Re: I really need some help or advice. on Word styles

[Peter Collins <peter -dot- collins -at- BIGFOOT -dot- COM>]

Kris,
    Many, perhaps most, current word-processors, editors, page layout and
typsetting programs will accept or output Rich Text Format. RTF is widely
used as a medium for getting text back and forth between editors without
losing formatting. As far as I know all versions of MS Word and Framemaker,
some FAX-senders, HTML generators and so on.
    Download the RTF specification from Microsoft - I think they are the
inventor and maintainer of standards.
    You will find that all the things you can set in an editor, can be
defined in RTF (font, size, table, bold, even embedded graphics). RTF has
the advanage for your purposes that it is ascii throughout and the
descriptions are easy to find with simple programming or even with a mcaro
that you write in word. Of course you must inport the RTF as text only or
it will be turned back into editor-speak.
    Here is some RTF for you, with a few comments typed in, by me, as
guidance.:
{\comment copy the next paragraph exactly as it is. ======== table header
==========}
\trowd \trgaph108\trleft-108\trhdr \clbrdrb\brdrdb\brdrw15
\cellx3084\clbrdrb\brdrdb\brdrw15 \cellx6276\clbrdrb\brdrdb\brdrw15
\cellx9468 \pard\plain \s23\sb60\sa60\intbl \b\f5\fs20 {\comment header
cell 1}PAT#\cell \pard \s23\sb60\sa60\intbl {\comment header cell
2}INITIALS\cell{\comment header cell 3} VISIT\cell \pard\plain \intbl
\f4\fs20 {\fs22 \row }
    This is from an analysis and simplification of an RTF description of
the header row of a table with three columns. When you have the RTF
language definition you will easily understand what is happening,
especially if you have some HTML coding experience.
    One more thing. Most RFT writers (programs that output it) are verbose
and redundant. In RTF you can express some text qualities in various ways.
The target RTF reader may use any of them, but the writer doesn't know
which. So to avoid risking loss of formatting, all the options may be
redundantly used. In proof of this I have been able to massage an RTF file
down to well under half its size with no loss of formatiing in some
editors, but a little loss of formatting in others. So don't get thrown
when you fall over that one!
regards,
P
========================================================
Peter Collins, VIVID Management Pty Ltd,
26 Bradleys Head Road, MOSMAN 2088, Australia
+61 2 9968 3308, fax +61 2 9968 3026, mobile +61 (0)18 419 571
Management Consultants and Technical Writers
email: peter -dot- collins -at- bigfoot -dot- com                ICQ#: 10981283
web pages: http://www.angelfire.com/pe/pcollins/
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