Re: Sig vs. Xy4

["Paul Thornett" paul@xxxxxxxx]

> From: ... 
> It's always *something* with v4.........
> Superior memory management is almost the only major thing v4 does that
> defies a v3 workaround. But, as Joe Solla pointed out so eloquently, v3
> does things v4 has no workaround for--like display smoothly.........
> Like yours, my v3 xpl is in long, complex files. Given v4's display
> probs, slower feel, and the porting-in-the-dark hassles, I finally asked
> myself what I was *doing*. Fucking nightmare is right. The only new
> feature I really wanted from xyW 4 was an unlimited page length (like the

> word processor I used in the mid-'80s). v4's is not unlimited but is much

> longer than v3. But v4 introduces a page *width* limit where none had
> been. v4 giveth and v4 taketh away. On the rare occasions when I need a
> v4 feature that v3 lacks, I shell out from the v3 CMline. ... Ciao. 	--a

Well, the breadth and scope of your answer is delightful - many thanks for
taking that trouble. But now I'm more confused than ever !

Is it compulsory to use a graphical interface with Xy4, or can I still
retain the textual feel and speed of Xy3? Your email suggests not.

One correspondent suggested I upgrade my III+ to a later version of the
same.

I don't use Xy at all for page layout work. I use it for 4 main purposes:
- to type in some text for subsequent formatting by, at the moment, Ventura
3 (Gem).
- to edit or create Focus programs (textual requirement, in caps)
- to run various macros I have written against some text
- to use its search facilities (which I find wonderful and life-saving; for
example, with the aid of a
 macro I can search all my programs - identifiable by extension - for some
name, text or
 whatever, and retain the relevant filenames in a directory window for
subsequent editing).

I am sometimes embarassed by XyIII's memory management, where, in a large
file of 2 megs or so, changing some string to another string has to be done
several times. I would love a command recall facility (I've implemented a
pretty simple 5-command "memory" for searches, so that I can press either
the Up or Down key after pressing Ctrl-S). There are probably a few other
features I would like (if I could only think of them ).

So should I go to Xy4, or stay with an upgraded III?