Changes to dbWRITER 1.8
================================
Copyright 1991,1992 David Becker
GEnie D.Becker8
Compuserve 73030,3562
Here is another update to my freeware text processor, dbWRITER. Versions 1.6
and 1.7 were never released to the public so we jump right to version 1.8
Bugs fixed
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- There was an intermittent problem when typing at the bottom of a document.
Sometimes lines would disappear. It seems BACKSPACE on the bottom line
would sometimes decrease the "last line" counter and dbWRITER would
"forget" about the last few sentences.
- Some typists report problems when hitting RETURN and RIGHT SHIFT
together by mistake. They are very close together on the keyboard
and I can see how this can happen. I've trapped the RETURN - RIGHT SHIFT
keys so they won't create unexpected results anymore.
- The mouse pointer sometimes leaves garbage on the screen if you move the
cursor over it. Don't forget SHIFT-CLR redraws the edit screen if this
bothers you. I've tried fixing this little nuisance, but so far no luck.
- Serial printing should now be trouble free.
Changes and additions
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- This version of dbWRITER supports the dbWRITER thesaurus available on
Compuserve and GEnie. Please see full documentation for details.
- The configuration screen C has been re-written. The auto mail merge
load, auto macro load and auto ruler load have all been removed. These
configuration options seemed a bit redundant so I decided that when
the correct filename is present they will be automatically loaded.
DBWRITER.MM for the mailmerge
DBWRITER.TAB for the custom ruler
DBWRITER.MAC for macros
Please erase your old DBWRITER.CFG file and create a new one with this
version of dbWRITER.
- New additions to the configuration screen include:
Auto options after setting a text block
Share the dictionary with the desk accessory
and Share the thesaurus with the desk accessory
These are explained fully in the documention file. The dbWRITER accessory
is now available on Compuserve and GEnie and allows access to the
dbWRITER dictionary and thesaurus from within other GEM applications!
- I have removed the "walkthru" and "demo" options to make room for the
additional thesaurus code. No great loss.
- The NON-ASCII import dialog now allows you to bypass the control code
removal and importation procedures and load any type of text file into
dbWRITER. The editor was never meant to handle NON-ASCII text and may
display unexpected or even disasterous results but I have included this
"As Is" option for the fearless of heart.
- The text encryption/decryption algorythms have been improved thanks
to some expert advise given to me in this area.
- dbWRITER configuration now defaults to 4000 maximum lines within the
editor, 50 maximum clipboard lines and 50 mail merge entries. These
are in effect only if DBWRITER.CFG is not found.
Changes to dbWRITER 1.5
================================
Copyright 1991,1992 David Becker
GEnie D.Becker8
Compuserve 73030,3562
Bugs fixed
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- The fileselector save path now initially defaults to the same path
as the last loaded file
- Using the delete key on the last line produced unexpected results
sometimes deleting lines above! This has been fixed.
Changes and additions
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- The configuration file DBWRITER.CFG now contains a flag to automatically
display the "block options dialog box" after you set a text block by
dragging with the mouse. You can manually edit this file by loading
it into dbWRITER and changing the flag to 1 for automatic display.
Save the file back to disk as DBWRITER.CFG
Changes to dbWRITER 1.4
================================
Copyright 1991,1992 David Becker
GEnie D.Becker8
Compuserve 73030,3562
Bugs fixed
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- The fileselector now defaults to *.* instead of *.TXT
- Backspace sometimes skipped up one line, this has been fixed.
- F10 now correctly searches for the next occurrence of your text string
from the cursor position to the end of the document.
- Automatic importation of Wordwriter and First Word Plus documents
has been improved.
Changes and additions
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- When clicking 'P' within the quick pick grid or pressing P you will
be presented with the new PRINTOUT CONFIGURATION screen. Important
additions include multiple copies, form feeds after printing pages or
after printing the entire document, top and left margin settings for
only the printout, user selectable spacing between pages and printouts
beginning from any page number you choose. I have also included an
indicator box displaying the amount of complete copies printed, not
pages but entire documents (I wanted to print 3 page resumes the other
day and I kept losing track of how many had been output).
- The PRINTER DRIVER CONFIGURATION screen W no longer includes a MARGIN
button. This has been replaced by a FORM FEED button for ejecting a page
from your printer. Printer margins are now handled within the new
printout configuration screen.
- The configuration file DBWRITER.CFG now contains a command line colour
flag. You can manually edit this file by loading it into dbWRITER and
changing the flag to 1 for a light command line (desktop fill pattern)
instead of the default black. Save the file back to disk as DBWRITER.CFG
- The configuration dialog C contains a new choice called "Memory saver
spell check". This feature is meant to help those with a megabyte or less.
Instead of the normal single pass spell check, dbWRITER will spell check
your document in two passes, loading only half the dictionary for each
pass. After the second pass the remaining dictionary is purged from memory.
This type of spell check uses only 190K compared with 380K the normal spell
check requires! If you wish to view a word within the dictionary, dbWRITER
will not load the entire dictionary resident but will instead scan the disk
file and load only a small section into memory. This takes between 5 and 30
seconds depending on the word but does not require very much memory.
- The clipboard will now accept multiple entries. If you keep copying blocks
of text to the clipboard you can stack them on top of one another or you
can still replace a block, erasing the original clipboard content (I use
this new clipboard to gather messages from BBS systems as I scan the topic
and catagory listings).
The main documentation file QUICKDOC.TXT has been updated to reflect these
changes and additions. The dictionary file remains unchanged.