Re: AWGS SS Translator...Why not?

[dempson@atlantis.actrix.gen.nz (David Empson)]

In article <carndtD8nM0p.6vL@netcom.com>,
Chris Arndt <carndt@netcom.com> wrote:
> So why can't one (or two :-)) of the whizbang GS programmers out there 
> reverse engineer the AppleWorks GS spreadsheet file format, and write 
> some sort of a translator that will convert them intact with formulas to 
> even only one other popular format, ready for transferring to a different 
> machine?

[snip]

I should have had a play with AppleWorks GS before my previous post on
this topic.

It turns out that the AWGS Spreadsheet's text file export will export
the formulas, and _not_ the data.

Quick Click Calc can directly import the resulting file.

Spreadsheets on the Mac and PC can also import the file, possibly
after a translation process (e.g. converting CR to CR/LF, and changing
the syntax of cell ranges, which is of the form "A1..A4" in AWGS,
"A1:A4" in other spreadsheets).  Quick Click Calc does this
translation automatically.

I also tried exporting a text file from QCC and importing it into AWGS SS,
and it worked, except that AWGS treated all of the formulas as labels.
After manual editing and conversion from "A1:A4" to "A1..A4" notation,
the spreadsheet worked again.

You might also run into problems with differences in formula rules
between spreadsheets (e.g. expression evaluation order, function names
and parameters, etc.)

AppleWorks Classic cannot import a text file into the Spreadsheet (you
could go via the database and use cut/paste, but it would also treat
the formulas as labels).


So, in summary: the AppleWorks GS Spreadsheet is not a dead end.  As
long as you have AppleWorks GS, and the spreadsheet file isn't
damaged, you should be able to export a text file version which can
then be imported into other spreadsheets (possibly after some work).

To get back to the subject of this thread: it is not particularly
necessary to know the file format of the AppleWorks GS spreadsheet
module, except in the case of repairing a damaged file.
-- 
David Empson
dempson@actrix.gen.nz
Snail mail: P.O. Box 27-103, Wellington, New Zealand