Beijing Paradise BBS Backup/PARADISE.ISO/software/BBSDOORW/SXR43.ZIP/WHATSNEW.DOC

Text File | 1995-08-13 | 16KB | 362 lines

                *-*-*-* Silver Xpress Mail System *-*-*-*
             (c) copyright 1988-1995 by Santronics Software

Summary of changes, fixes, enhancements, and new features since Silver
Xpress version 4.01.

┌────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ LEGEND:                                                                │
│  FIX:  - Means a bug or problem in logic was corrected.                │
│  NEW:  - New feature added.                                            │
│  ENH:  - A bug or stable feature was enhanced for whatever reason.     │
│  CHK:  - Bug report check.  Checked out with no results.               │
│  DOC:  - Information which will be added to the documentation.         │
│                                                                        │
│  NOTE:  Unless otherwise stipulated, an RMODE or PMODE note is used    │
│         to indicate REAL MODE ONLY or PROTECTED MODE only.             │
└────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

  FIX:  Speech friendly Interface Fix and Enhancements

        - Reader Quoter. It never worked unless the Page Speaker was
          enabled. You should not need this option enabled for the Reader
          Quoter to work now.

        - Two new options are now available for the File Viewer:

            Talking Cursor for File Viewer
            Speak First Page for File Viewer

        - The new Strip Xcode function was bad. It will go into infinite
          do-loop if a @ code was found but not a real Xcode.

        - Added a new option to change the SFI LOG file name using a
          environment string.  This new option is exploratory.  Maybe we
          can use this for protected mode operations. By allowing you to
          change the name of the log file to a device port, you can
          possible use this for speaking.  All that is spoken via Xpress is
          also written to log so to avoid double speaking, a new option was
          provided to turn off the speaking method but still keep the LOG
          system enabled. To test this out, you need the environment
          string:

              SET SFI=SLF NULL LOG=LPT3

          SLF will enabled the LOG system. NULL will tell Xpress not to use
          BIOS or VocalEyes for speaking. LOG= will change the name of the
          LOG file.  LPT3 is an example device port name where your
          speaking system is probably working with.

        FILES EFFECTED:

        DISPMSG1.INC CONFIG.SYS XPWINDOWS.PAS STARTUP.PAS TALK.PAS
        VIEWER.PAS

  NEW:  Added Support for PCBOARD's @SUBJECT extended line.  This is only
        "READ" support. Not "WRITE" support.

        Exploratory item only.  We may not want to muddy the water with
        such a bad kludge system. At a minimum, SX readers will now VIEW
        more "cosmetically" correct mail by interpreting this line and
        using it for the long subject field.  The question is, should we
        write extended lines for replies and new mail.  I am not so sure it
        is a good idea because in a echo system, these lines may not be
        supported by other systems.

  FIX:  Keywords highlight offset problem when Xcodes is used.

  FIX:  The new LOG= SFI environment string was wrong. Should be LOG:

  FIX:  Fixed a problem introduced with the new @ code checker in the
        reader word wrapper. Very very very long lines, usually created
        with such editors such as Dbridge, with a @ character would cause a
        lock up.  Now, Xpress checks for it X codes correctly and word
        wraps.

  FIX:  Removed the Extended and Enhanced KeyBoard support. This was
        causing intermittent problems with Speech Friendly systems.

        Note: This was actually done in 4.02B02 but was mentioned in
        released patch file documentation.

  FIX:  The BBS new files Listing when saved in a folder got a screwed up
        header. It thought it was a message.

  NEW:  Added new %SORT keyword option to the picklist system.

          %SORT [column]       default column is 1

        By putting the %SORT keyword in your list files, the list will be
        sorted before it is displayed.  Note, this is on a FILE basis. Some
        list files should not sorted.  A good place to use this is in your
        File CABINET.LIS file.

        Thanks Andrea

  ENH:  Long reply header lines are now allowed.  Tag lines are still
        truncated at 75 characters. Always was, but a clean up to allow for
        the long reply header lines required a forced truncation on the tag
        lines. Sorry, one line tag line are good enough.

  FIX:  Simulated tokens did not work in Nested List files taglines.

  FIX:  Fixes cosmestic display which showed up in a pick list after
        killing mail.

  FIX:  IMPORTANT!  MUST READ!

        Normal Xpress Tokens do not show up in a message. Xpress tries to
        interpret them as X codes.

        In order to fix this properly, I had to change the @ character used
        for Xpress Tokens in Silver Xpress to something else. I have
        selected the # character.

        ALL XPRESS TOKENS HAVING THE FORMAT @xx@ ARE NOW #xx#

        You must change all your Xpress tokens in all places, namely
        the REPLYHDR.LIS file and the TAGS.LIS file.

        Use the CHGXTOK.EXE program provided to help you convert the
        files:

               CHGXTOK  filename

        Sorry about this, but it was necessary. If we are going to support
        the PCBoard and Wildcat color codes system, we can not allow for
        conflicts with the Xpress Token.  By changing it, we can use X
        codes with Xpress Tokens in your replyhdr and tag line list files
        and show examples in messages.

        Internal note: Files to change:

        - Documentation
        - On-line Help
        - standard replyhdr.lis and tags.lis for future updates.

  ENH:  Increased available memory by 40K by moving some code into the
        OVERLAY file.  There is an extremely small penalty but is it
        hardly noticeable, especially on faster machines.

  FIX:  Some QWK packets (mostly from UQWK) had messages with beginning
        with msg # starting at ZER0.  Xpress was interpreting this as a
        possible corruption and skipped the message. This "Skipping" threw
        off Xpress and most of the mail was unreadable. Now Message Numbers
        equal to zero are accepted by Xpress.

  FIX:  The internal unzipper had a problem uncompressing files which had a
        ZERO size.  The protected mode version of Xpress produced a run
        time error 0002:078F.  The real mode version had unpredictable
        results.  This was fixed in the CRC calculation.

  DOC:  In order to use the internal ZIP compressor, you must have atleast
        180-200K memory available (as shown on the status bar).  Otherwise,
        an error 8 (out of memory) is produced during compression.

  FIX:  GOLD XPRESS. ALT-T conflicted with the TAG MESSAGE menu in the
        reader.  ALT-C is now the Communication Window hotkey.

  FIX:  Xpress will now highlight all the keywords it finds in the
        messages.

        Previously, the search/highlight behavior was designed around a
        very excellent hit logic - it would only show the messages that
        ALREADY had a keyword hit - it will show atleast 1 highlight - no
        mail was missed. You just did not see all the highlights.

        Now, it will continue with the search even though it already found
        a message.  The end result is that there is more processing . Does
        it effect the speed?  Probably not at all significant to worry
        about it. Probably only if you have a LARGE keyword file and you
        have a very large packet - you might see a very slight slow down.

  FIX:  Fixed a bug in the reading of areas from OPX packets. This will
        occur in systems where more than 256 areas were written but was
        packed 100%. In other words, 0-255 areas were stored with no gabs.
        If there is 1 gab, it is ok. The door also has a fix to allow older
        readers to work better.

  ENH:  Blind Copies:  Tell blind that he has received a blind. SX will
        now put the string #100 at the top line of the message if the
        message is Blind carpon.  In addition, string #101 is the string
        used to say who got the original message.

  ENH:  SX will now add a MSGID for copies of message.

  FIX:  KillMail function did not have new CRC check corrected for B04

  ENH:  RMODE: Increase more memory by moving about 70K to the OVERLAY.

  FIX:  When a static/direct reply header was defined (no @REPLYHDR.LIS),
        no Xpress Token translation took place.  This also fixes some other
        intermittent bugs with translation.

  ENH:  Enhanced the Session Window for QWK packets.

  DOC:  How to install the Protected mode Silver Xpress as a OS/2 Icon.
        (By Trane Francks)

        OS/2 users don't need to apply the Borland DPMI patch (OSDPMI.ZIP)
        to get the DPMI SX reader to run under OS/2. Users simply need to
        setup their program object like so:

        These are the steps for creating a program icon for Silver Xpress
        under the OS/2 2.0, 2.1, 2.11, or 3.0 Warp Workplace Shell:

          1.  From the OS/2 desktop, double-click the Templates folder
              to open it, grab the Program icon and drop it onto the
              desktop or another folder.

          2.  When the Program Settings dialog box appears, enter the
              following:

                Path and file Name: *
                        Parameters: /C C:\SX\XPREADP.EXE
                 Working directory: C:\SX

              Substitute the appropriate drive/path as needed.

          3.  Click the Session thumb tab and select DOS full screen
              or DOS window as desired.

          4.  Click on the General thumb tab and enter Silver Xpress for
              the program title.

          5.  Double-click the Close button.

        This enables OS/2 to recognize Silver Xpress as a valid executable,
        and running it with DOS Session default settings works
        marvellously.

  FIX:  During filing of mail in maintain mail section, xpress was
        stripping origin and tear lines.

  NEW:  RMODE: Faster operations by allowing overlay to be stored in XMS
        memory and by allowing user to change overlay buffer size. To
        change the overlay setup, use the following environment string:

        SET XOPTS=/OL:xxx /BS:nnn

        where xxx is

          EMS     store overlay in EMS only. If none, then disk. This
                  is how it was before.

          XMS     store overlay in XMS only. If node, then disk.

          BEST    Attempt to store in XMS, if none, try EMS, if none,
                  then use the disk.  THis is the best arrangement
                  for all situations.

        where nnn is the amount of overlay buffer to keep in memory (in
        Kilobytes).  This will take away from conventional memory.  It is
        the part of the overlay which is most active and keep in normal
        memory.  The rest is kept in the other memory (XMS, EMS or DISK).
        By default, SX will use about 35K no matter what.  This /BS option
        allows you to increase it for faster operations.

        Example:

        SET XOPTS=/OL:XMS /B:64

        Store the overlay in extended memory and use 64K of normal
        memory as the overlay buffer size.

  ENH:  Grab initials of all words in name when quoting mail.

  DOC:  Note we went to a new VERSION NUMBERING scheme.

  ENH:  NEW SXMENU.LIB

        Moved the Default Search Options from the Configuration Menu Section
        to the MAIL menu section.  Changed it to "Default Read Options"

        Technical Note: This is Menu Action Code #33 when you use SXDYMENU
        to modify the menu.

  NEW:  New option to display 1 or 2 line message lists. Allows you to fit
        more into screen.  See Default Read Options now under MAIL option.

  NEW:  New Sidebar option for reading mail. See Default Read Options now
        under MAIL option.

  ENH:  Enhanced the carbon copy system for the Internet System. Now it is
        possible to send carbon copy internet messages using the cc:/bc:
        system for a Pure Internet Email Conference (Not Fido/UUCP). In
        other words, something like this will work for pure internet
        carbon copies:

        cc: [e-mail]
        cc: [e-mail]
        cc: [e-mail]

  FIX:  Fixed Netmail Replies for systems that do not report ECHO forums to
        Silver Xpress such as Wildcat BBS.  What was happening was Xpress
        was ignoring the MSGID line when doing cross posting to the OTHER
        user (The O option).

  ENH:  Internet and NewsGroup Enhancements:

        Xpress will now default to ALL when creating a new message in a
        Internet NewsGroup Conference.

        Added ability to create Internet Email Replies when reading a
        NewsGroup mail. In order for this to work, your internet processor
        must support the ^aFROM: and/or the ^aIn-Reply-To: lines. The
        the former line is used for 'X' create mail key, and the latter
        is used for the 'O' create mail key.

        Same is true to create Internet/FIDO UUCP netmail replies.  If
        you are carrying a FIDO based UUCP Internet email and newsgroups,
        your users can reply via Internet/FIDO UUCP netmail.

        Note: the ^aIn-Reply-To: line is not normally supported by Internet
        processors, so it is not normally available. Users should double
        check the internet when you they use the 'O' mail option.

  ENH:  SPEECH FRIENDLY INTERFACE enhancements.

        Added SFI to new single line display of message list.

        SFI menu system was speaking help line if available. Removed.

  FIX:  Search System was removing the @ character when hitting F2 to
        pick a keyword file.

  ENH:  Added 4th Header option to single line display header. Good for
        NewsGroups

  FIX: Some QWK packets from non-std QWK doors were creating personal.ndx
       files without normal area.ndx files.  The reader failed with this.
       Some QWK doors where corrupting the NDX files. Both are now trapped
       in Silver Xpress.

  ENH: Enhanced the Xpress Expert Diagnostic window. Now more scrollable
       information can be displayed to get the user more information to
       solve problems.

  ENH: Spelled/Grammer Fixes in Language file.

  FIX: Ansi [J commands for clearing Above and Below cursor.

  ENH: Enhanced support for [J and [K ansi codes in VT100 mode.

  ENH: Added logic to IGNORE the Subdirectories in a ZIP file.  SX will
       no longer honor directories that are in ZIP files when it does
       the expansion of mail packets.

  NEW: Fixed some intepretation of ANSI characters.

  NEW: New reply header tokens:

        #IF#  Internet From Field
        #IT#  Internet To Field
        #MS#  Message Suggest

  NEW: new /KF option to "KEEP FONT".  SX now resets the fonts due to many
       Windows video drivers not correctly resetting fonts.  If you are
       using some "FONT" enabled problem prior to SX, then you can use the
       /KF switch to prevent SX from resetting the video.
       Thanks Scott