49 replies to this topic

[jaharmi]

I was wondering if you expect SC X to need an update for Panther compatibility. It sounds like -- from the FAQ and elsewhere -- that the 10.1 update to SC X is coming fairly soon.

The FAQ leads me to believe that 10.1 might not feature the Panther compatibility, and that makes me assume that 10.0.2 doesn't, either.

Is there anything you feel you can say on this subject?

[Evan Gross]

jaharmi, on Oct 6 2003, 11:27 AM, said:

I was wondering if you expect SC X to need an update for Panther compatibility. It sounds like -- from the FAQ and elsewhere -- that the 10.1 update to SC X is coming fairly soon.

The FAQ leads me to believe that 10.1 might not feature the Panther compatibility, and that makes me assume that 10.0.2 doesn't, either.

Is there anything you feel you can say on this subject?

I'm looking into how to make the next release (10.1) as Panther compatible as possible, so another revision isn't required right afterwards (or whenever Panther ships - I honestly have no idea when that would be).

The current 10.0.2 version *basically* works in Panther, but like most other software, there are areas that will need revising for full Panther compatibility.

[paulc]

Well, they announced it today; Panther ships on 10/24.

[Evan Gross]

paulc, on Oct 8 2003, 01:21 PM, said:

Well, they announced it today; Panther ships on 10/24.

I know. Working my butt off.

[jaharmi]

Hm ... if it works, I guess I'll have to ... try again.

Do you expect any interop with the new system-level autocompletion (F5?) feature (the one mentioned in Apple's on-line "new features" list ... the feature may be limited to TextEdit)?

Thanks for your hard work, Evan! SCX is truly one of my favorite Mac apps. I'd consider not running Panther full-time if SCX didn't work on it, and there's very few apps I would say that about.

Jeremy

[Evan Gross]

jaharmi, on Oct 10 2003, 08:46 AM, said:

Hm ... if it works, I guess I'll have to ... try again.

Do you expect any interop with the new system-level autocompletion (F5?) feature (the one mentioned in Apple's on-line "new features" list ... the feature may be limited to TextEdit)?

Thanks for your hard work, Evan! SCX is truly one of my favorite Mac apps. I'd consider not running Panther full-time if SCX didn't work on it, and there's very few apps I would say that about.

Jeremy

I have looked at the new Cocoa auto-completion stuff, and I'm not quite sure what to do with it yet. It's not too hard for me to add it (it won't be in the next update, maybe the one after), but I'd really like to implement a more universal (i.e. Carbon-compatible as well) solution.

But one step at a time, and I'd probably start with the new Cocoa completion stuff since it would be the easiest for me to add.

[jaharmi]

Well, I did ... try again. I reinstalled the app (using the SCX 10.0.2 full installer) and after I restarted, I could no longer log into my local accounts. I had no problems logging into them before this. I also had extreme problems even starting up the computer. Most of the time, I couldn't even get to loginwindow.

Having the SCX app installed and running did not cause this problem earlier, but SCX was non-functional. I didn't see it until after a reinstall and reboot. I reinstalled SCX and immediately rebooted. I will not say that SCX or the install process caused the startup/login problem but I'm at least curious about a possible connection. I was not able to obtain any useful (to me) logs or other information that I could provide for troubleshooting purposes, unfortunately.

There were disk problems, but I don't know if they were caused by the computer locking up at startup, or some other factor. Several kept reappearing after several runs of Disk Utility and fsck.

I have a clean install of Mac OS X 10.2.8 with a fresh set of user accounts and my old files. I've got SCX running perfectly fine for me, along with my other apps. I'll keep it that way for the time being.

This message is in no way meant to imply that this situation would affect any other OS install/setup other than mine. The system in question is fairly customized with a lot of extra utilities installed, with a user account that had been original used on Mac OS X 10.0 (and passed along through updates since then) and any number of factors could have contributed to what I saw.

[Evan Gross]

jaharmi, on Oct 15 2003, 12:50 PM, said:

... with a user account that had been original used on Mac OS X 10.0 (and passed along through updates since then) and any number of factors could have contributed to what I saw.

This is a very bad idea. I wouldn't do this. I'd manually reconstruct the account.

No idea what kind of troubles you'd run into (kind of like the ones you did).

[Jaddie]

Dear Evan

FedEx says my copy of Panther is supposed to be delivered by 3 pm today, but I'm a little reluctant to install it without your blessing. It's a sure thing that Spell Catcher does more for me than the Panther upgrade would, so, as was the case when moving from OS 9 to OS X, I want to wait until you give the go-ahead to install the new OS.

Should I install Panther today or wait until you've released an update?

Sincerely,
Jaddie

[paulc]

Frankly, as a general rule, I'd advise you to wait for a week or two to see what issues bubble to the top. I feel that there just wasn't near enough time to battle test Panther... it seems that features were still being added a few weeks ago.

It would also be a real good rule of thumb to NOT install it over 10.2.x, but do an archive/install. If you DO go that route, you'll need to either re-install SCX or know how to sudo mv the .component (if you don't have a clue what I'm talking about, a reinstall is much simpler!).

[BillC]

I just installed Panther on my PowerBook g4 (12"). It'll be my "play with Panther" computer, as my desktop is the workhorse and thus won't get Panther until the kinks are worked out. I did an Archive an Install, and repaired permissions right after.

Spell Catcher X opens under Panther, but Spell Catcher doesn't show up under the Input Menu tab of International preferences. So the app works, but the interactive aspect doesn't seem available. Am I missing something, or will this require an update?

Still, I expected a few things wouldn't work off the bat, and Panther seems pretty slick otherwise. Expose alone is worth the price of admission in eye candy, if nothing else.

[Evan Gross]

BillC, on Oct 24 2003, 08:07 PM, said:

I just installed Panther on my PowerBook g4 (12"). It'll be my "play with Panther" computer, as my desktop is the workhorse and thus won't get Panther until the kinks are worked out. I did an Archive an Install, and repaired permissions right after.

Spell Catcher X opens under Panther, but Spell Catcher doesn't show up under the Input Menu tab of International preferences. So the app works, but the interactive aspect doesn't seem available. Am I missing something, or will this require an update?

Still, I expected a few things wouldn't work off the bat, and Panther seems pretty slick otherwise. Expose alone is worth the price of admission in eye candy, if nothing else.

Interactive should indeed be available and should indeed work (reasonably well, not perfectly).

And the Input Menu never disappears!

Just make sure that the Spell Catcher.component file is in your /Library/Components directory. An upgrade install will not necessarily move it from your Jaguar system to Panther.

Use the Spell Catcher X installer if necessary - don't just copy files over.

[BillC]

Thanks. I will re-install.

To clarify, the Input Menu is there, but Spell Catcher wasn't available as an input method. I will reinstall SCX and report back!

Thanks!

[Terri]

If I have Spell Catcher enabled in the input menu then when I switch users a dialog comes up that is hard to get rid of telling me that Spell Catcher application must be opened. This also happens after a restart on the log in window before any users have logged in.

Any work around for this until an update comes out?

thanks

[Evan Gross]

Terri, on Oct 25 2003, 01:41 AM, said:

If I have Spell Catcher enabled in the input menu then when I switch users a dialog comes up that is hard to get rid of telling me that Spell Catcher application must be opened. This also happens after a restart on the log in window before any users have logged in.

Any work around for this until an update comes out?

thanks :)

Yes, there is a work-around. This sounds similar to a problem that can occur on Jaguar when a process runs owned by root. This is a bug in SCX, and will be fixed in the next version.

Meanwhile, I wasn't aware this could happen when switching users on Panther (makes sense, knowing what's happening, though), or from the login window (!!! surprised about this one, though !!!).

Let me experiment and I'll get back to you when I'm sure the work-around I'm thinking of actually works.

[John-o]

Quote

Let me experiment and I'll get back to you when I'm sure the work-around I'm thinking of actually works.

I'm glad you're working on this, Evan, because I'm experiencing the same thing (as are thousands of others, I'm sure!).

Also, is there a way to turn of the keyboard shortcuts in the Services menu for SCX? I've noticed that cmd-shift-f is taken as "Find in References", so I can't use it as the shortcut for my Favorites folder anymore!?!

Thanks a bunch for all your hard work on this great software!!

John-o

[Evan Gross]

John-o, on Oct 25 2003, 02:38 AM, said:

Quote

Let me experiment and I'll get back to you when I'm sure the work-around I'm thinking of actually works.

I'm glad you're working on this, Evan, because I'm experiencing the same thing (as are thousands of others, I'm sure!).

Also, is there a way to turn of the keyboard shortcuts in the Services menu for SCX? I've noticed that cmd-shift-f is taken as "Find in References", so I can't use it as the shortcut for my Favorites folder anymore!?!

Thanks a bunch for all your hard work on this great software!!

John-o

I kind of doubt that thousands are experiencing this - I only wish that we've sold that many copies!

Try copying and pasting this into the Terminal. If you didn't copy the return after the last line, you'll have to type return yourself.

You have to do it from an administrator's account. You will be prompted for an admin password for the last command (sudo cp...):

mkdir -p /Library/Application\ Support/Spell\ Catcher
cp ~/Library/Application\ Support/Spell\ Catcher/.Spell\ Catcher\ License /Library/Application\ Support/Spell\ Catcher/
sudo cp ~/Library/Preferences/com.rainmaker.SpellCatcher.plist /var/root/Library/Preferences/

I've made a double-clickable terminal shell script that I'll test and make available in our downloads section.

UPDATE:

I've uploaded an AppleScript Studio app that copies the two files into the required places. Visit our Downloads section to try out Spell Catcher Input Method Alerts Fixer. Feedback requested! This is beta software, use at your own risk...

[Terri]

On the one time that I have tried switching it does seem to have fixed the problem.

You rock.

As far as selling more copies you need to get the word out. I'm a computer consultant and I'm always telling my clients about Spell Catcher, most have never heard of it.

[BillC]

BillC, on Oct 24 2003, 08:33 PM, said:

Thanks. I will re-install.

To clarify, the Input Menu is there, but Spell Catcher wasn't available as an input method. I will reinstall SCX and report back!

Thanks!

Just wanted to let you know my experience. I poked around my drive and couldn't find my installer -- for some reason I had the updater to 10.0.2, but not my original C&G installer for 10.0.1.

Oh well. Despite your recommendation, Evan, I gambled and moved the .component file from the Previous System to the Panther Library/Components.

Then I logged-out, logged back in shift-down and repaired permissions. Logged out and back in again normally, and there was SCX in my Input Menu.

So I fired up Word, did some work, and reached a point where I wanted a look-up a word and so did a Control-Command-L. The lookup window flashed, and vanished. So I went to the Dock to select the SCX app. (My Dock is set to auto-hide). The Dock sprang out, and froze, and suddenly I was in SBBOD. I could click between windows, but the delay was REALLY slow.

Okay, I've done it now, I thought. Since it wasn't a true solid freeze, I decided to wait it out. I clicked the active Word window and the menubar for Word appeared, though the window itself stayed in the background. I did a command-Q to quit Word, no immediate response. I clicked over the Sticky Brain -- SB menubar items appeared, but the windows stayed in the background. Same with Finder. All the while, the Dock is still open and unresponsive. After about 5 minutes, Word offered a Save Dialog, but didn't respond to my mouse click of the Save button. At least not right away. I went back to Sticky Brain and did a command-Q. )No response, and the menus wouldn't drop down when I'd click one). Tried to go to SCX, the Finder, etc. The menubar would change for each app, but the window position wouldn't change.

So now I knew why I should use the installer, I thought. Eventually the Word doc closed (10 minutes later?), but Sticky Brain never closed. SCX never became active. The Dock never responded. Finally, I gave up and did a hard shut down.

Then restarted. When I logged in again, I did another Permissions Repair, and tried again. This time, everything was fine. SCX worked (except for one minor point), Word worked, no Beach Balls.

The only thing with SCX now under Panther is that when I do a lookup or check, the SCX window flashes in the foreground and then goes back into the background. I can then switch to it with the Dock or with Expose (man, I LOVE Expose). Maybe one out of five lookups does the SCX window appear in front and stay there.

Perhaps I still need to do a clean install of SCX 10.0.2, but I've been writing all morning and everything has been fine. Except for the window appearance issue (minor at this point), SCX is working fine for Word, Safari, Sticky Brain, and Entourage. If an update for Panther is coming, then cool, but I'm functional now, and getting work done.

Cheers,
Bill

[Evan Gross]

BillC, on Oct 26 2003, 01:49 PM, said:

Perhaps I still need to do a clean install of SCX 10.0.2, but I've been writing all morning and everything has been fine. Except for the window appearance issue (minor at this point), SCX is working fine for Word, Safari, Sticky Brain, and Entourage. If an update for Panther is coming, then cool, but I'm functional now, and getting work done.

Hmm, that sounds odd, but not totally unexpected. Does this only happen in Word, or everwhere?