zag@tank.uchicago.edu (Zack Gardner) (08/08/89)
Help! A very mysterious thing is happening to my Expressionist DA. Every time I try to launch it, a dialog box pops up with the message "This picture expression looks like garbage data! Sorry, I can't understand it. (-2007)", and then I'm landed back in the finder. This problem cropped up unexpectedly after months of trouble-free use. I'm running on an SE/30 with 4MB. Any ideas?? --Zack
mjkobb@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU (Michael J Kobb) (08/09/89)
In article <4896@tank.uchicago.edu> zag@tank.uchicago.edu (Zack Gardner) writes: >Help! A very mysterious thing is happening to my Expressionist DA. >Every time I try to launch it, a dialog box pops up with the message >"This picture expression looks like garbage data! Sorry, I can't >understand it. (-2007)", and then I'm landed back in the finder. Have you tried killing the file named "Expressionist Scratchpad" in the System Folder? It may be that this got mangled somehow and that when Expressionist starts (when it looks for a saved scratchpad) it finds this mangled file and dies. Just a suggestion; I don't know if this will work or not... You could always reinstall... --Mike Standard disclaimers...
changwoo@eleazar.dartmouth.edu (Chang P. Woo) (08/09/89)
In article <456@mit-amt.MEDIA.MIT.EDU> mjkobb@media-lab.media.mit.edu (Michael J Kobb) writes: >In article <4896@tank.uchicago.edu> zag@tank.uchicago.edu (Zack Gardner) writes: >>Help! A very mysterious thing is happening to my Expressionist DA. >>Every time I try to launch it, a dialog box pops up with the message >>"This picture expression looks like garbage data! Sorry, I can't >>understand it. (-2007)", and then I'm landed back in the finder. > >Have you tried killing the file named "Expressionist Scratchpad" in the System >Folder? It may be that this got mangled somehow and that when Expressionist starts >(when it looks for a saved scratchpad) it finds this mangled file and dies. >Just a suggestion; I don't know if this will work or not... You could always >reinstall... Or you can try Formulator by ICOM. Unlike Expressionist which evolved from DA, Formulator is meant to be used under multifinder. No more strange interface that plagued Expressionist. (I am not blaming Expressionist really--it did a decent job for the time being) The features over Expressionist are: 1. ability to align equations (say with the equal sign) 2. ability to process several equations at a time 3. ability to put equation numbers 4. manual kerning 5. automatic italicizing of characters (like good math equations should) 6. stationery files 7. better font management (Expressionist had some problems with high font IDs) 8. heavier usage of keyboard (while mouse can be used, too) The way I inputed equations were more natural than Expressionist would give. 9. a good manual with tips to generate non-standard items The features missing from Formulator are: 1. ability to transfer equations two-way for further editing 2. cannot read TeX files (it can write TeX files, though) 3. good on-line help Overall, I am very satisfied with Formulator. Disclaimer: I am a very satisfied customer of ICOM. Nevertheless, I don't own any of their stocks and I don't know anyone who works there. ---- Chang P. Woo Chang.P.Woo@dartmouth.EDU (preferred) changwoo@eleazar.dartmouth.EDU HB 2932, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755
jdm@ut-emx.UUCP (Jim Meiss) (08/13/89)
In article <14926@dartvax.Dartmouth.EDU> Chang.P.Woo@dartmouth.edu (Chang P. Woo) writes: >Or you can try Formulator by ICOM. Unlike Expressionist which evolved >The features over Expressionist are: >1. ability to align equations (say with the equal sign) ..... Expressionist 2.03 does this..... >The features missing from Formulator are: >1. ability to transfer equations two-way for further editing How can you even think of using Formulator if you can't change your equations after putting them in your document! >Overall, I am very satisfied with Formulator. >Chang P. Woo Chang.P.Woo@dartmouth.EDU (preferred) Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with Expressionist! Jim Meiss jdm@euclid.Colorado.edu (after Aug 15)
lindahl@violet.berkeley.edu (Ken Lindahl 642-0866) (08/15/89)
In article <4896@tank.uchicago.edu> zag@tank.uchicago.edu (Zack Gardner) writes: >Help! A very mysterious thing is happening to my Expressionist DA. >Every time I try to launch it, a dialog box pops up with the message >"This picture expression looks like garbage data! Sorry, I can't >understand it. (-2007)", and then I'm landed back in the finder. >This problem cropped up unexpectedly after months of trouble-free >use. I'm running on an SE/30 with 4MB. > >Any ideas?? > >--Zack Are you by any chance using Microsoft Word 4.0? If so, check out the following, which is exerpted from "The Math Axis." "The Math Axis" is a newletter of Prescience, apparently the new name of Allan Bonadio Associates, publisher of Expressionist. For those of you who don't know, but are interested, Expressionist is an application and DA for building mathematical expressions (formulas) that can be pasted into word processing documents. The information that is pasted is picture data: the resulting expression is treated as a graphic by the word processing application. <START OF EXCERPT> "Microsoft Word 4.0 Here We Go Again "... Often when you copy a picture out of a Word 4.0 document and paste it back into Expressionist or other graphics program, it may give you an error message or tell you the picture information is garbled and unuseable. It may freeze, bomb, or do some similarly nasty thing. "The problem arises because Word 4.0 destroys the picture information when you paste a pictaure in. Consequently, your graphics program can no longer recognize the pictures and 'chokes' when you paste them back in. "If, when you open Expressionist, you get an error message saying the picture information is garbage, it is because the 'expression scratchpad' file got corrupted. To remedy this problem, do this: ... throw the 'expression scratchpad' file in the Trash can or just move it out of the System Folder. "We have determined that the problem is caused by -- you guessed it -- a bug in Microsoft Word 4.0. Prescience is working with Microsoft to resolve the problem. At this point, some people at Microsoft acknowledge that it is their problem, yet others are unwilling to take responsibility. It could take quite a while to come up with a fix in Word 4.01 unless lots of people contact Microsoft and complain about it. ... "In the meantime you have two ways to work around the bug ... 1. You can paste your equations into the Scrapbook before you paste them into Word. If you want to edit an equation that you have pasted into Word, copy it out of the Scrapbook. 2. You can use a different word processor." <END OF EXCERPT> =========================================================================== Ken Lindahl "Got to kick at the darkness Advanced Technology Planning 'til it bleeds daylight." University of California at Berkeley -- Bruce Cockburn lindahl@violet.berkeley.edu ===========================================================================