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Release 2 Change History

This page lists in reverse chronological order the improvements and bug fixes that went into the Release 2 ANSIPLUS drivers and utilities between 6/09/92 and 3/08/93. Later changes for Release 3 and Release 4 may be found on their respective pages.

Release 2.07
 3/08/93 Version 2.07 released.
 3/05/93 Using its own configurable-size key buffers, ANSIPLUS now supports key stacking, which adds keys to the keyboard buffer for later consumption by programs.  The feature is controlled by SETAPLUS command, ANSIPLUS escape sequence, or the 4DOS command shell KEYSTACK command.  Users of 4DOS 4.0+ now do not need to load KSTACK.com if ANSIPLUS is installed.
 2/28/93 Added more control over key reassignment: a new configurable feature can prevent changes to key reassignment definitions with the Esc [p ANSI control sequence.  The driver also now generates an ominous tone (like the theme from "Dragnet") when an attempt is made to redefine keys if redefinition of key reassignment is disabled.
 2/23/93 When the DISPLAY.sys driver is used with Windows 3.0 or 3.1, the colors and other variables of either ANSIPLUS or the DOS ANSI.sys driver are not localized to each virtual 8086.  This appears to be because Windows only localizes the first CON driver it finds on the DOS device chain, and this will be the most recent CON device installed, which is DISPLAY.sys, not ANSIPLUS.  Two system setup changes are required to circumvent the problem:
  • Enter the following command to change the name of the ANSIPLUS driver in memory from "CON" to "CONAPLUS":
    • SETAPLUS LOCALCON
    This command is automatically inserted into AUTOEXEC.bat by the ANSIPLUS INSTALL program when DISPLAY.sys is detected.
     
  • Add the following command to the [386Enh] section of the Windows SYSTEM.ini file:
    • LOCAL=CONAPLUS
    This causes Windows to localize the ANSIPLUS driver to each virtual 8086.  The SYSTEM.ini file is not altered by the ANSIPLUS INSTALL program.
    These setup changes are totally unnecessary if you are not using the DISPLAY.sys driver.
     2/21/93 Apparently, some 256-color drivers for Windows assume that the OEM 256-color palette has been loaded when the 256-color mode was selected, and never define the colors that Windows will use.  Some DOS 256-color applications also have the same problem.  When using such a Windows driver or DOS application, if the ANSIPLUS default colors are loaded on mode set, the wrong colors could be displayed.  Because of this, features have been added to the driver and utility programs to allow control over loading the ANSIPLUS colors in DOS and Windows 256-color modes.  By default, ANSIPLUS now will not load its colors when a 256-color mode is selected under Windows.

     
    Release 2.06
     2/15/93 Version 2.06 released.
     2/13/93 Minor changes to SETAPLUS: maintain color selection when shifting from 256-color to 16-color video modes, and improve listing of Alt and Ctrl keys in SETAPLUS LISTKEYS option.
     2/10/93 Added a feature to use BIOS calls for text mode scrolling instead of directly moving data in the video display RAM.  This may help in those unusual cases where other drivers or TSRs need to be informed when the screen is scrolled up.
     2/10/93 Changed the default status for the graphics mode pseudo-cursor to be disabled.  Also added a separate feature to control use of the pseudo-cursor when in 256-color graphics modes (also disabled as default).
     1/25/93 When the screen saver is enabled, the screen can now be blanked immediately by entering the Alt+Ctrl+Scroll Lock key combination.
     1/06/93 Bug fix: Improved handling of palette in 256-color modes, particularly when the OEM palette is being used.
     1/05/93 Bug fix: Automatic registration of Shareware version when installed over a Registered version did not always work.

     
    Release 2.05
    12/02/92 Version 2.05 released.
    11/29/92 Changes for international support and using DISPLAY.sys: INSTALL/NEWAPLUS now loads ANSIPLUS before DISPLAY.sys in CONFIG.sys because MODE CON CP SELECT command will not work correctly if ANSIPLUS is installed after DISPLAY.sys; and minor cosmetic changes to SETCOLOR and SETAPLUS screens when not using U.S.  code page 437.
    11/21/92 Revised INSTALL/NEWAPLUS to recognize reference to the KEYB TSR (for international keyboard users) in AUTOEXEC.bat.  The install process will then automatically add a SETAPLUS LINK KEYEVENT command to AUTOEXEC.bat following KEYB if this command was not already there. See the next item for further explanation.
    11/19/92 Added the capability to relink ANSIPLUS interrupts after they have been stolen by TSR's such as MS-DOS KEYB.  The KEYB program grabs the  key event interrupt (Int 09h), without passing calls through to whatever was installed before it (ie., to ANSIPLUS).  This has prevented most ANSIPLUS keyboard functions, such as scroll-back, scroll lock, etc., from working correctly with international keyboards.  Now, to restore ANSIPLUS's access to the key event interrupt, the following command must be entered after KEYB has been loaded:
     
    SETAPLUS LINK KEYEVENT


    This command should be placed in AUTOEXEC.bat immediately after KEYB.

    11/19/92 The programs connected to any system interrupt, including those used by ANSIPLUS, can be identified using the new SETAPLUS command:
     
    SETAPLUS INTERRUPT <number> [<number> ...]
    where <number> is any hexadecimal interrupt number.  For example, SETAPLUS INTERRUPT 2F would list the programs connected to the Multiplex interrupt, number 2Fh.  This listing is not guaranteed to be correct in all cases, but has been remarkably accurate in our experience.
    11/18/92 Two screen saver changes should blank the screen more appropriately: Relaxed the test for a fast timer tick a little to allow the screen to blank when running applications with extensive timer tick processing, but not to blank when running games that speed up the timer, such as Flight Simulator.  Also removed, except for XT-type machines, the requirement before blanking that the Int 09h vector point to the same place as when the last Int 09h key event was intercepted.
    11/09/92 Changed SETCOLOR and SETAPLUS utilities to display menus using video page 0 instead of page 1 when not running on a VGA or EGA.  This should make the menus visible on Hercules-type boards that seem to have a problem accessing higher video pages.
    11/09/92 Bug fix: Insert key caused lockup when screen was scrolled back.
    10/21/92 Increase delay times for direct port access to video controller.
    10/20/92 Bug fix: Generic IOCTL was never called by DOS because the driver header bit for it was not set.  Now MODE CON reports lines and columns, and MODE CON LINES={25, 43 or 50} works.  However, setting display columns to 40 or 80 with MODE is still not supported by ANSIPLUS, and the DOS 5.0 MODE program incorrectly reports 40 columns for any screen mode not having 80 columns (for example, 132).

     
    Release 2.04
     9/23/92 Version 2.04 released.
     9/22/92 When updating a driver file that has been changed from the default configuration, the INSTALL program now gives the user an option to copy the configuration of the updated driver into the newly installed driver.
     9/20/92 Obtaining updates for registered versions of ANSIPLUS is now greatly simplified: Effective with Version 2.04, when any Shareware copy of ANSIPLUS is installed on a disk containing a Registered copy of ANSIPLUS (2.04 or later), the INSTALL program will convert the new Shareware copy into a Registered copy with the same serial number and signon message as the Registered ANSIPLUS already on the disk. Registered users can thus benefit from future improvements to ANSIPLUS at no cost, if they have access to a BBS that maintains current Shareware versions of ANSIPLUS.
     9/19/92 Bug fix: Prevent bright key echo when the next output byte equals the scan code of a function or other special key just entered.
     9/17/92 Revised installation program (NEWAPLUS.exe) to be more tolerant of and informative about missing or unreadable files during installation. Versions of ANSIPLUS on some BBS's seem to be missing files (usually SETCOLOR.sch, which is a minor supporting file), and this has prevented potential users from evaluating ANSIPLUS.
     9/04/92 When Scroll Lock is used to freeze the screen during rapid output, and then the screen is released by Page-Down, Tab, Down arrow, or a Shift key until the next input prompt is made by the computer, the driver can now recognize the input request and will automatically release the scroll freeze condition after a key is typed.
     9/04/92 Under Windows and OS/2, the driver now yields the CPU for the remainder of a time slice whenever it is in a tight key input/testing loop.
     9/03/92 Under Windows, whenever the scroll-back storage area is initialized, a RAM search is now made to see if the video RAM is a full 32k.  If less is available, the scroll-back storage is reduced accordingly, and smooth scrolling, which uses the top of the 32k video RAM, is disabled.  This should work around problems with 256-color Windows drivers that do not provide a full 32k of text mode video RAM in certain situations.
     9/02/92 Under Windows, in a virtual 8086 DOS session running in a window, scroll-back appeared to be inoperative because Windows 3.1 failed to update the windowed screen as it was scrolled backward or forward.  If the same DOS session was run full screen, scroll back would perform correctly.  The driver is now able to cause the windowed screen to be updated in most cases (such as when DOS keyboard input is requested), so scroll-back should work in a window most of the time.  However, it is still not always possible to scroll the screen backward in a window while it has been frozen by Scroll-Lock during rapid screen output.

     
    Release 2.03
     8/31/92 Version 2.03 released.
     8/22/92 Bug fix: made VGA screen saver less likely to interfere with running programs by disabling interrupts while the screen is being blanked or unblanked and by restoring the sequencer index after the operation.
     8/22/92 Bug fix: push/pop mismatch in VESA set mode processing.  Symptom was inability to start Windows.
     8/22/92 Now use Int 15h keyboard intercept rather than direct port access to get key scan codes for repeated-key detection and other key processing.

     
    Release 2.02
     8/21/92 Version 2.02 released.
     8/14/92 Added mouse reset to Windows exit processing.  Windows 3.1 leaves some mice (for example, Logitech C7) in an undefined state at termination, so the mouse could not unblank the screen until the next DOS mouse-using program had been executed.
     8/12/92 Bug fix: still intermittent trouble with keyboard under Windows 3.1. Made all of Int 09h handler uninterruptible.

     
    Release 2.01
     7/22/92 Version 2.01 released.
     7/21/92 Extended repeated key suppression to the Scroll Lock key.  Now, when Scroll Lock is held down for a long time, the scroll lock or smooth scroll toggles will not change repeatedly.
     7/17/92 Bug fix: 16-color to monochrome text attribute adjustments for EGA monochrome now show low intensity as well as high intensity for both foreground and background.  VGA, CGA, MDA and color EGA are unaffected.
     7/16/92 Minor changes to INSTALL/NEWAPLUS target drive and file path selection.
     7/16/92 Minor changes to scroll freeze when smooth scrolling is active.
     7/16/92 Bug fix: Scroll back storage is reorganized whenever a previously unused display page is selected.  In several display modes, including 25x80 text, a bug caused the scroll-back data to be scrambled when reorganization was required.
     7/15/92 Bug fix: On certain PC/XT compatible computers, all keystrokes were erroneously recognized as repeat keys, causing all digit keys to be ignored.  Repeated key suppression is now disabled on XT's.
     7/15/92 Bug fix: Repeated keys entered to QuickBasic programs such as DOS 5.0 EDIT.com caused pointer errors when keys were transferred between BIOS and extended key buffers.  Symptom was strange jumps in cursor position or "phantom" keystrokes while holding down an arrow key. Fixed by making the key shuffling subroutine uninterruptible.
     6/09/92 Version 2.00 released.
    Release 4 history       Release 3 history

    © Copyright 2000-2007, Kristofer Sweger. All rights reserved.
    Rev. 11/01/07