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Topic: Pasting to Word Documents (Read 4595 times) previous topic - next topic

Pasting to Word Documents

I have a colleague who uses Macs to produce notation in postscript format which I cannot read.  I was suggesting he try using Noteworthy because then I believe I could paste directly into word documents from a .nwc file.  First question is whether Noteworthy will work on a Mac and secondly is it true that one can paste directly to word?

regards
Peter

Re: Pasting to Word Documents

Reply #1 –
The bad news - NoteWorthy is presently not available for the Mac platform. While it is true that NWC can export to Windows metafiles (which can, in turn, be imported by Word and other applications), the fact that it won't run on a Mac puts an end to this approach.

The good news is that you can read PostScript files using Ghostscript and GSview (both free). I have a short runthrough on one of my sites.

Re: Pasting to Word Documents

Reply #2 –
Do what Fred said. But if the amount of notation you wish to paste is not too large, here is another approach:

Create your notation in NWC (Windows). Within NWC, go to print preview, and copy a placeable windows metafile (WMF). When you do this, be sure that you have your default printer resolution set at least at 300 DPI (preferably, 600 DPI).

The WMF can be opened and automatically converted to a bitmap image using the free "Irfan View" program, widely available for download.

The resulting bitmap (which you might prefer to save as TIFF) can be placed as an image in any document on any platform that supports the file format. You can also convert to GIF and put it on a web page.

Keep in mind that bitmap images use a lot more bytes than would be needed using PostScript. Also, they are not vector-drawn, so the image might not be as sharp.

Re: Pasting to Word Documents

Reply #3 –
And if you run the 16-bit version, the bitmap image is an option available within the program itself...

Re: Pasting to Word Documents

Reply #4 –
Your colleague is the one producing the notation.
And you are the one who can't read the PDF output?
Do you have Acrobat Reader - it's free at www.adobe.com

Re: Pasting to Word Documents

Reply #5 –
Ah, the original writer wrote that his colleague was sending him PostScript, not PDF. Acrobat Read cannot read PostScript; for that, you need Ghostscript and GSview.

I am told that in some academic circles, it is fashionable to send documents as Postscript (rather than PDF) and read them with GSview. Apparently, that's why those programs were developed in the first place.

There is also the matter of font embedding. The PostScript files probably don't have NWCV15 font embedded. They would not be readable by anyone who doesn't have the font installed locally. But the current, and recent prior, version of GhostScript will embed fonts to PDF. Earlier versions will not. Users of Ghostscript are advised to update their software.

Re: Pasting to Word Documents

Reply #6 –
Robert, you must be referring to an old version of GS/GSview indeed. I think I started with something like GSview 2.3, and never had any trouble with font embedding.

Come to think of it, the embedding takes place when you "print" your document using your PostScript virtual printer.

Re: Pasting to Word Documents

Reply #7 –
Fred, I believe that font embedding began with Ghostscript 6. yes, that was some time ago. (It's now 7.04.) But there may be some users with Ghostscript 5.x and similarly old GS view. Remember, some NWC users are with Windows 3.1 !

Our music director has a Windows 95 machine with AOL 3.0. She won't upgrade, becuase here machine will run out of resources. The current version of AOL is, I believe, 7.0.

I use a free utility called "freePDF" version 0.95 (better than its attempted upgrade, version 0.98). Along with Ghostscript and a suitable Postscript printer driver, it creates PDF more-or-less directly, without the need for the GSview interface. The catch is that "freePDF" requires some configuration, and the instructions refer to older versions of software. A user will have to know how to change the instructions to match current software versions.

Incidentally, PDF output from Aodbe Acrobat (the full program) is not identical to that from free or alternative programs. That's why Adobe can still sell Acrobat.

Re: Pasting to Word Documents

Reply #8 –
Robert wrote,
Remember, some NWC users are with Windows 3.1 !

Hey, I resemble that remark! :)
F

Re: Pasting to Word Documents

Reply #9 –
how come that NWC isn't available on MAC's? I can't understand it because the program is from States, and in comparison with other programs which have a MAC versions of programs (MAC is very popular in states, isn't it?)

O, and on the other hand it is possible to emulate windows on MAC.

Re: Pasting to Word Documents

Reply #10 –
well, try to develop for a Mac... especially if you need to stay compatible with windows and Mac OSes (from 6.1 to X) and you'll see it ain't easy, even with the best cross-compiler available.
I think Mac is more popular in Europe than in states, however :)

Yes, it is always possible to install a virtual PC on which you will install a windows OS (which is not the same as emulating windows, which Softwindows does), with Blue Label, Virtual PC or other software.
But you need a not-too-old machine, unless you use blue label or virtual PC to install a Win3.11 (or win95) that you can't buy anymore...
BTW, which sane mac user would be happy to install a windows system in his/her reliable computer? ;-)
 

Re: Pasting to Word Documents

Reply #11 –
We have Windows 95 OSR 2 and Windows 3.1 setup on an iMac 266 with OS 9/Virtual PC 4, and it works quite well overall, especially with NWC (NWC does not slow down very much in this configuration, unlike some other programs). The MIDI drivers leave something to be desired, though.

We did upgrade the memory, which was a bit of an adventure.