TFORMer 7.5 Release Notes

Many thanks for installing TFORMer Designer / TFORMer SDK!

This page informs you about the most important improvements for the current TFORMer version.
Please note that updates within the same major version are free. License keys for version 7 will unlock all coming updates (versions 7.x).
Users of prior TFORMer main versions may update at an attractive discount (request quote).

V7.5 (Current Version) | V7.0 | V6.0 SP12 | V6.0 SP11 | V6.0 SP10 | V6.0 SP9 | V6.0 SP8 | V6.0 SP7 | V6.0 SP6 | V6.0 SP5 | V6.0 SP4 | V6.0 SP3 | V6.0 SP2 | V6.0 SP1 | V6.0 | V5.1 | V5.0 | V4.5.1 | V4.5.0 | V4.1.0

V7.5

New Features and Hot-Fixes in V7.5.23

• New Features
  
  • New SDK Option for ZPL Compression Mode
    Added the support for a new ZPL-compression option, which allows to override the ZPL compression programmatically.
    Allowed values are none, rle or png.
• Bug Fixes
  
  • CSV Import on Linux/UNIX
    Fixed UTF-8 character import and line ending detection.
  • UTF-8 support for human readable barcode text on Linux/UNIX
    Fixed a problem that caused UTF-8 HRT to be converted to ANSI on Linux/UNIX systems.

New Features and Hot-Fixes in V7.5.22

• New Features
  
  • Error Indicator in Treeview
    Parent nodes now show error information for child nodes (TFM-8068, TFM-8073).
  • Warning Indicator in Treeview
    Added support to indicate warnings in the design treeview.
    
  • Barcode SDK
    Now using the barcode kernel TBarCode V11.5.0.
    • New Barcode: Royal Mail Mailmark 4 State
      The mailmark barcode is used on Royal Mail mail pieces and should be used instead of Royal Mail 4 State.
  • TFORMer SDK
    
    • COM API: New Function AppendToDataField
      Added a new function AppendToDataField to JobDataRecordSet objects (TFM-7966).
    • CUPS Support on Linux/UNIX
      Fixed a problem caused by an deprecated API function.
      
  • Quickprint
    
    • Added the Ford Global Transport Label templates (Revision 2017) (TFM-7813).
    • Added the MAT Datamatrix MASTER label (TFM-7935).
• Bug Fixes
  
  • Truncated Output
    Output will now be generated for all data records regardless of the precalculated number of output pages (TFM-8021).
    Previously, truncated output may be caused by the usage of NumPages, NumLogPages or IsLastPage in printing conditions.
    Therefore the following enhancements have been added:
    • Warning message will be displayed if NumPages, NumLogPages or IsLastPage is used by a printing condition.
    • Warning indicator in the treeview if NumPages, NumLogPages or IsLastPage is used by a printing condition.
    • Warning message if preview reaches last page and NumPages or NumLogPages does not match precalculated values.
  • Font Combobox
    Fixed a problem that caused some special font-names missing in font comboboxes (TFM-8105).

New Features and Hot-Fixes in V7.5.21

• New Features
  
  • Barcode SDK
    Now using the barcode kernel TBarCode V11.4.0.
• Bug Fixes
  
  • Page Footers
    Fixed wrong output position for page footers with different heights and printing conditions (TFM-7884).
  • Barcode
    
    • Postscript: Fixed wrong text position for centered or right aligned text that included characters like (, ) and \ (TFM-7805).
    • PDF: Fixed wrong barcode position of free rotated barcodes using center, right or bottom alignment (TFM-7806).
  • Preview
    
    • Preview is now clipped to page sizes (TFM-5539).
    • Preview flickering is now reduced.
  • Unix
    
    • Fixed a problem that could cause a crash when the font provided for printing unicode-font-errors did not support ANSI charatcers (TFM-7859).
• Templates
  
  • MAT-Label Templates (Automotive)
    New: Added the MAT Datamatrix MASTER label.

New Features and Hot-Fixes in V7.5.20

• New Features
  
  • Font Linking
    Adds font fallback for missing characters in fonts.
    If a font does not support a character, TFORMer tries to switch to a hard-coded "linked" font supporting this character.
    This behavior can be turned off by using SDK option font-linking=no.
  • Font Substitution
    Adds font fallback for missing fonts.
    If a font required by a label layout is missing on a system, a hard-coded alternative font will be used (e.g. Liberation Sans Narrow will be used instead of Arial Narrow).
    This behavior can be turned off by using SDK option font-substitution=no.
  • Text Serials
    Added support for serial text fields.
  • Pasting RTF or Plain Text
    Pasting RTF (rich text format, e.g. by Microsoft Word) or plain text will place the text including format information into the selected text element.
  • SDK Option String
    Added the support for a new layout option, which allows to override the page layout specifications of a label design programmatically.
    Examples:
    layout={rows=6 columns=2 row-height=3cm column-width=7cm row-spacing=2mm columns-spacing=2mm margins={left=1cm top=1cm right=1cm bottom=1cm}}
    layout={rows=auto columns=auto row-height=auto column-width=auto row-spacing=auto columns-spacing=auto margins=1cm}
  • Dialog "Select Label Template"
    Dialog "Select Label Template" is now resizable.
  • Repository Forms
    Added support to open multiple forms at once. The Open Forms command now supports multiselect.
  • New Setup Application
    A new setup application is used, it now contains both 32 bit and 64 bit components. The setup downloads the C++ redistributable for Visual Studio 2015 on demand.
  • Barcode SDK
    Now using the barcode kernel TBarCode V11.3.2.
    • New Barcode Type: UPU S10
      UPU S10 is used for identifying postal items. This generic barcode type was implemented by several post authorities.
    • Support of Data Matrix Rectangular Extension (DMRE)
      The symbol sizes defined by the DMRE are now supported (8x48, 8x64, 12x64, 16x64, 24x32, 24x36, 24x48, 24x64 and 26x32).
• Bug Fixes
  
  • Temporary Files
    Fixed a bug which caused TFORMer Designer to not delete temporary files (TFM-6940).
  • Formatted Text Editor: Pasting RTF Text from Microsoft Word
    Pasting RTF text that uses automatic text color works now properly.
  • ZPL-II Output (Zebra Printers)
    The print width is now always sent to the printer using the ^PW command (TFM-6063).
  • System Fields
    Fixed wrong values in Record, NumRecords, PrintedItems and NumPrintItems for record sets containing records that have a RecordCopy value of 0 (TFM-6723).
  • ODBC: ODBC 64 Bit API
    Retrieving data values from 64 Bit ODBC drivers was fixed.
  • TFORMer Data View
    
    • Fixed a memory leak when pasting XML data.
    • Fixed a crash in the data view when adding new fields to virtual/imported data (TFM-6941).
  • Images
    
    • Fixed a crash caused by rotated 4-bit images.
    • Fixed an image clipping bug on Microsoft Windows for PostScript output (TFM-7744).
  • SDK
    
    • Fixed TFormer_IsDesignerAvailable and TFormer_OpenDesigner to work properly when TFORMer SDK and TFORMer Designer are installed side-by-side (TFM-6711).
    • TFormer_AddNewForm will now create an empty form if required (TFM-6764).
    • Fixed some problems that caused the .NET wrapper not working properly when used within Visual Studio 2015 UWP projects.
• Visual Studio Runtime
  
  • TFORMer now uses the runtime of Visual Studio 2015.
• Templates
  
  • Ford Global Transport Labels
    Added the new Ford Global Transport Label Templates as of revision 2017.
  • MAT Label Templates (Automotive)
    
    • New: The unit can now be specified in the Quantity field.
    • Fixed: Quantity needs the 12ISO3 (e.g. 1234567890123mmm999) format in the 2D Code as documented in the MAT specification (TFM-5759).
    • Fixed: In some cases a PDF417 symbol does not fit into bounding box (TFM-7728).
    • Fixed: Purchase Order Number was missing in the KLT Label Data Matrix Code (TFM-7722).

New Features and Hot-Fixes in V7.5.19

• New Features
  
  • New: System fields tfProductName and tfProductVersion.
  • New: Extended CheckDigits method to support field-specific check digits for GS1 codes (TFM-6479).
  • New: Added Suppress Error Message property for picture element.
  • New: Added Meta Information properties to allow customization of document creator, producer, title, subject, author and keywords.
    These information is used when generating PDF, PostScript and HTML output. The current values can be accessed by using the system fields tfDocumentCreator, tfDocumentProducer, tfDocumentTitle, tfDocumentSubject, tfDocumentAuthor and tfDocumentKeywords.
  • New: The Expression Editor shows calltips based on the current word.
  • New: Tooltips in the Expression Editor are now word wrapped.
  • New: Added copy and paste support to layer elements (TFM-5002).
  • New: Saving a repository form will now save the repository too (TFM-1780).
  • New: Saving a repository will save all corresponding open forms too.
• Bug Fixes
  
  • Fix: The output engine now avoids rendering of invisible lines, rectangles and ellipses (either with line-width 0 or with no color and transparent background).
  • Fix: Deadlock in the output engine when growable text fields used flush bottom attribute (TFM-6548). TFORMer hangs (Linux) or creates more than 4000 pages (Windows)
  • Fix: Output engine occasionally crashed when preparing internal structures for win32 print drivers.
  • Fix: The Print Dialog now correctly remembers the Postscript file output option.
  • Fix: The SDK options in the Print Dialog will not influence other TFORMer settings anymore.
  • Fix: The type of the ZUGFeRD-XML property (data field, file or expression) is now considered correctly.
  • Fix: The Document Name property can now be specified as fixed text, expression or as datafield.
  • Fix: Several text properties now provide a Browse button to open a multiline edit box. Fixed a problem when texts with line breaks where pasted (in this case the property value became uneditable).
  • Fix: Added the missing "GT" in the PDF417 barcode of the GM 1724 A label.
• TFORMer Quickprint
  
  • New: The preview is now based on current datafield values.
  • New: Added tooltip indicators for errors caused by datafield values.
  • New: Added tooltip indicators for datafield information.
  • New: A layout is reloaded automatically on changes (TFM-5825).
  • Fix: Corrected a problem with document copies.

Hot-Fixes for V7.5.18

• Windows XP
  Fixed a compatibility issue with Windows XP, removed dependency on the system function GetTickCount64() from TFORMer Designer.

New Features and Hot-Fixes in V7.5.17

• PDF/A Support
  PDF/A is an ISO-standardized version of the Portable Document Format (PDF) specialized for the digital preservation of electronic documents.
• ZUGFeRD PDF/A-3 Support
  The new output format generates PDF/A-3 files and attaches the given ZUGFeRD-invoice XML file to them.
  The ZUGFeRD-invoice XML file can be specified by:
  
  • A new report property named ZUGFeRD-XML
    This property specifies the file to be embedded (based on expression, datafield or file name).
    
  • A new SDK option named zugferd-xml
    The SDK option overrides the report property ZUGFerD-XML.
  • TFORMer print dialog
    TFORMer will ask the user to select a ZUGFeRD-XML file if the report ZUGFeRD-XML property is empty.
    
• PDF Output Improvements
  PDF generation was improved (ToUnicode Map, Char Width Array, Operand Order).
  
• Improvements for Importing XML Print Data into the TFORMer SDK
  - Importing empty records is now possible without an error.
  - The capitalization of several node names is ignored again.
  - Invalid XML files will return correct error messages.
  
• TFORMer Print Dialog
  User settings are not reset after printing.
  
• Embedded Expressions
  Increased the maximum length of expression strings from 8 KB to 64 KB (TFM-6410).
• ODBC Datasource Edit
  Fixed a deadlock when retrieving table names (TFM-6409).
  
• Directory Connector (TFORMer Server Repository)
  Added basic support for relative path names (TFS-4090).
• Printer (TFORMer Server Repository)
  - Added a new ZPL footer property (TFS-6402)
  - Changed the default values for ZPL-header and ZPL-compression properties (TFS-3702)
  - Changed the type of the ZPL-Scaling property to an enumeration (TFS-3702)
  
• Linux^® and UNIX^® Systems
  
  • TFORMer SDK 7.5 is now available for Linux^® and UNIX^®.
    
  • TFORMer.ini can now be used for licensing.
    
• TFORMer SDK Java Wrapper
  Fixed a problem (NULL Exception) in FormLayout.getDataFieldUsage.
  

Hot-Fixes for V7.5.16

• Layout View
  Fixed a problem that prevented the expansion of collapsed bands.
• CSV Files
  - Improved performance of reading CSV files.
  - Escaped text qualifiers are now supported (Eg. "Abc""abc""" will be read as [Abc"abc"]).
  - TFPrint will now correctly read CSV records with multiline values (TFM-6062).
  
• XML Datasource
  Fixed a problem that caused some correct XML files to report an end of file error.
• Preview
  Persistent serials will not cause a deadlock when refreshing a cancelled preview.
• Samples
  Printing tool for Microsoft Excel now uses correct field names when providing data to TFORMer (TFM-6233).
• SDK Custom Media Format
  Custom media format can be specified as 'media=custom.10cmx12cm' or 'media=10cmx12cm' (TFM-6108).
• New Templates
  - KLT (Kleinladungsträger) and GLT (Großladungsträger) labels for ZF
  
• New SDK Options for Printing Barcodes and Images
  The SDK options tbarcode-drawing-mode und transparent-image-drawing-mode can now be used to control certain aspects when printing bar-codes or transparent images on Windows printers.
• TFORMer SDK (for Microsoft Windows^®)
  - The TFORMer SDK is now correctly unloaded from memory. This fixes a problem where TFPrint.exe was not able to set the ERRORCODE correctly (TFM-6348).
  
• Barcode
  Using new barcode kernel TBarCode V11.2.2.

Hot-Fixes for V7.5.15

• Datasources
  
  • ODBC Datasource
    - Added the option local copy to cache data locally (using forward only cursor) (TFM-6058).
  • XML Datasource
    - New option reuse values will not clear datafield values between records.
    - Reduced memory consumption.
    
  • Edit Datasource Dialog
    - Automatic datafield mapping now supports names longer than 32 characters.
    - Preview is now limited to 100 records.
    
• Barcode
  
  • Using new barcode kernel TBarCode V11.2.1.
  • Optimize barcode did not work properly (TFM-6075).
  • Property list: Added mouse wheel support to barcode type combobox.
• PDF Font Subset Embedding
  Embedding composite glyphs like ä, ö and ü did not work properly for some fonts.
• Dataview Improved
  Improved loading, saving, selecting, copying and pasting in data view.
• TFQuickPrint
  Command line now supports loading custom layouts (.tff).

Hot-Fixes for V7.5.14

• New SDK-Option for Rotation
  Specifies the additional counter-clockwise output rotation in steps of 90 degrees (will be added to the rotation of the form) (TFM-6063).
• Random Values
  Random values calculated in pre-evaluations are now working as intended in text and barcode elements (TFM-6060).
• Band Selection
  Shift-clicking on a band header does not clear the selected elements (TFM-6061).
• New Elements
  Elements created by clicking into the design view are now fully visible (TFM-6103).

Hot-Fixes for V7.5.13

• TFORMer QuickPrint
  
  • System printers are now visible in the printer settings dialog.
  • TFORMer SDK error messages (e.g. validation messages) are now displayed to the user.
• TFPrint
  Fixed a possible crash caused by validation messages containing a percent character (%).

Hot-Fixes for V7.5.12

• New Barcode-Kernel TBarCode V11.2.0
  Added the Royal Mail CMDM Mailmark barcode.
• Band Paste
  The selected band is used as insert position when pasting or inserting bands (TFM-5957).
• New Templates
  
  • VW GTL labels version 4.1.2
  • MAT KLT label

Hot-Fixes for V7.5.11

• 'Page Break Before' Handling
  Fixed a problem that caused Page Break Before to work only on the first label of a page.
• Text Splitting
  Splitting of shifted and/or flushed text across multiple pages did not work properly.
• Clipped Descenders
  If possible, the font output routines do not clip descenders (as in the letters g, j, p, ...).
• New SDK Option to Ignore Unknown Data Fields
  The new SDK option ignore-undefined-fields suppresses errors in the COM, .NET and Java API, when a JobDataRecordSet uses an undefined data field.
• SDK COM Documentation
  Fixed a bug in the SDK COM help which caused several hyper-links to fail.
• ZPL and Image Output
  
  • Fixed image positioning on rotated output (TFM-5932).
  • Improved scaling for freely rotated images.
  • Fixed a possible access violation in character clipping.
    

Hot-Fixes for V7.5.10

• Datasources
  
  • Added copy & paste for datasources and datasource parameters.
  • More user-friendly display of properties with expressions.
  • Properties for filenames are now changed via an edit-dialog.
• Setup
  Subsequent setups (updates) now use the correct installation path (TFM-5850).
• DDE
  Fixed the DDE problem "There was a problem sending the command to the program." when the user opened a file.

Hot-Fixes for V7.5.9

• Ribbon Combo-Boxes
  
  • On some systems using Windows Basic desktop settings the drop-down combo boxes (e.g. for font names) could not be opened.
  • Fixed a problem which required multiple undo-operations when changing combo-box entries.
  • Added the auto-complete feature to the font selection combo-box.
  • Corrected the value (e.g. font-name, font-size) shown in combo-boxes in floating mini-toolbars.
• ZPL-II Output (Zebra Printers)
  
  • Added setting for job-footer in the TFORMer.XML configuration file.
  • Added new SDK options (header, footer) for setting header and footer ZPL-II code.
  • Cutting mode is supported now (the label length is now always sent to the printer using the ^LL command).
• Multiline Default Values
  Better support for multi line default values (TFM-3754).
• Multiline edit control in Quickprint
  Quickprint now shows multiline edit controls if the default value of a data field (see TFORMer layout) is entered with multiple lines (TFM-5829).
• Editor for Formatted Text
  When saving the TFORMer layout file characters after a tab were sometimes truncated.
• Tray Settings
  Tray settings now support custom values for page sizes (e.g. Custom.200mmx180mm). Useful for image output or Zebra printers with cutter.
• Undo and Redo
  Undo and redo are still possible after saving a document (TFM-5845).
• HTML Expressions
  < characters are now printed if followed by a digit or if no closing > character is found (TFM-5846).
• Barcode: Human Readable Text
  PDF, PS, Image and ZPL-II printers now ignore line breaks when printing the barcode text (TFM-5847).

Hot-Fixes for V7.5.8

• Access Violation in Image and Zebra Printers
  Fixed an access violation that could occur when output got clipped.
• Parsing of Barcode-Options
  Barcode options are now correctly parsed.
• New Barcode-Kernel TBarCode V11.1.3
  New barcode options for Macro PDF417.
• Excel Sample
  Implemented a faster way to retrieve data from Excel.
• Rotation on GDI Printers
  Some printer drivers rotated output only on the first page.
• Positioning Element Properties
  
  • Left and right will not change width or height anymore.
  • Right and bottom were removed.

Hot-Fixes for V7.5.7

• EXIF Resolution Information in JPEG is used (TFM-5706)
  
• Multipage TIFF bug fixed
  Multipage TIFF output was corrected.
• Fixed a problem with incorrectly stored license data
  On some locales TFORMer did not accept a valid license.
• Preview speed improved
  Bug-fix when previewing a document with multiple expressions and images.
• Avoid multiple TFORMer windows
  When double-clicked, layout files (*.TFF) will be opened by an already running TFORMer instance (TFM-5755).
• Improve output speed in case of XML data sources
  Big XML data sources are now processed significantly faster (TFM-5767).

Hot-Fix for V7.5.6

• New SDK Option MediaSource
  This option is used to specify the printer tray by tray name or tray id.

Hot-Fixes for V7.5.5

• Printing Conditions
  Printing conditions are now re-evaluated when a band caused a page or label break (TFM-5660).
• Functions
  AddDays(): Subtracting days could lead to an invalid date (TFM-5652).
• Command Line
  Command line parameter handling was corrected when using the SingleInstance parameter (TFM-5633).
• Layout View
  
  • Fixed some minor bugs in ruler and grid rendering.
  • Clicking the horizontal scrollbar does not change the selection any more.
• Templates
  
  • The Caterpillar shipping and parts identification labels (version 4.2, November 2013) were modified to comply with the latest requirements (left quiet zone of bar codes, separate EC# and LOT# SPLR SLED fields).

Hot-Fixes for V7.5.4

• Preview
  Preview does now handle landscape correctly (TFM-5589).
• Edit ODBC Data Source Dialog
  Fixed a possible crash when retrieving table information (TFM-5596).

Hot-Fixes for V7.5.3

• Page Setup Dialog
  The page setup dialog now allows the user to apply arbitrary settings (TFM-5464).
• Options Dialog
  The settings for the grid and the page size are now shown in the selected measurement units (TFM-5464).
• Persistant Serials
  Persistent serials are now displayed trimmed, without trailing zeroes (TFM-5469).
• QuickPrint
  
  • The maximum number of label copies was increased from 99 to 9999, the maximum values for the start-row and the start-column are now 999 (TFM-5479).
  • The start-row and start-column are now handled correctly (TFM-5481).
• New Barcode Kernel TBarCode V11.1.0
  Added the Swedish Postal Shipment Item ID barcode (Code 128) and the corresponding Mod-11 check digit.

Hot-Fixes for V7.5.2

• 64 Bit Java Wrapper
  Fixed a problem that caused an error when loading the 64-bit Java wrapper (TFM-5452).
• SDK Access Violation
  Fixed an access violation when loading the SDK DLLs (DLL, COM, NET, JAVA).
• Developer Manual
  Updated the distribution and deployment section.
• Templates
  
  • Caterpillar 2013 labels: Fixed the module width and the positioning of the supplier barcode in Caterpillar 2013 labels.
  • Caterpillar 2013 labels: Removed the formatting for the purchase order number (TFM-5449).
  • Siemens VDO label: Corrected the PDF417 data format (TFM-5404).

Hot-Fixes for V7.5.1

• TFM-5418: Design View Scrollbar
  Double-clicks in the scrollbar are now handled correctly.
• TFM-5424: Missing vcomp100.dll.
  The setup now includes the Microsoft VC100 OpenMP DLLs. There were problems with loading the TFORMer .NET SDK on Windows 8.
• TFM-5425: Access Violation fixed in 64 Bit SDK
  Fixed a bug in the 64 bit SDK, which could cause an access violation. The problem occurred in .NET 4.0+ (debug build).
• Content Dialog: Added Shortcut Ctrl+Enter to confirm changes.
  

New Features

• New Print-Only Tool
  The tool QuickPrint was rewritten completely. It provides quick label selection, a built-in data entry form and a preview panel.
• Freely Adjustable Element Rotation
  All elements (e.g. barcodes, rectangles, texts, ...) can now be rotated as required.
• New Snapping Mode for Faster Label Design
  This mode aligns elements to the edges or centers of other elements by showing a so-called "Snap Line".
• TFM-4634: Use Grid Settings for Band Sizing
  Band sizing operations in design mode now consider the "align to grid" settings.

General Improvements

• Improved User Interface
  TFORMer Designer now uses a ribbon interface and floating toolbars (optional) for better usability.
• Improved Setup for In-Place Updates
  In the future, TFORMer can be installed without uninstalling a previous version first.

New Label Templates

• Bring Parcels Transport Label
  Bring Parcels AB Transport Label (Version 20101101)
• Coliposte Colissimo Label
  La Poste Coliposte COLISSIMO EXPERT F (8V) Label (V0611-2)
• Parcelforce Domestic Label
  Parcelforce Worldwide Domestic Label UK (v1.0.0)

TFORMer SDK (Core)

• Visual Studio Runtime
  TFORMer uses the runtime of Visual Studio 2010.
• New Barcodes
  TFORMer is now able to generate
  • DotCode: a 2D symbology used for DPM,
  • Han Xin Code: a 2D code optimized for Chinese characters,
  • USPS Intelligent Mail Package Code: a postal code in use by the United States Postal Service.
• FreeImage
  TFORMer now uses FreeImage for loading and saving image files. Picture elements support Icon (ICO) and Photoshop (PSD) formats in addition.

Bug-Fixes

• TFM-5201: Date Calculations
  The functions AddDays(), AddWeeks() and AddMonths() now work correctly when using negative values.
• TFM-5035: CSV Import Crash
  The crash when importing a CSV file with empty lines was fixed. The crash occurred only when RecordCopy was bound to some column.
• TFM-5104: Deadlock in Data View Fixed
  Under rare circumstances moving to the last record in the data view caused a deadlock.
• TFM-5108: Corrected Flush Top for Horizontal Lines in a Page Footer
  Now the line is displayed correctly.
• TFM-5234: The Function Round() Returned Wrong Results when Using Negative Values
  The problem was corrected. In addition the precision parameter was changed from DOUBLE to LONG.

Known Issues

• PDF / PostScript Output
  Non-TrueType fonts like Script are printed as Arial.
• HTML Output
  The use of rotated text is not possible.
• Issues for “Big-Endian (Non-Intel)“ Operating Systems like HP-UX and AIX
  The EURO-sign (€) can’t be used on AIX.
  The image format TIFF is not supported.
• Arabic Fonts
  Arabic fonts are not directly supported.

V7.0

Hot-Fix for V7.0.10

• New SDK Option MediaSource (Merged from 7.5.6)
  This option is used to specify the printer tray by tray name or tray id.

Hot-Fix for Build 7.0.9

• SDK Access Violation (Merged from 7.5.2)
  Fixed an access violation when loading the SDK DLLs (DLL, COM, NET, JAVA).
• TFM-5425: Access Violation fixed in 64 Bit SDK (Merged from 7.5.1)
  Fixed a bug in the 64 bit SDK, which could cause an access violation. The problem occurred in .NET 4.0+ (debug build).

Hot-Fix for Build 7.0.8

• TFM-5006: New SDK Option SavePersistentSerials
  This option is used to disable the automatic saving of persistent serial numbers. Allows SDK users to generate preview images without incrementing serials.
• SDK
  
  • Fixed a problem that caused the SDK to ignore current serial values.
  • GetDataFieldUsage (COM/NET/Java) will not lock serials anymore.
• QuickPrint
  The preview disables now the automatic saving of persistent serial numbers.

Hot-Fix for Build 7.0.7

• TFM-5264: TFORMer SDK now works correctly with JRE 7 (libxml incompatibility)
  

Hot-Fix for Build 7.0.6

• TFM-5222: Page Headers, Report Headers and Report Footers are not clipped anymore
  Physical page headers, report headers and report footers will now be clipped to the page dimensions.
• TBC-5171: Corrupt PDF and PS output
  Fixed a problem that caused corrupted PDF and PS output when using barcodes.

Hot-Fix for Build 7.0.5

• New: Additional Data Matrix formats
  Data Matrix now supports the formats "DP Postmatrix" and "Reader Programming".

Hot-Fixes for V7.0.4

• New: Barcode Alignment
  The alignment of bar codes is now adjustable (left, right, center, bottom, top, middle).
• New: Text Editor
  Editing text with embedded expressions was enhanced (expressions are highlighted and selected like fields in Microsoft Word).
• QuickPrint Display Language
  The display language (German or English) is now based upon the system language.
• TFM-4884: Processing of so-called Umlaute in TFORMer SDK
  Umlaute are now treated correctly by functions like ToUpper() or ToLower().
• Measurement Units in the Page Setup Dialog
  All units are now displayed with a precision of 3 in millimeter or inch.
• TFM-4869: Strike-through Text in Combination with Super- and Subscript
  Strike-through text is now rendered correctly.
• TFM-4885: Invalid Data Source Warning
  The print dialog now displays a warning when using an invalid data source (e.g. file not found).
• TFM-4896: Media Mismatch Warning
  A warning is displayed in the print dialog if the media format of the layout is not supported by the target printer.
• TFM-4992: Text Data-Sources with UNICODE Characters
  Text data sources (e.g. TXT, CSV) containing UNICODE characters are now supported on Microsoft Windows^®.

Hot-Fixes for V7.0.3

• PDF417 Barcode
  A bug in the data capacity checking routines was corrected, the PDF417 bar code can now encode larger amounts of data. This version uses a new barcode kernel (TBarCode V10.2.7).

Hot-Fixes for V7.0.2

• Error when Printing on 32 Bit Systems
  Fixed the error message "The data area passed to a system call is too small".
• Stock Label Template Dimensions
  Fixed the dimensions of some stock label templates (e.g. R5019).
• Option Dialog (German Language)
  Fixed the bar-code printing option dialog.
• Printing Dialog
  Bar-code options were not applied immediately.

New Features

• New Page Setup Wizard (Shortcut Alt+P)
  The new page setup wizard simplifies the configuration of the basic form layout dramatically. TFORMer differentiates between reports (simple, columnar and complex) and labels (single labels for label printers, label sheets, complex labels). Layouts created with earlier TFORMer versions are displayed as complex variants.
• Print Text Blocks Across Multiple Pages
  Bands (and thus large text-blocks) may be printed across multiple pages (default for this version). Layouts created with previous TFORMer versions still perform band clipping (see option "Print Across Pages").
• Superscript and Subscript
  Text elements may now use ^super- and _{sub-scripting} (see Edit Text dialog).
• Soft-Hyphenation
  Text elements support soft-hyphenation (right-click in the "Edit Text" dialog). Valid soft-hyphenation character(s) can be adjusted in the options, the default is the HTML entity &shy;.
• Word Breaks
  In previous versions words may have been clipped. The current version performs a line-break to avoid clipping if the word-wrap option is turned on.
• Improved PostScript generation
  
  • The size of generated PostScript files was reduced significantly (new encoding algorithm for text and image data).
  • New output options for embedded images: maximum resolution, compression mode (Flate, RLE, JPEG), duplex mode (see options dialog).
• New Spanish Localization
  TFORMer Designer is now localized to German, English and Spanish.
• User-Specific Interface Language
  TFORMer Designer stores the selected user interface language per user.

General Improvements

• Avery Templates
  The list of available Avery^® label templates was updated.
• Print Settings are Stored per User
  The print settings adjusted in the Options of TFORMer Designer are persistent now. Future sessions of TFORMer Designer and TFORMer SDK use these settings automatically.
• New Scripting Functions
  
  • CheckChar_ISO7064Mod37_2(): computes ISO 7064 mod 37-2 pure check character
  • RandomLng(): computes an integer random number
  • RandomDbl(): computes a floating point random number
  • RandomStr(): generates a random string
  • Lookup(): retrieves a value for the specified key.
• Enhanced Wordbreak
  In addition to the space character the following characters are now considered as word-break characters:
  • tab,
  • minus (-),
  • zero width space (#8203),
  • minus (#x2212),
  • figure dash (#x2012),
  • en dash (#x2013),
  • em dash (#x2014),
  • en space (#x2002),
  • em space (#x2003),
  • three-per-em space (#x2004),
  • four-per-em space (#x2005),
  • six-per-em space (#x2006),
  • figure space (#x2007),
  • punctuation space (#x2008),
  • thin space (#x2009),
  • hair space (#x200A),
  • medium mathematical space (#x205F),
  • hyphen bullet (#x2043)
• Extended HTML Entity Support
  If the text editor is used for HTML input (or when using HTML expressions) the following entities are now supported: &# and &#x (characters specified by UNICODE value).
• Improved Mouse and Keyboard Handling
  • Alt-key: toggle fine positioning mode
  • Shift-key while sizing with the mouse: toggle proportional sizing mode
  • Shift-key while moving with the mouse: toggles horizontal (vertical) moving mode.
• Datafield Validations
  Datafield validations are now performed after all values for a record were set. Thus validation rules can check dependencies between datafields.
• Monospace Font-Handling Improvements
  Due to the use of the current Freetype library monospace fonts with contradictory character widths are now printed correctly.

TFORMer SDK (core)

• Streaming Support
  The current version is able to generate PDF and image output as in-memory stream without any file system access. For PostScript and multi-page TIFF output, temporary files on the file-system may still be used internally.
• Advanced Printing Options
  Advanced printing options may be passed to TFORMer SDK and TFORMer Designer as a parameter list.

Bug-Fixes

• ZPL Landscape Output
  ZPL landscape output did not work properly.
• Invalid Handle Error when Embedding Image Files
  On non-GDI printers 1 bit image files caused invalid handle errors.
• GIF Images
  A threading issue while loading GIF image files was fixed.
• Deadlock in the JAVA-API
  A possible deadlock in the repository classes was fixed.
• Developer Manuals
  The API documentation (references) was reworked completely.

V6.0 SP12

Bug-Fixes

• Improved output speed for XML-based data sources (merged from version V7.5.7)
  Large XML data sources are now processed significantly faster (TFM-5767).

V6.0 SP11

Bug-Fixes

• SDK Access Violation (Merged from 7.5.2)
  Fixed an access violation when loading the SDK DLLs (DLL, COM, NET, JAVA).
• TFM-5425: Access Violation fixed in 64 Bit SDK (Merged from 7.5.1)
  Fixed a bug in the 64 bit SDK, which could cause an access violation. The problem occurred in .NET 4.0+ (debug build).

V6.0 SP10

Bug-Fixes

• ZPL Landscape Output (Merged from 7.0.2)
  ZPL landscape output did not work properly.

V6.0 SP9

Bug-Fixes

• Barcode Support
  The code-page which is used for encoding the data can be specified (see Barcode Properties).

V6.0 SP8

Bug-Fixes

• ODBC Datasource with NVarChar(max, null) columns
  Fields of type nvarchar(max,null) were truncated to 1 character when using the SQL native driver for SQL server.
• ODBC Error: "ORA-01002: fetch out of sequence"
  Under some circumstances the error "ORA-01002: fetch out of sequence" occurred with Oracle Database drivers.

V6.0 SP7

Bug-Fixes

• HP-UX Release
  

V6.0 SP6

Bug-Fixes

• Fixed PDF output on AIX
  Fixed a problem where PDF output on AIX was cancelled due to an "Invalid Time" error.

V6.0 SP5

Bug-Fixes

• TFM-3976: ZPL Output
  Fixed memory leak issues when using PNG compression.

V6.0 SP4

New Features

• Unlimited Demo License
  Now it is possible to retrieve a FREE test license via Internet. Such a license unlocks all features, no demo restrictions are applied for a limited time.

Label Template Enhancements

• VDA 4902, VDA KLT - Added additional languages
  
• GALIA ETI 9
  
• Odette OTL 3
  
• MAT Labels - changed margins
  
• VW GTL Label - updated according to Specification Ver.03 from 2010-08-27
  
• AIAG B-3, B-5, B-10, B-15
  
• GM 1724
  
• Business Card Templates - QR-Code now uses LOW error correction level
  

Bug-Fixes

• TFM-3738: Serial data field could not be initialized (start value) based on other fields
  
• TFM-3778: Drag and drop of files on start page did not work
  
• TFM-3793: Validation Rule: references to other datafields caused problems
  
• TFM-0000: Predefined page sizes for Legal, JuniorLegal, Letter, Ledger and Tabloid were fixed (TFORMer.XML)
  
• TFM-3803: Mid-Function corrected
  Under some circumstances (negative or too big values for the len parameter) the use of the Mid-function caused truncated results.
  Sample: Mid("12345", 1,-1) + " truncated Text" resulted in "2345"

V6.0 SP3

New Features

• Improved PDF generation
  
  • Generated PDF files are now significantly smaller.
  • Improved TrueType collection (*.TTC font file) handling.
• New TFORMer Server properties
  
  • Used to configure the automatic management of external projects.

Bug-Fixes

• Fixed a possible hang when starting TFORMer Designer
  
• The formatted text editor does not switch to the HTML source view in case of expression errors
  
• TFPrint did not handle the RCA option correctly
  RCAname option is used to specify that the record copies are specified using an attribute field (XML only).
• ZPL and image output
  Rotated text elements are now rendered correctly.

Hot-Fixes for Build 6.0.2.14122 or Later

• TFM-3622: User defined configuration files may cause a crash (64-Bit SDK only)
  
• TFM-3597: Rotated rectangles have not worked on image and ZPL printers
  
• Disabled DDE support
  
• TFM-3677: Fixed a problem caused by localized font names (e.g. Chinese SimSun)
  
• TFM-3697: An incompatibility with .NET 4.0 was fixed (exceptions when using repository functions)
  

V6.0 SP2

New Features

• Serial Numbers
  Serial numbers are now supported. If required the current values of serial numbers are stored automatically and may be continued in the next TFORMer session.
• Computed Fields
  Computed datafields were introduced. The value of such a datafield is based on a user-defined expression.
• New Label Wizard
  The creation of label layouts was reworked. When selecting the label template TFORMer now differentiates between conventional printers and special label printers. A search function simplifies the locating of the required template.
• Edit Field Contents
  Editing field contents was improved. The new dialog provides an easy way to enter field names, expressions or formatted text.
• Tab characters
  Tab characters in text elements are not ignored anymore (tab stops at 12.5 mm).
• New Startup-Screen
  A start-up screen was introduced. This screen offers fast access to common TFORMer functions.
• Print Preview
  The print preview now displays the margins of labels automatically. In addition, labels for thermal printers are displayed in their adjusted size.
• Data Sources
  Creating data sources was improved. The data source wizard now supports field assignments (source-fields to data-fields) in a better way.
• Date Functions
  Date and time computations are now better supported by the following new functions:
  • CDateEx(): Converts a string into a date. The conversion format to be used is adjustable.
  • IsDate(): Checks if a given string can be converted into a valid date using the specified conversion format.
  • AddYears(): Adds or subtracts the specified number of years to/from a date value.
  • AddMonths(): Adds or subtracts the specified number of months to/from a date value.
  • AddWeeks(): Adds or subtracts the specified number of weeks to/from a date value.
  • AddDays(): Adds or subtracts the specified number of days to/from a date value.
  • CDate(): Hint - This function now returns an empty date instead of the current system date if a conversion was not possible.
• Improved Layout Editor
  The layout designer now provides better visual feedback for various design tasks.
• Mass Printing - Print Dialog
  The maximum page number in the print dialog was increased from 9999 to 999999.
• Bar Code Printing
  The bar code printing method via Windows printer drivers is now adjustable. Rare problems with the high-precision method (used by previous TFORMer version) can now be avoided (see Extras->Options->Barcodes).
  This version uses a new barcode kernel (TBarCode V10) with QR Code 2005.
• ODBC Memo/Text Fields
  ODBC Interface now supports Memo and Text Fields. BLOBs are still ignored.
• Picture Components: Image-Type recognition
  If the Image-Type can't be determined by using the file extension, the binary data of the image is now analyzed. This allows the usage of HTTP-streams as image sources.
• Setup: Backup of custom templates
  Existing templates are now backed up in the folder Templates_Backup during the install. Custom templates are preserved after a reinstall.
• Improved Licensing
  TFORMer Designer can now be activated online.

Additional Label Templates

• Caterpillar^® Shipping/Parts Identification Labels
  Includes templates for Single Pack Label, Master Pack Label and Mixed Load Label as specified by Caterpillar^® (Shipping/Parts Identification Label Standard Practice 20 – Version 3.0).
• MAT Labels
  New MAT label templates. These labels are used in the automotive industry and are based on the Siemens VDO label according to SN 525228-2. MAT labels complements existing VDA 4902, Odette and GTL labels.
• 2D-Code Business Cards
  New templates for QR-code business cards (meCard, vCard and URL barcodes) were added.

TFORMer SDK (core)

• Improved Error Descriptions
  The error messages for problems in conjunction with image-download via http:/https: were improved.
• ZPL Printer
  When printing ZPL directly to a printer the printer name is now correctly used.
• Tray-Selection
  As documented, the first band printed on a page now specifies the printer tray to be used.

Bug-Fixes

• Printer Selection in Tray-Settings Dialog
  Printer selection will now work under Windows 7, Windows Vista and Windows XP.
• JPEG Compression
  PDF output now correctly uses the option JPEG-Quality.
• PDF Output Improvements
  The output was truncated or missing if a text field used several trailing spaces.
  Unicode-characters are better supported.
  The use of localized font names is possible. Some fonts (e.g. SimSun and SimHei) are identified by a country-specific string.
  The EURO sign and Symbol fonts are now embedded correctly.
• ODBC Memo/Text/Blob Datafields
  Under some circumstances Memo, Text or Blob fields in SQL select statements caused a crash (ODBC driver dependent).
• Image-Printer: Distorted Text
  Some fonts caused a distorted output for small font-sizes (e.g. font Calibri pt12)
• Expression Editor
  The call-tip in the expression editor now shows correct tips if "(", "," or ")" is used in the expression.
  Sample: Iif (Find (Datafield_1, "(", 0) > 0, "Found", "Not Found")
• Other Bug Fixes
  Crash with Undo, crash when switching data sources, correct handling of the HTML entity &amp; in formatted text elements, problems with network printers and tray selection, correct handling of duplicate source field names, Mid() function corrected, new CheckDigits() function, ...
• TFM-3293: TrueTypeFont restricted permission causes weird characters in error message
  When TrueTypeFonts should be embedded (PDF or PostScript output) and a TrueTypeFont was used that is marked as not embeddable, the returned error message included some weird characters for the font name.

V6.0 SP1

New Features

• User Interface
  Modernized user interface style to comply with actual standards.
  Option dialog was reworked.
• Data View
  Added “Hide Unused Fields“ option.
• Image Printer
  Fixed a crash that occurred with clipped bar codes (bar code position outside of page bounds).
  Fixed ignored JPEG compression option.
• HTML Printer
  Fixed transparent color (some components always used “white“ as transparent color).
• Configuration (TFORMer.xml)
  Added bar code “drawing-mode“ option for Windows printers.
• Update Dialog
  Added online check for updates. (Internet connection required!)

Improvements for Developers

• Report Generator SDK
  Renamed TFORMer Runtime to TFORMer SDK. TFORMer SDK is now available through a separate MSI setup!
• Thread Safety
  Fixed a thread safety issue on start-up (internal font initializing).
• C/C++ Runtimes
  Changed dependencies: TFORMer SDK now requires „Visual Studio 2008 Redistributables“.
• Java Wrapper
  Fixed several threading and memory issues.

V6.0

New Features

• User Interface
  Layout design and testing was simplified with the optimized graphical user interface. Switch between layout view, data view and preview with a single mouse-click.
• Unified Datasources
  TFORMer introduces a unified datasource concept. A wizard will help you to quickly and easily create ODBC datasources and file based datasources (XML, CSV, ...). You can also create multiple datasources for one single layout and then switch between them as required.
• Field Bindings
  The field names used in external datasources (like in a database table) can now be mapped easily to datafields in the layout. No renaming is required!
• Computed Fields
  A datasource may be extended with computed fields. Computed fields allow you to do custom computations in a central location (like creating serial numbers, etc.).
• Datasource Parameters
  With the use of source parameters you can create generic datasource definitions: In an ODBC datasource you can parameterize the connect string and the SQL-statement, in a file datasource you can dynamically adjust the file name with parameters.
• Manual Data Entry
  TFORMer per default offers a manual datasource for each layout. This datasource allows the user to enter data directly in a grid. Entering data is as easy as in Microsoft^® Excel^®.
• Rounded Rectangles
  TFORMer now supports rounded rectangles. The radius of the rounded corners is adjustable.

General Improvements

• Preview
  The preview is no longer shown in a pop-up window. You can now directly switch between layout and preview.
• Filtered Data
  The data provided by a datasource can be filtered. This filter can be enabled or disabled in the data view as well as in the preview.
• Vertical and Horizontal Alignment
  The elements in a layout can now be aligned vertically and horizontally with a few mouse clicks.
• PDF Output
  Various problems with fonts, font-embedding (creation of subsets to reduce the resulting file size), watermarks (image background of a layout) and with the scaling of images were fixed.
• HTML Output
  The HTML output now supports circles, ellipses, diagonal lines and human readable text for barcodes.
• Microsoft Windows^® Vista^® and Windows^® 7 Compatibility
  TFORMer can be used on the upcoming Windows 7 without any restrictions (checked with Windows 7 RC).

Barcode Support

• New Barcode Kernel
  TFORMer now supports the 2D barcode Micro QR-Code.
• HEX Input
  Barcode data may now be provided in hexadecimal format.
• Binary Encoding
  Usually TFORMer generates barcodes always in the best possible internal encoding. To meet special requirements, this release allows you to enforce binary encoding (e.g. for PDF417).

TFORMer Designer Server Edition

• Printer Properties
  In Server Mode all printer properties can now be set via the repository.

Samples

• New Dynamics NAV (Navision) Sample
  A new sample application which demonstrates the use of the TFORMer SDK with Microsoft^® Dynamics NAV^® was added.
• Business Cards with QR-Code (vCard)
  New examples for business cards with an imprinted QR-Code symbol were added.

Improvements for Developers

• DLL, .NET and COM API
  The API was extended so that you can select the datasource and set the source-parameters via code now.
• JAVA JNI
  A JAVA JNI API is now available for the TFORMer SDK. A source-code example showing you the use of this interface is included. The example mimics TFPrint (TFORMer SDK on command line).
• Security
  The size and the download-time for images can be restricted via HTTP (see TFORMer.XML).
• Extended Search Paths
  The search paths for TFORMer.INI (License) and TFORMer.XML (configuration) were extended. The use with .NET and IIS is now possible without problems.
• API Usability
  The calling order of some API functions is now irrelevant. This simplifies programmatic printing.

V5.1

General

• On demand TFORMer now generates ZPL-II compliant output. This feature is available on Microsoft Windows^®, Linux^® and UNIX^®.
• In combination with Microsoft Internet Explorer the security of the COM version of TFORMer Runtime was significantly improved: TFORMer Runtime is now "site locked" as well as marked as "safe for scripting". Please refer to the documentation for more information.

Design Features

• The integrated UNICODE support allows you to use TFORMer with almost any established language.
• Expressions and datafields can now be inserted into text elements much easier.
• The expression editor now supports syntax highlighting, auto-completion and call tips.
• TFORMer now supports the following barcode types: Aztec Code, DPD Code, Italian Postal Code 2of5 and DAFT Code.
• Stand-alone form layouts may be saved as ZIP-file from within TFORMer Designer.

Output Features

• TFORMer can now directly print image formats like BMP, GIF, JPG, PCX, PNG, TGA, TIF and multi page TIF.
• Embedded fonts in exported PDF files produce less overhead.

Software Developers

• The performance for retrieving form information with the .NET API of TFORMer Runtime was improved.

Additional Tools

• TFORMer QuickPrint, the tool for fast and easy on-demand printing, offers a better user interface.
• TFORMer QuickPrint now supports printing of unique serial numbers. This also works in a multi-user or networked environment.

V5.0

• Added Windows^® Vista^® support.
• Added support for EAN.UCC composite symbologies and RSS codes.
• The syntax for the FNC1 character in the barcode data has changed from \F to \\F (additional escape level required).
• Text elements support now HTML syntax.
• The error-handling of TFORMer Runtime was improved.
• Application Programming Interface (API) revised.
• Added .NET support for TFORMer Runtime.
• TFPrint now supports ODBC connections.
• Removed ImageMagick dependency.
• Introduced TFORMer QuickPrint, a tool for instant printing of arbitrary forms.

V4.5.1

• TFORMer Runtime sample applications redesigned.
• Revised product documentation.
• More ready-to-use templates added (e.g. UPS, TNT, FedEx, …).
• TFPrint command line parameters redesigned.
• Several bug fixes and enhancements (tab key bug, DDE printing, organizing templates was activated, external data editor, import from stand-alone forms into repositories, …).
• A licensed TFORMer Designer allows the use of TFORMer Runtime on the same machine.
• TFORMer Runtime is now available under HP-UX and AIX.
• TFORMer now uses the latest edition of TBarCode (Barcode Generator).

V4.5.0

• Integrated native PDF output.
• ODBC support.
• Grouping support.
• Experimental HTML and ASCII output.
• Native PostScript^® output.
• Tabbed property window.
• Watermarking (bitmap).

V4.1.0

• The repository consists of a new XML based file structure and uses the extension *.tfr.
• For deployment of layout definitions you don't need the "labeldb.mdb" database anymore. Also the DAO DLLs are no longer needed. All files are now XML based.
• A form or label layout can be exported from the repository to a “stand-alone" layout file (*.tff), which can be used apart from the repository. Forms can be stored either in the repository or as tff format.
• The templates now contain various automotive label standards like AIAG, VDA, GM, GTL and many more.
• New system variables for better layout control.

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