home
***
CD-ROM
|
disk
|
FTP
|
other
***
search
/
OS/2 Shareware BBS: Product
/
Product.zip
/
mesa216.zip
/
README.TXT
< prev
next >
Wrap
Text File
|
1996-09-28
|
13KB
|
259 lines
Mesa(tm) Spreadsheet for OS/2 from Sundial Systems
Release Notes (README.TXT) for Mesa 2 2.1.6
September 1996
Thank you for trying Mesa 2 for OS/2. This file contains information
which became available after the printed materials went to press.
What is Version 2.1.6?
Version 2.1.6 is the first full release of Mesa 2 under the Sundial
Systems label. (Mesa 2 was previously a product of Athena Design, Inc.)
It is also the first full release of the Mesa 2 2.1 series -- previous
releases of 2.1 by Athena Design were preliminary or beta in nature.
The Mesa 2 2.1 series represents a significant enhancement over the
earlier 2.0 series. In particular, Mesa 2 2.1 offers:
* Much faster recalculation engine.
* Reduced memory footprint.
* Numerous feature enhancements.
* Several new menu items to make things easier.
* New, smaller file format.
Note that files created in Mesa 2 2.0.x can be read into 2.1.x, but not
the other way around. Before using this version, make sure the files
created will not need to be read into 2.0.4 (or earlier).
Feature Enhancements
There are a number of new and changed features in Version 2.1.6 that
are not described in the printed Mesa 2 documentation:
* Indexed functions such as VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, etc... now use the Excel
convention for the index. Excel is 1 based instead of 0 based. The
Lotus style functions (@VLOOKUP, @HLOOKUP, etc...) remain 0 based.
Also, the default search types for the different lookup functions are
now different for the Excel- and Lotus-style functions and thus match
the corresponding defaults in those products. This allows Excel users
to work as they are used to and Lotus users to work as they are used to.
* Significant enhancements have been made in handling formatting
information when importing or exporting from/to WK3, WK4, and XLS
format files.
* Significant improvements have been made for import from WB1 format
files.
* Support has been added for importing Excel 4 Workbook (XLW) files.
* The Goto panel has been enhanced to include a list of named ranges
as well as recent Goto destinations.
* The positions of the toolbar and formula bar can now be flipped.
* Backup files are now created by copying, rather than renaming, the
original. This allows file objects on the desktop to work as intended.
* Graphic objects are now copied to the clipboard in Metafile format
and in bitmap format thus allowing more flexibility when using
graphics with other programs. Graphic objects can also be DDE linked
into other applications as well.
* Mesa 2 now uses the OS/2 country settings for things like the list
separator. If your country uses a comma for the decimal separator,
then you can set the list separator in the OS/2 country setting to
specify a different separator for function arguments. Mesa 2 also now
recognizes dates entered in many additional international formats.
* For use with REXX, SetFeed and GetFeed are now exported from the
MESAFEED.DLL so they can be used in ANY REXX program through the use
of RxFuncAdd.
* Also for use with REXX, GetSignalData(NAME) can be used to get
data from the SIGNAL() function. This blocks the REXX program until
the signal is raised. (This is also exported from MESAFEED.DLL.)
* Several new formula functions have been added. These include AND,
OR, EVEN, ODD, FLOOR, CEILING, MROUND, ROUNDUP, ROUNDDOWN, TRUNC,
and WEEKDAY, as well as COSH, SINH, TANH, ACOSH, ASINH, and ATANH.
The corresonding @ functions have also been added. For details on
using these new functions, see the on-line documentation.
* Several new MScript functions have been added. These include
SORT, FIND, REPLACE, REPLACEALL, SIZECOL, SIZECOLUMN, SIZEROW,
SETBASECELL, SETREDISPLAY, SETFONT, SETFONTATTR, SETFONTATTRIBUTE,
SETALIGN, SETALIGNMENT, and SETBORDER. For details on using these
new functions, see the on-line documentation.
* Several improvements, only of interest to Addin developers, have been
made to the AddIn functionality. For information regarding the AddIn
functions, contact Technical Support.
OS/2, Presentation Manager, and Workplace Shell Compatibility:
Mesa 2 is designed specifically for use with OS/2 Version 2, 3, or 4
and the Workplace Shell. This includes all of the following releases:
OS/2 Warp 4
"General Availability" release
OS/2 Warp Server
"General Availability" release
OS/2 Warp Connect
"Red Box" (for use with Windows) release
"Blue Box" (with Win-OS2) release
OS/2 Warp (OS/2 Version 3)
"Red Box" (for use with Windows) release
"Full Pack" (with Win-OS2) release
OS/2 2.1
"Manufacturing Refresh" (2.11) release
Most "FixPak" levels of OS/2 Warp, Warp Connect, and Warp Server have also
been tested.
Note that releases prior to OS/2 2.11 (including OS/2 2.0 and 2.1) are
not supported.
Limitations
Listed below are some known limitations which may impact your use of
the current version of Mesa 2. Many are related to problems in
particular OS/2 versions for which there is currently no workaround.
* Installing over a previous version may cause a SYS2070 error to be
displayed at run-time. Sometimes, when using the installer to delete
a previous version of Mesa, or to install over a previous version, it
does not always find all of the earlier versions of Mesa's DLL's.
Thus the software is not updated completely and the SYS2070 error is
displayed by OS/2 when you try to use Mesa. If this happens, the
easiest solution is to type the following command at the root
directory of each drive that could be accessed via OS/2's LIBPATH:
DIR MESACORE.DLL /s
This will locate any previously existing copies of the Mesa DLL's.
Switch to the directory indicated by the results of that command, and
either delete or rename the Mesa DLL's that are there. Then
re-install Mesa 2. If that does not resolve the problem, please
contact technical support for further assistance
* There are a number of issues concerning the relationship between
file-name extensions and file-type associations during file saving and
exporting. Currently, if you do not include an extension in your file
name, Mesa 2 automatically appends one based on the file type
you have chosen. If you do include an extension, Mesa 2 sets
the file type based on that extension. If the extension is ambiguous
(as with XLS, which can mean either Excel 3 or Excel 4 format), Mesa 2
chooses between the permissible options based on the file type menu
settings. If the file-type menu setting is not an allowable option
(for example, if the file name is output.xls and the file-type menu
reads Mesa 2 spreadsheet file), an intelligent default is chosen (in
this case, Excel 4 worksheet format).
* When loading files, the Type of File listbox refers to extended
attributes as well. If you have (for example) Lotus 123 files created
from a DOS or Windows version of Lotus, those files probably do not
have the 123 DOS Spreadsheet extended attribute set, so you must set
the Type of file to All Files, and then type the filename mask that
you desire in the Open Filename box.
* Not all formatting information is necessarily preserved when
importing or exporting, and this varies to some degree from one file
format to another.
* Within Mesa 2, Excel means Excel 3 and 4 worksheets and Excel 4
workbooks. Currently, Mesa 2 does not support Excel 5 workbook import
or export or Excel 4 workbook export.
* Graphs do not take text as headers for 3x3 ranges; all other ranges
work correctly.
* If you select a discontinuous range and graph it, Mesa builds a
virtual range by appending the second and subsequent ranges underneath
the first. This is not the desired behavior if you have selected
multiple selected columns.
* Pie charts default to Group Rows, even if you really want Group
Columns. Thus, if you select a single column of data and create a pie
chart from it, the graph will appear as a single color. As a
workaround, right-click on the graph, choose Graph Settings, and
change the Orientation radio button from Group Rows to Group Columns,
and you will see the pie chart draw itself correctly.
* There have been a number of printer problems identified by our
customers with past versions of Mesa 2 and particular OS/2 printer
drivers. Many of these problems were fixed by the printer drivers
shipped with OS/2 Warp "Full Pack" release, the Warp Connect release,
or by OS/2 Warp FixPak 17 and the related printer driver fix pack.
However, there are still a number of issues left unresolved that we
will be working on for future releases. Among the issues that have
been reported are:
* Row and Column headings are sometimes inverted
* Colored text sometimes prints as black
* Non-outline fonts are extremely slow
* Landscape printing doesn't work on HP IIIP PostScript printer
(Apple LaserWriter Plus emulator)
* Blank pages are often added to the ends of files on HP DeskJets
and LaserJets
* There is a known problem with OS/2 Warp FixPak 17 and Mesa 2 such that
when Mesa 2 is open, windows won't come to the front when activated.
This is a bug in FixPak 17. There is a file with a new PMMERGE.DLL
(available from IBM) that fixes the problem.
The Legal Fine Print
Mesa is a trademark of Athena Design, Inc., and is used by Sundial
Systems Corporation under license.
Other phrases used herein may be brand names, trademarks, or registered
trademarks of Athena Design, Inc., CompuServe Incorporated, Corel
Corporation, Lotus Development Corporation, IBM Corporation, Microsoft
Corporation, Sundial Systems Corporation, or others. All such names and
trademarks remain the property of their respective companies.
Technical Support
We at Sundial Systems are committed to supporting you, our customer.
We track all questions, comments, and "bug reports" concerning our
products and use this information in planning future releases. If
there are features you particularly like or things you think should
be added to our products, please let us know.
Please consult your license agreement and the on-line documentation
for details about the level of technical support to which you are
entitled.
If you have questions or suggestions, please call us at (310) 596-5121
between 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM Pacific time, Monday through Friday.
You can also FAX your questions and comments to us at (310) 598-9851.
On the Internet you can send email to mesa@sundialsystems.com, or to
mesa@ibm.net; or visit us on the web at www.sundialsystems.com.
Technical support is also available on CompuServe through the Sundial
Systems section of the OS/2 Application Vendor forum. Start
connecting with Sundial Systems and other CompuServe members by
calling 800-524-3388 and ask for Representative #456. (In the United
Kingdom, call 0800 289 378. In Germany, call 0130 37 32. In the rest
of Europe, call (+44) 272 255111. Outside the U.S., Canada, and
Europe, call 614-457-0802. Be sure to ask for Representative #456).
If you're already a CompuServe member, enter GO OS2AVEN at the !
prompt to access the Sundial Systems Section of the OS/2 Vendor Forum
on CompuServe.
Also, please note that our area code will be changing from (310) to (562)
after January 1997.
Thanks in advance,
Sundial Systems Support Services.