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ANIMATEDMENUS/2000 2.2 RELEASE NOTES 
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This file contains last-minute information about AnimatedMenus/2000 and additional information that enhances the usability of AnimatedMenus/2000. We recommend you read this entire file before using AnimatedMenus/2000. 

Certain portions of this file pertain only to some editions (Evaluation, Standard, Developer) of AnimatedMenus/2000. Wherever possible, when a topic concerns only specific editions this is also noted within the topic. 

Unless otherwise noted, all materials provided in this version of AnimatedMenus/2000 are copyright (c) 1997-1999 by AnimatedMenus.com Incorporated. 

  

TABLE OF CONTENTS 


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1. WELCOME! 
2. WHERE TO FIND INFORMATION 
2.1. Information Files 
2.2. Online Resources 
3. CONTACTING ANIMATEDMENUS.COM 
3.1. Installation Assistance and Developer Support 
4. WHAT'S NEW 
4.1. What's new in this version 
5. INSTALLATION 
5.1. Source Files Installation 
5.2. Compiled Library Packages Installation 
6. DEMO APPLICATIONS 
7. UTILITY PROGRAMS 
8. DOCUMENTATION 
9. INTERNATIONAL RESOURCES 
10. KNOWN PROBLEMS 

  

1. WELCOME! 


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Hello! 

Thank you for downloading AnimatedMenus/2000 menu component suite for Borland Delphi and Borland C++Builder. This pack significantly expanded the potentialities of the TMainMenu and TPopupMenu components of the VCL included in the standard Borland Delphi package. Its components allow you to create a menu with really multimedia possibilities, which can enliven the interface of your application. 

Hope you'll enjoy using this software. 

Sincerely, Andrew Cher, 
AnimatedMenus.com, Inc. 

  

2. WHERE TO FIND INFORMATION 


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2.1. Information Files 

This file, README.TXT, contains release notes for AnimatedMenus/2000. See LICENSE.TXT for information on licensing allowances and limitations for AnimatedMenus/2000 and other AnimatedMenus.com software bundled with it. 

2.2. Online Resources 

You can get information from any of these online sources: 

2.2.1. World Wide Web 

Check AnimatedMenus.com 's Web site regularly. The AnimatedMenus/2000 Product Team will post white papers, competitive analyses, answers to frequently asked questions, sample applications, updated software, and information about new and existing products. You may want to check these URLs in particular: 

http://www.animatedmenus.com/ 
(Main AnimatedMenus.com Web site) 

http://www.animatedmenus.com/am2000/ 
(AnimatedMenus/2000 product information) 

http://www.animatedmenus.com/support/am2000/ 
(AnimatedMenus/2000 Online User Support Service) 

http://www.animatedmenus.com/support/am2000/docs/ 
(Online documentation for AnimatedMenus/2000) 

http://www.animatedmenus.com/downloads/ 
(Updated Help, software, and other files) 

2.2.2. AnimatedMenus.com NewsFlash 

To subscribe to electronic newsletters, type your email in online form at: 
http://www.animatedmenus.com/ 

  

3. CONTACTING ANIMATEDMENUS.COM 


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3.1. Installation Assistance and Developer Support 

AnimatedMenus.com offers a range of support services for AnimatedMenus/2000 (and other tools). For information, see the World Wide Web site for Delphi Developer Support at the URL: 
http://www.animatedmenus.com/support/ 
or write email to: 
Support@AnimatedMenus.Com. 

To contact AnimatedMenus.com directly, use the following URL: 
http://www.animatedmenus.com/writeus/ 
or write email to: 
GeneralQuestions@AnimatedMenus.Com. 

  

4. WHAT'S NEW 


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4.1. What's new in this version 

Added features: 

* ALL-NEW MENU DESIGNER WITH MULTISELECTION AND CLIPBOARD OPERATIONS. Now with all-new Menu Designer you can select several menu items, cut/copy/paste them, copy your menus from old applications into new AnimatedMenus/2000 Menu Designer. 
Next: design-time preview. 

* Editbox menu control (ctlEditbox) 
* Bitmap menu control (ctlBitmap) with multi glyph support 
* Support for multi-glyph menu item bitmap (NumGlyphs property) 
* Support for bitmaps in menu bar 
* Vertical menus (look for WordPad2000 demo) 
* Wrappable menus 
* New ShortCuts editor 
* mfNoDisableHigh flag that controls highligting of selected files 
* Percentage of Windows resources used decreased 
* Size of generating executable decreased 
* New registration unit am2000reg.pas 
* New Toolbar97 compatible menus TCustomizeMenu2000, TToolbarMenu2000 
* New TEditboxMenu2000 with default edit-control-context-menu's functionality 
* Using BitsPerPixel display's capability to determine the best pattern 

Fixed problems: 
* Problem with menu bar update on changing menu item properties 
* Problem with Actions 
* Problems with menu item selection via keyboard 
* Bug with multiple calling of OnFormKeyDown event 

Also there are several problems still persist and wil be fixed before new version will be released. 

In this build there are numerous bugfixes and improvements. 

In build #646: 

* New controls - Edit Menu Control and Bitmap Menu Control. 
* Fixed access violation caused by deleting top-level menu items in menu designer at design time from menu, attached to menu bar. 
* Fixed the problem with visibility menu bar on CoolBar 
* Added automatic vertical centering menu items in menu bar. 
* Fixed problems with TAction and TActionList. 
* Fixed annoying bug with 'Menu index out of bounds' message. 
* Partially fixed bug with using hidden menu items in draggable menus. It doesn't cause any AVs anymore. 
* Fixed problem with HelpContext that prevents AM2000 from functioning with ProHelp. 
* Now you can use several (up to four) different menu item bitmaps for each menu item. 

In Build #648: 

* NEW: New default animation - anFadeIn. You have to try it. We're going to improve this animation effect in the future versions. 
* Fixed problems with menu bar update on changing menu item's properties 
* Fixed problems with showing menu item bitmaps in menu designer. 
* Fixed problem with mfStandardAlign flag. 
* Fixed roblem with skipping disabled menu items when moving menu item highlighting by keyboard. 
* Fixed problem with auto-reopeining menu. 
* Cursor changes it's shape to standard arrow. 
* Fixed problem with double OnFormKeyDown event. 
* Edit Menu Control works much better, cursor blinks, selection problems fixed, clipboard operations improved. 

In Build #654: 

* When moving mouse cursor over the button grid, status bar update it's message 
* Del can be used as an shortcut 
* Application.OnHint fires the correct way 
* bdCenter, bdStretch, bdExpand BackgroundDisplay properties implemented 
* ItemSpace draws correctly 
* When changing RadioItem property of TMenuItem2000 it updates menu bar and designer 
* Fixed a problem with slow TTreeView in Delphi 3 
* Fixed a 'double shortcut firing' problem 
* When button is pressed, menu item can be selected now 
* Update MenuBar when moving menu items in menu designer 
* TMenuBar2000 is now correctly resizable 
* Added function MenuBar2000.GetLastOffsetX 
* Incorrect menu update fixed 
* Added support for TMainMenu.IsShortCut 
* New control: TToolbar97withMenuBar2000 with build-in support for TToolbar97 toolbars 

In Build #655: 

* Added new property to TMenuBar2000 -- Transparent 
* Fixed an incompatibility problem with TAction in design time 
* TMenuBar2000 can works with standard TMenuItem 
* Fixed a problem with correct updating of menu bar 
* Compatibility problems with Delphi 5, C++Builder 1.0, 3.0, and 4.0 resolved 
* Correct order of menu items destroying 
* Problems with anFadeIn animation 
* Optimized hidden menu item behaviour 
* Fixed several minor problems 
* A little bit of optimization implemented 

In Build #656: 

* Fixed problem with bounds painting 
* Fixed problem with anFadeIn animation and opening a menu panel outside ot screen's edge 
* Resource usage dicreased 
* Other minor problems fixed 

  

5. INSTALLATION 


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5.1. Source Files Installation 

In Borland Delphi 2 and C++Builder 1: 

Beside the installation of already compiled files, you can also install the source files and compile them on your own. 

1. In the Component menu select Install option. 
2. Click Add button and select am2000reg.pas. 
3. Press OK. 

Borland Delphi will automatically compile AnimatedMenus/2000 and install the palette of components. 

In Borland Delphi 3, 4, and 5 and C++Builder 3 and 4: 

Beside the installation of already compiled files, you can also install the source files and compile them by yourself. 

1. In the File menu select Open Project option. 
2. Browse to AnimatedMenus/2000 directory. 
3. Select an appropriate package: am2000_d4.dpk for Delphi 3, am2000_d4.dpk for Delphi 4, am2000_d5.dpk for Delphi 5, am2000_c3.bpk for C++Builder 3, am2000_c4.bpk for C++Builder 4. 
4. Package Manager opens. 
5. Press Compile. 
6. Press Install. 
7. Close the Package Manager. 

Borland Delphi will automatically compile AnimatedMenus/2000 and install it into the palette of components. 

If you encounter any problems during the installation of source files, please, remove all the compiled units, download new version from the Web-server, and try to install pre-compiled units. If it doesn't give any result, please, contact the AnimatedMenus.com Technical Support Service by using the following URL: http://www.animatedmenus.com/writeus/ or via email at: Support@AnimatedMenus.Com. 

5.2. Compiled Library Packages Installation 

In Borland Delphi 2 and C++Builder 1: 

Because Delphi 2 and C++Builder 1 doesn't support design-time packages, we dropped the support for compiled versions of AnimatedMenus/2000 for these versions. 

In Borland Delphi 3, 4, and 5 and C++Builder 3 and 4: 

Pre-compiled libraries for Delphi 3 and 4 are delivered in the form of Delphi/Borland Package Libraries, Delphi Compiled Units and necessary resources. For proper installation of these units: 

1. In the Component menu select Install Packages option. 
2. Click Add button and select am2000dpk.dpl or am2000dpk.bpl. 
3. Press OK. 

The AnimatedMenus/2000 components will be added to your component palette automatically. 

  

6. DEMO APPLICATIONS 


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At AnimatedMenus.com Web site at URL http://www.animatedmenus.com/downloads/ you can find useful samples of using AnimatedMenus/2000. Please visit our site regularly for more information and more samples. 

  

7. UTILITY PROGRAMS 


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AnimatedMenus/2000 comes with a number of helper, utility applications. These application programs serve a variety of purposes, from debugging applications to working with data tables. These utility programs include: 

* Universal Menu Convert utility - updates menus in existing applications so it can use full functionality of AnimatedMenus/2000. 

You can download thes utility programs from Download section of AnimatedMenus.com website at http://www.animatedmenus.com/downloads/ . 

  

8. DOCUMENTATION 


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You can use AnimatedMenus/2000 on-line documentation at AnimatedMenus.com Web site at http://www.animatedmenus.com/support/am2000/docs/. 

  

9. INTERNATIONAL RESOURCES 


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AnimatedMenus/2000 is a multi-language software. Its easy to use this software with any language. At present time you can download the following international resource files from Download section of AnimatedMenus.com website at http://www.animatedmenus.com/downloads/: 

* Danish 
* Dutch 
* German 
* Italian 
* Polish 
* Portugese 
* Russian 
* Spanish 
* Swedish 
* Taiwanese 
* Ukranian 

Simply download and unpack the international resources archive into the current directory with AnimatedMenus/2000 and the recompile the software. 

  

10. KNOWN PROBLEMS 


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There is a number of bugs and shortcomings in the existing version of program. We are going to fix them in version 2.2. Here is the list of these bugs: 

* Double click on the menu item title in Menu Designer doesn't display the OnClick event handler 
* Buttons and button arrays can't be disabled 
* TMenuItem2000.Assign() doesn't functioning 
* Menu items at menu bar cannot be displayed as default menu items (TMenuItem2000.Default = True) 
* Menu doesn't merge with the menu object TOLEContainer 
* Hidden menu items cannot be used in draggable menus 
* AnimatedMenus/2000 uses about 8-10% of system resources 
* TMenuBar2000.Transparent property works only at run-time 

Though we are planning to fix these bugs in the next version, registered users can use the most up-to-date renovations available for download from the AnimatedMenus/2000 Developer and User Network at http://www.animatedmenus.com/support/am2000/. 

There is also a possibility of new unknown bugs appearance. In case of bug detection, please: 

1. Download a fresh version of AnimatedMenus/2000 from the Download section of AnimatedMenus.com web site (do you remember the URL?). 
2. Remove all files from the AnimatedMenus/2000 folder (including DCUs) and unpack a new version there. 
3. Remove all the libraries from your enviroment (except the most essential). 
4. Re-build the AnimatedMenus/2000 package. 
5. If the bug is still here please contact us at http://www.animatedmenus.com/writeus/ or by email at: Support@AnimatedMenus.Com. 

  



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AnimatedMenus.com, AnimatedMenus/2000, ProfessionalLook, Resource Workshop 2000 and Delphi Scripting Host are trademarks of AnimatedMenus.com, Incorporated. Microsoft and Windows are registered trademarks and ActiveX and Windows NT are trademarks of Microsoft Corporation. 
(c) 1997-1999 AnimatedMenus.com Incorporated. All rights reserved. 

  
 