Mach3ScreenTweak Release B1.0 - 13 August 2005

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Release B1.0 

This release renames the program Mach3ScreenTweak.

It allows screen sets with up to 100 screens (hence avoiding a subscript error in the previous version with Mach3 screens)

It includes the facility to paste the code from the butons of a sceeen or whole screen set into an edit window from where it can be pasted into a document and printed to document a set of custom buttons.

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Release A4.0 is essentially a "bodge" to avoid the problem caused by exporting layouts to CSV files when they contain VBScript buttons with double-quotes and/or many lines of code. The CSV now has the descriptive text <-complex code-> in the field rather than the code itself. Clearly such a file cannot be imported sensibly. The import function warns of this.

In addition where double quotes are used in Labels or button captions they are converted into ~ (tilde) in the CSV file.

One day I might properly handle quoted quotes (by repeating them like in "We might say ""damn"" or ""drat""") but ScreenTweak is in Visual Basic and the i/o routines are a mess, so it is not trivial.

The limitations only affects CSV input/output - so far as I know all other features work with the currently released screens.

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Release A3.1 corrects a bug in handling Mach2 layout files where the length of any text string exceeded 254 characters. In particular this could be important with VB Script attached to a button.

Original note:

Rev A2 of the Mach2Mill manual documents the format of a .SET (i.e. screen Layout) file. The Mach2ScreenTweak utility allows you to manipulate Layout files in the following ways:

(a) Export data on the controls from a layout to a text (CSV) file for analysis and documentation purposes
(b) Import data on screen controls from a CSV file
(c) Delete screen(s)
(d) Move screen number within a layout so number in Designer is position when using Mach2
(e Append screen(s) from another layout (to include one;s own favorites)
(f) Re-caption screen selection buttons to the logical F-keys etc.
(g) Resize screen or layout to smaller or bigger screen resolution 
(h) Order DROs so arrow key moves through them more logically 
(i) Produce a simple statistical report on the controls in a layout or one of its screens.

I have used the Export/Import feature to compare screens between succesive releases on Mach2Mill and to make systematic changes of conventional buttons to Bitmap buttons.

Appending, Deleting and Moving screens is useful when you want to merge a custom screen with the standard screens issued by Art,

Notice that the caption text on conventional buttons is the same font and size whatever the size of the button so shrinking screens can cause the captions not to fit on the buttons. Bitmap buttons scale without difficulty.

I have just released version A2.1 which I consider to be Beta status. This:

(1) Implements sorting of DROs in a group
(2) Implements Statistics
(3) Implements Import of CSV format Layouts
(4) Has clearer interaction when Undoing
(5) Fixes a bug whereby a Layout file overwritten by a smaller Layout by Save As did not physically shrink in size.
(6) Has a distinctive Icon

The program, a Windows ActiveX control file which you may not have if you do not use other Visual Basic applications, and a sample Layout to experiment with importing screens are in a Zip in the folder M2ScreenTweak on this group.

The source also is available if you want to "play" with other features (not-for-profit). You will need Visual Basic 6.0 Professional or Enterprise edition. Let me know off list if you want access to the source files.

Comments and suggestions welcomed as always

John Prentice
17 November 2004