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- Additions to GoServant from version 1.00 to version 1.09
- ========================================================
-
- Up to version 1.06:
- ===================
- 1. The usual bug fixes. There were no major ones, but a few
- minor loopholes were closed.
-
- 2. Who window: There is now a "who" window which can be opened
- from the "Windows" menu or by using command-K. This window
- will show a sorted version of the output of the last "who"
- command that was received from IGS. Players will be sorted
- by category (playing, looking, open, not open, unknown), and
- within each category they will be sorted by rank. In the
- future, this list will updated automatically whenever players
- connect, disconnect, start games, etc. but for now it just
- displays the output from the last "who".
-
- 3. Window sizes and locations are now saved as default values, so
- that your personal preferences will be maintained the next time
- you use GoServant.
-
- 4. Smart Macros: Macros of the form "type xxx, wait for yyy,
- then type zzz, ...." are now available. To use them, simply
- create a macro in the usual way (under the Goodies menu), and
- enter the strings separated by backslash (\) characters as
- follows:
- type this\wait for this\type this\wait for this\......
- (I have not included any way to use an actual backslash
- character. If this is a problem, let me know and I'll add the
- usual two-backslashes-means-a-backslash rule.) Remember that
- return characters are accepted just like any other. Here is an
- example of a useful Macro of this type:
- telnet wherever.IGS.is 6969<type return here>
- \Login: \yourID<type return here>
- \Password:\yourpassword<type return here>
- \#>\who<type return here>
- (Note that you need a BLANK after "Login:" in this macro because the
- string "Login:" appears in the instructions that IGS sends right
- after you connect to it, but the REAL Login: prompt is followed by a
- blank and the others are not.)
-
- 5. A reliable verbose refresh macro: One use of smart macros is so
- important that it has been given its own menu item. By choosing
- "refresh" (command-R) from the Board menu whenever a board window
- is active, GoServant will perform the sequence "toggle verbose on",
- "refresh", "toggle verbose off" for you. This will update the
- board window in a reliable way by using a smart macro to ensure that
- the previous command has been processed before sending the next one.
- It will also fill in the game number for you, if necessary.
-
- 6. If the input window is open, it will now ALWAYS stay in front of the
- terminal window. So if you click on the terminal window, it will come
- to the front, and then the input window will immediately be brought
- to the front, too. I find this very convenient, since I ALWAYS use the
- input window when I'm using IGS, and it is very annoying to have it
- disappear all the time. The only drawback is that you cannot type
- characters directly to the terminal without a <return>, or manipulate
- the scroll bars, unless you first get rid of the input window. But I
- have made this as easy as possible to do. Command-M has been added as
- an alternative to the Close menu item, so command-M will get rid of
- the input window in a hurry, and command-I will bring it back, still
- in its original position.
-
- 7. Use all defaults button: A new button has been added to the very first
- dialog box that appears when GoServant is started. It is labelled
- "Use Defaults" and it causes GoServant to set up the communications and
- terminal the same way as last time, without bothering you with any more
- dialog boxes. If you also set up a smart macro to log in, you
- should find that getting GoServant started is much faster than before.
- (Just in case you are impatient and lazy, like me. :)
-
- Up to version 1.09
- ==================
-
- The following bugs were fixed from 1.06 to 1.09:
-
- The default window sizes and locations were corrupted if you had a larger
- screen than an SE/Classic, or if you moved a window when it was not the
- front window. This is now fixed.
-
- You could not detect the #> prompt properly in a macro, as used in the
- example earlier. Now you can.
-
- An empty string between \ characters in a macro could cause a crash. This is
- now fixed. Empty "search for" strings are not useful and should not be used
- since they will cause the rest of the macro from that point on to be
- completely ignored. Empty "type this" strings ARE allowed, and ARE useful.
- For example, the built-in "Refresh" operation uses a macro which contains
- \Captured by\\A B C D E\toggle verbose off
- which scans for "Captured by" which appears in the middle of a verbose
- board listing, types nothing at all, scans for "A B C D E" which appears at
- the very end of a verbose listing, and then types "toggle verbose off". The
- macro can't simply look for "A B C D E" since that also appears at the start
- of the verbose listing, which is too soon.
-
- A bug existed which could cause crashes when scrolling the Who window.
- This has been fixed.
-
- =================
-
- As usual, comments, suggestions, complaints, praise, and bug reports are
- welcome. Send them to: bate@cs.umanitoba.ca
-
- -John Bate
- June 3, 1993
-