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Re: Word - Mathematica connection

  • To: mathgroup at christensen.cybernetics.net
  • Subject: [mg665] Re: Word - Mathematica connection
  • From: tgayley (Todd Gayley)
  • Date: Fri, 7 Apr 1995 23:39:31 -0500

In article <3m4qeo$e47 at news0.cybernetics.net> Richard Mercer 
<richard at seuss.math.wright.edu> writes:

>In the latest issue of The Mathematica Journal (vol 5 no 2) there is a brief  
>note indicating that WRI is developing an interface between Mathematica and  
>Microsoft Word 6.0. The note leaves the impression that version 6.0 is required  
>and the interface will not work with earlier versions.
>
>While the possibility of using Mathematica from within a word processor is very  
>interesting. But why select a bloated, undesirable product like Word 6.0?!
>There are many, many Word users who have decided not to "downgrade" to Word  
>6.0, and the prospect of paying for 6.0 PLUS the product being prepared by WRI  
>is not very appealing.
>  
>
>Perhaps there are technical reasons why Word 6.0 is the only possibility, but  
>otherwise PLEASE consider doing something compatible with Word 5.x or Word  
>Perfect.
>
>How do others feel about this?
>
>Richard Mercer

Richard,

This product requires Word's macro language, WordBasic, which debuts on the
Macintosh in Word 6.0. WordBasic was present in pre-6.0 versions of Word for
Windows, but it was not sufficiently powerful.

We are aware of the user community's general distaste for Word 6 for Macintosh,
but this product simply could not exist in any earlier version. We are assessing
the prospect of doing a similar link with WordPerfect (and Ami Pro), and this
may exist in the future. For now, let's face it, Word has a huge market segment,
especially on Windows, and this link is a cross-platform product.

Our MathLink technology makes creating these links a relatively staightforward
project. It is only required that the word processor (or any application) has a
sufficient macro language. The bulk of the Word link is written in WordBasic,
not C.

We appreciate user input on issues like this. A show of support for WordPerfect
could be very influential on our development plans.


Todd Gayley
MathLink Applications
WRI



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