    Mesa(tm) Spreadsheet for OS/2 from Sundial Systems
    Release Notes (README.TXT) for Mesa 2 2.1.6
    September 1996


    Thank you for trying Mesa 2 for OS/2.  This file contains information
    which became available after the printed materials went to press.


    What is Version 2.1.6?

    Version 2.1.6 is the first full release of Mesa 2 under the Sundial
    Systems label.  (Mesa 2 was previously a product of Athena Design, Inc.)
    It is also the first full release of the Mesa 2 2.1 series -- previous
    releases of 2.1 by Athena Design were preliminary or beta in nature.

    The Mesa 2 2.1 series represents a significant enhancement over the
    earlier 2.0 series.  In particular, Mesa 2 2.1 offers:

    * Much faster recalculation engine.
    * Reduced memory footprint.
    * Numerous feature enhancements.
    * Several new menu items to make things easier.
    * New, smaller file format.

    Note that files created in Mesa 2 2.0.x can be read into 2.1.x, but not
    the other way around.  Before using this version, make sure the files
    created will not need to be read into 2.0.4 (or earlier).


    Feature Enhancements

    There are a number of new and changed features in Version 2.1.6 that
    are not described in the printed Mesa 2 documentation:

    * Indexed functions such as VLOOKUP, HLOOKUP, etc...  now use the Excel
      convention for the index.  Excel is 1 based instead of 0 based.  The
      Lotus style functions (@VLOOKUP, @HLOOKUP, etc...) remain 0 based.
      Also, the default search types for the different lookup functions are
      now different for the Excel- and Lotus-style functions and thus match
      the corresponding defaults in those products. This allows Excel users
      to work as they are used to and Lotus users to work as they are used to.

    * Significant enhancements have been made in handling formatting
      information when importing or exporting from/to WK3, WK4, and XLS
      format files.

    * Significant improvements have been made for import from WB1 format
      files.

    * Support has been added for importing Excel 4 Workbook (XLW) files.

    * The Goto panel has been enhanced to include a list of named ranges
      as well as recent Goto destinations.

    * The positions of the toolbar and formula bar can now be flipped.

    * Backup files are now created by copying, rather than renaming, the
      original.  This allows file objects on the desktop to work as intended.

    * Graphic objects are now copied to the clipboard in Metafile format
      and in bitmap format thus allowing more flexibility when using
      graphics with other programs.  Graphic objects can also be DDE linked
      into other applications as well.

    * Mesa 2 now uses the OS/2 country settings for things like the list
      separator.  If your country uses a comma for the decimal separator,
      then you can set the list separator in the OS/2 country setting to
      specify a different separator for function arguments. Mesa 2 also now
      recognizes dates entered in many additional international formats.

    * For use with REXX, SetFeed and GetFeed are now exported from the
      MESAFEED.DLL so they can be used in ANY REXX program through the use
      of RxFuncAdd.

    * Also for use with REXX, GetSignalData(NAME) can be used to get
      data from the SIGNAL() function.  This blocks the REXX program until
      the signal is raised.  (This is also exported from MESAFEED.DLL.)

    * Several new formula functions have been added.  These include AND,
      OR, EVEN, ODD, FLOOR, CEILING, MROUND, ROUNDUP, ROUNDDOWN, TRUNC,
      and WEEKDAY, as well as COSH, SINH, TANH, ACOSH, ASINH, and ATANH. 
      The corresonding @ functions have also been added. For details on
      using these new functions, see the on-line documentation.

    * Several new MScript functions have been added.  These include
      SORT, FIND, REPLACE, REPLACEALL, SIZECOL, SIZECOLUMN, SIZEROW,
      SETBASECELL, SETREDISPLAY, SETFONT, SETFONTATTR, SETFONTATTRIBUTE,
      SETALIGN, SETALIGNMENT, and SETBORDER.   For details on using these
      new functions, see the on-line documentation.

    * Several improvements, only of interest to Addin developers, have been
      made to the AddIn functionality.  For information regarding the AddIn
      functions, contact Technical Support.


    OS/2, Presentation Manager, and Workplace Shell Compatibility:

    Mesa 2 is designed specifically for use with OS/2 Version 2, 3, or 4
    and the Workplace Shell.  This includes all of the following releases:

        OS/2 Warp 4
            "General Availability" release
        OS/2 Warp Server
            "General Availability" release
        OS/2 Warp Connect
            "Red Box" (for use with Windows) release
            "Blue Box" (with Win-OS2) release
        OS/2 Warp (OS/2 Version 3)
            "Red Box" (for use with Windows) release
            "Full Pack" (with Win-OS2) release
        OS/2 2.1
            "Manufacturing Refresh" (2.11) release

    Most "FixPak" levels of OS/2 Warp, Warp Connect, and Warp Server have also
    been tested.

    Note that releases prior to OS/2 2.11 (including OS/2 2.0 and 2.1) are
    not supported.


    Limitations

    Listed below are some known limitations which may impact your use of
    the current version of Mesa 2.  Many are related to problems in
    particular OS/2 versions for which there is currently no workaround.

    * Installing over a previous version may cause a SYS2070 error to be
      displayed at run-time.  Sometimes, when using the installer to delete
      a previous version of Mesa, or to install over a previous version, it
      does not always find all of the earlier versions of Mesa's DLL's.
      Thus the software is not updated completely and the SYS2070 error is
      displayed by OS/2 when you try to use Mesa.  If this happens, the
      easiest solution is to type the following command at the root
      directory of each drive that could be accessed via OS/2's LIBPATH:

        DIR MESACORE.DLL /s

      This will locate any previously existing copies of the Mesa DLL's.
      Switch to the directory indicated by the results of that command, and
      either delete or rename the Mesa DLL's that are there.  Then
      re-install Mesa 2.  If that does not resolve the problem, please
      contact technical support for further assistance

    * There are a number of issues concerning the relationship between
      file-name extensions and file-type associations during file saving and
      exporting.  Currently, if you do not include an extension in your file
      name, Mesa 2 automatically appends one based on the file type
      you have chosen.  If you do include an extension, Mesa 2 sets
      the file type based on that extension.  If the extension is ambiguous
      (as with XLS, which can mean either Excel 3 or Excel 4 format), Mesa 2
      chooses between the permissible options based on the file type menu
      settings.  If the file-type menu setting is not an allowable option
      (for example, if the file name is output.xls and the file-type menu
      reads Mesa 2 spreadsheet file), an intelligent default is chosen (in
      this case, Excel 4 worksheet format).

    * When loading files, the Type of File listbox refers to extended
      attributes as well.  If you have (for example) Lotus 123 files created
      from a DOS or Windows version of Lotus, those files probably do not
      have the 123 DOS Spreadsheet extended attribute set, so you must set
      the Type of file to All Files, and then type the filename mask that
      you desire in the Open Filename box.

    * Not all formatting information is necessarily preserved when
      importing or exporting, and this varies to some degree from one file
      format to another.

    * Within Mesa 2, Excel means Excel 3 and 4 worksheets and Excel 4
      workbooks.  Currently, Mesa 2 does not support Excel 5 workbook import
      or export or Excel 4 workbook export.

    * Graphs do not take text as headers for 3x3 ranges; all other ranges
      work correctly.

    * If you select a discontinuous range and graph it, Mesa builds a
      virtual range by appending the second and subsequent ranges underneath
      the first.  This is not the desired behavior if you have selected
      multiple selected columns.

    * Pie charts default to Group Rows, even if you really want Group
      Columns.  Thus, if you select a single column of data and create a pie
      chart from it, the graph will appear as a single color.  As a
      workaround, right-click on the graph, choose Graph Settings, and
      change the Orientation radio button from Group Rows to Group Columns,
      and you will see the pie chart draw itself correctly.

    * There have been a number of printer problems identified by our
      customers with past versions of Mesa 2 and particular OS/2 printer
      drivers.  Many of these problems were fixed by the printer drivers
      shipped with OS/2 Warp "Full Pack" release, the Warp Connect release,
      or by OS/2 Warp FixPak 17 and the related printer driver fix pack.
      However, there are still a number of issues left unresolved that we
      will be working on for future releases.  Among the issues that have
      been reported are:

        * Row and Column headings are sometimes inverted
        * Colored text sometimes prints as black
        * Non-outline fonts are extremely slow
        * Landscape printing doesn't work on HP IIIP PostScript printer
          (Apple LaserWriter Plus emulator)
        * Blank pages are often added to the ends of files on HP DeskJets
          and LaserJets

    * There is a known problem with OS/2 Warp FixPak 17 and Mesa 2 such that
      when Mesa 2 is open, windows won't come to the front when activated.
      This is a bug in FixPak 17.  There is a file with a new PMMERGE.DLL
      (available from IBM) that fixes the problem.


    The Legal Fine Print

    Mesa is a trademark of Athena Design, Inc., and is used by Sundial
    Systems Corporation under license.

    Other phrases used herein may be brand names, trademarks, or registered
    trademarks of Athena Design, Inc., CompuServe Incorporated, Corel 
    Corporation, Lotus Development Corporation, IBM Corporation, Microsoft
    Corporation, Sundial Systems Corporation, or others.  All such names and
    trademarks remain the property of their respective companies.


    Technical Support

    We at Sundial Systems are committed to supporting you, our customer.

    We track all questions, comments, and "bug reports" concerning our
    products and use this information in planning future releases.  If
    there are features you particularly like or things you think should
    be added to our products, please let us know.

    Please consult your license agreement and the on-line documentation
    for details about the level of technical support to which you are
    entitled.

    If you have questions or suggestions, please call us at (310) 596-5121
    between 8:30 AM and 5:00 PM Pacific time, Monday through Friday.
    You can also FAX your questions and comments to us at (310) 598-9851.

    On the Internet you can send email to mesa@sundialsystems.com, or to
    mesa@ibm.net; or visit us on the web at www.sundialsystems.com.

    Technical support is also available on CompuServe through the Sundial
    Systems section of the OS/2 Application Vendor forum.  Start
    connecting with Sundial Systems and other CompuServe members by
    calling 800-524-3388 and ask for Representative #456.  (In the United
    Kingdom, call 0800 289 378.  In Germany, call 0130 37 32.  In the rest
    of Europe, call (+44) 272 255111.  Outside the U.S., Canada, and
    Europe, call 614-457-0802.  Be sure to ask for Representative #456).
    If you're already a CompuServe member, enter GO OS2AVEN at the !
    prompt to access the Sundial Systems Section of the OS/2 Vendor Forum
    on CompuServe.

    Also, please note that our area code will be changing from (310) to (562)
    after January 1997.

    Thanks in advance,
    Sundial Systems Support Services.
