Re: search/replace program

[Robert Holmgren holmgren@xxxxxxxx]

** Reply to message from cld@xxxxxxxx (Carl Distefano) on Sun, 31 Mar 2002
01:40:13 -0500


> To add, say, seventeen-
> thousandths of an inch between two chars, I issue KN 17, and it's
> done. That's the kind of facility we need, but will never have, in
> Xy.

Does Word Perfect use its own printer drivers, a la the so-called "XyWrite
printer files" of Xy4-DOS vintage, or does it use Windows printer files?

It's unfortunately true, we'll never have true kerning with Xy4-DOS, at least
not with XyWrite printer files: they're internally incapable of it. Years ago
I tried a half-dozen ways to kludge kerning, but no joy. Xy4 can only handle
units of measure up to about 300 dots/inch (there's one printer file,
HPLJ-4.PRN, that seems to handle 600 dots/inch, although I think it does so by
expansion to raise the number of dots to match the 600dpi [raw] capabilities of
more modern printers). Xy4 usually scales the size down 10:1 for display
purposes: 300dpi on paper becomes 30 pixels/inch on-screen. If you increase
the units of measure (dpi) by a factor of ten, to say 3000dpi, to accommodate
tiny kerns, it blows Editor right out of the water (starts to make GIGANTIC
fo.tmps, then just can't handle the internal spacing calculations for individual
lines, and crashes totale).

BUT: maybe with Windows printing subsystem it could be done, at least by
NBWin... Dunno. It's a theoretical bummer. But, let's face it, content is
more important than appearance, right? And *most* of the time, the kern is so
bloody subtle that I don't notice it.

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