Compaq DECwindows Motif
for OpenVMS
Release Notes


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2.2.3.3 Viewing TIF Files with dximageview

V1.2--4

When using dximageview to view TIF formatted files from the CDE$SYSTEM_DEFAULTS:[APPCONFIG.HELP.C.GRAPHICS] directory, the following warning messages are displayed:


TIFFOpen: Warning, unknown field with tag 34209 (0x85a1) ignored. 
TIFFOpen: XResolution: Rational with zero denominator (num = 200). 

Note this error only occurs with the TIF files in CDE$SYSTEM_DEFAULTS:[APPCONFIG.HELP.C.GRAPHICS]; it is only a warning. The file is still displayed correctly by the image viewer.

2.2.3.4 Text Editor Supports Standalone Mode Only

V1.2--4

The reference page for Text Editor describes a client/server implementation of the Text Editor. This release of the Text Editor supports the -"standAlone" option only and is not built as a client/server application.

2.2.3.5 Text Editor Does Not Support Spell Checking

V1.2--4

The Text Editor application, which is part of the New Desktop, is described in Chapter 10 of the Common Desktop Environment: User's Guide. The spell-checking function described in the section "To Correct Misspelled Words" is not implemented in this version of the Text Editor.

2.2.3.6 Text Editor Tab Width is Larger Than Eight Characters

V1.2--4

The Text Widget upon which the New Desktop Text Editor is based does not set the size of a tab to exactly the width of eight (8) characters; it is usually slightly larger. When displaying text with a combination of spaces and tabs, text may not appear vertically aligned.

2.2.3.7 File Names Displayed in UNIX Format

V1.2--4

In the Application Manager Find dialog box and in error messages reported by the Help Viewer, file names are displayed in UNIX format rather than in standard OpenVMS format. For example, SYS$SYSROOT:[SYSMGR]LOGIN.COM appears as /sys$sysroot/sysmgr/login.com.

2.2.3.8 Delay When Exiting a Session with Open TPU Windows

V1.2--4

Users will experience a one-minute delay for each DECwindows Text Processing utility (TPU) window displayed when exiting the session or when saving a home session.

The DECwindows interface for TPU (EVE editor) requires notification if its state needs to be saved, but it does not respond to that notification sent by Session Manager. The New Desktop Session Manager waits one minute for a response before continuing, resulting in the delay.

2.2.3.9 Front Panel Clock is an Icon Only

V1.2--4

The New Desktop Front Panel Clock is an animated icon that displays the current system time using an analog display. The icon has no other function and does not support single-click or double-click operations.

2.2.3.10 ToolTalk Actions Not Supported

V1.2--4

Creation of ToolTalk Action definitions in the Action Definition files (*.dt) as described in the Common Desktop Environment: Advanced User's and System Administrator's Guide is not supported. Although some ToolTalk actions exist in the Action Definition files installed with this product, modification of these actions is not supported and could cause some New Desktop functions to fail.

2.2.3.11 Session Manager Save/Restore Limitations

V1.2--4

The Session Manager supplied with the New Desktop supports the WM_SAVE_YOURSELF protocol for the following DECwindows applications: Bookreader, DECterm, and Calendar. Applications that have been written to take advantage of this protocol can:

The New Desktop applications support save/restore, but many existing DECwindows Motif applications have not been modified to support the WM_SAVE_YOURSELF protocol.

The impact of this difference between existing and new applications can be seen during a logout/login sequence as follows:

An example of an existing DECwindows Motif application that supports save/restore is DECwindows Mail.

2.2.3.12 File Manager Limitations

V1.2--4

The File Manager application has the following limitations:

2.2.3.13 Login and Pause Screen Text Field Restrictions

V1.2--4

The following sections provide information about the Login Screen and Pause Screen text fields.

2.2.3.13.1 Control Characters Not Recognized When Entering Username

The New Desktop does not support entering control characters in the login Username text field. If entered, these characters are discarded. This differs from the DECwindows login Username text field which supports such key sequences as:

The New Desktop does support Ctrl/U, which when typed while entering a password at login or when unpausing the screen, erases any characters entered up to that point.

2.2.3.13.2 Return Key Used to Move Between Login Text Fields

Because the Username text field and Password text field are different dialog boxes in the New Desktop, press the Return key to move the cursor from the Username text field to the Password text field. The Tab key does not move the cursor to the next text field; rather, this action highlights the OK button.

2.2.3.13.3 First Character Discarded When Entering Pause Screen Password

If the workstation is paused and the Password dialog box is not displayed, the first character typed is ignored. This differs from the DECwindows pause screen, which always accepts any characters typed.

When using the New Desktop, use a nontyping key, such as Shift, or move the mouse to redisplay the Pause dialog box before entering your password. If you are unsure of what you have already typed, you can use Ctrl/U to erase the Password text field.

2.2.3.13.4 Text on the Welcome Screen is Not Displayed

If the 100-dpi fonts are not included in the X server's font path, the welcome text is not displayed on the blue welcome screen that appears immediately after logging in. This may also occur if you are displaying your session on a remote X server.

2.2.3.14 Using SET DISPLAY/CREATE in DECterm Windows

V1.2--4

From a privileged account, if you use the SET DISPLAY command from within a DECterm window without the /CREATE qualifier, it changes the display used for any application created from that point forward. It also redefines the display on which the login box appears after logging out.

Always use the /CREATE qualifier when setting the display from a DECterm if you have not set the display already.

2.2.3.15 Font Selection Limitations

V1.2--4

On the New Desktop, Style Manager contains a control that displays a dialog box used to select font size. Selecting a new font size affects only New Desktop applications and does not affect existing DECwindows Motif applications.

2.2.3.16 Default Workspace Limitations

V1.2--4

The New Desktop provides a default backdrop for the four default workspaces. You can change or even select Nobackdrop using the Backdrop control located in Style Manager.

When no backdrop is selected, you cannot drag icons and place them on the backdrop of the desktop. If you drag an icon and release it, it snaps back to File Manager or Application Manager.

Icons that were dropped on the background before Nobackdrop was selected remain and function correctly.

2.2.3.17 Alt + Space Key Does Not Post the Window Menu

V1.2--4

The New Desktop maps the key binding Alt+space key to the Compose Character function by default. This provides a method for character composition on keyboards which do not supply a specific Compose Character key. To use this feature, follow these steps:

  1. Copy CDE$SYSTEM_DEFAULTS:[CONFIG.lang]SYS.DTWMRC to DISK$:[LOGIN.DT]DTWMRC.DAT.
  2. In the Keys DtKeyBindings section, uncomment the following line:


    Alt<Key>space   icon|window   f.post_wmenu 
    

  3. Restart the Workspace Manager.

2.3 Traditional DECwindows Desktop Environment

This section contains release notes that pertain to the traditional DECwindows Desktop environment only.

2.3.1 Problems and Restrictions

The following notes describe known problems and restrictions that currently exist in the traditional DECwindows Desktop environment.

2.3.1.1 Alt + Space Key Does Not Post the Window Menu

V1.2--4

DECwindows Motif maps the key binding Alt+space key to the Compose Character function by default. This provides a method for character composition on keyboards which do not supply a specific Compose Character key. To use this feature, follow these steps:

  1. Copy DECW$SYSTEM_DEFAULTS:DECW$MWM_RC.DAT to DECW$USER_DEFAULTS:DECW$MWM_RC.DAT.
  2. In the Keys DtKeyBindings section, uncomment the line:


    Alt<Key>space   icon|window   f.post_wmenu 
    

  3. Restart the Window Manager.

2.4 Bookreader

This section contains release notes pertaining to the Bookreader application.

2.4.1 Changes and Enhancements

The following notes describe changes and enhancements made to the Bookreader application.

2.4.1.1 Bookreader Printing Improved

V1.2--4

The Bookreader application allows only draft-quality printing for books or topics. However, the Bookreader print function has been improved to eliminate such problems as missing lines and words, figures being overwritten by text, and poor leading of lines.

2.4.2 Corrections

The following notes describe the resolution of problems that previously resulted in an error or required a workaround.

2.4.2.1 Last Login State Properly Restored (New Desktop Only)

V1.2--6

Each time you start a New Desktop session, Bookreader remembers and properly restores its application state as it existed during your most recent New Desktop session. Previously, the application state and its position on the desktop was only partially restored.

2.4.2.2 Can Open DECW$BOOK Files Directly from FileView (Alpha Only)

V1.2--6

Highlighting a Bookreader filename (.DECW$BOOK) in FileView and then starting Bookreader from the Applications menu now opens and displays the specified book.

Previously, only the main Bookreader window was displayed containing the default library. Note that this problem existed on the OpenVMS Alpha platform only.

2.4.2.3 Can Specify DECW$BOOKSHELF Files with Blank Lines

V1.2--6

Bookreader allows you to select and open DECW$BOOKSHELF files that contain either a blank line or that are not terminated by a front slash (\). The parsing of DECW$BOOKSHELF files has been improved so that this action no longer results in an access violation.

2.4.3 Problems and Restrictions

The following notes describe problems and restrictions that currently pertain to the Bookreader application.

2.4.3.1 Support for Display PostScript Removed

V1.2--6

With the removal of the support for Display PostScript from the current version of DECwindows Motif, Bookreader no longer supports the display of PostScript artwork in online manuals. When Bookreader detects PostScript artwork, it displays a full-size figure window with an large "X" overlayed with an error message box containing the following message:


Unable to display PostScript(R) graphic. 
This feature is no longer available. 

There is no workaround.

2.4.3.2 Including Comment Characters in the DECW$BOOKSHELF File

V1.2--3

If you include a comment character (! or #) in the last line of the DECW$BOOKSHELF file, Bookreader fails with a reserved operand fault. As a workaround, ensure that you do not add comment characters to the last line of the file.

2.5 CDA

V1.2

This section contains release notes that pertain to the Compound Document Architecture (CDA) Run-Time Services and CDA Viewer components of DECwindows Motif.

2.5.1 Changes and Enhancements

The following notes describe changes and enhancements made to the the CDA Run-Time Services and CDA Viewer application.

2.5.1.1 Dynamic Font Support

V1.2

As well as supporting a static-table for the fonts supported by the DECfonts Typeface Collection Version 1.2, this version of CDA Run-Time Services includes support for dynamic font lookup. This enables the CDA Viewer to use new fonts as they are installed on the system.

Dynamic font support is implemented using the WRITE$FONTS.INI file, which you can maintain using the Font utility provided with either DECwrite or DECpresent. If a document contains a font not found in the static tables, the CDA Viewer tries to open the WRITE$FONTS.INI file and search for the font. If the font is not found or if the system does not contain a WRITE$FONTS.INI file, the viewer uses a fallback font.

2.5.1.2 WRITE$FONTS Logical Name

V1.2

The default location for the WRITE$FONTS.INI file is SYS$LIBRARY, but, if the logical name WRITE$FONTS is defined, the CDA Viewer uses the logical name definition to search for the WRITE$FONTS.INI file.

Full path support is included, so any of the following definitions are valid:
WRITE$FONTS Logical Name Resulting File
Undefined SYS$LIBRARY:WRITE$FONTS.INI
DISK:[DIRECTORY] DISK:[DIRECTORY]WRITE$FONTS.INI
SYS$LOGIN: SYS$LOGIN:WRITE$FONTS.INI
.TMP SYS$LIBRARY:WRITE$FONTS.TMP
DISK:[DIRECTORY]FILE DISK:[DIRECTORY]FILE.INI

2.5.1.3 Enhanced Display Performance

V1.2

The current version of CDA Run-Time Services includes a performance enhancement that decreases the time it takes to display the first page of a CDA document. Other applications that use the CDA Viewer to view documents (for example, DECwindows Mail) also benefit from this enhancement.

The CDA Viewer enables this performance enhancement feature by default. You can disable the feature as follows:


$ DEFINE CDA_QUICK_FIRST_PAGE FALSE

The CDA Viewer might not display some documents correctly when this feature is enabled. If you encounter such a problem, disable the feature and invoke the CDA Viewer again.

2.5.1.4 Pack and Unpack Applications

V1.2

CDA Run-Time Services includes two standalone applications that can be used for transferring CDA documents across a network. The CDA Pack application packages a CDA document along with all of its externally referenced files into a single file that can be copied between systems or mailed to other users. The CDA Unpack application reads a file that is packaged by the CDA Pack application and creates a copy of the original document file and all its externally referenced files.

These applications allow you to copy CDA documents between systems without copying externally referenced files separately or correcting external file reference information after copying documents.

To use these applications, add the following lines to your LOGIN.COM file (or add the lines to the SYS$MANAGER:SYLOGIN.COM file):


$ PACK == "$SYS$SYSTEM:CDA$PACK.EXE" 
$ UNPACK == "$SYS$SYSTEM:CDA$UNPACK.EXE" 

These lines enable you to use the symbols PACK and UNPACK to invoke the Pack and Unpack applications, respectively.

2.5.1.4.1 Pack Application Syntax

The CDA Pack application creates a single output file that contains the contents of a .DDIF or .DTIF input file. The single output file also includes the files that are referenced by the .DDIF or .DTIF input file.

The format of the PACK command is as follows:


$ PACK input-file-spec output-file-spec

The following sections explain the format of the PACK command.

input-file-spec

Specifies the name of the primary .DDIF or .DTIF input file.

output-file-spec

Specifies the name of the output file that is created by the PACK application. If you do not specify a device or directory, the output file is created in the current default directory.

Qualifiers:

/[NO]SKIP_MISSING

Controls whether the Pack application continues processing if it cannot find one or more of the files that are listed as external references in the input file. The names of any missing files are sent to SYS$ERROR when the Pack application is completed. If you specify /NOSKIP_MISSING, the Pack application does not create an output file if any of the externally referenced files are missing. The default is /SKIP_MISSING.

/[NO]CONTROLLED_COPY

Controls whether the output file includes only those external references that specify COPY_REFERENCE as the value of the ERF_CONTROL item in the input file. If you specify /NOCONTROLLED_COPY, the Pack application includes all referenced files, regardless of the value of the ERF_CONTROL item. The default is /NOCONTROLLED_COPY.

/ALWAYS_ENCODE

Controls whether an output file is created when there are no external references in the input file, or if none of the externally referenced files are found. The default is not to create an output file in these cases. If an output file is not created for these reasons, the Pack application returns the CDA_W_NOOUTFIL status code.

For example:


$ PACK MYFILE.DDIF TEST.PACK

2.5.1.4.2 Unpack Application Syntax

The CDA Unpack application unpacks an input file created by the Pack application. The output files are the .DDIF or .DTIF file that is packed by the Pack application, as well as a file for each external reference in the .DDIF or .DTIF file. The Unpack application sends a list of created files to SYS$ERROR.

The format of the UNPACK command is as follows:


$ UNPACK input-file-spec

The following sections explain the format of the UNPACK command.

input-file-spec

Specifies the name of the input file that is created by the Pack application.

Qualifier:

/OUTPUT=output-file-spec

Specifies the file name and location of the files created by the Unpack application.

If you specify an output file name without a directory name, the Unpack application creates the main .DDIF or .DTIF file with the file name you specify in the current default directory. It also creates all externally referenced files in the current default directory.

If you specify a directory name without a file name, the Unpack application creates the main .DDIF or .DTIF file and all externally referenced files in the specified directory. The main .DDIF or .DTIF file has the same name as the file packed by the Pack application.

If you specify a directory name and a file name, the Unpack application creates the main .DDIF or .DTIF file and all the externally referenced files, in the specified directory. The main .DDIF or .DTIF file has the file name you specify.

For example:


$ UNPACK TEST.PACK
Output file DISK$:[SMITH]MYFILE.DDIF created. 
Output file DISK$:[SMITH]FIGURE_1.DDIF created. 
 
$ UNPACK TEST.PACK/OUTPUT=[SMITH.UNPACK]
Output file DISK$:[SMITH.UNPACK]MYFILE.DDIF created. 
Output file DISK$:[SMITH.UNPACK]FIGURE_1.DDIF created. 
 
$ UNPACK TEST.PACK/OUTPUT=[SMITH.UNPACK]NEW_FILE.DDIF
Output file DISK$:[SMITH.UNPACK]MYFILE.DDIF renamed NEW_FILE.DDIF 
Output file DISK$:[SMITH.UNPACK]FIGURE_1.DDIF created.


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