 
   --- READ ME - INTERMODELLER FOR WINDOWS VERSION 3.4 --- 

      Tom Conlon, Parallel Logic Programming Ltd, UK

                14th August 2003 {PW 4.321}

Welcome to InterModeller, the knowledge-based modelling tool for 
Windows-based computers! 

This is commercial software, not shareware or freeware. 

InterModeller is developed in Windows and Macintosh versions by 
Parallel Logic Programming (PLP) Ltd and may be used ONLY under 
license from PLP. 

Visit our Web site for more information about our software, 
prices, and order arrangements. Or contact us by phone or email, 
as follows:

        Telephone (UK): 01454 201280
        WWW:  www.parlog.com
        Email: sales@parlog.com

This Read Me contains these sections:

        System requirements
        What's new in this version
        Known bugs and issues in this version
        Older version history

It should be read in conjunction with the InterModeller User's 
Guide (which licence holders can download from our website).

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

System requirements

This version of InterModeller has been successfully tested on Windows 98 and Windows XP operating systems. Note however that in order to run, your Windows system must include the Microsoft file RICHED20.DLL in version 5.30 or later. If you are running Windows 98 and InterModellr fails to run when its program icon double-clicked, the unavailability of this file in a suitable version on your computer could be the cause.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

What's new in this version (v3.4, August 2003)

Improved tool icons and cursors

The tools (pen, eraser and arrow) provided in graphic windows now show revised
icons with cursors that give better feedback to the user. Each cursor now resembles 
its associated tool icon. When dragging with the arrow tool, the cursor gives
feedback on the action by changing from an arrow to a grabbing hand.

Graphics window fonts now user-settable

You can now select the font used for drawing graphics and showing help in 
table windows and both types of tree window and you can save
your preferred fonts so that InterModeller starts each session with your favourite
fonts automatically set. The 'Preferences' command ('File' menu) now accesses
three parameters, 'Graphics window font', 'Help font size' and 'Graphics window font size', 
which offer a menu of the fonts available on the host computer in various sizes. 
Note that help text is always shown in the face selected by 'Graphics window font',
although the size of help text is independently selectable. You are recommended
to close all graphic windows BEFORE altering these settings: any change to them
is designed to take effect only after the _next_ use of the 'New' or 'Open' commands and
their effect upon any already open graphic windows is not guaranteed. Table window row
height and tree window node layout will automatically adjust for font size settings. Note that 
these new  parameters are _not_ saved in the information that is stored for an individual 
window by the use of the 'Save' command, so unless their values are made permanent 
by means of the Set_Save button then graphic windows will revert to the 
default font when re-opened in a subsequent session with InterModeller. This
is different from the way that the already existing 'Text window font' and 'Text window 
font size' parameters (which affect rule windows) behave: 
text font details _are_ saved in a window's file information, so the 'File'/'Open' 
command displays a previously saved text window in the font that was 
active when the window was created regardless of the current setting of 
the font parameters. There is currently no way to change the font of a text 
window after it has been created. However, you could change the text 
font parameters and then use the 'Transform' command to produce a 
version of the rules in a window that shows the preferred font.

Translation to non-English languages

InterModeller can now run in languages other than English just by adding to
its 'System' folder a file named TRANSLATIONS.TXT that gives non-English
equivalents of the English words and phrases used by the program's menus 
and windows. See the Translations folder for an example. Contact PLP if you 
are interested in non-English versions of InterModeller.
 
Dialogues easier to read

Several dialogues, including the 'Preferences' and 'Transform' dialogues,
have been increased in window size and/or font size. The 'Runtime tracing'
window also now uses a larger font. 

Tree layout improved

To reduce the incidence of clashing text, classification trees now have an 
increased default arc length. To accommodate more roots, the distance between
new roots (eg as created by the 'New root' or 'Transform' commands) has been
reduced for both kinds of tree model.
 
Folder contents changed

The InterModeller folder's file contents have been changed. In particular, 
a new 'System' folder now stores cursor, icon and other resource files. 

Bug fixes

- A bug that caused the printing of text (rule) windows in a minute font size has been
  addressed. A remaining issue is described below.
- Tree and table windows are now printed to centre on the printed page.
- A bug that affected menu operations on incomplete (gappy) table windows has been fixed.
- The Transform command banner has been removed (on all but extremely slow computers,
  its appearance was too brief).
- A bug has been fixed that prevented InterModeller from loading its essential icon 
  resources, and so from running graphical models, when installed in a folder or path 
  containing Chinese (or other non-ASCII Unicode) characters. However there is still an 
  issue relating to such installations - see below.
- Fixed a bug that sometimes caused text labels on vertical arcs of decision trees not to 
  be de-highlighted correctly following editing.


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Known bugs and issues in this version

- Text (rule) windows are currently printed in the font currently specified 
  for them in the 'Preferences' dialogue, which could differ from the visible window font.
  Also, the font size used by a newly created text window may appear to be smaller than
  that which is specified by the dialogue.

- If you try to open a large number of windows at one time then a message 'Memory full' may 
  appear. This situation is only expected to arise in very exceptional circumstances.
  Normally, closing one or more windows will enable you to proceed, but it can happen that 
  InterModeller reports further error messages in which case you are recommended to close and
  then restart the program. Memory usage varies greatly between sessions and depends 
  on your windows' contents. Text (i.e. rule) windows occupy far less memory than graphic 
  (tree and table) windows. 

- If InterModeller is installed in a folder or path containing Chinese or other
  non-ASCII Unicode characters then the Preferences dialogue will offer font face settings
  from a very restricted list of options. 

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Older version history

------------------- v3.2, June 2003 ------------------- 

Upgrade for Windows XP

This version has been recompiled under Windows XP. This ensures
that InterModeller runs fine under this version of Windows, whilst
retaining comapatability with older versions of Windows. 


------------------- v3.11, November 2002 -------------------

Runtime tracing available

A trace of the runtime consultation can now be conveniently obtained. 
To activate tracing, use the File/Preferences command and set the 
'Runtime tracing' option to 'activated'. (The default setting is 'not 
activated'). After this is done, a trace of the user's input and system 
output will be listed into a special text window. The window can 
be printed or its contents can be copied and pasted into a word 
processor document, for example, to provide evidence of a particular 
expert system's runtime behaviour.

Changed eraser tool appearance

The 'bomb' icon that previously identified the eraser tool has now been 
replaced by an icon resembling an eraser.

Scroll bar and buttons improved

In previous versions of InterModeller, clicks on these controls effected
minimal movements. The controls now give a more satisfactory response.

Arrow tool feedback

The arrow tool now gives visible feedback in the form of a dashed line
while dragging.

Memory warning

A memory warning is now given when an attempt is made to create too many
windows.

Bug fixes

Fixed several bugs: the loop detection methods sometimes caused
non-loopy models to be incorrectly reported as loopy; the compilation
of classification tree class names sometimes left these with trailing spaces;
explanations did not display if they were too lengthy (eg from Fishes Ctree); 
on one network OS, File/Open was reported to fail unless a multi-selection was made.


---------------------- v3.0, January 2002 ------------------

New 'Hide\show tools' command 

A new 'Hide\show tools' command now appears in the Models menu 
whenever a graphics (tree or table) window is at the front. 
The benefit of this command is to make the entire window area 
available for editing and inspection. The first use of 
'Hide\show tools' will hide the window's graphical tool icons 
and status field (the small area at the bottom of the window 
that displays tool help). The pen tool is automatically selected, 
so that trees and tables can still be edited, but with the benefit 
of the extra space that is normally taken up by the toolpane and 
status field. All menu commands behave as normal but of course 
the other graphical tools (arrow and eraser) will not be accessible. 
A subsequent use of  'Hide\show tools' will restore the standard 
toolpane and status field. 

File/Save command context-sensitive 

In previous versions of InterModeller, the File/Save command was 
always enabled regardless of the state of the front window. The 
command is now context-sensitive, ie it is disabled unless a change 
has been made to the window since the last use of Save or 'Save as'.

Arrow key behaviour improved

When editing text in a table or tree window the left and right arrow 
keys now function normally, ie they move the cursor in the edit field 
rather than skipping to another tree node or table cell as before. 
This change has been made because long text labels were sometimes 
difficult to edit without the normal use of arrow keys. You can still 
use the arrow keys to move rapidly between tree nodes and table cells, 
but to do this you must now hold down the shift key. 



----------------------  v2.3 (May 2001) --------------------

Info dialogue shows creation date

The 'Info...' command ('Models' menu)  now includes a field that
shows the time and date of creation of the appropriate model window. 
A window's creation information is saved to file along with other
details. Files saved by older versions of InterModeller will show
'N/A' in place of the creation time and date in the 'Info...'
dialogue.

Further graphics optimisations

More efficient code is now used for tree model processing. Dragging,
erasing, arrow-key editing, tidying, and other operations on trees
are now faster. Tables models have also been further optimised,
benefitting cut-and-paste operations especially.

Bug fixes

The following bugs affecting v2.2 have now been fixed:
- Tree and table models were not always refreshed correctly 
to show the effect of a graphical deletion.
- If a tree or table model was Run and then immediately saved 
under a different name then the Run command subsequently
would not work until after a further edit. 
- The 'Select all' command when applied to a tree model should 
cause the model's root node(s) to be selected, but under certain
circumstances did not do so.
- Clicking on a classification tree featureless node label did not 
prefill the edit field with the label's value (although editing
did still operate correctly).


------------------  v2.2 (December 2000)  ---------------

Graphics optimisations

Graphical model types now use a more efficient internal 
representation of graphical structures. This has allowed some 
optimisations to be made that will be evident in an improved 
performance of the associated tools and commands.

Improved eraser tool action with tree models

Clicking with the eraser tool anywhere on an arc (or sufficiently
close to an arc) of a dtree or ctree model will now delete the 
arc and its subtree. Previously, only eraser clicks on the labels 
of arcs had any effect. Also, the  action of the eraser tool has 
been changed to reduce the risk of excessive erasure. Previously, 
clicking on a non-leaf node deleted the node, any parent arc and 
the node's subtree. Now, clicking on a non-leaf node will delete 
only the subtree. If it is required to delete also the node and 
its parent arc, a second click on the node is necessary. The 
effect of clicking on a leaf node is unchanged, i.e. the node and 
any parent arc is deleted.

File format changed for table models

The file format for table models has been changed to exploit a 
more efficient representation that is now used for these models. 
Table model files are now significantly more compact. Table files 
produced by older versions of InterModeller will still be properly 
interpreted by this version of IM, but not vice-versa. If you want 
to send a table model created in v2.2 to someone who is using an 
older version of IM, you could first transform it into another 
form of representation and send that file instead (or you could 
tell that person to download v2.2 free from our website!). 

Bug fix in 'Run' command

A minor bug has been fixed that could cause the 'Run' command to fail
unexpectedly when numbers were used for attribute names.


------------------------- v2.1 -----------------------

(1) Export of Graphical Models via Windows Clipboard Now Supported
When a graphical model window is at the front and some graphics 
are selected (e.g. with the Edit menu 'Select all' command), the 
Edit/Copy command now automatically makes a copy of the window's 
visible graphics as a bitmap into the external Windows
clipboard. This means that it is now easy to export a decision 
tree (for example)into the Windows Paint program. Note that (a) if
there are no selected graphics, nothing will be written to the 
Windows Clipboard and (b) in the case of a table
model, any borders will not be included (because borders are not 
selectable objects in a table window). 

(2) Printing bug fixed
In v2.0 when a tree model was printed, arcs could appear above 
nodes. This could give an unpleasing appearance. This bug has now 
been fixed.

(3) Edit menu copying of tree label text bug fixed
The User Guide states that when using the pen tool, tree label 
text in the editor can be copied with Edit/Copy and pasted with 
Edit/Paste (plus Enter). In fact, in v2.0 this feature did not 
work properly. The problem has now been fixed.

(4) Rule editor bug fixed
In v2.0 a bug prevented the rule editor's Paste and Paste/Clear 
buttons from working. This has now been fixed.



------------------------- v2.0 -------------------------

Version 2 is a major upgrade. Compared to InterModeller for 
Windows v1 there are many new and improved features, including:

     - Addition of new table model type
     - Fast arrow key editing
     - Improved Undo, Copy and Paste commands
     - Improved model transformation
     - Adjustable colours
     - Printing of graphical models improved
     - Full compatability with Macintosh InterModeller
 
These are described in more detail below (or see the User's 
Guide).

Addition of new table model type

This version of InterModeller supports tables (sometimes called 
factor or decision tables). Table models can be freely 
transformed into other model types and vice versa. See the User 
Guide for details.

Fast arrow key editing

Text labels in tree models can now be rapidly edited using the 
arrow keys; after clicking on a label and editing its text, use 
the arrow key (instead of return or enter) to immediately select 
the next label for editing. For example, when a node label is 
edited in a classification tree model and the left-arrow key is 
pressed, the label of the node's parent is automatically brought 
into the editor. Table models also support arrow key editing.

Improved Undo, Copy and Paste commands

The Edit/Undo command can now be used to reverse the effect of 
any graphical tool operation. Menu commands such as 'Transform', 
'Format neatly' and 'Redraw neatly' can also now be reversed 
with Undo. Copy and paste of graphical models has been upgraded. 
Selected parts of graphical models can now be pasted between 
windows as well as within the same window (providing the windows 
are of the same type). 

Improved model transformation

In InterModeller v1 the Models/Transform command (without 
slimming) always applied a form of transformation which could be 
reversed, i.e. the derived model could be transformed back into 
the form of the source model if required. A disadvantage of this 
was that classification trees usually fragmented on 
transformation: transforming a classification tree into a factor 
table for instance normally generated multiple tables, which 
could be confusing. In the new version reversible transformation 
remains an option, as is slimmed transformation. But the default 
(labelled 'standard') is a new type of transformation which aims 
to derive a single structure (e.g. a single factor table). These 
options (standard/reversible/slim) are accessed via the 
Models/Transform dialogue. Other changes are: the Transform 
command is now Undo-able; the 'Clear window first' option has 
been removed to simplify the dialogue (the option of preserving 
existing contents is unnecessary because the same effect can be 
achieved by use of copy and paste between windows).

Adjustable colours

It is now possible via the File/Preferences dialogue to adjust 
the colours used for drawing in graphical windows. For example, 
you could arrange to draw decision trees with nodes in cyan and 
arcs in green. Changing the colour preferences will affect 
future drawing colours (to force existing trees to be redrawn in 
the new colours, choose 'Redraw neatly').  Note that selected 
colours are not stored in model files, so when a model is opened 
it will be displayed in the colours currently set in 
Preferences.

Printing of graphical models improved

It is now possible to print graphical models in both portrait 
and landscape formats. Also, except for some very large models, 
printouts should now fit on a single page.

Full compatability with Macintosh InterModeller

Version 2 of IM for PC is virtually identical to the current 
version (v3) of InterModeller for Macintosh. Users should be 
able to switch between platforms without difficulty. File 
formats are identical, so PC-produced models should run directly 
on the Mac and vice-versa.  


------------------------- v1.06 ------------------------- 

Fixed a bug which could cause a window name 'IM Scratch Window' 
to appear in the Transform dialogue. IM created a window of this 
name as part of the pretty-printing process for rule windows. 
The process has been revised and IM no longer uses a scratch 
window.
Fixed a bug which could cause a session's first-created rule 
model window to change font unexpectedly after the model was 
transformed to another rule model. 

------------------------- v1.05 ------------------------- 
 
Fixed a bug which could prevent a tree model, which had 
previously been saved to file, from being extended by editing 
following a re-loading of the file in a subsequent session with 
InterModeller. Symptoms included disconnected arcs and labels 
that appeared on incorrect nodes. This bug only affected some 
tree models.
Improved the 'Models' menu 'Redraw neatly' command for tree-
tidying. This command now always preserves the user's own 
(spatial) ordering of tree branches. Also the method used to 
arrange the nodes at each level has been changed to give an 
appearance that is usually (hopefully) more pleasing. 

------------------------- v1.04 -------------------------  

Fixed a bug in v1.02 which prevented InterModeller from loading 
on PCs (mostly running older versions of Windows95) that did not 
have the Windows system file CTL3D32.DLL. This file provides 3D 
and grey effects in dialogue boxes. InterModeller should now 
load correctly whether or not the CTL3D32.DLL file is installed.

------------------------- v1.02 ------------------------- 

First full release version. Fixed a bug in v1.01 whereby if the 
close box in the InterModeller main window was clicked, the 
program quit without first offering to save changed windows. 

------------------------- v1.01  ------------------------- 

Only guest and evaluation editions of this version were 
released. Fixed several bugs in v1.00. 

------------------------- v1.00 ------------------------- 

Issued only to selected test sites. 

************ End of Older Version history ************
