xywin vs dos Sender: owner-xywrite@xxxxxxxx

[David Firestone fstone@xxxxxxxx]

I've used all the various versions of XyWrite, including Signature, and am now
using Xywrite for Windows exclusively. Since all my other programs are in
Windows, it seemed pointless to have one DOS holdover, particularly when XyWin
retained the beloved command line. It also has two big advantages over the DOS
versions:
1) Drag and drop file handling from Norton Desktop directories, and
2) DDE support. This is one of Xywin's best features, and I use it all the
time. I work in a bureau at the paper, and when I finish a story and am ready
to send it to the main office, all I have to do is click on a button on the
icon bar. From then on, everything is fully automated. It runs a little program
I wrote that sends a DDE command to ProComm for Windows, running in the
background, which then dials the main office computer and sends whatever story
I have up on the XyWin screen. Once it receives an acknowledgement it hangs up
and returns to Xywrite. I have similar automated procedures for calling up the
wires and running other programs using DDE.

Of course, there are two big problems, both well known. The first is Xywin's
clipboard routines, which are completely screwed up. I've had so many crashes
I've quit trying to use it, and now use Notepad when I have to edit something
in the clipboard. (Has anyone figured out a fix for this?) The other is the
clunky font required for draft mode. You can adjust it a bit using the
system.ini file, but there are very few substitutes available. I hope both of
these problems are fixed in the next version of XyWin.

I wouldn't use XyWin for heavy formatting (where Amipro, Word, etc are much
easier) but for the kind of writing I do, particularly with several files open
at once, it's unsurpassed.

David Firestone
Metro reporter, The New York Times fstone@xxxxxxxx
212-556-3674 or
718-268-4090