Re: In search of useful movement of AWGS files to Mac

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

In article <rowland.carson-1104951714080001@rowland.bt-sys.bt.co.uk>,
Rowland Carson <rowland.carson@bt-sys.bt.co.uk> wrote:
> In article <3lv4a6$ak6@strauss.udel.edu>, cav@strauss.udel.edu (Steve
> Cavanaugh) wrote:
> 
> > To move databases or spreadsheets from AWGS to ClarisWorks, you 
> > will need to have your dad save them as ASCII files (tab 
> > delimited) and then import them into ClarisWorks.
> [ ... ]
> > I _believe_ that formulas are lost in spreadsheets
> > done this way.
> 
> I don't know if AWGS provides this capability, but if you can save 
> spreadsheets as SYLK format, that will preserve formulae.

Nope.  AWGS can only export spreadsheets as ASCII files in tab
delimited format, which loses the formula.

The AWGS spreadsheet file format has never been documented [it also
appears that no-one in Claris or elsewhere even knows what the file
format is any more], and no program other than AWGS can read its
spreadsheets.  (Ditto for AWGS databases, page layouts, graphics and
comms settings.) The only AWGS file format that has been documented is
the word processor.

I am not aware of any Apple II programs that support SYLK files.  I
would have been much happier with Quick Click Calc if it supported
them.  (I've bought it, but never use it because I'm nearly always in
AppleWorks anyway, and QCC doesn't offer any new features that I find
useful.)

I am also unaware of any Apple II program that supports "CSV" files
(comma separated fields using double quotes when necessary to protect
fields with commas in them).  It would be a simple task to write a
program to convert between CSV and tab-delimited formats (except that
I don't know how a CSV file would handle fields containing double
quotes).

[Followups directed to comp.sys.apple2 only.]
-- 
David Empson
dempson@actrix.gen.nz
Snail mail: P.O. Box 27-103, Wellington, New Zealand