[softwarelist] Re: OvPro and RTF
- From: Dave Symes <dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: davidpilling@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 11 Jan 2011 18:45:12 +0000 (GMT)
In article <7WPJQZEnCJLNFwA5@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
David Pilling <flist@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Hi,
> In message <5193fbae87dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>, Dave Symes
> <dave@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> writes
> >Anyway this is really a side issue to the simple fact that OvPro for RO
> >has an iffy RTF output and OvPro for Windows doesn't have one at all...
> A big mistake we made was not supporting MS Word at the start, the
> people behind Techwriter got a grant from Acorn to do so.
> My feelings don't matter, but I don't like RTF, I did wonder if there
> was anything else.
RTF is a kind of minimalist approach, it may not be very elegant, but it's
a form that enables the transport of stuff without being tied to MS-Word.
Apart from PDF there isn't anything else as universal. (not that I've
found).
> Maybe the discussion shows the problem, OO represents a huge effort, far
> more than I could manage, it's a project where they've tried to do
> nothing other than be compatible with Word, and yet you're complaining
> about it. The fact you have something to complain about represents a
> success for MS.
On a personal note, I wish the conversation had stayed away from OO as it
has very little to do with the problem in hand.
She uses Word and has to, simple as that.
> Import/export from OP are outside the main program. Someone else could
> write filters.
Not within my capabilities, I'm very skilled at what I do, but writing
code ain't one of them.
> Recently the horrifying thought that it is 14 years since OP was
> "finished" (Spring 1997) keeps coming to me. It's even worse because
> although I've not tried at all for the last four years, before that I
> did put a substantial amount of effort in.
And goodness me David we do all appreciate the work you put in and
continue to do with fix updates.
Ov Pro is an exceptional piece of work which I (rather than Her) use daily
in RO to work parts of my business, and on the Win version when I have to
be over there.
> My capacity to do work is limited so that at the end of the day, the
> typical Windows user will appear with a long list of "*must have*"
> features and reject the program.
> Import/export filters are a blatant shortcoming, if I go away for a year
> and write some, all I'll get is a list of problems with them (because
> OP's features are different to Word) and the information that something
> else is vital.
That I can understand.
A while back I showed Windows OvPro to a Windows only friend, he was
impressed at how easy it was to use, but then the inevitable came up, can
it Load and Save Word files.
Then his enthusiasm vanished...
> I see my fate as what happens to the "little guy" when an industry
> develops. In 1987, you could be Jim Button and make your fortune from a
> simple PC word processor (or Charles Moir in 1981).
Shame really, because more often than not, it's the little guy who turns
up with some really useful innovations, rather than the usual bloat
additions in the Win universe with ever version update of a MS product.
Good wishes for 2011 Mr P. You are still a hero in my eyes.
Dave
--
Dave Triffid
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