Convert Central European RTF files with PowerReplace
v. 2.1
These “filters” are intended for use with PowerReplace (info-mac/text/power-replace-625.hqx at any Info-Mac mirror <news:comp.sys.mac.digest>). They enable you to convert RTF files with Central/East European characters between MacOS and MS Windows. Every self-respecting word processor should be able to read and write RTF (Rich Text Format). Thereby you can transfer documents in Central/East European characters with complete formatting between MacOS and MS Windows.
The RTF files must be written entirely in one of the following character sets:
“Windows-1250 / Windows-1252” means that your documents can include Romanian text in Central European, Windows-1250 fonts and West European text in Western, Windows-1252 fonts.
The last two files are disk images; you need Apple’s Disk Copy to process them.
What to do?
(1) Put the filters into your PowerReplace folder.
(2) Start PowerReplace and select the appropriate filter from the menu “Filter”:
• “Text –> RTF”
Convert a text file from 8-bit form to RTF form.
You must apply this conversion first if you want to convert an ordinary text file (*.TXT).
• “MacCE –> Windows-1250”
Convert an RTF file from MacCE to Windows-1250.
Use for Croatian, Czech, English, Finnish, German, Hungarian, Polish, Slovak, Slovenian, Sorbian.
• “MacCE –> Windows-1257”
Convert an RTF file from MacCE to Windows-1257.
Use for English, Estonian, Finnish, German, Latvian, Lithuanian, Polish.
• “MacRomanian –> Windows”
Convert an RTF file from MacRomanian to Windows-1250 / Windows-1252.
You might have to reformat Catalan, Dutch, French, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Swedish text (if any) by changing to West European, Windows-1252 fonts.
• “Windows-1250 –> MacCE”
Convert an RTF file from Windows-1250 to MacCE.
You need to reformat Albanian and Romanian text (if any) by changing to MacRomanian fonts.
• “Windows-1257 –> MacCE”
Convert an RTF file from Windows-1257 to MacCE.
• “Windows –> MacRomanian”
Convert an RTF file from Windows-1250 / Windows-1252 to MacRomanian.
Use for Albanian, Catalan, Dutch, English, Finnish, French, German, Italian, Romanian, Spanish, Swedish.
(3) Choose the menu “Control : Convert File…”. Alternatively, drag the RTF files that you want to convert onto the PowerReplace icon in the Finder.
You can modify the filters to suit your own needs. At the beginning of the table, you see pairs of corresponding font names — one font from MacOS, the other from MS Windows. Here you can add your own font names. End each name with a semicolon (;).
For example, you might have the font Times Ten CE for the Macintosh but not for Windows where you want to display the text in Times New Roman CE. Then you would add the pair “Times Ten CE;” and “Times New Roman CE;” to the list.
If you don’t know which fonts are used in a Windows RTF file, open it first with a text editor like BBEdit.
Trouble-shooting
Work with style sheets, so that you can easily adjust the fonts in your converted documents.
Save your documents in Rich Text Format (*.RTF), not in MS Word format (*.DOC). The following procedure does not work: Open a Windows DOC file on the Mac; save as RTF; convert with PowerReplace.
Map PC files with extension “.RTF” to files of type “TEXT” in your Internet Config, Netscape, PC Exchange, ZipIt, etc. preferences.
Rebuild your desktop file, i.e. press Option–Command during start-up.
Do not use MacLinkPlus.
Do not open and save a Mac RTF file on the Mac after you converted it from Mac to Windows.
Do not open and save a Win RTF file on the Mac before you converted it from Windows to Mac.
Some localized, non-English versions of MS Word mess up the curly quotation marks <http://www.microsoft.com/kb/articles/q108/8/62.htm>. Work-around: Use angle quotes (« » ‹ ›) or straight quotes (" ') instead of curly quotes („ “ ” ‚ ‘ ’).
Please read first the documentation that comes with PowerReplace before you ask me any further questions!
You can find information about RTF at <ftp://ftp.primate.wisc.edu/pub/RTF/>.
