's so easy. If you don't know how, ask. Then you
enjoy the one-keystroke satisfaction you crave.

-----------------------------
Robert Holmgren
holmgren@xxxxxxxx
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