rpVTHistory

rpVT Version history

What's new in rpVT: Features, changes, updates, etc.

With the introduction of ZTreeWin v2.x and the new ZAAP specification,
there are now two different rpVT version branches. Versions tagged 'B'
support the ZAAP v2 spec and work with ZTree v2.x run with the /ZB switch.
Older versions tagged 'A' support the ZAAP v1 spec and work with ZTree
v1.x run with the /ZB switch, or v2.x with /ZB1.

rpVT always displays the major version such as 'A41' on the top line. The
third digit for the minor version such as 'A411' is displayed while pressing
the Ctrl+Alt+Shift keys together.

Version B424 of Mar 29th, 2009

Fixed: current file not always refreshed after zbar updates in quick sequence.

Changed: outdated references to rpVT.com in rpVT help pages repointed to
the ZTree forum and wiki.

Version A422 of Nov 13th, 2008

Added: safeguards to ignore zbar.dat files in ZAAP v2 format (so that rpVT
doesn't accidentally write back in v1 format and corrupt them)

Fixed: mishandling of the final "handshake" at the end of Rsearch Y-commands
(also caused Rsearch,s to not display the results of the completed search
following a 'w' command-code from ZTree)

Final version released by Rudy: (A-411) of Sep 10th, 2005

This is a highly temporary version just released to allow users to operate with
ZTree 1.5. A new release will come in one or two months with many mods.

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What was on previous updates:

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Version B424 of Mar 29th, 2009

Fixed: current file not always refreshed after zbar updates in quick sequence.

Changed: outdated references to rpVT.com in rpVT help pages repointed to
the ZTree forum and wiki.

Version B423 of Mar 11th, 2009

Fixed: random crash while parsing zbar.dat file contents, most often
reported with ZTree v2 running off a network drive.

Version B422 of Dec 1st, 2008

B422 is the first build of rpVT compliant with the ZAAP v2 specification,
including support for Unicode filenames outside the current ANSI codepage.

The B422 version works (only) with ZTree v2.x run with the /ZB switch.
There are otherwise no functional changes vs. the previous A422 build.

Known limitations:

- image files with non-ANSI pathnames (*) cannot be viewed as graphics due
to defects in third party APIs and libraries being used;

- rpVT displays the ANSI-translated paths; for Unicode names without an ANSI
mapping, there may be '?' question mark placeholders displayed, however the
file or directory is internally identified correctly, and accessed using the
full Unicode APIs;

- rpVT-side text input is ANSI, however the replaceable parameters in Y
commands (%1, etc) are correctly expanded based on the full Unicode paths;

- the rpVT and ZTree directories themselves are assumed to be ANSI.

(*) In this context, an "ANSI" path (file or directory) is meant to indicate
a name which translates from Unicode to the system default ANSI codepage and
back to Unicode identically. All plain ASCII characters are "ANSI" in this
sense. Beyond that, for example under the EN-US XP, the "euro sign" U+20AC
character is "ANSI", while the "lowercase greek alpha" U+03B1 is not.

Version A422 of Nov 13th, 2008

Added: safeguards to ignore zbar.dat files in ZAAP v2 format (so that rpVT
doesn't accidentally write back in v1 format and corrupt them)

Fixed: mishandling of the final "handshake" at the end of Rsearch Y-commands
(also caused Rsearch,s to not display the results of the completed search
following a 'w' command-code from ZTree)

Version A421 of Sep 7th, 2008

Fixed: remote mode "/zd /rm" wasn't picking up the right zbar.dat
note: rpVT still needs to be started after ZTree is run on the remote machine,
otherwise it may read an old zbar.dat and "Q"uit right away

Fixed: local mode "/zd" was sometimes missing or delaying connection to an
eligible ZTree instance (was happening when processes enumerated by Windows
before ztw.exe were running under higher-privileged accounts than rpVT)


Version A420 of Aug 24th, 2008

Added: rpVT now matches the /zd path against a ZTree SFN path, too (one
use case where this helps is when ZTree v1.x is started through ZTWIN.BAT)
note: the /zd path passed to rpVT on the command line must be LFN in order
to match both LFN and SFN ZTree paths

Fixed: crash under NT4 if rpVT was run with a /zd path which did not match
the first ZTree instance


Version A4104 of Jun 14th, 2007

Added: ZTree signature now allowed anywhere in the title, not necessarily at the beginning
note: still requires the sig to be part of the title e.g. works with /TZ or /TOZV, but not /TO

Changed: ZTree signature that rpVT is looking for in window titles shortened to "ZTreeWin"

Changed: rpVT now searching console window titles, only, while looking for ZTree signature


Final version released by Rudy: (A-411) of Sep 10th, 2005

This is a highly temporary version just released to allow users to operate with
ZTree 1.5. A new release will come in one or two months with many mods.

Major update version: (A-410) of Apr 25th, 2005

Fixed:
Bit rate tables for MP3 MPEG1/2 Layer III.

Changed:
Renamed play1.exe & wdw.exe to rpsd.exe & rpwd.exe.
Both files are now unlocked for reading and rpsd.exe regenerates itself, if
deleted. If you process-kill rpwd.exe, rpVT will terminate.

Changed:
Some logic in R window when moving behind others in some circumstances.

Fixed:
Keyboard F8 was leaving the top lines as selected always.

Fixed:
Focus returning issues when restoring from minimize.

Fixed:
R was wrongly using Z's zbar.dat file for internal commands operation.

Changed:
Increased the deepness of the processes search in the routines that identify
Z windows (from 100 to 200).

Fixed:
/zd switch logic. R attaches now only to a Z instance that is running on the
specified path and to no others.

Added:
.CUR & .EMF to the list of supported graphic images.

Added:
Some protection for damaged WAV & MP3 strings. There will be more
comprehensive coverage in the future.

Fixed:
CRC was being reset when screen changes were made in Z. (F7, split, X,
V, etc.)

Changed:
R window now, can't be resized nor moved, when slid. A No-Drop cursor
shape was added at the areas affected, when appropriate.

Changed:
Start fields for the Menus and internal links to other messages use now a
hand cursor without the letter "C" inside, since they are not actually
commands.

Added:
Support for the right scroll bar display. A left-click on it will jump to the
corresponding place in the file. If the mouse is dragged with the left button,
a simultaneous high speed scroll of the file will happen similarly to the
Windows GUI behavior.

Added:
Auto-refresh command, Sh/Ctrl-3. Max size file is 491520 bytes. It freezes
the display in any area and will show changes if file is updated in that area.
Works on any type of view: Ascii, dump, hex or graphic.


Minor update version (A-403) of Mar 15th, 2005

Fixed:
Window position issue when switching between Z and an Editor by use of
the keyboard (Alt-Tab).

Added:
/nb switch to prevent R to go always to the bottom of the ZOrder. When the
switch is used, R behaves like any normal window. This function looked
naturally necessary when R is frozen and it was incorporated independently
of the use of the switch.
Added support for MPEG2 layer III on the audio player.

Changed:
Playing an audio file from the keyboard can be done now using a brief touch
either on the rtCtrl or the rtSh keys.
The hunting for a Z window on desktop is now trying twice the times it was
doing before to obtain a candidate process.


Minor update version (A-402) of Mar 9th, 2005

Fixed:
Minor details with the R versus Z syncing logic.
Presence of a few nulls is tolerated in normal ASCII text display.

Added:
Sh/Ctrl-8 (not F8!) will toggle on/off the status of the "no-slide" switch.
Sh/Ctrl-F12 when used in a non-translatable file will correspond to a refresh.

Changed:
Priority can now be changed from the Menu "Tool" or by the Sh/Ctrl-4|5 keys
command. It always start with "below normal" and can be raised to "normal"
and back using those commands. See details on Help.
The colors on rpVT.clr file were changed to a lighter appearance. If you think
you could like the old colors more, rename the current rpVT.clr file to "old"
before overriding it with this new one.
When R is frozen, the window is not sent to the back of the ZOrder but to
the top of the non-top windows. This behavior can be obtained also for all
circumstances with the use of the /nb switch.
Added the ability to play Wave and MP3 files. Most formats encountered in
the PC environment are supported. Please report any interesting omissions
or abnormal behavior. Enjoy.


Minor update version (A-401) of Feb 20th, 2005

Fixed:
The command to revert the translation of formats like Unicode, Word, Html,
etc., was "locking" the view of the original file.
Caps-Lock was not working in Data Entry mode.
Changed:
Sh/Ctrl-Tab now Clears the current Output Filename (if set), or sets the data
entry mode to enter the Output Filename (if empty).
Graphic routines were sped-up by changing the priority at certain parts of the
routines. Maximum values for the pixel count were also changed from 6.5 to
16.8 megapixels.

Version: (A-400) of Feb 17th, 2005

There were substantial changes in this version to enumerate all.
The main change was the internal integrated Help system.


Version: (A-350) of Feb 16th, 2004

The format of 'zbar.dat' was changed to include a handle from ZTree window. This
new release A-35 requires ZTree to put out zbar.dat with the handle. If you want
to use this version of rpVT with recent past versions of Z, you will have to change
the /zb switch on Z start line, to /zbh (used for tests during the last weeks).
We recommend, however, that you just use ZTree version 1.49.2dd or later.
This information was added for accommodating other ZAAPers and will enrich the
current interface.

In these days of remote control keyboards (that don't have key-lock LEDs) R is now
showing the status of those lights in its top control lines. (Works all the time in
W2K and WXP, but only under focus, in W98)

Made rpVT to detect the directory where it is running instead of using the default
local for files, allowing it to work even when there is no information of 'start at'.
This will make the start commands and other formats, more stable.

Introduced the command '=' (save CRC for compare) for very fast and simple check
for equality in files. Press Sh/Ctrl= in any file (when the CRC is already shown)
and a = sign will appear right before the CRC number. Move Z bar to any other
file and the sign will disappear, returning only when the bar finds a file that has a
CRC identical to the first one.


Version (A-34)

Changed the logic used by rpVT to identify ZTree in Windows Desktop. Previous logic
was leading to conflicts in some cases where multiple 'Z's drive multiple 'R's, and
W98 was having difficulty with identifying 'Z' in some cases.

Changed the rules for running multiple instances of rpVT. Now, only one instance of
'R' can be associated to one ZTree directory and only one instance of 'R' can run in
the same directory.
The reason for one per Z is because if more than one instance were allowed, both
them will process the same 'Y' commands from 'Z', leading to conflicts when writing
to the result.
The reason for one per directory is because if more than one is running, they will use
the same .ini and other control files and that will lead also to severe conflicts.
You can still run multiple instances of Z in a same directory and all them will control a
unique 'R', if present.
If you have 2 instances of 'Z', each in a different directory, you can have 2 instances
of 'R', each of them also in a different directory, associated with those 'Z's without
any conflict.

If rpVT finds an error condition that will preclude it from starting, it will write, in its
launching directory, a file 'fail.dat' that contains a message with four letters.
The rpVT help now contains a list of those messages with the corresponding
explanations.

The display mode Hexa or Dump was changed to become sticky, but within a session,
only. When started, rpVT always defaults to H mode, when the file nature is 'Dump'.

The /zd switch became optional. If not specified, 'R' will hunt the first free 'Z' in the
desktop and will associate itself to that instance. If another 'R' is already tied to
that directory, R will stay in 'stand alone' mode or will get the next Z window, if one
more exists (and free).
If a /zd switch is specified, R will hunt only the specific path\filename of the switch,
and no other instances of Z.
If a remote operation is set in a LAN, using the /rm switches, R will not establish
mouse redirection and will always set the 'quit with ZTree' flag, even if not specified
in the switches.

The 'Image file' concept was introduced in A-34. If a file has a size smaller than 500 Kb
and has an known data format like an Unicode text file, a Word Doc, or an HTML file,
R will translate the contents of those files into a temporary 'coarse' text version that
is easily readable. The user will be able to identify the file and see its basic contents.
The message 'Html image', for example, will show in the top right side of the window
to alert the user for the fact that it is not the file, but an image of it, that is being seen.
The image can be seen also in Dump or Hexa modes.
The CRC shown in the bottom line is always from the actual file and not from the image.
If the user desires to see the file in its original form, the command Sh/Ctrl F12 will bring
it back to the original format. If the bar is moved away and back or if F3 is entered in
Z, the corresponding image will come back again into view.
Please note that the image file view is not an exact correct display of the file. It is an
approximation, expressed in simple text format, and serves the purpose of identifying
the file contents, only.

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