Word processing in our modern age... - Page 5 - maemo.org

megabyte405 | # 41 | 2007-10-18, 13:34 | Report

Originally Posted by rs-px View Post

This thread is about wishing for a STABLE word processor. I want a word processor that never, ever crashes. You just can't release a word processor that crashes. I'm not sure how much testing goes on, but I can tell you that the margin bug you mention is not the only way to make AbiWord crash on the 770. If I've got time I'll try and catalogue the major bugs that I found and post them on the Bugzilla. But let's just say they're not in the single figures.

What's always annoyed me about all versions of Abiword on every platform is that alpha and beta releases are pushed-out as full point releases, complete with major bugs. I was astonished when Abiword reached version 1.0 because it still had the quality of beta (or even alpha) software.

Please see the PS of my previous message if you want to help. http://abisource.com/support/bugs/
is also a good resource.

BTW - with regard to testing: there is lots of it (and "dogfooding" too) on platforms we have. I didn't have a Maemo device until April, so I didn't test it until then. Now I have an N800 and can get access to a 770 with some notice, and so I can do a little testing. Presumably whoever released the earlier versions must have tested it, but I'm not sure to what degree - the released binary for 2.4.6 on Maemo has a few patches I don't have, and so I could not make a new 2.4.6 without re-writing those, which is just not worth the effort so close to 2.6.

I will probably be releasing a binary to a limited group of trusted testers before I release it openly, so that I can be sure that it is stable and reliable for others as well as myself. If I select you, please reinforce my trust by not releasing the file.

On a completely different note: I never round-tripped anything back into Notes - I mainly just use it for composition, then I format in AbiWord back on my PC and then create a PDF. The bit about trying the .note.html extension is interesting - I haven't actually looked inside of a notes html file to see how it differs from a regular one. With luck and time, it shouldn't matter soon, though, anyway

Last edited by megabyte405; 2007-10-18 at 16:06. Reason: Realized my post was redundant :)

midwinter | # 42 | 2007-10-18, 21:23 | Report

Originally Posted by artkavanagh View Post

Make a copy of your HTML file and give it the "double" extension ".note.html". I should now open in Notes.

Well I'll be. Weird.

midwinter | # 43 | 2007-10-18, 21:30 | Report

Hrm. Nope. If I export an RTF as an HTML file and name it foo.note.html, it opens up as code in the Notes app.

Mark S | # 44 | 2007-10-19, 01:42 | Report

I just want a word processor that is stable, word compatible with spell check so I can open a word document attached to an email, make a few comments, then send it back to the sender. I had exactly that with wordperfect for dos on my hp 200lx about 13 years ago but have not had it again since

I am not a technical person, but to support your development efforts, I can contribute money. Is there a way to make such a contribution to your abiword efforts?

artkavanagh | # 45 | 2007-10-19, 11:44 | Report

Originally Posted by midwinter View Post

Hrm. Nope. If I export an RTF as an HTML file and name it foo.note.html, it opens up as code in the Notes app.

Sorry to hear that; it works for me. Maybe I've just been lucky in my choice of HTML docs.

I wouldn't expect it to make any difference, but I generally strip out styles, since they won't be recognized by Notes anyway. I use UltraEdit in Windows, and replace "<p [~>]+>" with "<p>" (with the Regular Expressions box checked). I also remove <div> and <span> tags (which doesn't seem to affect character formatting like italics and bold, as far as I can see).

rs-px | # 46 | 2007-10-19, 12:20 | Report

Originally Posted by megabyte405 View Post

I didn't have a Maemo device until April, so I didn't test it until then. Now I have an N800 and can get access to a 770 with some notice, and so I can do a little testing. Presumably whoever released the earlier versions must have tested it, but I'm not sure to what degree - the released binary for 2.4.6 on Maemo has a few patches I don't have, and so I could not make a new 2.4.6 without re-writing those, which is just not worth the effort so close to 2.6.

I will probably be releasing a binary to a limited group of trusted testers before I release it openly, so that I can be sure that it is stable and reliable for others as well as myself. If I select you, please reinforce my trust by not releasing the file.

I would concentrate your efforts on the 800/810 platform now. Most people who own a 770 will probably be upgrading because the 800 is so damn cheap. This includes me, because I've just placed an order for an 800.

I would be delighted to help test the software before release. I have a keen eye for spotting bugs. They seem to spring out at me, whereas other people seem to remain oblivious to them.

I also word process pretty much all day long, because of my job, and would be happy to temporarily switch over to Abiword on my new 800 to test it thoroughly. If you want me to help, PM me using this forum.

rs-px | # 47 | 2007-10-19, 14:57 | Report

Incidentally, don't forget that the browser in OS2008 is supposedly very Web 2.0 friendly. In fact, during the launch, it was said that the new N810 will be able to handle just about any AJAX/Web 2.0 site with ease. This raises the possibility of using online word processors, of which there are quite a few (above and beyond Google Docs, which to me is just a text editor).

I'm on the beta program for Buzzword, which is perhaps most promising (although is actually Flash, rather than AJAX). I'll report how well it works when OS2008 is released.

rs-px | # 48 | 2007-10-19, 15:25 | Report

One last thought about word processing

Another possibility is to install Java on your now-faster N800/N810 (see http://wiki.java.net/bin/view/Mobile...tformsNokia800) and then download one of the Java-based word processors. A quick Google reveals a selection of them. They also probably won't be optimised for an 800x480 screen, but they will be cross-platform.

I've taken a look at TerpWord and Lexi running under Java on my MacBook, and they both seem pretty good! Not too complicated and able to work with RTF files.

Last edited by rs-px; 2007-10-19 at 15:31.

midwinter | # 49 | 2007-10-19, 17:05 | Report

Originally Posted by artkavanagh View Post

Sorry to hear that; it works for me. Maybe I've just been lucky in my choice of HTML docs.

I wouldn't expect it to make any difference, but I generally strip out styles, since they won't be recognized by Notes anyway. I use UltraEdit in Windows, and replace "<p [~>]+>" with "<p>" (with the Regular Expressions box checked). I also remove <div> and <span> tags (which doesn't seem to affect character formatting like italics and bold, as far as I can see).

Interesting. I'd be interested in seeing the code you send to notes for a simple document (e.g. "Test"). Would you be willing to post it here? Or to PM it to me?

tobiasj | # 50 | 2007-10-19, 18:10 | Report

Originally Posted by megabyte405 View Post

With the recent announcement of the N810, I am unsure how I will proceed. As Maemo 4.0 (IT OS 2008) will be available on both the N800 and the N810, I am inclined to skip Maemo 3.0 entirely, and only offer a IT2006 and IT2008 version of AbiWord. However, as I have a bunch of stuff running on my N800 w/ITOS2007 (mainly GPE, SIP/RTCOMM/GizmoProject, Python and UKMP) that I really need on 2008 before I upgrade, and I don't have an N810 (lucky ThoughtFix

) or a spare N800 to use as a test mobile device, the best I could do for testing is in Scratchbox (the cross-compilation environment) at least until the apps I need make it to 2008 and I can upgrade my own device. I would not feel confident releasing something that I hadn't tested myself, especially since I know how highly the community is anticipating a new AbiWord on Maemo version, and I want your high hopes to be satisfied, at least as well as humanly possible.

So, there you go. Timeline-wise, I hope to have a 770-compatible AbiWord 2.6.0 simultaneous-release with the other platforms, and an IT2008 version as soon as I get the porting done and can test it. Depending on the effort needed, the anticipated benefits (or possible drawbacks of ITOS2008, and the time delay for testing, I may or may not make an IT2007 version.

Thanks for your patience!

Ryan

Wow, If I am reading this correctly, those of us with os2007-n800's wont get anything? or actually, we will have to run the os2006-770 version, which you just got done saying is not going to be as stable on the n800 because (quite correctly) it wasn't written for it?
Huh, that kinda stinks. I like abiword a lot, in fact, I guess I am just lucky (and dont click outside the margins..) but I have not had any trouble using it on my n800 but I have no intention of upgrading to os2008 for much the same reasons as you, until the software I use regularly is ported I would rather stay on os2007. That being said, the ONE app I use regularly which I have had problems getting on my n800 is a word processer. Since I am sure I will run afoul of the n800 problems in the 770 version eventually having a version of abiword actually written for the os2007-n800 would be very nice.

Thanks for your response, and your hard work on abiword. I hope I misread or misunderstood what you wrote and can look forward to a n800 specific version of abiword in the near future...

-John