
Mesa 2 Frequently Asked Questions
Sundial Systems Corporation

This FAQ is a compilation of questions frequently posed to our technical
support staff.  It is intended to cover important points that are not in
the User's Guide (for example, items of a time-varying nature) but it is
strictly customer question-driven, and was not compiled with the intention
of being a comprehensive User's Guide supplement.  It is merely intended to
provide quick answers to common questions and problems without the need to
contact us.

This FAQ is organized into the following sections:

    Policies and non-technical Mesa questions,
    Mesa versions,
    What's new,
    Installing and licensing Mesa,
    Performance issues,
    OS/2 Desktop issues,
    File format issues,
    Printing issues,
    Scripting issues,
    and more.

Thanks, and enjoy!
Sundial Systems Support Services

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Policies and non-technical Mesa questions:
------------------------------------------

Q. How do I get in touch with Sundial Systems?

Sundial Systems Corporation can be reached at:

    Sundial Systems Corporation
    909 Electric Ave., Suite 204
    Seal Beach, CA  90740
    310-596-5121 (area code 562 beginning January 1997)

For registered users of Mesa, technical support can be obtained by email
at mesa@ibm.net or mesa@sundialsystems.com.  (The old support address,
m2-support@athena.com, should no longer be used).  Or, you can fax your
questions to 310-598-9851 (area code 562 beginning January 1997).
Feel free to use these addresses and numbers for non-technical questions
as well.

And, Sundial Systems provides technical support in its section (Section 5)
of the OS2AVEN forum on Compuserve.  Type GO OS2AVEN to get to the forum.

You can also visit Sundial Systems on the web at www.sundialsystems.com.
You'll always fine the latest available information there.


Q. What happened to Athena Design?

Many of the folks at Athena Design, Inc., original developers of Mesa for
OS/2, have moved on to bigger and better things -- and some have moved over
to Sundial Systems Corporation, the new developers of Mesa 2.

Mesa 2 currently ships with the original Mesa 2 User's Guide, and the guide
thus contains references to former addresses and policies of Athena Design.
It is important that this information be ignored.  All questions and
comments regarding Mesa 2 should be directed to Sundial Systems at 
the above address.


Q. How and why should I register my copy of Mesa for OS/2?

Registering your product helps us notify you of new releases and other
information you should be aware of, and it helps us better predict our
support and sales needs over the next several months.  In addition,
technical support is provided to registered users only, so if you don't
send your registration card, we'll probably insist you do so if and/or
when you contact us for technical support.

Please send in the registration form that arrived with your product.  If
you no longer have the form, please let us know and we'll email or fax or
send you another one.  When you do fill out the form, please send it back
to us at the above address.  (If, for some reason, you still have an old
form with an Athena Design address, you can still use it to register but
you should mail it to Sundial Systems at the above address.)

Please note that we CANNOT ACCEPT EMAIL REGISTRATIONS.  


Mesa versions:
--------------

Q. What is the current version of Mesa 2 for OS/2?

Version 2.1.6.


Q. My copy of Mesa has a version number of 2.D.0.  Is that really the
version number?

Yes and no.  Version 2.D.0 is a "special edition" version of 2.0.4 and
corresponds in feature and function to that version.


Q. My copy of Mesa is labeled as being version 2.1 (or 2.1.0 or 2.1.1 or
2.1.2) but you never mention that version anywhere.  What gives?

These version numbers were assigned to various BETA releases from Athena
Design that were never formally released.  In particular, these versions
are not supported and may contain significant problems.  You should
strongly consider updating to a supported release (2.1.6 or later).


Q. My copy of Mesa is labeled as being 2.1.4 or 2.1.5.  What's the story?

Ok, we did it too.  If you have 2.1.4, you need to tell us where you got
it.  If you have 2.1.5, you have a Beta version issued by us prior to
finalization of our testing on OS/2 Warp 4.  Because of changes that we
needed to make for Warp 4 compatibility, we decided to change the number
to 2.1.6.  Thus, 2.1.5 was never formally released and has been replaced
by 2.1.6.


Q.  What happened to 2.1.3?

Skipped it.


Q.  Ok, ok, so what versions of Mesa are there?

The formally released versions, in order, have been:  2.0.0, 2.0.1, 2.0.2,
and 2.0.4 (from Athena Design) as well as 2.1.6 (from Sundial Systems).
There was no 2.0.3.  Version 2.D.0 is essentially the same as 2.0.4.


What's new:
-----------

Q. What is new or improved in Mesa for OS/2 version 2.1.x?

See the README.TXT file for a complete list of new features found in the
current version of Mesa 2.  If you don't have the latest version of Mesa,
you can find the README.TXT file for the current version on our web 
and ftp site: www.sundialsystems.com.


Q. Is this the latest version of the FAQ?

Maybe it is and maybe it isn't -- we are always updating the FAQ.  You'll
find the most recent version on our web and ftp site: www.sundialsystems.com.


Installing and licensing Mesa:
------------------------------

Q. What happens if I install Mesa but don't have a license?

Mesa will run in "demonstration" mode giving you full access to a 32x32
spreadsheet.


Q. I've entered my license number, and Mesa doesn't complain, but all
I get is a 32x32 spreadsheet.

That's the default size of a new spreadsheet, but you aren't limited to 
that size.  If you press the down arrow key toward the bottom of the sheet,
you'll get more rows.  Similarly, if you press the right arrow key toward
the right hand edge of the sheet, you'll get more columns.  If you want
to add a layer to the workbook, use File->Workbook->Add Layer.

If you want to change the default size of new spreadsheets, you can
do so by using the Preferences item on the Options menu to change the
default number of rows, columns, and/or layers.


Q. Do I need to retype my license number into Mesa when I upgrade?

Typically, the answer is no.  Mesa stores your license string, among other
things, in encrypted form in your OS2.INI file.  When you install an
upgrade, you should not have to retype your license number as a result.
The old license number, provided it is one that is accepted by the upgrade,
will be read from OS2.INI.

If your OS2.INI file has been corrupted, and/or you rebuild the file from a
default configuration, and this removes the license string, then you will
have to re-enter the license string.  Otherwise, Mesa runs in demo mode
(32x32x7 rows/columns/layers).  If Mesa mysteriously starts running in demo
mode, loss of the license string in the OS2.INI file is the probable cause.


Q. My old copy of Mesa didn't require a license number (and I don't have
one) but since I installed the new Mesa, it now wants me to enter a license
number.  Why?

Some previous "special editions" of Mesa came with a built-in "generic"
license -- these display some name, rather than a license number, in the
Product Information dialog.  The standard edition of Mesa requires an
actual license number.  You should contact Sundial Systems for information
about purchasing an upgrade that includes the necessary license number.


Q. When I unzip Mesa from an ftp site, I get junk.  Why?

The Mesa for OS/2 package can be downloaded from various ftp sites,
including our own (ftp.sundialsystems.com) in a .zip file.  The most common
problem with bad downloads occurs because the ftp transfer was done in
ascii mode, instead of binary mode.  Please try downloading with the ftp
transfer mode set to binary.  The command at the ftp prompt is "binary".

If that is not the problem, please make certain that your unzipping utility
is capable of unzipping files produced by the OS/2 "ZIP" program.  PKUNZIP
will not work properly due to OS/2 extended attributes.  You can get a good
unzip utility from hobbes.nmsu.edu.


Q. I just installed an upgrade of Mesa, and now when I start it, I get a
SYS2070 error and Mesa crashes.  What gives?

SYS2070 Errors are almost always caused by duplicate .dll (dynamic link
library) files that are from older, previously installed versions of Mesa.
DLL files are version-specific, so you must use the 2.1.6 dll's with the
2.1.6 MESA2.EXE file.  If you encounter a 2070 error, try the following
command at an OS/2 command prompt:

        dir c:\mesacore.dll /s

where C: is the drive where Mesa 2 might be installed. (Please do this for
all the drives in your system.)  If you do discover additional dll's,
delete them if you are not using them, or rename them.  Also, check your
CONFIG.SYS file's LIBPATH variable to remove any unnecessary paths.  The
default entry from the Installer for Mesa 2 in the LIBPATH is:

        C:\MESA2\DLL

C: is the default drive used by the Installer program; change C to the
appropriate drive if you chose a different drive using the Installer.


Q. Why can't I install Mesa 2!

There are several potential problems.

1. If you delete Mesa 2 without using the Installer, then try to
re-install, the Installer can sometimes get confused.  The solution is to
delete all the EPF files in the OS/2 system folder, as follows:

        C:
        cd os2\system
        del epf*

If you're getting messages about EPFIXXXX errors when you attempt to
install, this is likely the cause and the solution is to do take the above
steps.

2. You may have to delete existing versions of the mesacore.dll file.
Typically, a 2070 system error occurs when older versions of mesacore.dll
are hanging around.  To find these, at an OS/2 command window, type:

        dir
        c:\mesacore.dll /s 

where C: is the drive where Mesa 2 might be installed. (Please do this for
all the drives in your system.)  Then remove all copies of mesacore.dll
except the copy that you most recently installed.  (See the question on SYS
2070 errors in this section of the FAQ for more information.)

3. One known problem with installation has to do with search paths and
different versions of "unpack" in your system.  If you have multiple
versions of unpack on your system, or if you are installing Mesa from
something other than an OS/2 system window, please try reinstalling it 
from an OS/2 command window.

4. If all else fails, we suggest the following manual method of installing
Mesa 2.

Step 1. Copy all the files to an empty directory on the hard drive.

Step 2. Use the OS/2 UNPACK utility to unpack all of the files.

Step 3. Create a MESA2 directory with the following directories below it:
        DLL
        EXAMPLES
Below the EXAMPLES directory create a SRC directory that contains the two
directories FEED and PAGE.

Step 4. Move all of the files to the directories listed below:
Directory \MESA2
    autoload.m2
    m2bmodel.ico
    m2model.ico
    Mesa2.exe
    mesa2.hlp
    mesa2.ico
    mesa2doc.inf
    readme.txt

Directory \MESA2\DLL
    Mesacore.dll
    Mesafeed.dll
    Mesalic.dll

Directory of C:\mesa2\EXAMPLES
    feed.exe
    feed.ico
    page.exe
    page.ico
    All *.m2 except autoload.m2

Directory MESA2\EXAMPLES\SRC\FEED
    feed.cpp
    feed.def
    feed.dep
    feed.h
    feed.mak

Directory MESA2\EXAMPLES\SRC\PAGE
    os2h.h
    page.cpp
    page.def
    page.dep
    page.mak
    page.rc

Step 5. Delete any other remaining files that you have not moved.

Step 6. Edit your config.sys; add an x:\MESA2\DLL entry to the SET
LIBPATH line and an x:\MESA2 to the SET HELP line, where x is that
the drive on which you installed Mesa (typically C).

Step 7. Create a Mesa 2 folder on the OS/2 Desktop.  Next, create a
shadow of the Mesa2.exe file and one of the mesa2doc.inf file in this
folder.

Step 8. Reboot your system.


Performance issues:
-------------------

Q. Is the latest version of Mesa 2 any faster than previous versions?

Yes.  Mesa 2.1.x features an entirely new recalculation engine (compared to
Mesa 2.0.x) which significantly reduces the recalculation time.  It also
has new memory management routines and optimizations to significantly
reduce the memory footprint of the application and thus keeping it out of
the swap file much longer.


Q. Is there anything I can do to get Mesa 2 running even faster?

For starters, here are our hardware requirements and recommendations:

   -8 MB of RAM (required)
   -486 or Pentium CPU (recommended)
   -math co-processor (highly recommended)

Mesa 2 is designed with an eye to the future (i.e., it trys to take
advantage of features in newer, faster machines).  We have made performance
improvements in version 2.1 that will help regardless of your hardware, but
software that is optimized for faster, newer configurations will always be
suboptimal on machines at the opposite end of the spectrum.  In these
requirements and recommendations, we hope we have struck the proper balance
of advanced technology and practicality.

Turning off the status bar has been a way to improve speed of data entry in
the past.  This may still be the case with some slower, older machines (386
machines, mostly), but entry should be substantially faster in version 2.1.

Turning off the toolbar can also speed up data entry on slow computers.
If the buttons continuously grey/ungrey, this can be a performance problem.
Hiding the toolbar can help.  (This will be addressed in a future version)



OS/2 Desktop issues:
-----------------------

Q. How do I get Mesa worksheets to show up as icons on my OS/2 desktop?

This has been a point of confusion amongst many users.  The Mesa folder
visible on the desktop is created during the installation process, and the
icons within that folder (Mesa 2, Read Me!, Mesa 2 Online Documentation,
etc.) are SHADOWS of actual files on the filesystem.  The actual files were
installed in the directory chosen when the Installer was run (with the
default being C:\Mesa2).  The shadow files/icons are located in the
Desktop\Mesa2 folder, which is usually located on the OS/2 boot drive.  To
see the file connected to a desktop icon, right-click on one and choose
Settings (or Properties) from the pop-up menu.  Click on the Program page
tab.  The path and file name of the actual file the shadow represents will
be shown.

Mesa can be started from the OS/2 Desktop by double-clicking the shadow,
or Mesa can be started from the command line of an OS/2 window by typing
"MESA" in the directory where MESA2.EXE resides (again, the default being
C:\Mesa2).  Both are equivalent.

When starting Mesa via the Desktop icon, there is a natural tendency to
think that saving Mesa workbooks will iconify them and place them in the
same folder as the Mesa icon.  When issuing a save command in Mesa for a
workbook, the working directory will be shown in the file dialog (again,
this is usually C:\MESA2).  Saving a Mesa file here will not create a icon
in the Desktop\Mesa folder.  To create an icon, open the Drives folder in
the OS/2 System folder, click on the icon of the drive that has the Desktop
folder.  Navigate to the location of the file you wish to iconify.  Click
on the file, then right-click.  Choose Create Shadow, and select, on the
boot drive, the Desktop\Mesa folder as the target.  The icon of the file
should appear in the Desktop\Mesa folder.

There may be a temptation to simplify this process by saving Mesa files
directly to the Desktop folder.  This is risky, because the Desktop is far
less stable and more dynamic a storage environment than the underlying file
system.  Desktops can become corrupted, and thus potentially corrupt the
Mesa files contained within.  We recommend against doing this, as it is not
standard OS/2 procedure, whereas creating shadow files is the accepted way,
and has little associated risk.


File format issues:
-------------------

Q. What file formats (filters) does Mesa for OS/2 support?

Mesa 2 supports .wk1, .wk3, .wk4 (Lotus), .wb1 (Quattro Pro for Windows),
.xls (Excel v3.0 and v4.0 worksheets), and .xlw import, and .wk1, .wk3,
.wk4 and .xls (v3.0 and v4.0 worksheet) export.

Mesa 2 currently does not support Excel version 5 file formats.

Mesa 2 also imports ascii text files with tab, space or comma delimiters.
(Comma delimited files are sometimes referred to as comma-separated value
files, or .CSV files).  The line termination character(s) is also
selectable as either carriage-return, line-feed, or both.  (These choices
are made after selecting a file to import.)

Contrary to what is implied in the User's Guide, Mesa 2 does not currently
export ascii text files.  We plan to correct this in the future.
As a workaround for now, try selecting a range of cells, copying them
to the clipboard, and then pasting them into a text editor.  Each row
appears on a separate line and the columns are separated with tabs.


Q. Why isn't my file format listed in the File Type menu?

The "File Type" drop-down menu in the Open and Save As dialog boxes
determine the extended attributes that OS/2 looks for (i.e., acts as a
search filter).  However, you can still import and export files in the
above formats regardless of the File Type menus.  (For more information
about extended attributes, see the OS/2 system documentation.)

To import a file, simply select it from the list box of files in the Open
dialog.  If it is not visible, check the File Type to be sure you have the
desired format, or simply select "All Files" as the File Type.

To export a file, simply change the extension -- for example, save a file
with the name "export.wk1" to create a wk1 file.

You can have Mesa 2 ignore the extended attributes of files by turning
off Extended attributes in the Preferences panel (Options->Preferences).

Note:  some elements of a Mesa workbook, such as graphs or graphics do not
export in certain formats.  If this is the case, closing the document
window of a file that is only saved in an export format will cause a pop-up
panel to indicate that changes to the document need to be saved.  Save in a
Mesa file to retain these elements, and the pop-up menu will no longer
appear.


Printing issues:
----------------

Q. How do I print just a graph in Mesa 2?

The formal way to print a graph is to select the cells underneath the
graph, by entering a range of cells using the Range->GoTo command
(control-g), or with the mouse by dragging/highlighting.  This was not
adequately documented in the User's Guide, we realize, and we apologize 
for the oversight.

If you need to print a graph repeatedly, and wish to avoid the above steps,
try the following work-around:  place a singe space in the cell that is
just lower and to the right of the bottom-right corner of the graph.  If
you then print the whole spreadsheet (no specific, highlighted range) the
graph will be included.  Just remember that the space in the cell could
cause confusion if you save your document and forget that one cell is
occupied.  You may wish to empty the cell after you've finished your work
with the graph.


Q. I'm having problems printing to my _____ printer.  What's the problem?

There are a few models/categories of printers that have problems when
printing from Mesa.  The IBM 40X9 series/Lexmark 40X9 series of printers
(printer made by Lexmark, and marketed under both companies' names) have a
driver problem which can produce mirrored, reversed, or upside down
printing.  Athena brought our customers' reports to Lexmark, and a new,
patched driver was subsequently issued.  This driver is available on:

ftp://ftp.pcco.ibm.com/pub/os2_drivers/ibm4019.exe

Also, a number HP printers, have also had trouble printing with Mesa.  The
drivers included in pre-Warp OS/2 (2.XX) are known to have had problems.
The drivers were improved with OS/2 Warp FullPak, though some problems
still occur.

Here is a brief list of known printing misbehaviors that sometimes appear:

    Row and column headings inverted
    Colored text prints as black
    Non-outline fonts print slowly
    Landscape printing doesn't work on HP IIIP PostScript printer
            (Apple LaserWriter Plus emulator)
    Blank pages added to the ends of files on HP DeskJets and LaserJets

We will continue to monitor the situation and keep our customers informed,
and improve our code with workarounds, whenever possible.  Several such
enhancements have been made in Mesa 2.1.x (as compared to Mesa 2.0.x).


Scripting/Macro issues:
----------------

Q. What scripting capabilities does Mesa for OS/2 have?

Mesa 2 supports the OS/2 REXX scripting language.  By using REXX as our
scripting language, instead of a macro-like language specific to Mesa, the
user gains a great deal of flexibility to work with the OS/2 environment
and existing OS/2 tools.  Take a look at the OS/2 documentation to learn
more about REXX.

An additional benefit is that VX-REXX, a graphical user interface extension
of REXX, can be used.  Please be certain that you are using version 2.0.4
or later of Mesa 2, as prior versions had a problem that could crash Mesa
when invoking VX-REXX.

Other third-party REXX products are available, though we haven't done
testing on these products.  We'd love to hear from you if you have
experiences with other REXX products and Mesa 2.


Q. Can Mesa run my Lotus or Excel macros?

Sorry, no, and there are a number of reasons why that are too complex to
discuss here.  As noted above, REXX (and the MScript extensions to REXX)
serve as Mesa's macro language on OS/2.


Other issues:
-------------

Q. My toolbar icons show up black!  What is wrong?

There is a bug in the Mach 64 drivers that ship with some versions of OS/2.
You can get new drivers from ftp.atitech.ca that don't have this bug.
Unfortunately, just installing the drivers won't fix the situation.  You
also need an INI editor to delete the TOOLBAR entry of the Mesa section of
the user INI file (prior to Mesa 2.1.6) or MESA.INI file (Mesa 2.1.6 and 
later). You can get an INI editor from hobbes.nmsu.edu.  Please contact
technical support if you need assistance with this.


Q. Why do I get a SYS3175 error message and what do I do about it?

SYS3175 error messages are generated when a program attempts to place or
retrieve data, or retrieve instructions from a location in memory that
does not belong to the program's address space (address space=the portion
of RAM allocated to the program).  

Mesa 2.1 is significantly less prone to this type of error than earlier
Mesa versions -- in fact there are now quite rare.  However, for this
reason, it is very important that you send us the following information
if you get a SYS3175:

1) Your hardware configuration.  This would include:
    -CPU type and speed
    -Amount of memory
    -Video resolution: 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, etc
    -Video chipset type, if known
    -Printer type, if printing was involved
    -Additional hardware installed, such as cpu accelerators.

2) Your operating system information, including:
    -Version of OS/2:  2.X, 3.0 (Warp), 4.0
    -If Warp 3, is it plain Warp, Warp Connect, or Warp Server?
    -If Warp 3, is it Warp for Windows or Warp Full Pack (with Win-OS2)?
    -Is there a FixPak installed?  Is so, which FixPak number?

3) The register info, which will state, among other things, in which
executable file and function the error occurred.  An example:
    SYS3175 A program generated an access violation at 1bdaf32c.
    PMMERGE.DLL 000:000af32c
This is the most important part of the register information.

4) What you were doing in Mesa at the time of the error message and,
very importantly, which version of Mesa were you running.


Q. How do I "lock" certain rows (or columns) in place so that my headings
stay visible when I scroll?

Oddly enough, you can't do this in Mesa today.  We (Sundial) are well aware
of this requirement, however -- it's probably *the* most frequently asked
question -- and we are planning to address it in a future release.

Similarly, there is currently no way to have certain rows or columns
repeat on multiple pages when printing.

