From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Path: main.gmane.org!not-for-mail From: Don Saklad Newsgroups: gmane.emacs.help Subject: Plain text ASCII. Boston City Hall. Date: 21 Jun 2004 23:22:02 -0400 Organization: MIT Laboratory for Computer Science Sender: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Message-ID: NNTP-Posting-Host: deer.gmane.org Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii X-Trace: sea.gmane.org 1088537485 23411 80.91.224.253 (29 Jun 2004 19:31:25 GMT) X-Complaints-To: usenet@sea.gmane.org NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 29 Jun 2004 19:31:25 +0000 (UTC) Original-X-From: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Tue Jun 29 21:30:41 2004 Return-path: Original-Received: from lists.gnu.org ([199.232.76.165]) by deer.gmane.org with esmtp (Exim 3.35 #1 (Debian)) id 1BfOJV-0006wu-00 for ; Tue, 29 Jun 2004 21:30:41 +0200 Original-Received: from localhost ([127.0.0.1] helo=lists.gnu.org) by lists.gnu.org with esmtp (Exim 4.33) id 1BfOLB-0000Xh-0N for geh-help-gnu-emacs@m.gmane.org; Tue, 29 Jun 2004 15:32:25 -0400 Original-Path: shelby.stanford.edu!newsfeed.stanford.edu!bloom-beacon.mit.edu!newsswitch.lcs.mit.edu!grapevine.lcs.mit.edu!not-for-mail Original-Newsgroups: gnu.emacs.help Original-Lines: 93 Original-X-Trace: grapevine.lcs.mit.edu 1087874522 60590 128.30.16.13 (22 Jun 2004 03:22:02 GMT) Original-X-Complaints-To: usenet@lcs.mit.edu Original-NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 22 Jun 2004 03:22:02 +0000 (UTC) User-Agent: Gnus/5.09 (Gnus v5.9.0) Emacs/21.2 Original-Xref: shelby.stanford.edu gnu.emacs.help:123882 Original-To: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-BeenThere: help-gnu-emacs@gnu.org X-Mailman-Version: 2.1.4 Precedence: list List-Id: Users list for the GNU Emacs text editor List-Unsubscribe: , List-Archive: List-Post: List-Help: List-Subscribe: , Errors-To: help-gnu-emacs-bounces+geh-help-gnu-emacs=m.gmane.org@gnu.org Xref: main.gmane.org gmane.emacs.help:19245 X-Report-Spam: http://spam.gmane.org/gmane.emacs.help:19245 Thank you Pascal Bourguignon! Regrettably writing scripts is the diffculty ! >> a. How might I set up a free public service with the public notices of >> Boston City Council Committees Public Hearings that the council >> distributes merely by email in microsoft word format ?... >> >> Ironically, the council has been unwilling to see how to distribute >> public notices in plain text ascii >> >> b. Would there be something like a list server that would >> automatically convert forwarded public notices in microsoft word >> format and make them readable on the web?... >> >> I get the microsoft word formatted notices in rmail in emacs and >> could forward them regularly, if necessary. It is the converting >> to plain text ascii that is the difficulty. > >There are a couple of free tools that can be used to read MS-Word >document and generate RTF or ASCII text from them. > >For example word2x, or wv: > >$ rpm -q -i wv >Name : wv Relocations: (not relocateable) >Version : 0.7.2 Vendor: SuSE Linux AG, Nuernberg, Germany >Release : 189 Build Date: Fri 28 Mar 2003 07:32:57 AM CET >Install date: Sun 26 Oct 2003 06:37:21 AM CET Build Host: D129.suse.de >Group : Productivity/Publishing/Word Source RPM: wv-0.7.2-189.src.rpm >Size : 1124855 License: GPL >Packager : http://www.suse.de/feedback >URL : http://www.wvWare.com >Summary : A Word 8 converter for Unix >Description : >WV is a program that can understand the microsofts word 8 >binary file format (office97), it currently converts word into html, >which can then be read with a browser. > >Authors: >-------- > Caolan McNamara >Distribution: SuSE Linux 8.2 (i586) > > > > >> c. Or would there be another way for me to forward the microsoft word >> formatted notices to a web link where anyone would be able to check >> the current and archived notices?... >> >> I could get an email address submitted on the email list that would >> effect forwarding of the microsoft word public notices automatically. > >You could easily subscribe a convertion robot to the mail list (check >/etc/aliases). > > >> The council public notices full text are not available on the web. A >> screwy calendar of public hearings dates is available but its >> difficult to navigate and does not include the full text of the >> notice, only time, location and minimal descriptor keywords. >> http://cityofboston.gov/citycouncil >> >> If any of you kind folks out there would, please ask for the emailings >> of public notices of city council committee hearings, take a look at >> the microsoft word formatting and let me know any ideas, hints, tips >> or pointers for setting up plain text ascii formatting on a web link >> or how to set up a listserver type thing and its archives. > >Basically, you'd put an alias such as: > > text-robot:"|/usr/local/bin/text-robot" > >in /etc/aliases on your host, have it receive email to: > text-robot@your.host.example.com > >(or if your host is not "really" on the internet, then subscribe a POP >email account (for example @yahoo.com), and use fetchmail to fetch the >messages and forward them to text-robot. > >And in /usr/local/bin/text-robot you write a little script using >metamail to extract the attached MS-Word file, and wvHtml to generate >an HTML file, or wvText to generate an ASCII file, and then use >sitecopy to upload these files to your web server (or merely cp if >your host is also your web server). > >-- >__Pascal Bourguignon__ http://www.informatimago.com/ > >There is no worse tyranny than to force a man to pay for what he does not >want merely because you think it would be good for him. -- Robert Heinlein