Re: AppleWorks 5 limits

[jlwalter@primenet.com (Joe Walters)]

In article <16.48918671.Logic.IS@logicbbs.org>,  <Jim.Low@logicbbs.org> wrote:

> AppleWorks 5 has a maximum limit of 16,249 lines in the WP or the
> same number of records in the database.  I'd like to get more lines/
> records in my files.  Some time ago, I heard that it's "impossible"
> to patch AppleWorks to allow more.  The answer was "the entire
> program would have to be rewritten."

My understanding is that each line has a two byte pointer. These
pointers start at $4000 through $BFFF which gives $8000/2 = $4000 =
16,384 which is close enough for a town this size to 16,250.

>I never understood the word "impossible."

Try, "Can't be done this centuary," instead ;-)

> I recall there was a patch for AppleWorks 2 to allow up to 22,000
> lines.  The patch was done by eliminating one feature of AppleWorks
> -- the capability of formatting disks within the program.

That was probably the RamWorks expander. Are you sure it increased the
lines to that figure? My memory says it patched AppleWorks to use the
increased memory. Others may have more data.

> AppleWorks trivia:  What is the maximum size, in bytes, an AppleWorks
> WP file can be (and opened with AW 5)?

For the WP it is the line thing that limits, not RAM. With 16,250
lines and 79 chars/line the limit is 1,263,750.

The DB allows 2,560 chars/record so with 16,250 records we end up with
41,600,000 chars. Here it is the RAM that limits size. (At least on my
IIgs :-)

>  I made one 1,332,504 bytes long.  Can anyone beat that?

I suspect you are talking about the size on the desktop, not the
number of characters in the file. (Maybe specifying zero margins and
proportional printing could push it that high or even higher?)

Kind Regards,

--
	Joe Walters:  bird@mcs.net or J.L.Walters@genie.com
	To know and not to do is to not yet know