Hello Lebeau Software subscribers,

It's been a couple months since my last mailing, I just wanted to let you
all know what's on the horizon so you don't think I've dropped off the
planet or something.

First off, the long-awaited ICQ Chat Player is almost ready for it's first
beta testing. I just have some user interface issues to finish dealing with
first, but the core functionality is working.

For all you TMSAgent users, a new version is in development as well. It'll
contain mostly just bug fixes and internal code changes. There will be a
few changes, though, that might effect current programs. More specific
details will be provided when it's released.

In addition, a new VCL component package will be released along side
TMSAgent. This package will contain several new components that can be used
to easy turn regular VCL forms into input balloons ala MSOffice (ever see
the window that the Office Assistant uses to ask the user for input?).
Already included at this point are 4 components - TBalloonButton,
TBalloonRadioButton, TBalloonCheckBox, and TBallonPanel. The first 3 are
pretty straight-forward, except that they will all support the option of
changing the graphics used to render them with. This way, you can use your
own graphics for the checkmarks, etc.

TBalloonPanel, however, is the main component being released in the package,
the others are just companion components. TBalloonPanel is a special
component in that you can drop it onto any TWinControl-derived visual
component (not just forms) and it'll automatically shape it into a balloon
at runtime, complete with rounded corners, colored border, and a speech
tail, if desired. Since TBalloonPanel derives from TCustomControl, it acts
as a panel that can contain controls of it's own just like TPanel can.

Screen shots will be posted on my site soon of all 4 components in action.

That's it for now. Until next time...


Gambit
Lebeau Software