Lose Your Mind Development

The third public beta was posted this morning. And the email to the beta testers was sent as well.

Complete list of changes can be found here.

Next Steps
Replace ugly MsgBox() calls with Vista-style TaskDialogs
Add additional sample sheets and catalogs (such as “6 Up” from PA7.5)
Copy and move font files
Start work on Font Group functionality

As I start work on the Font Group functions, I will be posting draft screenshots for feedback. So be sure to watch the blog.

If you want to be part of the testing team, let me know. Send an email to helpdesk at loseyourmind dot com. — Bryan

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Neowin.net posted an interesting article about how the Vista shell uses icons.

http://www.neowin.net/index.php?act=view&id=42171

And it reminds me that the Printer’s Apprentice icon needs work. Any UI artists out there that want to take a stab at a new icon? Contact me at helpdeskNOSPAM@loseyourmind.com.

Microsoft dropped Windows Vista on consumers on Tuesday. Printer’s Apprentice 7.58 has a couple of issues with the new OS. But we do have a fix and a couple of tips to help out.

If want to run Printer’s Apprentice on your fresh Vista installation, you need the latest version. Download it via the link below. Also, please see the technical support article about Vista support on our web site. This document is a work in progress and will likely continue to evolve.

Download – Printer’s Apprentice 7.581

Support Article - Running Printer’s Apprentice on Windows Vista

Once you download 7.581, you can confirm you are running it by checking the About dialog. 

So what is new in 7.581? In short, operating system detection now works with Vista so the correct registry key for font install/uninstall operations works.

Printer’s Apprentice was designed to work with Windows versions 95 through XP. The 9x and 2000/XP versions store font information in different sections of the Windows registry. Since the OS detection routine in Printer’s Apprentice 7.58 did not support Vista, the wrong registry key was being used. This resulted in font install/uninstall operations failing. It also resulted in the installed font list showing all the fonts with question marks and unknown font files.

Version 7.581 is a short term fix. I don’t intend to rework it so it fits in seamlessly with Vista. If other critical bugs pop up, we will address them at that time.

Work is currently underway on Printer’s Apprentice 8.0. This version is being developed exclusively for XP and Vista. I don’t have a release date. But I’m pretty excited about it. Watch the blog for more news.

If there are any specfic features you would like to see in 8.0, shoot me an email helpdeskNOSPAM@loseyourmind.com  

— Bryan