Panorama 2 for BeOS

Important
You shouldn't have any problems with this program, as long as you run it under BeOS R5. I do not guarantee that the program will work with older BeOS versions.

Release Notes
The current release of Panorama 2 for BeOS lacks support for sound effects, because I can't force BSimpleGameSound to work. This may be a problem of the SBLive! driver (???). If you want to help me to supply a version capable of correct sound playback, contact me.

Differences between BeOS and Win32 versions
Generally all functionality existing in the Win32 version is also available in the BeOS version.

The most important difference is that BeOS renders text in a slightly different manner than Windows. Therefore mag issues created for Windows may look misformatted, mainly due to smaller horizontal font spacing.

It is also significant, that BeOS normally does not support font families available in Windows. You have to install those fonts manually, copying them from your Windows. You can also download a special package of fonts from my website, that includes fonts used by some magazines.

If you want to hear music that is stored in module format (XM, IT, etc.) you will have to install an appropriate add-on that supports reading modules. All music playback is done through BeOS, so you can listen to whatever formats your system supports.

Unlike the Win32 version, Panorama 2 for BeOS supports switching between fullscreen and windowed mode during working. You can do that by pressing Command+\ (or /) key combination (by default Command is assigned to Alt on x86). Usually diskmag issues work in mode 640x480. Switching to that mode, the refresh rate of your current mode is used (in case of issues working in a higher mode this could be dangerous if your display in higher doesn't support the refresh rate you currently use in lower mode). Notice that the "Truecolor" switch in the startup dialog corresponds only to the fullscreen mode; it doesn't affect windowed mode. It is also significant that when article search is used, the program automatically switches to windowed mode, because in fullscreen mode other windows and dialog boxes cannot be displayed.

You can keep multiple .dat files (or symbolic links to .dat files) in a directory in which the Panorama executable is located. You will be presented with an appropriate dialog box in this case. You can also drag-and-drop the container files (most likely the ones you have already used) onto the Panorama icon, or run them directly clicking on their own icons.

Another difference is that all commandline switches are with a '-' sign instead of a slash. For example, /cfg has been replaced with -cfg.

All key combinations that in the Win32 version were with the Ctrl key, now are with the Command key.

Some files unpacked from a dat file are put in your temporary directory - this is typically /tmp. The configuration from the startup dialog is put in file named "panorama" in your settings directory - typically /boot/home/config/settings/panorama. The file has binary format.

Contact information
If you find a bug, if you have an idea for extending the program beyond current functionality, or if you simply want to say "Hello!", don't hesitate to contact me by e-mail: chris@chrisdragan.org

The latest version of the program is always available on my website at http://chrisdragan.org
If you want to check whether you have the latest version, use FileTypes or other utility to read the attributes of the executable and see the last two version digits.

Chris Dragan
