🚀 go-pugleaf

In article <37@utx1.UUCP> hilmes@utx1.UUCP (Douglas Hilmes) writes:
>Help. My girlfriend needs to convert some word_star files to multimate
>format without losing the formats, tabs, etc.  This is a one time only
>conversion.  If anyone has a program to share or knows of a cheap method,
>it would be greatly appreciated.  

The MultiMate or MM Advantage package itself may include such a 
conversion utility; perhaps another comp.sys.ibm.pc reader knows
whether this is the case.  

There is a shareware utility that converts files between various
word processor file formats.  It's called XWORD, and version 2.22
claims to convert files in almost all of the possible directions
between WordStar, WordStar 2000, Sidekick, Xywrite, WordPerfect,
Multimate, and ASCII.  The author indicates that, when converting
from WordStar to Multimate, it is important to be careful of indents
(tabs? indented margins? ^OG?) and to make sure they come after only 
hard returns or ^PM codes.

Apparently, most of the print formatting is preserved when the files
are converted using XWORD, but this is always somewhat of an inexact art,
even with the slick commercial programs in this genre.

This utility (in whatever version is now current) should be available
on most of the major information utilities (e.g. CompuServe, GEnie,
Delphi, The Source) and enlightened BBSs.  

The author asks $20 if you use and like the program.  His name, and
the address listed in the version 2.22 documentation, is:

               Ronald Gans
               350 West 55th Street
               New York, NY 10079
               (212) 957-8361
               CompuServe:  74216,264

I've used the program just once, to convert a WordStar file to ASCII
as part of an informal test of a set of such limited-purpose utilities.
It worked well (no surprise there) but also extremely rapidly--
much faster than other "un-WordStar" programs we tried on that occasion. 
I haven't tried the particular conversion you are seeking, and have
no idea how well it might work.

One alternative to using a program of this type is for your girlfriend 
to have the files converted by a commercial disk/file format conversion
service--particularly since you suggest that the conversion will be
needed on a one-time-only basis.  Check the classified ads in the back
of publications like PC Magazine and InfoWorld for listings of such
services.  This may not be an inexpensive solution, however.


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   Aron Roberts                    
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