Converting MLS Files to Meltho
By George Kiraz
==============================

Note. This documentation superceeds the description in Meltho 1.1 User Guide (Section 6).



CONVERTING MLS 3 FILES TO MELTHO
--------------------------------

The batch file MLS3ToMeltho.bat converts MLS 3 files to Meltho. It first converts the file
into MLS 4 format, then into Meltho.

Usage:
   MLS3ToMeltho <filename>

where <filename> is the name of your MLS 3 file; do not type the brackets < >.
Important notes:
   1) The file MUST exist in the same directory where this program resides.
   2) The file name must be 1 to 8 letters long WITHOUT spaces, and WITHOUT an extension.
      (Example, the file name "test" is valid, but "my test.mls" is NOT valid.)

You will see a table named "MLS 3.X Coded ASCII Output Configuration". Unless you made
modifications to the MLS configuration files that came with your Syriac MLS package, do
NOT change anything in this table. Just hit ESC, and say "N" when asked if you want to
save changes.

---
NOTE. What matters in this table is the second column ("LANG"):
   1) "Font 1,1" to "Font 1,6" should be "ENG" (for English).
   2) "Font 2,1" to "Font 2,6", "Font 3,1" to "Font 3,6", and "Font 4,1" to "Font 4,6"
      should be "SYR" (for Syriac).
   3) "Font 5,1" to "Font 5,6" should be "ARB" (for Arabic).
Obviously, if you did any changes, you would want to save them. But make sure you know
what you are doing before you make any changes. Consult the MLS 4 Manual, p. 348-351.
---

When asked if you want to overwrite an existing file, hit CTRL-C to quit; otherwise, hit
any key to overwrite the file and continue with the conversion process.

When complete, the output file will be called filename.mca.unc.



CONVERTING MLS 4 FILES TO MELTHO
--------------------------------

The batch file MLS4ToMeltho.bat converts MLS 4 files to Meltho.

Usage:
   MLS4ToMeltho <filename>

where <filename> is the name of your MLS 4 file; do not type the brackets < >.
Important notes:
   1) The file MUST exist in the same directory where this program resides.
   2) The file name must be 1 to 8 letters long WITHOUT spaces.
      (Example, the file name "test.mls" is valid, but "my test.mls" is NOT valid.)
   3) If your MLS 4 file uses a style-sheet, make sure to copy it to the same
      directory (although it will not be used).

When asked if you want to overwrite an existing file, hit CTRL-C to quit; otherwise, hit
any key to overwrite the file and continue with the conversion process.

When complete, the output file will be called filename.unc.



OPENING THE FILES WITH WORD XP
------------------------------

You can open the .unc (for Unicode - this is my own naming, not a standard!) files with
Word XP. A "File Conversion" dialog will appear. Make sure that Text Encoding is set to
"Other Encoding", and "Unicode" appears on the right-side menu (this should be the
default). If your entire text is in Syriac, you can choose to make the document right-
to-left.

HINT. Long Unicode documents are slow in processing. It helps if you save the file as a
Word Document (.doc) file before you use it.



KNOWN CAVEATS
-------------

1) The above programs will convert Roman (English, German, etc.) and Syriac texts written
   in MLS to Meltho. If the file contains texts in Arabic, Greek, Hebrew, etc., these
   texts will not be converted. To convert these texts as well, you need to modify the
   table files. Make sure that you consult the MLS 4 Manual, Appendix C.

2) All formatting will be lost in the conversion process.

3) Footnote texts in MLS 4 files will be lost. The position of a footnote, however, will
   be indicated with "//", and the number of each footnote is replaced by "**". (This
   problem is due to the MLS conversion programs.)

4) Obviously, if you made any changes to the MLS Syriac fonts (adding or removing
   (characters), your changes may not work in this conversion process.
