PD ROM 1/PD ROM Volume I - Macintosh Software from BMUG (1988).iso/Electronic Messages/Delphi Digests/Delphi Vol. 4/Delphi 4.03

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From: Jeffrey Shulman <[e-mail]>
Subject: Delphi Mac Digest V4 #3
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From: Jeff Shulman <SHULMAN@SDR>
Subject: Delphi Mac Digest V4 #3
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Delphi Mac Digest     Saturday, February 6, 1988      Volume 4 : Issue 3

Today's Topics:
     Omnis 3
     RE: Commands/MacWrite
     FullWrite Professional Bug list
     Help needed with CalcMask (2 messages)
     RE: Expressionist vs. MathType
     BAvoid SoftBackup
     re: LSC DrawString() question!  Help!
     re: Mac programming question
     Re: Tempo vs. Quickkey
     HabaWord (2 messages)
     Re: Pre-4.1 popup menus
     Re: Pyro and Multifinder
     Tempo or Quickeys? (2 messages)
     Word Hairline Rules
     Table Maker (3 messages)
     4D Blanking.
     ListMgr Scrollbar Anomalies

----------------------------------------------------------------------

From: MEUSE
Subject: Omnis 3
Date: 28-JAN 21:11 Programming

I am trying to print barcode labels from Omnis 3 on the Imagewriter.  I
need the fonts printed in 30 pt, but Omnis 3 only seems to print up to
24 pt.  Does anyone know how I can get Omnis to print in the larger
size?

Thanks

Steve

------------------------------

From: JSTIFF
Subject: RE: Commands/MacWrite (Re: Msg 24983)
Date: 28-JAN 23:30 User Supported Software

It is interesting to note that the new MacWrite 5.0 (at least the demo
version Claris passed out at MacWorld) will not run on a MacXL.  Claris
Tech Support says that Claris is not going to make any special attempt
to have any of their software run on the M acXL, sinc eit is too
difficult and takes too much testing time.  Flame ON!! Is this any way
for an Apple spin-off to act?  My thinking is that the bug in MacWrite
is probably about two callls the to the 128K roms that could be easily
circumvented, if Claris cared.

------------------------------

From: DSACHS
Subject: FullWrite Professional Bug list
Date: 30-JAN 19:34 Bugs & Features

I will be preparing a list of bugs and requests for FullWrite, similar
to the one for Microsoft Word.  The first preliminary edition should be
posted in a few days.

 Please MAIL reports about FullWrite to:

 David Sachs
 Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory
 Computer Department - MS 120
 Post Office Box 500
 Batavia, IL 60510
 U. S. A.

------------------------------

From: DEWI
Subject: Help needed with CalcMask
Date: 30-JAN 23:11 Programming Techniques

Is there an elegant way to convert the output of QuickDraw's CalcMask
trap (the "lasso" trap) into a region? I'm hoping that an alternative to
walking the bitmap exists.
        Thank you in advance,
              Dewi.

------------------------------

From: PEABO
Subject: RE: Help needed with CalcMask (Re: Msg 2306)
Date: 31-JAN 20:06 Programming Techniques

Even if you have to walk the bitmap, I bet complex bitmaps will convert
with widely differing efficiencies depending on how you do the
conversion.  I'm thinking for example of the contrast between converting
a line at a time from top to bottom and converting the top half
separately from the bottom half and then using UnionRegion to combine
them.  (My theory is that region operations get to be slow when the
regions get high.)  You might go so far as to Union pairs of lines, then
Union the pairs of pairs, pairs of pairs of pairs, and so on until you
finally Union two regions to form the result.

Before putting a lot of effort into this, find out how long it actually
takes on some reasonably pathological test case!

If you really get into this, try converting the bitmap into a quadtree
and then compose the region by walking the quadtree and Union'ing
rectangular subtrees of the QT that are solid blocks of color.

peter

------------------------------

From: DSACHS
Subject: RE: Expressionist vs. MathType
Date: 31-JAN 21:02 Network Digests

>From: cca@pur-phy (Charles C. Allen)
>Subject: Expressionist vs. MathType
>Date: 31 Jan 88 03:43:55 GMT
>Organization: Purdue Univ. Phys Dept, W.Lafayette, IN

 I suggest you read my review from the Jan 5 issue of MacWeek. I have
found Mathtype better in several areas including automatic recognition
of most standard 3 letter functions, and printing of several standard
constructs. The integral signs, and braces from Expressionist are
absolutely lousy when printed on a LaserWriter.  Mathtype is by far the
easiest formula processor to use, but there are some constructs, such as
matrices and tensors at which Expressionist excells.  Expressionist
allows you to resize a matrix up to 16 by 16, while other processors
require individual placement of the elements.

------------------------------

From: DWB
Subject: BAvoid SoftBackup
Date: 1-FEB-00:37: Hardware & Peripherals

Well, in my never ending search for a backup/restore program that does
all I want and need it to, I got a copy of SoftBackup from Diversified
I/O at MacWorld.  Among other things it claims to be able to back up to
my MDIdeas tape drive which has been sitting idle since I got an SE.

Well, gather round me children and a'listen to a tale...

I'd been getting complaints from Disk First Aid and Disk Express about
my DataFrame so I decided I'd reintialize.  Being a good little boy and
not wanting to waste the last three years or so of work, it seemed
prudent to back it up first :-)  I got out my copy of SoftBackup,
defined a new set which would write everything to my tape drive and a
way I went.  Everything seemed to get written OK (at least there weren't
any error messages displayed) but a little slowly.  Not wanting to take
chances with my only real current backup, I then did there restore
function which reads enough of the tape to tell you exactly what's on
the tape.  That also seemed OK.  Out comes Manager 3.26 and the drive
gets reformatted.

Now the fun begins, I get back into SoftBackup, and start a Restore.  It
mutters something about checking all files and folders and spins the
tape for a while.  After some cogitation it decides that folder
"Archive" doesn't exist. Of course it doesn't, that's why I want to
restore it.  Go ahead and restore it anyway.  It thinks and spins and
thinks and spins and thinks and spins... and sometime later mutters that
some other folder doesn't exist.  This is for the birds says I.
"Cancel"

Remove Archive.  Try the other way of restoring (Copy) on just the
folder Archive.  Wow, not complaining message, no checking all files and
folders, just restores the directory.  Ok, now we're getting somewhere.
Select all the other folders to restore them.

Select Copy.  "Now checking all files and folders.  This could take a
few minutes"  Ok.  Well, maybe it just has to do that if you're
restoring multiple folders, we'll let it have it's time. Next morning
(12 hours = 720 minutes, QUITE a few) it's still spinning tape back and
forth.  This is really annoying figures I.

I'll go back to Copying one Folder at a time.  Cancel.  Wait a few
minutes, hey, why won't my cursor move any more?  Reboot. Restore.
Whadaya mean there's nothing on the tape?  Take the tape out, notice
that it's pretty badly mauled around the hub where the stupid program
has been spinning it back and forth for the past 12 hours.

Take the tape apart, rethread it, put it back together.  Restore.
Surprise, the tape drive reported an error in block 36.  What no ignore
button?  No continue button?  Just cancel huh?  Well try that.  Try the
procedure again.  No more luck.

Throw tape in trash can.  Start up acta and make note to call
manufacturer tomorrow.  Put program and manuals back in box to ship back
to plant.

Oh yeah, somewhere along the way I also tried to do a backup under
MultiFinder only to find that after apparently writing everything to a
single volume, on restore it wanted more volumes to finish reading the
index.  Tried again without MultiFinder and it apparently worked.  Tried
to restore under MultiFinder, it read the first (and only) volume and
hungrily asked for more so it could finish reading the volume.
Cancelling out of operations repeatedly crashed the system.

All in all it doesn't appear that there has been in Quality Control done
on this thing and very little real testing.

Take out copy of DiskFit 1.0 and try to restore month old back up.  It
can't restore to the volume because it's not empty. Empty it.  Now it
can't restore to the volume because the names not the same.  WHO CARES?
Change the name so it's the same.  It still can't restore cause the
names aren't the same.  Go to ComputerWare and get latest versions of
SuperMac software.  Ahh... now it restores.  And I'm only a month
behind.  Fortunately it's been a slow month...

David

------------------------------

From: DDUNHAM
Subject: re: LSC DrawString() question!  Help! (Re: Msg 25025)
Date: 1-FEB-21:05: Network Digests

 > From: [e-mail] (Ted Johnson)
 > Subject: LSC DrawString() question!  Help!

I'll bet that the sprintf() routine is using some globals.  These aren't
getting linked into the DA properly.

 David Dunham     "If voting could change the system, it would be
illegal.  If
 Maitreya Design   not voting could change the system, it would be be
illegal."

------------------------------

From: DDUNHAM
Subject: re: Mac programming question (Re: Msg 25026)
Date: 1-FEB-21:05: Network Digests

 > From: [e-mail] (Neil Radisch)
 > Subject: Mac programming question

Set the globals CurDirStore and SFSaveDisk before calling Standard File.

 David Dunham     "If it doesn't have Undo, it's not a Mac program."
 Maitreya Design

------------------------------

From: DDUNHAM
Subject: Re: Tempo vs. Quickkey (Re: Msg 25028)
Date: 1-FEB-21:04: Network Digests

 > From: [e-mail] (Chang Woo)
 > Subject: Re: Tempo vs. Quickkey

The original version of Tempo used 2 DA slots; the current one uses 1
slot (it only uses that to work with MultiFinder).  I may have missed
some versions in between, but I'd be very surprised if it took more than
2 slots ever.

 David Dunham     "Whenever you see a sign 'No Exit,' it means
 Maitreya Design   there is an exit."

------------------------------

From: JSTIFF
Subject: HabaWord
Date: 1-FEB-22:06: Business Mac

I just got a call from a relatively high-pressure telephone sales guy
who was trying to sell me HabaWord.  He says it is out nowand he was
really pushing it. He got my name from a demo they gave at our User's
Group meeting OVER a year ago!  Has anybody gotten a copy and tried it
out yet?  This guy made HabaWord sound better than anything ever
invented.

------------------------------

From: BMUG
Subject: RE: HabaWord (Re: Msg 25049)
Date: 2-FEB-04:14: Business Mac

All I know for sure is that their salespeople are pushy.  It is now
"desktop publishing", rather than word processing, and it costs a bunch
more.

-- Raines

------------------------------

From: BRECHER
Subject: Re: Pre-4.1 popup menus
Date: 2-FEB-00:18: Network Digests

>To: [e-mail] (Oliver Steele)
>Subject: Re: Pre-4.1 popup menus

> I have a progam that uses popup menus, and I'd like to be able to run it
> on older Systems (circa 3.2).  I've written a fake PopupMenuSelect()
> ...
> I've tried setting TopMenuItem and AtMenuBottom to -1, since this seems
> to be what the Menu Manager does, but this doesn't do the trick.

The boot code sets all of RAM to $FFFF..., so -1 in a location may well mean
that its not been altered since startup.  Note that TopMenuItem is at $A0A; the
version of TMON that I am using shows it also at $B26, which is incorrect.

Set TopMenuItem to the height of the menu bar before calling the MDEF. The
height is 20 decimal with 64K ROMs, and it is the value of the system global
MBarHeight with the 128+K ROMs.

My MPW Assembler source code for a pop-up menu routine which works on all
Macintoshes is available on Delphi, and perhaps on your network too.  Its name
is TrackPopUp.a.

------------------------------

From: BRECHER
Subject: Re: Pyro and Multifinder
Date: 2-FEB-00:20: Network Digests

>To: [e-mail] (T. Ozsu)
>Subject: Re: Pyro and Multifinder

Pyro! 1.0 does not automatically "fire" under MultiFinder when Finder is in
front.  Fixed in Pyro! 2.1, which is part of the Suitcase 1.2.1 package or
PowerStation 2.2 package, each of which is a free upgrade to registered users
of the respective earlier versions.

I, D.B.A. Software Supply, am the publisher of PowerStation and Suitcase.

------------------------------

From: CHUQ
Subject: Tempo or Quickeys?
Date: 2-FEB-23:23: Business Mac

I just splurged and bought myself a Datadesk 101 keyboard. Nice. The macro
package that comes iwth it, though, is too primitive for my tastes, as well as
not being Multifinder friendly (and being a DA on top of that). So I'm
wondering. Do I buy Tempo or Quickeys? I'm leaning towards the latter because
of a lot of good press, but who's using what out there, and how do you like it?

chuq

------------------------------

From: NWOLF
Subject: RE: Tempo or Quickeys? (Re: Msg 25062)
Date: 4-FEB-01:18: Business Mac

I've been wanting to do that too - almost bought one at the show - but I didn't
want to carry it around and then lug it home. Tempo and QuickKeys are quite
different. I haven't explored the capabiliies of QuickKeys very much, but I
think the difference between them is significant.

Tempo is remarkable in that it can set up and dupliucate any sequence of key
strokes, mouseclicks, mousemoves, etc. It works between applications, within
applications - anywhere. It's great for boilerplate, for opening various sets
of programs and documents, and for reproducing chains of commands which must
often be repeated.

My acquainance with quicKeys is more basic - to open (or close) applications,
do boilerplate (limitations on length?), and so forth. I don't know if it's as
instruction-intensive as Tempo. As a cdev, it's alwayaccessible - whenever you
can get to the DA menu. Tempo, as a DA offers the same limitations, but you can
get to it using cmd-key sequences. (You could do the same for QK, too, I
think).

Not much help, maybe - surely someone else has something to offer. I believe QK
is smaller too - and perhaps faster. Tempo seems more robust and sophisticated.

Neil

------------------------------

From: TSTEIN
Subject: Word Hairline Rules
Date: 3-FEB-16:09: Business Mac

Is there any way, including using Fedit and ResEdit, to make Word 3.0 use
hairline rules, rather than 1 point rules, when it draws lines?

------------------------------

From: TSTEIN
Subject: Table Maker
Date: 3-FEB-16:10: Business Mac

Has anyone heard of a program specifically designed to make it easier to create
and manipulate tables, then paste them into a program like Ready,Set,Go or
PageMaker (or Word)? Most high-end (read Interleaf, Frame, Xyvision, etc)
electronic publishing programs have built-in table processors. I need the
equivalent on a Mac, but just the table part, not the whole publishing program.

------------------------------

From: NWOLF
Subject: RE: Table Maker (Re: Msg 25071)
Date: 4-FEB-01:06: Business Mac

There are several solutions now available and several on their way shortly.
However, you may not consider these all solutions.... Excel will certainly do
what you want - as long as you don't want to use more than one font. If that's
a consideration, you might look at Trapeze. MacDraw will also do what you ask.
Claris has a form design program coming out soon which I believe will do
tables. Most spreadsheets have table capabilities, but Excel excels in that
area (if you can figure all the arrays out properly). If you're doing a table
that is not necessarily dealing with figures, you might be better off. (The
arrays are ghbasically for doing what-ifs and for transferring the info to
linked worksheets.)

Neil

------------------------------

From: TSTEIN
Subject: RE: Table Maker (Re: Msg 25078)
Date: 4-FEB-08:21: Business Mac

Excel is not useful for this application because I am dealing almost
exclusively with text (and text that wraps within each column, with different
column lengths depending on the amount of text). I really am looking for a word
processor-type program that does tables especially well{

------------------------------

From: NATURAL
Subject: 4D Blanking.
Date: 3-FEB-16:21: Programming

Quick 4D question:

I am writing an application where I need to print out some forms
that will eventually have #s in them, dollar amounts actually,
and want to print them out initially without anything in them.

Any ideas?  I don't want to lose my formatting.  I guess I could
create a duplicate layout without imbedded formatting but I was
thinking there's got to be an easier way.

Joshua

------------------------------

From: INTECO
Subject: ListMgr Scrollbar Anomalies
Date: 3-FEB-21:53: Programming Techniques

Who has a solution for this effect: I have a list with one vertical scrollbar.
One element is deleted and the deleted element is displayed in another window.
So the list is deactivted. Ok so far... But now:

IF I insert an element in the list and switch to the window it just draws the
outline of the scrollbar! If I switch windows without insertion a new element
everything behaves as it should.

I checked my code over and over again and have no idea what might be wrong.

The scroll bar is correctly displayed if you click in it afterwards...

A friend observes this feature with his programs, too, but he thinks this
happens since the new system (>= 4.1, we have 4.3 now).

Uwe



------------------------------

End of Delphi Mac Digest
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