
Features added since the writing of the Version 3.0 Documentation!

Note that *NEW* License restrictions are now imposed on the use of
PcMenu and its accompanying program PalDef. Please read the file
LICENSE.TXT for these restrictions.

If your Menu's take longer than about 2 seconds to load, a 'Loading'
Box appears with a twirling character.

A colorful mesage will now display if no visiable Menu
options are found ( in the first or Main Menu ).

A problem was also found (and fixed) to do with menu script interpreter.
It sometimes interpreted DOS Batch file code as a submenu call, resulting
in a 301 error.


If the menu scripts change state between the execution of an option and the
consequent return back  to the menu system  (eg. due to perhaps editing the
Menu Scripts as the function of the Menu Option just run) and some of those
options have  become visible/invisible, it  was likely that the menus would
load incorrectly, or a fatal error would occur!

if an option was called from a sub-menu (maybe of some level of depth), and
upon returning, this  Sub-Menu tree is no longer visible (due to some newly
imposed constraint in the  Menu Script or otherwise) PcMenu will attempt to
reload menus as far down the sub-menu chain as possible.


The  new  display features  allow you to display (greyed out and inactive!)
what would otherwise be a hidden option.

This allows those people that like numbering their menu options, not to have
some  go  missing through option hiding.  How  this  feature  works  is best
described with an example. 
 
         %My Menu,0,0,1 
         Option 1,C:\DOS\Command.com
             rem  do dos commands for option 1
         Option 2,!C:\DOS\Command.com
             rem  do dos Commands for option 2
         !Option 3,C:\DOS\Command.com
             rem  do dos Commands for option 3
         !Option 4,!C:\DOS\Command.com
             rem  do dos Commands for option 4
         Option 5,!G:\PCMENU\MAIN.MNU
             %Main Menu,C:\PCMENU\MAIN.MNU
         Option 6,!C:\PCMENU\MAIN.MNU
             %Main Menu,C:\PCMENU\MAIN.MNU
         Option 7
             %Sub Menu1,C:\PCMENU\SUB1.MNU
         !Option 8
             %Sub Menu2,C:\PCMENU\SUB2.MNU
 
 Option 1.  This works  the same way as before,  if an option has a TAG file
 specified, the menu option is only displayed if the TAG file exists. 
 
 Option 2, only displays if c:\dos\command.com  does NOT exist. The OPPOSITE
 to that of  "Option 1".  If c:\dos\command.com  exists (as it usually does)
 the menu option is hidden.
 
 Option 3  is interesting.  It's  similar to option 1. except, if the option
 would  normally  be  hidden, because the tag file did NOT EXIST, instead of
 the  option  being  totally hidden, it is displayed "Greyed", and CANNOT be
 executed!
 
 Option 4, is the same as Option 2.  If the Option would normally be totally
 hidden  (by  the fact that the  tag file EXISTS)  then  the option would be
 "greyed" and again the option would not be able to be executed.
 
 Option 5.  I've added this as an practical example of what you could do with
 this  feature.  If your  Menu files  are loaded on the Network, and for some
 reason  the  workstation  failed  to login  correctly.  You  can  display an
 alternate  option to  a sub menu on C:,  If they do login ok, then this menu
 option  would  automatically be  hidden, because the  menu file  on drive G:
 would be visible.
 
 Option 6.  What happens here?  We are attempting to  call a  sub-menu from a
 alternate file. The  menu  option  only displays if that alternate file does
 NOT  exists (in this case  the tag file is the MNU alt-file for the sub-menu
 definition ).   Actually, this  is non-sensical.  You  will  NEVER  get this
 option to display! By definition, you MUST be able to SEE the Alternate file,
 otherwise the menu option is hidden !!

 Option 7.   Nothing new with this option. The Sub Menu1 definition is defined
 in  the  file  C:\PCMENU\SUB1.MNU.   If this  file does not exist, then, this
 option will be hidden from view.

 Option 8.  Same as Option 7. except  that if the file C:\PCMENU\SUB2.MNU does
 not exist, then the option is displayed "greyed".

Part of the menu loading routines have been completely recoded, vastly
improving the loading times of menus.

Known Problems
       No problems are known with this release


All questions, bugs, or  you wish to participate as a beta tester, can be sent
to me (brian@swin.edu.au) or, for those unfortunate enough not to have internet
access, you can snail mail to

       PO BOX 518
       Heathmont 3135
       Victoria, Australia

Brian Habel
5/5/96
