In article <[log in to unmask]>, robert blackmore <"robert
blackmore"@osi.varian.com> writes
>Hi all;
>
>I am trying to reduce the amount of printed reports from the HP3000.  I
>am running jobs which instead of printing the report, create the report
>into a serial file.  Then I transfer it to our Windows-NT server via
>FTP.
>
>What i need is a tool to read the report from PC's using Windows.  I
>have used WORDPAD which can handle large files and has a 'find'
>facility.  I think WORDPAD is good, however my users what to see the
>entire report (132 chars) on the screen, and do not wish to scroll to
>the right to view all of the report.
>
>Does anyone know of some software which i could use?

Er... do we have a conceptual problem here?

Your users need to see 132 characters across the width of a PC screen,
which is a physical, not a logical constraint.

Given that WordPad can achieve that (and it can) there's no benefit to
be gained from changing to any other software. Maybe laying in an
optimised TT font will help, though.

Anyway, put Wordpad into Landscape mode (File, Page Setup), set it for a
page size that exploits the full width of the screen (US Letter is just
fine), and then drop the point size of the font you are using (which
must be a fixed pitch one, yes?) until 132 characters *just* fits the
screen width. Don't worry if the box only offers sizes down to 8. You
can type in 6 or 7, and it will obey.

Then you have what you want. No other changes are needed. Any other
software isn't going to be able to do any better. It's a physical thing.

Now maybe they won't be able to read it at the point size selected; in
which case you will have to give them bigger screens. Or maybe it will
be enough to switch to a font chosen for maximum clarity, and/or an
optimised height/width ratio.

A quick search on my machine (800*600) reveals that Prestige Fixed will
allow 132 chars at 8 point, Letter Gothic will allow 132 at 7 point (it
will do 131 at 8 point - shucks), and r_ansi, of Reflection fame, will
also allow 132 at 7 point (112 at 8 point, so it's well off there).


In the dear dead days before Truetype, we used to use a Bitstream font
called Letter Gothic 12. Downside of such fonts was you had to build
each point size you needed individually, and separately for screen and
for printer. Upside was that it was super-optimised and hinted for
legibility at that point size during the time it was being built.

The other good thing about LG12 was that its width was reduced, so that
12 characters would fit in the space normally occupied by 10, relative
to its height. Or, put another way, 132 characters would fit in the
space a 'normal' font could get only 110 in. So you could go up at least
one point size over such a font, get better readability, and still not
fall off the end of the line.

Anyway, I'm not suggesting that you should go back to pre-TT fonts -
just that finding the modern TT equivalent might pay dividends. Anyway,
have a play with it, and see where you get to.

HTH


Roy Brown

PS Before someone else says it, yes I know WinWord lets you do
everything WordPad does, and it would let you do your own widthways
compression on any existing font. But readability, already low at the
point sizes in question, suffers *very* badly.....

--
Roy Brown               Phone : (01684) 291710     Fax : (01684) 291712
Affirm Ltd              Email : [log in to unmask]
The Great Barn, Mill St 'Have nothing on your systems that you do not
TEWKESBURY GL20 5SB (UK) know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful.'