We are happy to announce an updated version of Mesa 2 for OS/2.

In response to the tremendously helpful feedback we've received from many
of you since the product launch in November, we've included fixes for
several critical bugs, and added some new features. Some more information
about Mesa 2.0.1 is enclosed below; for more details, see the on-line
documentation that comes with 2.0.1.

In order to help our customers and encourage additional feedback, we are
extending free e-mail and fax technical support for all registered Mesa 2
users through April 15, 1995. After that, our policy of 90 days of fax and
e-mail support will be in effect. Contact us by fax [1.617.734.1130] or by
e-mail [m2-support@athena.com] for technical support.

The updated version of Mesa 2 has been placed in the following ftp sites:

        hobbes.nmsu.edu: /os2/32bit/demos/mesa2.zip
        ftp.athena.com: /pub/Mesa2/mesa2.zip & mesa2.txt

Due to speed and bandwidth considerations, we recommend that you check
hobbes first. If the updated version of mesa2.zip is available when you
check it (check the date), please download it from there.

We are also making the updated version of Mesa 2 available on CompuServe,
through the OS2AVEN forum early this week.

If you are unable to download the software, contact your local reseller for
information about how to obtain the update on floppy disks*. Or, for more
information, contact us at Athena Design directly at 617-734-6372.

Thanks for using Mesa 2 and please keep your feedback coming! We look
forward to hearing from you.

*Depending on your location, your local reseller should have updates by
Feb. 1, 1995 at the latest. Cost of media and shipping may be charged. Ask
your reseller for details.

What's new in Mesa 2.0.1

Mesa 2.0.1 is our first upgrade of Mesa 2 and is available free to all
registered Mesa 2 users. It addresses a number of priority bugs that our
users have pointed out to us or that we've detected in-house, and includes
a few additional features we've added along the way. The fixed bugs and
new features are listed below by category:

   *   Desktop issues
   *   Printer issues
   *   Keyboard issues
   *   Menu and manager issues
   *   Pop-up menu and help panel issues
   *   Miscellaneous issues

Desktop issues

* Drag files onto open application

You can now open Mesa 2 files by right-dragging the file icon from the
desktop onto the application window. Simply start the application and drag
a file icon onto, for example, the display area of the application
window.

* Eliminated video corruption

Everyone's favorite bug. There was a problem with 2.0 that caused the
desktop to fail to repaint windows properly when Mesa 2 was closed (Mesa
2.0 opened a handle to a presentation space that was not closed when the
application was). We have worked around this problem within Mesa 2 and it
has been reported to IBM as a problem with OS/2's thread protection.

* Minimizing with open menu no longer causes lockup

A problem with menus caused the entire system to lock up whenever a file
window was minimized while a menu was opened. We have worked around this
problem within Mesa 2 and it has been reported to IBM as a problem with
OS/2's menus.

Printer issues

* Optional multithreaded printing (printer crashes)

Mesa 2.0 operated on a multithreaded printing model, wherein each workbook
would open a separate thread to print on. This caused problems with
certain print drivers, which would result in the application crashing if
an attempt was made to print on anything other than thread #1. As a
workaround to this problem, we have made multithreaded printing optional.
If you are experiencing crashes when you attempt to print a file, please
turn off the Background printing checkbox in the Preferences manager (see
Preferences Manager in the on-line help) and try again. We recognize that
this is not an ultimate solution, but we hope it will solve most of the
immediate difficulties.

* Printing extra lines and pages

We have received several bug reports related to extra lines and pages being
printed on certain printer drivers. We hope most of these are fixed in
2.0.1. While we have tested the fixes on several printer drivers, we are
unable to test all of them; if you experience problems of this sort,
please provide us with the type of printer and printer driver (name, date,
and size).

Keyboard issues

* Page Up/Down
* Delete

These keys did not work properly in Mesa 2.0 for a variety of reasons. In
2.0.1, Page Up and Page Down work normally (as specified by the CUA
guidelines), the Delete/decimal point key on the numeric keypad works
properly, and the Delete key works when editing the contents of the
Formula Bar.

The key bindings for Wrap and Unwrap are no longer (Alt+)Shift+F1.

Menu and manager issues

* Help button on print panel works
* Long file names don't make the Selection Manager "throb"

In Mesa 2.0, filenames longer than 14 characters would sometimes make the
Selection Manager update itself constantly (interrupting any attempt to do
anything useful).

* Mnemonics & shortcuts

Several mnemonics have been reassigned to avoid duplication. The shortcuts
for Wrap and Unwrap have been removed to avoid problems with the F1 key.
Several errors in the on-line help related to keyboard shortcuts have been
fixed.

* Control panels

Numerous changes have been made to the Selection Manager and other control
panels to improve the location and appearance of controls.

Pop-up menu and help panel issues

* New RMB menus

The layer RMB menu has been completely redesigned to include
range-formatting, sorting, and similar functionality. The Script, Page
Tab, Row Heading and Column Heading menus have been redesigned slightly.

A Formula Bar menu has been added.

* New help panels

Technical support information and legal and licensing information are now
available through the help system. The help system has also been
redesigned slightly to make certain information more readily accessible.
Changes have been made to the text to correct errors in the original
version, to clear up some confusing sections, and to reflect the changed
functionality of v2.0.1. In addition, some graphics have been added to
improve clarity, and more hooks into context-sensitive and RMB-based help
have been added.

Miscellaneous issues

* Drag and drop fonts onto windows

The following areas of the file and application window now support drag and
drop fonts from the Font Palette. This works just like fonts on a cell
does in 2.0.

      Status bar
      Formula bar
      Row/column headings
      Location display

* Add help to config.sys in installer

When Mesa 2.0.1 is installed, it should automatically include a reference
to the location of the help files (the Installer configuration that
shipped with 2.0 did not do this).

Athena Design Inc
17 St. Mary's Court
Boston, MA 02146

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