[comp.sys.cbm] Paint Drivers

bwildasi@silver.bacs.indiana.edu (Ben Wildasin) (10/24/89)

In article 3715 scott@max.u.washington.edu writes:

>Is there a program for the C64 that can convert a single page
>of geoWrite file to a geoPaint file? 
>I am in need of this program because I would like to transfer
>some of the documents written in geoWrite on the C64 to the
>Macintosh and printout the document on the laser-printer that
>is hooked to the Mac. Since there is no "geoWrite to macWrite"
>converter, the only way I can go about in getting the document

There are two solutions to this:

1. To transmit just the text, use a text conversion program such as
   Q&D Edit, Wrong Is Write, etc. to convert the document to ASCII
   (i.e. strip all the fonts, etc.), upload that to your VAX account
   or whatever, and then download that to the Mac.
2. There is a utility called Paint Drivers that creates special "printer
   drivers" that allow you to "print" the geoWrite file into geoPaint pages.
   This utility creates two drivers: Paint PAGES, which creates a geoPaint
   page for each geoWrite page, and Paint OVERLAY, which overlays
   everything onto a single page. With these two combined, you can
   create some nice special effects without investing in geoPublish.

These programs are all readily available. Q&D Edit appears on  RUN
Magazine's GEOS Power Pack II disk. Most GEOS user's groups and BBS's
will have a copy of Wrong Is Write lying around somewhere. A special
version is also available on one of geoWorld Magazine's disks.
Paint Drivers, by Berkeley Softworks, is *not* PD. It's available
on the Writer's Workshop, geoWrite Workshop, geoWrite Workshop 128,
GEOS 2.0, and GEOS 128 2.0 disks. Since Writer's Workshop has ceased
production in favor of geoWrite Workshop, it's available very cheaply
around the country. By the way, it includes a souped-up (although
now semi-obsolete) geoWrite with mail merge, text xenocopy, improved
Desk Top and printer drivers, etc. in addition to Paint Drivers.
If you want the latest version of everything, pick up GEOS 2.0. It's
available for $29.95 now to registered 1.x owners. This includes
upgrades of everything that came with GEOS 1.x, 10 fonts, even S/H.

One word of caution about sending it via graphics: First off, it is
MUCH slower than text for transmitting over the modem (at 1200 baud,
text takes about 15 sec. per page; graphics 4 min. per page). In the
extra 3:45, you could have downloaded it to your Mac and changed
all the fonts and everything and maybe even started printing.
Finally, realize that when you go the Paint Driving process, it
goes from being object-oriented to being bitmapped. Thus, you lose
all the resolution of the laser printer -- it prints out at 90 DPI
instead of 300 DPI! 

Have Phun! 




*****************************************************************************
Ben Wildasin * Mail: bwildasi@silver.bacs.indiana.edu * Phone: (812) 332-0245 
*****************************************************************************
"Since there was once water on Mars, probably there is enough oxygen there to
support human life." --Dan Quayle
*****************************************************************************