For TextSpresso™ 1.0 (Build 1.x120) Commercial Release
March 22, 1999
Thank you for downloading and trying TextSpresso 1.0! TextSpresso is an easy to use, professional level text cleaning application produced for Mac OS by Taylor Design. It has a wide array of features and filters, many of which are unique among Mac text cleaners. It's low in price and easy to use for the casual user. Yet it's flexible enough to serve professional users and replace competing text filters costing up to three times as much.
TextSpresso can...
* Clean up Internet text, including E-mails and downloaded web pages.
* Prepare text for Internet transport, HTML publishing, and print publishing.
* Hot Filter the selected text in virtually any Mac application.
* Batch filter text files with a fast, multi-threaded batch processor.
* Let you create filters for your own text filtering needs using any one of seven core filter types.
* Serve as a nice text editor.
* And more! (See the Introduction chapter of the manual for more information on TextSpresso's features and uses.)
This read me document contains a few quick notes about the 1.0 release and should be read by all users. Please see the included manual for information on using TextSpresso. Also, please feel free to contact Taylor Design with any questions you might have.
Contact Info
You can check for and download the latest version of TextSpresso at: http://www.taylor-design.com/
Please feel free to contact Taylor Design with any questions, comments, or bug reports.
E-mail: support@taylor-design.com
taylor-design@kagi.com
Postal Mail: Taylor Design, 8172 Palm #1729, Oak Hills, CA 92345-7849
Quote Text L2
At the last minute we found a problem with the Quote Text L2 filter. A fixed version is in the Extras folder. Simply select Filter>>Edit Filters>>Import Filters... and open this file. Then select the fixed filter in the filter dialog and click Replace. We're sorry about this.
About the Manual
The manual is in HTML format. If for some reason you prefer or require text format, you can download a text version from our Web site. Or simply open the chapters in TextSpresso and apply the Net To Text filter (under the Filter menu) to clean up the HTML and produce easy to read text.
Text Fields in Filter Editors
It bears repeating here that the search and replace text fields in the various filter editors do not behave exactly like normal Mac text fields. They are designed so that they can display any of the 256 possible characters in the Mac ASCII character set. But they do not at this time support the ability to select and edit characters behind the last one. So if you type three characters and realize that the first one is wrong, you have to backspace to it. (Or copy it to the Notes field, edit it, and copy back.)
This is a bit annoying, we know, but "...it's a feature, not a bug." We'll be updating this special text field so it behaves exactly like a normal Mac text field in the near future.
Requirements
* A Macintosh, or 100% compatible, with a 68020 or higher processor. TextSpresso is optimized for PowerPC.
* Mac OS 7.x or 8.x or higher.
* A minimum of 2.5 MB of hard disk space for the complete install (including manuals, sample files, etc).
* A minimum of 2 MB of free RAM for PowerPC, and 2.5 MB free RAM for 680x0.
Registration
TextSpresso is commercial software and is not free. When you download TextSpresso it is limited to demo mode. In demo mode TextSpresso operates normally for 30 days. After 30 days it will no longer run except to allow you to enter your registration code.
TextSpresso 1.0 can be purchased under three different licenses:
* Single User License: $29 each.
* Site License: $500 (single organization, all members within 100 mile/160 km radius).
* World-Wide License: $1200 (single organization, all members on Earth).
You can purchase the above licenses using the application named Register in the TextSpresso folder. You can also order online at: http://order.kagi.com/?SC9
If for some reason you do not wish to use either of the above options, you can pay Taylor Design directly. See the file Paying Directly in the Extras folder.
If you are a member of the press and would like a complimentary single user license for review purposes, please E-mail support@taylor-design.com with the appropriate information (i.e. name, organization, contact information for yourself and for confirmation). Once we've confirmed your press status we will register a single user license in the name of your organization and send you a registration code. All we ask is that you send us a copy of the review TextSpresso appears in when it is published. This offer applies to reviewers for Macintosh User Groups as well.
Last Minute Notes
* When using StuffIt! Expander to expand the TextSpresso archive, make sure that the "Convert text files to Macintosh format:" option under "Cross Platform" preferences is NOT set to "Always". Users have reported that TextSpresso will not run when it is decompressed with this option set to Always.
* RAM Charger Users: Make sure that RAM Charger is set to "Avoid taking all memory." Otherwise RAM Charger may assign TextSpresso far more RAM than it needs.
* If you have any problems running TextSpresso, please try running it with only the standard Mac OS extensions and/or with no extensions (i.e. hold down the shift key at launch). If you find a conflict between TextSpresso and any extension, please notify us immediately so that we can attempt to resolve the issue.
* Finally, if you can’t get TextSpresso to run and/or experience excessive problems, try re-downloading the archive. If problems persist, please notify us immediately so that we can identify and resolve them. Thank you.
Under Construction Features
A few features are visible within the user interface, yet are grayed out because they are not yet available. These features are listed below.
* Batch Options. This is a major addition to the Batch processing feature, but it just isn't ready yet. And since batch processing does work without it, we decided to ship any way.
* Filter Palette Find command.
* Printing is disabled. It was not a major feature request during the beta, which makes sense since most TextSpresso users are filtering text generated from and ultimately used within other applications. We decided to spend time testing the 1.0 release rather than finishing printing.
* Sound effects and notices have not yet been added even though you can turn on sounds in the preferences. This is a nice user interface touch, but not something that's critical to the application's operation. Again, we decided to spend time tweaking the 1.0 release rather than recording sounds (however fun that might be).
* Secure delete isn't available in the preferences. Again, not a critical feature and not really requested by beta testers, so we put it off.
We plan to finish and enable these features in 1.1, which will be a free upgrade for registered 1.0 users.
Also, we are still working on: the small background version of TextSpresso for those users who generally filter text within other applications via Hot Filter; AppleScript support; BBEdit plug-ins. We hope to have these features available soon.
Reporting Bugs
Please report all bugs and problems, no matter how minor, to: support@taylor-design.com
When reporting a bug or a crash please report as much information about the problem as possible. Try to fill out the questions in the following check list:
* What type of Macintosh were you using? (Include RAM amount if possible.)
* What version of Mac OS were you using?
* What were you trying to do in TextSpresso and how did it go wrong?
* If possible, please provide the document you were working on.
* Can you reproduce the problem? If so, can you reproduce it with extensions off?
The more information you provide us with, the more quickly we can isolate and fix the problem.
When reporting a filter problem please try to fill out the following questions:
* What text were you trying to filter? (Include a copy of the original text if possible.)
* What were the results? (Include a copy of the filtered text if possible.)
* What were you expecting?
With this many filters to keep track of and test, we have no doubt that some of them may not filter exactly as expected. If you report a problem to us we can usually get you a fixed filter very quickly (2-3 days).
About Taylor Design
Taylor Design is a privately owned software shop located in Oak Hills, California.
Taylor Design specializes in custom and commercial software for the Macintosh platform, written using Prograph CPX and Metrowerks CodeWarrior (C++).
Taylor Design also offers consulting and web site design services to businesses in the High Desert area. Taylor Design consults for both Macintosh and Wintel platforms.
