CompuServe Messages

I submit all my manuscripts double spaced on paper, because that's what editors generally prefer. :^) For my columns, such as the one in digital digest, I submit ASCII text, because that's the ONLY egneral interchange format there is. WP notwithstanding. On my portable, I use a PC version of UEDIT, my editor, and I write in TeX, as usual. ASCII files, nothing else. Then, when I get to the AMiga, I print em on the laser. No sweat, no problem with portability. There are IBM versions of TeX (and DEC, and etc ad nauseum… in fact, there are probably more versions of TeX than of WP :^) I have to laugh when Amiga users point a shaky finger at TeX and curse "It's a TYPESETTER!" and run off screaming. Sure, it makes text output, and it can manipulate type better than WP, but it can also do everything ELSE that WP can do, better, and about a zillion things that WP can't do at all. I don't recommend TeX for the average Amiga user, but then again, I don't recommend WP for an Amiga user unless someone has a gun to their head for WP compatibility, either, because I think (and have always thought) that it isn't worth the time it takes to learn to use it. As far as not being able to take a "purely amiga approach to writing", I've had no trouble in the past, even though some tools (like WP) are pretty bad. There are others. Now, I expect to stay with TeX until somethin as poweful comes along that allows the speed and flexibility and SMARTS that TeX has. The problem with things like PageStream is that the DTP system doesn't know enough about the document. I can't link illustrations to a column location – if the text moves, I have to reposition everything manually. Yech. I don't do that anymore. :^)