awssgs V1.0

        awssgs is an Apple IIGS program that converts AppleWorks
        spreadsheets into tab-separated text files. It is not
        possible to display spreadsheets using this program; in
        fact, it puts nothing at all on the desktop. Sorry about
        that.

        This program will read an AppleWorks 3.0 (or below) spread-
        sheet. It has an "Output Format" option that determines how
        formulas are handled. The options are:

        * Value
          The last value computed by the spreadsheet is written to
          the output file.

        * AppleWorks
          The AppleWorks formula for the cell is written to the
          output file.

        * ClarisWorks (the default)
          The AppleWorks formula for the cell is "translated" to a
          ClarisWorks formula, and the ClarisWorks formula is written
          to the output file.

        Translation of formulas to ClarisWorks format is accomplished
        by simply generating ClarisWorks keywords instead of AppleWorks
        keywords (eg: "Sum" rather than "@Sum"). So far this has worked
        for me, but of course your milage may vary.

        When loading the tab-separated file into ClarisWorks, you must
        specifically select "Spreadsheet" in the Open dialog. If you do
        not, your file will be opened as a word procssing file, much to
        your chagrin.

        This program is no speed deamon; it takes about 2 minutes to
        load a 4000-cell spreadsheet from a hard disk; saving the text
        file takes about as long (I haven't timed it!), and if a floppy
        is involved, it will be even longer.

        One of the less-apparant useful features is the fact that it
        tracks input and output directories separately; that is, the
        Open dialog defaults to the last directory you read a file from,
        and the Save As dialog defaults to the last directory you wrote
        a file into, even if different from the one you read from. This
        is an attempt to ease the agony involved in converting spread-
        sheets one at a time.

        For version 1.0, only the GS/OS executable (awssgs.s16) and
        this file are distributed. Though it's written in C, the code
        currently has the following restrictions that prevent it from
        being "ported":
        * Alignment - No alignment of structures is assumed (this is
                the one that bothers me);
        * Little-Endian - It assumes the first byte in a word is the
                low-order byte;
        * IEEE floating point - It assumes that a "C" double is an
                8-byte IEEE floating-point number.
        If I have the gumption to make the code insensitive to align-
        ment requirements (probably by representing all data as bytes),
        I'll probably release the code.

        The original motivation of this code was the fact that
        ClarisWorks 4.0 does not support the importing of AppleWorks
        spreadsheet formulas (in fact, in some cases it blows up trying
        rather than just take the values, which I considered an
        unfriendly act). The actual spreadsheet translator took about
        a week and a half of evenings (say, 20 hours).


        Copyright Thomas. R. Wyant III, Richmond, VA, 1996.

        This program is freeware. It can be copied and distributed
        freely as long as all copyright and warranty information is
        included, but not sold for a profit.

        The Apple IIgs version of this program contains material from
        the ORCA/C Run-Time Libraries, Copyright 1987-1989 by Byte
        Works, Inc. Used with permission.

        "Apple" and "IIgs" are trademarks of Apple Computer, Inc.
        "ClarisWorks" is a trademark of Claris, Inc.
        "AppleWorks" is a trademark of Scantron/Quality Computers.

        WARRANTY INFORMATION:

            The author uses "awssgs" frequently, and has made a
        reasonable effort to be sure that it is bug-free. However, he
        also checks the translation of any spreadsheets he cares about.
        So should you.

        THOMAS R. WYANT, III MAKES NO WARRANTIES EITHER EXPRESSED OR
        IMPLIED REGARDING THIS SOFTWARE OR ITS FITNESS FOR ANY
        PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND SHALL HAVE NO LIABILITY TO THE USER OF
        THIS SOFTWARE FOR ANY LOSS OR OTHER DAMAGE CAUSED OR ALLEGED TO
        BE CAUSED EITHER DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY BY THE USE OF THIS
        SOFTWARE.