Sorcerer Software Users Newsletter Issue 0212 HAPPY NEW YEAR! Welcome to our monthly newsletter, covering the latest updates, tips and user questions about our software programs. If you have an issue or question you would like to see addressed in a future newsletter, either by me or by your fellow users, please email me and I'll include it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- December 31, 2002 CONTENTS: 1. The Abacus 2. Envelope Printer 3. An interesting web site (Merry Christmas!)... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Abacus http://www.TheAbacus.biz Two users independently had the same rather ominous experience within the last month when using Abacus SE, and emailed me about it: "When I attempted to perform a calculation (or in the other case, when she started Abacus) I received the message 'Access violation at address 00000000. Read of address 00000000'." We cleared up this problem by simply deleting and then re-saving the user's configuration file. Apparently this user's configuration file ("AbacusSE.ini") had become corrupt, and invalid data from that file was being read by Abacus. The solution to this problem brings up a few bigger issues that I have wanted to discuss: Where the Abacus files are located and how to access them. All Abacus files (except "Abacus30.dll" for version 3.0 users) are kept in the Abacus folder. This folder is located at: "c:\abacus" (the "abacus" directory on your "c" hard drive). Within this directory you will find, among other things, the log files and the configuration files. You can identify these files by their 3 letter extension -- with log files having such names as "abacus.log" or "AbacusSE.log". But on some Windows installations, especially Windows 2000 and XP, the ability to see the file extensions is turned off by Windows. So in order to see these extensions, and therefore the full filename, you need to fix it. To do so, start Windows Explorer and click on "Tools->Folder Options->View". Then find the check box entitled "Hide file extensions for known file types", uncheck it, and click on "OK". Now when you go back to the Abacus directory, with the file extensions no longer hidden here's what you should see: [for Abacus SE]: Abacus.exe AbacusSE.ini AbacusSE.log AutoDLL.dll Abacus.hlp [for Abacus version 3.0]: Abacus.log Abacus.ini Readme.htm wdBackup.exe "images" folder Now... let's get back to the problem of the corrupt ini file. In the case of the user who got that horrible message, here's what we did: We deleted the file "AbacusSE.ini" (she has Abacus SE, not Abacus version 3.0). Then she restarted Abacus, which in turn created a new "AbacusSE.ini" file, and she clicked on "Save Settings" to save all of her configuration choices to this file. And she was back in business! It turns out that their was a line in the configuration file that told Abacus to use a folder that no longer existed on the user's computer. When Abacus started and went to look in this now non-existent folder, it got confused and the above message appeared. (As an aside, we will be fixing this in the next Abacus build which will be posted on the web site next month.) Moral of the story: Learn to use the Windows Explorer program if you don't already. All versions of Windows have it, and it's an excellent and easy way to manage files and directories on your computer -- moving them, copying them, deleting them, renaming them, and more. The current version 3.0 Abacus build is 021207. If you have an earlier build of version 3.0, you may want to download and upgrade to this build. This is the macro "add-in" version. The current Abacus SE build is 021130. If you have an earlier build of Abacus SE/4.0, you may want to download and upgrade to this build. This is the freestanding version. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Envelope Printer http://www.sorcerersoftware.com/envelope.htm I recently received an email from a user who found a bug (!!!) in the program. Here is his message: "I am transfering the addresses from an existing file of addresses four lines at a time via the clipboard as per your instructions and it works fine on the first address but subsequent addresses are contaminated by remnants of the prior addresses. I have checked the clipboard for it's contents and it is correct, somehow your program does not seem to be fully purging the prior address even after clicking on the "clear this address" icon. Am I correct or is the fault in the way I am using the program?" I went back to the drawing board and checked his work, trying to reproduce his error by following the same steps he performed. Much to my surprise, I found out that he is right! So I spent some time chasing down this bug and believe that it is now fixed. At least it works properly for me and for him. I have since then posted an updated build of the program on our web site (build #021209) so anyone who needs it can download it. I also received an email from a user who noted that the Enter key is disabled for use in other programs when using the Envelope Printer with the List of Addresses screen open. This I have known about all along, and is not really a bug... but it's not a very clean part of the program, either. So while fixing the above bug, I also tackled this situation. As of this new build you can use the Enter key in other programs while you have Envelope Printer open and the List of Names screen displayed. This newest build contains no changes other than these two. If these issues aren't important to you, it may not be worth upgrading... if fact if the program is working well for you, I would suggest you spend your time on something other than the download and upgrade. (Like maybe trying out some of our other software!) The current Envelope Printer build is 021209 of version 6.1. If you have an earlier build or version, you may want to download and upgrade to this build. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- An interesting web site... that I used for my Christmas shopping is: http://www.despair.com You will need a rather twisted sense of humor to appreciate this commercial site. They sell such things as notepads, calendars, and posters utilizing their own approach ("Despair") to viewing the world. Sample: "Motivational posters don't work. But our demotivational posters don't work even better." Or this inspired message on their "Procrastination" poster: "Hard work often pays off after time, but laziness always pays off now." My personal favorite is the coffee cup. But check it out for yourself and you'll see what I mean. (Note: I don't work for or have any financial arrangement with this company or their web site. They just appealed to my sense of reality, such as it is.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- That's all, folks. Look for our next newsletter in about 4 weeks... -- Bill bill@sorcerersoftware.com Sorcerer Software http://www.sorcerersoftware.com To read all the old newsletters, go to: http://www.sorcerersoftware.com/archives.htm To be removed from our mailing list, send me an email with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line.