Application for Equation Editing (?)

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saba
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Application for Equation Editing (?)

Post by saba »

Hello!

I have recently set up Basilisk II, and have managed to transfer a bunch of files off some old Mac diskettes that I have had lying around forever. I also managed to identify and install a majority of the applications I used once upon a time to create these files. But there is one application I can't find. The file type is EFIL, the creator code is EQED. I have borrowed a real Mac (to support transferring data off the disks), and when displayed on the Mac screen the icons look like in the attached picture. Appparently some kind of equation edotor. I have tried Equation Editor 1.0B, as well as Expressionist 3.14, no success.

Does anybody here recognize the file/creator codes and/or the icons? It would be nice being able to fire all the old stuff back up again.

Image
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ClockWise
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Re: Application for Equation Editing (?)

Post by ClockWise »

Nothing comes to my mind, but I will mention that it is worth checking (and requesting) at Macintosh Garden if you don't get an answer here.

They have a forum: https://macintoshgarden.org/forum
saba
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Re: Application for Equation Editing (?)

Post by saba »

Thank you for the Macintosh Garden forum hint, I'll give that a try too.
thorsted
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Re: Application for Equation Editing (?)

Post by thorsted »

I think the Application is called MathWriter.
https://ecommons.cornell.edu/handle/1813/39155
saba
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Re: Application for Equation Editing (?)

Post by saba »

Yes, that is definitely the one! thank you so much. Perfect match on icons. Now comes the challenge of finding the actual SW, but it's MUCH easier when you know what to searh and ask for.
Last edited by saba on Sun Sep 19, 2021 6:14 pm, edited 1 time in total.
emendelson
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Re: Application for Equation Editing (?)

Post by emendelson »

On this subject, maybe Tyler can help. I found this database of creator codes and file types:

https://www.macintoshrepository.org/104 ... -database-

It opens in Panorama, and I was able to open it in Panorama 6 running in a High Sierra VM (where I found that it listed MathWriter as the probable creator of the file the OP asked about), but when I tried to use the Text Export wizard to export the text, I got an error. Is anyone able to open this database and export it to a modern format?

EDIT: Tyler tells me that the database is downloadable in Excel format here:

http://www.lacikam.co.il/tcdb/

Next time, I'll know to ask Tyler before spending time on these problems!
thorsted
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Re: Application for Equation Editing (?)

Post by thorsted »

Edward,

You can get a final excel file of the database here:
http://www.lacikam.co.il/tcdb/

It seems MathWriter isn’t on any of the Macintosh repositories. It’s for sale on Amazon, but I’m sure someone may have a copy here.
Last edited by thorsted on Sun Sep 19, 2021 6:00 pm, edited 1 time in total.
saba
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Re: Application for Equation Editing (?)

Post by saba »

Thank you so much for valuable information. For sure it must have been MathWriter I was using back in the days at university, both creator code in TCDB and icon as shown in the .pdf scan of the manual comfirms this.
thorsted wrote: Sun Sep 19, 2021 5:15 pm It seems MathWriter isn’t on any of the Macintosh repositories. It’s for sale on Amazon, but I’m sure someone may have a copy here.
There seems also to be at least a couple of copies residing in different locations in the US:

https://www.computerhistory.org/collect ... /102690907
https://catalog.princeton.edu/catalog/996958653506421
emendelson
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Re: Application for Equation Editing (?)

Post by emendelson »

The second of those links is to a book. The first is a catalogue record but not a link to the software. The app doesn't seem to be accessible anywhere...
saba
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Re: Application for Equation Editing (?)

Post by saba »

Yes, of course I am aware those are just records, not the actual SW. But the Princeton record states

"Description
Computer program.
1 computer disk ; 3 1/2 in. + guide (vii, 106 p. : ill. ; 23 cm.)
"

So it seems they own not only the book but also the SW. If this record is reflecting current status, one could in theory borrow the item from Princeton, including a 3 1/2" disk. Though only possible for students, it seems.

So yes, they are both catalog records, but still some kind of evidence that the software still exists somewhere in the world. That was all I tried to show in my post.
emendelson
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Re: Application for Equation Editing (?)

Post by emendelson »

You are absolutely right. The book did seem to come with a disk.
mnl
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Re: Application for Equation Editing (?)

Post by mnl »

Hi, I was browsing the forum and I noticed this. I think you're looking for this one:

Image

It's quite old, but being a personal license I'm not sure about uploading it. I know how frustrating unobtainable software can be, so if you really need it I don't think it would be a problem sharing it with you (I can't send PMs though).
thorsted
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Re: Application for Equation Editing (?)

Post by thorsted »

Very cool, being so old and not supported anymore, I think the risk in sharing is practically non-existent. Do you have an original disk? Love to get this on Macintoshgarden for safe keeping.

Thorsted
emendelson
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Re: Application for Equation Editing (?)

Post by emendelson »

Back in September, I wrote to one of the program authors, J. Robert Cooke, and asked if he could make it public for people to use with emulators. He wrote back on September 21 (and I hope it's OK to quote him):
Thanks for your info. I was totally unaware of the emulator possibilities so I will eagerly check this out. We produced lots of software during the early days of the Apple II, Macintosh and IBM-PC so this may breathe some additional life into those projects.

I should be able to locate the MathWriter II discs & files. Will get back to you on this.
Unfortunately, he seems not to have been able to find it, so I think you would be doing the authors a favor by uploading it!
saba
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Re: Application for Equation Editing (?)

Post by saba »

mnl wrote: Thu Dec 02, 2021 7:08 pm Hi, I was browsing the forum and I noticed this. I think you're looking for this one:
Yes, that is indeed the one. I used that software quite a lot in the university in the late 80s and early 90s. Can't say I really _need_ it, this is more of nostalgic thing, being able to read some files I created over 30 years ago. For the majority of my artifacts (there are actually not so many left!) from back then this is now possible by means of an emulated Mac with the necessary SW installed. This one is the singe missing piece for me.

I also think the risk of uploading it to Macintosh Garden is neglectible. But if you hesitate, I can try to get in touch with you to find some other means of having it transferred.

Thank you!
mnl
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Re: Application for Equation Editing (?)

Post by mnl »

(Sorry about the delay, my ISP has apparently been forgetting about my line for this whole past week.)

Nope thorsted, I just have the program. I can't tell if it came with special fonts, I don't think so but if that's the case I might have them installed somewhere. This circulated in a physics department before my time and I suspect it came from another physics department in a different country.

As they've been doing for ages grad students pooled their software. I had a relative there so I probably made a copy from theirs a long time ago. At some point I had to buy myself a PC and made copies of my orphaned (long story) 1.44M floppies with Executor and this particular program has survived.

Here's the thing, this single-user licensed copy shows a serial number and the full name of an individual I've never heard about. If I knew anything about the guy I could find out if it's OK to share it to eternity with his name there. It's probably not important and there's obviously no damage done, but such a thing isn't strictly legal in my country because of actually good privacy laws. I can't distribute this tiny program just like that with this pending issue. Worrying about 35 year-old warez is a bit embarrassing, but still... Maybe the software company could override it depending on their EULA (did those exist back then?). Thanks emendelson for asking Mr. J. Robert Cooke about this actually interesting piece of software that predates MathType. All this is too bad: isn't it a pain in the neck that plain simple software preservation can be so problematic?

I think it makes sense to just share it privately with someone in need with the sole purpose of recovering their data. If somehow it shows up on the usual places, well I can't do anything about that and it'd surely be just a coincidence... :razz:

So, saba please, send me a PM with an e-mail address for instance and I'll send it to you. If that's not possible on this platform maybe an administrator can do that for you.
Last edited by mnl on Sat Dec 11, 2021 1:55 am, edited 3 times in total.
saba
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Re: Application for Equation Editing (?)

Post by saba »

Hi mnl,

Thank you, I sent you a PM now, let's hope you get it.
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