Status of Contools/GFX

[Daniel Raymer]

Can anyone tell me the status of the PerfectSync Contools and GFX add-on packages? I bought them about 8 years ago and thought highly of them, and am about to get back to PB-Windows programming in a big way. I've been messing around with the new PB graphics capabilities, and while they are nice, Contools and GFX have additional capabilities that I really need.

I see there has not been a new release of Contools or GFX in years, and related postings to PB Forums are now few and far between. I sent an email to PerfectSync asking if they were still actively involved in developing and perfecting them, but got no reply (maybe I just didn't wait long enough).

I'm especially concerned as to whether they are likely to work with Vista and future version of Windows.

Does anyone have any thoughts or inside information that could help me decide whether to tie my next 1,000 hours of programming to those packages?

[Eric Pearson]

Dan --

It's a good thing you posted here; for some reason ZoneAlarm identified both of your emails as spam. To answer your questions...

Console Tools and Graphics Tools -- and SQL Tools for that matter -- are not under active development (as in new features), mostly because they are "saturated". By that I mean that they utilize virtually 100% of their target API-sets. For example, Graphics Tools is based on the GDI API, and we have pretty well exhausted that API's capabilities.

That's not to say that we couldn't add features, for example our code-based Gradient features add functionality to many different drawing functions. But nobody has suggested any new features in a long time. Are there specific features that you would like to see?

I'd like to emphasize that we do actively maintain our products -- we generally respond within 24 hours -- but we receive very few bug reports. I've currently got a problem with a licensee's Kodak printer that has been causing me to lose sleep, but other than that, the last Graphics Tools bug was reported in 2004 and the last Console Tools bug was reported in 2003.

From time to time we add specific features for specific people, for example I am working on a Console Tools function that will create a stand-alone graphics window, but those requests are few and far between. And for the most part, they are so specialized that we haven't even added the features to the distribution version.

> I'm especially concerned as to whether they are likely to work with Vista

We are not aware of any problems with any of our Development Tools and Vista.

> and future version of Windows.

I can't possibly speculate about that.

-- Eric Pearson, Perfect Sync, Inc.

[Marc Giao]

...Graphics Tools is based on the GDI API, and we have pretty well exhausted that API's capabilities.

Interesting, does this include GDI+ also?

[Eric Pearson]

Marc --

Nope, just the core GDI interface.

-- Eric

[Marc Giao]

So "saturation" is not yet complete, I think you have room for "Graphics Tools Plus"

[John Strasser]

Even moreso <evil grin>

What about the possibility of putting together a list of all the "custom mods" you've made over the years which haven't been "added to the core" and see if anyone else could use them? Obviously there may be some legal issues, but if nothing prevents it, why not do a quick poll?

JS

[Michael Mattias]

What about the possibility of putting together a list of all the "custom mods" you've made over the years ....why not do a quick poll?

There are many ways vendors get ideas for new features... these are two.

A third, obvious source is "suggestions from Real Users."

Which begs the question: Have you taken the time to send in your ideas for new features to the publisher?

MCM

[Daniel Raymer]

Glad to Hear It

Hi Eric,

I'm glad to hear that Contools/GFX are "alive" and that you are still involved. I really think highly of those packages. Lurkers - get them !!!

My only suggestion would be to finally combine them into a fully integrated single whole, including help files. It is annoying to have to jump from one to the other. No big deal, but I'd prefer it - and it would give you an excuse to sell some more copies! (New, Improved, and actually...just the same. But I'd buy it anyway!).

The other thing I'd like is to be able to easily attach the DLL's to my exe's so I don't have to remember to include them to my customers. Again, no big thing, and maybe it is easy but I'm just stupid. Always a possibility.....

Dan Raymer

[John Strasser]

There are many ways vendors get ideas for new features... these are two.

A third, obvious source is "suggestions from Real Users."

Which begs the question: Have you taken the time to send in your ideas for new features to the publisher?

MCM

Yep <grin> Whenever I get an idea I send off the NFS - provided the company makes it easy (such as [email protected])

JS

[George Oluikpe]

Feature request in Contools

two requests:
(1) It would be great to see the limit of the "mini word processor" extended as much as possble

(2) I would like to be able to highlight portions of text output. For example, when I search for a key word or phrase in a text file, I would like to be able to highlight the target keyword or phrase in the selected passage -- sentence or paragraph. Currently I do this either by capitalization or by fencing (using brackets or dashes]. It would be better and more effective to do this in color.