========================================================================= (C) 1993 by Atari Corporation, GEnie, and the Atari Roundtables. May be reprinted only with this notice intact. The Atari Roundtables on GEnie are *official* information services of Atari Corporation. To sign up for GEnie service, call (with modem) 800-638-8369. Upon connection type HHH (RETURN after that). Wait for the U#= prompt.Type XTX99437,GENIE and press [RETURN]. The system will prompt you for your information. ========================================================================== ************ Topic 20 Sat Feb 06, 1993 ST.LOU [Lou Rocha] at 13:16 EST Sub: ATARI Works ATARI Works will be released with the FALCON 030. This integrated word processor, database, spreadsheet application is ST/STE/TT and FALCON compatible. 208 message(s) total. ************ ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 1 Sat Feb 06, 1993 ST.LOU [Lou Rocha] at 13:17 EST The following message is excerpted from the transcript of last night's RTC with Bob Brodie, Director of Communications for Atari Corp. It is presented here for your information but may not be copied or reprinted without the expressed permission of this RoundTable. However, the full transcript is available as file # 26714 - BRODIE5.ARC and may be reprinted in its entirety. Let's talk about Atari Works at this point, and try to give you a glimpse of what is coming with that product. Atari Works is a fully integrated word processor, database, and spreadsheet. It's intended to provide the average user just about anything that they might require in a package to be used in either the home, or for a small business/home office scenario. Most of our energies with Atari Works have been focused on the word processor component of Works, as we believe that word processing is still the most common usage for home users. The Atari Works word processor offers multiple documents, full cut and paste between documents and the other portions of Works, easy set up of justification (left, right, center, or proportional), and importing of GEM metafile images. Atari Works has full SpeedoGDOS support, which means multiple scalable outline fonts with multiple sizes, and your usual bold, italics, underline, outline, superscript, subscript, footnotes, and headers. Works uses the Proximity dictionary system, and updated version of the system that was used with Word Up and Word Flair II. There is also a thesaurus included with Works. Works has full search and replace capabilities, again easily activated by drop down menus. One of the features that I really enjoy in using Atari Works is the exceptionally easy mail merge capabilities with Atari Works database module. It's always been something of a pain for me to have to mail merge. It seemed to me that there was never really a system that felt very intuitive to me for mail merging. With Works, there is a drop down menu called "Begin Merge" that allows you to begin the process. It's TERRIFIC!!! On the editing side of the coin, Works allows you to transpose letters that just need to be flip-flopped with a Control-T command. Its also "intelligent" about it's editing, in that if you begin moving around text, Works will recognize the need for additional spaces and automatically insert the spaces for you. There are also commands that will allow you to do a number of different text commands, like setting areas to all caps, or all lower case, and other text handling. The word processor of Atari Works also supports the importation of standard ASCII text, the Microsoft Rich Text Format (RTF) files. This is an increasingly popular format used with PC and Mac word processors, like Microsoft Word. The logical extension of that is that your documents at work can be saved out as .RTF files, and readily brought into Atari Works with the formatting fully intact!! The database portion of Atari Works will import .DBF files, tab delimited ASCII, and comma delimited ASCII. The Atari Works database is a breeze to set up and work with, too! If you start a new database file, the system begins prompting you for field names, until you tell it you're done. Once the fields are entered, you simply click on the fields and hold down the mouse button while you drag the field to the desired size! Simple, eh? You can add additional fields later by simply clicking on the database form with your mouse. Fields are moved about the page simply by clicking and dragging them. You can display the records in a form fashion, or in a list fashion that looks very spreadsheet-ish to me. :) Since everything in Atari Works is fully GEM compliant, you can also highlight portions of the database records, and save out the area as a GEM metafile and drop it into your document! Of course, this also applies to the spreadsheet as well. That makes displaying graphs and tables as part of your document easier than it's ever been before. Bill Rehbock, the product manager for Atari Works, tells me that the database portion of Works will feel very familiar to anyone that has ever used a database on a Mac. My sentiment was that I didn't find an overpowering need to run to the docs just to get things going, the database has a very comfortable "feel" to it. I'm not generally comfortable with ANY database, so I have great confidence that most of you will really enjoy the database portion of Atari Works. The spreadsheet portion of Atari Works is Excel command compatible. Our intention with the spreadsheet is not to compete against stand alone products like LDW Power, but to provide a good, basic speadsheet for users to be able to chart, graph, and track their finances. We have some portions of our business presently tracking their finances under the spreadsheet of Atari Works. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 2 Sat Feb 06, 1993 K.SPRINGER1 [FROZEN NORTH] (Forwarded) This really isn't a Falcon question, but an Atari Works question. Does the word processing section support graphics in a document? And if so, what file formats. I have a sister who is finally coming around and wanting a computer :-) and of course I am supporting my favorite. Based on her description of what she wants to do, this software sound tailor-made. Whether to buy new or used equipment the first time around has not been decided. Thanks for the help. Ken0 ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 3 Sat Feb 06, 1993 ST.LOU [Lou Rocha] (Forwarded) Ken, according to Bob Brodie, only GEM files are currently supported. However, he is making a big pitch for IMG. BTW, please update your topic list and you will find the new Atari Works topic - Category 14, Topic 20. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 4 Sat Feb 06, 1993 WAYNED. [Wayne] at 21:06 EST >The word processor of Atari Works also supports the importation of standard >ASCII text, the Microsoft Rich Text Format (RTF) files. This is an >increasingly popular format used with PC and Mac word processors, like >Microsoft Word. The logical extension of that is that your documents at work >can be saved out as .RTF files, and readily brought into Atari Works with the >formatting fully intact!! Will Atari Works output into .RTF format so you can load the file back into one of those "other" machines? >The database portion of Atari Works will import .DBF files, tab delimited >ASCII, and comma delimited ASCII. Same question, will it export .DBF files? >The spreadsheet portion of Atari Works is Excel command compatible. Does that mean it will import AND export Excel files? I'll also second the request for more picture formats besides .GEM. At the very least .IMG's should also be supported. Wayne ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 5 Sat Feb 06, 1993 R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 21:50 EST Does the Database allow you to layout fields on more than just the screen area or is it limited to the screen area? Sometimes there is a need to setup a layout that would cover more than 20+ rows. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 6 Sat Feb 06, 1993 J.GNIEWKOWSK [GE-Lamp ST] at 23:57 EST Lou, I hope they get the IMG support added. It seems funny that they wouldn't include what, seems to me, is a 'standard' format. Sincerly, John E. Gniewkowski Editor, GEnieLamp ST ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 7 Sun Feb 07, 1993 M.SQUIRE [Mike] at 00:05 EST I consider the spreadsheet portion, notwithstanding Bob Brodie's comments, to be potentially Atari Works greatest selling point with me. I use LDW Power regularly and it's good, but it's dated. I have a real need to be able to transport data seamlessly between the Excel v4.0 software that I use at work and my ST at home. -No- ST software product offers this cabability. I agree that RTF import/export is very important and that it is to Atari Works credit that its word processor will feature this. But I have Calligrapher and it also supports RTF in the new version 3 just out. I'll look over the word processor when I buy Atari Works and just maybe, if it's better than Calligrapher, I'll use it, but the sale will be cinched for me by its spreadsheet, not its word processor or database (I never use a database, except for my Christmas card list.) ... Mike Squire ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 8 Sun Feb 07, 1993 R.WILSON36 [Bob Wilson] at 09:36 EST BOB BRODIE Bob, please convince someone that .GEM file importation is not sufficient, especially as there seems to be a non standard in .GEM files. I have noticed that the .GEM importation on Calamus ignores text, Pagestream seems to require the file to have EASYDRAW add ons and does not use the standard header for size. Several packages do not allow rotated text. Interestingly, WP51 on the PC does a better job than many of the ST .GEM readers. There is plenty of clip art in PD. Most of it is in .TIF .IMG and both Windows and standard meta files. Virtually none in .GEM. No point swimming uphill. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 9 Sun Feb 07, 1993 K.SPRINGER1 [FROZEN NORTH] at 14:03 EST Bob Brodie, I agree with Bob Wilson. Atari should have put at least IMG file capability in the software. The user can get help and find a file conversion program to convert to IMG. It's my impression that EasyDraw relies heavily on GDOS fonts for text in their files. DMC, a long time ago, told me that since Calamus does not use GDOS, it doesn't recognize text in an EasyDraw file. So my conclusion is that EasyDraw simply references a GDOS font and selected attributes in its file rather than drawing a vector version of the text. Ergo, no importation. Ken ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 10 Sun Feb 07, 1993 ST.LOU [Lou Rocha] at 15:00 EST Ken, you are partly correct about GEM files and Calamus SL. If a GEM file had text info saved in it, Calamus SL will convert the saved font(s) to a specified font using its internal GEMCIV.SET list. Bob Brodie said he is pushing hard to get IMG support for Atari Works. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 11 Sun Feb 07, 1993 B.GOCKLEY [Brian G.] at 15:57 EST Hey, here's a novel idea, why doesn't Atari release an 'Authorized" version of the GEM file format !! Then developers could just RTM; this sounds like a job for Bill Rehbock! Brian G. @ ST Informer ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 12 Sun Feb 07, 1993 C.LAPEZA [Chester] at 16:36 EST Will it be possible to 'link' files in Atari Works to other files from other portions of the program? I mean, can you have a database record that has an attached WP document that you can pull-up and view while still in the DB portion... ...or have the TeleComm portion (when finished) dial a number from the DB (and maybe record the time, length, purpose, etc. of that call in a WP document, linked to the original DB entry...). I'm I just dreaming of a _super_ program, or one like A-W? ...or do I need to work for a software firm designing new products? (...or do I need to shut-up and stay in Med-School?... :-} ) It seems that a well integrated program (especially under MultiTOS) could do this. Nevertheless, I can't wait to get my hands on a Falcon and A-W!! Good move, Atari (for bundling it)!! Chester ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 13 Sun Feb 07, 1993 C.CASSADAY [Chris C.] at 16:55 EST > Hey, here's a novel idea, why doesn't Atari release an 'Authorized" > version of the GEM file format !! Then developers could just RTM; > this sounds like a job for Bill Rehbock! > Brian G. @ ST Informer > ---------- The last developers newsletter (December 1992) had an extensive article by Mike Fulton titled "Zen and the Art of Metafile Maintenence". Not being a Metafile expert myself, it seemed like a pretty comprehensive article. Chris Cassaday ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 14 Sun Feb 07, 1993 B.GOCKLEY [Brian G.] at 17:04 EST I love GEnie, not only do I have a rapid response, it is an informed and useful response - with a positive solution to boot! Thanks Chris, I guess I should talk to developers about this stuff. And thanks Mike Fulton, for another usefull and timely document. Brian D. Gockley ST Informer ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 15 Sun Feb 07, 1993 R.WILSON36 [Bob Wilson] at 17:58 EST Chris, nice to see that ATARI has finally decided to do something about the metafile doc. I got second level developer status last year and got the complete docs. God was the stuff on IMG files and Metas totally hopeless. I guess maybe I should become a full developer (except that I don't meet the criteria not being a real company) and make sure to get the updates. Stuff like this should be public domain. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 16 Sun Feb 07, 1993 T.MCCOMB [=Tom=] at 19:46 EST Yep, IMG files are important. My clip art collection is about 30% EPS/CVG, 69.99% IMG/PCX and 0.01% GEM. -Tom McComb {1:27 pm} Sunday, February 7, 1993 ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 17 Sun Feb 07, 1993 T.MCCOMB [=Tom=] at 20:46 EST Bob- if it was just released to anyone (the info), all those corporate IBM, APPLE and AMIGA types would steal it and incorporate it into their Operating Systems. TOS/GEM are state secrets. Ouch. It hurst when I stick my tongue that far into my cheek. I had hoped that things would losen up now that Leonard has moved on, but apparently not. All of that info _should_ be disseminated as far and wide as possible to help spur ANY development on the platform. -Tom McComb {8:12 pm} Sunday, February 7, 1993 =>Do not reprint in ST Report<= ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 18 Sun Feb 07, 1993 K.SPRINGER1 [FROZEN NORTH] at 22:38 EST Lou, nice to know SL handles the fonts. My info from you folks was long before SL existence was even rumored, before 1.09n even. Guess I'll have to try it out and see what happens. :-) Ken ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 19 Sun Feb 07, 1993 TOWNS [John@Atari] at 22:52 EST Atari Works will import and export Microsoft RTF format. -- John Townsend, Atari Corp. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 20 Mon Feb 08, 1993 C.CASSADAY [Chris C.] at 00:55 EST Brian Gockley Ah, gee, shucks... (blushing [:^) Bob Wilson, I'm not a *real* developer either. I just bought the docs Atari sold last year for $150. Speaking of that, I need to send in the $40 to renew... I just wish I would spend more time trying to make myself into a *real* developer. Oh, and Atari Works sounds really nice as well. [:^) I spent a little time working with Data Manager ST when I was the Secretary/Treasurer for my user group. It sounds as if Atari Works will easily eclipse that programs capabilities. Chris Cassaday ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 21 Mon Feb 08, 1993 CBARRON at 01:59 EST Does it import and or export GEM/3 metafiles? Does it export anything that can be read directly into pagestream 2.x?? Is the databas relational?? Can it import lotus wk? files, if so from which versions of lotus.? Twenty questions, but I am curious.... My clipart collection is 80% ill eps/cvg, 20% img and 0% gem metafiles... (either gem/2 or gem/3 variety!). At least I can create gem/3 metas if they will import.... BEZiers are important... ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 22 Mon Feb 08, 1993 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 03:58 EST Wayne and everyone else, Atari Works sounds pretty good -- right? If we keep telling Atari to add features or compatibilities to it, Atari Works will end up like the fabled Paper Clip Elite (remember THAT one?): A wonderful piece of software that was never finished, and therefore never released. Or maybe the better example is the ST Book, which is *still* waiting for a backlit screen because users clamored for one and Atari listened. Maybe the best thing Atari can do right now is ignore everyone outside of Sunnyvale and do what needs to be done to get the Falcon and the new software into the stores. Atari took on quite a project -- the Falcon, which is unlike any other PC and yet which is, apparently, more compatible with ST and STe software than the TT; MultiTOS, which promises to be a workable, debugged multitasking operating system; Speedo GDOS, which uses the industry's cleverest outline-font technology, along with fonts that are easy to buy (and easy to convert from other fonts), and Atari Works, a long-overdue integrated software package. Not bad for a company with fewer employees worldwide than WordPerfect has in telephone operators alone. Al ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 23 Mon Feb 08, 1993 R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 07:29 EST Al, I was just asking if it had the capability, not add it. It would be nice to have it if it doesn't. Maybe as an upgrade. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 24 Mon Feb 08, 1993 ST.LOU [Lou Rocha] at 07:47 EST Wayne, I would hope that there will be many features added to Atari Works... in the future. Let's get it released now and let the consumer response dictate whether any upgrades are warranted. (BTW, I certainly fee the response will be tremendous!) ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 25 Mon Feb 08, 1993 E.BAIZ at 19:23 EST This package sounds great. Can't wait to use it on the Falcon. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 26 Mon Feb 08, 1993 WAYNED. [Wayne] at 20:24 EST Al, Lou, I was merely asking if they would export as well as import the formats that Bob stated in the excerpt from the RTC. As you know Al being a beta tester on Flash II I've been advocating getting the latest version out to the owners and adding features in the next revisions. I wasn't necessarily asking for those things to make it into the initial release of Atari works, but merely asking if they were in there already. That way I could find out if they were there yet, and if not letting them know how important I feel they are. Wayne ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 27 Mon Feb 08, 1993 G.ANDERSON at 21:28 EST Bill, even from the VERY brief glance I had of it I WANT AtariWorks!!!! You may consider my check just waiting to be put in the mailbox when you tell me I can send it. By the way, PLEASE leave enough 'hooks' in it to allow the importation of .IMG graphics. .PI3/PC3 would also be nice but not so vital. However, given the Falcon's ability to handle 256 color/greyscale graphics I strongly urge that you include (in an upgrade later if need be) the ability to accept such graphics. By the way, do we have any accepted 'standards' yet for 256 color/greyscale graphic images the Falcon can handle (I know, wrong topic ). Any clue how long before we can expect to see our systems being able to display AND PRINT 256 color/greyscale graphics in our WP and DTP software? (note: EPS and PageStream PS not included) Gregg ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 28 Mon Feb 08, 1993 J.MUHA at 22:23 EST I tend to agree with Al. How does one get Atari Works???? Is it available yet???? Joseph Muha The Digital Man ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 29 Mon Feb 08, 1993 ST.LOU [Lou Rocha] at 23:17 EST Hmm, too many Waynes :-) WAYNED. I was agreeing with the suggestion that more formats be supported... eventually ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 30 Tue Feb 09, 1993 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 03:02 EST Wayne, I know what you mean, and I can't say I blame you for wanting a lot of stuff added to Atari Works. But I'd like Atari to forgo any changes and get it out the door ... and from rereading your message, I see you feel that way, too. BTW, Wayne, don't give up on Atari games yet. Al ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 31 Tue Feb 09, 1993 TOWNS [John@Atari] at 17:25 EST CBARRON, it does GEM files. I don't know if it does GEM/3 metafiles. Atari Works will export straight ASCII and Microsoft Rich Text Format. I believe that PageStream will take straight ASCII files. I don't know much about the database or spreadsheet. I will leave those questions for Bill to answer. J.MUHA: Atari Works isn't available quite yet. But, it is VERY close to its initial release. Please remember, this is the first release of the product. It is a great product that we hope to make better, but it won't be all things to all people in its initial release. Anyway, I am sure that Bill Rehbock, Product Manager for Atari Works, will provide more information on the features and availability of Atari Works when we returns from his trip to Germany. -- John Townsend, Atari Corp. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 32 Tue Feb 09, 1993 ST.LOU [Lou Rocha] at 18:08 EST Joseph, Brodie says it will ship with the Falcon in March. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 33 Tue Feb 09, 1993 R.WILSON36 [Bob Wilson] at 19:05 EST Potentially off topic. Atari Works will import GEM files. Has anyone seen a META.SYS file that produces color GEM files. When I load the one that came with FONT GDOS it tells me that it is monochrome. I use a mono monitor but presumably META.SYS should be able to let me specify colors even though my monitor must use black and white. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 34 Wed Feb 10, 1993 B.REHBOCK [BILL@ATARI] at 03:01 EST Ken, Atari Works v1.0 supports only GEM Metafile graphics in the Wordprocessor. If you have a GEM Metafile that refers to an IMG file (such as from EasyDraw or TouchUp), the .IMG file will be printed. A wide variety of Graphics import has been on our list and will show up in a future release. Wayne, RTF and DBF are imported and exported. It is command-compatible with Excel; it does not currently import and export Excel files. The Database Form layout is not limited to the screen, you can layout a form in a window and the window will track the active field. Forms created for 1280x960 work just fine in 640x400. Brian, the GEM metafile format is quite well documented, I have no idea what you are talking about. All an application has to do to create a metafile is open Device 31 and begin making VDI calls just as they would to draw lines, cirlces and text on the screen, when you close the workstation, the metafile is written automatically. This is slighty simplified, but it _is_ a trivial task, even _creating_ GEM/3 Beziers. I have quite a list of features that will be added to Atari Works from revision to revision. I don't think anyone will be disappointed. -Bill@Atari ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 35 Wed Feb 10, 1993 D.FLORY [ALERTsys*Cop] at 10:27 EST Bill, what formats does the spreadsheet componenet load/import and export, besides its own? I'm hoping you'll say its at least comma/tab delimited or DIF? (-: Happy Bytes :-) Dave Flory, ALERTsys*Cop 07:22 PST - 02/10/93 ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 36 Wed Feb 10, 1993 R.WILSON36 [Bob Wilson] at 18:22 EST Bill "METAFILES are quite well documented"? The commands to set page size , working area etc were not documented in the documentation package that I recieved. These must be set so that the application recieving the file has a vague idea of what size it is dealing with. This is especially true since the original program if using text has to make some assumptions about how wide and high the fonts are. VQT EXTENT returns either 0 height or o width (can't remember which). that is why all those programs like TWDTP and OPUS have font width files. If all you want to do is line draws and boxes then yes it is as simple as opening driver 31. It is much more of a pain in the you know what if fonts are involved. I have heard of mythical META.SYS fonts but I have never seen them in any package which supports .GEM files and I own 5 different programs that come with GDOS. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 37 Wed Feb 10, 1993 WAYNED. [Wayne] at 19:18 EST >Wayne, RTF and DBF are imported and exported. It is command-compatible >with Excel; it does not currently import and export Excel files. Thanks for the info Bill. Glad to hear that they both import and export. Hopefully it will import/export Excel files in the future. >I have quite a list of features that will be added to Atari Works from >revision to revision. I don't think anyone will be disappointed. That's also good to hear. Hopefully Atari Works will grow in power as time goes on. Wayne ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 38 Wed Feb 10, 1993 K.SPRINGER1 [FROZEN NORTH] at 22:48 EST BILL@ATARI Shucky-darns! I own TouchUp, so getting IMG files into Atari Works will pose no problem. :-) My youngest sister is now interested in getting a computer, and may give her one of my ST's to get her started. Atari Works sounds like just what she needs in the way of software. Is it save to assume that it will work with antiquated TOS 1.0? Ken ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 39 Thu Feb 11, 1993 BOB-BRODIE [Atari Corp.] at 01:19 EST Al, Thanks for your kind comments, I share your sentiments that we're close to getting a record number of things out the door in short order! As Bill has indicated, there are plans in the queue (almost said Works!) to have additional upgrades done, but I want see it get out the door!! Bob Wilson- I think that there is an entire section in the dev docs that deals specifically with GDOS, and the meta file stuff is probably all in there (Bill can give you the straight scoop on that, I'm just making an informed guess). The GEM files that I've been importing into Atari Works are ancient GEM files from old, old, Easy Draw images that I have on hand, as well as the GEM file that Touch Up creates when it makes an IMG. :) The point is that GEM files have been around darn near as long as there have been STs. While the info might be buried to an extent in the docs, it is there, and people have been using them for time now. Chester, Yes, you can for example, highlight some cells in the spreadsheet and then plop them into the word processor! Same for tables and graphs. All in all, I think everyone is going to be pretty happy with the initial release of Atari Works. I started one of our sales administrators using it a couple of days ago...and she's loving it!! One of the things that she enjoys the most is the simple click on an icon ability to change from Left Justified, Right Justified, Centered, and full justification in the word processor. It's pretty intuitive, but I'm finally starting to make my way thru the manual to make sure that I haven't overlooked anything. There is lots of stuff under the surface :) best regards, Bob Brodie ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 40 Thu Feb 11, 1993 B.REHBOCK [BILL@ATARI] at 05:02 EST Dave, the spreadsheet can handle tab, comma, or user-defined delimited. You should stop by for a demo! ------- Bob, there is definitely no need for metafile fonts or width tables. Atari Works cuts its graphs to the clipboard using only plain-jane VDI calls to Device 31 using SpeedoGDOS. It also has a feature that allows you to cut regions from the spread sheet or a record in the database form view as metafiles, using the same, simple technique. After these are pasted into a WP document, the user can even scale them and the text gets scaled along with the metafile. Atari Works has been a very good proof of theory regarding the O/S and GEM, and son of a gun, it really does work :-) I will see if I can put together some sample code and upload it. Our department is in the middle of moving, but I'll try to get it posted over the weekend. ------ ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 41 Thu Feb 11, 1993 ATARIAUSTRIA [J.Widi] at 11:16 EST Dave Flory, the ST Works spreadsheet does currently import/export both comma and tab delimited data and .DBF files. -Johannes ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 42 Thu Feb 11, 1993 R.WILSON36 [Bob Wilson] at 18:12 EST Bill, let us say that I have a program and it draws graphs. Now the program allows selectable graph fonts etc. When putting labels down the Y axis scale the program needs to know the size of the font so that it can back the text away from the Y axis and have them all neatly spaced. So the user has picked a 12 point font in Swiss for the labels. The program goes to place the scale and needs to know the size so that the proper spacing can be left. The spacing depends on the scaling of the object. If the reading program uses a different size then the number of pixels left may be incorrect and the label may overwrite the axis. As well certain programs require certain page sizes. EASYDRAW for example will not accept page sizes beyond certain dimensions. Maybe I am missing something in GEM on sizing of text. Remember not all .GEM files will simply be coming from inside ATARI WORKS to the clipboard. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 43 Thu Feb 11, 1993 J.MUHA at 20:06 EST Okay, thanks for the info on Atari works, I will keep my eyes open. Just a bit of info though, I know that the Falcon is an 030 nachine. I have also seen requests for an 040 machine. My question is, "Why bother?" I hear that Motorola is soon releasing an 060, so why not leapfrog it and go to that. Just a thought... Joseph Muha The Digital Man ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 44 Thu Feb 11, 1993 D.FLORY [ALERTsys*Cop] at 22:50 EST Great to hear about the delimited file import/export. I have managed to transfer files between all _kinds_ of machines using ASCII, delimited files of one sort or another. (-: Happy Bytes :-) Dave Flory, ALERTsys*Cop 17:46 PST - 02/11/93 ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 48 Mon Feb 15, 1993 B.REHBOCK [BILL@ATARI] at 01:06 EST Bob Wilson: Atari Works uses the page size defined in the metafile. It scales everything, including text, appropriately based on the aspect ratio derived from this page size. -Bill@Atari ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 49 Mon Feb 15, 1993 R.WILSON36 [Bob Wilson] at 20:34 EST Bill, How in a meta file do I get the text extents. IE the equivalent to a call to VQT_extent(). When I do this I get back utter crap, ie a height of 3 pixels (on a 32000 by 32000 screen) and often 0 for width. Also is there a color meta.sys file available? The one with FONTGDOS insists that it does not support color. I am looking forward to ATARI WORKS. I just want to ensure that B/STAT will produce META files that it likes. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 50 Tue Feb 16, 1993 F.OLIVAS [Fred O.] at 01:29 EST I'll follow the crowd and plead for .IMG support for Atari Works. I've converted every one of my graphic images over to this format for cross compatibility with my other programs: Touch-Up - Fleet Street Publisher 3.0. Fred Olivas ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 51 Tue Feb 16, 1993 B.REHBOCK [BILL@ATARI] at 03:07 EST Bob Wilson: I can send you a copy of our newsletter article, "The Zen of Metafile Maintenance" please send me you address in e-mail. (Plug--> If you were a member of our Associate Developer program, you would already have the newsletter :-) -Bill@Atari ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 52 Tue Feb 16, 1993 R.WILSON36 [Bob Wilson] at 18:16 EST Bill I applied once and someone at ATARI lost the letter so when the docs were available separately I ordered them. I am waiting to see a FALCON and SPeedo appear and then will order some more. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 53 Wed Feb 17, 1993 D.FLORY [ALERTsys*Cop] at 00:53 EST Had my first look at AWorks today and it looks _very_ nice. Installation is easy enough so a new user could do it, tho' it sounds like it may already be installed on new Falcons. SpedoGdos looks good and the fonts are excellent! Works WP module looks a cinch to use, formatting is easy, just click on the icon. All very intuitive to anyone who has used the Atari or Mac. Spreadsheet has a lot of functions, drag to change column widths, etc. Cut and paste from Spreadsheet to WP is possible with the destination getting just the data or the cell borders as well, as you like it. Database is Very simple to setup, has calculated fields and very easy double click on the field name for changes, and double click on the data area for setting of data formats. Its quick and very simple. Point and click with key equivalents for lots of things. This program is a really fine program for beginners, and probably most experience users. It will do the job for the average user. I'll only need Calligrapher/Calamus for really fancy work. My intial look indicates its at least as good as the MS Works thing we used to use at work, on the Mac/IBM platforms. (-: Happy Bytes :-) Dave Flory, ALERTsys*Cop 21:30 PST - 02/16/93 ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 54 Wed Feb 17, 1993 G.ANDERSON at 20:47 EST Have we got a good extimate on when AtariWorks will be available to the messy masses? I'm about to install Informer II & a spreadsheet but I'll hold off doing that (and spending the hours/days needed to learn them) if AW will be available before too much longer. Thanks; Gregg ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 55 Wed Feb 17, 1993 J.SIEBEN [Mike] at 23:13 EST Does the word processor do automatic formating when inserting text? Having to press F10 in Word Writer all the time has been a _real_ annoyance for me. Is the spell checker phonetic, inteligent? Will it give "THE" when I type "TEH"? Thanks Mike ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 57 Fri Feb 19, 1993 B.ROBINSON5 [BRIANMATE] at 03:48 EST "AtariWorks has full SpeedoGDOS support" Does this mean you have to run SpeedoGDOS or GDOS with the program? Since Calamus 109n and now Calamus SL I haven't had to worry about GDOS and I would really hate to have to go back using it. Brian Robinson ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 58 Fri Feb 19, 1993 D.FLORY [ALERTsys*Cop] at 10:36 EST Brian, you have nothing to worry about with SpeedoGdos. The installation program copies the fonts over to the folder, drivers to the selected folder and you're done. No Assign.sys to bother with. Its easy, fast, (5 minute installation for SpeedoGdos and AW) and then you just get to enjoy the speed with which it handles fonts and stuff. Plus around 1500 Bitstream fonts are available for reasonable prices, from any IBM type software center. Bitstream is even opening a support RT here on GEnie in the next couple of weeks. (-: Happy Bytes :-) Dave Flory, ALERTsys*Cop 07:09 PST - 02/19/93 ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 59 Fri Feb 19, 1993 B.REHBOCK [BILL@ATARI] at 13:49 EST All reformatting is done in real-time. TEH will give THE as the first choice in the spelling checker :-) Brian, it uses GDOS for Fonts, Printing, and Metafile management. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 60 Fri Feb 19, 1993 D.MCNAMEE [Dan @ Atari] at 14:48 EST Brian, You don't "have" to use Speedo GDOS with AtariWorks, but then you can only use the system font. Speedo is really VERY nice, and really easy to set up. Heck, even I was able to set it up on my first try, and that was without a manual. ;-) Dan ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 61 Fri Feb 19, 1993 D.D.MARTIN [Swampy] at 18:42 EST Any provison in SpeedoGdos for Postscript output? Just wondering if there would be a printer driver for those of us who have postscript printers. Hugs...Swampy ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 62 Fri Feb 19, 1993 J.MUHA at 21:37 EST Sounds like Atari Works is a winner! Can't wait to see one first hand! Dr. Joseph Muha PD The Digital Man ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 63 Sun Feb 21, 1993 K.ALBURY [Blade Runner] at 23:03 EST This may be a silly question, but does the WP. of AW. give you true WYSIWYG? I have used Protext for the ST and though it is very powerfull, it does not have this feature as Word Writer does. Also, how does AW's Wp compare to Word Writer and Protext? I am looking for an up grade from Word Writer ST(oldie but goodie!) and so far Protext ST seems a little to I.B.M.ish in manner for my taste. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 64 Mon Feb 22, 1993 B.REHBOCK [BILL@ATARI] at 02:41 EST Everything in Atari Works is WYSIWYG, eveny the spreadsheet. There is no PostScript SpeedoGDOS printer driver at the moment. Because of the Bitstream Speedo Scaler, though it should be easy to write one. If anyone is capable and willing, please contact me ASAP. -Bill@Atari ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 65 Mon Feb 22, 1993 B.GOCKLEY [Brian G.] at 16:13 EST Hey Bill, You were right about Work's use of the clipboard, I had my clipboard path set to just plain D:\ with the Clipboard CPX, but no folder. I believe that this is what caused Works to ignore it and create a CLIPBRD folder. I also re-discovered the fact that Steno doesn't properly use the clipboard, which is why I was using plain old D:\ to begin with! Now about Install Application... Oh yeah, that metafile question I had was based on problems I have had in the past with GEM importing and exporting. Interestingly enough, it appears that PGS PageStream is one of the culprits for improper GEM handling. All I know is that I've got over ten different programs that import or export GEM files, and they are often at odds with one another. Glad to hear that there is a well defined standard that can be found out about. Thanks again, Brian G. @ ST Informer ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 66 Tue Feb 23, 1993 B.REHBOCK [BILL@ATARI] at 11:41 EST Brian, I'm pretty sure that both of the current latest released versions of STeno and STalker properly handle the clipboard. Try setting the "Clipboard drive" to "Z". If it doesn't work, you need an update. -Bill ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 67 Tue Feb 23, 1993 B.GOCKLEY [Brian G.] at 22:33 EST Stalker works, but Steno is still out... Database question? I have a client who has been using a mailing program for long time, long enough to enter in 18,000 names. He would like to do mail merges with a word processor like Works has. Do you think that the works database can handle this job? I am sure that more names are pending. I assume that Works is not a RAM based database, but would like to hear your opinion. Thanks, Brian G. @ ST Informer ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 68 Wed Feb 24, 1993 EXPLORER.5 [Robert Goff] at 20:15 EST The latest Steno has not been updated to the standard clipboard handling. (Unless you're on an advance distribution list! :-) |) | |)O|) Robert Goff ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 69 Wed Feb 24, 1993 K.HULET [Ken] at 20:25 EST I see the Bitstream BB is up! Now all we need are Falcons with Speedo GDOS and Atari Works. Type BITSTREAM or m 1375 to reach the BB. ..............Ken ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 70 Thu Feb 25, 1993 B.REHBOCK [BILL@ATARI] at 03:10 EST Brian, Work's database _is_ currently ram based. If we go to disk-based, the first thing that will happen is the database will change to fixed-length fields instead of variable-length. It's no big deal to me, who grew up on dBASE, but it does make things more rigid. Robert, Whoops, I guess I'm on the advance distribution list :-) I use the clipboard _constantly_ between lots of stuff under MultiTOS. BTW I've paid out to a couple people on my plea to use the clipboard, but I may have missed a couple of developers. Please let me know. :) -Bill@Atari ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 71 Thu Feb 25, 1993 B.GOCKLEY [Brian G.] at 14:57 EST Ok, so the question of whether 18,000 names is too much for Works is partly related to RAM. I have to figure out how many bites per record and see what it looks like. That's a lot of names for a RAM based system though. Brian G. @ ST Informer P.S. How about PageStream and Calamus supporting the clipboard, that would be nice! ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 72 Thu Feb 25, 1993 D.D.MARTIN [Swampy] at 23:06 EST I keep hearing all about SpeedoGdos, Bitstream and other goodies, but was just wondering if Works will work with just the system font and print directly to a dot matrix. Some of us really don't need scalable fonts etc for data base or spread sheet work. I'd hate to have to install any GDOS, Assign Sys files etc, just to print out invoices, or letters on a 9 pin Star printer. Hugs...Swampy ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 73 Thu Feb 25, 1993 K.ALBURY [Blade Runner] at 23:45 EST Are there any plans to make the data base in AW compatable with the dBase programming language? It would be a big plus. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 74 Fri Feb 26, 1993 D.FLORY [ALERTsys*Cop] at 01:37 EST D.D., you haven't been reading closely, no assign.sys files in SGDOS. (-: Happy Bytes :-) Dave Flory, ALERTsys*Cop 22:07 PST - 07/01/79 ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 75 Fri Feb 26, 1993 B.REHBOCK [BILL@ATARI] at 04:21 EST If (Speedo)GDOS is not installed, Atari Works will run and allow you to use the system font. You will not be able to print from inside Atari Works however, because it you won't have any printer driver. In a pinch, you can create a spreadsheet or whatever, and do one of two thing: Select All, do a cut or a copy, then Print C:\CLIPBRD\SCRAP.TXT from the desktop; or export as ascii and print from the desktop. The Database in Atari Works is a non-programable database. Please do keep in mind that Atari Works is a "Personal Integrated Productivity Package," not an "Automated Office System" :-) My goal was to create a package that was very easy to use, be rich in features so it wouldn't get outgrown easily, but provide all of the right export capability so that the user can turn to the heavyweight stuff if they need to. -Bill ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 76 Fri Feb 26, 1993 D.MCNAMEE [Dan @ Atari] at 17:42 EST DD, Answered uptopic already. ;-) Yes, it works with just the system font, but I don't know about printing. Speedo really is worth it, though. It is really fast (I use it on a standard 8mhz mega 4 and I hardly notice any slowdown at all) and setup is all done by the install program. Modification of the EXTEND.SYS file (adding or removing fonts among other things) is handled by another included program, and changing of printer drivers in handled by yet another included program. It is all extremely easy and intuitive. Dan (BTW, you can also easily set up Speedo for just the system font too, then you will be able to print from works. ) ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 77 Fri Feb 26, 1993 D.D.MARTIN [Swampy] at 21:43 EST Veddy interesting, guys. I was hoping AW would be a simple plug and play program, but it sounds complex. A separate program to change fonts or printer drivers? Gee, I move back and forth from laser printer to dot matrix all the time with the flip of a switch on a switch box. Will you have to exit AW to change a printer driver? If AW is as good as MS Works, I guess it'll be worth the wait. I have been looking forward to AW since Bill gave us a peek at WAACE! Hugs...Swampy ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 78 Fri Feb 26, 1993 R.WOODBRIDG1 [Rob] at 22:53 EST This Atari Works sounds like a great product! Especially with a release date apparently so imminent (sp?). I'd like to echo an earlier question, namely, what is the earliest version of TOS on which AW will run? Thanks, Rob ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 79 Sat Feb 27, 1993 B.REHBOCK [BILL@ATARI] at 05:06 EST Atari Works is very easy to install and use. A couple fourth graders have proven it can be done :-) The SpeedoGDOS printer utility accessory allows you to change from SLM/ACSI to Dot Matrix/Parallel to STraight Fax driver on the fly without ever having to leave Atari Works. It is amazingly elegant. Atari Works has been tested down to everything but original soft-loaded TOS. -Bill@Atari ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 80 Sat Feb 27, 1993 D.ENGEL [Thunderbird] at 08:56 EST Bill@Atari: I've still got my original Soft Loaded TOS disk. I would be more than happy to test AW on it for you. ;-) I think I'd have to put in the old boot ROMS to do it, though. BTW those had the most awesome intro screen on any computer ever... ____________________________ \hunderbird ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 81 Sat Feb 27, 1993 D.FLORY [ALERTsys*Cop] at 10:22 EST The printer/font selectors are .ACCs so they can be run in MultiDesk as non-resident, from any program that doesn't exclude accessories. (-: Happy Bytes :-) Dave Flory, ALERTsys*Cop 07:13 PST - 07/03/79 ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 82 Sat Feb 27, 1993 DARLAH [RT~SYSOP] at 13:43 EST Gee even Lloyd is going to be impressed with SPEEDOGDSOS' install. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 83 Sat Feb 27, 1993 G.ANDERSON at 19:48 EST So tell me, WHEN CAN I GET MY HANDS ON IT?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?! Puff, puff, pant, wheeze....... Ok, I'm calm now... you can relax and let go of me now. Gregg ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 84 Mon Mar 01, 1993 PRADIP at 13:32 EST G.Anderson We have a couple of "sayings"in India - "Juldi ka Kaam Saitan ka" - This literally translate to "Only Devils do things in a hurry" and "Der aye Durusth aye" = which translate to "Things which come late, they come stronger". This does not mean its really going to be late, but definitely its going to be a very strong one. :-) Hope you will be able to see it soon. Pradip@Atari ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 85 Mon Mar 01, 1993 F.BELL1 [Frank @ Home] at 15:27 EST Bill, Many of us here on GEnie aren't (ain't) fourth graders anymore (or yet). We need a REAL foolproff install program. :-) Frank... ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 86 Mon Mar 01, 1993 D.FLORY [ALERTsys*Cop] at 19:06 EST Pradip, Welcome to GEnie. I don't know if you remember me as we weren't really introduced but I'm the bald guy that was with Bill two weeks ago Tuesday when you brought in the AW disks. Really nice job you did. I'll be dropping by next Monday or Tuesday to pick up the latest revision. Really looking forward to it. Keep up the good work. You're a really rare person, in my experience, a good programmer who can think like normal human beings and program for the latter rather than for the computer professional. Would that there were more like you. What we really need to make computers more acceptable to the real masses is more programs like AW which are friendly and intuitive. Frank, not to worry, if I can do it in 5 minutes you can do it in three, especially with a manual to help. (-: Happy Bytes :-) Dave Flory, ALERTsys*Cop 15:16 PST - 03/01/93 ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 87 Mon Mar 01, 1993 G.ANDERSON at 19:48 EST Hi Pradip, good to see your voice out here. I've no doubt at all that you guys won't let Works out of it's cage until you've got it well and truely housebroken for us.... frustrating though that may be for us . Indian I don't know, though I could make a few stabs in Thai, Japanese, German, and Southern. Of these I suspect only the Southern would be totally incomprehensible to the rest of the country. Take care Y'all..... Gregg ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 88 Mon Mar 01, 1993 POTECHIN [Nathan] at 20:03 EST I am trying to picture Pradip's first impression of Dave Flory. You'll recall Dave's description of himself as "the bald guy". Allow me to expand on that Pradip. Dave is the calm, well-centered individual, built like a sherman tank, who also happens to have less hair on top than when his mother gave birth to him. Now do you remember him? ;-) Pradip, welcome to GEnie. You're going to love it here. If any of us can help in any way, please ask. AtariWorks is a great program Congratulations. Nathan (Atari RT Sysop) ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 89 Mon Mar 01, 1993 ST.LOU [Lou Rocha] at 20:26 EST Pradip, welcome to GEnie and congratulations your fantastic effort with Atari Works. Hmmm, would you be interested in doing a Real Time Conference to discuss your work? Please see email. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 90 Tue Mar 02, 1993 EXPLORER.1 [] Ron [] at 00:07 EST Pradip, Welcome to GEnie! I appreciate your Indian sayings - going to take those to work myself :-) AtariWorks looks super, we're looking forward to working with the program! You are going to make many people very, very happy when they see the results of your efforts. Ron @ Atari Explorer Magazine ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 91 Tue Mar 02, 1993 PRADIP at 13:52 EST Hi everybody This is Pradip at Atari again. Let me thank you all for your warm welcome on board. I am here to answer all your questions about AtariWorks. When I was in India (About 2 years back from now), I could never think, Atari Works will see the light of the day. But here we are. It's the people at Atari and people like you who could let this dream become a reality. We are testing AW exhaustively and perfecting it. I am here to answer allall questions from you, who are testing it and definitely for others others too. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 92 Tue Mar 02, 1993 D.MCNAMEE [Dan @ Atari] at 18:46 EST DD, The font and printer driver control programs can also run as accessories. Also, under MultiTOS, you can run more than one program at a time. Dan Dave, The printer/font programs can be renamed and used as either .ACCs or as programs. .ACC is great for non-MTOS systems, and .PRG is great for MTOS. ;-) Dan ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 93 Tue Mar 02, 1993 B.GOCKLEY [Brian G.] at 21:39 EST Hi Dan, The Printer CPX seems to do such a little (though important) job, could it be combined with the font manager CPX? Pradip, Great to have you on line, we really appreciate the effort you're putting into AW, So far, everybody loves it! Brian G. @ ST Informer ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 94 Tue Mar 02, 1993 MIKE.KELLER [ST Aladdin] at 23:36 EST I'll tell ya, you don't know what kind of mental leap it takes for me to read "AW" and not think "Air Warrior." mike.k ("this IS page 475...this IS page 475...") ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 95 Tue Mar 02, 1993 FAIRWEATHER [David] at 23:51 EST Pradip, what are the chances that AtariWorks' word processor will eventually get Wordperfect import/export capability? ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 96 Tue Mar 02, 1993 FAIRWEATHER [David] at 23:56 EST What exactly happens when the Printer CPX toggles between draft and final? I know it doesn't change the hardware settings on my Deskjet. What does it do? ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 97 Wed Mar 03, 1993 R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 00:29 EST Dan, What about CPX modules for the FONTS and all? Isn't this what CPX was designed for? I prefer them over ACC when available. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 98 Wed Mar 03, 1993 J.GNIEWKOWSK [GE-Lamp ST] at 02:57 EST David, I'm _pretty sure_ the draft/final selection is for the Atari printers (much like the pixels per line setting). It dosen't do much of anything for the other printers (as far as I can tell). Sincerly, John E. Gniewkowski Editor, GEnieLamp ST ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 99 Wed Mar 03, 1993 PRADIP at 12:44 EST David, I would say that there is no chance of including Wordperfect Import/Export in this AtariWorks 1.0 On the otherside, I can assure you that many other file format Import/Export, including Wordperfect, is on my list for the next rerevision - Version 1.5 and Version 2.0 ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 100 Wed Mar 03, 1993 D.MCNAMEE [Dan @ Atari] at 20:37 EST Frank, I'm probably the biggest fool there is, and I can get it to work. ;-) Dan Brian, CPX? They are PRGs aro ACCs. No CPXs here! Actually I like having them separate. It keeps both of them simple, or in other words me F/O/O/L proof. Dan David, Some older printers used to have a draft as well as final mode. In final mode, the printer would print a line of text, then advance the paper ~1/72nd of an inch and print the line again. This made the final printout look really nice, but made it take twice as long to print, so they added an option called draft mode that just prints the line once. Faster, but sacrifices quality. This feature was more common on 9 pin printers than it was on 24 pin printers. In order for this to work on your printer, it must be fully epson command compatable and fully support draft and final mode through the epson command set. Dan Wayne, Even though the PRG/ACCs are very simple, when you see them, you will see that there is enough on them that it would be prohibative to put them in a CPX just due to size constraints. One of the things the Fonts ACC/PRG does is list, in alphabeticle order, the names of the fonts you have. Names like, say "Bitstream Charter Black Italic". Try fitting that in a CPX window. ;-) Dan ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 101 Wed Mar 03, 1993 FAIRWEATHER [David] at 22:19 EST Thanks Pradip. I wasn't expecting WP import/export for Version 1.0 anyway. I bought Calligrapher last June based on the still-unfulfilled promise of eventual WordPerfect import/exportability. I'm holding off on upgrading to Calligrapher 3 until I see whether the AtariWorks wordprocessor can meet my needs. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 103 Thu Mar 04, 1993 STEVE-J [FunkPopARoll] at 00:56 EST PRADIP - Maybe you should set up a BB nickname like 'Pradip@Atari' or maybe something else to signify that you're the creator of Atari Works. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 104 Thu Mar 04, 1993 K.RICHARD2 at 01:41 EST How about "Pradip@AtWork" ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 105 Thu Mar 04, 1993 D.D.MARTIN [Swampy] at 07:53 EST BRIAN -- About Atari Works... "So far, everybody loves it!" So where can the rest of us _get_ it? %^) PRADIP- Welcome aboard. Bill Rehbock gave a sneak preview of "Sutra"/Atari Works at WAACE and like many, I'm eager to get my hands on it. %^) Hugs...Swampy ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 106 Sat Mar 06, 1993 DAEDWARDS at 00:17 EST On font names: PLEASE indicate whether the fonts are fixed or proportional spacing. (How I wish the printer at work had a scalable FIXED font...) ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 107 Sat Mar 06, 1993 K.BROOKS1 [New Horizon] at 01:19 EST Fonts with Speedo are all scalable. Almost all are proportional. There are several monospaced fonts available for spreadsheet/database or decimal alignment that you are looking for. There are: Monospaced 821 Monospaced Symbols Pica 10 Pitch Collections: Spreadsheets Letter Gothic Prestige Type Essentials Spreadsheets There are many others but these are just a few. Keith Brooks New Horizon ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 108 Mon Mar 08, 1993 J.ROY18 [Jonathan] at 00:02 EST Is there any virtual memory hardware/software availible/planned for the Falcon? That's something I would have liked to see in it.. :) I've been using UNIX so much recently that I've grown used to near-infinite memory when multitasking. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 109 Mon Mar 08, 1993 P.LATONA at 04:45 EST Is there a telecommunications module being developed? If so, will it have Zmodem FTP and hooks into the word processor for text editing? I think it's a bad idea not to have one shipped with 1.0, but if that's the way things are, then I guess we'll have to accept it. What features are being planned for the Telecom module? Please, PLEASE don't follow the lines of Lotus Works or all the other "works" modules-- they are bad news. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 110 Mon Mar 08, 1993 ATARI.BENLUX [W. Kilwinger] at 16:04 EST >Atari-ST RoundTable >Category 14, Topic 20 >Message 108 Mon Mar 08, 1993 >J.ROY18 [Jonathan] at 00:02 EST > >Is there any virtual memory hardware/software availible/planned for the >Falcon? That's something I would have liked to see in it.. :) I've been using >UNIX so much recently that I've grown used to near-infinite memory when >multitasking. The German product VRAM from OverScan is available for the Falcon030 as well. Further the German company GE Soft made a TT-RAM like memory expansion as well as a fast CPU (50 mhz ??). Regards, Wilfred ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 111 Mon Mar 08, 1993 T.MCCOMB [=Tom=] at 19:05 EST Wilfred- do you know of any companies in the USA that will be carrying those Falcon030 products? (TTRAM, VRAM, 50Mhz) -Tom McComb {6:39 pm} Monday, March 8, 1993 ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 112 Mon Mar 08, 1993 MIKE-FULTON [Mike Fulton] at 23:05 EST Bob Wilson, You said the META.SYS file you got with FontGDOS tells you it is monochrome. How do you arrive at that conclusion? I suspect that it's nothing that affects your ability to do color commands. You can write out color commands to a metafile with ANY version of META.SYS. As far as getting text extents goes, the decisions for positioning objects, including text, should be based on whatever device the metafile is being displayed on. If you'd like, we could discuss this in greater detail, but a phone call would be much more efficient. If you want to call me at work (number in the developer newsletter) then I'm sure we can figure everything out. Or if you'd rather I call you, send me EMAIL and let me know. Mike @ Atari ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 113 Tue Mar 09, 1993 ATARI.BENLUX [W. Kilwinger] at 19:41 EST T.MCCOMB [=Tom=] > >Wilfred- do you know of any companies in the USA that will be carrying those >Falcon030 products? (TTRAM, VRAM, 50Mhz) > No, sorry I can't help you. Those products are very new (not even released) but I'm sure the will Cebit as a launch. Cebit is in about two weeks. After Cebit I'm sure that these products will find their wau in the states while we in europe are waiting on products developed in the states to come to europe. Regards, Wilfred ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 114 Wed Mar 10, 1993 STEVE-J [FunkPopARoll] at 02:10 EST Is it just me or does Atari Works' wordprocessor's dictionary and thesaurus look A LOT like WordUp 3.0's? WordUp 3.0's dictionary and thesaurus were some of the best features of the package (and two of the only ones that WORKED ), so I'm glad to see the similar features in Atari Works. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 115 Wed Mar 10, 1993 CODEHEAD [Charles] at 13:58 EST Steve-J, I wasn't aware that Atari Works had been released. Where did you see a copy of it to compare to WordUp? - Charles ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 116 Wed Mar 10, 1993 T.MCCOMB [=Tom=] at 18:03 EST Screen shots in the last AEO. -Tom McComb {5:39 pm} Wednesday, March 10, 1993 ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 117 Wed Mar 10, 1993 ARCHIVIST [Charlie] at 20:15 EST Charles, there were screen shots of the AW dictionary and thesaurus (and I need both) in the last AEO uploaded. I like the look of it, and the review, too. Charlie ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 118 Thu Mar 11, 1993 K.BROOKS1 [New Horizon] at 21:23 EST GE Soft should have the Falcon RAM expansion boards available shortly. They will offer 32Mb of RAM - I believe that is in addition to the max 14Mb of usable RAM that can be onboard the Falcon. We will be carrying these boards as well as continuing to market the TT/32 boards. Keith Brooks New Horizon Computers ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 120 Fri Mar 12, 1993 CODEHEAD [Charles] at 12:15 EST Steve-J, Thanks; I was just curious. - Charles ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 123 Tue Mar 16, 1993 B.REHBOCK [BILL@ATARI] at 05:02 EST Mike Fulton did write the Spellchecker/Thesaurus portion of Atari Works. It is based on the latest, greatest version of the Proximity Technology engines. I am really happy with how it came out. There are some new features compared to the original Word Up implementation such as the ability to ignore words with numbers and the ability to have parts of hyphenated words passed as separate words if you wish. You will also be able to purchase additional languages such as British English, French, French Canadian, German, French, Swiss German, Swiss French, Norweigan, and others. Naturally, the appropriate base language ships in the corresponding countries :-) -Bill@Atari ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 124 Tue Mar 16, 1993 BRIAN.H [ST~SysOp] at 22:18 EST Bill, When will the Quebecois French dictionary be shipping and how much???? *******Brian********* Written on Tuesday 16 March 1993 at 09:52 p.m. AST ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 125 Wed Mar 17, 1993 R.MORROW10 [Bob M.] at 01:53 EST Bill- What gets shipped to Canada--English or French Canadian? :-) ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 126 Wed Mar 17, 1993 J.VENGROUSK1 at 19:14 EST New here on a reccomendation to peek from over in the goldleaf area... I have Wordflair2, updated to TOS1.4 so it wouldnt crash anymore and.. it crashes reliabnly. I've been sitting on this program since WF1 hoping and waitng.. now I need to get to WORK and it seems this is NOT the cool thing I'd hope it woiuld be.. if only it worked.. but ... I'm looking to run my own work out of this mes of Atari tys.. TOOLS, that I've bought over the years... How can AW fit in? I freelance as a sound designer and corp[orate event technical facilitator and coordinator. I have mailing lists and client and resource listings to keep track of ( TRACKER ST is here and I'm about to dive into utting it all in there) as well as project estimates, invoices and followup billing and cold mailings for new clients to incorporate into it all. Do I want AW? ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 127 Thu Mar 18, 1993 B.REHBOCK [BILL@ATARI] at 04:10 EST The additional languages will be in the $25 to $50 range. They should be available about 4 to 6 weeks after the main product ships. -Bill ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 128 Thu Mar 18, 1993 PRADIP [Pradip@Works] at 14:45 EST J.VENGROUSKI As I see it, AW fits your requirements very much. It has database and spreadsheet for your address books and invoices and moreover you can do mailmerge and labels very easily with the wordprocessor. And I am sure you are going to love the wordprocessor :-) Pradip ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 129 Sun Mar 21, 1993 BOB-BRODIE [Atari Corp.] at 00:32 EST What Pradip said, and as the programmer, he ought to know! Seriously, I think that you will find the integrated approach that Atari Works provides to be a good alternative. I'm a longtime user of Word Flair II (didn't have the problems that you described) and also a user of Tracker/ST. At the present time, I feel that Atari Works is the best solution to allow me to do things like track press lists, do mail merge letters (This is a terrific feature, and very easy to use in Works!!!) as well as label printing. It has pretty much taken the place of the other programs that I used to use for these features...except I'll still probably dust off Label Master Elite at Christmas time for those neat holiday labels! Although (thinking out loud) I haven't tried to paste a GEM file on a label yet...hmmmmm Oh Pradip!!!! regards, Bob Brodie ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 130 Sun Mar 21, 1993 SFRT-ASST [Kenne@SFRT] at 02:59 EST You wouldn't happen to have a version of Label Master Elite that runs on a DJ500 would you? ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 131 Sun Mar 21, 1993 J.DERNAR at 09:35 EST Hey, now I'd be interested in LME with laser support also! Does anyone still sell or support that program? ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 132 Sun Mar 21, 1993 G.ANDERSON at 21:22 EST But Bob, how much longer before we can get our hands on AtariWorks??? I WANT ONE!!!!!!! Gregg ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 133 Mon Mar 22, 1993 J.TOWLER1 [John] at 00:02 EST >J.VENGROUSK1 at 19:14 EST > >New here on a reccomendation to peek from over in the goldleaf area... I have >Wordflair2, updated to TOS1.4 so it wouldnt crash anymore and.. it crashes >reliabnly. I've been sitting on this program since WF1 hoping and waitng.. now I've been using WFII, and have had no problems with crashing. BUT, it likes more than 1 meg of memory (when I upgraded to 2.5 megs it worked great), and if you're using FSMGDOS you need to have the 'character' and 'miscellaneous' caches set large enough - at least 100k each, preferably more if you can spare the RAM - John ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 134 Mon Mar 22, 1993 SFRT-ASST [Kenne@SFRT] at 02:34 EST When might this program be available? Roughly. 2nd qtr '94? ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 135 Mon Mar 22, 1993 BOB-BRODIE [Atari Corp.] at 14:10 EST Hi Ken... Now look at what I started here! :0 Label Master Elite would probably work just fine on your DJ500, as long as you have the Epson cart installed! :) At the prices for dot matrix printers, if you do a lot of label printing it's almost worth it to keep one around. I don't think that Label Master supports printing to anything other than single up labels. But it's been a while since I configured it, I've been using it with a 24 pin Epson dot matrix for YEARS! This is unlike Atari Works (note the segue back on to the Topic!) which has a highly configurable label set up Gregg- Bill Rehbock tells me 30 days. :) But the manual is still being worked on, so I'd not be too impatient. CeBIT keeps getting in the way. Best regards, Bob ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 136 Mon Mar 22, 1993 SFRT-ASST [Kenne@SFRT] at 15:05 EST Hmmmm. 2nd Qtr '93? Hotay. Yeah, as far as I know, LME only takes single up labels. It's really too bad that Migraph didn't add laser and inkjet support because the program wold still sell. I don't think there's _currently_ anything out there that comes close. So are you implying that A*W will import different graphics into the label setups? To be honest, at this point I'm far more interested in Atari Works more than I'm interested in Falcon. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 137 Tue Mar 23, 1993 T.GIRSCH [TJ @ S-Mart] at 01:15 EST Pradip - Please pardon me if the question has already been asked, but are the spreadsheet files in "works" Lotus 1-2-3 file compatible? - T.J. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 138 Tue Mar 23, 1993 T.GIRSCH [TJ @ S-Mart] at 01:37 EST SFRT-ASST - > To be honest, at this point I'm far more interested in Atari Works > [than the Falcon]. I think you're far from alone in that sentiment. - T.J. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 139 Tue Mar 23, 1993 T.ZENTHOEFE1 [Tom Z.] at 05:38 EST T.J., from what I have read, the spreadsheet of 'Works is supposed to be Excell command compatible. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 140 Tue Mar 23, 1993 PRADIP [Pradip@Works] at 14:36 EST T.J. The spreadsheet in AW is command compatible to Excel or Microsoft Works but it is not file format compatible to nay of them. Ken Label printing in AW is very simple and most flexible. You set up your document as any other mail merge document. You can beautify it with pictures etc. Then you assign it to be a document for labels from the page setup command. And you are done. Probably Bob could explain it better ... <:') Pradip ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 141 Tue Mar 23, 1993 MIKE.KELLER [ST Aladdin] at 23:20 EST >The spreadsheet in AW is command compatible to Excel or Microsoft Works but >it is not file format compatible to nay of them. > THAT is very disappointing. I think the need for file swapping and compatibility is paramount for Atari at this point. The s/w is extremely weakened for professional use when it doesn't have file compatibility with existing "standard" s/w. mike.k ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 142 Wed Mar 24, 1993 R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 00:11 EST Pradip, Do ya'll plan to provide the capability to output plain text. I really like the output of the Deskjet's Courier and sometimes I prefer it over all the other fonts. I hope you at least consider it. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 143 Wed Mar 24, 1993 J.BRENNER1 [See Flat] at 00:11 EST Pradip, I agree with Mike. That is indeed very disapointing. The first question that is asked at shows when my user group exibits is... "is compatible (either Mac or Clone)" Since the programs can't be, surely it would be a big plus if the file formats could. At least some conversion programs should be taken into consideration. So......AW won't be compatible with my Atari Portfolio. Something to think about isn't it? I will still use Atari Works since I love the idea of the intergrated package. But....I am definitly disapointed. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 144 Wed Mar 24, 1993 PRADIP [Pradip@Works] at 02:45 EST Wayne You can export a AW document as text file and print it on your deskjet from the desktop. Results will be quite the same I suppose. Mike K. I understand what you are talking about. We had this discussion before also. I guess we have to stop at some point and get the software out. As Bill said (a few weeks ago), we have a big list of such file formats, which we will be taking care of in future. Pradip ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 145 Wed Mar 24, 1993 R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 04:11 EST Pradip, Thanks for the reply. Will FormFeeds and Top & Bottom page margings, etc., be maintained when exporting to a disk? ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 146 Wed Mar 24, 1993 D.D.MARTIN [Swampy] at 19:04 EST Yeah! Bring on Atari Works!! I hear it doesn't import IMG files though? ARRGH!! PRADIP - > You can export an AW document as text file and print it on your desk jet from the desktop. Results will be quite the same I suppose. Hmmm kinda defeats the purpose doesn't it? I mean, print the file to disk, exit the program, print from the desktop, re-enter the program and create the next document. Not a very efficient way to run a cumputer. AW _should_ support the ST's native system font (which I have grown to really prefer) and be able to print to a Dotmatrix's internal fonts without any use of FSMGDOS. Please tell me that AW _can_ do this??!! Hugs...Swampy ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 147 Wed Mar 24, 1993 PRADIP [Pradip@Works] at 23:18 EST Swampy Let's not get carried away at this crucial juncture... (grin) AW does support IMG files but only through GEM Metafiles. You can create such Metafiles with Touchup etc and import it in AW. If you are using Multitos you can use it quiteeasily. Wayne AW exports simple Text files with absolutely no fomatting. AW uses GDOS printing only at this point and I guess we have to live with it for the time being :-) Pradip ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 148 Thu Mar 25, 1993 R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 00:32 EST Pradip, I definately would rather have AW do the printing of normal ASCII text in order to use the printer's built in font for the very reason D.D. mentioned. It would be a pain to have to go in and out of AW just to print docs in the printer's font. I hope that it will definately be on the list for the next update. An ASCII print WITH formatting (such as Top & Bottom margins, left & right margins, etc.) should be (and usually is) supported by all programs. This is a basic function that needs to be there. Either way, I still plan to get AW. From what all I have heard, it is something I can definately use. Until you get the above mentioned feature though, I guess I would have to stick with Word Writer ST or port the ASCII file over to it and then print it. A MAJOR pain that will be. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 149 Thu Mar 25, 1993 D.D.MARTIN [Swampy] at 05:44 EST PRADIP -- Not getting carried away as much as getting excited! %^) I think most long- time Atari users have tried just about every word processor on the market and they all had their shortcomings. Word Perfect's diabolical printer set ups and DOSish feel, WordWriter's slow screen and poor mail merge. STWriter's lack of screen formatting (even though it's been my favorite all along). Many of us are anxious to get our hands on AW, cause we've heard so many wonderful things about it. Bring it on!! Some folks feel that the dotmatrix printer will soon be the thing of the past, but there are some things a dotmatrix can do that a DeskJet, Laser or Postscript printer just can't. To wit..carbonless forms. Hugs...Swampy ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 150 Thu Mar 25, 1993 BOB-BRODIE [Atari Corp.] at 13:58 EST There are always some trade offs in features in software, gang. :) We're all still in search of software Nirvana! While you can't do a straight ASCII output from Atari Works, you can do a lot of other things because of the flexible output of SpeedoGDOS. For example, you can be in the word processor module, create a fax with your own personalized letter head, and print a copy for your own records to keep on file, and then change over to the Straight FAX driver and without re-booting print out a fax file to modem out to your FAX modem! Can't do that with Word Writer! :) In the rare events that I've need to print an ASCII file, I export ASCII out of Atari Works, and then use STeno, which I have set up as a desk accessory. I then load the text file into STeno, and print. Never have to leave Works that way, Wayne! Those occasions are increasingly rare, though. The output of the BitStream fonts is gorgeous, and blows away the output of the internal fonts of my DeskJet. I'm sure Pradip will add the ASCII feature to his wish list for version 2.0 of Works, though. We'll kick that idea around along with all the other wish list features that are comin' in!! Thanks for all the terrific input! regards, Bob Brodie ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 151 Thu Mar 25, 1993 SFRT-ASST [Kenne@SFRT] at 14:33 EST What are the Import/Export options of all the modules? ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 152 Thu Mar 25, 1993 J.EIDSVOOG1 [CodeHead] at 15:03 EST Swampy, Anyone who's downloaded one of our URW Font Sample packages (except the SLM versions) and any owner of CodeHead Utilities will have Spooler Manager, which runs as an accessory and can print a file. It's not the same as printing directly from the program, but it does save a return to the desktop. There are other solutions I can think of but I won't mention them in the Atari Works topic. John ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 153 Thu Mar 25, 1993 ARCHIVIST [Charlie] at 15:28 EST Well, if you really need to print an AW file it shouldn't be that hard. After all, AW works in MultiTOS, so you don't have to exit the application to print something from the desktop you just move AW's window out of the way for a moment. Also (and someone correct me if I'm wrong as I don't use it) doesn't the CodeHeads printer spooler install on the desktop as a device? So all you have to do is save your text out of AW to drive P (or whatever) and it starts printing. It would be nice if AW had a lot more features but, as someone said earlier, they had to pause developing somewhere so they could start producing the darn thing. :-) I can't wait to get my hands on it. It sounds like a very cool program now, and all these extra suggestions will make it even better in the future! Charlie/sysop jr. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 154 Thu Mar 25, 1993 R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 18:36 EST Bob, I hope you are right as I really like the output of the Deskjet's Courier font. It is real crisp and clean. I guess I will just have to wait and see and then ask for it if it doesn't print like I want. I realize the advantage of AW and I am sure it is a real nice package. Like I said, I still plan on getting it, I would just like to see ASCII output in one of the upgrades. My biggest thing is that if I had to export the ASCII file, I would have to load it into something else and go through all the left/right/top/bottom margin formatting to get it back to the way I had it in the first place. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 155 Thu Mar 25, 1993 M.EVERHART2 [MIDIMIKE] at 20:47 EST Mike K. That's the current problem with the software all right, it's 'weakened' when I can't bring some work home for the 'weekend' and take it back to the office on Monday. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 156 Thu Mar 25, 1993 D.ENGEL [Thunderbird] at 22:55 EST Pradip: Will AW support SEGA Genesis, or Nintendo SNES cartridges directly, or will we need an adapter to maintain compatability? ;-) _____________________ \hunderbird ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 157 Thu Mar 25, 1993 SAM-RAPP [<>] at 23:57 EST Swampy.... Hopefully with MTOS you won't have to exit AW to print, just go to the desktop and print your file and hop back to AW! No need to exit and re-reun! ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 158 Fri Mar 26, 1993 SFRT-ASST [Kenne@SFRT] at 00:02 EST Or Print the file to the Clipboard. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 159 Fri Mar 26, 1993 J.EIDSVOOG1 [CodeHead] at 05:59 EST Will there be a demo version of Atari Works, so that everyone can try it before they buy it? Charlie, You can install a printer icon on the desktop in TOS 2.0 and later. If our print spooler is installed, it'll be used. But our print spooler itself is not installed on the desktop, it's built into our RAM disk. John ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 160 Fri Mar 26, 1993 E.WISNIEWSK1 [Jeff - ST'er] at 07:20 EST >Some folks feel that the dotmatrix printer will soon be the thing of the past, >but there are some things a dotmatrix can do that a DeskJet, Laser or >Postscript printer just can't. To wit..carbonless forms. Also don't forget that they also make alot of noise. Something the newer printers don't do. And to think that I will miss it when I upgrade my printer. :-) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ ^^^^ JSW ^^^^ ^^^^ ST'er ^^^^ ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Thursday, March 25, 1993 - 9:18:08 am ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 161 Fri Mar 26, 1993 ARCHIVIST [Charlie] at 16:23 EST Oh, that must have been what I was thinking of; thanks John. Still, since the RAM disk installs as a drive device it would be easy to save a text file out of AW or any word processor to that drive without exiting the program. A nice, simple solution from the Codeheads once again. :-) Charlie/sysop jr. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 162 Fri Mar 26, 1993 D.D.MARTIN [Swampy] at 22:10 EST JOHN - I'm sure I could do the same thing with MaxiFile's print feature. But like you say, it's not the same as printing from the printing program. Would this work around print all the font attributes like Bold, Itlaics etc? I doubt it, but just wondered. CHARLIE & SAM -- > AW works with MultiTOS. Guess that's fine if you have MultiTOS or want MultiTOS. I'm taking a wait and see attitude on that one. JEFF ST'ER -- You crack me up! Hugs...Swampy ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 163 Fri Mar 26, 1993 SAM-RAPP [<>] at 23:36 EST Here is a project for some intrepid programmer.... So you want to print out straight ASCII from AW? How about this. Someone write a program the watchs for output to a certain drive, such as P:, and then redirects the output to the printer. So if you do an ASCII export from AW to that drive, it really goes to the printer port! Would this be possible? --------------> Sam ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 164 Sat Mar 27, 1993 R.WATSON15 [Wayne Watson] at 01:40 EST Sam, That still doesn't help the formatting as far as BOLD, Top & bottom margins, etc. What about those things? ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 165 Sat Mar 27, 1993 A.B.SMITH [Barry] at 06:11 EST Bob & Company- I've been using Wordwriter ST for years now as my word processor and therefore have a large body of correspondence on my hard drive which I refer to constantly in succeeding communication. I have stayed away from other fine word processors such as ST Writer Elite so that I wouldn't have to wonder which one I wrote such and such letter in should I need to look it up.. My hundreds of file letters have stayed reasonably well organized this way. I like the idea of your Atari Works package but will I be able to call up WWST II letters directly into its word processor? I hate to screw up my file system. I never could get the mail merge to work between Data Manager St and Word Writer. I still use Data Manager for my data base operations but would be willing to switch if the mail merge in your system works as well as you say. Swift Calc had some good points but was deathly slow when compared with LDW. I really did like its Sideways Printing feature which was much better than LDW's. How does the AT WKS spread sheet compare with these two? I believe I'll buy your program when it becomes available but would like this information in the mean time. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 166 Sat Mar 27, 1993 J.ROY18 [Jonathan] at 18:56 EST Tom, If noone else mentioned it, I beleive COMPO will handle VRAM in the US. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 167 Sun Mar 28, 1993 J.RICHTER [J.RICHTER] at 03:16 EST Hey, AtariWorks is NOT file compatable with Excel? .. is this more Dis-information? ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 168 Sun Mar 28, 1993 D.D.MARTIN [Swampy] at 06:01 EST J.RICHTER -- My understanding was that AW _IS_ compatable with Excel but not Lotus. Hugs...Swampy ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 169 Sun Mar 28, 1993 J.PATTERSON3 [Ted] at 12:36 EST I thought AW was Command compatible with Excel, but not file compatible. _____ /ed ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 170 Sun Mar 28, 1993 AEO.5 [Ed Krimen] at 14:16 EST I thought AW was command-compatible, but not file-compatible. Meaning, it uses the same commands as Excel, but its files are not exchangeable. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 171 Sun Mar 28, 1993 S.BLACKBURN [STEVE] at 15:33 EST Bob, If for some un-forseen reason the Falcon gets delayed, will you let us have AtariWorks and/or Multi-tos? That would probably keep most of us happy till you get the bird to fly:-) You mentioned that AW would have the ability to work with Straight Fax. Could you expand on that and let us know how that works? Thanks, Steve Blackburn ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 172 Sun Mar 28, 1993 PRADIP [Pradip@Works] at 21:26 EST Steve AtariWorks allows you to select a printer from a list of 10 drivers you install on id's 21 through 30. For example you install your regular printer driver on id 21 and StraightFax driver on id 22. Now you can simply select the id you want and do a print. If you are running MultiTos you can switch to StraightFax and send the document. If you are running speedo then AtariWorks shows you the id along with the driver name, so it's even more clear where your printed output is headed to. Pradip ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 173 Mon Mar 29, 1993 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 06:55 EST Pradip, Does AW work OK with Warp 9? Al ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 174 Mon Mar 29, 1993 PRADIP [Pradip@Works] at 14:19 EST Al Greg LaBrec is using AW on Warp 9. And so far there seems to be no problem at all. The biggest strength of AW is that it does not make assumptions about the system. So it should be friendly with any such software who are, so to say, GEM Friendly. Pradip ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 175 Mon Mar 29, 1993 D.D.MARTIN [Swampy] at 20:17 EST oh... _command_ compatible! So sorry. I guess that is good if you use Excel, but if you don't, you have a new program to learn. . Hugs...Swampy ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 176 Mon Mar 29, 1993 R.MORROW10 [Bob M.] at 21:09 EST Pradip-- Just think-if you took out the '@' in your nickname here, it would be: [Pradip Works] And works hard, I'd guess! :-) ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 177 Mon Mar 29, 1993 SFRT-ASST [Kenne@SFRT] at 22:02 EST Will the program specs be posted? ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 178 Tue Mar 30, 1993 J.RICHTER [J.RICHTER] at 00:25 EST PLEASE... Without file compatibility with either Lotus (wk1) or Excel the spreadsheet has limited capabilities interacting with ANYTHING you do at work.... MAJOR DEAL.. to most of us... I mean if you at least have wk1 compatibility you can do most exchanges easily!! Why did Atari say Excel compatibility? ... for the same reason the Falcon030 has a TRUE 32 bit data bus! //WAKE UP// ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 179 Tue Mar 30, 1993 S.NOAH [Stu] at 02:25 EST Pradip, Allowing the user to select the output device by the driver name is a great improvement over earlier products that use GDOS output; does the selection show the file name of the driver or the actual device name ? One last thing, and I know that this is not presently available, but it would be great if individual GDOS devices could be assigned their own default output ports (ie. the deskjet at device 21 always sends its output to lpt1, while the epson at device 23 always sends its output to com2:). Maybe someday... Thank you for adding the device names, that has been something I've been looking for for a long time. Stu ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 180 Tue Mar 30, 1993 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 07:02 EST Thanks! I'm looking forward to AW. Al ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 182 Tue Mar 30, 1993 PRADIP [Pradip@Works] at 14:51 EST Sorry Folks... In my last message(29 March) I said that AW works Fine with Warp 9. This is not TRUE. I mis-understood Greg. He was definitely using Warp 9 with AW, but he did face some problems. I am really sorry about the mis-information. And I will try to find out more about AW and Warp 9 relationship and let you all know about it Thanks Pradip ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 183 Wed Mar 31, 1993 A.FASOLDT [Al Fasoldt] at 06:50 EST Pradip, Thanks for the clarification. Al ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 184 Wed Mar 31, 1993 PRADIP [Pradip@Works] at 14:16 EST S.NOAH AW gives you the actual device names, not the driver names. If you go to DRIVER.ACC and change the drivers AW will give you the new list of drivers assigned. Pradip ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 185 Wed Mar 31, 1993 B.GOCKLEY [Brian G.] at 22:23 EST Hi Pradip, What provisions are there for networking Works? Can you lock a file? Is there an alert when the second user opens the file? Could Works allow two users to work on a file simultaneously, showing both person's changes? Is it hard or easy to do an Excel -> Works converter? Brian G. @ ST Informer Magazine ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 186 Wed Mar 31, 1993 SAM-RAPP [<>] at 22:46 EST J. Richter ----> Atari has always said excell command compatible. besides, if it was perfect, why would we need third party developers? ------------> Sam ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 187 Thu Apr 01, 1993 BOB-BRODIE [Atari Corp.] at 01:48 EST Ken, We are going to be doing a Works RTC in a few weeks, why not plan on stopping by? It will be a great opportunity to meet with Pradip in real time to ask him all of the questions that you have about Works. I'll be sure to get a list of specs to post (and have in the opening remarks!) by the time of the CO. DD- Well, if you're going to be using Works, you will have a new program to learn ANYWAY, right? Right! :-) I don't think it will be a real big deal. The spreadsheet in Works isn't intended to be a replacement for LDW Power, but I'm told it's much nicer than Swift Calc. (I have to rely on what I'm told. Bob doesn't do spreadsheets) The word processor and mail merge capabilities of the program alone make it VERY, VERY nice to use. Someone else asked about import from Word Writer. At this time, no Atari Works doesn't do a direct import of Word Writer files. But we've asked that to be high on the list of improvements that a future version of the program will have. I've also heard that one of our writers from AEO is looking at doing a freeware Word Writer to Works convertor. Not exactly what I'd like to see (especially because I don't use Word Writer!) but better than not having access to those files at all. Steve Blackburn, When I write a document in Atari Works, I can print to any device I choose to, via the Drivers.ACC. I simply use the STraight FAX device driver to create a FAX file, which works wonderfully. STraight FAX along with Speedo GDOS gives wonderful looking faxes. Al, I'm not sure if the problem is with Works, or Speedo GDOS. We'll get another look at it in the next few days. Jerry, Be nice. :) The spreadsheet in Works is not intended to be a replacement for Lotus 1-2-3 or Excel. It is Excel command compatible, LDW Power is an excellent replacement for Lotus. regards, Bob Brodie ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 189 Thu Apr 01, 1993 PRADIP [Pradip@Works] at 14:27 EST Brian AW does not havedirect network support. Pradip ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 190 Thu Apr 01, 1993 EXPLORER.1 [] Ron [] at 23:32 EST I you have used Works on the PC, you will have no trouble using Atari Works. I can't say it is 100% compatible, but all the common spreadsheet functions I have worked with are the same. Of course the user interface on Atari Works is an order of magnitude easier to use than the MSDOS version. Ron @ Atari Explorer Magazine ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 191 Sat Apr 03, 1993 ST.LOU [Lou Rocha] at 10:58 EST Dateline Atari! with Bob Brodie and Pradip Fatehpuria Bob Brodie and special guest Pradip Fatehpuria will hold a Real Time Conference at 10:00 p.m. on Monday, April 12 to discuss the integrated application Atari Works. AW will soon be released with the Falcon but will also run on all Atari computers. Join us and you may win a free subscription to Atari Explorer. A transcript of the RTC will be available shortly afterwards. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 192 Sun Apr 04, 1993 S.BLACKBURN [STEVE] at 03:09 EDT >PRADIP [Pradip@Works] at 21:26 EST >AtariWorks allows you to select a printer from a list of 10 drivers you >install on id's 21 through 30. For example you install your regular printer >driver on id 21 and StraightFax driver on id 22. Now you can simply select >the id you want and do a print. If you are running MultiTos you can switch to >StraightFax and send the document. > >If you are running speedo then AtariWorks shows you the id along with the >driver name, so it's even more clear where your printed output is headed to. This program is really sounding impressive. It seems to be something that will make the Falcon (and the rest of us) very productive. I hope that you can get it to us ASAP, and work on improvements as time goes on. Changing things at the last moment can drag on the process forever. I imagine that it doesn't do everything that everyone wants but the whole of the program will be a big benifet to a lot of us who don't need it to be the end all of programs. Most people can't use all of the sophisticated features that most programs have to offer as it is. But a simple/stable integrated program like this will be what most of us need. Thanks...(and don't stop) Steve ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 193 Sun Apr 04, 1993 F-D-PERCIVAL [Fred P.] at 09:42 EDT Is it time to revise this topic header for the more credulous RT members? ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 194 Sun Apr 04, 1993 BRIAN.H [ST~SysOp] at 11:49 EDT Sure Fred, the header has been changed to indicate no specified date. *******Brian********* Written on Sunday 04 April 1993 at 11:01 a.m. AST ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 196 Thu Apr 15, 1993 M.ERSOFF at 19:47 EDT 90 days 'til Atari Works ?!?!? UGH! ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 197 Fri Apr 16, 1993 L.TRAPANI [Lou][Machine] at 01:36 EDT Sooner if you get a Falcon030 4/65 ! ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 198 Sat Apr 17, 1993 G.NORTON [Falcon Systm] at 12:42 EDT Pradip, I hope that Atari has network support on it's list for upgrades. Very few packages on the Atari properly support networks. Right now we use the Universal Network on two stations and would LOVE to get Atari Works up and running on that. Maybe you could get Rod at A&D to help you guys out...would probably be helping himself out at the same time! Graham @ Falcon Systems ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 199 Sat Apr 17, 1993 B.GOCKLEY [Brian G.] at 14:37 EDT Graham, I can tell you that we have the same desire at A&D. Works is so far as well behaved as any app across the network, and has no problems with the added paths, or multiple users. Of course, it does not do file and record locking yet, and there is no provision for multiple users on a document. I would love to see this all properly implemented as well, and appreciate your supporting our products in this way. Brian G. @ ST Informer Magazine ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 200 Sat Apr 17, 1993 J.DERNAR at 22:55 EDT I recall seing somewhere that Works requires 4mb of ram. If so then most existing owners will not be able to use it. What gives? ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 201 Sun Apr 18, 1993 T.MCCOMB [=Tom=] at 04:15 EDT Where do these rumors start?! -Tom McComb ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 202 Sun Apr 18, 1993 C.OINES1 [Chazz] at 08:22 EDT I recall seeing that Works required you to stand on your head while it was booting, or it wouldn't start. Won't this make it harder to use it? ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 203 Sun Apr 18, 1993 B.GOCKLEY [Brian G.] at 09:51 EDT Actually, I have heard that several times. Just consider what the prg program is doing! Brian G. @ ST Informer Magazine ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 204 Sun Apr 18, 1993 B.STOREY [Billy B.] at 10:03 EDT J.: One has two choices: 1 - Works requires 4 mb RAM. In which case the only computers that can use it are the > 4mb computers, i.e. FALCON. 2 - The rumor you heard is false. We have all seen several people stating that works will work on all Atari's. You decide. ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 205 Sun Apr 18, 1993 ST.LOU [Lou Rocha] at 11:35 EDT Perhaps people are thinking about Works in terms of the SpeedoGDOS fonts. Obviously one can only load as many fonts as your RAM allows. Fortunately, fonts / point sizes can be selected 'on the fly' while you are already within AW. No more messing with ASSIGN.SYS and then rebooting over and over and over..... ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 206 Sun Apr 18, 1993 PRADIP [Pradip@Works] at 20:24 EDT AtariWorks very well on a 1MB machine. It definitely depends upon how many auto programs and accessories you are running at the same time. It also depends upon whether you are running SpeedoGDOS and how much cache you are using for the fonts. Just the otherday I was running AW with SpeedoGDOS from a 1MB machine and two floppy drives. I was running SpeedoGDOS from drive "A:" and AtariWorks from drive "B:". The cache was set for about 25K and two fonts were installed. It was working quite well. The point I am emphasize is that AW works on all Atari platforms with a minimum of 1 Mb of memory. But definitely the performance will depend upon how you have set up your system. But at the same time we recommend a 4Mb machine with a hard disk if you want to use SpeedoGDOS with decent size cache and a good number of fonts. Also you would be able to use your favourite accessories at the same time. I think, this clears all your questions about the system requirement for AtariWorks. One more thing I would like to mention here is that AtariWorks runs even when GDOS is not installed. In this case you can use only "System Font". In this case Printing will not be available, because AW1.0 uses GDOS for printing. Pradip ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 207 Sun Apr 18, 1993 PRADIP [Pradip@Works] at 20:28 EDT Graham and Brian I really appreciate different suggestion you guys make from time to time. I will put Network support on my list of features for future upgrades. Thanks Pradip ------------ Category 14, Topic 20 Message 208 Sun Apr 18, 1993 C.COOK7 [Cliff] at 21:23 EDT Will someone at Atari please tell us - What is the MINIMUM useable amount of RAM on an ST/Mega? I also saw the 4 megs comment and I believe it was from a reputable source. Maybe even Atari itself. Cliff ------------