> > > I'm interested in what people do on this one. > > > > > > Suppose you output a report from your favourite genealogical program > > > in say DOC or RTF format because you want to put it through some > > > manual editing in a word processing program. > > > > > > What is it you want to do? Is it to tweak the content (sounds a bit > > > dubious - why wasn't it right in the first place)? Or perhaps you > > > want to massage the appearance in some way. > > > > > > Any comments on your experiences would be appreciated. > > > > > > Peter J Seymour > > > > This very very general question is rather irrelevant unless we know > > what program you are using, what you expect to do or what problems > > you are encountering. > .... > > bob gillis > > In clarification, I engage in family history research in a small way > (ie for my extended family) and I engage in software development > again I suppose in a small way where I have my own genealogical > program. I invited the discussion because I am trying to get a > better grip on the output requirements for such a program. > > Suitable output requirements depend first of all on who the user is > - amateur, professional, beginner, experienced and so on. Beyond > that there seem to be some definite modes of output for reports: > -- screen > -- printer > -- plain text file for subsequent ad-hoc data processing > -- pdf file for subsequent viewing/printing > -- rtf (etc) file for word processing > -- csv file (where the data is appropriate) > -- image (jpg etc) > -- webpage (I'm not keen on this one, it is too easy to do > inappropriate publishing) > > I have been trying to get a better grip on some of the more detail > points among all this. The comments made by various posters have > been quite helpful. > > Peter J Seymour <mozng@pjsey.demon.co.uk> www.gendatam.com Peter, Opinions, it's said, are like portions of the anatomy: everybody has one. _MY_ opinion, for what little it's worth, is that you should concentrate on the genealogical aspects of your program and, only after you have a satisfactory "product, branch into other things, such as adding word processing bells and whistles. Matter of fact, I'd suggest that, even then, you run, not walk, to the nearest exit and avoid those wp functions like the very plague .. unless this whole project is strictly for your own pleasure, you'll never satisfy every potential user with such add-ons. In lieu of wp functionality, may I suggest you look at gdbi and how it makes use of the lifelines reports/report language? If you decide to adopt/adapt those/that, you have "instant" wp-like functionality and allow your users the ability to create customi{s,z}ed outputs. Just my US $0.02, Sun-tanned Ol' Bob (100+ days without rain here in the Desert Southwest!) -- Robert G. Melson | Rio Grande MicroSolutions | El Paso, Texas ----- A government big enough to give you everything you want is big enough to take away everything you have. Thomas Jefferson Bob Melson <amia9018@mypacks.net>

Bob Melson wrote: > <snip> > > In lieu of wp functionality, may I suggest you look at gdbi and how > it makes use of the lifelines reports/report language? If you > decide to adopt/adapt those/that, you have "instant" wp-like > functionality and allow your users the ability to create > customi{s,z}ed outputs. Pray tell, what is gbdi? bob gillis bob gillis <robertgillis@verizon.net>