The updates described in this document are available from inside the Editor using the Update Centre that can be configured to check for updates automatically (when entering on each session of the Editor and, each four hours on opened sessions) or, manually checking for updates under the “Help | Check for updates” option in the top toolbar.

 

 

Version 1.5.117.68: (28-December-2006)

 

1)     Update Centre

Previous note:  In order to be able to update the Editor for this version, the “Update Centre” must be manually updated accordingly to the following steps:

·         Close the Editor

·         Download the file http://www.ashelleditor.com/downloads/release/AShellEditor20061228.zip

·         Extract all the files into the A-Shell Editor installation folder (usually under c:\program files\firmaware\a-shell editor\)

·         Open the Editor

·         If the “automatically check for updates” is activated, a message informing about new updates available will appear, if not, force the update under,

Help > Check for Updates and clicking in [Check for Updates]

a)     The new version of the Update Centre is auto-updatable; because it wasn’t before, it’s the reason why it’s needed the manual update as described above.

b)     The updates were split in three groups: Documentation, Compiler and Editor.

After hitting [Check for Updates] is displayed the list of which group(s) will be updated and, it’s possible to select what we want to update.

c)      Several internal improvements were also added to make the Update Centre more powerful

 

As an aside, we also developed a new Update Centre Creator used on our side to publish the updates. It has a completely new interface and not exclusive for

the Editor so, if anybody is interested in implementing an Update Centre to distribute software, please contact us to obtain a trial package.

 

2)     Fix: New File

When trying to open a new file, if no selected folder (Ersatz/Device/UNC folder) was selected in the Project Explorer, an error occurred.

 

3)     Find

           The “find in selection” checkbox is ticked automatically, only when the selected area covers more than one line.

           Before, it was ticked even if only two characters were selected.

            

4)     Keywords

a)     Case rule:

When a keyword is defined to force case (Upper/Lower), the keyword is saved accordingly to the defined rule.

Before, it was just being displayed accordingly to the case rule but saved as was typed in.

b)     Colors:

It’s possible now to define colors for keywords using a full color palette.

 

5)     Startup panel

a)     A tooltip with the project location is displayed on mouse over each Project

b)     Right-clicking in a Project, displays an option to “Remove from the list” (useful for non-existing or moved Projects)

c)      Fix: Related to deleted/moved Projects, it was fixed an issue regarding the creation of phantom .APR.STATE files in the “Desktop” when

attempting to open non-existing Projects

 

6)     Fix: Program Version (F6)

           When in a file there is no PROGRAM statement and F6 is pressed (to increase version), an alert message is displayed.

           Before, it was causing an error.

            

7)     Opening Backup files

           If defined (Tools>Options: Editor: IO), for each opened file is created a backup file (adding the .bak extension).

           Before, CTRL+B shortcut was defined to open the backup file for the current file.

           We decided to remove that shortcut but, it’s still possible to open .bak files using the Open File option.

 

8)     Editor Installer

           The Editor Installer doesn’t require the .NET Framework 1.1 anymore, it runs with the .NET Framework 2.0.

            

9)     Editor design

a)     Fix: In several panels, the [Ok] and [Cancel] buttons were displayed in reverse order considering the Windows standards ([Cancel]  [Ok]); now the display

order is [Ok]  [Cancel]

b)     Themes applied to buttons but, if Framework 1.1 is installed in the computer, some buttons that have icons inside (e.g. Project Explorer) still keep the non-themes aspect

(as mentioned above, to what concerns the Editor, Framework 1.1 is not needed anymore)

c)      Startup panel and Splash Screen were redesigned

 

 

Version 1.5.115.66: (02-October-2006)

 

1)     Fix: Rename

           Renaming a file in the Project explorer, was just renaming the item from the list and, not the file itself.

            

2)     Fix: Replace all

           When replacing text with the “Find in selection” initially set, even removing the mark from “Find in selection”, it remained active.

            

3)     Insert MAP

a)     Fix: An exception error was triggered on attempting to insert a variable in an empty zone (when no zones created).

b)     A new field was included in the “Insert MAP” panel: Insert (x) lines (below/above).

Previously, variables were inserted one line after the specified zone label, now, it’s possible to define the insert point x lines below or after the zone label.

 

4)     Exiting the Editor

           From the previous release, the process of exiting the Editor was improved in what concerns to save changes on opened files.

           Now, we add the following to the exit panel:

           - Independently of any opened file has changes to save, the panel is displayed on exiting the Editor

           - In this panel is possible to:

·         Select which changes to files should be saved

·         If any Project setting has changed in the current session, confirm if it’s to save or not

·         Select the current Project to open on the next session of the Editor

·         Select if, the currently opened files should be automatically open on the next session for the current Project

            

 

Version 1.5.115.65: (22-September-2006)

 

1)     Last changes (NEW)

It was added to the Editor a global list to keep track of changes in programs.

This was thought to be a scratch of an “Updates” document when releasing new versions of programs; like this current document.

To access the “Last changes” list, use the option in the top menu Tools>Last changes; here, it’s possible to manage the existing entries.

To add a program into the list, from the Project explorer, right-click in the desired program and select “Add file change” in the context menu.

 

2)     DEBUG/TRACE (NEW)

           Recently, was added to A-Shell the ability to use DEBUG/TRACE commands with the PRINT/PAUSE variants.

           We will not get into details about these commands because it’s out of the scope of this document but, basically when using DEBUG/TRACE the programmer

           has to write the variables to debug plus any further comments to make the debug message easy to read during run time.

           Considering this, we introduced in the Editor a quick insert of DEBUG/TRACE commands, working as follows:

           - Select the block of code that contains all the variables to trace

           - Right-click over the selected block

           - From the context menu, select “Insert DEBUG” or “Insert TRACE”, next select “PRINT” or “PAUSE” and, finally, choose where to insert the command,

             “Before” or “After” the selected block

           Accordingly to the selected options, the command is built with the following structure (TRACE.PRINT will be used for the example):

           TRACE.PRINT “sub-routine name: variable1=[“+variable1+”] variable2=[“+variable2+”] … variablen=[“+variablen+”]”

            

           Note 1: If one of the variables is an array element and the index  is a variable, both array element and index will be specified in the command

           Note 2: Sub-strings are also handled (e.g. x$[1;3] or x$[I,-1])

 

After the command is inserted into the code, it remains selected allowing any editing action (CTRL+X or REPLACE, for example).

 

Two complementary actions were also considered, “Comment all” and “Uncomment all”.

Considering that, these commands become an excellent debug tool, it’s easy to have a lot of them distributed along the program.

With the above options, the programmer can enable/disable all of them in one step without removing them from the program.

 

3)     Replace/Find

           - Fix: Now it’s possible to replace “spaces”.

           - When a block of code is selected, on enter in the Find/Replace option (CTRL+F/CTRL+H), the “Find in selection” is ticked by default.

           - Selected blocks are kept after each Replace allowing to proceed with more than one Replace without the need of reselect the block.

             Remark: After the first Replace, besides the “blue area” got cleared, in fact it’s not so, the selection still remains active.

           - Two optional search methods were included: Wildcards and Regular expressions.

              Note: For Replace, these methods are only applicable to the expression to search for replace, not for the expression to replace

a)     Wildcards: Allow searching for expressions with wildcards. Probably, this will be more useful for Replace operations

(e.g. replace “=*” by “=”  to clear everything on the right of an equal sign in a group of lines)

b)     Regular expressions: Allow searching for expressions using “Regular expressions” syntax.

Note: For “Regular expressions” syntax, there are a lot of websites to consult but, we have included a “Quick Reference” manual, able to access from

    the Replace/Find panel.

         Note that, for example, an asterisk (*) will be considered as a normal character to search if none of the two methods described above is selected.

           - Fix: When replacing with “Find in selection” ticked, if the new expression was bigger than the original expression and, the selected block had more than one

  expression to replace, under some circumstances, not all expressions get replaced, example:

Selected block: if (x=”1” or x=”200” or x=”3000” ) then

Find expression: x

Replace expression: new’string$

Result (before this fix): if (new’string$=”1” or new’string$=”200” or x=”3000”) then

Result (with this fix): if (new’string$=”1” or new’string$=”200” or new’string$=”3000”) then

 

4)     Editing

a)     The trailing spaces from each line, now, are always stripped.

b)     Fix: Adjust text column position

In some circumstances (not described considering the multiple conditions), when adjusting the column position of a selected block using [Spacebar] or

[Shift]+[Spacebar], the selection got extended moving also, not selected text.

c)      Fix: Back (toolbar far left button – go to previous position)

When opening a file, the initial position (line 1, column 1) was saved in the list as a “stop point” when using the [Back] button.

Now, it is still saved but, only if no further action is taken in the opened file.

d)     Select block after Paste (NEW)

           A new option was included to handle Paste actions; to activate it, tick the option “Select block after Paste” under Tools>Options>Editor | General.

 

With this option active, when a block is pasted it is automatically selected allowing further actions over it.

           This change, made easy to execute sequential different actions over a pasted block; an example:

If we select a block of code and paste it to another location, as mentioned, the pasted block remains selected.

If we want to replace a few things in the new block, using CTRL+H, the Replace panel will open with the “Find in selection” ticked.

Here, it’s possible to execute different replaces without the need to reselect the block.

 

5)     Project explorer

a)     Support for multi-selection (when more than one files are selected, the options applicable for single files are removed from the context menu)

b)     The top buttons were redesigned

c)      The option “Open” (file), was added to the context menu and, the “Open” dialog is positioned in the folder corresponding to the file/folder where

the right-click was done

d)     The option “Open as”, was added to the context menu, it allows to change the open default mode for an existing file. Previously, if, by mistake, a wrong

default mode had been choose, it wasn’t  possible to change it (only removing and adding again the file into the Project)

e)     Delete: After confirm the deletion of a file, the programmer is prompted for deletion of the related files (the same filename with the extensions: LST, BAK,

RUN and SBX)

f)       Fix:  When trying to rename an opened file, the Project explorer was being updated with the new name without the file get effectively renamed

g)     Fix: It wasn’t possible to rename a file from uppercase to lowercase and vice-versa

h)     File Categories (NEW) : It’s now possible to classify files in Categories and, toggle Project explorer views between “Categories” and “Folders”.

Categories are names that can be associated to files, each file can belong to different categories. To associate a file or group of files (using the new feature

of multi-selection), right-click in the file and select “Categorize”. In the panel that will open, it’s possible to manage categories and make association to the

selected files (this panel is also accessible from the Project Settings.

To toggle the tree view, use the corresponding new button on top of Project explorer.

i)        Case sensitive filenames: A new setting was included to handle filenames (by default it will be active to respect the previous method).

Before, if we add to the Project the same file typing in the name in upper and lower case,  this will produce two different entries in the Project explorer. This is what

still happens with this new setting active.

Deactivating it (recommended), the filename case will be ignored.

Note: As mentioned, by default, this option will be active after upgrading to the current version. If intended to deactivate it, this must be done in Default settings

   (Tools>Options) for new Projects and, in all existing Projects (Project>Settings | General).

 

6)     Insert MAP (variable)

a)     Now, also accessible by the context menu from the MAP list in the Object explorer

b)     The context menu in the working area is now smarter on this, the option “Define MAP”, only appears if the right-clicked word is not already mapped as variable

c)      When entering In “Define Map”, the right-clicked variable is assumed by default, also is assumed by default, the first defined Zone (suggestion: {MAP})

d)     The “Define Map” panel is not closed after each insert variable (allowing to insert more variables in one step)

e)     A new field “Default value” was included to define the initial value in the MAP statement

            

7)     Object explorer

a)     Now, it’s possible to sort each list by any of the columns

b)     Fix: The MAP list wasn’t displaying the size of the variables

c)      Fix: The Bookmarks list wasn’t working properly

            

8)     Setup

a)     The “My Projects” folder created during Editor’s installation, if deleted, is not created again.

b)     Fix: The “Date format” setting was not being properly updated during the initial setup causing a fatal error.

 

9)     Show Function Help

a)     This setting (Tools>Options>Editor | General), enable/disable the automatic help when typing in XCALL, XFUNC or XFUNC$ commands and, it’s available since the first release.

We changed a detail on how it works.

Before, when enabled, for any recognized XCALL/XFUNC, the corresponding help was pop up automatically. This is still true but, the problem was that, when disabled, there

was no option to call the help in the middle of writing a command. So, it’s some kind of, “all or nothing” that, when writing well known commands, where no help is needed,

could be uncomfortable (worst when changing an already written command that, on each [space] the help pop up).

As mentioned, when this option is enabled, nothing changed but, when disabled, it can be called hitting [F12] allowing the programmer to just call it when there are doubts about

the syntax of any command argument (hitting [Esc], the help window(s) close).

Note: Previously, [F12] was calling the “Shortcuts list”; we took it for this action since “Shortcuts list” is accessible from the top menu option “Help | Shortcuts”.

b)     The help provided by this option is based on a structured commands list and, accessible by “Tools>Options>Wizard | SBX”. In this option it’s possible to add/edit/delete commands;

we agree that, it’s not very easy to try manage the list using this method, that was the reason why we included an additional option there [Import from XLS].

We never provided any information about this XLS file structure because, first, it’s not easy to explain and, second, because we always intended to provide an XLS file,

more or less complete and start any related discussion accordingly to users feed-back.

In this release, finally, we included an “xcall.xls” file (located in the Help folder in the Editor’s installation folder).

To start trying how this help works, start to [Import from XLS]  selecting the “xcall.xls” file.

Back to the work space, type: XCALL followed by a “space”; if the “Show Function Help” is enabled, the list of available commands will pop up, if not, hit [F12].

As far as the command is typed in with the corresponding arguments, the help will be adjusted accordingly.

Note1: The “…\help\xcall.xls” file is updated by the Update Centre so, NEVER change it, otherwise the Update Centre will replace it.

Note2: The provided “xcall.xls” only has a few A-Shell commands; we intend to make it more complete gradually but, we also appreciate any help to complete it.

Note3: To add more commands to the help, we suggest to copy “xcall.xls” to another file and start from there following the existing structure. To import it into the Editor

          use [Import from XLS]. Be aware to, answer [No] in the message “Delete old routines ?” otherwise, only the commands from the currently selected XLS will be considered.    

      Note4: The Function Help can be populated from several different XLS files, it even be advisable to keep at least three files; the default “xcall.xls”, another for additional A-Shell

     commands and another one for our own SBX’s.

10) UNDO/REDO

           The list of the UNDO/REDO actions was made public, that is, the programmer can revert the program into a previous selected state after changes.

           Those lists can be accessed clicking on the right arrow of the UNDO/REDO buttons in the top toolbar.

            

11) Fix: Find in “Split windows”

           It wasn’t possible to use Find in the second window when using “Split Window” mode.

            

12) Open Project

           When a Project is closed with files opened, on the next open of that Project, those files will open automatically.

           This is different of what happens when using “Save view state”, in this case, the current Project is remembered on the next Editor start up that will open it automatically.

            

13) Lock file system (NEW)

           When opening a file in the Editor, the Windows lock file system is used to determine if the file is already opened by another user, if so, the file is opened in “read-only” mode.

           But, if the opened file is located in a non-Windows computer, this lock system doesn’t work so, we introduced a new lock system; when opening a file, an .LCK file is created

           (it’s a file with the same filename and extension with a second extension .LCK) and deleted on exiting from the file. If, on open, the .LCK file exists means that the file is already

           opened.

           This lock system is defined by Project and, for existing Projects, it must be enabled in “Project>Settings>General | Lock control system using .LCK files”. To make default for new Projects,

           also enable the same option under “Tools>Options>Project | Default Settings (more)”.

            

           To cover all the scenarios, Microsabio as included the creation/deletion of the .LCK file in VUE to allow the Editor to control the files opened that way.

           Note: To use VUE accordingly to the above description, the A-Shell 4.9.965.7 or later release, must be installed and the INI.VUE file configured (read A-Shell documentation for details).

            

14) View Structure (variables)

           For arrays, besides the total size of the array, is displayed the size of a single item.

           Note: This option, “View (variable name) structure”, is accessible from the context menu when right-clicking over a variable.

            

15) Close Project

           This issue is a mix of “Fix” and “Improvement”; when closing a Project with files open and some had not saved changes, the programmer was prompted for what to do with the changes.

           If [Cancel] was the selected option, the files without changes got closed and the Project remain opened with the files with changes, also opened.

           Now, on close, before start closing any opened file, it’s checked for existing not saved changes in all files, if any, a list of those files is displayed allowing to select what to do with each one. 

 

 

Version 1.4.113.62: (8-September-2005)

 

1)     Fix: Find

           When using CTRL+F to search for a string, in the first time, the result window open and close immediately; only on the second try it was working.

 

 

Version 1.4.113.61: (29-August-2005)

 

1)     Fix: Vue compatibility mode

           With “Vue compatibility mode” active, Backspace and Del keys were not working

            

2)     Fix: Find

           An “Unhandled exception error” occurs in the following actions sequence:

           Right-click in a word > Select the “Find” option (pops up the results window) > Select the first item from the results list > Press [F3] (for the next item)

            

3)     Help options

a)     Fix: The option to disable auto-help was not working properly (under Tools > Options > Editor : General – Show Function Help)

b)     The above option was split into three help options (under : Tools > Options > Editor : General )

·         Show function help (for XCALL or XFUNC/XFUNC$ statements)

·         Show MAP help (for MAP statements)

·         Show GOTO/GOSUB/CALL help (for the mentioned statements)

            

4)     Move Back/Forward

           A few more actions saves the current cursor position in the list of historic movements:

·         CTRL+Home

·         CTRL+End

·         Double-click on an item in the Map, Define, Label lists

·         Find / Replace

The goal here is to include in the list, all the actions that move the cursor out of the current position without any automatic option to recover that position.

 

 

Version 1.4.113.60: (25-August-2005)

 

1)     Compile: Errors list

           When the “Errors list” becomes empty, hitting [F4] closes the list.

 

2)     Editing: Date/Time auto-format (CTRL+D/CTRL+T)

           With the semi-colon (;) selected as the separator, the spaces before and after the separator was removed.

 

3)     Code Blocks

           The list for the defined Code Blocks previously located on the top toolbar, was converted in a splitter on the left of the work area. This splitter can be opened/closed using the corresponding button or using the double-shift shortcut;

           Code Blocks are now separated in two categories: General and Temporary. To define a Code Block as Temporary, mark the corresponding checkbox in the Code Block definition panel.

           In the splitter, Code Blocks are grouped by category; a double-click in a Code Block inserts it into the program at the cursor position;

           In the Tools/Options/Code Blocks panel, Code Blocks are listed by category making easy any cleanup process.   

 

4)     Project Explorer

           Now remembers its last state about, which folders were collapsed/expanded.

           Warning:  After updating for this version, on the first entry in each saved Project, all folders will be collapsed; adjust as desired and save the Project.

           The shortcut double-Pause, close/open the Project explorer

 

5)     Move Back/Forward (NEW)

a)     Two buttons were added on the most left of the top toolbar: Back (left arrow with drop-down list) and Right-arrow with drop-down list.

b)     The actions associated to these buttons are: Move to the previous/next position of the cursor.

c)      The cursor position is saved in the following circumstances:

Goto: Label, Map, Define

Move to another file: clicking in an opened file on the top toolbar, clicking in a file on the Includes/Project explorers, or any other option that moves the focus from the current file.

 

6)     Editing: Replace

a)     The dialog for replace actions was completely redesigned as follows:

b)     The action (Find/Replace) and sequence (Next/Previous/All/From the top) were combined in two buttons;

c)      (NEW) “Find in selection” checkbox considers the actions to be taken only inside the limits of a selected area (if any) in the program;

d)     (NEW) “Keep original text case” is an improvement for the usual “Match case” option (still available). If checked, makes all the replacements match the case of the found text independently of how it was typed in the Find/Replace text fields; examples:

 

Find

Replace

Found

Result

Comment

this

that

This

That

The capitalization was preserved

THIS

THAT

this

that

The lower case was preserved

this

this and that

THIS

THIS and that

The extra characters were kept accordingly to the typed in text to replace

 

7)     Editing: Label auto-completion

           The UNC paths (when the label belongs to another file) previously displayed in the auto-completion box were converted by the corresponding Ersatz/Device (if defined).

           Besides the improved meaning of the displayed information, it fits better inside the box.

 

8)     Fix: DEFINES

           Some constants were not detected as a DEFINE if there are more than ten spaces between the constant name and the “=”.

 

9)     Editing: shortcuts (NEW)

           CTRL+[DEL] deletes a word from the current cursor position until the end of it;

           CTRL+[BACKSPACE]  deletes a word from the start of it until the current cursor position;

 

10) MAP: View structure

           An additional column was added to display the initial value if defined in the MAP statement.

 

11) DEFINE: List

           An additional column was added to display the constant value assigned in the DEFINE statement.

 

12) Environment: Performance (VERY IMPORTANT)

           A huge improvement in performance has been achieved with the redesign of the internal logic.

           A lot of internal updates were split into independent processes; with this, editing actions are allowed concurrently with those necessary internal updates.

           This means that, now, there are no latency periods when editing; some flickering could be noticed in the Includes/Map…Define… lists meaning that internal updates are taking place, but all the editing functions are available.

 

           On opening programs, the same logic was applied and reduced drastically the amount of time to have the file available for the programmer.  

           Depending on the complexity of program structure (Includes, MAP, DEFINE, Labels, …) could be more or less noticeable the “Red bar” displayed on the top of the opened file. This “Red bar” means the file is not yet ready for changes; it’s possible to scroll and search, but not edit the file; after all the internal updates finish, the “Red bar” is replaced by a “Green bar” (during five seconds) unblocking the file for editing.

 

 

Version 1.3.112.59: (7-July-2005)

 

1)     View MAP Structure

Referenced variables (@) has no influence on MAP size.

Variables of type F (for example MAP1 c,F) assumes size 6 like F,6.

 

2)     Project Explorer: Includes

           Find file now works with project included files.

           New wildcard statement allowed, DEVICE:[100,*]*.BAS or DEVICE:[*,1]*.MAP or both. (NEW)

 

3)     Source Includes

           Includes that were defined by a “$COPY maps” statement and not present in the same folder, weren’t visible in the Objects trees.

 

            

 

Version 1.3.112.58: (29-June-2005)

 

1)     Project Explorer: Includes (NEW)

A new option was added to Project Settings where you can define file scopes to include in the project. For example, you can add the scope *.BAS and all files with BAS extension in all project folders will be asked for inclusion.

Scopes like DSV:[200,1]*.BAS, BPI:*.BPI and SUB: are also supported.

Above Project Tree, a new button with a question mark is now available to define where include files are visible or not.

All include files are marked with a question mark.

If an include file is right-clicked, the option “Add do Project”  is now visible to make it permanently part of a project.

 

2)     View MAP Structure

           Viewing the structure of a MAP variable with level higher than 1 will always show the entire structure. For example, if you try to view the structure of a “MAP3 var,s,1” variable will show parent MAP2 and MAP1 variables. (NEW)

           Also, viewing the structure of a MAP1 c,b,4,@var variable will show both c and var structure. (NEW)

 

3)     Compile results

           F4 key will now move the cursor to the next error line. Shift-F4 will move to the previous error line. (NEW)

           If no error line is specified (for example, in a GOTO label error), a Find Results window will open with all the instances of the label. (NEW)

 

4)     Find in files

           Now, all includes and includes of includes are detected and used in the find process.

           Also when includes are not found, the search sequence is now applied.

 

5)     Simple mode

           Disabled some help lists in simple mode that were still enabled.

 

6)     Open File dialog

           Last selected device/ersatz is now saved.

            

7)     Find

           Checkboxes state is now saved.

            

8)     GUI

           Option File | Open | Recent… was moved to File | Startup Panel…

            

 

 

Version 1.3.111.57: (15-June-2005)

 

4)     $COPY (NEW)

           The $COPY statement was considered to work the same way as the ++INCLUDE statement with a few differences:

a)     Each $COPY filename statement is listed on the Includes Explorer (with a different font color of the “true” INCLUDES, and both can exist in a program);

b)     Clicking on a listed $COPY file opens it;

c)      If the file extension is not specified on the $COPY statement, CPY is considered by default;

d)     If the path to the file is not specified on the $COPY statement, the following search sequence is applied:

·         Same folder of the current program,

·         DEVICE:[Project,3] where, DEVICE and Project are the same of the current program,

·         DEVICE:[200,3] where, DEVICE is the same of the current program,

·         DEVICE:[1,13] where, DEVICE is the same of the current program,

·         The SUB: ersatz, that must be defined in the ERSATZ.INI currently in use.

           Finally, just to say this feature was added to allow the usage of the PROBAS (pre-compiler procedure).

 

5)     Project Explorer: Duplicate to (NEW)

           A new option was added into the context menu of the Project Explorer: “Duplicate to”.

           The basic under this new option are the same of the existing “Duplicate” option that, creates a copy of the selected file into the same folder adding “Copy of” to the beginning of the filename, except this new one allows changing the folder and filename.

           If the destination file already exists, the user is prompted to replace the existing file.

           After creating the duplicate, the user is prompted to open the new file.

           The duplicate is automatically added to the current Project (even if the destination folder doesn’t already exist in the Project).

 

6)     RUN (CTRL+F5)

           When executing the RUN option, if the current file is not compilable (defined by its extension), the Editor doesn’t execute the corresponding script.

           This is still true, but only if the %S% parameter is specified in the script (the %S% parameter is the resulting compiled file of the current file so, it must be compiled).

           This change makes sense when the RUN script in a Project always execute the same program.

 

7)     Publish (F8) saved tasks

           Now, the last executed task in the session is remembered on the next Publish and, if there is any previous task already executed, the default selected button is “Execute now” instead of the combo of the saved tasks.

 

8)     View MAP structure

           Now it’s possible to open simultaneously more than one MAP structure (accessible by the context menu over a variable).

           The structure windows are now modeless, that is, we can keep editing the program with the window(s) opened.

 

9)     Save as

           This option, besides listed on the top menu was not active; it is now.

            

 

 

Version 1.3.111.56: (7-June-2005)

 

1)     Fix: Replace

           The replace procedure was not working properly on lines with Tab’s; the searched string was found and removed, but the replace string was positioned a few columns to the right.

            

2)     Fix: Compiler setting

           The new “Enable compile” setting (released on the previous update), was not updating the Project settings based on the Default settings.

           This caused a program to not get compiled if opened individually (not included in a Project or using Editor Lite).

            

3)     Fix: Editing

           An error occurs when: Select all the text in a file; Delete all the text in a file; Copy text into an empty file, and a few other extreme cases; even some of the described cases were occurring only in some circumstances.

           These errors reappeared now, (a fix for this had been released some time ago)  because of the big changes on the internal structure.

            

4)     Environment  (NEW)

The goal here is to keep searching for better performance and versatility.

a)     The EXE file was split into smaller parts.

What was a single file containing everything needed to run the Editor, is now a collection of DLL’s and other small files.

b)     We made the display of the initial logo optional under: Tools | Options | User Information | Show Splash Screen; disabling it, a few more seconds are saved on Editors launch.

 

5)     Fonts and Colors settings

a)     The available colors for each setting are now based on a full color palette.

b)     It was added three new settings color customizable:

·         Current line (previously always Yellow),

·         Comment lines (previously always Gray),

·         Strings (previously always Green).

 

6)     Duplicates

           As described on a previous update, if the Editor detects duplicates (MAP,LABEL,…) a red exclamation mark is displayed on the corresponding list label and the duplicates listed in red.

           Now we added a button with the same red exclamation mark that is displayed when any duplicate is found.

           When this button is clicked, only the duplicates are listed on the corresponding list (a second click updates the lists with all values).

           After fix all the duplicates, the mentioned button is removed.

            

7)     Find in files

           A new option “Only one result per file” will list only one line for each file that has the searched string.

           Before, or with this checkbox unchecked, all the lines in a file where the searched string is found are listed.

            

8)     Fix: Zones

           An exception error occurred with operation involving Zones (Insert Map, Insert Version,…).   

            

9)     Update Centre

           It’s now possible to revert the Editor to the previous version after an update (considering the amount and kind of changes introduced on the last versions, we thought it would be advisable to include this feature).

           To do this, use the “Older version” button on the “Check for updates” option.

           Warning:  After clicking on the mentioned button, no confirmation is requested, the update just proceed.

            

 

 

Version 1.2.110.55: (31-May-2005)

 

1)     Fix: Block selection

           When selecting one block of code using the CTRL+Mouse Left-Click method, if the top and bottom corners were on different pages, when pressing the CTRL key, the cursor returns to the top corner position.

            

2)     Project Explorer:

           Added two new functions on the context menu:

a)     Collapse all

b)     Collapse others

           If the former shouldn’t cause any doubt, the second options is intended to collapse all the expanded levels except the current (where the context menu was opened).

 

3)     Includes Explorer:

           The object behind the Includes Explorer was changed to an improved one.

           With the new object we have a multi-level structure where the first level is always the current document and expanded by default.

           In the context menu for each list was added the Find option.

           The double-click was not working for variables (MAP)  to go to the line in the program where the corresponding MAP statement is.

           Adding to the above, with this new object the processing time was greatly improved.

 

4)     Update list: (NEW)

           This document is viewable from inside the Editor under: Help | Online Help | View Last Updates.

           We intend to include an option to open this document after an update finish.

 

5)     Editing: Clear (NEW)

It was added to the usual Copy/Paste/Cut/Delete editing functions the Clear function that clears the selected text without affecting the positions of the previous and following text.

 

6)     Fix: Save on exit

           When exiting the Editor, if there were opened files not saved, the message asking if the files are to be saved appear twice.

           Now, the filename regarding each message is also identified on the title bar.

 

7)     Recent files:

           The “Recent files” list was redesigned.

           On the first level of the list, the first item is always ALL containing the last 10 opened files, independently of its file extension.

           More items are added onto the first level of the list depending on the extensions of the last 10 opened files, one item by each different file extensions.

            

8)     Fix: Open files with new extensions

a)     When opening a file with an extension not yet defined in the Editor (System or Source), if Source was chosen, the file got updated on the “Others”  item in the “Recent files” list, the correct is to add a new item for the new extension, as it is now.

a)     After defining a new file extension if, without exiting the Editor’s session, other files with the same extension were open, the message asking about the type of extension to be considered, keeps appearing.

 

9)     Environment:

           Several internal processes were improved to make the Editor faster on opening and editing.

           Each process is now loaded just when needed.

 

10) Edit mode:

a)     Settings: (NEW) Under: Tools | Options | Editor | General, it’s possible to define the default editing mode when opening the Editor.

b)     Context menu: (NEW) It’s possible to toggle between “Simple” and “Advanced” editing mode using the context menu.

           For further details about this, read item 14) from the version 1.2.109.53 in this document.

 

11) Fix: Command line

           When opening a file using the “Command Line”, the variable %D% (to be used on compiling scripts) was not being correctly updated with the Device/PPN format.

 

12) Environment: Startup

           The startup panel is under redesign, but not finished yet.

           Some changes could be noticed, but on the next update a complete change will take effect. 

            

            

 

Version 1.2.109.54: (25-May-2005)

 

1)     Compile: (NEW)

a)     Script parameters; added the following:

·        %D% - folder of source file in the format of DEVICE/PPN format, e.g. DSK0:[7,6]

·        %S% - source filename, e.g. myprog.bas

a)     The new setting "Enable compiler”, if not ticked, disable the execution of the COMPIL.EXE

 

           Warning:

           After update to this version, to keep compiling as before, on each existing project, go to Project | Settings | Scripts and tick the “Enable compiler” field.

           Do the same in Tools | Options | Project | Default Settings to keep that for new projects.

 

 

Version 1.2.109.53: (24-May-2005)

 

1)     Documentation:

           Included an update for the Editor's help CHM file.

 

2)     Object Explorer: (NEW)

           If any, Variable (MAP), Constant (DEFINE) or Label is duplicated in the program, the corresponding Tab label displays a red exclamation sign, and the corresponding entries on that list are also displayed in red.

           To cover all the duplications in a program in this verification, the checkbox "All includes" must be ticked.

 

3)     A-Shell environment:

           On the top toolbar, two new buttons allow editing of the current MIAME and ERSATZ files.

           If any change is made there, using the Refresh button on the right of the mentioned buttons, the new settings are updated for the current session. If other sessions are open, using the Refresh button on each session make the changes available there too.

           With the inclusion of these new buttons, the toolbar was rearranged and split into two lines (leaving space for more buttons to be added in the future).

 

           Warning: It would not be advisable to make changes on ERSTAZ/DEVICES in use by any opened file or project.

            

4)     Fix: Recent Files

           The “Recent files” list was not being updated for created files, just when opening existing files.

 

5)     Fix: New File

           When creating a file with another file opened in the workspace, the new file was opening with zero lines and the content of the other file displayed inside of it.

 

6)     View Structure (for variables):

           The window was redesigned and considered a new column for relative positions of each variable in the structure (good when working with sub-strings).

 

7)     Fix: Comment Lines

           An error occurred when using CTRL+1 (default comment line) in a line with text finishing exactly on the same position of the Comment Column default.

 

8)     Fix: Undo

           Using Undo after some special Paste situations was causing an error.

 

9)     Command line: (NEW)

           The Editor has a new work area, where the programmer can use three sets of commands:

a)     A-Shell commands

b)     Windows / DOS commands

c)      Execute/Open any external file/program/URL.

 

           To open/close the Command line, just double-click CTRL; this will open at the bottom of the screen a split area for results and command prompt.

            

           The Editor will recognize all the basic A-Shell commands that do not need a real A-Shell session opened, some examples:

a)     LOG

b)     COPY

c)      RENAME

           that could be combined with the following switches:

a)     /nod or /nodelete

b)     /d or /delete

c)      /q or /query

           The devices/ersatz are recognized by the MIAME and ERSATZ files in use for the Editor.

            

           If the destination folder of a COPY command does not exist, optionally, it can be created on the fly.

            

           Type HELP to view the complete list of available commands.

 

           Any recognizable command by the Windows Execute, will run there too, like:

a)     ping

b)     netstat

c)      ipconfig

d)     notepad

           and, if added $ at the beginning or end of the command will keep the CMD window opened.

 

           Any recognizable file extension will open the corresponding program, like:

a)     www.microsabio.com (open the browser on the typed in website),

b)     c:\vm (open the Windows Explorer on the typed in folder),

c)      c:\my files\xpto.xls (open xpto.xls file on Excel).

 

           To repeat any previous command, Up/Down arrow scrolls the list.

 

           As an aside, many of the commands covered here, can be used on the already available scripts and publish features of the Editor, but the idea was to make it more versatile and powerful.

 

           This Command Line will be improved with new features in the future, and after add a few more options, a more detailed help will be available.

 

10) "Find in files":

           A drop-down list was added to the field for the search string to save the previous search strings.

 

11) Settings: (NEW)

           The yellow bar displayed in the current editing line can be disabled under: Tools | Options | General (Enable current line different color)

 

12) Project Explorer:

a)     "Remove" and "Project Settings" buttons was removed. The Remove (file from Project) option can be done using the context menu over the file to remove, and the Project Settings can be accessed using the corresponding button in the top toolbar

b)     The "Notes" button was moved to the top of the Project Explorer

c)      (NEW) With the above changes, was possible to include at the bottom of the Project Explorer an input field to Find files in the opened project. The search allows wildcards and pops up a window with the results. Clicking in one of the files from that list opens the file. Since the last search is kept in the field, after opening one file, if we click on the Find button, the results list pops up again and we can select another file.

d)     (NEW) "Find in files" in the context menu. The scope for the find is predefined accordingly to the right-click position (folder or file).

 

13) Fix: Replace

a)     Wasn't allowing strings to be replaced by an empty string.

b)     In some cases, the string to be replaced wasn't replaced properly if exists more than once in the same line.

 

14) Open "simple mode" file: (NEW)

           An optional simple mode to open files was considered. Using Shift+Double-Click or Shift+Enter to open a file, it will be faster to open because the detection of Map's, Define's,Label's,... are deactivated.

           The switch /s for open/vue commands in the new Command Line described above will also consider "simple mode".

 

           After opening a file in "simple mode", it's possible to change to "advanced mode" clicking on the yellow top bar (if the current program has a lot of includes, variables,..., to be updated, just wait until everything is displayed on the screen, by now, there is nothing showing the progress of the update process).

 

           This is just a first version of this feature that will be improved on the next days, but we thought it would be interesting to make it available as it is. 

 

15) Compiler: Version 1.1.299

a)     Fix: A defined symbol with a trailing $ was not always getting recognized.

b)     Fix: Mapping a variable DEBUG was not disabling the new DEBUG keyword.

 

 

Version 1.2.107.52: (12-May-2005)

 

1)     Open File:

a)     Remembers previous selected checkboxes for display Ersatz, Devices

b)     Opens the dialog in the same position on the screen where was previously closed.

 

2)     Find:

a)     Saves the list of the recent searched strings.

b)     Remembers the size of the last used "results window"

 

 

Version 1.1.107.51: (12-May-2005)

 

1)     Fix: Editing

           As mentioned on the previous update list, TAB was not working for empty lines.

 

2)     Fix: Environment

           Additional fixes on painting issues (when font size less than 16, the space between rows was not painted correctly).

 

3)     Fix: Settings

a)     Dialog didn't close on OK/Cancel (needs an extra click on the workspace).

b)     New font settings were applied only after closing and reopen the Editor.

 

4)     Temporary comments column (detailed in 1.1.106.50): (NEW)

           A second button was added to reset the column for the one defined under Project settings.

           Now, the current defined Comments Column is displayed on the right of the bottom status line.

 

 

Version 1.1.107.50: (11-May-2005)

 

1)     Fix/Improvement: Environment

           In some cases, "SBX help" and "Workspace" were not displayed correctly (missing parts or garbage), also some extra flickering occurs.

           The process itself was improved making it faster. 

 

 

Version 1.1.106.50: (11-May-2005)

 

1)     Temporary comments column: (NEW)

           A new button at the top toolbar (on the right of the Comment button) allows the programmer to define the current cursor position as the current column for comments that will be considered instead of the setting defined under the Project settings and will be valid only for the current session of the Editor.

 

 

Version 1.1.106.49: (11-May-2005)

 

1)     Message Centre:

           Automatically inserts on the message the Editor and Compiler versions.

 

2)     Recent files: (NEW)

           For each file extension defined for the Editor, plus "Other" (extensions), is kept a list for the last 10 opened files.

           You can find this list under the File option in the top menu.

 

3)     Project Explorer: (NEW)

           Added a new option "Expand All" in the context menu that works for each level and corresponding sub-levels.

 

 

Version 1.1.106.48: (11-May-2005)

 

1)     Update Centre:

           Creates the update.log (text file) in the Editor's installation folder with the trace of the update process.

 

2)     Fix: Redo

           Wasn't working properly for Copy/Paste sequences.

 

 

Version 1.1.106.47: (9-May-2005)

 

1)     Environment:

           Hitting [Home] in a line moves the cursor to the first character instead of the first column. This means that we need to hit 2x[Home] to go to the first column.

 

2)     Comment Lines: (NEW)

           CTRL+SHIFT+[1], improves the existent CTRL+[1] shortcut adding the ability to move an existent comment in a line to the predefined "comments column" (for further details about CTRL+[1], read item 7) on the updates for 1.1.106.46 version).

 

3)     Fix: Environment

           Using [AltGr]+"0" or “1” was conflicting with Tab character.

 

4)     Fix: Environment

           Removed the Tab character from "compile errors" list.

 

5)     Environment:

           When inserting a line (using [Enter]), the cursor position in the new line is kept from the previous line if, before that position there are no text.

           Examples: