Subj: form*Z 68K & Giant 2.6.1–>2.6.2 Patch January 17, 1995
From: FormZ
File: form_Z 68k 2.6.1–>2.6.2.sit (471849 bytes)
DL time (19200 baud): < 6 minutes
Download count: 20
AUTHOR: auto*des*sys, Inc.
EQUIPMENT: 68K Mac w/ FPU
NEEDS: form*Z 68K 2.6.1 or form*Z Giant 2.6.1
This updates form*Z 68K or Giant to version 2.6.2. This patch fixes problems that have been reported to us since the release of version 2.6.1. See the form*Z 2.6.2 Patch Description for specific details.
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Date: Wed, 18 Jan 1995 12:19:39 –0500
From: FormZ@aol.com
Here are sets of notes that document our recent corrections, as well as an announcement of the addition of photo realistic rendering (with Raytracing, texture maps, and more). The two notices are separated by =============.
form*Z 2.6.2 Update
form*Z 2.6.2 Update, which is distributed as a Patch, corrects irregularities reported to us since the release of v. 2.6.1. It also introduces a few improvements, such as more accurate volume calculations, functionality to the tab key when entering numbers into the Prompts palette, and a clarification to the use of polar coordinates. These corrections and improvements are summarized below under titles that identify the part of form*Z which they affect. Where irregularities are listed, it is implied that they have been corrected even when we do not say so explicitly.
Missing files
Especially on the PPC, project files may disappear after an abnormal termination of the program, or when the machine is restarted without using shutdown or restart. This is due to the file directory that resides in the hard disk cache (memory), which is not written to the disk frequently enough.
form*Z now flushes the cache each time a Save command is executed.
Palettes
(PPC only:) In the Coordinates palette, the cursor does not move to the new location when a number is typed in the palette. Apple has added a new manager to handle this on the PPC and we are now connected to it.
In the Prompts palette, when pressing the tab key with text selected, a tab character is entered which is both meaningless and problematic. Now the tab key will toggle the selection to the next text field, where the text fields are delineated by the commas.
When the Prompts palette is collapsed or closed, its content is not updated during graphic operations, hence the values resulting from commands executed while the palette was not visible are not displayed when the palette becomes visible again.
Incorrect prompt is displayed for the stitch rounding operation.
When using polar coordinates in the Prompts and Coordinates palettes, some confusion arises when the "W" box (World as opposed to Reference Plane coordinates mode) is selected. This is because polar coordinates are by their nature planar and work on the Reference Plane exclusively, even when World coordinates are selected. To avoid this confusion, an adjustment has been made to the interface of the Prompts and Coordinates palettes. When polar coordinates are selected (by deselecting "C"), the "W" box is dimmed and made inactive, and polar coordinates are applied automatically.
The display of the special characters in the Layers palette has been adjusted to use bitmapped images instead of characters from a font. This improvement affects localization only (prevents wrong images appearing when using foreign fonts).
Menu commands
Page Preview...: When previewing a hidden line image with a dark background and the Include Background option is off, the image is drawn in white on a white background and hence nothing is visible.
Print...: Printing a hidden line image using the Include Background option with a dark background (> 50% gray) shows the hidden line in black instead of white.
* When printing from drafting with the Extents option and the file contains a leader line, the extents are miscalculated, causing either too many pages or too small an image (when Scale To Fit Media is on) to be printed.
Grab PICT: This command causes the Show Axis Marks option (Window Setup dialog) to be turned off.
Edit Cone Of Vision: When the light is moved from within the cone of vision environment, while in wireframe preview, the Altitude and Azimuth settings in the Sun dialog are not reset to reflect the new position.
Hidden Line: When the Hide Edges With Angle Greater Than option is used, under certain conditions (such as an object having a degenerate single segment face), the hidden line may get caught in an infinite loop.
Redraw Buffers...: When an invalid number is entered in the Interval field of the Window Redraw Buffers dialog, and then the Update Screen During Redraw option is turned off or the Redraw Buffers... item is deselected, a message that an invalid number was entered is posted, even though the buffers are not used.
Window tools
When executing an insertion operation with one of the Object Snaps turned on, stray lines may sometimes be drawn on the screen.
The Zoom In and Out By Frame and the Pan tools cause the Show Axis Marks option (Window Setup dialog) to be turned off.
Modeling
When drawing with the Vector Line tool and the reference plane is changed during the drawing process, after the object is completed the mapping reverts to the previous plane while the grid and axes of the new plane are displayed.
* When Undoing while drawing with the Vector Line tool, the cross marks are not undone (erased). * Also, the reference point used for the calculation of the snaps and the relative coordinates in the Prompts and Coordinates palette is not properly restored.
When deriving a Parallel object from a face or an outline, an insufficient memory error or a crash may result.
The following irregularities of the Sweep operations have been corrected: *
When sweeping faces or outlines a crash may occur. * Certain source shapes with holes will not sweep properly. * When a point is picked as a source or path shape, irregularities occur; an error message is now issued. * When single segment source shapes or open source shapes with different numbers of points are selected for the two source sweep, they are sometimes refused or they may not be executed properly.
When the Projection of Solid tool is used with the Orthographic Projection option selected in the 2D Projection Type dialog, surface objects will now always generate a projection, even when they are perpendicular to the projection plane. Solid and surface solid objects will not generate projections for the faces that are perpendicular to the projection plane. If a surface solid generates no projection, an warning message will now be issued. Also, in the latter cases, the undo records are now updated properly.
When applying the (plain) Mesh tool to a face, it sometimes meshes more than the selected face.
When rounding a segment, both ends of which are multi–face points (points that belong to more than three faces and cannot be rounded), an interrupt may result. * When scaling a controlled rounded object, the rounding parameters are not scaled with the object. They are now scaled properly when a Uniform Scale is applied. The Independent Scale is refused.
The Derive Line Of Intersection operation (Trim & Stitch tool) does not always release the memory it uses.
Sometimes the Edit Text Line tool will interrupt.
When the Edit Line tool is used to execute a Fit Fillet or a Bevel operation and the topological level is set to Group, the wrong message is displayed.
When the Query tool is applied to a Text object and Plain Object is selected in the Text Editor dialog, an interrupt may occur when exiting the Query dialog. * When the Strict Planarity option is selected in the Query Face dialog, in certain cases the calculation of the area of a face may be incorrect. * The volume calculation method used by the Query tool has been replaced with a more accurate method, and the three levels of accuracy have been eliminated. Volumes are now always calculated at a high accuracy level.
Drafting
Using the Extend Plane tool with the shift+click option (to extend the plane to the extents of the projection of the objects) worked properly only for the XY reference plane. It now works with all the reference planes.
When dimensioning with the Show Indicator option off, a blank is left at the end of the dimension string where the unit indicator would have been.
When the Fillet tool is used with the Enclosure modifier active, an improper result is produced.
When applying the Parallel Copy tool to a compound element, the undo records are not set properly.
Symbols
When placing symbols after the Location Of 0x Angle (in the Angle Display Options dialog invoked from the Project Units dialog) has been set to a position other than the default (3 O'Clock or East), the angles entered in the Symbol Instance Placement Options dialog are not interpreted properly.
Symbols containing open lines may cause the Hidden Line and Scan Line rendering to crash when the By Angle option is used.
When a symbol containing an object with controlled rounding is placed with a non–uniform scale, the instance is exploded, and the controlled rounding of the object is then edited, a crash may result. It now issues a warning and turns the exploded object into a plain rounded object.
Export/Import
DXF: The import scale factor does not properly scale plain text or the controls of controlled text. * Importing a DXF file that contains a Bezier mesh does not always import properly. The mesh may be generated with the wrong degree parameter and look different. * When importing a DXF file with blocks (symbols) and the Explode Insertions option is used with the Group Objects option, the groups are not formed properly, resulting in a memory error when one of these groups is selected. * When importing a DXF file with blocks (symbols), if the Add Blocks To New Library option is used, and the name is set using the Set New Library button, a crash may occur when the dialogs are closed. To correct this problem the Set New Library button has been removed and the name of the library is now edited directly in its text field. There is no selection of where to store the new library, which is placed in the same folder as the original DXF file. * Saving DXF files from drafting with a small unit accuracy can cause irregularities to text elements.
IGES: The import scale factor does not properly scale plain text or the controls of controlled text. * The ruled surface entity (#118) does not work properly when the option to reverse the generator curves (which is contained in the IGES file) is on.
Illustrator: The import scale factor does not properly scale plain text or the controls of controlled text. * When exporting from drafting, the project has bitmapped text, and the Export Text As Paths option is on, Illustrator complains that there is an invalid text angle instruction and refuses to open the file.
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Patching Steps :
1. Down load the patch files onto your hard disk .
2. Double click on the Patcher icon.
3. The Patcher will then ask for the location of the form*Z application you wish to patch. From the standard Macintosh file open dialog that appears, identify the form*Z application to be patched, and click on the "Open" button.
4. The Patcher will proceed with patching the application and will issue a message when it is completed.
If an error occurs during patching, the most likely cause is that your form*Z application has been modified or part of it is unreadable on the hard disk. If this happens, re–install from your original form*Z disks, and then try the patching process again.
You will need to repeat the patching process once for each copy of form*Z Power that you have installed. When the patching process is completed, the patched application will be a copy of the original, with the word "Patched" appended to the name. Both copies of the application will remain in the same folder.
Restart your computer before launching your patched version of form*Z.
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Subj: form*Z Power 2.6.1–>2.6.2 Patch January 17, 1995
From: FormZ
File: form_Z Power 2.6.1–>2.6.2.sit (994327 bytes)
DL time (19200 baud): < 13 minutes
Download count: 26
AUTHOR: auto*des*sys, Inc.
EQUIPMENT: Any Power Mac
NEEDS: form*Z Power 2.6.1 or form*Z Power 2.6.1.1
This updates form*Z Power 2.6.1 to version 2.6.1.1. This patch fixes the problem with files missing after abnormal restarts on the Power PC only. There will be another patch (to version 2.6.2) for all versions, available in mid January.
Patching Steps :
1. Down load the patch files onto your hard disk .
2. Double click on the Patcher icon.
3. The Patcher will then ask for the location of the form*Z application you wish to patch. From the standard Macintosh file open dialog that appears, identify the form*Z application to be patched, and click on the "Open" button.
4. The Patcher will proceed with patching the application and will issue a message when it is completed.
If an error occurs during patching, the most likely cause is that your form*Z application has been modified or part of it is unreadable on the hard disk. If this happens, re–install from your original form*Z disks, and then try the patching process again.
You will need to repeat the patching process once for each copy of form*Z Power that you have installed. When the patching process is completed, the patched application will be a copy of the original, with the word "Patched" appended to the name. Both copies of the application will remain in the same folder.
Restart your computer before launching your patched version of form*Z.
