Mesa 2 (tm) Spreadsheet for OS/2 from Sundial Systems Release Notes (README.TXT) for Version 2.3 May 2000 Thank you for trying Version 2.3 of Mesa 2 for OS/2. This file contains information which became available after the printed materials went to press as well as other key information to help you get started. What is Version 2.3? Version 2.3 represents another step in the refinement of Mesa 2. It features major enhancements to the real-time feed system as well as a host of other new features and improvements. The details can be found in the "What's New In Version 2.3" section of the on-line documentation. To make full use of Mesa 2, you need a valid license number and access code (otherwise Mesa 2 will run in demonstration mode). License numbers issued for Version 2.2 and higher will work with Version 2.3; license numbers for earlier versions will not. Installation To install Mesa 2, just run the Install program provided with the package and follow the instructions. If you received the package electronically, and need to install from diskettes, you can use the MAKEDSKS command file (included in the package) to create the diskettes. (Two formatted disks are required.) You may install this version in its own directory or over any earlier Mesa 2 version. The installation process will not ask for a Mesa 2 license number. However, each time you run Mesa 2, you will be given a chance to enter your license number and access code unless you have already done so. If you need to uninstall Mesa 2 at some later time, use the Uninstall program in the Mesa 2 folder. Alternatively, you can also uninstall from your distribution media by opening a command window, changing to the directory containing the original installation files, and typing: uinstall (That's not a typographical error, it is "uinstall", not "uninstall".) OS/2, Presentation Manager, and Workplace Shell Compatibility: Mesa 2 is designed specifically for use with OS/2 Warp and the Workplace Shell. This includes all of the following releases: OS/2 Warp Server for e-Business "General Availability" release OS/2 Warp 4 "General Availability" release OS/2 Warp Server "General Availability" release OS/2 Warp Connect "Red Box" (for use with Windows) release "Blue Box" (with Win-OS2) release OS/2 Warp (OS/2 Version 3) "Red Box" (for use with Windows) release "Full Pack" (with Win-OS2) release Most "FixPak" levels of OS/2 Warp, Warp Connect, and Warp Server have also been tested. Mesa 2 should also continue to work with OS/2 2.1 (subject to some limitations) but this is no longer officially supported. Documentation Notes Version 2.3 comes with both on-line and printed documentation. The printed documentation consists of the Mesa 2 Version 2 User's Guide plus the User's Guide Supplement for Version 2.3. While the Supplement covers most features which have been added or changed since the User's Guide was printed, please be aware that some things in the User's Guide may no longer apply. In particular, also note: * All references to Athena Design, the original designers of Mesa 2, should be ignored. All support and continued development of Mesa 2 is provided by Sundial Systems. * Most screen shots no longer reflect the exact look of the product. * Most toolbar icons have changed and many other toolbar options have been added. The exact form of the toolbars on your system may vary since they can be extensively customized. * Some menu options may have changed names (or, in a small number of cases, been eliminated). Also note that since Mesa 2 menus can be customized, the exact form of the menus on your system may be different than shown. * Some shortcut keys may reflect alternative options from those which appear in the current Mesa 2 menus. In general, these are cases where Mesa 2 supports multiple shortcuts for the same function (or situations where the shortcuts have been customized). In general, you should consult the on-line documentation for the most complete and current coverage of all of Mesa 2's features and functions. Limitations Listed below are some known limitations which may impact your use of the current version of Mesa 2. * In rare circumstances, when you reinstall the product the icons may be temporarily missing from some or all of the Palette objects in the Mesa 2 folder. They will generally reappear once you shutdown and reboot your system. If the problem persists, reinstall the product again and choose the Force Object (Re-)creation option in the installation program. * Under some circumstances, certain operations (including copying data to the clipboard and customizing the toolbars) will stop working after frequent, repeated use. This is due to a problem in the graphics processing at some earlier FixPak levels of Warp 3 and Warp 4. The problem is known to be present in Warp 3 FixPaks 17 through 30 as well as in Warp 4 GA (no FixPak) and Warp 4 FixPak 1. When and if the problem appears, exiting and restarting Mesa 2 will temporarily resolve it. However, the problem will now reappear sooner than it did the last time. Repeating this process enough times eventually requires the system to be rebooted. The only way to completely avoid the problem is to move to a later FixPak level (at least FixPak 31 for Warp 3 or FixPak 2 for Warp 4) in which IBM has corrected the problem. * In some cases, if you run Mesa 2 from the command line and then exit from the program, you may find that your command line window will no longer accept keystrokes. It may also occur in an ordinary command line window when you run Mesa 2 from the desktop if that command line window happens to be immediately "under" Mesa (without any other windows in between) when you exit from the program. This problem is known to occur on some systems with Warp 4 GA (no FixPak) installed. It may also exist with some other FixPak levels of Warp 3 or Warp 4. More recent FixPak levels (such as FixPak 5 or higher for Warp 4) have solved the problem. If the problem occurs, you should close the command window. * There is a known problem with OS/2 Warp 3 FixPak 17 and Mesa 2 such that when Mesa 2 is open, windows won't come to the front when activated. This is corrected in later FixPaks. * There have been reports of SYS0147 problems when exiting from Mesa 2 on OS/2 Warp 3 with FixPak 17 installed. If this happens, do not attempt to restart Mesa 2 without shutting down the system. * If you have multiple versions of Mesa 2 installed on your system, you may see a SYS2070 error when you try to run one version or the other. Similar problems may also occur if an older version was not completely removed from your system. While newer versions of Mesa 2 have been designed to avoid this problem, the conflict cannot always be automatically avoided when an older version (typically, 2.0.4 or earlier) is involved. Almost always, this is caused by a LIBPATH conflict between the different directories involved. The general solution is to be sure the LIBPATH statement in your CONFIG.SYS file contains ".;" before any "\MESA;", "\MESA\DLL;" "\MESA2;", "\MESA2\DLL", or similar entries related to previous Mesa 2 installations. This resolves most such conflicts. If this solution does not work or doesn't apply to your situation, please contact technical support for further assistance. Be sure to include information on the versions involved, and be prepared to supply a copy of your LIBPATH information. * Some OS/2 enhancement utilities reserve (or remap) particular key combinations for their own use no matter what program is running. For instance, Process Commander "remaps" the traditional Ctrl+Alt+Del system reboot sequence for its use and then assigns Ctrl+Alt+Esc to the system reboot sequence. You should not try to assign these "enhanced" system-wide key combinations to command or script shortcuts in Mesa 2. Otherwise, unpredictable results are likely to occur. * Due to changes over time in the way OS/2 treats the numeric keypad on various keyboard designs, not all shortcut key combinations involving keys on the numeric keypad may work on all versions of OS/2. For instance, while Shift+Ins is defined as a shortcut for Paste, it may work when using the ordinary Ins key but not work using the Ins key on the numeric keypad in some circumstances. Turning on NumLock may help with some keyboards. Similarly, you may find it necessary on some keyboards with some OS/2 FixPak levels to turn on NumLock to be able to enter numeric data using the numeric keypad (rather than trying to use the Shift key). The Legal Fine Print Mesa is a trademark of Athena Design, Inc., and is used by Sundial Systems Corporation under license. Other phrases used herein may be brand names, trademarks, or registered trademarks of Athena Design, Inc., Corel Corporation, Lotus Development Corporation, IBM Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Sundial Systems Corporation, or others. All such names and trademarks remain the property of their respective companies. Technical Support We at Sundial Systems are committed to supporting you, our customer. If you have a License Number for the product, you are entitled to full technical support by any of the means listed below (or in the on-line documentation). If you are using the product as a Working Model or demonstration without a License Number, we will be happy to try to answer your questions on a limited basis. If you have questions or suggestions, the most effective way to contact us is by email to mesa@sundialsystems.com. You can also visit us on the web at www.sundialsystems.com where you will find information about Mesa as well as other members of the Sundial Systems family of OS/2 products. That's also the best place to find out about updates and other enhancements as they become available. You can also call us at (562) 596-5121 between 9:00 AM and 4:30 PM Pacific time, Monday through Friday. We can't guarantee the immediate availability of support personnel at all times, but all calls are handled as quickly as possible. You can also FAX your questions and comments to us at (562) 596-7825 at any time. We track all questions, comments, "bug reports", and other feedback concerning our products and use this information in planning future releases. If there are features you particularly like or things you think should be added to our products, please let us know. Thanks in advance, Sundial Systems Support Services