ZoomText for DOS 4.70 Notes

    This file contains information on ZoomText for DOS that is
    not covered in its user guide.


What's New in this Version

    The following is list of changes that have gone into
    ZoomText for DOS since the last major release (4.42 or
    1.42 as a part of ZoomText Plus).


    Version 4.70

    1.  During review mode, some VGA cards would display video
        corruption when panning towards the bottom of the
        screen.  This problem has been fixed.

    2.  A command line parameter (/DM:3) has been added to
        force ZoomText to recognize a mouse attached to a PS/2
        mouse port.  This parameter should only be used if
        ZoomText is not recognizing the presence of your mouse
        in DOS, even though you have a DOS mouse driver loaded.


    Version 4.61

    1.  Support for Hebrew characters has been added.  To
        activate Hebrew support, load ZoomText as follows:

            ZOOMTEXT /H

        The Hebrew characters will appear in all ZoomText
        fonts (PC, Helvetica and Courier).  These characters
        begin at ASCII value 128.  The /H command line
        parameter can only be used at load time (when ZoomText
        is loaded into memory).


    Version 4.60	

    1.  When installing ZoomText for DOS in Windows 95, if
        you choose to load ZOOMTEXT in the AUTOEXEC.BAT
        file, the install program will automatically turn
        off ZoomText when it loads. This allows Windows 95
        to boot properly and but still gives you access to
        ZoomText for DOS when running a full-screen DOS
        session from Windows 95.

    2.  Problems were fixed in loading and saving ZoomText
        configurations. These problems, which occurred in
        version 4.50 and 4.51, were causing configuration
        files to be incomplete.

    3.  Support for video cards with ARK chipsets has been
        added. Some ArkenClone systems use an ARK-based VGA
        card. Some Diamond Stealth 64 cards also use this
        chipset.


    Version 4.51

    1.  Problems tracking the mouse pointer in Word Perfect 6.0
        have been fixed. In past versions of ZoomText, it was
        necessary to select the Word Perfect "Absolute/Pen" mouse
        driver. This is no longer necessary. You should now
        choose the "MOUSE.COM" mouse driver (which Word Perfect
        uses by default). Also you no longer need to use the
        ZoomText /DMH:16 command line parameter. ZoomText will
        automatically detect Word Perfect 6.0 and make the
        necessary adjusts.  This fix works in both text and
        graphics modes.

    2.  The INSTALL program will now automatically remove
        statements in your AUTOEXEC.BAT that will load an old
        version of ZOOMTEXT.


    Version 4.50

    1.  Problems in loading ZoomText into High-DOS memory have
        been fixed in this version. It is now possible to load
        ZoomText for DOS into high memory using DOS's memory
        manager (EMM386.EXE). Refer to the section below for more
        information on loading ZoomText high.

    2.  ZoomText for DOS configuration files and keyboard
        configuration files are now automatically loaded from and
        saved to your ZoomText for DOS subdirectory (unless you
        specify otherwise). The default subdirectory for ZoomText
        for DOS is C:\ZT5\ZTDOS.

    3.  ZoomText for DOS now supports magnification of DOS-based
        graphics programs. In the past, this support was limited
        to versions of ZoomText supplied with the ZoomText Plus
        package.

    4.  ZoomText has a new installation program, featuring its
        own magnified user interface. The install program handles
        the installation of ZoomText for DOS and ZoomText for
        Windows and can be run from either DOS or Windows.

    5.  Support for EGA graphics adapters has been removed. If
        you require EGA support, we can provide you with a copy
        of ZoomText 4.42 at no charge.


Loading ZoomText into High-DOS Memory

    ZoomText for DOS can be loaded into High-DOS memory on
    machines using a memory manager (such as EMM386, QEMM or
    386-MAX). Even though ZoomText resides in approximately 85K
    of memory, the memory manager must initially load the entire
    EXE file (about 100K).

    Therefore you need 100K of High-DOS memory in one continuous
    chunk in order to load ZoomText. You may or may not have
    this much available on a particular system. If you are using
    EMM386, the MEM /F command will list the size of your free
    upper memory blocks. Eliminating the EMS page frame may help
    you acheive a contiguous 100K block (refer to you memory
    manager manual for details).

    When using a memory manager with ZoomText for DOS, it is
    important NOT to steal any video memory for High-DOS memory,
    since ZoomText uses all video memory when performing its
    magnification.


Text Mode vs. Graphics Mode

    Many current DOS programs (such as Microsoft Word and Lotus
    1-2-3) can be run in either text mode or graphics mode. Even
    though ZoomText for DOS will magnify graphics, we suggest
    that you configure these dual mode programs to run in text
    mode.

    There are a number of advantages to text mode. First of all,
    ZoomText for DOS supports all zoom modes while in text mode,
    but only full-zoom while in graphics mode. All tracking
    options are available in text mode, while only mouse
    tracking is available in graphics mode. Other features such
    as color selections work only in text mode, although
    graphics mode does support palette changes.

    You can tell you are running in graphics mode by popping up
    the ZoomText menu (by pressing [Alt][Ins]) and bringing up
    the Zoom menu (by pressing Z). All menu items will be
    grayed-out except for "Full".

    Please consult your application program documentation for
    instructions on how to force a dual mode program into text
    mode.


Word Perfect

    If you are experiencing keyboard problems when running
    ZoomText for DOS with Word Perfect, use the following
    command line to loading Word Perfect:

        WP /NK /NC

    This will disable Word Perfect's built-in keyboard and
    cursor handlers.


Mouse Driver Support

    ZoomText for DOS expects your mouse driver to be compatible
    with Microsoft MOUSE.SYS version 6.00 or greater. If your
    Microsoft compatible mouse driver is loaded, but the "mouse"
    item in the Track menu is grayed out, your driver is not
    100% compatible.

    If you run into this situation and your mouse is attached to
    COM1 or COM2 ports, use the /DM:1 (mouse on COM1) or /DM:2
    (mouse on COM2) command line parameters when loading
    ZoomText. Also if your mouse driver is a .COM file, make
    sure it is loaded before ZoomText.

    You can disable ZoomText for DOS from accessing the mouse by
    removing your mouse driver from your CONFIG.SYS file.


Mainframe Emulators

    Running ZoomText for DOS with certain mainframe emulators
    can lead to problems. These problems stem from the fact that
    many emulators try to prevent TSR's from operating during
    emulation.

    To counteract these ill-behaved emulators, ZoomText has a
    variety of behavior switches (/B:n command line parameters).
    Refer to the ZoomText manual for complete details on these
    parameters.

    A general stategy for getting ZoomText for DOS to work with
    your emulator is as follows:

    1. Load ZoomText first with each behavior switch. Make sure
       that ZoomText is loaded before any of the terminal
       emulation software, which could be loaded as a TSR in
       your AUTOEXEC.BAT.

    2. Load the emulator first. Hot-key out of the emulator to
       DOS (usually by pressing [Alt][Esc]), load ZoomText and
       hot-key back to the emulator.

    3. Sometimes it is necessary to have ZoomText turned off
       before entering the emulator. This can be done at load
       time by using a /ZO- command line parameter or manually
       via [Alt][Del].

    4. There are some emulators that work in 43 or 50 line mode
       or even in graphics mode. Make sure the emulator is
       configured for 80x25 text mode.

    If none of this works, there are well behaved emulators on
    the market. Emulators by Avitar, IdeaComm and the latest
    version of DCA's IRMA (version 1.4.2) work with ZoomText and
    other TSR's.

    Another alternative is to aquire a Windows-based terminal
    emulator and run it with ZoomText for Windows.

