Spectrum 2.1 Features

[geoff@seeker.the-hermes.net (Geoff Weiss)]

Matt Portune <mportune@telerama.lm.com> wrote:
>
>I would!  I never saw a press release on the new features from 2.0 to 
>2.1.  Did they ever release one?

I have no idea if they released a press release or not.  Since you
requested a feature list, I'll just copy and paste the material that
is listed on the help screen.  Since the information uses forward and
reverse double-quotes througout the text, they will come out as 
uppercase letters on text displays--sorry it will take too long to
convert.  It should view fine with any Mac or IIgs GUI comm program 
or text editor.

Disclaimer: I was not involved with the program nor have I been or
            currently in affiliation with Seven Hills International.
            I am a satisfied customer.
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>> This topic describes features or program changes since version 2.0 of
>> Spectrum. To view changes in the scripting language choose �Changes in
>> Scripting v2.1� from the Topic menu.
>> 
>> 
>> GENERAL 
>> 
>> NOTE: The preference file format has been extended to support new
>> features. Older preference files are converted automatically to the new
>> format. The new format cannot be used with older version of Spectrum.
>> 
>> � Significant code reorganization to make room for more features. The
>> protocol transfer code and some of the dialog code have been put into
>> two dynamic segments to be more memory friendly.
>> 
>> � The Spectrum Port driver wasn�t forcing unused high-bits off (i.e.,
>> when a 7-bit data format was selected it was possible for the 8th bit to
>> be set). Fixed.
>> 
>> � The Spectrum Port driver stopped liking DataLink modems, especially on
>> ROM01 machines. Fixed.
>> 
>> � Added more refinements to try to reduce data loss:
>> - Removed a _TickCount call from our timer routine.
>> - Now wait for VBL to cycle when changing hardware handshake status.
>> - Added support for �II Not Disturb� to automatically turn �Master Time
>> Keeping� on and off whenever Spectrum is started and quit.
>> 
>> � ^G (SysBeep) has been reworked so the correct Sound CDev sound should
>> now be played. Now the interrupt-friendly (raspy) beep will play only if
>> Hardware Handshake is not checked and a carrier is detected.
>> 
>> � If an XCMD or Online Display was not loaded successfully, a beep is
>> sounded and the item�s name is displayed for one second in the �Loading�
>> status area.
>> 
>> � Added the capability for XCMDs to add custom menu items into
>> Spectrum�s menus. Several supplied XCMDs take advantage of this feature,
>> including HodgePodge and Kermit.
>> 
>> � Added a new menu to the right of the Settings menu. A solid apple menu
>> is shown only when an XCMD has added a menu item to it.
>> 
>> � Fixed a problem where the menu bar clock would not change to �am� at
>> midnight or �pm� at midday unless the clock was fully updated (e.g., by
>> a window closing or other similar event).
>> 
>> � Alerts now use �the latest cool button layout.�
>> 
>> 
>> APPLE MENU 
>> 
>> � Removed Spectrum�s built-in help in favor of the !Help! NDA (which is
>> included with Spectrum). If you don�t want any help you can inactivate
>> the Help.NDA desk accessory (located in the System:Desk.Accs folder).
>> 
>> If you want help only while Spectrum is being used (even if you have
>> Shift-booted the computer) you can move the Help.NDA into the same
>> folder as the Spectrum application. If Spectrum loads the NDA, it is
>> unloaded when Spectrum quits.
>> 
>> Regardless of where the Help.NDA is located, the NDA always looks for
>> its files in the Desk.Accs:Help.Files: folder.
>> 
>> � Added �Menu Item Help� that dims every menu item except those owned by
>> Spectrum, and changes the mouse pointer to a �menu item help� pointer.
>> When a menu item is selected, Spectrum asks the !Help! NDA to display
>> the appropriate help information.
>> 
>> NOTE:�Spectrum cannot dim the TransProg�III menu (if present). If you
>> select an item from the TPIII menu, the help request is transmitted to
>> !Help! but then TPIII will attempt to launch the item you selected.
>> 
>> 
>> FILE MENU 
>> 
>> Open 
>> 
>> � Option-opening a file of type $50 could cause a crash because Spectrum
>> was interpreting all filetype $50 files as Teach files. Fixed.
>> 
>> � Loading an empty file into the Editor changed the name of the Editor
>> window to the empty file�s name, even though the Editor contents were
>> untouched after an error message was shown. Fixed.
>> 
>> Save 
>> 
>> � Now sets the correct filetype on �saved as� files.
>> 
>> � With an autosave file set up, Save As will allow saving of the current
>> buffer independently from the Save command.
>> 
>> � Added a clarification message when autosaving a buffer to a full disk.
>> 
>> Send/Receive 
>> 
>> � Added the ability to transfer files that have a resource fork, by
>> using a MacBinary header. Because the receiver must be capable of
>> receiving and processing a MacBinary file, the default file transfer
>> preferences are set so files with a resource fork cannot be transmitted.
>> If you decide to change this preference, be sure the recipient is able
>> to handle the file.
>> 
>> � If you received a file via Zmodem to a P8 volume, and the file had a
>> period as the first character, Spectrum was doing strange things and
>> reporting non-existent errors. This was caused by a bad JudgeName call.
>> In the process we also found that if you received a file by Zmodem that
>> required JudgeName, the transfer did not complete properly. Both items
>> have been fixed.
>> 
>> � A �Make this folder default� checkbox has been added to the file
>> selection dialog boxes for all built-in file transfer protocols. When
>> checked (and you accept a file to transfer) the folder that contains the
>> file is stored as the default send or receive file transfer path. The
>> choice is not written to the preferences file unless the settings are
>> saved.
>> 
>> � When sending a text file, Macintosh text files would not be
>> selectable. Fixed.
>> 
>> � When sending Xmodem ProDOS, the received file would be truncated.
>> Fixed.
>> 
>> � Fixed a Zmodem escape character problem that showed on some host
>> systems.
>> 
>> � The Freezer XCMD is no longer necessary, as its functionality has been
>> incorporated directly into Spectrum.
>> 
>> � SP was forcing filenames to lowercase for Zmodem and Ymodem receives.
>> Fixed.
>> 
>> � If an incoming Zmodem file happened to have a colon or slash in its
>> embedded filename, a �file not found� error would occur and the transfer
>> would abort. Most Zmodem implementations do not pass these characters,
>> but some do, so Spectrum now replaces those path separators with
>> periods.
>> 
>> � Spectrum does not attempt to extract files from a Binary II wrapper if
>> there are multiple files enclosed because it would be nearly impossible
>> to resume a transfer. To help alert the user that he needs to use some
>> other program (like ShrinkIt) to extract the multiple files, a message
>> is now added to the capture buffer that says �WARNING: A Binary II
>> header holding multiple files was not unpacked.�
>> 
>> � Removed the code to resume CIS B+ uploads because CompuServe has never
>> implemented that capability.
>> 
>> � The file transfer status dialog box now shows whether a Binary II or
>> MacBinary header is present on the incoming/outgoing file.
>> 
>> � When using CIS B+, if you typed only a filename to send or receive,
>> the correct file transfer folder was not always set properly. Fixed.
>> 
>> Launch 
>> 
>> � Fixed a problem that would not let the Hangup checkbox be unchecked.
>> 
>> Quit 
>> 
>> � If you opened the SHR screen, then Editor, then switch to VT100, then
>> go back to the Editor and File/Quit, lots of windows would appear,
>> disappear, reappear, etc. as the windows were closed in a fixed order.
>> The windows are now closed in the order in which they are layered.
>> 
>> 
>> EDIT MENU 
>> 
>> Paste 
>> 
>> � If text had been copied into the Clipboard, Paste was not highlighted
>> when the Editor was first opened. Fixed.
>> 
>> � OA-V did not work in VT100 if the chat line had been open in the
>> Spectrum Text screen. Fixed.
>> 
>> Paste As Reply 
>> 
>> � This feature didn�t work right if the selected text was greater than
>> 76 characters. Fixed.
>> 
>> Find/Replace 
>> 
>> � Pasting into the Find box now activates the Find butotn.
>> 
>> � The �apply/replace� script command was changing some choices in the
>> dialog box. Fixed.
>> 
>> 
>> SHOW MENU 
>> 
>> Online Display 
>> 
>> � OA-j did not work from some online displays; you had to press
>> Shift-OA-J. Fixed so it is no longer case sensitive.
>> 
>> � When displaying echoed information, characters were routed to the
>> script screen vector instead of the normal screen vector, which caused
>> some information to be lost. Fixed.
>> 
>> Editor 
>> 
>> � Added more support for extended keyboards (the small �forward delete�
>> key, Home, End, Page Up, Page Down).
>> 
>> Clipboard 
>> 
>> � The clipboard window can now be printed. The window is also now
>> �editable� in that you can highlight some text in the Clipboard window
>> and Edit/Copy it�which deletes all of the clipboard contents and
>> replaces it with the text you had highlighted.
>> 
>> Chatline 
>> 
>> � If you press the down arrow in the first or second line when the
>> cursor is to the right of the end of the next line, the cursor jumps to
>> the end of the next line instead of sticking and not moving as expected.
>> 
>> � If the chatline was full, pressing the Arrow keys would cause a beep.
>> Now it beeps only when inserting a character and the line is full.
>> 
>> 
>> PHONE MENU 
>> 
>> Dial Number 
>> 
>> � Spectrum no longer auto-dials the next phone number if the current
>> phone number fails to connect.
>> 
>> � The modem init data and button names are now stored in pString
>> resources for easier customization (maximum length of 40 characters).
>> 
>> � Linking a script to a dialing entry no longer corrupts the first
>> character of the filename.
>> 
>> 
>> SETTINGS MENU 
>> 
>> Online Display 
>> 
>> � The �Spectrum SHR Fast� and �Spectrum SHR Normal� displays have been
>> combined into a single �Spectrum SHR� display that automatically
>> switches between the fast and normal display modes as necessary.
>> 
>> � If Delete=Backspace is checked, character $08 is sent out the port
>> when the Delete key is pressed, rather than whatever key sequence that
>> might be associated with the left arrow key. Pressing Left Arrow still
>> translates when necessary.
>> 
>> File Transfer 
>> 
>> The File Transfer Settings menu item now presents a sub-menu with
>> Receiving Options and Sending Options. Most of the options existed in
>> Spectrum v2.0; the new or changed items are as follows:
>> 
>> � SendAhead is relevant for both sending and receiving, but different
>> protocols handle SendAhead differently. Therefore there is really only a
>> single SendAhead option�if you change the setting in the Sending Options
>> dialog box, it will also change in the Receiving Options dialog box (and
>> vice-versa).
>> 
>> � The Sending Options dialog lets you specify the location of the files
>> to be sent. The Receiving Options dialog lets you specify the default
>> location for storing received files.
>> 
>> � The Receive Options dialog lets you specify the filetype and auxtype
>> to be assigned when the received filetype/auxtype is unknown.
>> 
>> � MacBinary is now supported so that files with a resource fork can be
>> transmitted to other Spectrum v2.1 owners, to Macintosh computers, or to
>> others who can process a MacBinary header.
>> 
>> 
>> EXTERNAL COMMANDS (XCMDs) 
>> 
>> The Documentation:XCMDs: folder contains complete documentation on the
>> new and updated XCMDs provided with Spectrum v2.1. NOTE: The Freezer
>> XCMD is no longer necessary because its features are included directly
>> in Spectrum v2.1.
>> 
>> The following XCMD-related changes were made to Spectrum itself:
>> 
>> � Unclaimed control hits might not have been seen by XCMDs correctly.
>> Fixed.

-- 
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e-mail: geoff@the-hermes.net   System Administrator for Hermes Internet Service
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The report of my death was greatly exaggerated. -- Mark Twain