ACTION DESIGNER RELEASE NOTES As of 4/20/92 This file contains release notes for ACTION DESIGNER. Look here for the latest in enhancements, bug fixes, anomolies, and workarounds. In general, problems for which workarounds are given will be fixed in the next release (i.e., version 1.x+1). ------------------------------------------------------------- Version 1.2, release 4/20/92 ------------------------------------------------------------- Removed all limitations from shareware version. ------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGES/NEW FEATURES 1. A vertical scroll bar has been added to the edit window. Vertical scrolling can be performed with the mouse. Click (with the left mouse button) on the scroll arrows at the ends of the scroll bar to move the cursor 1 line. Drag the scroll box by pointing to it and holding down the left mouse button while dragging the box up or down. To page up or down, click inside the scroll bar above or below the scroll box. 2. There are now mouse equivalents of the expand/contract diagram keys. A horizontal scroll bar has been added. But, its purpose is somewhat different than the vertical bar's. If you click on the left scroll arrow, the diagram will contract (as when you press SHIFT+LEFT). Press the right scroll arrow and the diagram will expand (equivalent to SHIFT+RIGHT). In fact, you can click anywhere to the left or right of the scroll box as well as directly on the scroll arrows. The scroll box will track the cursor whenever the entire screen is updated. This "benefit" is just a side effect of using the scroll bar in this manner and serves no particular purpose. You cannot drag the scroll box or page using the horizontal bar. When you place the cursor on the opening edge of a bracket and press the right mouse key, the bracket will contract (equivalent to CTRL-LEFT). Place the cursor on the line preceeding a locally contracted bracket and press the right mouse button to expand the bracket (equivalent to CTRL-RIGHT). 3. Tabs are now recognized. Set the desired tab size on the Options screen. Note that the required number of spaces is substituted for the tab character; the tab character itself is not stored in the text. Also, the first tab stop on a line is always relative to the left margin. 4. To make AD more CUA (Common User Access) compliant, the menu bar has been reorganized. Some new options have been added: o On the Diagram Menu Close - Close a diagram without saving it. Save As - Save a diagram under another name. o On the Language Menu A set of options consistent with the Diagram Menu has been added. It is now possible to load a new language while editing a diagram. For example, you can switch from Structured English to "C" and back. o On the Menu Bar Search - A full set of search and replace options. This is actually a very powerful capability since it supports regular expressions. See the file REGULAR.TXT for complete documentation. Options - Setup has been renamed to Options 5. For the same reason as #4, the following keys have been reassigned: F4 - insert scrap is now Shift+Insert Shift+Insert - insert blank line is now Control+Enter F5 - delete bracket from around block is now F4 F5 is now unassigned. Other keys may be resassigned in the future. 6. Although the correct way to exit from a diagram is via the Diagram menu (i.e. Close, or Exit), I have left the ESC option in place. Frankly, I have always liked ESC as a way of dismissing a task and don't want to give it up. PROBLEM We have had reports that AD won't work with certain printers. In almost every case the reason has been improper setup. There really isn't much going on in our use of the printer drivers; just use of line drawing, bold characters and a few special characters. FIX/WORKAROUND Your printer MUST support the IBM PC line drawing set. It may be necessary for you to either: o Switch your printer to an emulation that does support the set such as IBM Proprinter. Be sure to use the appropriate printer driver. o Set up your printer printer to to use the proper symbol set (e.g., PC-8 on HP LaserJets). The Plain or ANSII printer drivers will work with many printers. Double check to ensure that you have selected the correct printer driver. PROBLEM Manual Errata FIX Page 13 of the manual: Line 6, Change "Default Directory fields" to "Project Path Field" Line 18, Change "Default Directory fields" to "Support Path field" PROBLEM Under certain conditions, pressing the F5 or F2 keys would cause a fatal internal error. FIXED PROBLEM While using the mouse, clicking on certain parts of the screen would cause AD to lock up. FIXED Problem fixed and mouse use enhanced. PROBLEM While in the Setup (now called Options) screen, the selected printer and/or language could be accidentally changed. FIXED PROBLEM The mouse was pretty much useless. FIXED The mouse can now be used to select menu choices, place the cursor, manupulate the scroll bar and expand/contract diagrams (see above). It still cannot be used to select text. This is a nasty programming problem which I hope to overcome in time. PROBLEM When printing a diagram without brackets and with portions of the diagram hidden, garbage was output. FIXED Diagram prints properly in all modes. PROBLEM When the ADDIR environment variable was not set, AD became confused about where to find its files. FIXED AD will attempt to locate its files on whatever paths are entered in the Options screen if ADDIR isn't set. However, setting ADDIR is highly recommended. The "." directory is ok; ".." is not. PROBLEM Occasionally, the screen does not repaint properly. The exact cause of this still eludes me. It is benign however. WORKAROUND Press the PgUp/PgDn keys and the display will right itself. PROBLEM Cursor wasn't properly positioned on return from shell. FIXED Cursor returns to original location. PROBLEM PDEFINE.EXE (printer driver generator) would hang the system. FIXED A bad copy got into the distribution zip file. ------------------------------------------------------------- Version 1.1, release 9/6/91 ------------------------------------------------------------- Removed all limitations from shareware version EXCEPT custom languages. ------------------------------------------------------------- PROBLEM AD requires that your printer support the IBM line drawing character set and that it be able to reproduce certain other characters in the IBM character set (a left arrowhead and a small square). Some printer emulations may be imperfect. WORKAROUND There is no workaround if your printer does not provide this support. You will want to ensure that your printer is set up properly. For instance, some recent laser printers simply require that the appropriate symbol set is selected. If you don't see a printer driver for your printer, try plain.pd; it may do the job. PROBLEM Shift Left/Right-Arrow keys do not work on the cursor key cluster of a 101 keyboard. WORKAROUND Use the numeric keypad cursor keys. PROBLEM It is possible to inadvertantly select the wrong printer in Setup if you press the Enter key instead of the Tab key to move to the next point on the screen. The same is true of the default language. WORKAROUND Be careful.