MacWAIS 1.25 includes one important new capability; namely, a Preference that
specifies where temporary files are stored. (Before, this was the folder
from which MacWAIS was started.) The obvious application is locating MacWAIS
on a read-only volume. (This new feature was "encouraged" by
Pascal.DEGIOVANNI@enslapp.ens-lyon.fr :-).
As before, updates to the MSWord version of the User Manual have been designated by
change bars in the right-hand margin. Thanks to Patrick Hoepfner (hoepfner@heasfs.gsfc.nasa.gov) the size of the User Manual has shrunk dramatically (e.g., ~550k). The reason? MSWord's "Fast Save" option (which, heretofore, I was using). It simply appends changes to the end of the file!
Changes from 1.24:
* Added a Temp File Folder Preference allowing MacWAIS to be stored on a read-only
volume.
* Fixed bug in Select Sources and Edit Source dialogs that prevented the initial
filesystem folder from being correct (it would wrongly select the Desktop).
* The names of retrieved Sources now have trailing filesystem paths removed.
* Modified Prefs file creation so it has the correct type and creator.
* Modified local file retrieval so it can handle files > 32K.
MacWAIS 1.24 Release Notes 07Sep93
----------------------------------
MacWAIS 1.24 includes two important new capabilities. First, it is no longer dependent
on Color QuickDraw (which it was *only* by oversight) so it now runs on "Classic"
QuickDraw Systems (i.e., PB100, SE, etc.). Second, it now can search Local sources (i.e., indexes that reside locally). (The documentation doesn't reflect the local search capability (sorry, Ann!) -- I'm going to change the Source interface to incorporate this new capability. When I do, the documentation will change.) And, as a plug, I'm working on porting the indexer to the Macintosh. I've got the basic port done (and it works!), I'm now working on the UI. More details at a later date.
Updates to the MSWord version of the User Manual are designated by change bars in the
right-hand margin.
MacWAIS 1.24 is roughly 90K *bigger* than 1.23. It grew because I migrated to the
new ThinkC 6.0 development environment, and there are bugs with "smart" linking; so,
I turned that option off (which results in a larger executable).
Changes from 1.23:
* New, underlying socket library. This, plus some other modifications, have increased
download capability by ~2x.
* Removes Color QuickDraw dependencies. MacWAIS now runs on Classic QuickDraw
Systems (PB100, SE, etc.). (Reported by Sami.Tikka@hut.fi, Kent Kalnasy
(kkalnasy@bvu-lads.loral.com), and Jonathan Brecher (brecher@mac.archive.umich.edu).
Thanks for the reports -- sorry for the incompability!)
* Allows searching of Local sources. (Note: Local sources can ONLY be specified by
manually editing the Source description. The host":ip-name" line should be removed,
and the ":database-name" should be the Macintosh pathname to the index file. This
will ultimately become specifiable directly in MacWAIS.)
* In the Select Sources dialog, Selected Sources may be deselected by first highlighting
them and then pressing Delete. (The documentation has been updated to reflect this
addition.) (Suggested by Harry Morris (morris@wais.com).)
* Miscellaneous shortcuts added to dialogs (e.g., cmd-D means "Don't Save").
How do I install it?
------------------
MacWAIS and the wais-sources folder may be located anywhere on your hard disk. Once MacTCP is installed, MacWAIS is ready to go!
What do I do if I have questions and/or problems?
---------------------------------------------
Send email regarding questions, problems, or suggested enhancements to mac-shareware@einet.net.
Acknowledgments
----------------
Special thanks go to the following people and organizations for their help in the development of MacWAIS: the Electronic Power Research Institute (EPRI), Gerry Brown, Jim Matthews, Rodney Robertson, Paul Rutz, and Archie Warnock.
