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A-Shell Development History

1. (WINDOWS) //IMAGE,file,l,t,r,b{,flags}{,borderwidth} now interprets 0 for right (r) or bottom (b) parameters to mean the maximum for the current page size.

 

2. (WINDOWS) Fix a bug in the //IMAGE command when the parameter was not 4 (i.e. not stretching the image); if the print rectangle was taller and thinner proportionally than the actual image, the vertical centering was not working properly, resulting in either the image being chopped off or not printing at all. 3. (WINDOWS) The CPP (Columns Per Page) statement in the printer INI files now supports an optional second argument which defines the number of columns needed in wide mode. (The default is 132.) This is mainly useful in conjunction with PITCH=AUTO, either when you want to have more than 132 columns or when there is a bug in the printer driver such that you are ending up with less than 132 columns and you need them all.

 

4. Fix a GPF in BOX1C.SBR related to presence of 'bt' parameter. (Thanks to John Bown for this one.)

 

5. (Windows) Fix some problems with displaying the Euro symbol. The recommended way to display it now is to use TAB(-1,253). This works with the MIAME font, as well as the Andale Mono and Courier New fonts with the ANSI character set. Unfortunately, the ANSI character set does not contain the line drawing characters, so is not highly recommended unless you also turn bevelling on (which replaces the line drawing characters with Windows graphics that simulate a 'bevelled' (raised) line. If you use the OEM character set with the Andale or Courier New fonts (e.g. FONT=Andale Mono,OEM), then you lose the Euro symbol. But it's not a total loss, since you do get a character that looks something like the Euro character. In the Andale font, it looks nearly the same as the Euro except with only one crosshatch. In the Courier New font, it looks more like a backwards "3".

 

Printing the Euro symbol remains the same, which is to say you are somewhat on your own. With newer fonts using the ANSI character set, it seems that chr(128) is becoming the standard byte value. But with older fonts, it may be chr(164) and it may be a matter of selecting a special font that substitutes the Euro symbol for another, such as the "E". For now, you will have to resort to some research and/or trial and error for your particular printer.

 

6. (Windows) Fix a couple of problems with the cursor blink status. One problem was that TCRTs 121 & 123 to set the cursor to a solid block or underline were not working at the dot prompt. Another was that upon exiting A-Shell, the next application to get the focus may have lost its blinking cursor (or changed to a very slowly blinking one.)

 

7. Fix a GPF bug in the psreset() call within MPSCOM.SBR.