1. Whats New in Axon2012
Axon2012 is a result of many design changes to make it easier to use:
Improved Menu structure:
The menu structure is simplified and hence easier to use. The Level Menu (in the main menu) is removed and replaced by the Level Context Menu which opens from the Statusbar. The Zoom Menu (in the main menu) is removed, and some of its selections are moved to the View Menu.
The improved Toolbar:
A command line is added (see below). There are now only two default Toolbar Styles (Standard and Extended). The Sequencer and Visualizer buttons are fixed at each end of the Toolbar. New buttons are added for Repeat, Full Screen, and Help. The Toolbar Settings dialog box now maintain statistics of button usage.
The command line:
The command line provides a browser-like interface for search, navigation and other functions. The text Find/Replace functions/dialog boxes are replaced by the new command line feature. For example typing "axon" will do a search of all objects (including its text contents) for the occurance of "axon".
The improved Statusbar:
The Statusbar has more navigation buttons and requires less clicking due to auto closing of menus. The scroll and zoom controls are now placed together.
The improved Analyzer:
The main improvement is the use of formatted/colored richtext and the improved ease-of-use. The Analyzer is now more graphical and easy to understand.
The improved Visualizer:
The Visualizer is simplified by not showing the character counts (bar charts) and the picture at the bottom. The word count feature is transferred to the Analyzer. The Visualizer button is always present at the top of the Toolbar.
Other enhancements:
- The Toolbox auto opens under appropriate situations.
- The Generator has a speed control using a slider.
- A global "Mute sound" option is available in the Preference.
- The font size of the Class Object contents can be changed using Options|Entity.
- A "Center At" menu option is available from the Background Context Menus.
- When closing Textwindows, a prompt appears to ask whether to close one or all windows.
- The File|Reload also refreshess/re-download any web-based pictures.
- The Help file is reorganized to allow faster/easier access to its contents.
- There are more pop-up messages to provide instant feedback on user operations.
- All file times are now based on local time instead of GMT time previously.
- The Zoom dialog box is redisigned for easier operation.
- Pressing Esc will stop the 3D Timer (oscillation).
- Pasting of hyperlinks includes ability to paste local files (e.g. file:///...).
- The text shown inside the Class Object can have various font size.
- A number of bugs are removed.
2. Changes from Axon2011
- The term Templates are restored (replacing the term Patterns). The objective is to adhere to down-to-earth terminology.
- The "Check spelling while typing" feature is removed. Spelling errors can be checked less distruptively using the Analyzer or the usual Text|Spell Check.
- The Analyzer limits the amount of text that can be analyzed to 100,000 characters.
- The Calculator dialog box is removed. Decimal point format is now set in the Simulator. Computing frequency is set in Options|Entity|Object. The Recompute button is replaced by the hotkey Ctr+F10.
- The Sequencer is now a permanent arrow button in the Toolbar, and no longer available as a separate icon button.
- The Goto Level is no longer available as a button in the Toolbar. It is now in the Level Context Menu.
- Hidden levels are shown as underlined in the Level Tab, instead of using the brown color.
- Fog Effects is specified in the Background Properties instead of Options|Entity.
- The Object|Hide Objects option is removed. Use the Visualizer to hide Objects and other entities.
- The Icon category ("Concept") is removed.
- The text shown inside the Class Object uses the Textwindow font instead of the Droptext font.
3. Changes made to Beta 1.00 (27 Dec 2011)
- The Repeat button in the Toolbar now has a consistent icon.
- Scroll buttons are added to the zoom control.
- Minor problems with the Tooltips are resolved.
- The Shift dialog box is simplified.
4. Changes made to Beta 1.10 (1 Jan 2012)
- Corrected some alignment problems in the Sequencer and Visualizer.
- Corrected some alignment problems in full screen mode.
- Linked the Edit|Find Text menu to use the command line.
- Removed the expiry condition as this is the final version.
5. Known Problems
- 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.
- 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 Axon2010.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/
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/896358/
http://blog.crowe.co.nz/archive/2007/04/13/719.aspx
http://blogs.microsoft.co.il/blogs/tamir/archive/2007/05/03/
- Droptext having the Richtext format is printed without text formatting.
- An Axon file containing Random Pictures as background cannot be saved as .emf.
- 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).
- Some Axon files in Unicode format cannot be displayed in 3D.
- Right-to-Left (RTL) display is not supported in 3D view for Object IDs and Link Labels.
Top
AXON Release Notes