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GEnie Dateline Atari with Bob Brodie 1993 04 12
||| Bob Brodie & Pradip Fatehpuria: April 12th GEnie RTC
||| Courtesy: GEnie Atari ST RT
/ | \ -------------------------------------------------------------------
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(C) 1993 by Atari Corporation, GEnie, and the Atari Roundtables. May
be reprinted only with this notice intact. The Atari Roundtables on
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type HHH (RETURN after that). Wait for the U#= prompt.Type XTX99437,GENIE
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Monday Night DTP Real Time Conference
April 12, 1993
Guests - Bob Brodie and Pradip Fatehpuria
Host - Lou Rocha
<[Host] ST.LOU> Welcome to the first half of this week's Double
Dateline! Real Time Conferences. Tonight we welcome back Bob Brodie
with his special guest, Pradip Fatehpuria, the author/programmer
of the spectacular integrated application - Atari Works.
The combination of Atari Works and SpeedoGDOS looks like a surefire
winner as soon as it's released. The new Atari Works topic in
Category 14 is ample evidence of the interest among the existing
userbase. I only wish this product had been available in 1987 when I
bought my first ST! No need for endless sessions editing my ASSIGN.SYS
file to make a handful of PD fonts work!
Enough rambling from me :-) It's time to meet our guests. Welcome
back, Bob and a BIG hello to Pradip from all the regulars here in the
Atari ST RoundTable. You are both in talk-mode so either one may make
opening commments. GA.
<BOB-BRODIE> Thank you Lou! What a great pleasure it is to be
here on our official on-line service GEnie to share this time with
you. We at Atari are grateful for the wonderful, on-going support
that Darlah, Lou, Sandy, Mike, Fred, Brian, and all the rest of
the ST RTC Sysops provide to our mutual customers here on our
OFFICIAL Online Resource. Tonight, we're here to discuss the
integrated word processor, spread sheet, database program, Atari
Works. Pradip is the author of Atari Works, and is well equipped
to answer all of your questions about this exciting new product.
Since there has already been a Dateline Atari! session where we
discussed Atari Works, and there is a very active topic in the
message bases about Atari Works, we're going to keep this short
tonight and head directly into questions. As is always my
practice, if you have ANY questions, I'm happy to answer them
tonight. In deference to the attendance of Pradip who is here to
answer Works questions, I would ask that you hold off on NON Works
related questions until we have all of the questions about Atari
Works out of the way. I will be back online on Wed evening for
the Dateline:Atari! Session with James Grunke as well, so you get
extra opportunities this week to question me! <grin> I know that
you will make the most of that opportunity!!!! With that, let's
take some questions, Lou!
<[Host] ST.LOU> Thanks Bob. Just a quick reminder to everyone that
we will be giving away two subscriptions to Atari Explorer with a
skill-testing question. Hang around for that. Now our first
question is from John Brenner in Canada. Others may /RAI now.
<[John B.] J.BRENNER1> Hi, I use an _Atari_ Portfolio to gather
data at work, I then transfer these into a WKS compatible ST
spreadsheet. I gather I will not be able to do this if I use Atari
Works. Are you working on a file translating utility? If not, do
you plan on working on such a utility and when would it be
released . GA
<PRADIP> Right now You can import Comma and Tab delimited text
files or DBASEIII files only in either spreadsheet and database.
We have a list of other file formats which we will be working on.
I can not really promise a date on that.
<[Host] ST.LOU> John, do you have a followup?
<[John B.] J.BRENNER1> Without promising a date, will you be
working on WKS? It seems important to me that Atari support the
Portfolio GA
<BOB-BRODIE> John, we are already doing support for the Lotus 1-2-
3 and Excel files...they are in "The Works" right now. Your idea
about Portfolio files is an excellent one and we'll give it a lot
of consideration. Most of the Portfolio users are interfacing
with DOS machines, rather than with their STs...thanks for the
pointer
<[Host] ST.LOU> Our next question is from my backup sysop, Mike
Allen. From New Mexico!
<[Curmudgeon] MIKE-ALLEN> Welcome Pradip. I wonder how complete
is the RTF import/export implementation in the Atari Works Word
Processor? I have v1.0 of the MicroSloth specs and there sure is a
lot in there. How much of it does AW handle? GA.
<PRADIP> Thanks Mike. AtariWorks imports only those RTF commands
which AW supports, i.e. mostly text formattings with header,
footers etc. ga
<[Curmudgeon] MIKE-ALLEN> How about margins, tabs and columns?
<PRADIP> All text formattings with tabs, margins, etc, are
imported. AW 1.0 does not support columns, so only the text in the
columns are imported as it is. ga
<[Host] ST.LOU> Pradip, can you tell us what graphics formats are
now implemented in Atari Works and which ones you would like to
tackle in the future?
<PRADIP> AW imports GEM BitImage files and Metafiles. At the same
time you can draw ellipse, circle, rectangles and lines with the
embedded draw commands. ga
<[Host] ST.LOU> GEM Bitimage... as in IMG files? That has been
added then?
<PRADIP> Yes "IMG" files can be imported now. ga
<BOB-BRODIE> Lou, you have downloaded the issue I sent you yet?
<[Host] ST.LOU> Yes I did Bob but no time to play lately. :-)
<BOB-BRODIE> :)
<[Host] ST.LOU> Our next question comes from a newcomer to the DTP
field <[Host] ST.LOU> who I am sure is interested in Atari Works.
Meet Tim Miller from Two Worlds Publishing. GA Tim
<[Tim@TWP] T.MILLER23> Hi. I was just wondering if AW supports
tables in a form similar to MS word. I'm sure more questions will
come to mind later.
<PRADIP> You can make tabels in spreadsheet. Tables in
spreadsheet in two ways - as metafiles and also as table of data.
All the formattings in the spreadsheet are maintained when you
paste the data in the wordprocessor.
<[Tim@TWP] T.MILLER23> How can you overlay those onto a text
document? Wrap text around? Small pieces of worksheet?
<PRADIP> The tabs are automatically placed with the new margins.
The type of tabs depends upon the way data is aligned in the
spreadsheet columns. The margins depend upon the width of the
table you copy from the spreadsheet. I think that satisfy your
question Tim? ga
<[Host] ST.LOU> Next we have the famous Dr. Bob ... <[Dr. Bob]
W.PARKS3> Concerning the IMG file importability of AW, is there
any restriction on the IMG's format (bi-level). Some other early
DTP and WP applications _did_ have trouble with super-compressed
IMG files.
<PRADIP> Nice to see you here Dr. Bob
<[Dr. Bob] W.PARKS3> Nice to be here :-)
<PRADIP> AW supports all IMG files that follow the standard
BitImage file formats defined by Atari GEM-VDI manual. ga
<[Dr. Bob] W.PARKS3> Good - that's really all for me. Thanks!
<[Host] ST.LOU> Thanks. Next we have Ringo Montfort from Lexicor.
<[Ringo] LEXICOR2> Question, can we take data from the Database...
and place it into the spreadsheet and create graphs & charts...
and place it into the word processor?
<[Host] ST.LOU> Good question.
<PRADIP> Yes. And as I said a while before, all formattings are
maintained when you copy spreadsheet or database data and paste it
to the wordprocessor document. ga
<[Host] ST.LOU> Ringo... thanks. Let's pause for a second and give
away a subscription.... OK, Bob?
<BOB-BRODIE> Sure, Lou. Go ahead and ask the question!
<[Host] ST.LOU> The first two people to correctly answer the
skill-testing question after I let everyone talk will win! Here
is the question: What was the original project name for Atari
Works? 30 seconds..........
Room is now in the talk mode.
<[David] D.FREELAND> setra
<K.CAVAGHAN2> Sutari
<[Rick] R.TATEM1> sutra!
<[Ron] Z-NET> Sutra
<[Tim] T.OSBORNE> Sutra\
<[Fred] FB> sutra?
<T.MCCOMB> Concierge
<J.KOVACH> Concierge
<T.MCCOMB> Sutra
<J.KOVACH> Sutra
<[Baaad Dot!] D.A.BRUMLEVE> Karma.
<[Ringo] LEXICOR2> Can anyone spell it?
<[Glendale] JOHN.KING.T> Word UP
<[Curmudgeon] MIKE-ALLEN> Rhino
<[Die/!\Hard] D.VICHA> ST Works, but that's
<K.CAVAGHAN2> concierge
Room is now in listen-only mode.
<[Host] ST.LOU> OK... we have two winners. R.TATEM and Ron at
ZNET. Please leave your addresses in email to BOB-BRODIE to get
your subscriptions.
<[Host] ST.LOU> Let's get rolling again.
<PRADIP> Congratulations Guys!!
<[Host] ST.LOU> Jeff Kovach has the next question. There is no one
else in the queue so everyone please /RAIse your hands.
<PRADIP> But this was a difficult question, Lou.
<[Host] ST.LOU> There used to it Pradip!
<J.KOVACH> There are 2 features in the spreadsheet portion that I
haven't seen mentioned, so I'm wondering if they exist, or if
there are any plans to add them... The ability to link
spreadsheets that reference each other... 2) Spreadsheet macros,
like Lotus and Quattro Pro on the PCs have.
<PRADIP> These two features are not available in AW 1.0. These are
good suggestion. We will put it in our list for future revs. ga
<[Host] ST.LOU> Another question, Jeff?
<J.KOVACH> Thanks for considering it. For heavy duty apps, they
are very handy. That's all, thanks!
<[Host] ST.LOU> Thanks Jeff. Pradip, our next question is from
Donavan Vicha, columnist for ST Informer... the magazine that just
had an excellent preview of Atari Works.
<[Die/!\Hard] D.VICHA> With a review in the upcoming issue and
interview with Pradip...
<[Host] ST.LOU> Can't wait to read it!
<[Die/!\Hard] D.VICHA> <plug!> ;{)
<[Host] ST.LOU> Well-deserved. :-)
<[Die/!\Hard] D.VICHA> I missed the opening remarks did you guys
mention which BitStream fonts are included with the
package?
<[Host] ST.LOU> You took my question :-) GA Bob or Pradip.
<BOB-BRODIE> You got me, we didn't include that in the opening
remarks. :) The fonts that are inlcuded are BitStream Charter,
Swiss and Dutch, and their related families, like Black (kind of a
bold) and italics.
<[Die/!\Hard] D.VICHA> Thanks. Is Atari planning on packaging BS
fonts? They aren't real easy to find in stores.
<BOB-BRODIE> Donovan, I really don't know the answer to that one.
I'm not sure if we're going to do the packaging on the extra fonts
or if BitStream is. Bill's not here right now (I just ran out and
looked for him to double check) I can assure you that there are
PLENTY of fonts, I have about 200 or so on my system. :) ga
<[Die/!\Hard] D.VICHA> BitStream has a GEnie acct <plug>, so I'll
check on how they're set up for ordering Speedos and report to a
Topic here. Will there be a Genie AW topic?
<BOB-BRODIE> Already is, Topic 20 Cat 14. It's busy, too.
<[Host] ST.LOU> Yep... I opened it! Thanks Donavan. And thanks to
Mike for waiting. Now, live from New York... Mike Lipson!
<[MikeL] M.LIPSON> When will AW be available?
<[Host] ST.LOU> Another one of my questions.......... ;-)
<BOB-BRODIE> I would say realistically in about 90 days or less.
The manual is going thru the final pass, and then we have to do
the printing of it, etc. Purchasers of the Atari Falcon030 will
have it sooner.
<[MikeL] M.LIPSON> How much?
<BOB-BRODIE> The suggested retail price will be about $120, and
will include Speedo GDOS, and about 14 BitStream fonts for use
with SpeedoGDOS.
<[Host] ST.LOU> Thanks Mike. Andreas from AEO is next.
<[Andreas@AEO] AEO.2> Atari Works has been able to supplant every
other word processor I own, even Calligrapher (sorry CodeHeads!)
Pradip, could you enunciate further on the formatting capacity of
the word processor, and the advanced cursor features in the
spreadsheet (the ability to automatically have the cursor move
down, left, right, or up by default) The option lists are
amazing. GA
<PRADIP> Thanks Andreas. AW does all operations you can expect
with Control/Shift and ArrowKeys/Backspace/Delete keys. In
spreadsheet the Return key automatically follows the last arrow
key used to move the active cell. The list is so big that it is
virtually impossible to put them all here. ga
<[Host] ST.LOU> David Freeland is next. GA David
<[David] D.FREELAND> I am sure you already covered this but I got
here late and was wondering what the current status on the F030
was?
<BOB-BRODIE> Hi David, actually we've just been taking questions
on Atari Works so far, you're the first one to ask that!
Congratualtions. :) The Atari Falcon030s arrived in the US today,
and are going thru US Customs. We expect them in the warehouse
here in Sunnyvale tomorrow. We'll be putting them thru Q/A, and
then sending them out.
<[Host] ST.LOU> SCOOP!!!!! Got that AEO and ZNET? OK... Rick
Tatem... our first winner has a question.
<[Rick] R.TATEM1> Thanks, 2 quick q's.. First, does the WP
include a spellchecker and/or thesaurus? and 2nd, how is
performance on a 68000 based ST (non-Falcon) ?
<PRADIP> AW Wordprocessor includes a 110,000 word Proximity
Dictionary and about 50,000 word Thesaurus with definitions for
each word. You can change the dictionaries for different
languages on the fly. AW supports multiple user dictionaries with
editable featues. AW is as fast as any wordprocessor I have seen
on Atari Platform, even if you use it on a 68K machine.
<[Host] ST.LOU> Pradip... three folks left.
<[Ringo] LEXICOR2> Does AWs handle color documents and if so what
color printers does it support. Next what B/W printer does is
suppport.
<PRADIP> AW support all printers which GDOS supports. In fact AW
allows you to select a printer from a maximum of 10 you have
installed on ID's 21 thru 30.
<[Ringo] LEXICOR2> The fonts up to what point size. GA
<PRADIP> Fonts up to 2 inches (144 points) are supported. I have a
correction here about Dictionary and Thesaurus. Thesaurus has
450,000 words with 1.4 million entry points (words that produce a
word list when you look them up) and the dictionary has 135,000
words. ga <[Host] ST.LOU> Thanks Ringo. Now Connor from the Canada
RT!
<[Connor] CAN-ASST> Hi Pradip and Bob...
<[Connor] CAN-ASST> I have a question about the dictionary. Which
one is included in Canadian Falcons... the one for the US or the
British one?
<BOB-BRODIE> I believe it will be the US one, but we'll need to
double check to be certain. I'm sorry I can't be more precise on
that right now.
<[Connor] CAN-ASST> I just wanted to know if I'd have to change
all those words that we add extra letters to, like "colour" <g>.
<[Host] ST.LOU> Thanks... learn to use the Search and Replace like
I do! :-)
<BOB-BRODIE> John, you can always add those to your user
dictionary We still basically speak the same language, eh!
<PRADIP> I would like to add something more about canadian
dictionaries. Canadian French Dictionary will be available
separately.
<[Host] ST.LOU> :-) OK, Andreas has the privilege of the final
question. Please hang around to chat with Bob and Pradip everyone!
<[Andreas@AEO] AEO.2> Pradip could you talk more about the way
Atari Works allows for saving screen, charts, and all into GEM
files, and the ability to move graphics around in a document.
Resizing and fitting them into the flow of text. Maybe you can
describe it better than me.
<PRADIP> The pictures can be selected and edited on the fly in the
word processor document. Just grab the handle and resize the
pictures or reposition them wherever you want. A hide picture
feature is available for metafiles. This is really useful when
you have a big metafile loaded in the wordprocessor document,
which may slow.
<[Andreas@AEO] AEO.2> Saving a chart MADE with Atari Works, and
then using it as a metafile within another file, in a
wordprocessor is really cool.
<[Host] ST.LOU> Thanks Andreas. This ends the formal portion of
our RTC tonight. Many thanks to Bob and his guest, Pradip
Fatehpuria for joining the ink-stained wretches of the Monday
Night DTP conference! We look forward to Atari Works and are
greatly pleased with tonight's announcement about the arrival of
the Falcons! Please join us on Wednesday night when Bob and James
Grunke will complete this Dateline Doubleheader! Any comments Bob
or Pradip?
<PRADIP> Thanks a lot. I am sure you will be able to receive your
own copy of AW very soon. It was a great fun to talk to you guys
here. Thanks a lot once again.
<BOB-BRODIE> I'm pleased to see so much interest in Atari Works!
And I'm excited that Pradip was able to join us here tonight for
the conference. I'd like to take this opportunity to remind
everyone that Pradip is online on GEnie checking the Atari Works
topic DAILY, so if you have any questions or suggestions, please
do stop by and let him know your thoughts. We're very anxious to
make certain that you're happy with Atari Works. Thanks for
coming tonight. I look forward to seeing you on Wed. night!
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