InterCD 1999 March/marchl_1999.iso/Site Building/IMS Engine/_setup.1/readme.txt

Text File | 1999-02-25 | 12.3 KB | 227 lines

24-FEB-99
Virtual Mechanics
IMS Web Engine (Professional)   -Version 1.3

Version Update and Change notes are included at the end of this Readme file.

"IMS Web Engine (Professional)" is a visual DHTML authoring application for the
creation of interactive web pages, games, stories, and educational dynamic content.
The program features a WYSIWYG, Drag and Drop intuitive interface that is ideal
for the novice user while providing many desktop publishing components that are
demanded by the professional.

"IMS Web Engine (Professional)" is available for a 30 day fully functional time
limited trial free of charge after which it must be purchased or removed from  the
users computer system.

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General Install Notes:

Thank you for using IMS (Interactive Multimedia Systems) from Virtual Mechanics.

System Requirements:

DX2-486 66mhz or better PC running Win95/Win98/NT
16 MB RAM minimum
Netscape Navigator or MS Explorer 3.2 or above.
Netscape Navigator or MS Explorer 4.0 or above for DHTML animation
16 bit graphic card and sound card optional.

You must have one of the above Browsers properly installed on  your system and set
to automatically display HTML files.

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Support

Installation:
Installation  problems related to this product can be directed to
[e-mail] Please provide the serial number of your product if
available, your operating system and your hardware and software configurations.
State the nature of your problem and provide any related information that will assist
us in helping you to install this product.

Operation:
Operational support for this product is provided free of charge through the IMS Web
News Group. This moderated BB provides you with the opportunity to post questions,
problems, tips and tricks to your peers. It is also fully monitored by knowledgeable
IMS staff that will attempt to promptly answer questions related to problems in the use
of this product. You can join this News Group by selecting theSupport button under the
Help Menu while online or by visiting the Support Page at the Virtual Mecchanics web site
http://www.VirtualMechanics.com/support.htm.

Tutorials:
Several tutorials are included with this software. Additional tutorials will also be
posted from time to time on the Virtual Mechanics web site. These tutorials are available
under the Help button of the main menu.

Templates:
Several template IMS files are included with this product in the
'drive:\<Installdir>\templates' directory from your install directory. These can be
accessed by selecting the Open Templates command in the File menu. Additional template
".ims" files will also be posted from time to time on the Virtual Mechanics web site.

FAQ's
Q. When attempting to run IMS Web Engine after installing it on my machine I get the following
error message: "A required .DLL FILE, msvcirt.dll, was not found."
A. 'msvcirt.dll' is a Microsoft component that is included and installed with this program.
If this is the first time that this .dll has been installed on your machine, it will be
necessary to reboot your computer to finish installing this component.

Q. When previewing a presentation from IMS, the browser displays the message:
"This web page has been designed to work with a browser that supports Dynamic HTML or
Cascading Style sheets."
A. This message is displayed when an older browser is installed on your machine. IMS Web
Engine produces HTML code that is compatible with Internet Explorer or Navigator 3.2 or later
browsers. A version 4 browser is recommended for viewing Dynamic HTML. Both Microsoft and
Netscape provide these  browsers free of charge from their web sites.

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Version-1.3 Notes

Enhancements:

1.Support for Affiliate Distribution has been implemented.
2.Support for up to 1000 Geometry Objects has implemented.
3.The Page Background editor will now display the path of the current background image.

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Version-1.23 Notes

Enhancements:

1.IMS Web Engine will now perform an auto-backup of your project whenever the projecct is Saved.
In the event of an abnormal termination of the program for any reason, the backup file will be
loaded the next time the program is started.
2.Restore and Recover commands have been added to the File Menu. The Restore command will re-load
the project to its last Save state. The Recover command will load the IMS Backup file. This is
usually equivalent to the Previous Save state.
3.You can now right click on an Object to display the Object Editor. If you right click on the
Page outside of any Object, the Page editor will be displayed.
4.The Object Editor now includes Component Editor buttons on the first tag page to display the
Component Dialogs without leaving the Object Editor.
5.The Object Editor now includes a Delete Button.
6.Page/HTML file names of up to 180 characters can now be entered. Previously, Page names were
restricted to 10 characters.
7.When importing HTML, the program will prompt the user to remove Tags outside of and including the <BODY>
tags if the program finds them.
8.Import HTML and Import Bitmap commands are now available from the File menu.
9.An "Introductory Project" button is available from the File Menu to replay the Introductory tutorial
that is loaded when the program is first installed.


Corrections:

1.Filled Geometry will now display and Export correctly. Previously, some machines would display
a monochrome or incorrect fill.
2.Vector based Geometry should now Export on all platforms without errors.
3.It is now possible to Delete all Events, Actions and Shading.
4.A problem accessing the Help menu in version 1.2 has been corrected.

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Version-1.2 Notes

Enhancements:

1.Mouse Over Events have been added to the Object Editor Options tab. To create a
Mouse Over Event place two Objects on top of each other. Select the Object Options tab
and set one Object to "Visible on Mouse Over" and the other Object to "Visible on Mouse
Leave". Any type of Object including Text and Sprites can be use. Mouse Over Events work
in both HTML 3.2 format and DHTML 4.0 format. More complex mouse over events can still
be created with Behaviors for DHTML 4.0 output.

2.A "Combine Output" option has been added to the Export Dialog for DHTML mode. When
checked, script data will be combined with each HTML file instead of being copied into common
".js" file. This will simplify the publishing process and increase the download performance on
the first page of multi-page projects. "Combine Out" will be the default for DHTML.

Corrections:
1.The Horizontal and Vertical Align operations have been corrected.


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Version-1.11 Notes

A correction to relatative file paths was made.

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Version-1.10 Update and Change Notes

These Enhancements and corrections have been made since Version 1.03

Enhancements:
1.Shading has been added to Text Objects. Adding a shading component to Text Objects will
set the Text background bounding box color to the selected shading color.
2.The operation of the text bounding box has been modified. When a new Text Object is saved
in Rich Text or HTML mode. A 100x100px bounding box will be created. Drag, drop and scale the
bounding box as desired. Editing and saving an existing Rich Text or HTML Object will not
change the bounding box.
3.The text editor will now operate with a background color set to the Shading color of
the Text Object if one has been defined or to the Page Background color if Shading is not assigned to the
Object.
4.Vector geometry (rectangle, ellipse and polygon) no longer needs a shading component to
display the geometry's vector. When a new vector Geometry is created, its line width will
be set to 0 and displayed as a dashed line. Previously, vector Geometry was displayed with
a solid line even though it was not visible. Setting the vector to a line width of 1 or
greater with the Geometry editor, will make it visible even without a Shading component.
Shading can still be assigned to create a solid fill or texture pattern.
5.BODY link and ulink colors can now be assigned in the Page Editor -Anchor dialog.
6.The Object Sound effect component has been implemented through the Sound Dialog on the
Components toolbar. Sound effects can be set to play a specified number of times or to
repeat forever. The Sound Event On/Off switches have also been added to the Behavior
Actions Dialog. This provides the ability to switch sounds as events occur.
Currently, sound effects are only available for Internet Explorer 4.0 or later. An example
can be tested at http://www.VirtualMechanics.com/demos/P&GWake.htm We will expand support
for sound effects in future releases and will attempt to find a method to support
Netscape Navigator. Background music is still supported across browsers with the Page
Music dialog.
7.The vector editor button has been removed from the large Components toolbar to make room
for the new Sound Dialog. The Vector Editor is still available on the small Components
toolbar and through the Object menu.
8.A Cancel Button has been added to the Components 'New Component' dialog so that you can exit
without creating a new component.

Corrections:
1.Background images and audio files will now be copied to the publish directory when Gather
mode is selected in the Export Dialog.
2.A defined link scene will properly restore from an ".ims" file.
3.None printable characters can now be pasted into the text editor.
4.Stretching Objects while the snap grid is enabled is now operational.
5.Mouse selection will now work correctly when the browser screen has been scrolled.

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Version-1.03 Update and Change Notes

These Enhancements and corrections have been made since Version 1.00

Enhancement:
1. An Anchor dialog has been added to the Object Editor. This dialog provides the ability
to add URL links directly to an Object without having to create a Behavior.
2. The Object toolbar will change the 'Lock Button' bitmap as locked and unlocked Objects
are selected. Attempting to transform a locked Object will display a Lock cursor.
3. Locked Objects will no longer be included in a Group.
4. You can now change the name of an Object in the -Object Toolbar -Object List combo box.
5. An "Open Template"  file command has been added to the File Menu that will automatically
select the "\Template" directory
6. Several New tutorials and templates have been added including three advanced tutorials
with instructions for creating a UFO Invaders style game. These are "Lock & Load", "Scramble"
and "Defender". These tutorials are also available from the tutorials page of The Virtual
Mechanics web site in the  Support section.
7. The Export operation will pre-append an "O" to Object names and a "G" to geometry names.
This will prevent the Browser from confusing Objects and Geometry with the same name.

Corrections:
1. An error that sometimes caused an Object to mysteriously change size when selected, has
been corrected.
2. A resource overflow related to moving large text Objects or using the Polygon Sketch Mode
that would issue an "Unable to Create DC" message has now been fixed.
3. An error in the directory path that occasionally occurs when Exporting HTML with the
Relative Option has been corrected.
4. An error related to Ungroup Group Objects has been corrected.
5. Backgrounds will be copied to the Publish directory in Gather mode
6. Save will correctly save a new ims project. Previously you had to use the Save As command
for a new project file.
7. The Delete Object operation will correctly update animation paths.
8. The Text editor caret cursor position will update correctly as new text is being entered.
9. The text color of Rich Text can now be changed in all cases.