PortaBase

File Release Notes and Changelog

Release Name: 1.6

Notes:
Important Upgrade Note
----------------------
As of PortaBase 1.6, Metakit is compiled into the Zaurus version of
PortaBase.  Users upgrading from earlier versions should uninstall the
libmetakit1 and portabase packages, then install the new portabase package;
the libmetakit1 package is no longer needed.

Summary of Changes
------------------
Version 1.6 adds data file encryption, a full Japanese translation, better
enum sorting and filtering, optional default sorting and filter for each
view, command-line CSV import and export, a row copy menu item, file
rename and copy menu items, minor fixes and enhancements to CSV and XML
import, and a few other minor bugfixes and enhancements.

Installation on the Zaurus
--------------------------
Copy the portabase .ipk file to the Zaurus and install it.  Once installed,
PortaBase can be launched from the Applications tab and the .ipk file may be
safely deleted.

Desktop Versions
----------------
The Windows .exe is an installation program for the Windows version of
PortaBase...just download and run it, and follow the directions.  The
Debian package is for the unstable branch of Debian, and requires
recent packages of qt3 and beecrypt2 to be installed.

Changes:
2003-03-30  JMB  CSV import enhancements, menu update bugfix

    If an imported row doesn't have enough columns and the last few
    columns are strings or notes, PortaBase now treats those fields as
    empty strings.  (There often aren't enough delimiters at the end of
    lines ending with blank fields when exporting from programs like Excel,
    this just corrects for that.)

    CSV files can now be imported as either UTF-8 or Latin-1; this avoids
    the need for users importing files exported from other programs in
    Latin-1 to use another program to perform an encoding conversion.

    In version 1.5, making changes in the format editor would clear the
    view, sorting, and filter lists from the menus without restoring them;
    they are now populated correctly again.

2003-03-27  JMB  Japanese UI translation, better CSV import error messages

    The entire PortaBase interface has now been translated into Japanese.
    I also improved the error messages provided upon CSV import failure;
    cases where it used to just say "Wrong number of columns" now specify
    which columns are missing or which values are extra, and it shows the
    full data row which failed to import correctly.

2003-03-19  JMB  Data file encryption

    PortaBase data files can now be encrypted (using Blowfish in CBC mode
    with a 160-bit key generated by running the password through SHA-1).
    More details will be posted on the web site when 1.6 is released.
    Encryption is an option chosen when the file is created; to encrypt
    an existing file, export it to XML and import the result as a new
    encrypted file.

2003-03-01  JMB  Command-line CSV import and export

    You can now import and export CSV files from the command line by using
    the "fromcsv" and "tocsv" commands; usage is basically identical to
    "fromxml" and "toxml", except that for "fromcsv" the target file must
    be an existing PortaBase file.

2003-02-28  JMB  Default sortings and filters for views

    You can now specify a default sorting and/or filter for each view
    (except the "All Columns" view, which cannot be edited).  This makes
    it faster to switch to commonly used view/sorting/filter combinations.
    If the defaults are not "None", they are applied when switching to
    the view; you can then freely change the sorting and filter again.
    If "None", the current sorting and filter are retained, as it has always
    worked.

2003-02-27  JMB  Enum option index sorting/filtering, enum manager bugfix

    Changed enum sorting to sort by option index instead of option text.
    Enum filter conditions changed to match, allowing the full set of
    numeric inequality operators.

    Fixed a bug in the enum manager which caused a crash if you exited
    without making any changes (bug introduced in 1.5).

2003-02-26  JMB  File rename and copy menu items

    The file selector's "File" menu now has "Rename" and "Copy" items
    which do what you'd expect.  (Zaurus version only)

2003-02-25  JMB  File->Row menu, row copy

    Added a "Row" submenu to the data viewer's "File" menu to replace the
    old top-level menu of the same name that was removed due to lack of
    space.

    Added a "Copy" action to the new Row menu, which launches the row
    editor to create a new row, but filled with the currently selected
    row's data instead of the default values.

2003-02-24  JMB  Fixed XML import bug, command-line error message encoding

    The XML importer was retrieving column values by index instead of
    ID, leading to import failure in many cases; fixed.

    Error messages shown during command-line usage should now be using
    a reasonable encoding for the locale; hopefully this will allow the
    display of Japanese text on the Japanese Zaurus models.

2003-02-19  JMB  Better XML import error messages

    Don't overwrite meaningful error message with useless generic error
    message.  Fixes behavior on Zaurus and Windows.