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WordPerfect Document Conversion To Atari
DocumentID: 630796
Revision Date: 29-Feb-96 3:02:39 PM

The information in this document applies to:
WordPerfect® 5.1 for DOS

Problem

Solutions: WordPerfect 5.0/5.1 documents that are saved as WP 4.2 documents on 3.5" IBM formatted double-side, double-density disk, can be retrieved into the existing version (4.1, 08/18/89) of WordPerfect for Atari. No conversions are really necessary because the Atari, if it is equipped with a double-sided drive, will read IBM files and can write files that can be read by an IBM drive. A new release of the Atari program, planned for late July 1990, will have options for importing and exporting WP 4.2 files on the Ctrl-F5 key. These options were added to do some conversion of codes that are not of the same format as WP 4.2 codes. This is discussed below.

With the present version, if the codes are kept to a minimum in WP 5.x before the document is saved as WP 4.2 format, the document should come in quite cleanly. Simply put, the more complicated the document created in 5.x, the more garbled the imported document will be on the Atari. (It is worth noting here that the same is true on the Amiga which uses a conversion utility like Cross-Dos or Dos-2-Dos, and already has import and export options. On both computers when using the ultimately available import and export options, another important function will also be addressed -- the conversion of extended characters like aaeeA, into the Atari and Amiga character sets.)

Things to look out for and potential problems:
1. Graphics, Equations, and boxes won't work.
2. Many print attributes like Shadow, Small Caps, Redline, Strikeout, line numbering, fine, very large, extra large, etc., will come over as straight text even with an import.
3. Without import, margin codes, tab sets, lines, anything graphic, tables, and the like will show up as junk or garbage and will have to be stripped out.
4. Without import, bold, underline, center, flush right, tabs and indents, even superscript and subscript will generally work.
5. With import, columns (fairly cleanly), footnotes and endnotes, headers and footers, page numbering, margins, and tab codes should come in cleanly. NOTE: The import/export feature is not fully completed at this writing and therefore not tested, so some features may be supported or unsupported later, but these are sensible guidelines.

A solution to a potential common problem before and after import/export gets added is as follows:

The customer imports or simply retrieves the WP 4.2 saved document. With a single cursor movement, a hyphenation box appears on the screen and will not go away. One option is to import as text and lose all codes. Here is another option:
1. Abandon the editing session unless the cursor move invoked was Home, Home, Down Arrow.
2. Import or retrieve again and do nothing before pressing Home, Home, Down Arrow.
3. Hyphenation will come up instantly. If it doesn't, all is well - the document is clean. Press [Return] to accept the hyphenation wherever it may fall. Watch the status line in the lower right corner. If Pg, Ln or Pos are increasing with each accepted hyphen, progress is being made. If they do not increase or if they increase to a ridiculous page number, there is a problem.
4. After much patience, arriving at the bottom of the document, work UPWARD and UPWARD ONLY (to avoid additional hyphenating) in Reveal Codes using only Arrow Keys, Delete, Backspace, or other Delete functions, to clean out the garbage which is usually represented by ^@ (the null character) or similar codes. Save frequently to make progress. Sometimes the codes are tied to blocks of text and that text will simply disappear. Hopefully there is a recent save. Try deleting those codes in a different order. It may let you keep the block of disappearing text. When the top of the document is reached, save and try Home, Home, Down Arrow again. If no hyphenation comes up, yea! If hyphenation comes up again, it should be minimal and the amount of "cleaning" left should also be minimal.

Basically, anything that can be read in by WP can be cleaned up this way with enough patience. Bottom Line: it is most logical to bring in the most code-free text possible when importing into another platform even if conversion is available. Atari to IBM is easy.

Answer:

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