Release notes for VARKON version 1.16A

A minor bug in the MBS-routine cur_comp() has been corrected.

A minor bug in the MBS-routine add_mbs() has been corrected.

Max width of list windows has been increased from 80 characters to 132.

VARKON now supports inclusion of two different ini-files at startup. This feature can be used to load an application specific ini-file "on top" of the standard ini-file delivered with the system. Resources from both files are merged and a resource defined in the second file rules out a resource with the same name defined in the first file.

VARKON now supports automatic execution of 3 different MACRO modules when 1: a job is loaded, 2: a new job is created and 3: VARKON exits from a job. The names of the modules are defined through the following resources:

1. "varkon.init_macro" in UNIX or just "init_macro" in Windows. If the resource is defined VARKON will automatically execute this MACRO module each time an old job is loaded or a new job is created.
2. "varkon.newjob_macro" in UNIX or just "newjob_macro" in Windows. If the resource is defined VARKON will automatically execute this MACRO module only when a new job is created.
3. "varkon.exit_macro" in UNIX or just "exit_macro" in Windows. If the resource is defined VARKON will automatically execute this MACRO module each time VARKON exits from a job.

The Mesa 3D Graphics library modules (OpenGL) distributed with VARKON for Linux have been updated to version 2.6 which are faster than version 2.2 distributed with earlier versions of VARKON.

A bug related to the ZOOM-function in VARKON95 for Windows95/NT has been corrected. Sometimes the mouse cursor would not reach the entire graphics window.

Preferred color- and Z-depth for shading with OpenGL can now be set through resources in the ini-file. varkon.shade.redbits, varkon.shade.greenbits, varkon.shade.bluebits and varkon.shade.zbits.

A new MBS-routine GET_POINTER() returns the position of the mouse immediately without waiting for user action.

A new MBS-routine IDENT_2() enables you to interactively select all entities inside or outside a "rubber band" rectangle.

A new MBS-routine HIGHLIGHT() can be used to highlight or unhighlight selected entities.

A new MBS-routine POS_2() can be used to enter 2 positions in model space using the mouse with "rubber banding". A similar routine SCREEN_2() returns 2 positions relative to the window (pixels).

The postscript driver now takes a new option "-bw" which forces the output to become truly black and white. This is useful if you have a model displayed with color but want to print it without color. Some non color postscript printers emulate color by using grayscales which may produce funny results. Even if you have a color printer it might sometimes be useful to get truly black and white output.

Entering "free hand" positions with the pointer (mouse) is now possible also in 3D. The Z-coordinate is taken from the intersection of the Z-axis of the current view and the XY-plane of the currently active coordinate system.

A new MBS-routine to faciliate interactive filename selction and input has been added. INFNAME() displays a list of files in a specified directory and lets the user make a selection with the mouse or enter a name from the keyboard. Wildcards may be used to restrict what files to display.

A minor bug in the MBS routine get_next_gm() has been corrected. Part- or group-name searching with wildcards on rare occasions did not work correctly.

The WIDTH attribute introduced in VARKON 1.15C may now also be used on points and text.

A new MACRO procedure LOAD_PM() makes it possible to load a module from disc into PM and thus replace the active module.

A minor bug in the MBS routine DEL_MBS() has been corrected. If a global ref was used the statement was not deleted.

A total of 13 new interactive functions have been added to create curves, surfaces and transformations that were previousley only available through MBS. The create-curve menu now also supports CUR_TRIM, CUR_ISO, CUR_SIL and CUR_APPROX. The create-surface menu now also supports SUR_CONIC, SUR_TRIM, SUR_COMP, SUR_APPROX and SUR_EXDEF. A new menu create-tcopy includes TFORM_MOVE, TFORM_ROTL, TFORM_MIRR and TCOPY. Although some of these functions are primarily intended for MBS programmers they may be handy to have also in the interactive system.

A minor bug in the X-Windows version of the user interface has been corrected. International 8-bit characters entered from the keyboard were sometimes mapped to 7-bit codes ie "å" became "{" etc.

A new geometrical routine ALL_INT_LIN_MSUR() has been added to MBS. Basically the same as the old "raytracing"- routine ALL_INT_LIN_SUR() but designed to operate on a set of surfaces instead of a single surface. Faster than calling ALL_INT_LIN_SUR() individually for each surface. All the raytracing-code has bee overlooked with respect to speed and now executes 10% - 30% faster than in previous versions of VARKON.

The NORM()-function in MBS may now also be used on b_planes and coordinate systems.

A new errormessage has been added to the XHATCH-function. GE8312 is reported if the XHATCH-boundary is not well defined ie. not closed or not connected end-to-end.

Some low-level code in the system has been reviewed and optimized for speed resulting in 5%- 10% faster execution of most MBS-programs.

A minor bug in the DXF-import function has been corrected. A 2D SOLID entity with zero-length sides caused a VARKON error. VARKON now checks all sides in a solid and only dislpays sides with length > 0.

The documentation is updated to reflect the changes from 1.15C.

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