Re: MSWord problem (apple2 connection)

[supertimer@aol.com (Supertimer)]

apple2pd@ground.ecn.uiowa.edu (ISCA AppleII Librarian) wrote:

>I ask for assistance in hopefully solving a Windows->Macintosh
>Microsoft Word problem.  I ask in csa2 because the problem seems to
>be in the use of a Apple2 in the process.
>
>Background:  My original boss in our research division is retired and
>lives in Texas.  I work in Iowa.  Although retired, he still is actively
>involved in writing research papers and grant proposals.  He uses a
>Windows machine in Texas, with Microsoft Word.  In Iowa, we mostly use
>Macs, with Microsoft Word (Office 98), except me, who slugs along with
>Apple II and Apple IIGS computers.  My connection to the 'net' is through
>shell accounts on various Unix machines.
>
>Problem:  My Texas boss sends me e-mail with his requests, comments,
>draft editions, whatever, as attachments of MSWord documents (xxxxx.doc).
>I receive these with pine on a Unix machine, and the attachment is saved
>as xxxxx.doc.  I then download this *.doc in binary mode using z-modem
>and ProTerm3.1 to my IIGS system (harddrive or Appleshare volume, makes
>no difference).  I then use the GS Finder to copy this file to an HFS
>disk on the IIGS superdrive.  I then put the HFS disk in a MacLC and
>change the creator and type to MSWD and WDBN(or W6BN or W8BN) (using Snitch
>from the MacFinder).  I then take the HFS disk across the hall to a
>co-worker's MacG3 and try to open the file with Word (Office 98).  Word
>can't open the file directly, so I open "text only" which gives me a lot of
>garbage but I can discern the text content, but not the 'form' .
>
>Luckily, the email from Texas is usually CC: to my boss, who uses Eudora
>Pro on his PPC7200 to get the attachment directly to his harddrive.  This
>attachment is directly opened with Word and is ready-to-go (all form and
>content is there as it was in the original document in Texas).  [My boss
>prints this out for me so I can what was really sent.]
>
>Question:  Why can't I make this work when I use my Apple II?  Is the
>error is using pine on the Unix machine when I get the mail?  Or is the
>error in using PT3 to download the attachment file?  From previous experience
>I know using Snitch to set creator and type works fine and is not the
>problem.  (type WDBN is OK for Word5.1, W6BN for 6.0 files and W8BN for
>Office 98 Word files). Assuming the creator/type change is OK, what are my
>options (other than getting an iMac).  If the file had started out on a
>Mac, I would guess I lost the resource fork, but this is from a Windows
>machine.  There isn't a forked file system in Windows, correct?
>
>My intention is to get pine/IIGS & PT3.1/Mac to do what EudoraPro/Mac can
>do!  Thanks for any insights and suggestions.

Maybe when EudoraPro/Mac downloads the file, it either stamps a
different creator/type (to identify the source of the document as
Windows) or some type of translation is actually done (maybe with
respect to CR/LF options).

One possibility is to grab the actual MIME encoded email and
download that to the IIGS instead of unattaching the file first.  This
way, you can use EudoraPro/Mac to unattach it later and it would
be exactly as if the file was emailed directly to the Mac.