Styler/2 version 1.7.4

What's new in Styler/2 version 1.7.4

[Updated 05 December 2003]

Support
Features and bug fixes
GRADD based video drivers problems
Installation
Registration

Support

To get support send an email to Alessandro Cantatore ( acantatore@tin.it or alscant@libero.it) or visit the author homepage to read the latest news about Styler/2 and the other programs by Alessandro Cantatore.

Features and bug fixes

Version 1.7.4
- Now it is possible to use bitmaps of any size for the frame controls (i.e. maximize, minimize, close buttons etc.).
  I provided a sample set of frame control bitmaps for XGA or better resolution (win9x-s.bmp) which are 18x22 rather than 22x22 pixels (with the exception of the system menu which is 24x22 pixels).
  Notes:
  1. this new feature doesn't work correctly with windows based on the Odin library. The problem will be corrected in the near future.
  2. the titlebar preview, in the Styler/2 preferences program, cannot display correctly custom size bitmaps.
- The Roll/unroll all windows and Hide/unhide all windows functions, previously available only via hot key, can now be executed by opening the corresponding icons created by the Styler/2 installer.
  The objects icon can be dragged onto the Launchpad/WarpCenter/xCenter/eCenter to roll/unroll or hide/show all windows with a simple mouse click.
- Usually the installer asks for confirmation before overwriting a bitmap file if it is newer then the file beeing installed.
  This is useful only if you modified the original bitmaps. Overwriting does not affect new bitmaps you created, with a different name, in the application subdirectories.
  To exclude the overwrite prompt open a command window in the path where you unzipped the distribution package and type:
  SET STLROVERWRITE=YES<enter>
  then:
  INSTALL<enter>
- In some particular cases, in Warp 3, the frame controls were not displayed in the correct order.
- Frame windows based on the Odin libraries now respect the position of the close button with the exception of the left position option (which currently does not work in any kind of window).
- Various other minor bugs have been corrected.
Version 1.7.3
- Styler/2 is now distributed in two separated packages: one for installation on Warp 3 and another for installation on Warp version 4 or greater (MCP or eCS).
- Improved compatibility with Odin based applications (in some cases Styler/2 enhancements were not correctly applied).
- Drop down lists enhancement: press the left mouse button on the entry field part of a drop down list, then move the mouse down without releasing the mouse button, the listbox appears and you can directly select an item by moving the mouse and releasing the button.
- Documentation of all the Styler/2 programs now is in OS/2 HELP format.
Version 1.7.2
- Mouse motion events were causing SYS3175 exceptions when the option "Allow vertical resizing of rolled windows" (Window rolling page) was disabled or when the option "Don't allow sizing" (Maximized windows page) was enabled.
- In the preferences notebook, the "Default" checkbox of the image selection dialog was not working properly.
- Titlebar and window controls enhancements (minimize/maximize buttons) were not applied to all the windows based on the Odin libraries.
- Redundant and obsolete code has been removed from the procedures of the frame, titlebar and menu windows, with a small improvement in speed and resources usage.
- The "Snap windows to the screen edges" feature has been extended to secondary windows: in a multidocument interface application (for instance VIEW.EXE or Embellish) you can now snap secondary windows to the edges of the container window.
Version 1.7.1
- Clipboard operations via mouse shortcuts stopped to work in VIO windows if, while marking, the Ctrl key was released before the mouse button.
- Some programs listed in the mouse exceptions crashed with a SYS3175 exception as soon as the mouse moved on a program window.
- The preferences program, in some cases, wrongly wrote updated settings to OS2.INI rather than to SMARTWIN.INI.
- In the preferences program, the dialog showing the settings of the close-window titlebar button, was not displaying the correct text in the dropdown list used to select the button position.
- Avoided some system hangs with applications using Odin libraries (e.g. innotek java 1.4 and innotek adobe acrobat 4).
- The preferences program failed to properly save new titlebar settings when multiple titlebar/titlebar-button images were applied at once.
Version 1.7.0
- Styler/2 has been completely rewritten.
- Now Styler/2 works correctly with Connectix Virtual PC and hopefully with other applications based on the Odin libraries.
  Currently the Window rolling and Titlebar hiding features have been disabled for windows relying on those libraries.
- Most limitations regarding bitmap formats have been removed.
  Now any kind of OS/2 bitmap is valid provided that its size does not exceed 64 KBs.
- Thanks to an undocumented OS/2 API, now Styler/2 shares the same bitmap resources among all the system processes.
  This provides a small increment in speed (when starting a new process) and a large decrease in resource usage (when a lot of processes are running).
- Titlebar gradients use much less memory and are displayed much faster as they are converted to shared bitmaps and then stretched as needed.
- The titlebar sample in the preferences notebook correctly shows centered text when the Center option is selected.
- When a mouse button is pressed on the window border now the window correctly receive the focus.
- Some new bitmaps for the titlebars and the window controls have been added.

GRADD based video drivers problems

If you select to use a shade as titlebar background and are using a GRADD based video driver you might get uncorrectly painted titlebars.
That is due to a buggy version of the SOFTDRAW.DLL file (with an older date than 2001/01/23). Please check if this updated version of SOFTDRAW.DLL solves your problems.

Installation

Styler/2 1.7 uses a different INI file (with some new items).
If the installer detects a previous INI file, it migrates it to the new format.

The files SMARTWIN.160 and STYLER20.160 have been renamed SMARTWIN.170 and STYLER20.170.

Registration

Registering Styler/2 is easy. Order from Mensys or directly from the program author, with your choice of several payment methods.

Ordering from Mensys
Mensys offers convenient online shopping from anywhere in the world. When you order from Mensys, the Styler/2 registration prices are
- 19 Euro for an Ordinary License and
- 23 Euro for an Advanced License.
Ordering directly from the program author
- a Styler/2 version 1.0 Ordinary License costs 17 EURO while
- a Styler/2 Advanced License costs 20 EURO.
If you order from Italy you must add I.V.A. (20 %).
It looks like in future V.A.T. will be required also for purchases from other European countries belonging to the EC. Please ask before ordering.
In this case you can pay by sending an international money order to the author's address:
You can send payment through the Post Office if you reside in one of the following countries:
Algeria, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, United Kingdom, Luxemburg, Norway, Holland, Italy, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, or Tunisia.
Credit the due amount directly to the author's current Postal Account:
Note: Ask for informations at any Post Office in your country for more details on this method of payment.