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Conference bulova::decw_jan-89_to_nov-90

Title:DECWINDOWS 26-JAN-89 to 29-NOV-90
Notice:See 1639.0 for VMS V5.3 kit; 2043.0 for 5.4 IFT kit
Moderator:STAR::VATNE
Created:Mon Oct 30 1989
Last Modified:Mon Dec 31 1990
Last Successful Update:Fri Jun 06 1997
Number of topics:3726
Total number of notes:19516

306.0. "Many PAINT bugs. (?)" by NANOOK::KENNEDY (Matt Kennedy) Sun Feb 26 1989 13:04

    I looked around for a paint conference and didn't see one so I thought
    this would be the best place for this stuff. Let me know if there
    is a better place.
    
    I have a VS2000, 6MB, RD54, VR290, VMS V5.1, SDC DECwindows. I have
    been getting a significant amount of use out of the Paint application
    for a quick way to create overheads for presentations. Having used
    other paint programs I adapted very quickly. 
    
    In using Paint I have found that it seems to be *LOADED* with bugs.
    No doubt It could be me. Here are some of the things I have found.
    If more accurate descriptions are needed let me know.
    
    
    o After selecting an area on the screen and moving the area a part of
    what was in the selected window dissapears while still moving. Using
    undo or placing the selected area will not return the lost info. Must
    recreate lost information. 
    
    
    o Icons on tool pallette dissapear. Have to quit and restart. If
    pointer is placed over area where icon was area (square) turns black.
    This also happens occasionally when pull down Edit menu is used.
    The area where pull down covered is not refreshed. Have to quit
    and restart.
    
    
    o In one session while drawing rectanlges, parts of the rectangles
    would not be drawn. This was using the thinnest line width and fill
    set to none. Click down sweep out and click again would result in
    only parts of the rectangle showing (e.g. parts of sides, top, bottom
    lines where missing)
    
    
    o After moving zoom box part of box remained where it was oiriginally
    placed and therefore messed up area of drawing which it was originally
    placed on. Seemed to be no way to correct. Had to correct that area
    of drawing.
    
    
    o Resizing of window to half original size and back again caused
    strange results. Whenm returned to original size the picture was
    severly jumbled. Continual resizing (severl times) seemed to return
    the picture to it's original state.

    
    o Opening a picture created in a previous session causes Paint to
    fail. Using Fileviews work in progress window and selecting task
    output shows the following error. This has happened several times
    with a few different frame-id numbers. I beleive 104 as well.
    
    %IMG-F-FRAMIMPER, Frame import error when importing data for frame-id
    112
    -DDIS-E-ENDSTREAM, end of stream detected before logical end of
    data

    
    o In another session, another task output message was:
    
    PAINT ERROR: BADPIXMAP - paramter not a pixmap        

           
    ---------------------------------------------------------------------
    
    There were others but I ignored them at first as I thought it was the
    operator (me). I appologize for wasting your time if I have done
    something wrong.
    
    Matt Kennedy 

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306.1some moreVIA::DESAIJatin DesaiSun Feb 26 1989 18:0821
While we are at it, I may as well report some more.

1. Every time I read in an X11 bitmap format file, It opens the file but gives
   a message that it could not open it.

2. When modifying an X11 bitmap format file, it changes the case of letters in the
   original file - i.e.

    #define foo_width 16   

	will become

    #define FOO_width 16

3. The sequence - open an X11 bitmap file - make changes - save changes -
   open another X11 bitmap file - will crash paint every third time.


Jatin

306.2I was gonna QAR 'em, but since this is hereLDP::GAYNow where'd I put that hammer...Mon Feb 27 1989 16:1554
    I have been meaning to get around to QARing these, but since this
    note is already here, I'll just tack on a few more.
    
    re .0, I don't think you are doing anything wrong (or if you are,
    you have company)
    
    1. cutting and pasting between sessions messes up the area pasted
    to.  It seems to shift the bits under the boundary of the selected
    area created in the destination window.
    
    My workaround has been to make sure that a blank area was centered
    in the screen before pasting (I rarely have any problems with resize,
    which is lucky 'cause I do it a lot to force the select area to
    arrive in a "safe" place).
    
    2. Occasionally it stops accepting the x coordinate from the mouse
    while MB1 is down.  The cursor moves around, but if I am drawing a
    line or box, Paint thinks I am going straight up or down, only. 
    
    The only way out is to exit Paint and start over.  
    
    A bizarre characteristic of this bug is that when selecting an area, the
    rubber band box shows as a perfect square, but the area selected is
    the rectangle that I expected from where I down and up-clicked.
    
    3. When cutting and pasting between windows, pasting is slower each
    time.  This seems to be unrelated to the size of the area being
    pasted.  I assume it is a memory leak.
    
    4. When I print my current picture (on the LN03 hooked to my
    VS_II's console port), then save to a file, the odds are better
    than 50% that Paint won't be able to read the file back in again
    later (the error message was already given in .0).
    
    5. When cutting and pasting, paste sometimes does nothing.
    
    6. This may be an intended feature, but I hope it is a bug, 
    when the grid is on, moving a selected area does not move in 
    grid increments.
    
    7. When putting in text, the text that is typed is below and to
    the right of where the text will actually be put.
    
    
    Luckily, I am comparing Paint to Sight.  For the kinds of pictures
    I have been drawing (icons, overheads, an occasional free-hand funny)
    Paint makes the job a lot easier.  I can work around the bugs (save
    a lot, take care where you paste, save before printing, etc.).
    I do hope that a color version comes out soon.
    
    Yours
    Eben Gay
    

306.3Even though this note may be here...IO::MCCARTNEYJames T. McCartney III - DTN 381-2244 ZK02-2/N24Mon Feb 27 1989 16:2210
Still QAR the problems. QARs are the only OFFICIAL means for 
reporting a problem. This conference is only for discussion.
The QAR system ensures that the problem is assigned to a 
specific individual who must look at the problem and determine
if a fix is necessary. Just putting a gripe in this notes file
will not accomplish reporting the bug.

James

306.4Can you QAR SDC SW?NANOOK::KENNEDYMatt KennedyTue Feb 28 1989 16:056
    It was my understanding that QAR's were only for FT software. I
    didn't know you could QAR SDC released SW. Is this possible? I thought
    it was the SPR process which meant filling out paperwork.
    
    ??Matt

306.5LESLIE::LESLIELESLIE::'s Notes DaemonTue Feb 28 1989 16:085
    Go ahead. SET H TRIFID, Username QAR_INTERNAL, Password QAR. FOllow the
    instructions and/or use HELP.
    
    Andy

306.6QUARK::LIONELThe dream is aliveTue Feb 28 1989 18:055
    And use the V50 database for all SDC releases of VMS (which includes
    DECwindows).
    
    				Steve

306.7Paint creating squares instead of boxesCSC32::T_LONGBOTHAMClatu berrada nictu, Gort!Wed Sep 13 1989 15:2427
    RE .2

    > 2. Occasionally it stops accepting the x coordinate from the mouse
    > while MB1 is down.  The cursor moves around, but if I am drawing a
    > line or box, Paint thinks I am going straight up or down, only.
    >
    > The only way out of Paint is to start over.
    >
    > A bizzarre characteristic of this bug is that when selecting an area,
    > the rubber band box shows as a perfect square, but the area selected
    > is the rectangle that i expected from where I down and up-clicked.
    
    I have a customer who is reporting the same behaviour and I am having
    difficulty reproducing it so that I can QAR it.  My customer said that
    he created rectangles, added text, used the SAVE and SAVE AS options
    often, and used the OPEN option to reopen the file.  I spent a full hour
    and a half drawing rectangles and randomly performing the functions that
    my customer said seemed to provoke the problem to no avail.  I could not
    find a QAR in the V5.* SDC, DECWINDOWS-FT, or the DECWINDOWS-IFT QAR
    databases.  I was also unable to find any better place than this to post
    this note as the QUEEN::EPIC notes file does not seem to be the proper
    location for PAINT questions.  Has anyone else seen this problem or got
    some additional information?  Is there in actuality a better place to post
    this note?  Thanks in advance...
    
    					-Tom

306.8So QAR it as is, mark it as `not reproducible,' and explain in the textHYDRA::COARNobody move or I'll shoot my foot!Wed Sep 13 1989 16:581
306.9Try this.EPIK::J_JOSEPHCats are on the upgrade.Wed Sep 13 1989 17:2442
>    > 2. Occasionally it stops accepting the x coordinate from the mouse
>    > while MB1 is down.  The cursor moves around, but if I am drawing a
>    > line or box, Paint thinks I am going straight up or down, only.
>    >
>    > The only way out of Paint is to start over.
>    >
>    > A bizzarre characteristic of this bug is that when selecting an area,
>    > the rubber band box shows as a perfect square, but the area selected
>    > is the rectangle that i expected from where I down and up-clicked.
>    
>    I have a customer who is reporting the same behaviour and I am having
>    difficulty reproducing it so that I can QAR it.  My customer said that
>    he created rectangles, added text, used the SAVE and SAVE AS options
>    often, and used the OPEN option to reopen the file.  I spent a full hour
>    and a half drawing rectangles and randomly performing the functions that
>    my customer said seemed to provoke the problem to no avail.  I could not
>    find a QAR in the V5.* SDC, DECWINDOWS-FT, or the DECWINDOWS-IFT QAR
>    databases.  I was also unable to find any better place than this to post
>    this note as the QUEEN::EPIC notes file does not seem to be the proper
>    location for PAINT questions.  Has anyone else seen this problem or got
>    some additional information?  Is there in actuality a better place to post
>    this note?  Thanks in advance...
>    
>    					-Tom

Well, I think I know what you're talking about, and I even have a solution for
you.  The problem has been fixed for most of the baselevels of DECwindows V2.

I believe the problem is this:  Due to some flakyness with the handling of 
shift key events (depressing the shift key as you begin an operation constrains
that operation, eg - lines to 45 degree angles, rectangles to squares etc.), if
the user unwittingly presses the shift key while the mouse is positioned in 
the window, but releases it when the mouse is outside of the window, paint
still thinks that it is depressed.  It didn't work exactly right for select 
anyway.  

The solution:  Simply hit the shift key while the mouse is inside the window and
things should return to normal.  The paint window must have input focus.

-Jnathan


306.10To SHIFT or not to shift doesn't seem to matterCSC32::T_LONGBOTHAMClatu berrada nictu, Gort!Wed Sep 27 1989 18:4415
    Hi Jonathan,
    
    	I very much appreciate your stab at an answer but not only does
    the customer report that he has been nowhere close to the shift key
    when this occurs, but also I am unable to cause it to happen by using
    the shift key.  I tried just about every combination that I could think
    of involving the pressing the shift key, releasing the shift key,
    and drawing rectangles but all I could get was rectangles.  I am
    running VMS 5.1 and DECWINDOWS V1.0.  Can you describe in further
    detail how to use the shift key to get squares from rectangles?
    Any other ideas?
    
    					Regards,
    					-Tom

306.11Please identify these as bugs, features, or whatever???NITMOI::PESENTIOnly messages can be draggedMon Mar 26 1990 09:2225
I would be more than happy to file QARs on these problems, if they are really
bugs.  However, it may just be that I don't know how to accomplish them.  Here
goes:

All of these were found after I created a 13+"x13+" picture, and tried to get
it printed:

1. PS printing:  even though I specified LEDGER paper (11x17), the picture is
   scaled for 8�x11 paper.  I would like to be able to have the biggest picture
   possible printed.

2. SIXEL printing:  gives me the upper right 8�x11 "tile".  I would like to
   be able to print the entire picture, one tile at a time, and paste them
   manually.

3. SELECTING: When I try to select the entire picture, I get the visible portion
   only.  Even when I make the window as big as my whole screen, I cannot fit
   the entire picture into it, and therefore cannot select the whole picture,
   ever!

4. SCALING:  I have a line drawing with thin horizontal and vertical lines.  
   The scaling operation must either work on some majority rules scheme, or
   blindly discards pixels, since about 90% of the lines disappear.  Is there
   a way of getting better results?  (I don't care if the letters are reduced
   dots or not, and I don't use a pattern.)
306.12Paint BOMBBSS::RIGGENCo Sports teams= BridesmaidsThu Jul 12 1990 15:317
    I have a bug with DECPAINT off a VT1000, It seems that when we attempt
    to add text to the PAINT screen the VT1000 errors completely out of the
    PAINT process ?
    
    We don't have a problem with our VS2000 using the same feature. 
    
    Jeff