Sunday, May 29, 2016
Saturday, May 28, 2016
WordPerfect viewer/editor on Android?
WordPerfect viewer/editor on Android? For long-time WordPerfect users, it has been virtually impossible to read or write WPD files on an Android device. The only official option, thus far, has been the official and commercial Corel WPD viewer, but the user reviews have been mixed, to say the least.
This problem has prompted me to research and experiment, based on the fact that a free Windows MS Office-compatible suite like Libre Office [or Open Office, or Apache Office] has, for some time, had the ability to open WordPerfect files seamlessly [and save them, sometimes]. I formatted and saved a few basic WPD files, simply renamed the file extension to .ODT, and opened them in Libre Office – virtually perfectly [only experiencing importing issues with some complex tables]. Apart from that, formatting features like different fonts, graphics boxes, numbered outlining? No problem.
Then I proceeded to Android: I copied these test WPD files [simply renamed as ODT files, not exported as Open Office files, remember] to my device/cloud storage services like Dropbox and Google Drive. I installed a number of Open Office/ODT compatible office apps, and tried to open the "new" ODT files.
The best result so far [only been testing for the last 2 days] has come from OOReader [free via the Google Play store]. Opening a disguised WPD file as an ODT file takes a few seconds to convert, and – success! Almost every file I've tossed at OOReader has imported successfully, with WP formatting and graphics intact.
Interestingly, the official Libre Office viewer app [also the beta one] chokes on these FrankenFiles, as well as most other allegedly ODT-compatible office viewers and editors.
And so my 48-hour conclusion and advice are this: If you're a die-hard WPD user and would like to access your files on an Android device, follow these kludgy and hack-ey steps: (1) upload your WPD file AS IS to your device or the cloud; (2) install OOReader on your device; (3) when you need to do so, simply rename the WPD file to an ODT extension, and import into OOReader.
Savvy users might even write a batch script or CMD file beforehand which automatically renames or mirrors important WPD files as ODT files in one's PC Dropbox folder, which will save precious seconds when accessing that beautiful WPD data...
When (if) I find an app which can then also correctly and perfectly edit and save these hacked WPD-as-ODT files, a follow-up report will, well, follow.
Date: 28 May 2016
==============
PS: This week [late May 2016] I received an amusing response from someone who was baffled by WordPerfect's continued existence and use. Apparently, there's a new-fangled Office suite made by some outfit called "Microsoft", which has allegedly developed some traction in the word processing universe. And this respondent's advice was to convert all existing WordPerfect files into Word .doc/.docx format, so as to fit into the current hegemony.
Firstly: WHAT?
Secondly, and somewhat more realistically and less tongue-in-cheek: A few of us die-hards love WordPerfect because, well, "Reveal Codes". [And if you need to ask, don't read on...]
Having become a WP user since the late 80's, and with a stash of thousands of WPD docs, one is reluctant to engage in large-scale batch reformatting and conversion ops, merely to fit in with the MS Word crowd. As an interim and pragmatic measure and recognition of Android "realpolitik", maybe my suggestion to just rename WPD files to ODT is then not entirely beyond comprehension?
This problem has prompted me to research and experiment, based on the fact that a free Windows MS Office-compatible suite like Libre Office [or Open Office, or Apache Office] has, for some time, had the ability to open WordPerfect files seamlessly [and save them, sometimes]. I formatted and saved a few basic WPD files, simply renamed the file extension to .ODT, and opened them in Libre Office – virtually perfectly [only experiencing importing issues with some complex tables]. Apart from that, formatting features like different fonts, graphics boxes, numbered outlining? No problem.
Then I proceeded to Android: I copied these test WPD files [simply renamed as ODT files, not exported as Open Office files, remember] to my device/cloud storage services like Dropbox and Google Drive. I installed a number of Open Office/ODT compatible office apps, and tried to open the "new" ODT files.
The best result so far [only been testing for the last 2 days] has come from OOReader [free via the Google Play store]. Opening a disguised WPD file as an ODT file takes a few seconds to convert, and – success! Almost every file I've tossed at OOReader has imported successfully, with WP formatting and graphics intact.
Interestingly, the official Libre Office viewer app [also the beta one] chokes on these FrankenFiles, as well as most other allegedly ODT-compatible office viewers and editors.
And so my 48-hour conclusion and advice are this: If you're a die-hard WPD user and would like to access your files on an Android device, follow these kludgy and hack-ey steps: (1) upload your WPD file AS IS to your device or the cloud; (2) install OOReader on your device; (3) when you need to do so, simply rename the WPD file to an ODT extension, and import into OOReader.
Savvy users might even write a batch script or CMD file beforehand which automatically renames or mirrors important WPD files as ODT files in one's PC Dropbox folder, which will save precious seconds when accessing that beautiful WPD data...
When (if) I find an app which can then also correctly and perfectly edit and save these hacked WPD-as-ODT files, a follow-up report will, well, follow.
Date: 28 May 2016
==============
PS: This week [late May 2016] I received an amusing response from someone who was baffled by WordPerfect's continued existence and use. Apparently, there's a new-fangled Office suite made by some outfit called "Microsoft", which has allegedly developed some traction in the word processing universe. And this respondent's advice was to convert all existing WordPerfect files into Word .doc/.docx format, so as to fit into the current hegemony.
Firstly: WHAT?
Secondly, and somewhat more realistically and less tongue-in-cheek: A few of us die-hards love WordPerfect because, well, "Reveal Codes". [And if you need to ask, don't read on...]
Having become a WP user since the late 80's, and with a stash of thousands of WPD docs, one is reluctant to engage in large-scale batch reformatting and conversion ops, merely to fit in with the MS Word crowd. As an interim and pragmatic measure and recognition of Android "realpolitik", maybe my suggestion to just rename WPD files to ODT is then not entirely beyond comprehension?
Thursday, May 26, 2016
Sunday, May 15, 2016
Tuesday, May 3, 2016
The Soft Voice of the Serpent – comment on the title
The Soft Voice of the Serpent – comment on the title...
© H Mönnig 2016
Quick recap of the reference to the Biblical story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden: the Devil, disguised as a snake, seduced and intrigued Eve with the offer of the apple from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Eve, thinking that Adam would be pleased, offered him the apple, whereupon they both realised their nakedness, developed shame, and were expelled from the Garden by God – because they had corrupted their essential innocence and naivete. They had traded their heavenly bliss for earthly knowledge, a gross and uneven trade.
It can be argued that the modern couple's "innocent" encounter with a harmless locust mirrors the above Biblical tale of the loss of innocence. The husband [unable to face his own helplessness and emasculation], is superficially amused and intrigued by the locust who shares his own disability. His temporary excitement and amusement please his wife, who, until now, has quietly borne the burden of tending to him like a nurse [unpaid and with no benefits...].
The wife, naively [like Eve], does not realise that locusts might fly away if poked [or that gifted apples might be suspicious, like Eve and the devilish serpent]. She "goes too far" [like Eve], and her angry husband, like a petulant and spoilt child, explodes in a fit of fury – they both lose their innocence [like Adam/Eve] and this exposure of the unstated and suppressed tension between them mirrors the loss of innocence and bliss in the Garden of Eden.
Because the couple had bonded over their childish and slightly mean-spirited jokes about the crippled locust, they are now "punished" by having their true natures exposed. The husband is shown to be a mean-spirited man, unable to accept his limitations. The wife is shown to be, at best, passively naive, and, at worst, to be a quiet manipulator of her helpless husband [she really enjoyed the comical similarity between her crippled husband, and the unbalanced locust, just a little too much...].
The corruption of their relationship is shown by the uneven tensions in their dealing with each other's needs [the man feels like a hollow shell of his former self; the wife feels like a widow whose original husband is not more]. This conflict is depicted in a small, mundane event [humans are amused by a small insect] – like Eve took a humble apple to Adam. The serpent [the Devil, the eternal corruptor] has a quiet and persuasive hiss – he is only a catalyst [starter] of eventual corruption from seeds that were already in place. In the same manner, the superficially stable life of the young husband and wife in this story [educated, well-spoken, with money, an undeserved tragedy] only needs a little nudge [when the locust is "accidentally" prodded to fly away] – for their doomed relationship to be made clear.
The serpent's success in corrupting humankind's first couple in the Garden of Eden led to humanity's loss of innocence. Thus, when the locust flies away [caused by the woman: sexist subtext – women cannot be trusted], the crippled man is made all too aware of his permanent shortcomings. He will never by able to "fly away", with hope of an alternative life elsewhere. He will always be only part of man, and at the mercy of a slender-armed woman who, literally and figuratively, pushes him around. Thus, like an angry child, he cannot speak of his angers and fears, but snaps at those who cannot defend themselves [thus giving the woman more reason to resent him; a vicious cycle].
And so an idyllic garden is corrupted by human weakness and insecurity: an eternal tale of cynical knowledge and loss. And the serpent's response? "Missssssssssssion complete!" ▣
© H Mönnig 2016
Quick recap of the reference to the Biblical story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden: the Devil, disguised as a snake, seduced and intrigued Eve with the offer of the apple from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. Eve, thinking that Adam would be pleased, offered him the apple, whereupon they both realised their nakedness, developed shame, and were expelled from the Garden by God – because they had corrupted their essential innocence and naivete. They had traded their heavenly bliss for earthly knowledge, a gross and uneven trade.
It can be argued that the modern couple's "innocent" encounter with a harmless locust mirrors the above Biblical tale of the loss of innocence. The husband [unable to face his own helplessness and emasculation], is superficially amused and intrigued by the locust who shares his own disability. His temporary excitement and amusement please his wife, who, until now, has quietly borne the burden of tending to him like a nurse [unpaid and with no benefits...].
The wife, naively [like Eve], does not realise that locusts might fly away if poked [or that gifted apples might be suspicious, like Eve and the devilish serpent]. She "goes too far" [like Eve], and her angry husband, like a petulant and spoilt child, explodes in a fit of fury – they both lose their innocence [like Adam/Eve] and this exposure of the unstated and suppressed tension between them mirrors the loss of innocence and bliss in the Garden of Eden.
Because the couple had bonded over their childish and slightly mean-spirited jokes about the crippled locust, they are now "punished" by having their true natures exposed. The husband is shown to be a mean-spirited man, unable to accept his limitations. The wife is shown to be, at best, passively naive, and, at worst, to be a quiet manipulator of her helpless husband [she really enjoyed the comical similarity between her crippled husband, and the unbalanced locust, just a little too much...].
The corruption of their relationship is shown by the uneven tensions in their dealing with each other's needs [the man feels like a hollow shell of his former self; the wife feels like a widow whose original husband is not more]. This conflict is depicted in a small, mundane event [humans are amused by a small insect] – like Eve took a humble apple to Adam. The serpent [the Devil, the eternal corruptor] has a quiet and persuasive hiss – he is only a catalyst [starter] of eventual corruption from seeds that were already in place. In the same manner, the superficially stable life of the young husband and wife in this story [educated, well-spoken, with money, an undeserved tragedy] only needs a little nudge [when the locust is "accidentally" prodded to fly away] – for their doomed relationship to be made clear.
The serpent's success in corrupting humankind's first couple in the Garden of Eden led to humanity's loss of innocence. Thus, when the locust flies away [caused by the woman: sexist subtext – women cannot be trusted], the crippled man is made all too aware of his permanent shortcomings. He will never by able to "fly away", with hope of an alternative life elsewhere. He will always be only part of man, and at the mercy of a slender-armed woman who, literally and figuratively, pushes him around. Thus, like an angry child, he cannot speak of his angers and fears, but snaps at those who cannot defend themselves [thus giving the woman more reason to resent him; a vicious cycle].
And so an idyllic garden is corrupted by human weakness and insecurity: an eternal tale of cynical knowledge and loss. And the serpent's response? "Missssssssssssion complete!" ▣
Sunday, May 1, 2016
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