MICROGDS 11.2 ============= Welcome to the MicroGDS 11.2 update from Informatix Inc. The installation contains a number of fixes to the MicroGDS 11 SP1 release. This release requires a new license validation from Informatix Inc, please contact sales@microgds.co.uk for details. --------------------- Important information --------------------- For full information on the new features in MicroGDS 11, please see the "What's new in MicroGDS 11" pdf file. You can also browse the "What's new in this version" topic in the online Help. For full details of how to use MicroGDS 11, in both single-user and multi-user modes, please see the "Using MicroGDS 11" user guide. 32-bit and 64-bit versions of MicroGDS -------------------------------------- There is a 64-bit version of MicroGDS that you can install onto a machine running a 64-bit version of Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7. This enables you to take advantage of the improved memory handling of a 64-bit machine. You can run the 32-bit version on a 64-bit machine, but not the other way around. If you have a 64-bit machine, you might want to consider installing the 32-bit version of MicroGDS if you have existing MicroGDS CPD databases that you want to continue to use. These databases are created with Jet 4.0 and Microsoft do not provide a 64-bit version of the Jet driver. 64-bit application support -------------------------- If you install the 32-bit version of MicroGDS on a 64-bit operating system, you will be offered the option of installing the "MicroGDS 11 64bit Application support" module. This is only necessary if you intend running CadLink .NET applications with MicroGDS. Please contact us if you need more information. ---------------------------------------------- Improvements since the MicroGDS 11 SP1 release ---------------------------------------------- General ------- - There are two product options now available, MicroGDS Pro and MicroGDS Standard. MicroGDS Standard replaces MicroGDS Entry Level and MicroGDS Pro replaces Collaboration. - Support has been added for reading SketchUp 8 files. - Added AutoCAD 2011 format for export (DXF and DWG), including batch export, and publish to DWG. Although the file format is unchanged there are some additional features we make use of: * Transparency (percentage fills now handled much better - for export we always translate to solid hatches, whereas previously the default was only to translate 100% fills). * Hatch background colour (can be used for export if there is a patterned stroke with a solid fill). - Support for new AutoCAD 2011 features for import: * Transparency * Hatch background colour. There is a checkbox on the import dialog to select whether to translate AutoCAD layer transparency to MicroGDS phase fading, as opposed to using primitive colours. Both methods have advantages and disadvantages. Generally phase fading is likely to be better, since it can work for all types of primitive, but in AutoCAD the transparency can be overridden on a graphics object, so you could have a line with transparency of 30% on a layer of transparency 90%, whereas phase fading in MicroGDS applies in addition to transparency on the primitive. If phase fading is used to translate layer transparency, and a graphics object has a greater transparency then it will have its colour set to get the appropriate transparency if possible. - DWG export (including batch export) added ability to read AutoCAD pattern definition files and create hatch entities using them. - Improved user-interface behaviour to deal with file name clashes during export to dxf/dwg. - Work has been carried out to provide increased performance, especially on multi processor machines, and also improve the stability of MicroGDS. - Dimensions rounding commands changed to be options on the preferences dialog (dimensions tab). Also added rounding increments for dimensions (e.g. round to nearest 10mm or 5 degrees). Support for distance rounding increment added to dxf/dwg translation (using DIMRND element or dimension styles) - Added ability to have improved (stacked) fractions for dimensions etc. This is enabled by a flag on the Charstyle. In text blocks you need to use a fraction slash (Unicode value 0x2044), this is best found by using the insert symbol dialog. - Publish, removed inapplicable option for black and white output for creating JPEG images . - Made fill page option work for publish and batch publish. - Several problems with cross-document photos which caused MicroGDS to crash have been fixed. - Project Template directories saved to settings files are now relativised. - Edit Many Paths no longer processes a primitive several times if it is present in more than one phase of a window. - Set Edit Pick now zooms about the correct point. - A problem where blocks containing holes could sometimes be drawn incorrectly has been fixed. - Previously, With the right mouse button set to Box snap you were not able to use it to select more than one text block (using the Shift key). This has now been fixed. - Copy preserving layers now immediately shows the result in the Mini Window Editor. - When creating a pattern linestyle, the drop-down list of symbols was not being filled properly if the font was left set to DEFAULT. - The Profile drop-down list is not correctly populated at start-up. - Object Scale no longer provokes the "Graphics would be moved off extents" error. - Photo Burn In no longer ignores phase overrides. - In MicroGDS Standard, there is now a warning if you attempt to overwrite a previously defined Material. - Control-break now behaves the same as escape for interactive commands. - Extended Circle Radius Centre command to allow multiple radii. - Fix bug where dimensions or hatches could end up in the wrong window when set name used with setting other than "no new object". - Added ability to unset schema default values for attributes. - Photo phase overrides now used for photo burn-in. - Fixed some crashes related to "losing" documents. - Improved behaviour of linestyle dialog (pattern tab) for missing fonts required for symbols. API --- - The operation of some CadLink functions has been speeded up. - A problem has been fixed where Cad.TBarVisible could result in the Status Bars being restored off the side of the screen. - Cad.AddMenuCommand was not adding separators. - Cad.RemoveMenuCommand now works for command id - Control-break now will cause api (cadlink) functions to return (throw for .NET) error MAE_USERCANCEL - Fix error accessing deleted record in Cad.DeleteLayer. - New .NET class members (classes in Informatix.MGDS.Export and Informatix.MGDS.Import) and XML elements for DXF/DWG translation corresponding to new options (use pattern definition files for export and handling of layer transparency for import). - Speedup to style access. ------------- Contacting us ------------- You can visit our website at: http://www.microgds.co.uk Or you can contact us by email: info@microgds.co.uk ---------- Trademarks ---------- MicroGDS and Piranesi are registered trademarks of Informatix Inc. DWG is the native file format for Autodesk's Autocad software. DWG, DXF and AutoCAD are trademarks of Autodesk, Inc.