DesignCAD Pro 2000 Release Notes    
History of Changes to previous releases of DesignCAD Pro 2000

Here is a list of all of the fixed issues and the improvements.


11-9-2000 is the current release of Pro 2000
---Latest program update and latest type library for developers
---No longer updates desktop icons while installing update
---No longer prompts users for setup type, or folder destination

11-1-99 
---Ellipses scattered on DWG import
---Support AutoCAD 2000 drawing files
---Fixes to the DWG/DXF import problems, such as missing objects and incorrect line type scale, 
Text positioning, stacking, scaling, Arrow problem.
---Text alignment problems while exporting DWG/DXF files
---Program lock up when entering "." in text size field
---Left/Right handed coordinate system problems in Automation, BasicCAD, as well as Macro Recording
---Hatching fixed

8-13-99 
---DesignCAD 97 drawings with embedded symbols now load correctly into DesignCAD 2000
---Pasting clipboard object repeatedly no longer slows down the system.
---One pixel pen used for plotting  on some pen plotters that once printed as small dots no prints as solid lines.
---Editing curves in point select mode now functions better than before.
---Corrected precision for more accurate measurements in the Progressive dimension command.
---Shade object on create option now shades items correctly. 
---Light source data is correctly applied from active view to all the other views.
---Sys functions 196 through 201 in BasicCAD now return the size of the selection instead of the entire drawing size.
---Entity Select command can now be used in a macro.
---Edit 2D text in 3D mode now keeps the text size correctly. 

6-23-99 
---MFC predefined commands, such as Close, New, Print, Copy, Paste, Redo, 
Undo, etc., were recorded as separators in the custom toolbox.
---Attributes were incorrectly imported from DWG/DXF.
---IGES export crashed DesignCAD when any of the entities had more than 300 points.
---Fixed EntText2D.Height, EntText2D.Width, EntText.Height, EntText.Width.these could not be set to the correct value in the last version.
---Fixed File.ExportWMF. The previous version would always show the dialog box for the filename, even if a valid filename was specified in the command's arguments.
---Fixed dcFontItalic and dcFontBold entries for DcFontStyles type. These were implemented incorrectly, so trying to set the font style to Bold always resulted in Italic.
---Fixed Selection.Item() method. Previously it would not ever return an Entity for the last selected item (so if only one item was selected, you could never get it's Entity object)
---Text Block did not place the text in correct size.
---Print command did not skip the Hatch and Bitmaps in invisible layers.
---Small size 2D text was created in wrong size.
---Added error detection to load drawings with incorrect range which saved by the earlier version of DesignCAD in PaperSpace Mode.

5-26-99 
--Moving points in Point Select Mode by setting points with keyboard correctly places the points.
--Section Delete command no longer changes the arrowhead size after removing part of the arrow line.
--Scrolling window speed is increased with large image in view.
--Corrected light weight polyline importing problem.
--No more missing pieces in the hatch entity with Windows pattern.
--Missing objects on printing (no longer covered by hatch or bitmap).
--Tracing Mode command allows the command to be aborted once it starts.
--Precision increased with the digitizer tracing mode.
--Program checks if the same digitizer menu has been loaded twice. 
--Loading DW2 & DW3 drawings  displays the drawing automatically after the drawings are loaded.
--Hatch using windows hatch pattern does display and prints correctly.
--Ellipses and elliptical arcs are imported at correct orientation from DWG files.
--Add sys(27) for beeping after setting point in digitizer tracing mode.
--Add sys(28) for delaying coordinate display on the coordinate bar while in the digitizer tracing mode.
--Add Plotter Output Optimization in DesignCAD.

4-16-99 
--We dramatically increased DesignCAD's redraw speed and response.
--The undo buffer is faster and more memory efficient now.
--Fixed a clipboard copy problem that could cause crashes on some entities (circle/arc, curve, etc.) in certain situations involving a line width greater than 0.
--Fixed an undo/redo problem that could cause a drawing to explode after more than 255 commands have been executed.
--Same As command on pointmark didn't copy pointmark style when set to dots.
--Made the bounding box range--check on pointmark entities more sensitive to allow for single pointmark drawings.
--"Extend by Distance" was giving an incorrect result when the z--coordinates of the endpoints of the line segment were different.
--Exporting DesignCAD drawings to DWG/DXF was causing certain arcs and circles to mirror their orientation in the X--axis.
--Added capability to hatch fill extremely small objects regardless of QSCALE.
--Fixed a problem in which lines with more than 2,500 points or long curves could crash DesignCAD.
--Hatch angle is now saved properly in the Workspace settings.
--Copies of view frame now use the view settings of the original frame.
--Fixed a value offset in the view, intensity, and angle of light sources that occurred in some circumstances.
--Save Current View command now checks for other files of the same name.
--Cursor Options don't do anything in Paper Space mode.  (REMOVED!)
--Entering a long name (more than 16 characters) for adding a new material in the Material Options works much better now.
--Same As now applies the arrowhead information to the Balloon command.
--Tolerances of Dimension Progressive and Dimension Radius Progressive entities now display in the correct sizes.
--Dimension Diameter and Dimension Radius no longer crash DesignCAD if you set more than 200 points.
--Right click popup menu shows but isn't actually used in Print Preview screen. (REMOVED!)
--Workspace Configuration dialog no longer closes after canceling from save dialog.
--Overlap size doesn't change when switching between Print Dialog and Print Preview screen.
--Zoom in and zoom out command now work correctly with full scale view windows.
--Line style button in multiple selection info box now shows it's tooltip.
--Line type scale and line width will now retain the correct sized on larger and smaller sizes.
--Same As from Pointmark Info Box now applies the correct pointmark size.
--Changing selection from one hatch entity to another now updates all info box fields correctly.
--Multiple selection info box now disables the command buttons that are not applicable to the selected entities.
--Batch Print will now ignore the drawing view data as an added option.
--We added a DragMode parameter for the Select Rotate command in BasiCAD. (ADDED!)
--Fixed a display problem that could cause the cursor to look like it hadn't snapped correctly to a chosen point.
--Extra cursors are no longer left over on the screen when using 3D snap mode on Gravity or Linesnap command.
--Our 3D cursor will now change size when you change your units.
--DWG import will no longer crash DesignCAD via text entities longer than 250 characters -- the text string will be ignored instead.
--Unsupported text entities in DWG files no longer import into DesignCAD with empty text strings.
--Fixed a problem with Hidden line Removal that crashed DesignCAD when the drawing consists of a single plane.
--Sys$(90) puts won't put an additional character to the view title.
--Sys$(37) and Sys$(38) were added to BasicCAD for accessing import and export directories more easily.
--View Options dialog no longer shows Main Toolbox as SHOW even when it is hidden.
--Color statement now sets the background color of the output window completely instead of only in grey.
--Output windows now refresh properly when switching back and forth from other applications.
--Animation command now records multiple rotations per frame correctly.
--Vector converted elliptical arcs are much smoother now.
--The default menu can now be restored even if DesignCAD was started through an OLE automation program.


2-12-99 is the Current Release
Embedded DesignCAD object did not display correctly, sometimes shows nothing and sometimes display with an offset which makes the drawing too close to the upper--left corner of the insert frame
"Object As Bitmap" setting in the Options menu while embedding DesignCAD object in the other application is removed from DesignCAD program.
End DesignCAD with more than one toolbox floating would not be loaded correctly the next time DesignCAD startup.
DesignCAD calculator did not handle any negative or zero values
Same As command on pointmark did not copy pointmark style when it was a dot
Range check on pointmark was not correct (Try to draw a single pointmark and do the Fit to Window)
Red and blue colors were swapped when displays 256--color TIFF files in DesignCAD

2-2-99 
Placing tickmarks on circles or arcs caused memory leaks 
Array Copy along a curve and Circular Array command did not work correctly on 2--D Text entities
Adding commands to custom toolbox by dragging tools from main toolbox did not work properly.  
DesignCAD did not import arcs in Lightweight Polyline from DWG/DXF file
Multi--Line imported from DWG/DXF file did not place the parallel line on the correct side all the time
Info box crashes DesignCAD on lines more than 2560 points
Dimension text did not show anything like 12'0" or 12--0  (no trailing zero at all)
Add Print Hidden Line Removal With Scan Line Algorithm
Change print multiple panels to file : The first panel saved is the name that the user enters, all the panels saved in the file with names are based on the file name for the first panel plus a number to distinguish the panel number and the copy number.
Text Options dialog accepted invalid values for text size, text angle, and text vertical scale.  This caused DesignCAD lock up or crash on some text related commands, such as Dimension Diameter.
Dimensioning in X, Y, or Z direction relocates the dimension points when the text location is not on X--Y, Y--Z, or X--Z plane.
Dimensioning in Z direction crashes the program when the dimension points have the same X and Y coordinates.
Changing Smooth Flag through the info box did not work on the selected objects
Trying  to delete selected layers in an empty drawing on the Layer Options crashed DesignCAD
Moving circles from one location to another by dragging the center did not update the position of the selection handles.
Select Move did not work on Attributes in point select mode when dragging any point handles but the selection handle.
Right clicking on the tool bars did not show the visibility of the color toolbox correctly.
Text Style and Text Alignment combo box in the Text Options dialog were not initialized to the current settings.
Tab through the edit box in the info box changed the actual values in the selected objects even though the user did  not change the value in the edit box.  For example, if a closed line is selected and the user changes the width of the line in the info box, the actual coordinates of the first point changes automatically to the value in the edit box.  This makes the endpoints of the line opened and alters the display of the wide line.
Segments of a single wide--line exactly on top of each other in opposite direction displayed as twisted bars.
Selection highlight color in the DesignCAD Standard Windows Color Scheme is gray, which is inconsistent with the default setting.
Circle Tangent to two circles did not include the possibility of  having any of the two existing circles inside the newly created circle
3D Face Mesh in DXF/DWG files with more than 5000 vertices crashed DesignCAD while importing
Select copy and move did not show the selected objects when the color of the object is the same as the color of the background
Paste and merge (symbol load with explode) with one handle flipped the object upside--down when the drawing has a very tiny width (such as a vertical line)
Line style toolbox did not switch on and off correctly through the View Options dialog
Zoom command did not work in Preset Set Point Mode
Filled polygons in a metafile did not stay filled after importing into DesignCAD
Arrow Info Box did not accept zero line width
Apply Arrowhead Size did not work correctly (the size is incorrectly multiplied by a factor of 8 -- or qscale)
Print dialog box did not display correct print width/height, panel number, etc. after changing the unit of measurement
Print margins changed while switching between Normal and PaperSpace mode when the unit of measurement was not set to inches
DXF/DWG export did not output concave polygon correctly
Added Version parameter for Export DWG macro command : IDM_FUN_TYPE  -- 0 (R2.5), 1 (R2.6), 2 (R9), 3 (R10), 4 (R11), 5 (R13), 6 (R14)
Added Version and Binary parameters for Export DXF macro command : IDM_FUN_TYPE with 2 values, the first value is the version (same as the ones used for DWG Export), the second value specifies the Binary DXF format -- 1 (Binary), 0 (ASCII)
ToolTips in 3D selection mode did not work at all
Added "LoadCustomMenu", "SaveCustomMenu", and "RestoreDefaultMenu" for BasicCAD program
Added sys(196) to sys(201) in BasicCAD for getting the range of the selection objects
DragCopy from BasicCAD program does not wait for setting the point 
Sys(996) in BasicCAD did not work the way it supports to
Stoped using "MUSCRL32.DLL" in DesignCAD

11-24-98
Text length is now adjusted when changing multiple pieces of text
Custom Toolboxes and Symbol Library now display preview BMP in 256 color
Dash Lines, Dimensions, & thick arrows draw correctly in PaperSpace views
DWG / DXF Importing now brings in MultiLine Entities
Editing selected multiple arrows works much better now
Custom Toolboxes now have Tooltips
External BMPs used in Custom Toolboxes now display the button face properly
View frame info box reports height and width correctly when changing units
Changing view frame width and height works consistantly now
Moving Grid Surfaces from layer to another works better now
DesignCAD now saves Microsoft Fax format, (awd) correctly
Keyboard Options displays the selected key consistantly with Alt Ctrl & Shift
Changing the Starting Angle and Span Angle of Elliptical Arcs works now
DWG / DXF DesignCAD now imports and exports the attribute entity
Phong and Goroud shading work better now
Added Registry Checking to avoid error messages on startup

10-30-98
Changing Line Styles through BasicCAD now updates the Line Style Toolbar
Custom Views can now be selected while creating a view frame object
Zoom to Selection command works better in Paper Space mode
View settings of saved view frames now display correctly
Users are now warned when overwriting existing Paper Space templates
Export command now works without needing to specify the extension
Text, Dimension, and Arrows are now displayed when shading or hiding a section of the screen
Points in selected grid entities are now shown correctly in the Info Box
Fillet Corner improved to work better with small values
Make Plane improved to work better with small arcs
Double--clicking on the material and view toolboxes is much improved
Exploded Dimensions now keep their original line width
Text, Dimensions, and Arrows stay visible after shaded refresh or restoring the program
Opening the Info Box for an object with a Material with a long file name works much better
Elliptical Arcs now mirror correctly
Exported files are now saved in the path under Options
Older DC3 symbols now shade and hide correctly
Loading Workspace Templates that include custom Toolbar settings works much better now
Show / Hide works better with multiple Custom Toolboxes
Pressing Enter while in Layer Options no longer closes the dialog box
Load Symbol now works well with DC3 files
Printing with Hidden Line Removal and large Pen Widths is much improved
Print Scale now works with metric values
Program now refreshes when the 3D cursor is moved between views with the snap grid on
Better bounds checking is done on the default line type settings stored in the INI file
Filled Wide lines can now be applied to multiple lines through the Info Box
Circles on the XZ plane from a 97 file no longer come into 2000 on the XY plane
Select Entity command now allows users to use the Shift key to add or remove items from the selection
Save 2D Projection with Hidden Line Removal now removes Hidden Edges
Information stored in the Registry is more consistent
DXF / DWG Export, Release 9 and earlier no longer represents Circles and Arcs incorrectly
DXF / DWG import now reads long block names correctly
Switching back and forth between actual and relative size in the View Frame controls the size of the displayed drawing
Changing drawing scale in View Frame after panning no longer looses drawing center location
Keep Length / Width option in Info Box for 3D text works consistently 

10-16-98
Improved DXF and DWG export for more entity types
Symbol Load can now be used from custom toolbars
Save Workspace now saves more options
Double--clicking toolbars now locks a command into repeating, and it's icon changes
Toolbars now retain their position after the program has been minimized and restored
Improved performance in the Slice command

8-20-98
Added Batch Printing, allowing multiple files to be printed unattended, found in the File menu
Save Print Settings with Drawing, found in the print dialog box

End of File