Release Notes ============= for PC-Duo Version 1.02 =================== Copyright (c) 1994 PCI, Vector Networks Limited All Rights Reserved. Author : D. Briggs. Revision Date : 19th September 1994 This document contains the release notes accompanying version 1.02 of the PC-Duo PC-PC Remote Control package. This software is supplied under a licence and may only be used or copied in accordance with the terms of that licence. This software or copies thereof must not be made available to unauthorised personnel. No title to this software nor ownership of this software is hereby transferred. Evaluation copies are supplied for the purpose of evaluation only and must not be resold or passed to any third party without the express permission of Vector Networks Limited. Please note that serial number files (SLAVE.SER) for versions earlier than 1.02 will not work with this release. Please contact your supplier for a new authorisation key if necessary. Package Enhancements over the Previous Release. =============================================== This release implements Windows to Windows SHOW. Reliability of remote communications has been improved substantially, particularly on configurations prone to errors or "dropped" characters. The Windows Control now allows modem configurations to be edited. Several new modem configurations have been added. The Slaves can log events to a (shared) log file. This is activated using the /y command line option. The Control programs can operate from a shared (read-only) file service, provided that copies of the configuration files (CONTROL.CFG, CONTROL.DIR, and CONTROL.MDM) are copied to a private directory. This directory should be the current default directory when a Control program is activated. It will search the current directory for these files before it checks the PCDUO installation directory. Write access to the directory is required in order to save changes to the configuration or dialling directory. The size of the bitmap cache used by Windows Slave and Control programs can be controlled using the /H command line option. Values specified should be in the range 128 to 1024 (kbytes). Default values are 256 for the Slave, and 1024 for the Control. The Dialling Directory can now hold numbers with up to 31 digits. This allows Mercury access codes to be used with international numbers. Problems Corrected in this Release. =================================== ATI MACH 32 and Compaq Qvision adapters are now supported. Note that a bug in the ATI driver transposes light and dark grey on a 256 colour Slave when it is viewed from a 16 colour Control. The Control's Slave look-up timeout value has been increased from 8 seconds to 14. This should help in situations where the value set in the Slave's Windows SYSTEM.INI [386Enh] TimerCriticalSection line is 10000. This is the default value for PATHWORKS 4.x, and it can cause problems when a Control is searching for available Slaves and also when it is attempting to connect to a Slave. Alternatively, if you experience problems when connecting to Slaves running TSRs such as Dr Solomon's VirusGuard, or with terminal emulators such as Reflection 2 or 4 for Windows, try reducing the TimerCriticalSection value to 1000. PC-Duo is now compatible with Bitstream Facelift 2.0 and Adobe Type Manager (ATM). Note that the use of Adobe Type Manager is not recommended, as it displays text as bitmaps. This is inefficient, especially over dial-up or serial connections. ATM text is always displayed in black on the Control. Bitmap checksumming has been improved. This should result in fewer "mistakes" when complex bitmaps or DOS text screens are being displayed. Keystrokes are now passed into a Windows DOS box on the Slave, when the Control is running in Control mode. Note that Control mode has not been implemented under Windows. It behaves the same as Share mode. The Windows Slave now reports an error if the current display resolution is set for more than 256 colours. Known Problems in this Release. =============================== Most popular display adapters are supported. However, not all Windows display accelerators are supported in this release. Problems have been reported with Olivetti EVD and Number Nine 9GXE display adapters. If you have a problem with a Windows Accelerator, and can't resolve it by reducing the display resolution (e.g. to Super VGA 800*600*16 colours), please contact your supplier for further assistance. When dragging objects in PowerPoint or MS-Draw on Windows Slaves using the S3 display accelerator, the dotted object outline is not displayed correctly on a connected Control. The object is re-drawn correctly when it is "dropped". When large bitmap images are moved around the Windows Slave display, such as when outline dragging in Solitaire is disabled, the Windows Slave can have problems keeping up with the moving image. This is more likely to occur on slow PCs, and can occasionally result in "dropped cards". The "damaged" area can be repaired by moving another object over it. A DOS Control running in a Windows DOS box cannot make remote connections via a loaded Remote program. Some ICL PCs exhibit a "Sticky Control" key. The Slave thinks the Control key is down, when it isn't. This results in incorrect characters being received by the application running on the Slave. It can usually be cleared by tapping the Control key on the Control. If this doesn't help, try setting the Control to BIOS Keyboard (instead of Low Level Keyboard). A problem has been reported with Borland dBASE IV version 1.1 for DOS. This reports an EMM386 Exception Error 3 when dBASE is started. This problem does not occur with dBASE IV version 2.0 for DOS. Starting the Windows Slave from the StartUp Group instead of the WIN.INI [windows] run= line can occasionally produce problems. This is not recommended, and the Setup program will always make the change to WIN.INI if Windows Slave support is selected. Connecting to Slaves running DOS boxes under Windows may be unreliable on some machines. The chance of a problem occurring can be reduced by making the DOS box exclusive in the appropriate PIF file. Documentation Notes. ==================== Many packages use their own screen fonts (e.g. Reflection 2 for Windows). When a program like this is running on a Slave, a connected Control cannot display the Slave's screen correctly if it doesn't recognise the Slave's fonts. In order to correct this situation, it is necessary for the font file(s) to be copied from the Slave into the Control's WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory. Once there, they can be installed using Windows Control Panel. Diagnostic Utilities ==================== The following LANlink diagnostic utilities have been provided with PC-Duo : NBSTATUS.EXE NetBIOS Adapter and Session Status Display NETBTEST.EXE NetBIOS Test Program These programs can be found in the \LANLINK directory on the PC-Duo Demonstration Disk. They are not installed by the DOS or Windows installation procedures. Use /? or /h options for usage instructions. Vector Networks' LANlink is a suite of network interconnect packages. Automated Installation with LANutil =================================== LANutil Automated Installation Scripts are provided in the \LANUTIL directory on the PC-Duo Demonstration Disk. They can be used with Vector Networks' LANutil for PATHWORKS package to install PC-Duo automatically. The script files are VMS files, and are provided on the disk as plain ASCII text files, although they have been renamed to suit the DOS 8.3 character filename limits. DOS Files VMS Filename Purpose PCDAUTO.TPU PCDUO_AUTOEXEC.TPU Edits AUTOEXEC.BAT to call STARTSLV.BAT PCDCUS.CMD PCDUO_CUSTOM.COM Customises installation on target PC PCDINS.CMD PCDUO_INSTALL.COM Controls network-wide installation PCDPROG.TPU PCDUO_PROGMAN_INI.TPU Edits PROGMAN.INI to add PCDUO.GRP PRDPROT.TPU PCDUO_PROTOCOL_INI.TPU Edits PROTOCOL.INI [NetBEUI] section PCDSYS.TPU PCDUO_SYSTEM_INI.TPU Edits SYSTEM.INI to load PC-Duo drivers PCDTPL.TPU PCDUO_TEMPLATE.TPU Edits PATHWORKS V5 for DOS Template(s) PCDWIN.TPU PCDUO_WIN_INI.TPU Edits WIN.INI to load Windows Slave These files should be copied onto the LANutil host (in ASCII) mode and renamed according to the list above. They require LANutil V2.0 or later for correct operation. Vector Networks' LANutil for PATHWORKS is a PC network management package.