Nisus Writer Pro 3.0.2 Release Notes

This is a minor update to fix several important issues.

Highlighted Changes

• Page View should not show instabilities in the scrollbar position and page count during editing.
• Updated the DOC/DOCX file converter to use the LibreOffice version 6.1.5 code base.
  - Fixed: floating text boxes could fail to import from DOC/DOCX files if they were encoded a certain way.
  - Fixed: imported automatically sized floating text boxes display incorrectly if the text box contains a table.
• Several optimizations and fixes to improve responsiveness when working in files with many or large tables.
• Typing over specially marked text (bookmarks, comments, links, or indexing) will preserve or expand the marking instead of removing it.
• Exported PDFs will now encode custom page numbering/format in PDF metadata.
• Added: the menu Copy New Cross-Reference works if the selection exactly encloses any valid target
(eg: note number, TOC heading, etc) even if it doesn't already have a bookmark.
• Added table menu commands to control most aspects of table cell borders and shading.
• Fixed: the Find All results list window is not sorted correctly by document content location.
• Fixed: section column balancing can incorrectly partially obscure lines of text or reserve too much whitespace.
• Fixed: worked around an Apple bug that incorrectly flags words as misspelled on Mojave.
• Fixed: printouts and PDFs of documents with mixed/rotated paper orientations display incorrectly.
• Added: new menu command Paste Raw Text Only will paste the source's plain text without any kind of processing or conversion.
• Fixed: several issues when displaying numeric values in the palettes and elsewhere:
  - numeric values could incorrectly use unlocalized decimal and grouping characters (comma vs period).
  - a numeric value should be accepted even if the unit lacks a space (eg: "3in" instead of "3 in").
  - the Escape key in a palette's text field should abort the edit even if the current input text is invalid.
  - different units should show a different amount of decimal digits.
• Fixed: decimal tab stops should use the localized separator character appropriate for the applied language.
• Fixed: date and time stamps don't use correct localization.

Other Changes

• Fixed several issues with automatic numbers:
  - Fixed: certain kinds of automatic numbers using certain fonts can influence the line height so it no longer matches the natural expected height.
  - Fixed: creating a PDF/printout with automatic page numbers in generated TOCs, indexing, or cross-references could use slightly different metrics during final output, which might incorrectly shift pagination.
  - Fixed: automatic numbers do not draw underlines and strikethrough correctly for some fonts.
  - Fixed: reformatting automatic numbers should immediately update them on screen.
  - Fixed: certain automatic numbers could cause exceptions, if they changed text or metrics during drawing.
• Changed: deleting a bookmark should only warn the user with an alert if cross-references would remain after the deletion. In other words, the cross-references are outside the deleted selection.
• Fixed: inserting an endnote or footnote can scroll to the wrong location.
• Fixed: the wrong location can be scrolled into view if the user initiates another scrolling action while a previous scrolling animation is still underway.
• Fixed: certain kinds of layout feature interactions in longer documents could produce incorrect pagination, eg: the option "ensure page break before paragraph" could be ignored.
• Fixed: the bold and italic options could be lost for text marked for text index inclusion when reopening files.
• Changed: added a new export file format called "Rich Text Format (limited features)" that improves compatibility with InDesign. This supplants the format "Rich Text Format (for older applications)".
• Changes for the Open Recent file menu:
  - Added: always show the enclosing folder for files located somewhere special (eg: Mail Downloads).
  - Added: should disambiguate file locations by showing more than a single enclosing folder if necessary.
  - Added: should disambiguate file names by showing file extensions if necessary, even if that option is not enabled.
  - Fixed: should not list two entries for the same file on disk, even if the files were originally in different locations but their bookmark now resolves to the same target file.
  - Fixed: a few issues with files incorrectly appearing or not appearing on the menu.
  - Opt: the menu should defer checking if all files exist to a background task.
  - Changed: the default number of recent files was increased to 25.
• Fixed: keyboard shortcuts can fail after first launch for certain menu commands (eg: Paste Plain Text).
• Fixed: opening documents saved by version 2.x did not always restore the user's selection from the older app.
• Fixed: statistics (like the word count) for the selection should include tables.
• Fixed: HTML and EPUB export can produce invalid hyperlinks for footnotes and endnotes.
• Fixed: floating text boxes inside a group or canvas incorrectly disallow editing.
• Fixed: the resizing option buttons in the Shape Metrics palette should remember their state.
• Fixed: opening a file saved by another app (eg: Apple Pages) with no view zoom information should default to using the zoom from the Nisus New File template.
• Fixed: tables: the automatic scrolling location could be wrong after certain table operations (eg: cut table row).
• Fixed: inserting a newline at the start of a non-empty table cell or comment incorrectly applies the Normal paragraph style.
• Fixed: opening a file with footnotes or endnotes inside a generated TOC or text index can cause crashes.
• Added: new menu command Edit > Select > Show Selection in Results Window to show the current (possibly multipart) selection as a search results list.
• Added: new menu command to add a link without a dialog: Insert > Hyperlink > Add Link from Clipboard.
• Fixed: if editing in a footnote causes it to change pages, the footnote should remain focussed and visible.
• Fixed: exporting footnotes/endnotes to HTML or EPUB should also include links from the note area back to the main text.
• Fixed: palettes: the Formatting Examiner palette could show the incorrect label (left vs right) for the tail indent.
• Changed: pressing Tab (or Shift + Tab) with multiple list item paragraphs selected should increase/decrease the list level instead of inserting a tab character.
• Fixed: should allow custom keyboard shortcuts that use the Arrow keys.
• Fixed: can't remove default built-in keyboard shortcuts.
• Fixed: comment modification dates should not be updated if the marked text is copy-pasted.
• Fixed: including comments or tracked changes in printouts can incorrectly slightly clip the left edge of the main document text, if the imageable paper rect is misreported by the printer. The safety margin has been increased.
• Fixed: editing a comment in Split View should show the updated modification date in the titlebar immediately.
• Added: when showing and hiding comments in ancillary editing areas the prior selection should be restored, so long as the file has not been closed and reopened.
• Fixed: undoing the deletion of a comment should make it visible in the comment split view.
• Fixed: deleting an annotation from the main text did not always properly clear it from the annotation split view.
• Fixed: possibly crash if typesetting is cancelled repeatedly.
• Fixed: if the user cancels typesetting while the selection resides in a footnote, typesetting can incorrectly be forced again immediately.
• Fixed: pages that are empty (due to section breaks) should not show shapes anchored to headers and footers.
• Fixed: incorrectly can't enable facing pages (with even/odd headers) for sections using same-page section break.
• Fixed: toolbar items that no longer have a valid menu path should not trigger a full menu scan and update. This is a performance problem because it can trigger Document Manager access.
• Fixed: palettes: baseline controls should not always appear when selecting automatic numbers or inline images, unless a baseline is actually applied.
• Fixed: if too much text is placed inside a header or footer, it should not draw outside its designated area.
• Fixed: scrolling via "page up" or "page down" should not disrupt horizontal positioning.
• Fixed: attached palettes should not edit the document if they are clicked in an inactive window, the first click should only bring the document window frontmost.
• Fixed: the French contraction s'en should be treated as two words for selection, just like s'il.
• Fixed: short documents with certain zoom settings can cause crashes if showing a longer annotation sidebar.
• Added: custom PDF page labels can be set using the "Custom Properties" area via the menu File > Properties. The property name should be "PageLabel#" followed by the page number or range of pages, eg: "PageLabel#1" or "PageLabel#2-5".
• Fixed: clicking to select floating lines and arrows can be difficult when they are perfectly straight (completely horizontal or vertical).
• Fixed: inactive split views could fail to redraw properly after certain settings were changed, eg: show invisibles, customized colors, etc.
• Fixed: the vertical ruler can appear improperly in inactive split views.
• Fixed: some table editing memory leaks.
• Fixed: changing whether rulers or gutter formatting icons are shown or hidden should maintain the scroll location so the same text is in view.
• Fixed: certain kinds of selections (eg: table cell selections) did not draw using the inactive selection color when the document window was inactive.
• Changed: if Nisus Writer needs to prompt the user at launch about document restoration problems (eg: trashed files), the alerts should be shown before showing the general launch progress window.
• Fixed: using the spelling panel in Draft View to select the next misspelling fails to focus words in footnotes and endnotes.
• Fixed: Page View should not show typesetting placeholder pages for vertical space only required to allow full scrolling of an annotation sidebar.
• Added support for reading/writing the last known total page count from RTF files.
• Fixed: controls should never be clipped in Style View, even if the document's paper size is narrow.
• Fixed: some drawing problems for paragraphs with borders, when adjacent paragraphs had similar (but not equal) border edges.
• Fixed: inter-paragraph border edges can incorrectly draw on top of the bottom edge of the paragraph when they shouldn't appear at all.
• Fixed: possibly out-of-bounds glyph exception when drawing paragraph borders.
• Fixed: do not prevent scrolling to a vertical location that is nearly the same as the current location if the desired scroll target is obscured.
• Fixed: note styles should not show attributes that can't be edited in the style editor or Formatting Examiner.
• Additional changes to prevent custom toolbar items from spending too much time during validation.
• Fixed: deleting the first section break can cause crashes.
• Fixed: clicking a link, cross-reference, or note reference with an ancillary Split View showing doesn't always jump to the correct content.
• Fixed: The language applied to entries in a generated TOC or index should match the source text.
• Fixed: shape preview icons were shown upside down in menus.
• The option "Adjust Anchor When Shape Repositioned" is sticky and no longer defaults to being enabled.
• Fixed: drag-drop should not allow enclosed content (like comments, notes, and tables) to drag the marked text into itself, as this would just remove the content entirely.
• Fixed: should be able to sort paragraphs within a footnote or endnote.
• Fixed: can be slow to make formatting changes if a text selection encompasses a table with many cells.
• Fixed: inserting certain kinds of special content (eg: date stamp) next to a link will incorrect spread the link.
• Fixed: floating shapes whose anchors are far away can be difficult to select and may intermittently fail to draw.
• Fixed: converting a floating shape to an image could fail to draw borders, shading, and grouped text boxes.
• Fixed: any document restoration errors that occur during app launch should be delayed until the very end.
• Fixed: the progress panel should not cut off very long file names when opening documents.
• Fixed: a new blank document should not be created on app activation if the Feedback Reporter window is open.
• Fixed: a new document window should not be created if Nisus Writer is activated by closing an unsaved document window.
• Fixed: exiting the system screensaver with minimized document windows in Nisus Writer should not create a new blank document window.
• Fixed: typesetting progress in a document window should not steal keyboard focus from ancillary windows like the find results list window.
• Fixed: Bookends field codes are more clearly shown in the Formatting Examiner.
• Fixed: files with unknown file extensions were often misidentified as a potentially convertible file format.
• Fixed: Quitting the application should warn the user if an open feedback report would be lost.
• Changed: if an exception is thrown while reading a file it should be included in the feedback report.
• Fixed: the contextual menu for certain table selections doesn't always include Table commands.
• Fixed: files opened without any list styles fail to save changes made to the default list styles.
• Fixed: the recent documents limit is not correctly imported when upgrading from version 2.x to version 3.
• Changed: adjusted how much text is typeset per batch when forcing text layout, to better ensure a responsive UI for complex documents.
• Opt: inserting a cross-references that requires a new bookmark can trigger more typesetting than necessary.
• Opt: certain zoom settings in Page View can trigger more redrawing than required.
• Changed: attempt to prevent possible rare crash when importing toolbar settings from version 2.
• Fixed: applying bold to a style whose attributes include unbold, should just let a bold font inherited from its parent shine through, instead of enforcing the canonical bold font.
• Fixed: improper equation detection for PICT images lacking certain header structures.
• Fixed: paragraph borders can fail to draw correctly in some situations involving multiple paragraphs with similar edges.
• Fixed: page numbers in generated TOCs and indexes should not fail to update correctly if the target content is moved (cut/pasted or dragged/dropped).
• Changed: encoding a file with an absurd number of TOC styles (over 50) should not trigger hangs in the RTF writer.
• Fixed: if the computer's MAC address can't be obtained from the system (for the purpose of detecting and validating an App Store receipt) that should not prevent app launch.
• Several minor optimizations for documents with many pages and text areas.
• Fixed: drag-drop of TOC entries in the Navigator sidebar is easier to initiate.
• Fixed: images should be imported from Safari webarchive files.
• Fixed: styles that enforce certain paragraph border edges can cause hangs when previewed in the Style palette.
• Fixed: paragraph borders do not always draw correctly for adjacent paragraphs with the same borders that are on different pages.
• Fixed: launching the application by opening a file should restore prior state first, then open up the requested document(s).
• Added: if invisibles (eg: spaces) are shown on top of a very similar background color, another more distinctive color should be used.
• Fixed: document loading errors that occur during launch state restoration were not necessarily reported properly.
• Fixed: floating shapes attached to the main text could incorrectly be assigned a header floating block.
• Fixed: undoing the deletion or replacement of a paragraph separator (eg: newline) can fail to restore the style of the following paragraph in certain situations.
• Fixed: incorrect typing attributes can be set for ancillary text areas (eg: table cells) resulting in an improper caret height.
• Fixed: the menu title "Customize Touch Bar" was not always localizable.
• Fixed: the New File preferences had an improperly configured label showing the unit "lin" instead of "pt".
• Fixed: the Navigator pane can incorrectly revert from the right side of the document window to the left side after taking certain actions, eg: resizing the window.
• Changed: prophylactic changes in the Lists palette to try to prevent unreproducible crash.
• Fixed: show invisibles draws incorrectly for right-to-left text if the wrong language attribute is applied.
• Improved drawing of breaks for show invisibles when space is tight.
• Fixed: pasting or importing text with tables can sometimes hide part of the new text because a tiny temporary font size is applied. This persisted until the file was closed and reopened.
• Fixed: if the "keep with next paragraph" attribute is misapplied to a large region of text (eg: the whole document), Nisus Writer behaves very badly and slowly, making it almost impossible to edit text.
• Fixed: headers and footers that are taller than their pre-established frames (due to text inside), should not trigger superfluous soft height changes as new pages are typeset.
• Fixed: closing a document window with an overlay still visible (eg: search wrapped indicator) can throw exceptions.
• Fixed: vertical layout orientation changes in linked text boxes can cause hangs.
• Fixed: a variety of issues with scrolling and pagination when a document in Page View ends with an empty paragraph.
• Fixed: potential crash after undoing the deletion of shapes.
• Opt: pasting a large table is faster.
• Fixed: holding down the Command key as you click the "Add License" button in the licensing dialog should ask the user if they'd like to import a receipt from the Mac App Store.
• Changed: double-clicking the second word in a French contraction should not select the preceding apostrophe.
• Fixed: typing an opening smart/curly quote in a language that converts the following space into a non-breaking space (eg: French) should always place the insertion point after the non-breaking space.
• Fixed: shapes: a few bugs could occur when shapes were anchored to headers or footers.
• Fixed: creating a PDF with a print paper scaling factor produces incorrectly positioned link hotspots.
• Fixed: creating a PDF that enforces certain character style formatting for links (eg: cross-references) can fail to remove the formatting after the operation finishes.
• Fixed: the horizontal ruler markings are shown incorrectly in Draft View.
• Fixed: ruler units do a better job of rounding, eg: display 0.99 as "1.0 cm" instead of "0.9 cm".
• Fixed: increased reliability in the positioning of floating shapes.
• Fixed: certain actions that required autoscrolling to special content (eg: undo of shape changes) would not always show the correct scroll location.
• Fixed: typing a page number into the status bar should not trigger typesetting until the user confirms the input (eg: by pressing Return).
• Fixed: typing a page number into the status bar could fail to go to the correct page if typesetting was triggered.
• Fixed: some remaining autoscrolling issues when layout control options are involved, eg: keep with next paragraph.
• Changed: improved behavior of using the page number field in the status bar to jump to a particular page.
• Fixed: cross-references in footnotes or endnotes did not properly register/reregister during various lifecycle events, resulting in improper bookmark usage information.
• Fixed: HTML exports may have inconsistently formatted headings, if they include bookmarks or indexing.
• Fixed: HTML exports can incorrectly emit the same TOC anchor multiple times, if the TOC paragraph employs other features like indexing.
• Fixed: toggling full screen mode can fail to properly show/hide the status bar.
• Fixed: exiting full screen mode can sometimes incorrectly show the full screen toolbar in normal mode (outside of full screen).
• Fixed: changing the number of columns in a document section can improperly hide text until the file is reopened.
• Fixed: automatic date/time stamps in headers and footers did not update when creating a printout or PDF.
• Fixed: Language palette definitions for certain Arabic words can cause crashes.
• Fixed: tracking a formatting change that overlaps many (eg: 1000's) other existing formatting changes can be so slow it seems like a hang.
• Fixed: find window buttons aren't always correctly re-enabled after inserting a single special character from the menu or palette.
• Fixed: possible out-of-bounds exception when showing find results involving certain kinds of special content.
• Fixed: prophylactic changes to prevent potential crashes on macOS Catalina.
• Changed: attempt to prevent a mysterious layout crash.

Find and Replace

• Fixed: the Find All results list window is not sorted correctly by document content location.
• Fixed: autoscrolling can be wrong when selecting entries in the find results list window.
• Added: new menu commands to find and select:
  - All tables or all floating shapes.
  - The next or previous table.
• Fixed: the text selection in the Find window could draw with the wrong offset, misleading the user as to what text is actually selected.
• Fixed: vertical scrollbars in the Find window's text fields could appear when they weren't needed.
• Fixed: find and replace using the "Replace Formatting" option should persist formatting in the matching text only if it's consistently applied to the whole match.
• Added: copying certain kinds of smart content (eg: images, document properties, etc) into the Find panel's "replace with" field should use that content even if the "Replace Formatting" option is not check-marked.
• Changed: zero-length matches should show using the user's customized find selection color.
• Added: the Formatting Examiner palette can select next/previous/all floating shapes.
• Fixed: the Formatting Examiner palette should select table cells when selecting table, not the text in which the table is enclosed.
• Fixed: the search option "ignore diacritics" should be restored in the Find panel after relaunching the app.
• Fixed: zero-length matches should show as selected when using a search result list.
• Fixed: the Find panel's option to search "in selection" would incorrectly reset after making a zero-length match.
• Fixed: Replace All can select the wrong matched text if tracked changes are enabled and undergo coalescing.
• Fixed: empty table cells should be matched for certain zero-length search expressions.
• Fixed: Find Next did not always make progress for certain zero-length search expressions.

Macros

• Macro command names are now case insensitive, eg: Document.new and document.NEW are both valid.
• Added: new commands to more easily obtain an Attributes or Link object.
• Fixed: the macro command "Show Find Results" should sort grouped results by their display title.
• Added: "Add to Text Index" commands can specify sorting order.
• Fixed: using an integer in source code (eg: 13) when a decimal value is expected can incorrectly be type coerced to zero.
• Added: the Defined command can now test whether a variable name exists, eg: Defined($unknownVarName)
• Fixed: using macros to replace a style sheet's list styles doesn't always correctly update existing list items.
• Fixed: AppleScripts that launch the app and open documents or run Nisus macros could sequence incorrectly.
• Fixed: using a Find command with the wrap option disabled (via "-W") starting inside a comment would fail to match text inside the comments.
• Changed: macros are less likely to be opened for editing when the Command key is down. Nisus Writer now requires the mouse being used (ie: choosing the menu) to trigger this convenience.
• Fixed: opening a macro for editing from a custom toolbar item incorrectly sets the file as read-only.
• Fixed: macro error messages for unparsable parenthesized expressions can be completely wrong.
• Opt: matching menu commands by title/path from a macro is more efficient.
• Fixed: if Perl code is used in a macro, but perl is not available, an error alert should be shown to the user.