Re: XYwrite on other platforms

[Leslie Bialler lb136@xxxxxxxx]

Richard A. Sherer wrote:

[sniporama]

> Unfortunately, that's not my call. Publishing houses want text they can
> have some barely trained technician pull into an off-the-shelf DP program,
> and they don't want to screw around with converting obsolete WP text to
> Microsoft's latest version. I know Annie and Leslie have a raft of tricks
> for importing XyWrite into DPs, but my customers don't use them (or care!).
>

Sigh! Richard is correct about the barely trained. I inveigh in vain to
the University Press Community, warning all who edit electronically that
you cannot trust your system to the student part timer who shows up
three days a week, when she isn't taking an exam or breaking up or
reconciling with her significant other.
"Wanna see me pull a file outta my hat?"

"Again? Bullwinkle that trick _never_ works."

"This time for sure!"

FATAL ERROR

"Ah Natasha dahlink. Mooose and Squirrel have experienced seestem crash
again. Quick I must tell Peerless Leader."

As for my raft of tricks: At Columbia we use XyWrite as a front end for
our DP projects. The DP boyz (who assuredly do know what they're doing)
have a "NAPS" filter that filters the XyWrite stuff to Quark. I use
XyWrite SS/US feature which ports the styles over.

We also have to prep stuff for on-line capability now, and for this we
use SGML tags. XyWrite is perfect for that purpose. For the most part, I
can convert Xy styles to SGML tags quickly. Special characters are a
headache because SGML cannot read a simple e-acute. You must do é
or somesuch (would have to look it up!)--i.e., 8 characters instead of
1! Oh well.

By the way boyz and grrrls, I am fascinated with all this chat about
operating systems that has been ongoing for a couple of days. I have
this image (a terribly unfair one I realize) in my head of a crazed
XyWriter, living, as Don Imus put it so well in re. Matt Drudge, "in one
room with a computer and a mattress on the floor" running version 3.55
on a mono monitor running any op. sys. but Windows (which of course must
be referred to as Windoze) firing off e-mails demanding to know why Ken
Frank does not port his software over to, say, his Timex Indiglo.

Ah well, and so we beat on boats against the current.

Say goodnight, Matt.

--Leslie--


--
Leslie Bialler
Columbia University Press
lb136@xxxxxxxx