HP OpenVMS Systems Documentation

HP DECwindows Motif for OpenVMS
Release Notes

V1.5

DECwindows Motif client applications that issue multiple requests requiring lengthy replies from the server no longer become unresponsive. Examples of such operations include requests for the entire contents of a screen or requests to list fonts that require access to font servers.

This problem has been corrected with DECwindows Motif for OpenVMS Version 1.5.

2.2.4 Applications Running Over the LOCAL Transport No Longer Cause System Lag

V1.5

Client applications using the LOCAL transport on systems running DECwindows Motif for OpenVMS Alpha Version 1.3 or higher no longer enter a compute-bound state when they should normally be in a wait state.

This problem has been corrected with DECwindows Motif for OpenVMS Version 1.5. However, there remains a small risk of the problem occurring with client applications that use multiple kernel threads, regardless of whether multithreading support has been enabled.

2.2.5 Applications That Use GKS May Fail Unexpectedly

V1.3

In some instances, applications that use the HP Graphics Kernel System for OpenVMS (GKS) may fail when run from DECwindows Motif. The problem is caused by a contention at the AST level between read and reply events. In this situation, the application process hangs, and the error message "unexpected asynchronous reply" is displayed.

2.2.6 Request-Intensive Applications May Pause Before Closing

V1.3

There may be a slight delay when a request-intensive application running over a LOCAL network connection is forced to close via the Window Manager. For example, an attempt to close the DECW$EXAMPLES:ICO application from a LOCAL display results in a slight pause before the application window closes.

This is a result of resource contention between the Window Manager (DTWM) and server processes. To prevent this problem from occurring, decrease the priority of the server process using the DECW$SERVER_PRIORITY parameter, as described in Managing DECwindows Motif for OpenVMS Systems.

2.2.7 Support Discontinued for Display PostScript

V1.2--6

Starting August 1, 1998, support was discontinued for Adobe Display PostScript software resulting from Adobe Systems Incorporated discontinuing its former ongoing support for Display PostScript.

This action has had a varying degree of impact on the behavior of those DECwindows Motif applications that used the Adobe Display PostScript software. For example, starting with DECwindows Motif for OpenVMS Version 1.2--6, Bookreader can no longer display graphics in PostScript format.

For information about the effects of this action on specific DECwindows applications, see the following release notes:

• Bookreader, Section 2.4.1.1
• CDA, Section 2.4.2.2
• DECwindows mail, Section 2.4.6.1

To learn about the possible impact to user-written and third-party applications designed for the DECwindows Motif environment, see Section 4.1.9.

2.2.8 Limited Support for Tear-Off Menus

V1.2--3

The following applications do not support tear-off menus:

• CDA Viewer
• Notepad
• Print Screen

V1.2--3

"System Menu Bar: Pseudo Mouse not available" is an informational message that is included in the user's SYS$LOGIN:DECW$SM.LOG file when you run a session. It is not an error message. The X display server provides pseudomouse mode automatically, which allows you to use arrow keys to move the mouse cursor.

2.2.10 Printing from Applications Linked Against OSF/Motif Release 1.1.3

V1.2

Applications that are linked against OSF/Motif Release 1.1.3 may end abruptly when you attempt to print on systems that do not have print queues. Any layered products that linked against the OSF/Motif Release 1.1.3 libraries and use the standard DECwindows print dialog ("print widget") are also affected.

As a possible solution, either avoid displaying the DECwindows print dialog, or define a print queue on your system. The print queue does not have to be connected to a printer to accept print jobs. Assign a name to the print queue that indicates the print queue is not connected to a printer, for example, NULL_PRINTER.

2.3 New Desktop Environment

This section contains release notes that pertain to the New Desktop environment.

2.3.1 Default Width of the Calculator Increased

V1.5

The default width of the New Desktop calculator (DtCalc) has been increased. It is now wide enough to accommodate and display all digits in a value when the fixed-length display format is selected.

2.3.2 File Manager No Longer Hangs During Large Copy or Move Operations

V1.5

The File Manager (dtFile) no longer hangs in the RWMBX state when copying or moving a large number of files (30 to 50 depending on the name length) in a single operation.

However, note that moving a large collection of files in a single operation can still result in slower performance as compared to moving smaller sets of files.

2.3.3 File Manager Cancels Restore Operations Properly (Alpha Only)

V1.5

When attempting to put back a file from the Trash Can that has the same name as an existing file, File Manager displays a dialog box that prompts you whether to continue or cancel the restore operation. Choosing Cancel no longer causes the File Manager to crash.

2.3.4 Style Manager Displays Incorrect Security Options on Multihead Systems

V1.3

When using the Style Manager to access the Security Options dialog box from a screen other than screen 0, the settings shown in the dialog box may be incorrect.

To prevent this from occurring, always display the Security Options dialog box from screen 0. Use the Set Default Screen tool to select the screen on which the Style Manager displays.

Note that this problem only occurs on multiheaded systems configured without XINERAMA.

2.3.5 Screen Saver and Screen Lock Set by Default

V1.2--6

Note that at initial DECwindows Motif startup, Screen Saver (with a 10-minute timeout) and Screen Lock (with a 30-minute timeout) are enabled by default.

You can modify these defaults by accessing the Style Manager and changing (and subsequently saving) the Screen Saver settings.

2.3.6 Session Manager Logging Problem

V1.2--5

In some cases, the New Desktop Session Manager (DtSession) continues to log errors to its log file until all free disk space is filled. These errors could occur, for example, if DECW$DISPLAY is set to an incorrect value or if CDE$SYSTEM_DEFAULTS:[BIN]DTSCREEN.EXE is not properly installed.

If on the New Desktop, DtSession is unable to start the Screen Saver (DTSCREEN), it logs an error to the log file device:[user.DT]ERRORLOG. DtSession logs this error at a user-settable interval controlled by the Style Manager's "Time Per Background" parameter.

To workaround this problem, increase the "Time Per Background" parameter to the maximum (120 minutes), or exit the New Desktop when you are done with it, rather than locking the screen.

2.3.7 File Manager Problems with Extended File Specifications

V1.2--5

The following are known problems or restrictions related to the File Manager and its handling of extended file specifications:

• The "File/New Folder" menu item can handle the creation of a folder when the path length exceeds 255 characters, but the folder cannot be displayed (it is hidden). These files can be viewed at the DCL level.
• The "File/Find/File" menu item cannot find a file with file name that exceeds 235 characters if the full file name has been entered in the dialog's form field. To avoid the problem, use wildcards to conduct the search.

V1.2--5

Although the DECwrite icon exists on the New Desktop, clicking on the icon will have no effect.

2.3.9 Delay When Exiting a Session with Open TPU Windows

V1.2--4

Users will experience a one-minute delay for each DECwindows Text Processing utility (DECTPU) window displayed when exiting the session or when saving a home session.

The DECwindows interface for DECTPU (EVE editor) requires notification if its state needs to be saved, but it does not respond to that notification sent by Session Manager. The Session Manager waits one minute for a response before continuing, resulting in the delay.

2.3.10 Viewing TIF Files with dximageview

V1.2--4

When using dximageview to view TIF-formatted files from the CDE$SYSTEM_DEFAULTS:[APPCONFIG.HELP.C.GRAPHICS] directory, the following warning messages similar to the following are displayed:

TIFFOpen: Warning, unknown field with tag 34209 (0x85a1) ignored.
TIFFOpen: XResolution: Rational with zero denominator (num = 200).
.
.
.

Note this error only occurs with the TIF files in CDE$SYSTEM_DEFAULTS:[APPCONFIG.HELP.C.GRAPHICS]; it is only a warning. The file is still displayed correctly by the image viewer.

2.3.11 Text Editor Restrictions

V1.2--4

The Text Editor application, which is part of the New Desktop, is described in Chapter 10 of the Common Desktop Environment: User's Guide. Currently, it has the following issues and restrictions:

• The reference page for Text Editor describes a client/server implementation of the Text Editor. This release of the Text Editor supports the -"standAlone" option only and is not built as a client/server application.
• The spell-checking function described in the section "To Correct Misspelled Words" is not implemented in this version of the Text Editor.
• The Text Widget upon which the New Desktop Text Editor is based does not set the size of a tab to exactly the width of eight (8) characters; it is usually slightly larger. When displaying text with a combination of spaces and tabs, text may not appear vertically aligned.

V1.2--4

In the Application Manager Find dialog box and in error messages reported by the Help Viewer, file names are displayed in UNIX format rather than in standard OpenVMS format. For example, SYS$SYSROOT:[SYSMGR]LOGIN.COM appears as /sys$sysroot/sysmgr/login.com.

2.3.13 Front Panel Clock is an Icon Only

V1.2--4

The New Desktop Front Panel Clock is an animated icon that displays the current system time using an analog display. The icon has no other function and does not support single-click or double-click operations.

2.3.14 ToolTalk Actions Not Supported

V1.2--4

Creation of ToolTalk Action definitions in the Action Definition files (*.dt) as described in the Common Desktop Environment: Advanced User's and System Administrator's Guide is not supported. Although some ToolTalk actions exist in the Action Definition files installed with this product, modification of these actions is not supported and could cause some New Desktop functions to fail.

2.3.15 Session Manager Save and Restore Limitations

V1.2--4

The Session Manager supplied with the New Desktop supports the WM_SAVE_YOURSELF protocol for Bookreader, DECterm, and Calendar.

Applications that have been written to take advantage of this protocol can:

• Save their state when the user exits a session.
• Restore a state when the user starts a new session.

The New Desktop applications support save and restore, but many existing DECwindows Motif applications have not been modified to support the WM_SAVE_YOURSELF protocol.

The impact of this difference between existing and new applications can be seen during a logout/login sequence as follows:

• Applications supporting save/restore create a main window if they were running when the user logged out.
• Applications that do not support save/restore do not automatically restart.

An example of an existing DECwindows Motif application that supports save/restore is DECwindows Mail.

V1.2--4

The File Manager application has the following limitations with search lists in the New Desktop environment.

• If you specify a folder (directory) name, which is strictly a logical name, and the logical name translates to a search list, only the first directory encountered in the search list is displayed.
• When displaying a directory whose name includes a search-listed device, all directories in the search path are displayed. If more than one directory with the same name exists in the search path, an icon appears for each instance of that directory. If more than one file with the same name exists in the search path, the behavior depends on whether the Show Top Version Only filter option has been selected. If selected, only one icon of the file with the highest version is displayed. If not selected, all versions from all locations are displayed. However, if more than one of the files has the same version number, any action to any of the files with that version applies to the first occurrence of the file in the search path.
  For example, suppose the files SYS$SPECIFIC:[SYSMGR]TOOLS.DIR;1 and SYS$COMMON:[SYSMGR]TOOLS.DIR;1 both exist in a system. If a user switches to the directory SYS$SYSROOT:[SYSMGR], two icons represent the file TOOLS.DIR. Operations performed on either of the two icons work identically. New files are created in the first directory in the search path. In addition, some actions for these icons may not work properly.
  To work around this problem, specify explicit directory names when a conflict occurs, for example, SYS$SPECIFIC:[SYSMGR] or SYS$COMMON:[SYSMGR].

V1.2--4

The following sections provide information about the Login Screen and Pause Screen text fields.

2.3.17.1 Control Characters Not Recognized When Entering Username

The New Desktop does not support entering control characters in the login Username text field. If entered, these characters are discarded. This differs from the DECwindows login Username text field which supports such key sequences as:

• Ctrl/U, Ctrl/J, or F13 (deletes to beginning of the line)
• Ctrl/H or F11 (positions to the beginning of the line)
• Ctrl/E (positions at the end of the line)

The New Desktop does support Ctrl/U, which when typed while entering a password at login or when unpausing the screen, erases any characters entered up to that point.

2.3.17.2 Use Return Key to Move Between Login Text Fields

Because the Username text field and Password text field are different dialog boxes in the New Desktop, press the Return key to move the cursor from the Username text field to the Password text field. The Tab key does not move the cursor to the next text field; rather, this action highlights the OK button.

2.3.17.3 First Character Discarded When Entering Pause Screen Password

If the workstation is paused and the Password dialog box is not displayed, the first character typed is ignored. This differs from the DECwindows pause screen, which always accepts any characters typed.

When using the New Desktop, use a nontyping key, such as Shift, or move the mouse to redisplay the Pause dialog box before entering your password. If you are unsure of what you have already typed, you can use Ctrl/U to erase the Password text field.

2.3.17.4 Text on the Welcome Screen is Not Displayed

If the 100-dpi fonts are not included in the X server's font path, the welcome text is not displayed on the blue welcome screen that appears immediately after logging in. This may also occur if you are displaying your session on a remote X server.

2.3.18 Font Selection Limitations

V1.2--4

On the New Desktop, Style Manager contains a control that displays a dialog box used to select font size. Selecting a new font size affects only New Desktop applications and does not affect existing DECwindows Motif applications.

2.3.19 Default Workspace Limitations

V1.2--4

The New Desktop provides a default backdrop for the four default workspaces. You can change or even select Nobackdrop using the Backdrop control located in Style Manager.

When no backdrop is selected, you cannot drag icons and place them on the backdrop of the desktop. If you drag an icon and release it, it snaps back to File Manager or Application Manager.

Icons that were dropped on the background before Nobackdrop was selected remain and function correctly.

2.4 Applications

The following sections contain notes related to specific DECwindows Motif applications.

2.4.1 Bookreader

This section contains release notes pertaining to the Bookreader application.

2.4.1.1 Support for Display PostScript Removed

V1.2--6

With the removal of the support for Display PostScript from DECwindows Motif, Bookreader no longer supports the display of PostScript artwork in online manuals. When Bookreader detects PostScript artwork, it displays a full-size figure window with a large X overlayed with an error message box containing the following message:

Unable to display PostScript(R) graphic.
This feature is no longer available.

There is no workaround.

2.4.2 CDA

This section contains release notes that pertain to the Compound Document Architecture (CDA) Run-Time Services and CDA Viewer components of DECwindows Motif.

2.4.2.1 Viewing Large, Color DDIF Files using eXcursion Version 7.1

V1.3

If you are unable to display large, color DDIF files while running the CDA Viewer from an eXcursion X Server session, HP recommends that you do one of the following:

• Display the DDIF file from a CDA Viewer session that uses either the local or DECnet transport outside of eXcursion.
• Upgrade the HP PATHWORKS 32 software to Version 7.2 or later. See the OpenVMS web site (http://www.hp.com/go/openvms) for information on obtaining a copy of this software.

V1.2--6

With the removal of the support for Display PostScript from DECwindows Motif, CDA no longer supports the display of PostScript source. The PostScript option has been removed from the CDA Viewer. If you attempt to view a PostScript file from the character cell interface CDA viewer, the viewer displays the following message:

%CDA-E-UNSUPFMT, unsupported document format.

There is no workaround.

2.4.3 Clock

This section contains release notes pertaining to the Clock application.

2.4.3.1 Clock Updates Correctly after the System Time is Reset (Alpha Only)

V1.5

The Clock application now updates correctly when the system time is set back to an earlier date and/or time. Previously in this circumstance, the analog, digital, and date displays would post updates only when the mouse was moved over the Clock window.

2.4.4 DECterm

This section contains release notes pertaining to the DECterm application.

2.4.4.1 Graphics Applications Using ReGIS No Longer Cause DECterm to Crash (Alpha Only)

V1.5

Previously, on systems running DECwindows Motif Version 1.3 or higher, client graphics applications that used ReGIS (graphics instruction set for video terminals) crashed the DECterm controller due to thread stack overflow.

This problem has been corrected with DECwindows Motif for OpenVMS Version 1.5.

2.4.4.2 DECterm Windows Positioned Correctly (Alpha Only)

V1.5

DECterm windows are now displayed in the location specified by the DECW$TERMINAL.x and DECW$TERMINAL.y resources and WM_NORMAL_HINTS is now being set correctly.

Resetting the resources Mwm*clientAutoPlace (Traditional DECwindows Desktop) or Dtwm*clientAutoPlace (New Desktop) to FALSE is no longer necessary for proper placement of the window.

2.4.4.3 Use CREATE/TERMINAL/DETACH to Display Broadcast Messages

V1.5

By default, DECterm windows are created as subprocesses. Regardless of their process settings, these subprocesses cannot receive broadcast messages, since OpenVMS does not recognize them as connected to a terminal device.

To enable the display of broadcast messages in a DECterm window, manually create the DECterm window as a detached process using the DCL command CREATE/TERMINAL/DETACH.

2.4.4.4 Using CREATE/TERMINAL with IPv6 Support Enabled

V1.5

The CREATE/TERMINAL command may fail if the DECW$IPV6_SUPPORT logical name has been defined as TCP_IS_IPV6 in the process (or job) table but not in the system (or group) table. The failure occurs when the specified display uses the TCPIP transport and the node name is an IPv6-formatted address (or is only accessible via an IPv6-enabled transport).

In these cases, the terminal controller detached process does not see the value of the DECW$IPV6_SUPPORT logical name, and therefore, assigns the default TCPIP transport value of INET.

If a conflict occurs, change the value of the network transport for the display device to INET or INET6, and repeat the CREATE/TERMINAL command. For a complete list of the available transport values, see the Managing DECwindows Motif for OpenVMS Systems.