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Re: Executor: Problems printing from Word 5.1 to AppleTalk



I've had trouble getting files generated under Executor to print from  
Macs.  Here are some details for anyone interested:

Particularly interesting was printing a Word file I generated from  
Macs in my own office: our Macs print via the Apple-supplied network  
print option (ethernet), thru the Columbia Appletalk Package running  
on our SPARC1+, which initiates an lpr to our UNIX printer which is  
remote -- namely my NeXT.  You'd think that if I could print from  
Executor that a Mac could print the same file thru my NeXT, but NO!  
it generated "dict full" errors.  Had to go thru and strip out all  
the NeXT ps junk that was not being used, then it would print.   
Incidentally, this problem seems to be consistent when I've dropped  
an eps file into Word (all of which have been generated in Diagram!,  
so there are layers upon layers of NeXT ps setup).

Also, I have had trouble getting Word documents with eps inclusions  
to print on non-NeXT systems (like a Mac using Appletalk to print to  
a stock Apple laser writer).  But then, I've also had trouble getting  
Diagram!-generated eps files to print on a SPARC-only system, so I've  
come to the conclusion that it is the eps causing the problems.

Lastly, we recently got a fax package for our SPARC, using  
"ghostscript" for ps generation, and the NeXT would not print it!   
Had to filter the ghostscript output to paste the global dictionary  
into each page's local dictionary.  The moral is that postscript  
isn't as standard as it should be, since there are lots of custom  
interpreters - and NeXT did a lot of custom interpreting also.  For  
true compatibility, ARDI has lots of foreign hardware and  
interpreters to deal with.

When I get things fixed (need to shortly or I have to do pictures on  
a Mac -- ugh!) I'll post the solution.

tec@alta.com (NeXTmail OK)