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Re: A XyWrite for Windows installer



Hello, Edward,

If and when U2 gets updated for use with XyWrite for Windows, would it be (a) acceptable and (b) a good idea for the XyWin Installer to include an option to install U2? As far as I can see from the instructions, it needs only the presence of the file in the XyWin folder and the addition of one line in the startup file.

I don't see any such update in the works. Many U2 routines already work with XyWin, and since I don't use XyWin myself for regular work, I'm not inclined to attempt to increase compatibility wholesale; at most I'd try to make particular routines compatible on request from users. And unless otvdm acquires the ability to shell to cmd.exe, none of the routines that call Windows programs will ever work in that environment.

That said, including U2 in the installer (a) would not be unacceptable  
to me; yet, (b) I don't think it's a good idea. U2 isn't for everyone,  
or even for most XyWriters. The basic setup isn't onerous, but it does  
require keyboard configuration as well as modification of XWSTART.INT,  
so it's more properly an add-on than part of a basic installation.  
Most important, no one is likely to use U2 without first being exposed  
to, even immersed in, the XyWWWeb site, or at least having a  
particular task in mind that plain-vanilla XyWrite can't handle.  
Absent that sort of motivation, I fear that U2 is likely to sit  
unused. And frankly, when all is said and done, I'd rather engage with  
a user who's taken the trouble to install the thing manually than with  
one who's stumbled on it without having a clue.
--
Carl Distefano
cld@xxxxxxxxxx


--
Carl Distefano
cld@xxxxxxxxxx