[comp.windows.ms.programmer] RTF Word Processors

bert@helix.nih.gov (Bert Tyler) (01/02/91)

Awhile back, someone posted a message asking about word processors that
use Microsoft's "Rich Text Format", and I replied that I was able to
successfully generate "Help" files for our freeware WINFRACT program
using an ASCII text editor.
 
Well, now I'm doomed.  Mark Peterson has been inundating me with 
improvements to Winfract and, after I started kidding him about his lack
of documentation, inundating me with RTF files as well.  The only problem
is that he generates *his* RTF files using a real word processor (WFW).
Not only do I have a hard time editing them - his stuff looks a lot *better*
than my stuff!  This is intolerable!
 
Uhh, I am now looking for the cheapest legal way to purchase a word
processor that handles RTF files.  Does anyone remember what the result
of the earlier posts asking about this were?  Remember that we are
using this software to develop documentation for a program that we
give away for free, so price is a prime consideration.

Bert Tyler
bert@helix.nih.gov

petergo@microsoft.UUCP (Peter GOLDE) (01/07/91)

In article <775@nih-csl.nih.gov> bert@helix.nih.gov (Bert Tyler) writes:
>Uhh, I am now looking for the cheapest legal way to purchase a word
>processor that handles RTF files.  Does anyone remember what the result
>of the earlier posts asking about this were?  Remember that we are
>using this software to develop documentation for a program that we
>give away for free, so price is a prime consideration.

I think Microsoft Works will handle or convert to/from RTF files,
though I won't swear to it.  I think it can be gotten
for around $100.

--Peter Golde
  petergo%microsoft@uunet.uu.net

jimad@microsoft.UUCP (Jim ADCOCK) (01/08/91)

In article <60296@microsoft.UUCP| petergo@microsoft.UUCP (Peter GOLDE) writes:
|In article <775@nih-csl.nih.gov> bert@helix.nih.gov (Bert Tyler) writes:
|>Uhh, I am now looking for the cheapest legal way to purchase a word
|>processor that handles RTF files.  Does anyone remember what the result
|>of the earlier posts asking about this were?  Remember that we are
|>using this software to develop documentation for a program that we
|>give away for free, so price is a prime consideration.

I double checked this by converting a WfW doc to RTF format, converted 
to a Works document via the Works file conversion command.  I made some
slight changes in Works, converted it back to RTF, then accessed and printed
it from WfW again.  And the document printed out identically, except for
the slight changes I made.  So, it would seem that Works can indeed be
used as a low-cost RTF word processor -- with the help of the file 
conversion commands..  I'd never be willing to give up WfW, though.