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Mailing List Logs for ShadowRN

Message no. 1
From: Jason Ustica <usticaj@****.COM>
Subject: NON SR!! I need help with Postscript
Date: Sun, 30 Jul 1995 13:53:32 -0700
I'm asahmed I'm asking this because I'd like to think I'm fairly computer
literate, but can someone fill me in on Postscript files? I see all this
neat stuff for Shadowrun in a Postscript format, but I don't think I have
anything capable of recognizing Postscript. Is it a platform specific
format? Can a normal word processor recognize it? I know WordPerfect 5.1
chokes on it, 'cause thats what I'm using. So, could someone point me in
the right direction to get started using Postscript files?

-----------------------------------------------------------
Jason Ustica | usticaj@****.com | Lancaster, CA
-----------------------------------------------------------
*Sorry, no geek code, no stupid quotes, no lame web sites*
Message no. 2
From: Christian Kondrup Nielsen <lonewolf@***********.DK>
Subject: Re: NON SR!! I need help with Postscript
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 1995 00:08:10 +100
> I'm asahmed I'm asking this because I'd like to think I'm fairly computer
> literate, but can someone fill me in on Postscript files? I see all this
> neat stuff for Shadowrun in a Postscript format, but I don't think I have
> anything capable of recognizing Postscript. Is it a platform specific
> format? Can a normal word processor recognize it? I know WordPerfect 5.1
> chokes on it, 'cause thats what I'm using. So, could someone point me in
> the right direction to get started using Postscript files?

Yeah. I would like to know too!
I've tried a dozen of different wordprocessors, shareware utilites etc. but to no avail.
Do you really have to BUY a postscript printer just to print this stuff out?

CU L8R
Message no. 3
From: Menard Steve <menars@***.UMONTREAL.CA>
Subject: Re: NON SR!! I need help with Postscript
Date: Sun, 30 Jul 1995 19:24:58 -0400
On Mon, 31 Jul 1995, Christian Kondrup Nielsen wrote:

> > I'm asahmed I'm asking this because I'd like to think I'm fairly computer
> > literate, but can someone fill me in on Postscript files? I see all this
> > neat stuff for Shadowrun in a Postscript format, but I don't think I have
> > anything capable of recognizing Postscript. Is it a platform specific
> > format? Can a normal word processor recognize it? I know WordPerfect 5.1
> > chokes on it, 'cause thats what I'm using. So, could someone point me in
> > the right direction to get started using Postscript files?
>
> Yeah. I would like to know too!
> I've tried a dozen of different wordprocessors, shareware utilites etc. but to no
avail.
> Do you really have to BUY a postscript printer just to print this stuff out?
>
> CU L8R
>
there a GNU version of a postscript interpreter out there, it's calle
Aladdin GhostScript, and there's the pre-viewer, Ghostview. However, I've
tried it on 2 platforms(os2 and Windows 3.1) and never managed to get it
working well. I also know that Corel Draw is supposed to read PS files(I
tried it and most often it hung).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------
--- |\_/| Still The One and Only Wolfbane! ---
--- |o o| " Hey! Why ya lookin' at me so weird? Ain't ya 'ver seen a ---
--- \ / decker witha horn ?" --- Scy, Troll decker with a CC ---
--- 0 Steve Menard menars@***.UMontreal.Ca ---
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Message no. 4
From: Stephanos Piperoglou <sneakabout@**********.HOL.GR>
Subject: Re: NON SR!! I need help with Postscript
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 1995 01:34:41 +0200
On Mon, 31 Jul 1995, Christian Kondrup Nielsen wrote:

> Yeah. I would like to know too!
> I've tried a dozen of different wordprocessors, shareware utilites etc. but to n
> o avail.
> Do you really have to BUY a postscript printer just to print this stuff out?

There are postscript previewers, GhostView is one. GhostScript is a
complete package for PS, I run it under Linux, but I've seen a DOS
version and a Windows version, there's prolly sth on a Mac. Unix people
won't have a problem, in general. A PS printer is a good idea if you can
afford one, BTW (InkJet is gread value for money).
_________________________ ______________________________
______/ Stephanos J. Piperoglou \____/ sneakabout@**********.hol.gr \______
Aspiring Linux hacker, computer nut, RP gamemaster, sci-fi fan, High School
student, amateur writer, forensics champion, A-level candidate, math adept,
science geek, rave fan, people person, pleasantly plump, or in other words:
GCS/S/M/L/PA d- s++:++ a16 C++++ UL++>++++ P+ L+++>++++ E- W++ N+ K w--- O-
M+ !V PS+ PE++ Y+ PGP++ t+ 5++ X+ R+++ tv b++ DI? D+ G++ e->++++ h! r y?

...QED
Message no. 5
From: Luke Kendall <luke@********.CANON.OZ.AU>
Subject: Re: NON SR!! I need help with Postscript
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 1995 14:12:18 +1000
Menard Steve wrote:

> there a GNU version of a postscript interpreter out there, it's calle
> Aladdin GhostScript, and there's the pre-viewer, Ghostview. However, I've
> tried it on 2 platforms(os2 and Windows 3.1) and never managed to get it
> working well. I also know that Corel Draw is supposed to read PS files(I
> tried it and most often it hung).

Apart from buggy character positioning (very irritating), the Ghostview
stuff works fine under xwindows (say: Unix). There's also a cheap PostScript
clone for Windows (I think) called GoScript (which was possibly better),
and something called Zscript which is supposed to be okay. Ghostscript
is free; Aladdin is a low-cost commercial version of that; the others
are moderately priced, I think.

PS: PostScript is a programming language designed to describe printed
pages. I'd be very surprised if Corel Draw did more than bodily
include the EPS file (and hope you're going to print to a PS printer),
and expect a low-res screen image embedded in a comment near the
start of the file.

I'd also add that in my considerable experience, distributing information
via PostScript files is a troublesome, frustrating, and non-portable
thing to do. PostScript features have proliferated amazingly - this
is the main source of the problems.

Well, that and the fact that such documents are programs, not data
files.

Having bored everyone sufficiently, I'll stop now. :-)

luke
Message no. 6
From: Gurth <gurth@******.NL>
Subject: Re: NON SR!! I need help with Postscript
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 1995 10:14:39 +0200
[PS BS]
>Yeah. I would like to know too!
>I've tried a dozen of different wordprocessors, shareware utilites etc. but
to no avail.
>Do you really have to BUY a postscript printer just to print this stuff out?

Well, I'm not really into all this, but from what I know, no normal word
processor can read PostScript files. You need a PS viewer, of which I know
one has "ghost" in the name, but I'm afraid that's all I can say about it --
I haven't got any myself, the only thing I've got that can read PS files is
CorelDRAW, but that's _SLOW_ beyond belief -- probably because it converts
the file to .cdr format before it puts it onscreen.
From what I know, if you've got such a viewer, you can print it out on any
printer (if the viewer supports the printer, I think). I believe that if
you've got a PostScript printer, you can just dump the file directly to the
printer and it prints it all out without a hitch.
What you can do with a word processor is _create_ PS files -- select a PS
printer and print your document to a file instead of to a printer (thanks
for this tip, Jani :)


Gurth@******.nl - Gurth@***.nl - http://www.xs4all.nl/~gurth/index.html
Sponsored by nobody
GC3.0: GAT/! dpu s:- !a>? C+(++) U P L E? W(++) N K- w+ O V? PS+ PE Y PGP-
t(+) 5 X R+++>$ tv+(++) b+@ DI? D+ G++ e h! !r(--) y? Unofficial Shadowrun
Guru :)
Message no. 7
From: Robert Watkins <bob@**.NTU.EDU.AU>
Subject: Re: NON SR!! I need help with Postscript
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 1995 19:28:44 +0930
Jason Ustica wrote:
>
> I'm asahmed I'm asking this because I'd like to think I'm fairly computer
> literate, but can someone fill me in on Postscript files? I see all this
> neat stuff for Shadowrun in a Postscript format, but I don't think I have
> anything capable of recognizing Postscript. Is it a platform specific
> format? Can a normal word processor recognize it? I know WordPerfect 5.1
> chokes on it, 'cause thats what I'm using. So, could someone point me in
> the right direction to get started using Postscript files?

Step one: get a postscript printer.
Step two: give postscript file to said printer.
Step three: admire the result.

(By giving, I mean, just send the file to the printer like it was a text
file... from the command line in DOS, or using special utilities on a Mac.
If you've got something more exotic (like a Unix setup), you've actually
got life easier, for once... use the Ghostscript tools that come with
nearly every Unix installation these days)

--
Robert Watkins bob@**.ntu.edu.au
Real Programmers never work 9 to 5. If any real programmers
are around at 9 am, it's because they were up all night.
*** Finger me for my geek code ***
Message no. 8
From: Jens-Peter Grundmann <jpgrundmann@****.HH.PROVI.DE>
Subject: Re: NON SR!! I need help with Postscript
Date: Mon, 31 Jul 1995 22:05:26 +0200
>>>>> "Robert" == Robert Watkins <bob@**.NTU.EDU.AU>
writes:

Robert> (By giving, I mean, just send the file to the printer like
Robert> it was a text file... from the command line in DOS, or
Robert> using special utilities on a Mac. If you've got something
Robert> more exotic (like a Unix setup), you've actually got life
Robert> easier, for once... use the Ghostscript tools that come
Robert> with nearly every Unix installation these days)

Actually, the first version of Ghostscript was running on DOS, the
Unix port came later. It should be easy to get the current DOS verison
on any self-respecting ftp site.

But it runs better on Unix, of course. Do yourself a favour and get
Linux today!

Jens

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These messages were posted a long time ago on a mailing list far, far away. The copyright to their contents probably lies with the original authors of the individual messages, but since they were published in an electronic forum that anyone could subscribe to, and the logs were available to subscribers and most likely non-subscribers as well, it's felt that re-publishing them here is a kind of public service.

Thwap!