Mac Format 1994 October/Macformat17.cdr/Shareware in MacFormat/PowerLock ƒ/What's New in 3.5

Text File | 1994-06-13 | 11KB | 229 lines

Welcome to PowerLock 3.5

This document briefly lists the changes to PowerLock since Version 3.1.  It
also covers changes to all AddOns.

Key to Abbreviations:
(7 Only)        Works with System 7 only
(6 Only)        Works with System 6 only
New!                                            New feature included for the first time in this release


POWERLOCK APPLICATION
*    New!    Installation Assistant
  Tell PowerLock what sort of security you want and it goes ahead and
  configures everything, installs the FKEY, DA, INIT, SuperSecurity options, etc.

*    New!    Safety Features
    PowerLock won't let you use some features until you are sufficiently familiar
    with its operation.  Once you've used it enough, it will automatically activate the
    more powerful security features.  It also warns you if you are about to do something
    that might see you locked out of your Macintosh.

*    New!    StartUp Launcher (SuperSecurity option)
    ensures PowerLock always launches, regardless of whether the Shift key is held
    down or not.  Does away with the need to use Set Startup (Sys6) or an alias (Sys7)

*    New!    Substantially improved support for StartUp & TimeOut Screens
            -    support for StartUpScreen format files
            -    support for any file containing a PICT resource
            -    randomly selects from PICT resources if more than one in the file
            -    still supports MacPaint and standard PICT file formats
            -    screen refreshes are now faster by a factor of more than 1000%
                    An offscreen buffer is used provided sufficient memory is available
            -    you can now use an alias to point to the screen files eg. set it up so it uses your
                    normal StartUpScreen file via an alias (7 Only)
            -    PowerLock now comes with a recommended partition size of 500k You can
                    safely reduce this to about 200k if you won't be using PICT format files
            -    supports color depths up to 256 colors (if your monitor is set to above
                    256 colors, PowerLock may crash when displaying screen files)

*    New!    optionally hides all open applications as soon as it starts up (7 Only)

*    New!    optionally hides the menu bar at startup, and provides a keyboard toggle as
        well as a Preferences option

*    New!    32 Bit Compatible

*    New!    Power Macintosh / PowerPC Compatible (emulation mode)

 *    no longer allows you to gain control of the Macintosh by clicking
         during startup, or selecting items from menus, etc.
    NOTE: this change means that it now appears to take longer for PowerLock
    to start up.  This is because PowerLock puts up its splash window as soon as
    possible to stop people from looking at or accessing desktop files.  Whilst
    the window is displayed, other volumes are being mounted etc.

*    button hilighting is now more compatible with other button enhancing CDEFs

*    eliminated the cause of the occasional "Override Used" log message

*    the real desktop pattern and PowerLock's faked pattern now line up correctly

*    keeps a better record of the location of PowerLock

*    manual install of Version 3.1 under System 7 wasn't always possible as option
        key wasn't recognised.  Fixed.

*    checking for bypasses now occurs AFTER a valid password has been entered

*    more tolerant of problem addon files

*    the user manual is now formatted better, and is in Word 5.1a format

*    minor changes in preparation for PowerLock Controls

*    minor changes to the About dialog

*    on the main dialog, when you have a userlist established, pressing
        return when you are in the username field takes you to the password field
        (but only if there is no password in the field yet)

*    minor changes to the icons for all but the main application.  You'll need to rebuild
        your desktop. The change is aimed at making them more international so all text is
        removed from the icon.

*    is now more responsive to short cut keys.  For instance, you no longer need to keep
        the key down after you've clicked a button.

*    Trap Illegal Attempts to Quit:
        -    enhanced to provide better feedback when Force Quits is used (7 Only)
        -    still traps any attempts to use ExitToShell (such as via debuggers)

*    now hides the PowerLock dialog on timeout if a startupscreen has been displayed

*    provides more information in the about box regarding your licence


ADDONS:

New!    AUTOLAUNCHER 1.0
*    a new AddOn, this provides a similar function to the System StartUp Items folder.
*    simply create a folder called 'PowerLock StartUp Items' within your System folder,
        and place anything you want opened at startup within it
*    you can also create separate folders for each user.
        Use the name of the user as the folder name, but prefix it with • (option-8).  All
        items within the main folder will be opened, along with specific items in the
        user folder.
*    works with System 6 as well (only applications can be put in the folders)

New!    RANDOMDESKTOP 1.0
*    new AddOn that automatically selects a different desktop pattern each time
        PowerLock is run
*    lets you use existing pattern files, without needing to duplicate them
*    includes a sample set of patterns

New!    SOUNDMESSAGES 1.0
*    lets you leave voicemail for other Mac users (if your Mac has suitable hardware)
*    works in the same way as PowerMessages
*    supports multiple messages per person
*    lets you save messages as double-clickable documents

New!    IDLEMORE 1.0
*    lets you modify how much time background applications receive
*    helps tune PowerLock for use with after hours backup processes, etc.

POWERUSERS 2.0
*    New!    Balloon Help specifically for PowerUsers, and accessible directly
*    New!    Import usernames from AppleShare volumes.
  Looks at the first available AppleShare capable volume.  This may not be
  available on initial running of PowerLock due to the time it takes to startup
  file sharing.  Run PowerLock again once File Sharing has started up.
  (also imports group names)
*    New!    No Desktop
                            -    automatically quits the Finder
                            -    works interactively with the new Hide AddOn
                            -    automatically relaunches PowerLock if you put PowerLock into the System
                                    Folder
                            -    relaunches PowerLock after any applications that are launched via the
                                    Autolaunch list.
*    New!    Copy
                            - copies the profile of the selected user.  Allows you to set common
                                restrictions and copy them to new users as required.
*    New!    Password expiry
                            - recommends users change their passwords after a specified number of days.
                            - lets you set a global default, and specific values for each user
*    New!    Disk/Volume protection
  Disks/volumes can be selected (7 only) and will automatically be unmounted if the
  user does not have access
*    prevented anyone but the SuperUser from accessing the PowerUsers dialog
*    no longer permits you to hide the System folder, or the folder containing PowerLock
        itself (but note that the check is not exhaustive - for instance, hiding "Apps" in this
        chain - "HARD DISK:APPS:POWERLOCK FOLDER:POWERLOCK" won't be prevented)
*    files/folders can now be on different volumes, not just the startup volume
*    major changes to the way files and folders are identified, and to the routines used
        to hide & restore files/folders.  This means that the rare occasions where files
        were not restored has been fixed.  A side effect is that your current profiles will
        not be used, and you'll need to create new ones.
*    minor mods to support the hidden menu bar
*    Use Own Prefs:    this version of PowerUsers requires individual prefs resources to
        have an ID >=100.  This means your current prefs will not be used and new ones will
        be created.  (This does not apply to the SuperUser, or if you haven't enabled
        Use Own Prefs)
*    the Reset option now lets you scan all available volumes,
        and option-clicking lets you reset a single file
*    System 6 Users:  note that one beta tester has experienced problems with
        PowerUsers (hiding folders doesn't work reliably).  If you have similar problems
        please set your logfile setting to "Diagnostic", and write to me detailing the full
        circumstances together with the log file messages that resulted.

LOGMANAGER 1.3
*    sometimes wouldn't open the log file if it was double-clicked (7 Only).  Fixed.
*    sometimes log file would show up with generic icon.  Fixed.
*    replaced log procedure in PowerLock 3.2 and earlier which had these bugs.

HIDE 1.4
*    enhanced to work with the No Desktop option of PowerUsers.  Disables the Quit
        option if the No Desktop option is active for the current user.
*    checks with other addons if its OK to quit
*    it will now still send PowerLock to the background, even if the Finder isn't running
*    not compatible with PowerMessages (PowerLock simply quits instead of hides)

LASTRESORT 1.2
*    now lets you use the Change button to change the password
                        -    if a userlist exists, can only quit to the Finder
*    logs failed attempts to use LastResort (ie incorrect registration codes)

POWERLOCK FKEY
*    fixed an intermittent problem under System 7

AUTOLOGON
*    minor bug fix: reliably replaces/deletes existing autolaunch settings
*    now works properly with PowerMessages

OUTTOLUNCH 1.2
*    minor mods & bugfixes including:
                    -    now writes properly into the startup window, rather than direct to the
                            desktop
                    -    if a username is available, either within the main dialog box (not
                            recommended), or the Change dialog is displayed (again, not recommended) the
                            username prefixes the message e.g. "Fred is Out to Lunch"
                    -    updates the desktop when you move the mouse or press any key

POWERMESSAGES 1.2
*    now deletes personal and broadcast messages once they have been read.  This means
        they will only ever be viewed once.
*    more reliable deletion of previous messages
*    currently not compatible with Hide or SoundMessages
*    due to popular demand, PowerMessages has been targeted for a major
        rewrite during 1994, after PowerLock Controls has been released.  The interface
        will be more compatible with real mail applications and will support multiple
        messages per person, etc.  It WON'T become a fully fledged mail application, and is
        unlikely to support AOCE/PowerTalk.

SAFERSHUTDOWN 1.1
*    reduced code size by 50%

SUPERHELPER
*    Unlock Disk is now available to unregistered users
*    SuperHelper (and SuperSecurity - StartUp Security) will eventually be
        replaced by PowerLock Controls, and the new StartUp Launcher.
      It is likely that SuperSecurity will remain available as an AddOn,
        particularly for System 6 users.

ADDONS IN GENERAL
*    AddOns now work together better.  Any incompatibilities are identified up front
        and AddOns will disable themselves accordingly.
*    AddOns are now more System 6 compatible (unless they require System 7
        features)