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- History UFO 96 - Universal File Operator
- ─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
-
- THE PRESS ABOUT UFO
-
- ■ "UFO is an excellent choice" 4 (out of 5) stars
- Ziff Davis Shareware Library
-
- ■ "With these prices and programs one could easily
- become a DOS-purist"
- (translated from German)
- Chief editor B. Bechtel-Krueger in DOS-Trend 11-12/95
-
-
- ■ "If you do not want to go without an efficient DOS file manager
- [...] UFO is the perfect partner."
- (translated from German)
- DOS International 1/96
-
- ■ "Rating: Very Good" (translated from German)
- PC go! 7/96
-
-
- UFO 96.2E ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── Juli 6, 1996
-
- Thanks go to all the UFO users whose wishes and proposals were
- realized in this version.
-
- ■ Latest UFO 96 infos and hints and other recent projects of
- Deus Ex Machina Communications in the Web at:
- http://www.demcom.com
- ■ Deus Ex Machina Communications is now a member of the Association
- of Shareware Professionals <ASP>.
-
- * From now on UFO 96 entirely supports the long Windows 95 long filenames.
- Files with long names are not only displayed; they can be copied, moved,
- deleted and more. Please notice that Windows 95 must be active to
- profit from these functions. The new "Windows 95 mode" (Menu "Right"
- or "Left") is made for the display of long file names.
- * Even the Windows 95 start menu is directly accessible from UFO 96:
- Press Ctrl-TAB and see! You have access to the programs which have
- been entered into the start menu. The documents that have been
- opened lately are displayed. If you like you can activate the system
- control panel by the start menu.
- * UFO 96 is able to encode and decode files by the UU-standard.
- This is used to transfer files through the Internet by E-mail.
- (Menu option "Tools|UU-encode file").
- * What do you do if you want to erase classified data? Use UFO 96!
- If you activate the "irrevocable delete" function files are not just
- deleted. They will be overwritten multiple times and their position
- on the data carrier will be cleaned. So no one will be able to
- undelete these files. (Menu "Options|Safety & Security")
- * A new archive support allows display of archives without an archiver
- program. In this version the processing of archives is much faster
- and more stable than in all previous versions. However, you have to go
- without support of self-extracting-archives (SFX).
- * New memory management allows starting UFO with less free conventional
- memory. By using an overlay and reloading functions which are used
- less frequently UFO is even faster now. Existing expansion memory (EMS)
- can be used but is not necessary.
- * UFO 96 displays the title of HTML documents in the mini-status. The
- length, depth, sample rate and number of tracks of wave files is also
- displayed.
- * UFO 96 does no longer forget file selections after a program call.
- Because UFO has to write the names of the files on a disk this function
- may cause delays on slow PCs. Therefor you may deactivate it.
- ("Options|Configuration...|Remember selected files")
- * UFO 96 has the AIM-Technology version 1.0 (copyright (C) 1996 by
- Fabian Hansmann). This is a self test procedure which finds out if
- UFO has been modified (by a virus).
- + It is now possible to (de)select files with more than one wildcard
- specification at once. The different wildcards are separated by
- blanc characters.
- + For a clearer arrangement UFO can turn directories to green. In
- addition to that you can have the command line in a discreet grey.
- + The display of free conventional memory in the info windows is new.
- + By pressing Ctrl-Shift-Return you can copy the long version of the
- current filename to the command line. Quotation marks will be added
- as Windows 95 demands.
- + UFO asks the user if he wants to restart UFO from UFO if he enters
- "ufo" in UFO by accident.
- + If you use another resolution than 25 or 50 lines it will be used
- in UFO also.
- + When you ask UFO for creating an archive (F11) and all files in the
- current directory are selected UFO suggests the name of the directory
- as the name for the archive.
- + The quick search (Alt key) finds the next match when pressing
- Ctrl-Return.
- + The file viewer has been optimized for speed. In addition to that it
- displays the process of viewing in percentage.
- + Because of randomly occuring negative reports the UFO-TSRWatch (see
- documentation) can be deactivated and is deactivated as a default
- ("Options|Configuration...|Use UFO-TSRWatch").
- + Ctrl-J copies the path and file name of the current file to the command
- line.
- + The file search (Alt-F7) saves its configuration.
- + The installation program can copy the configuration of an installed
- UFO 1.45 to UFO 96.
- + Every time you start UFO a small system status is written to the log
- file. (current operating system, free memory, etc.)
- + A lot more small improvements wished by UFO users.
- - "Compare directories" did not work if at least one window displayed an
- archive. Bug fixed.
- - The Windows-rescource-saver no longer exists. The result of additional
- system capacity on modern PC is too small.
- - Sometimes error 204 occured with IBM-DOS or IBM Aptive-Systems
- while deleteing files. UFO had to be restarted. Bug fixed.
- - After creating of archives (by F11) hidden files have not been marked
- as such (by the ░-symbol). Bug fixed.
- - A lot more bugs have been caught (setting attributes, archive support)
-
- Version 96 and Version 96.1 ──────────────────────────── July 22nd, 1996
-
- Never released in English.
-
- Version 1.45E ─────────────────────────────────────── December 1st, 1995
-
- * UFO received a complete service and became more compact and obviously
- faster. Reading directories is now up to 500% faster - especially
- in huge directories.
- * If you are using Windows 95, UFO displays the long filename of the
- current file in the status line.
- * UFO activates the UFO-Rescource-Saver as a screen saver. It reduces
- the need of processing time for UFO to a minimum. That means:
- Full throttle for your Windows applications.
- Check it out by the Windows 95 program "System monitor".
- * By pressing Shift-F11 you can extract the hole contents of the currently
- displayed archive into the directory of the opposite window.
- * By pressing Ctrl-dash you can display the directory of the current
- window in the currently inactive window.
- * The user menu now can have 30 menu levels, not only two (as it was
- before).
- + By pressing Alt-F3 or Alt-F4 you can activate the internal viewer or
- editor even if there is an extension link to the current file.
- + The default wildcard in the dialogue window "Select group" can be
- configured know. (Last input or always "*.*"). (Options-menu,
- at "Configuration").
- + 4DOS user may execute their 4DOS specified BTM-batch-files.
- + RAR multivolume archive files with the R00, R01, etc. extension are
- sorted into the file list like any other archive files.
- + If UFO or the installation program is called under Windows 95 the
- automatic creation of the extension file does not enter Windows
- programs with the suffix "WIN".
- + The hotkeys Ctrl-X and Ctrl-E are added for navigating in the
- command history. The hotkey for the energy saving mode is now Ctrl-G.
- + The internal file viewer is used automatically with located files
- in the file search (Alt-F7).
- + More small improvements
- - PCE sometimes provided false information about COM ports, bug is fixed.
- - Sometimes file attributes have not been transfered to a copied file.
- This bug is history.
- - Some programs could be executed from the usermenu. This is no longer
- a problem.
- - If UFO is installed from a hard disk the installation program entered
- the UFO editor in the source directory in the extension file. This
- bug is fixed.
- - Bug at calculation of compression grade of archived files in percent
- is fixed.
- (at the ministatus display)
- - The directory of the other window has not been refreshed after pressing
- NumBlock-Plus or -Minus in the directory-tree. This bug is fixed.
- - If there was not enough memory to display the whole directory UFO
- displayed the error 203. The error is fixed.
- - Seldom occuring problem with archives including subdirectories
- solved.
- - Display bug at FileFind corrected.
- - Other minor bugs were killed.
-
-
- Version 1.4D ────────────────────────────────────── September 29th, 1995
-
- ■ UFO-SUPPORT Frankfurt is renamed to DEUS EX MACHINA COMMUNICATIONS.
- Changing the name was neccessary because of other projects not being
- related to UFO.
- ■ It's a matter of course that the UFO-Support-Team is still at your
- disposal for any problems or suggestions (see SUPPORT.TXT).
- ■ We have a new support BBS in Hannover, Germany (see SUPPORT.TXT)!
-
- * The directory tree was implemented. 3,000 directories per drive can be
- processed. Therefor the maximum of files per directory was decreased
- to 3.000, but even this should be enough.
- * From now on, each file type (DOC-,B;P-,VOC-files, etc.) can have its
- own viewer and editor. There are two new extension files: VIEWERS.EXT
- and EDITORS.EXT. They work the same way as UFO.EXT.
- * UFO supports the creation of EXE-archives (SFX) . The option can
- be accessed by the "Create Archive"-dialogue (F11).
- * The UFO file viewer can display Unix/Amiga and Macintosh/OS-9 formatted
- texts. The recognition happens automatically.
- * The new keyword "{Currentfile}" in the usermenu is replaced by the
- current file name in the file window.
- * Havily improved stability compared to the previous version.
- + PC Equipment was slightly improved and is more stabe now.
- + UFO needs even less space to run in the background.
- + The function "Compare directories" checks out if filenames occur in
- both directiories and marks only the file with the latest change.
- + Now you can access every option from the pull-down-menus by hotkeys.
- + Files may be copied or moved into "*". E.G. the source file "UFO.DOC"
- becomes "UFO" - the extension is deleted.
- + The program's names in the extension files are no longer converted into
- capital letters to allow giving parameters in small letters to the
- applications.
- + If you press Ctrl-<NumBlock Plus> or Ctrl-<NumBlock Minus> UFO
- offers you the last input from the "Select/deselect group"-dialoge,
- not always "*.*". <NumBlock Plus> and <NumBlock Minus> work as before.
- + After copying or moving of files into different filenames the new
- name is used for positioning the file cursor.
- + Improvement of the function to create archives with sub-directories.
- - Complete directories in the root could not be copied to other
- directories in the root. This bug is fixed.
- - The internal file viewer could not search for mutated vowels in
- Windows-ANSI-files. This bug is fixed.
- - Under some circumstances a disc wasn't reread after pressing Ctrl-R.
- This bug is fixed.
- - When searching for text in files sometimes files were found which did
- not actually contain the search text (mostly smaller ones). Bug fixed!
- - If there was few conventional memory - e.g. at Novell Netware - UFO
- quited while copying files with error 203. This error is fixed.
- - Other bugfixes.
-
-
- Version 1.3E ───────────────────────────────────────── August 16th, 1995
-
- ■ Now you can register UFO via CompuServe: GO SWREG (keyword: UFO)
- ■ ...or you order UFO per phone (by C.O.D):
- Call us: +49-69-761807 or +49-69-7074392
- * The system-information and diagnosis program "PC Equipment" is now
- part of the UFO program package. It provides useful information about
- all interresting components of your PC! The shareware version has,
- like all UFO tools, not reductions at its functionality.
- * Complete support of the very efficient archiver of RAR.
- Requirement: You must have the RAR version 1.50 or higher.
- * Greatly improved and extended recognition of archives, complete
- support of self-extracting archives (EXE-archives/SFX).
- * Improved processing of archives which are very big or damaged.
- * While displaying an archive directory, you can see the rate of
- compression of the current file down in the file window.
- * UFO is now able to search for archivers and to configure them in
- UFO - just like the installation program.
- * The file search (Alt-F7) was greatly improved: It is now possible to
- search only the current directory and in all its subdirectories.
- It is also possible to let UFO create a list file of all files
- found. You even can add commands in front of and behind the listed
- files.
- * AutoInstall helps you to install new software. Installation programs
- are searched and executed as desired.
- * UFO is now able to display up to 5,000 files per window (if there is
- enough conventional memory).
- + UFO needs about 93% less system resources at OS/2 (Source: WatchCat 2.1).
- + In the "Create archive"-dialogue (F11) you can choose if the source
- files are to be deleted after creation.
- + Now you can choose "Fast mouse reset" at "Options|Configuration" for
- a very much faster return from programs to UFO.
- + Recognition and support of Windows 95 (windows programs are no longer
- executed with "win" in front of it).
- + At leaving UFO the current command line is copied into the DOS prompt.
- + DirectDir now works with the "brief display", too.
- + New and adapted hotkeys in the file viewer and editor.
- + Some internal optimizations and small gugfixes.
- - At some DOS versions the installation program only left the backup
- of the AUTOEXEC.BAT, the original became a 0-byte file. This bug
- is fixed now.
- - UFO did not work properly in certain networks (UP--DIR was missing),
- now it works perfectly.
- - Under rare conditions UFO crashed in the file viewer, this bug is fixed.
- - Archives with abnormal extensions (so not .ARJ, .ZIP or .LZH) sometimes
- caused error in processing. This bug is fixed.
- - On PCs configured with the 12 hours time system sometimes an error
- occured at the display of "am" or "pm" in the file windows.
- - Some minor bugs at the window display are fixed
-
- Version 1.2E ─────────────────────────────────────────── June 28th, 1995
-
- █ From now on UFO is also available IN ENGLISH. Please pay attention to
- █ the letter behind the version number (D for German, E for English)
-
- THIS WAS THE FIRST OFFICIALLY OBTAINABLE ENGLISH VERSION
-
- * The mode of "Brief display" has been implemented. If it is active
- UFO displays three columns of file names per file window.
- * The size of file windows is now variable.
- * Files can be edited in archives.
- * Predefined groups can be entered as file filters - e.g. graphics,
- text files, etc.
- * The file viewer is very much faster now. Moreover you can move
- to the right and to the left in the file.
- Text files created under Windows can be displayed (ANSI)
- * Completly new in this version: The drive overlapping search for
- files (with specified contents, too).
- * The file windows can be switched off separately (Ctrl-F1 or Ctrl-F2).
- * You can choose from three different color sets.
- * The menu line can be permanently displayed.
- * The menubar is now possible to be displayed permanently by Ctrl-M.
- * The function and status line at the bottom of the screen can be hidden
- (Ctrl-B).
- * The two file windows can be exchanged by Ctrl-U.
- * By pressing Ctrl-P you can switch off the currently inactive file
- window.
- + 4DOS or NDOS is recognized and supported. Please make sure the
- COMSPEC environment variable is set properly.
- + If RETURN is pressed on a file which is not linked in the extension
- file, it is checked out if it is an archive. If it is really an
- archive it will be entered. So the extension has not to be
- ARJ, ZIP or LZH.
- + The function "Change attributes" was greatly improved - especially
- at the treatment of more than one file.
- + CD-ROMs are left out at application scanning.
- + By now you can use batch files in the user menu.
- + Selections of files are saved even at changing of sort methods.
- + Recognition of ZIP-archives was improved.
- + The user menu which adapts to the size of its contents allows to enter
- comments started by a colon (;).
- + UFO saves the dos screen even while changing the text mode
- (25/50 lines)
- + '*' can be added to the extension file - this is a link to all
- files except executables.
- + If you copy files from a CD-ROM-drive (and only from a CD-ROM-drive)
- those disturbing read-only-attributes are being left out.
- + DirectDir has been improved.
- + Many small improvement, speed optimizations and internal changings
- that make UFO more save.
- - Error at window display in TempTerminator at multi tasking operating
- systems is repaired (TempTerminator's version is now 1.02D).
- - UFO did not exactly right if executed from a root directory. Now it
- works faultless.
- - Display error at the function "Key after DOS-command" repaired.
- - If you called the viewers' function "Search string" some times UFO
- displayed "Not enough memory". Fixed.
- - In certain Shareware-Versions AnimByte caused the error "Fehler in
- .EXE-Datei". It does not occur any longer.
- - Error in the "Compare directories"-function has been fixed.
-
- Version 1.13D ────────────────────────────────────────── March 16th, 1995
-
- + Directories are scanned about 100% faster.
- - Multifile Editor works now.
-
- Version 1.12D ────────────────────────────────────────── March 15th, 1995
-
- * In the editor more than one file can be opened and edited now.
- + UFO works perfectly and at full service of functions under OS/2
- (under Warp, too).
- - When the mouse was deactivated or not present, UFO has called the
- screen saver accidently; this failure is wiped out.
- - Some errors at displaying windows are corrected.
-
- Version 1.11D ────────────────────────────────────────── March 13th, 1995
-
- FIRST OFFICIALLY OBTAINABLE GERMAN VERSION
-