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Conference 7.286::atarist

Title:Atari ST, TT, & Falcon
Notice:Please read note 1.0 and its replies before posting!
Moderator:FUNYET::ANDERSON
Created:Mon Apr 04 1988
Last Modified:Tue May 06 1997
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:1433
Total number of notes:10312

1337.0. "Atari to Mac floppy exchange?" by STKHLM::LETTERSTAL (Johan Letterst�l DEC Stockholm) Fri Dec 04 1992 07:42

I need to get a ASCII text-document created on ST onto a Mac.
Is this possible?
How do I get the Mac to recognise a Atari (DOS) floppy?
Will the text be readable (eg multinational characters like ���)?

Any answers?

/johan
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1337.1UPROAR::EVANSGGwyn Evans @ IME - Open DECtrade -> DTN 769-8108Fri Dec 04 1992 09:5915
    	Well, I thought that newer Mac's could recognise DOS floppy disks
    although I don't know if that was automatic or not. The phrase "Apple
    File Exchange" seems to spring to mind, for some reason. 
    
    	If not, then it'd depend on the software you've got available and
    where the two machines are. Maybe physically connect them and use
    Kermit or similar?
    
    	One further problem, as you mentioned, is that unless both
    machines/packages are using the same Multinational Character Set for
    the characters with the eighth-bit set, they won't translate correctly.
    Personally, I'd investigate if it was possible to do a search &
    replace, e.g. '�' by '<o">' in order to only have seven-bit chars in
    the document in case the original document with the eight-bit chars
    isn't recognisable.
1337.2I can help herePRNSYS::LOMICKAJJeffrey A. LomickaFri Dec 04 1992 11:1631
I do this frequently [moving text files from Atari to MAC], using
"Apple File Exchange" wich comes with newer Macintoshes.  It whould
have to be a VERY OLD Macintosh (A Mac+ or an older SE without a
"SuperDrive") to not be able to read a PC floppy.  All "Classic",
"pwerbook", and "Mac II" systems can do it.

Apple File Exchange won't read just any Atari floppy. I'm not sure what
the compatibilty guidelines are exactly.  Disks formatted for PC
compatibility work fine, and are your safest bet.  I'm fairly sure that
"twisted" floppies are out of the question.  I'm not sure if normal,
untwisted, Atari floppies (Fromatted by TOS 1.0 or 1.4) will work or not.

Regarding character set conversion - AFE doesn't have generic character
set conversion in it.  There are options to do the "right thing" with
tabs, linefeeds, and carriage returns, but there isn't a translation
table capability for inernational character sets. However, this is an
easy program to write.  If I knew the character sets you are
translating, I could whip it up in about 15 minutes on the Macintosh
end.  (The same program would work at the Atari end, but I don't really
like writing programs for the ST any more.)

[When I ported the Whack sources, I didn't use the right settings for
CR/LF conversion, and ended up with extra linefeeds that I didn't want.
I wrote a small program to make things right after the fact.  Adding a
translation table from Atari multinational to Apple multinational
would be easy to do.]

In other words, if you tell me the character set you are convering from
(DEC Multinational, ISO Latin 1 NR, Atari, PC, or Other) I can whip up
the translation program for you.  Send me mail if this is what you
want.
1337.3Tnx!STKHLM::LETTERSTALJohan Letterst�l DEC StockholmFri Dec 11 1992 04:184
Tnx Jeff,
I mail you!

/johan