Shareware Super Platinum 8

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Text File | 1991-08-16 | 12.2 KB | 308 lines

History of PopDBF Development Future Features MAY include: -------------------------------------------------------- o Mouse support o Record level locking for network usage o Modify structure o Save database field selection o Memo read/edit o Index support o Import/Export functions o Count and Sum functions o Support for .FRM files with @ SAY commands Version 4.0 - Released August 15, 1991 ---------------------------------------------------------- o Added swapping to disk or EMS to leave only 4K! Program will default to the best swap possible, but this can be overridden by a command line parameter. If swapping to disk, you can specify the complete file name to be used for the swap. This allows you to swap to RAM drives and Network drives for a speedier response. You can also load PopDBF high is you have enough memory. o Added the ability to pop up over graphics. Though this feature works, graphics video is not saved and part of the graphics screen may be corrupted. This will be fixed, but I left it in this version because it is only a visual problem. o Read-Write mode now opens databases in EXCLUSIVE mode for access on networks. Read-Only mode will open databases so that multiple access is possible. Record level locking is not implemented in this version. o Structure mode is now called Setup mode, but does essentially the same thing. o Added the ability to cut and paste data from the edit screen to the underlying application. Cutting is done in Copyright (c) 1989-91 Bowen Software Page 1 History of PopDBF Development Edit mode and pasting is done via a separate hotkey. Letter 'P' in the upper right border of the Edit window indicates paste buffer has data. You can also paste data to the current record, a different record in the same database or a record in another database. o Added the ability to print data from the Edit/Append screen. This feature can be used to print labels or just act as a faster, better print screen. o Added the ability to print to a file. This is true when printing from Setup, Browse, or Edit/Append. o Files and Directories in the Pick window are now sorted alphabetically. o Added a field separator in the Browse window. Pressing Shift-| will toggle. This defaults to no separator. o Fields lengths can be sized temporarily now while in Browse using Ctrl-Left and Ctrl-Right. o Pressing ESCAPE while in a frequently accessed database will now save the current mode and position. o Border of Edit window now shows number of field pages. o Pressing Alt-PgDn and Alt-PgUp in Edit mode will do the same thing as PgDn and PgUp, but multiple page records will stay on the same page of fields. o Pressing Ctrl-V while in Edit mode will toggle verify mode on and off. If verify mode is on, entering data in the last position of a field will NOT cause the cursor to move to the next field. Verify mode is indicated by a 'V' in the border of the Edit window. o The Hotkey can be disabled/enabled by using command line parameter /I. o Configuration program PopCFG allows you to change the paste hotkey, which defaults to Ctrl-Alt-P. It can also be used to change the speed and frequency of pasting. Copyright (c) 1989-91 Bowen Software Page 2 History of PopDBF Development o Added support for European date and number formats. Configuration program PopCFG allows you to select format, date separator and type of decimal point. o PopAID now creates the .DBT file if a memo field is included in the database structure. o When finding a record the ESCAPE key will now abort as it should. All other keys are ignored and the message reflects this. o Pressing left arrow when being prompted for data will no longer cause the cursor to move left if you are in the first position. o Added Alt-F5 to display the underlying screen. This avoids having to swap out and back in just to see what was on the screen. o Files and Directories in the Pick window are now sorted alphabetically. o Page numbers are now displayed in the border of the Edit window. o A 'P' in the border of the Edit window indicates that there is a data in the paste buffer. Shift-F4 will erase the paste buffer. o Added the ability to turn on Verify mode in Edit. This is done by pressing Ctrl-V. A 'V' will appear in the upper right corner of the Edit window border. In verify mode, you must press ENTER to exit a field. Entering data in the last position in a field will not move to the next field automatically as it does when verify mode is off. o Added a command line option to specify a database to open when PopDBF is first activated (/y). This is similar to passthru mode, but for TSR execution. o Record counting is now visible when you do a Pack. This at least lets you know that something is happening. o Fixed a problem for LANs which occurred when changing to a directory with no subdirectories and no files matching the current file specification. Though no parent directory Copyright (c) 1989-91 Bowen Software Page 3 History of PopDBF Development entry will be displayed, pressing BackSpace will take you to the parent directory. o Fixed a problem which caused changes to a record to be lost if doing a find found the same record (in essence causing no movement). o Fixed a problem with frequent databases which would not remember going into Append or Edit mode after being in the opposite mode. o Added an arrow symbol to directory entries in the Pick File window to indicate pressing ENTER will move to a new directory. o In read/write mode, when opening a database that is readonly or can't be opened due to a network violation, an attempt will be made to switch to read-only mode and open the file. Closing that database will cause the mode to revert to read/write. I hope this makes life easier for everyone. o Changed the help display so that headings are now in the same color as the help title. This makes the sub-topics stand out and makes reading easier. o Pressing ENTER in Setup View (formerly View Structure) will now return you to either Browse or Append/Edit, depending on which you were last in. Hopefully this will make changing the setup easier. o Added the /l option to specify the directory where the master POPDBF.FRQ file is to be located. This allows network users to load PopDBF from one location on the network, but still have a personalized POPDBF.FRQ files. o Pressing Backspace in the Pick window will now try to move to the parent directory even if one doesn't exist. This is especially helpful on LANs. o All windows (Pick, Setup and Browse) are filled with entries if at all possible. The only reason that the entire window would not be filled is if there are not enough files, fields, or records. Copyright (c) 1989-91 Bowen Software Page 4 History of PopDBF Development o Find now positions the window (for Browse) or the cursor (for Edit) in the field and on the text if successful. Hopefully, it will make this function even more helpful. o Fixed a bug which caused find to fail when searching for data in large fields in Browse mode. o Implemented the Wordstar "diamond" (kinda). The following keys have the listed functions: Ctrl-A same as Ctrl-LeftArrow Ctrl-C same as PgDn Ctrl-D same as LeftArrow Ctrl-E same as UpArrow Ctrl-F same as Ctrl-RightArrow Ctrl-Q same as ESCAPE Ctrl-R same as PgUp Ctrl-S same as RightArrow Ctrl-X same as DownArrow o In the Pick window, Ctrl-B will change the file spec to *.DBF and Ctrl-I will change it to *.??X (to show all index files). Ctrl-N will show names of frequent databases currently available. o In Browse and Edit, Ctrl-K will now turn century on and off instead of Ctrl-C. o In Edit, Ctrl-J will restore the original field data, Ctrl-N will position the cursor to the end of the field and Ctrl-O will restore the entire original record data. o Ascii characters greater than 127 are now allowed anywhere character data input is valid. This will allow people in Europe to search for data with accented characters, etc. o Fixed a problem which occurred when pressing BackSpace through a number field from the field just after it. The decimal point would disappear. o Fixed a problem with date fields which allowed entry of invalid dates if you pressed Escape after entering a bad date and answered "N" to the question "Lose changes?" Copyright (c) 1989-91 Bowen Software Page 5 History of PopDBF Development Another problem with entering invalid dates occurred if the date was the 19th or greater field in the database. The error message beep would sound, but the error message itself was written off the screen.