Axon2009 Final - Release Notes

1. Whats New in Axon2009

1. The UI now share the same look and feel of Windows (customize using Control Panel|Display|Appearance)
2. A new Idea Visualizer enables selective or progressive unfolding of details to display.
3. A Fisheye View is now available as an option in the Idea Visualizer.
4. A path tracing the Object Sequence is now available as an option in the Idea Visualizer.
5. Export Axon file to OPML (Outline Processor Markup Language).
6. The Toolbox provides a (moveable) Palette for selecting color.
7. When creating a Link by dragging, the Link end point can also be the middle of Object.
8. In a Plaintext window, Ctr+MouseWheel zooms the text contents, similar to Richtext window.
9. The special keywords "[Folder1]" and "[Folder2]" can be used to specify a common path in Object Properties. The [Folder*] location is globally defined in File Information|Basic.
10. The special Link Label "&len" will result in the Link length displayed instead.
11. Droptext can omit indented lines (using Object Properties) to reduce clutter.
12. The Analyzer:Statistics option includes a count of numerics and its total.
13. A Plaintext Object can be opened with the FreeWriter (use Object Context Menu).
14. The FreeWriter is no longer organized by Topics. All texts are saved to a file. By default the file is "FreeWriter.txt" in the My Documents folder.
15. When the timer is running in the FreeWriter, a pause character (*) is inserted if there is a pause in typing.
16. A Toolbar button is available for File|Open.
17. File|More shows recently opened files as well as all files in current folder.
18. The texts in File|Information|Comments are displayed in the Statusline as well as the Templates.
19. Shape Menu: Added "Default Opacity". Initially set to 50%
20. Shape Context Menu: Added "Form perfect square/circle" command.
21. Shape|Make Copies now provide a preview.
22. Polygon/Polyline can be precisely positioned (by coordinates) using Point Properties.
23. Polygon/Polyline can have a small square/circle at each polypoint. (See Shape Property.xon).
24. Find Links now highlight the selected Link.
25. Checklists listing now shows the last modified date.
26. New Background: The World Map can be Pacific centric or Atlantic centric.
27. New Background: The weekly calendar can begin with Monday or Sunday.
28. New Background: The Clock background shows the analog clock as background.

2. New Files

1. New Checklist: Personal-Identification.txt for identifying physical characteristics of a person.
2. New Checklist: Techniques(Simulation).txt gives guidelines for doing simulation studies.
3. New Axon file: "Cieszewski Model.xon" by Prof. Chris Cieszewski is a classification of implicit model forms.
4. New Axon files: More examples of Class Diagrams in "Learning-COM.xon", "PFC-COM.xon", and "Web Browser.xon".
5. More Random Pictures.

3. Changes from previous version

1. The drag region of an Object (on the left margin) is extended to the left-top region.
2. The Analyzer is simplified.
3. The Level|Goto Level|"5 Levels Up/Down" menus are replaced by "First/Last non-empty Level".
4. The Preferences|Objects|"Show Seq No in Workspace" is removed. Instead use the Sequencer or Visualizer to control the display of Seq No.
5. The Sequencer is transferred from the Idea Menu to the Object Menu.
6. The Slideshow is transferred from the Idea Menu to the View Menu.
7. The Text|Show Totals menu is removed. Use the Analyzer|Statistics instead.
8. Thumbnails come pre-installed instead of generated during setup.
9. The Ticker is replaced by the enhanced Random Words.
10. Tooltips no longer gets hidden behind dialog boxes at times.
11. The hardcopy Get Started Manual (which has been in existence for more than a decade) is no longer printed. Global warming is a major reason for the discontinuation.

4. Changes/Corrections made to Beta R1.1 (15 Aug 2008)

1. The Tabulator now supports word-wrapping of edited contents.
2. The Analyzer is now modeless.
3. The Analyzer has an additional ID Style to show Seq#.
4. The Analyzer tracks the source Object by marking it.
5. The Help key (F1) now works as expected.
6. The Tooltip will not remain upon switching application.
7. An additional button in the Background dialog box to change 2 colors simultaneously.
8. The FreeWriter is changed back to modeless.
9. The notification on Duplicate ID is now based on case-insensitive match.
10. The Esc key now closes a dialog box as expected.
11. The Generator tracks the Starting ID by marking it.
12. Resizing of dialog boxes by dragging the bottom right corner now works properly.
13. A new (second) file added for BVITS idea generation, courtesy of Lim Liat of BvOTech.

5. Changes/Corrections made to Final R2.0 (25 Aug 2008)

1. Corrected problems with the preference setting "Dialog box always expanded".
2. Tooltips are always cleared when changing file or program.
3. Importing/Exporting OPML file - improved error checking.
4. Visualizer - redesigned the Visualizer icon, also improved on graphical effects.
5. Context Help using the [?] button is replaced by the more comprehensive/normal Help.
6. The preference using Ctr+Click to create Object no longer cause any problem.
7. Blended Objects can now have horizontal or vertical blend using Options|Entities|Objects.
8. Blended Objects now auto assign the blending color differently - can be darker or lighter.
9. A few Palette colors are adjusted to be lighter, especially Dark Blue.
10. A new Toolbar button added for Distribute Objects Repulsive.
11. Icons with the Outline fill style are now displayed as monochrome.
12. An early upload of R2.00 contains some omission. If you encountered an error message about a missing wave file or an MCI Error please download again.

6. Known Problems

1. To install on Win2000, the .zip version is needed. You will also need to download the gdiplus.dll from Microsoft and copy it to the same location as Axon. Also ensure that the Lucida Sans Unicode font is installed.
2. If you have a problem accessing the Help (from the Help menu), it is likely that your latest security patch from Microsoft has prevented it. To correct this problem, doubleclick on the Axon2008.chm file in the Help subfolder. Then uncheck the option labelled "Always ask before opening this file". For more details see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/902225/
3. Droptext having the Richtext format is printed without text formatting.
4. An Axon file containing Random Pictures as background cannot be saved as .emf.
5. If using a pen-cum-tablet and running Vista, do not (in 'Pen and Input Devices') substitute 'press and hold' for a right-click. Also the pen input tab should be docked to the bottom of the screen to avoid crashing the pen (which is a Vista bug).
6. If using pen-cum-tablet and you encounter problem with the Idea|Cluster dialog box, you can download a Patch containing the Axon2009.exe replacement.