Subject: Re: Export Word -> save as RTF .doc?
From: Ron Ross (ronross@colba.net)
Date: Tue May 01 2001 - 18:02:43 CDT
Sorry for coming back to the thread so late. In any case, there's not
much I can add, as your competencies go well beyond anything I can
contribute. Thanks for the info on the Mac file types, it might come in
handy for debugging document import problems.
All the best,
Ron
Hubert Figuiere <hfiguiere@teaser.fr> writes:
> On lundi, avril 30, 2001, at 11:07 , Ron Ross wrote:
> > I agree. Besides, working as a translator, having to constantly deal
> > with file format issues, and generally producing RTF files from an
> > SGML-DSSSL process, I once experimented with simply renaming files as
> > Jesper suggested -- to circumvent tedious explanations about what RTF
> > was (!) and even of the tremendously advanced technique of opening files
> > through the File=>Open dialog and specifying file types to look for
> > rather than by double-clicking the file icon --, and it sometimes didn't
> > work. I can't recall exactly what the problem was, but I think the
> > recipient was working on the MAC platform - probably a missing resource
> > fork issue.
>
> No. This is NOT a resource fork issue. Because resource fork have
> nothing to do with the file typing business. On Macintosh, extension to
> filename are just decorative and has no effect but potentially confusing
> the user. File typing is done thru a "File Type" metadata attribute that
> is a 4 byte attribute.
> RTF files are of type 'TEXT' or 'RTF ' (the later seems to be a
> Microsoft invention just to confuse every other program). .doc files are
> 'WDBN', 'W6BN' or 'W8BN' depending whether they are Word 4/5 for Mac,
> Word 6 or Word 98 (aka 8.0). So the extension trick will NOT work but
> the file type change will do.
>
> This will require some API changes for the import/export filters to
> handle this file type.
>
> BTW when files are carried by MS-DOS diskettes or via e-mail, the MacOS
> use their extension to guess the file type to apply to them.
>
> > Better do it honestly and either produce a valid Word document or
> > deliver RTF and explain this format and its merits to the many "church
> > secretaries" out there. In my experience, the MAC platform has been
> > especially successful at maintaining user-ignorance at an all-time high.
> > As the epitome of the "It Just Works" platform, the MAC OS may require
> > more extensive usability testing in the forthcoming Mac port of AW.
>
> Don't worry, I'll take care of this. I use the Mac since 1988... so I'm
> quite used on how it works.
>
>
> Hub
>
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