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1997-01-16
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VISUAL DIALOGSCRIPT 2.10 RELEASE NOTES 16th January 1997
===========================================================================
Welcome to Visual DialogScript!
-------------------------------
Thank you for trying Visual DialogScript, the simple program development
tool for Microsoft Windows. Please take a few moments to read this file.
It contains important information both for new users and upgraders from
earlier versions of the product.
What is Visual DialogScript?
----------------------------
Visual DialogScript is a programming language and development environment
that has been designed to enable you quickly to develop simple dialog-based
programs or batch files for Windows 95 with the same ease as you might have
written a batch file or a Basic program for DOS.
The DialogScript language is easy to learn and similar to, though much more
powerful than, a batch language or macro language. Visual DialogScript also
includes visual tools: a Dialog Editor for designing dialog boxes visually,
and an Icon Editor for creating graphical icons for your programs. There
is also a Dialog Wizard which generates the code automatically from your
visually designed dialog. Many useful DialogScript programs can be written
in a matter of minutes!
If you are new to Visual DialogScript, try the short Tutorial, then take a
few minutes to read through the User Guide section of the online manual.
This explains how the program works and covers basic concepts of the
DialogScript programming language. There are also several examples which
you can try out by cutting the code from the help file, pasting it into the
editor window, and running it.
System Requirements
-------------------
Visual DialogScript 16-bit requires the following minimum system
specification:
- a 386SX PC with 4Mb RAM, VGA display and mouse;
- Windows 3.1.
Visual DialogScript 32-bit requires the following minimum system
specification:
- a 486 PC with 8Mb RAM, VGA display and mouse;
- Windows 95.
The same specifications apply to programs created with Visual
DialogScript.
Note that the 32-bit version uses functions of the Windows 95 shell so
it will not run satisfactorily under Windows NT 3.x.
Installation
------------
If you haven't already done so, run the program SETUP.EXE, which will
copy the program files to the desired directory and create an entry
in Program Manager or the Windows 95 Start Menu for the Visual DialogScript
development environment.
You may want to move the runtime engine (DSRUN.EXE/DSRUN16.EXE) to the
Windows System directory, or alternatively to add the location of your
Visual DialogScript directory to your PATH statement. If you run
non-integrated DialogScript executables from directories other than the one
in which the runtime engine is located you will get the error message
"Cannot run script" unless this is done.
Removing Visual DialogScript from your system
---------------------------------------------
Visual DialogScript adds files to no other directories than its own. To
remove it, simply delete all the files in the Visual DialogScript directory
and then remove the directory.
The 32-bit version creates Registry entries under the Registry key
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\JMTech\DialogScript\2.0.
Registering Visual DialogScript
-------------------------------
We hope you like Visual DialogScript and find it useful. However, please
be aware that Visual DialogScript is not free or public domain software.
You are granted a licence giving limited rights to use the software. The
conditions of use are described in the Licence Agreement in the online
help.
This version of Visual DialogScript is fully functional. However, while it
remains unregistered the software will display its startup screen for a
longer interval, displaying a gentle reminder that the software is still
unregistered. Also, any EXE programs you create will upon termination
display a message that they were created using an unregistered copy of the
product.
Details of how to register, and what it will cost, will also be found
in the online help.
Technical support
-----------------
Free technical support is available by Internet email, only to registered
users. However, we will endeavour to answer any questions that may
arise during your evaluation of the product.
Support is provided via Internet email at: support@jm-tech.com.
Please note that the free support does not extend to writing complete
scripts. We will be happy to quote for this service at our normal
consultancy rates.
Multi-platform support
----------------------
The 32-bit version of Visual DialogScript can create both 32-bit and 16-bit
executable files. DialogScript executables require the appropriate runtime
engine DSRUN.EXE (32-bit) or DSRUN16.EXE (16-bit) or must be created as
integrated executables with a copy of the runtime bound in. Either runtime
is freely redistributable, without royalties, by registered users of the
product.
The 16-bit runtime is not included in the 32-bit package, so you will not
be able to run any 16-bit programs that you create with it. To obtain it we
recommend that you download it from our World Wide Web site to ensure you
have the latest version.
A common help file is used for both versions. Differences in capabilities
between the two versions are (in general) highlighted where appropriate.
Note that the examples in the help file are for the 32-bit version. Most
of the commands where they access the Registry will have to be converted
to the corresponding INI file commands. This is normally a simple matter
of substituting INIFILE for REGISTRY and @iniread for @regread, and
deleting the default key. For other differences see below.
16-bit limitations
------------------
The main points to be aware of when writing 16-bit script programs are:
* Long filenames, and various options relating to them, are not supported.
* Registry support is limited, and does not allow named values to be used.
* You cannot obtain the exit code of DOS programs run from within a script.
* The maximum length of a variable or string list item, is 255 characters.
* Internal string handling buffers are also restricted to 255 characters in
length. Complex expressions may be truncated. Where this occurs, it may
be possible to avoid the problem by breaking the operation down into
smaller steps.
* The maximum length of most command parameters is 127 characters. In
some cases, to reduce memory usage, it may be less, where a parameter
would not be expected to be very long. This should not normally be a
problem.
* Task bar icons are not supported. The Dialog Editor allows you to define
them, but they will result in an error if used.
Known problems
--------------
* When clicking and dragging dialog controls in the Dialog Editor the
control may lag behind the position of the mouse. The solution is to
click on the dialog control and pause briefly before dragging or
resizing the control.
* The Add-In Tools Manager appears to hang VDS when used. The reason is
that the window has the ONTOP property set. The first time you use it,
it comes up in the center of the screen. When you click one of the
buttons the input dialog also comes up in the center of the screen but
because the main window is on top you can't see it. Attempts to click
other buttons just causes Windows to beep. If this happens, hit Esc to
cancel the input dialog. Then move the Add-In Tools Manager away from
the center of the screen. Next time you use it, it will come up at the
position you last used.
* The presence of tab characters in a script can cause problems for the
interpreter. The IDE editor does not allow tab characters to be entered.
If a different editor is used to edit scripts then care should be taken
to avoid entering tab characters.
* In the 16-bit version there is a limit on the maximum size of a script
of 32K characters. This limit is imposed by the Windows memo control
used by the editor, which (like Windows Notepad) does not allow more
than 32K of text to be loaded into it. In the 32-bit version the maximum
size of script that the editor can handle is approximately 64K
characters.
* When copying example code from the online help, blank lines appear
between some of the lines which were not present in the listing. These
blank lines can cause an error if they appear in the middle of a dialog
definition or embedded text so they should be deleted after pasting the
text into the script editor.
* If you try to create an EXE file in a directory that does not exist,
VDS will hang. In practise this can only happen if the stored path from
the last time an EXE was created from that script is no longer valid.
* The Help menu options to connect to our Web site and to register online
will only work if your system is set up to automatically associate your
Web browser with an Internet URL.
Changes in version 2.10
-----------------------
New features:
* Included a Tip of the Day at start-up to inform users of tips and
featurees.
* Made improvements to the editor include a user-definable tab interval
and a Smart Enter that starts a new line on the same column as the line
above.
* The IDE can now optionally create integrated EXE files with the
run-time engine bound in.
* (16-bit) Included a help contents browser with similar functionality to
that included with Windows 95.
* Added @NUMERIC function to test whether a string is a valid number.
* Added @HEX function and support for hexadecimal arithmetic (hex numbers
must be prefixed by a $ character.)
* Added @ESC function to generate an Escape character (equivalent to
@CHR(27)).
* Added @MSGBOX function which enables you to use the full range of
Windows message box types.
* Added new window information functions @WINTEXT, @WINCLASS, @WINATPOINT.
* Added WINDOW SETTEXT command to set the text of a window control.
* Added WINDOW CLICK and WINDOW RCLICK commands to simulate mouse clicks on
a specified window.
* Added DLGTYPE NOSYS and NOMIN to hide the system menu and minimize
button.
* Added CLICK events for CHECK, COMBO, LIST and RADIO dialog elements
so an event can be triggered by making a selection.
* Added EXIT events for COMBO and EDIT dialog elements so an event can be
triggered on leaving the control.
* Added LIST LOADTEXT command to allow text embedded in a script to be
loaded into a string list.
* Added WINHELP command to enable the Windows help system to be used by a
DialogScript program.
* Added STOP command (unconditional halt, even within GOSUB).
* Implemented extension interface. An additional command and function can
be added by means of a specially-written DLL.
Changes:
* Updated the Window Spy to give more information relating to the enhanced
window functions, such as the mouse position.
* Programs now search their own directory as well as the current directory
for files without a full path name that are loaded from a script.
* Increased the number of string lists allowed from 4 to 9.
* The @CLICK function now accepts an argument of flags B, R, X, Y returning
multiple values which can be separated using PARSE. The previous format
is still accepted.
* Enhanced the @WINEXISTS function to detect the existence of child
windows.
* Enhanced the @SUM function so it can now sum an unlimited list of
arguments.
* Fixed problem with @NEXT leaving OK unchanged rather than setting it to
True.
* Fixed the problem with DIALOG CLOSE destroying the dialog before the
script finishes when run in the debugger.
* Fixed the problem with trailing spaces on a command line causing
inconsistent behavior between debugger and run-time.
* Fixed the problem affecting users of some European keyboards in which
characters generated by pressing the right-hand shift key were not sent
correctly by Window Send.
* (16-bit) Fixed problems affecting commands and functions that access the
Registry.
* (16-bit) LIST COPY and LIST PASTE now no longer restricted to a maximum
255 characters of text.
* (16-bit) Fixed problem with Dialog Editor help not appearing when
running under Windows 3.1.
* Fixed several problems with Icon Editor, such as Undo not working.
* Fixed some bugs in the Dialog Editor.
* Dialog Wizard now generates code for all events used by the dialog
without the need to manually refresh the dialog before exiting.
* Improved the error checking and added additional error messages.
Changes in version 2.05
-----------------------
Changes:
* (16-bit) Fixed bug affecting Alt-keys in WINDOW SEND.
* Fixed bug in @NAME function (returned null if no period in filename.)
* Fixed some problems with dialog editor.
Changes in version 2.04
-----------------------
Changes:
* (16-bit) Fixed bug which made RUNM, RUNZ, RUNH all have the same effect
as RUN.
Changes in version 2.03
-----------------------
New features:
* The OPTION PRIORITY command lets you set the priority level of your
programs. (32-bit only)
* The OPTION SKDELAYcommand lets you add a delay between characters sent
using the WINDOW SEND command.
* The RUN and SHELL commands have an extra optional priority level
parameter. (32-bit only)
* In the REGISTRY command and the @REGREAD function you can now use the
STATS root key to access the Windows performance statistics under
Registry key HKEY_DYN_DATA. (32-bit only)
Changes:
* Fixed problem with 32-bit Dialog Editor which caused incorrect wrapping
of dialog elements when inserting to the editor.
* Fixed bug in Dialog Editor whereby value field clears when value of
RADIO dialog element is changed.
* Fixed bug in Dialog Editor that caused default style names to always be
STYLE1.
* Fixed bug in 16-bit runtime that caused first command line parameter
passed to an EXE program to be lost.
* Fixed problem that caused 'Unable to run EXE' or 'Sharing violation'
messages on some systems.
* Default INI file handling has been changed to use DS16.INI instead of
DEFAULT.INI for compatibility with the 16-bit version.
===========================================================================
J M Technical Services, 11a Cedar Lane, Cockermouth, Cumbria, CA13 9HN, UK.
Find us on the World Wide Web at: http://www.jm-tech.com/