This is a "yes it's doable" or "No forget it" query
I am facing a challenge with some very large QuarkXpress documents that need
to be repurposed for either "simple" text distribution, Web distribution or
MC eBook distribution, where we want to remove all non-cross platform
"Diacriticalized" characters
e.g.
"jñâna" should be come "jnana" and
Íiva becomes Siva
etc.
the current "Batch" finds and replace extension we are using for Quark
Express "chokes" on large files (10-23 megabyte files) where we are trying
to get it to find some 45 plus different characters or strings and replace
them with 45 cross platform characters/strings (I should learn the proper
name for the different Key sets) and the projected number of instances will
reach to 5,000-6,000 changes... conceively, if we can do it, I can work with
smaller files.
We want to replace
a) all non-Mac characters with alternate strings
(e.g palatal "S" becomes "Sh")
b) some specific strings with other specific strings (whole words with
diacritical characters in them with enter whole words without such marks.)
c) all diacriticals, as single character changes, even those that "work" on
any machine...(I may come, one day, to eventually understand what
diacriticals are universally "safe" but for now we will just remove them
all.)
I am thinking (hoping?) Metacard can do this... I know I can do it on raw
text files. And very fast... amazingly fast... The questions are:
a) Can you do this on binary "native" applications files like a Quark
Express document, without corrupting the original document?
envision:
put URL ("binary:whatever path") tBlob
repeat here a replace "old char-string" with "new char-string)
b) If the answer is yes, then, is there any performance gain in loading the
strings into a custom property array rather than simply loading them in a
field with a tab or comma separator? Us low level scripter's struggle with
some of the higher level options (we just don't know what they are...)
c) What is the best way to "handle the data" read in a portion, run the
replace on it and write out to a new variable of file? Or can MC "Crunch"
the entire file in Ram, all 6000 changes and simply write out the file back
to disk?
d) Question is: if you can simply enter the strings to a field, or if a
charToNum conversion is needed first?
Below is a sample char conversion on the two sample words.
Í-- 234
i-- 105
v-- 118
a-- 97
-- 13
j-- 106
ñ-- 150
â-- 137
n-- 110
a-- 97
-- 13
I have already spent two days struggling with this old broken Quark
extension... so before I put more time on this with MC I just wanted to know
"is this doable?" If so, this one function will again prove that MC is
worth every penny you pay for it. (The man who owns the Quark Extension
wants some huge upgrade fee for this one simple batch/replace Quark
Extension...) If you have time for a long answer, just reply "Yes, go for
it."
Hinduism Today
Sivakatirswami
Editor's Assistant/Production Manager
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
www.HinduismToday.com, www.HimalayanAcademy.com,
www.Gurudeva.org, www.hindu.org
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