Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Path: utzoo!mnetor!seismo!brl-adm!adm!binder%fizbin.DEC@decwrl.dec.com From: binder%fizbin.DEC@decwrl.dec.com (Sold - but we have others) Newsgroups: comp.os.cpm Subject: Re: Printer filter Message-ID: <2053@brl-adm.ARPA> Date: Mon, 29-Dec-86 15:16:58 EST Article-I.D.: brl-adm.2053 Posted: Mon Dec 29 15:16:58 1986 Date-Received: Mon, 29-Dec-86 21:51:40 EST Sender: news@brl-adm.ARPA Lines: 43 halko@nadc.ARPA writes: > you should be able to turn off the justify option . This in response to my message to Shawn Miner in re: his query for a filter to handle overstriking sequences via backspacing. True, you should be able to turn off the justify option. With WordStar, and with most other good WPs, you can. But turning off justification is not in itself sufficient. Consider the following nonsensical bit of French philosophy: Ca, c'est la boite noire de noel bien aimee qui doit rougir qu'on la connaitrait. (Rough translation, "That's the well-loved black Christmas box that must blush so that it may be known." Pardon the rust; I've had little opportunity to speak French in the last 20 years.) This example, of course, lacks six diacritical marks that should be there. To print it with marks, by backspacing, requires twelve "extra" characters in the text - with justification turned off, you'll get one awfully short line in the middle of your text, or maybe two slightly short ones. For drafts, and for many other uses, that's okay. But it's not acceptable if you're trying to produce professional printed copy. For that, you need justification. A good WP understands all this. WordStar counts aand one following character as no characters and thereby does not screw up the character count. Justified or not, the printed text will have lines as full as possible. I surmise that other WPs are as intelligent. Writing a filter to handle all the justification, character-counting, bolding, underscoring, line-overstriking, discretionary hyphenation, etc., that a truly good WP does, seems to me a trifle in the line of far too much work for far too little return, without even considering the hassle of using such a filter. Such a filter defeats the purpose of a WP - why not just use ED and then run the result through your filter?? No, thank you, not me. Cheers, Dick Binder (The Stainless Steel Rat) DEC Enet: ASD::BINDER UUCP: { decvax, allegra, ucbvax... }!decwrl!asd.dec.com!binder ARPA: binder%asd.DEC@decwrl.ARPA