Re: [OOo-Hebrew] A challenge - can OO do this?

Shmuel Himelstein wrote:
>> One thing I'd like to be able to do with OO is to design a "Mikra'ot
>> Gedolot" format, where the text is on the top and a few commentators are
>> underneath it, and where the program figures out how to space everything
>> from one page to the next. Does that sound impossible?

Nearly. It is even harder than it sounds.

I have a friend who used to do this kind of typesetting
professionally. He had a set of huge Word 6 macros
to do it. He left that business when he could no longer
run his macros on any existing computer.

He tells me that there is a specialized commercial
application that does this kind of typesetting. It costs
about $900, it is hard to use, and it comes with very
little documentation. There is nothing else that
comes even close.

Of course, you can always write yourself some macros
for your favorite typesetting software. Good luck.

Amir E. Aharoni wrote:
> Come to think of it, i always wondered - how did the Jewish
> typesetters in Lithuania over hundred years ago did it so perfectly
> without any computers.

By hand, placing each piece of letter and spacer type into
a frame one at a time.

Books used to be a lot more expensive than they are now.
Still a lot cheaper than manuscripts, though.

-Yitzchak
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