mberns@ut-ngp.UUCP (02/17/87)
*
Does anyone know if it is possible to transfer text from an IBM
Displaywrite dedicated wordprocessor to a PC (ATT 6300)? We have many
documents on the 8" Displaywrite disks, but are phasing out use of
that system in favor of WordPerfect on 6300s.
We've been told that the text data can be transferred from the 8"
floppies to the 5.25" format, but at an absurdly high price (~$50. per
disk????). The use of an optical text scanner is less-than-desirable;
it is far from accurate, and would also require prior printing of
*all* the documents.
Isn't there some sort of hardware/cabling type of solution? The kind
of thing we're thinking of is, say, taking the output of the
Displaywriter - and instead of having it feed into the 5218 printer,
have it go into some input port on the PC and saved as a file.
None of us are computer wizards, just end-users; the solution would have
to be do-able without extensive ad hoc programming or whatever.
If it helps, the Displaywrite system is running the Textpack 4
version. We also have several "real" (non-clone) XTs and ATs available,
if it makes a difference.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated! E-mail direct would be
fine....
--
Mark Bernstein, Univ. of Texas at Austin, Speech Communication, Austin 78712
ARPA: mberns@ngp.utexas.edu UUCP: {ihnp4, allegra, gatech}!ut-ngp!mberns
{seismo, harvard}!ut-sally!ut-ngp!mbernsmvolo@ecsvax.UUCP (02/19/87)
In article <4712@ut-ngp.UUCP>, mberns@ut-ngp.UUCP (Mark E. Bernstein) writes: > * > Does anyone know if it is possible to transfer text from an IBM > Displaywrite dedicated wordprocessor to a PC (ATT 6300)? We have many > documents on the 8" Displaywrite disks, but are phasing out use of > that system in favor of WordPerfect on 6300s. > > Mark Bernstein, Univ. of Texas at Austin, Speech Communication, Austin 78712 Have you tried the WordPerfect Users Group in Baltimore. Their BBS number is 301 889 7895. You are not required to be a member to sign on and leave queries and read messages. I am sure they have received similar queries in the past. Hope this helps. Good luck. --Mike Volow Durham VA Medical Center, Durham, NC 27712 mvolo@ecsvax.UUCP
madd@bucsb.bu.edu.UUCP (02/21/87)
In article <4712@ut-ngp.UUCP>, mberns@ut-ngp.UUCP (Mark E. Bernstein) writes: > * > Does anyone know if it is possible to transfer text from an IBM > Displaywrite dedicated wordprocessor to a PC (ATT 6300)? We have many > documents on the 8" Displaywrite disks, but are phasing out use of > that system in favor of WordPerfect on 6300s. > > Mark Bernstein, Univ. of Texas at Austin, Speech Communication, Austin 78712 A couple of notes on Displaywrite: * Yes, you can transfer the data from the 8" diskettes. It took us awhile to figure out how to do it, but finally bought an 8" drive and controller (Flagstaff Engineering makes the only one we could find, BTW). * The Displaywrite files are in EBCDIC. I'm not sure what format, but there are definitely some codes that will not map directly into ASCII. You'll have to play with the formatting commands to put 'em into Wordperfect format. That really shouldn't be too much of a hassle. * IBM's Displaywrite for the PC (which runs on the 6300, too) will work with the displaywrite files if you transfer them. However, I do not recommend using the PC's Displaywrite. I am always wary of programs that refuse to store their data in ASCII, and the Displaywrite wordprocessor is difficult to use (compared to other wordprocessors such as Wordperfect, PC-Write, Wordstar, etc). Good luck with your conversion. If you need specifics on 8" drives for PC's, email me and I'll get the info. With a little work I could also write you a program to convert the displaywrite files to ASCII, too. This brings up an interesting point: Would people email me file descriptions of their favorite wordprocessors? I'd like to make a general conversion utility between many wordprocessors, since I need one to convert between the several wordprocessors we use. Basically I need to know what the headers/tailers (if any) contain, and what embedded codes do what function. Thanx. %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%% - Jim Frost * The Madd Hacker - UUCP: ..!harvard!bu-cs!bucsb!madd | ARPANET: madd@bucsb.bu.edu CSNET: madd%bucsb@bu-cs | BITNET: cscc71c@bostonu -------------------------------+---+------------------------------------ "Oh beer, oh beer." -- Me | [=(BEER) <- Bud the Beer (cheers!)