Acorn User 1/AU_CD1.iso/demos/a_to_i/impactpro/!ImpactPro/!Notes

Text File | 1995-02-17 | 26KB | 610 lines

ImpactPro Release Notes.     Version 1.41  17th Feb 1995
========================     ===========================

Circle Software maintain a policy of continued improvement of its
products, resulting in frequent program releases. This file contains
details of changes relating to this and previous releases.

To check if this is the latest version, please contact Circle Software.
Registered discs may be upgraded free of charge, by enclosing return
postage. Please return the original disc only.

As improvements and additions are introduced, so the manual becomes
out of date.  However, a full set of replacement pages is available
for insertion into existing binders for just £9.00 inc. postage.
There is no V.A.T. on books.


Version 1.00  14th July 1993
============================

First release.

Version 1.04 6th Aug 1993
=========================

1. Label printing facility added.

Version 1.05 13th Aug 1993
==========================

1. Calculation length extended to 128.
2. Warning now given if divide by zero attempt detected, result = zero.

Version 1.06 7th Sept 1993
==========================

1. Story import now handles newlines in quoted strings.

2. Label printing now handles multi-line story fields.
   You will get (n+1) label lines, where n = number of newline chars.
   To avoid blank lines, do not end the story with a newline character.
   Long stories without newline characters (i.e.word wrapped) will
   be printed as a normal text field. i.e. truncated to the label width.

Version 1.07  13th Sept 1993
============================

1. Date entry now range trapped, 1900 - 2247.

2. Imported records having both 'newline' and 'return' record terminators
   and now handled as single records, not two.

3. Import option added to allow story fields to be filled by successive
   incomming records. To use this, select the 'Fill stories' option.
   Incomming fields following the one mapped to the story, which are not
   themselves mapped to a specified field, (i.e. are skipped) will be
   appended to the story field as separate story lines.
   This allows separate address line, for example, to be collected into
   a single multi-line address field, on import.

4. The icon bar menu options are now available by clicking MENU over the
   card background using the main Edit Data window. Using this method
   automatically selects the current database in the new window.
   This menu has a new 'info' option giving database details. It also
   includes an option to close the database, which ensures all data is
   flushed to disc, and closes the disc files.

5. Databases opened by dragging in from a filer window, are now saved back
   to their original directory after modifying using 'Edit Card'.

6. The 'Edit Card' object attribute menu has been rationalized, to present
   the object name entry in a more convenient place, from the first menu
   option.

7. The Options window has been enhanced, by the inclusion of global decimal
   value formatting, removed from the money format box in 'Edit Card'. These
   settings now apply to all 'real' values, not just to money objects.
   'Money' and 'Large real' objects are now equivalent.

Version 1.08  16th Sept 1993
============================

1. The 'Table' merge command as selected from the 'Edit Doc' menu system
   did not include the field map designator as described on page A3.4 of
   the manual.  It now includes the dummy map 'all'.  You must specify
   other maps by editing the command before dragging to the document.

N.B. There is currently a bug in Impression (up to 2.19) which causes long
===  merge commands (>42 characters) to be merged incorrectly. If this
     happens, you must insert the merge command using the Impression
     Merge facility, and copy the command from the ImpactPro box into the
     Impression Merge box, rather than dragging it directly.
     This bug is known by C.C. and will be fixed on new releases.

Version 1.09   10th Oct 1993
============================

1.   User licence mode selection added to register box, and info panel.


Version 1.10    2nd Nov 1993
============================

1.   Improved text and story field size selection in 'Edit Card'.
     'Size lock' button moved to 'Text-length' menu option. Selection
     of this mode now locks the disc field size to the displayed
     object size, no matter how this is adjusted, including dragging.
     Story field length is computed as lines * chars.
     Selecting 'Lines' and/or 'Chars' in the object size box will cause
     the object size to be rounded down to the nearest whole values.

2.   Sprites may now be loaded from sprite files. Note however that
     these should only contain one sprite, whose name should match the
     file name. 256 colour sprites are correctly displayed provided
     they have a palette. (Use 'Paint' to check and create one if not.)

Version 1.11   10th Nov 1993
============================

1.   Money field type now depreciated, use real or large real.
     Comma and decimal separators now global for both. (See Options)
     The selection of separators in Options is now via adjuster (arrow)
     buttons, and the characters displayed here are defined in the
     'messages' file.

2.   New 'File' field type introduced.  This normally displays as an
     'action button', which may show any desired legend. Files are loaded
     to it within 'Edit Database' by dragging the file onto the button.
     Clicking 'select' on the button does the equivalent of double
     clicking in a directory window.  i.e. an application is run,
     a text file loaded into !Edit, or a document into Impression, etc.
     The file field length defaults to 64 characters, but this may be
     adjusted using the 'Field length' option. The length must be large
     enough to hold a full file pathname.

3.   Merge items in Impression documents may now include direct
     calculations, and the 'Edit Document' window facilities have been
     enhanced to include menu options to facilitate this.

4.   A new option 'Include database name' has been added to the 'Edit
     Document' window. This allows the database name to be excluded from
     the embedded merge command. When these items are merged, the database
     selected in the 'Edit Document'window will be used. This allows
     common field named to be used in various documents, e.g. address
     fields in labels, to permit the document to be used with different
     databases.

5.   Two new functions have been introduced for use in calculations.
     'Total(col)' will give the total of column 'col' in the last Table
     merged into a document.
     'Count' will give the number of table lines merged, to allow averages
     etc to be computed.  This has been added to the sample Video report
     supplied.

6.   To help minimise the risc of lost data, an 'Auto save' feature has been
     added to the 'Options' window.
     Whenever ImpactPro has not been used for the time set in this box,
     the feature will be activated.  This will flush any unsaved data to
     the disc. Note that files are NOT closed by this action, but are
     guaranteed to be up to date.

7.   The database menu, available from several windows, now indicates which
     data files are open by ticking the entries. Note that opening the
     Videos file will show that Addressed has also been opened, as this
     is a related database needed to display the Video card.

8.   The adjustment of object and file field size in 'Edit Card' has been
     improved.
     If the 'Lock to display' option is selected in the Field
     width box, the adjusters in this box become faded and un-usable.
     The value displayed here will then show the used field length, and will
     change whenever the object size is altered using the 'Size' box or
     by dragging, etc.  Using this method, Story fields will be computed
     as 'lines (height) * chars (width)'.
     If this option is off, the field width may be set independently of the
     actual object size, and text may scroll if the object is too small.

10.  If a database is dragged to a window, and another of the same name
     has been previously loaded from another directory, e.g. from with
     the ImpactPro application directory, a message to this effect is
     given.  Now, however, the option to remove the previous one, and load
     the new one, is given. Clicking 'Cancel' will not load it, 'Continue'
     will.

     Please note that related (foreign) databases are always searched for
     within the application directory if they have not previously been
     loaded.


Version 1.12    4th Dec 1993
============================

1.   Sprite loading and handling improved. Now loads the 1st
     sprite from a sprite file, and uses the sprite name rather than the
     file name. Loading a sprite which already exists in the database
     does NOT overwrite the existing one.


Version 1.13    8th Dec 1993
============================

1.   !ImpactPro application may now be deeply nested in directory structure.
     A previous limit on file path string has been removed.

2.   The 'card modified' detection system is improved. Now all key strokes cause
     the 'star' symbol to appear in the title bar. This also enables the
     'auto update' to always work correctly when browsing records.

Version 1.14   29th Dec 1993
============================

1.   File field types may now be merged into Impression documents.
     This merges the file contents, which should therefore be text.

2.   Edit Index now allows 'Chars' to be set negative.  This causes
     the chosen number of characters to be taken from the beginning of
     the last word in the text entry.  This may be used, for example,
     to create an index on a surname.

Version 1.15  4th Jan 1994
==========================

1.   Problem when using RISC-OS 2 msgtrans module fixed.
     This module is now supplied in !System, and tested for in !Run file.

Version 1.16 10th Jan 1994
==========================

1.   The Labels facility has now been enhanced with the following additions.

  a. The facility to select the first unused label on a sheet has been
     added to the label size area, and the area re-arranged in a more
     logical fashion. The lower row of adjusters now permit the selection
     of the first label column and row.  Note that the first row selection
     is only possible when the 'labels across' value is greater than zero,
     as required for cut sheet labels.

  b. The field selector menu at the top right of the window has been enhanced
     with the addition of a 'Concat' menu.  This menu allows the selection
     of fields to be concatenated on the same line as the previous label.
     A single padding space is inserted.  This may be found useful for
     formatting 'Mr. R. Smith' on a single line, where the salutation,
     initials, and surname are stored in separate fields.

  c. The ability to ignore blank lines has been added as an option.
     This will also ignore blank lines within story fields, and ignore
     trailing 'newline' characters.

Version 1.17 14th Jan 1994
==========================

1.   Exported output now optionally includes field name headings, and/or
     a description of any filters or indexes used, etc.
     Field name headings are output as the first record, as accepted by
     some applications such as TableMate from Computer Concepts.

2.   In order that ImpactPro may be used with the new programs such as
     Style, etc, the Choices box now includes the facility to enter the
     name of the application to which merge instructions are sent.
     This is Impression by default.  If you have Style, this name should
     be entered instead.

Version 1.17a 16th Jan 1994
===========================

1.   Limit of 500 icons per card removed, RISC-OS 3 only.

2.   Object names starting with a digit now trapped, and warning issued
     on opening a database if such names are found.

3.   Deleting objects now closes gap in icon number sequence, instead
     of swapping deleted icon with last one. This was likely to mess up
     the user's numbering.

Version 1.18  31th Jan 1994
===========================

1.   Support for Style 'single file' document formats.

2.   General file browser improvements.

     a  All dialogue boxes now support the pop-up search menu.

     b  Searching is now done within any selected filter or index
        constraints, and browsing may continue from the found record.

     d  To do a global search, you must switch OFF any selected filter.

     e  Searching is done in indexed order if an index is active, this
        may be slower as the disc must be randomly accessed.

     f  When an index or filter is selected or switched on, the first
        appropriate record is automatically selected.

3.   Various minor improvements.


Version 1.19   7th Feb 1994
===========================

1.   Merged tables are not now followed by a newline character.

2.   Field maps may now contain calculation fields, as well as 'real' data.

3.   New index system results in faster sorts and index loading/saving.

4.   The pop-up search facility now works more intelligently, to make use
     of any available indexes to acheive a faster search.

         If an index is selected, and the indexed field is being searched,
             then the index entries are searched in memory.

         If no index is selected, all indexes are scanned to find one which
             is indexed on the field being searched, and this is scanned as
             above.

         Otherwise, the disc is searched directly as before.

     Note that if the index uses a defined character count, then the search
     may fail, as the matching characters are not included in the index data.

5.   During disc searches, the Esc key may be used to abort a search.

6.   A new feature has been added, enabling sprite, file and foreign key
     fields to be cleared.  Clicking the 'Adjust' button over one of these
     fields in 'Edit Data' mode, causes a new dialogue box to be displayed.
     This shows the sprite or file name etc, and allows these to be cleared by
     clicking on the 'Clear' button.  This causes the card to be flagged as
     'modified' in the title bar, so that 'Update' must be clicked before the
     change is implemented permanently, as with other fields.

     With foreign fields, the clear action breaks the link with the related
     database, for this record only, but does not modify the related database
     in any way.

     Note that the facility to display a foreign card by clicking on a foreign
     field is now restricted to 'key' fields, using the 'Select' button only.

Version 1.20  10th Feb 1994
===========================

1.   When calling up 'Labels', Export', or 'Reports' from the CARD menu
     the current card record is now set in the new window.
     Calling these functions from the iconbar menu displays the record
     previously displayed in these windows, not that shown in Edit Data.

Version 1.21  14th Feb 1994
===========================

1.   Better support for network use. Both the source of program database
     menus, and the user's set-up choices, are now obtained from the system
     path variable ImpactPro$Path, which is set by default to the application
     directory.

     For network use, this variable should be explicitly unset in the
     !Run file.  In this state, the program will set the variable to the
     current 'user root directory', URD, which is set by the netfs at
     login time.  See the !Run file for further explanation.

2.   The 'Delete database' action button has been removed from the
     'Edit Data' dialogue box, and added instead to the general record card
     menu. Selecting this also now gives two warning messages before any
     action is taken.  It is hoped that this will avoid the accidental
     deletion of valuable databases!

3.   Provision of database backup facility.
     This new facility is offered in several ways.  Firstly, the prefered
     backup filepath may be entered and saved in the Choices dialogue box.
     This would normall point to a named floppy disc, etc.
     Secondly, the general Card menu and the iconbar menu both have a new
     Backup option added.  From the Card menu, this will allow the current
     database to be backed up, from the iconbar it will allow all modified
     and un-backed up databases to be backed up.  Lastly, if the quit option
     is chosen from the iconbar menu, a warning message will be displyed
     if there are any un-backed up databases.  Selecting 'Continue' will
     cause the program to quit normally, after closing any open files.
     Selecting 'Cancel' will display the Backup dialogue box, and allow
     eack database to be dealt with in turn, before the program quits as
     before.

     When the backup dialogue box is displayed, you may drag the data icon
     to any destination.  Alternatively, you may edit the displayed backup
     filepath if required, and click 'Backup'.  Backing up a database always
     closes the database first.

4.   Saving a new or modified database from 'Edit card' by clicking on the
     OK button in the Save-as box, now saves the database on the first
     filepath defined by the system variable 'ImpactPro$Path', not necessarily
     in the application directory.

5.   A new fast browse facility has been added to the Edit Card window.
     With this option selected, browsing will take place in steps of 10
     records or index entries, subject to any filter constraints.

6.   Object formating changes. The object format controls now include the
     option to display zero values as blank, rather than 0 or 0.0 etc.
     Note that this does not currently work for merged calculations, except
     for integers.  Zero dates are always displyed as blank, as previously.

Version 1.22  18th Feb 1994
===========================

1.   Minor adjustements.

     A new User Manual issue has been printed, including all previous
     program upgrades, before this release.

     This is available as a full set of replacement pages for £9.00 inc. postage.
     There is no V.A.T. on books.

Version 1.23  7th Mar 1994
===========================

1.   A new sprite handling system has been introduced.
     Previously, all sprites belonging to a database were loaded into
     memory when the database was frst opened.
     Under the new system, sprites are loaded into memory only when needed,
     so that only those sprites currently displayed are held in memory.
     This may save large amounts of RAM where large sprites are used.
     The penalty is a slower display time when running from floppy discs
     with large sprites. Hard disc use is largely unaffected.

Version 1.24   5th May 1994
===========================

1.   The document menu on 'Edit Doc' window now correctly includes Style
     single file format documents.

2.   The action of the Labels facility has been modified to avoid line
     length overflow problems often resulting in the printer apparently
     double spacing.  The number of 'Margin' characters set is now deducted
     from the total line width, so that the individual label usable width
     is now reduced by the set margin.  The printer head should be set to
     start printing at the start of the first label, and the margin setting
     used only to inset the text within each label.

Version 1.25   6th May 1994
===========================

1.   New 'Save' feature has been added to 'Edit Document' window.
     An Impression or Style document may be saved into the current database,
     so that it will appear on the document menu, by dragging the file icon
     from Impression onto the 'Save' area on the Edit Document window.
     This will save the document into the 'Documents' sub-directory within
     the currently selected database directory, without the need to find
     and display the relevant filer window.

Version 1.26   9th May 1994
===========================

1.   Saved labels now store the selected field map and concatenation
     data if set, so that these are restored when the label is re-
     selected later.

Version 1.28  23rd May 1994
===========================

1.   Odd bugs in Label facility fixed.

Version 1.29  3rd June 1994
===========================

1.   File type card fields now indicate whether a file has been
     set or not, by fading the button legend if no file is set.

Version 1.30  25th June 1994
============================

1.   Solid sprite dragging, as used during database card creation, uses
     the RISC-OS 'DragASprite' module which does not currently support
     the high resolution sprite modes available under RISC_OS 3.50
     (RISC-PC Version).  Solid sprite dragging has therefore been removed
     when running under this version. Outline box display is used
     instead.

     N.B. ImpactPro does not yet support the high definition sprite modes
     available in RISC-OS 350 (RISC-PC Version). This restriction means
     that the new sprites cannot be loaded into card sprite fields, and
     problems will be experienced if this is attempted.  Sprites of up to
     256 colours are supported provided they have a colour palette. This
     may be checked and corrected by loading into !Paint first.

Version 1.31  12th Sept 1994
============================

1.   Bug in Labels fixed.  Concatenating a second field onto a label, if
     the label pitch (down) was set to 1, did not concatenate.

2.   Item format attribute 'display zero as blank' now works correctly
     with calculation fields.

Version 1.32  24th Sept 1994
============================

1.   If error detected during data import, record is now skipped, and
     import allowed to continue, rather than aborting.

Version 1.33  3rd Oct 1994
==========================

1.   Error in Export fixed. Used to miss 1st record when field headings
     requested.

2.   Intermitent problem when editing a card fixed.
     (Could cause a program crash.)

Version 1.34  4th Oct 1994
==========================

1.   If a search on an indexed text field was made, for search data
     longer than the 'chars' option (if set), the search would fail.
     i.e. If chars was 4, then a search for Jack would correctly find
     Jackson, but a search for Jackson would fail.
     This has been corrected

2.   The maximum length of a calculation has been increased to
     255 characters. ( Was 127. )

Version 1.35  24th Oct 1994
===========================

1.   Export of data in standard CSV format (i.e. with the 'Text in quotes'
     option set) now correctly outputs the newline character as the
     escape sequence "\n", not as ASCII 10 code.  This only affects the
     export of multi-line story fields, but should ensure they are
     correctly read by the importing application.

     If the 'Text in quotes' option is NOT set, newlines are output as
     ASCII 10, as before.

Version 1.36  30th Nov 1994
===========================

1.   Text data may now be imported from other applications or a file, by
     dropping it's icon into the required field on the data card, in
     Edit database mode.

2.   The 'File' field types now understand a directory dropped onto them
     (rather than just a file).  Clicking on the field will display the
     appropriate directory window.

     In connection with the above, please note that there remains a bug in
     all versions of Impression, including Publisher, causing Impression
     to issue the message 'Can't match merge data with embedded reference.'
     or otherwise misbehave.

     This may happen if data of 15K bytes or more is merged with a single
     merge command, such as 'Fetch story-field'  or 'Table'.
     Lesser amounts of data appear normally to work correctly.
     If this bug is encountered, it is best to quit Impression, and re-start
     it.  Computer Concepts have been informed.

=========================================================================

Version 1.38   1st Jan 1995
===========================

1.   Bug fix in index, associated with new foreign fields.

=========================================================================

Version 1.39  29th Jan 1995
===========================

1.   Edit Data window, Copy button legend now returns to 'Copy' when
     EnterMode is cancelled. (Used to stay as 'Enter')

2.   Bug on report table column totals fixed. This was wrong if the format
     of the column item included a thousands separator. (i.e. 1,234.56)

3.   Key Ctrl_U (to clear a field) now correctly flags the record as
     modified.

4.   If a related record cannot be found, e.g. it has been deleted, the
     program now issues a warning message, and breaks the relational link.

=========================================================================

Version 1.40  2nd Feb 1995
==========================

1.   Bug fixed, associated with foreign fields which are deeply nested.
     i.e. where file A refers to file B, which refers to file C...

     Local editing of such fields is now possible, and will update the
     related database, however deeply nested.

     N.B. In the above case, ALL foreign fields should be keyed to the
          same local field.  However, it is quite possible to have several
          key fields related to different databases, and even to relate
          a field back to the local database.

          e.g. A name & address database may have fields labelled 'Parent'
               or 'Child', keyed to the local 'Name' field, where the
               'foreign' database is the same name and address one.  This
               can provide links for a geneology type of related database.

=========================================================================

Version 1.41  17th Feb 1995
===========================

1.   Bug fix:  Searches on a foreign field when a local filter was selected
     caused a spurious error message.

=========================================================================
End.