                          Platinum Xpress/WINS
               (c) copyright 1998 Santronics Software, Inc.
                        * PRE-RELEASE V3.0pr1 *

New Version Number :  3.0pr1 (pre-release revision 1)

Table of Content
----------------

- Files in Distribution Package
- Files Required not included in Distribution Package
- Introduction to Platinum Xpress/Win 3.0pr1
- Installation
- Technical Support
- Known Issues

Files in Distribution Package
-----------------------------

readme.txt         Introduction and installation instructions.
history.txt        History of changes since PX/WIN v2.0
whatsnew.txt       Summary of most important changes/fixes/enhancements
license.txt        Product Usage Library
order.txt          New Order/Upgrade Registration Information
update30.bat       Batch file used to upgrade to PX/WIN v3.0

default.zip        Default setup/configuration files
main.zip           Main executables/dll files
bonus.zip          Extra/bonus executable/dll files.

* manual.zip       PX/WIN 3.0 Documentation/Addendum to printed manual.
* help.zip         Online Help Files

* Incomplete (will be available in final cut release).

  An addendum to the printed manual is currently under construction. It
  will be a word documentation which you can print out or order from
  Santronics Software (see order.txt).

  Some portions of the online help was updated especially for key
  sections of PXCONFIG where major changes were made.  However, overall
  it is not complete. You show read the history file and the whats new
  file to get basic information about whats new or changed.

Files Required not included in Distribution Package
---------------------------------------------------

VCL302.ZIP         Inprise (formerly Borland) Application Library
                   required for PX/WIN v3.0 operations. Available on
                   WEB Site (or CD for new orders).

                   url: http://www.santronics.com/vcl302.zip

                   This file is required before you can run PX/WIN v3.0.

                   When you download the file, you should unzip it into
                   your WINDOWS SYSTEM directory:

                       Windows 95/98:    c:\windows\system
                       Windows NT:       c:\winnt\system32

                   You can unzip it into your PXW directory, however,
                   you will probably encounter new applications from
                   other vendors who also uses this library.  So its
                   best to have it in a common system directory.


Introduction to Platinum Xpress/Win 3.0
---------------------------------------

Platinum Xpress/WIN v3.0 is a new major update.   Many enhancements, new
features as well as fixes are available in this new version.

PX/Win v3.0 is released to customers as a pre-release as we are
finishing up some minor items like the on-line help, addendum to the
manual and some minor items to the Sysop Editor (mostly with tag line
and signature management).  We did not wish to further delay this long
awaited package any longer and felt it was important to get some final
input from people in the field before the final cut, especially in
regards to the new TIC processor features and NA/NO update system,
items which are important to large PX/WIN Fidonet Hubs.

  +-[ Current PX/WIN v2.0 Customers ]----------------------------+
  |                                                              |
  |   This version is a major update and there is a nominal      |
  |   upgrade charge for  customers. It is the first time in     |
  |   over 2 years we have charged for an upgrade. See the       |
  |   order.txt from for upgrade information.                    |
  |                                                              |
  |   You must obtain a new registration key for PX/Win v3.0     |
  |   before you can use this upgrade.  A new registration key   |
  |   will have been provided to you when you purchased          |
  |   the upgrade.                                               |
  +--------------------------------------------------------------+

There were many enchangements and changes. However, for the most
part this a plug and play upgrade.  PX/Win v3.0 is backwards
compatible with PX/WIN v2.0.

The one major system change is the requirement of using VCL30.DPL. This
library file is required and must be downloaded from our WEB Site or
BBS. The file name is VCL302.ZIP and it contains VCL30.DPL dated
10/23/97.   VCL30.DPL allowed us to create smaller executable files. The
executables will load and run faster and provide safer operations.  You
will see a major improvement as well as many new features added by
Santronics at a faster pace because of the modularity.

Enjoy this new upgrade and thank you for your support.

Installation
------------

This install/upgrade maintains backward compatibility with PX/Win 2.0
thus, making this a plug and play upgrade.  The few things to consider
are discussed below and in the What's New file.

1) Shut down all PX executables.

2) Make a complete backup of your PXWin setup, including all files in
   your \pxw\system directory.

   In step 3, the UPDATE30.BAT will ask you if you wish to create
   a backup.  It will use PKZIP as described below to make a backup.

   The Update30 batch file will do the following:

             cd \pxw
             pkzip -pr pxw20old

   This will create complete backup of all the files in \PXW and
   the sub-directories below it.

   If the critical situation ever occurs where you run into problems
   with v3.0 which can not be immediately resolved by a setup procedure
   or by Santronics, you can restore the previous setup by type:

             pkunzip -d pxw20old

   Of course, you can also use a tape backup system instead. But you
   should make a backup since this is only a pre-release and although we
   are sure there won't be any more problems, you know Murphy's law.

2) Unzip the PXW30PRx.ZIP file in the current \PXW directory, and type
   the following batch file command:

             UPDATE30

   The batch file will ask you if you wish to create a backup and
   then ask you if you wish to proceed with the upgrade.

   It will unzip the individual zip files and delete them when done.

   It will also automatically run PXREPAIR /ALL to re-index and clean up
   your current databases.

   Check the file UPDATE30.LOG to see the results of the install.

   Here is a summary of what UPDATE30 will do:

   Archive       UnZip to This Directory               Typical Path
   =======================================================================
   BONUS.ZIP     Main PXWin directory:                 \pxw
   HELP.ZIP      Main PXWin directory:                 \pxw
   MAIN.ZIP      Main PXWin directory:                 \pxw
   MANUAL.ZIP    Anywhere you like
   DEFAULT.ZIP   PXWin System directory:               \pxw\system
                 (See Note Below)

   DEFAULT.ZIP NOTE:

   If you have modified any of the *.TPL template files in your
   \pxw\system directory, you will need to review the new default files
   provided with this update and make any modifications again. The files
   which are included in this update are:

   TANN.TPL
   ANN.TPL        <<< new for PX/WIN v3.0
   FANN.TPL
   FNOTIFY.TPL
   FREQRESP.TPL
   MNOTIFY.TPL
   PXZONE.TXT     <<< You can now change this with PXCONFIG

3) Run PXCONFIG and enter your new PX/WIN v3.0 registration code
   obtained from Santronics Software, Inc.

4) Read the what's new and history file for a discussion of all new
   features or fixes.

Technical Support
-----------------

Santronics provides technical support using the following avenues:

FIDONET BACKBONE ECHO:   PLATINUM_XPRESS
PXNET NETWORK:           PXWIN_SUPPORT
EMAIL:                   support@santronics.com
WEB SITE:                http://www.santronics.com
FIDONET NETMAIL:         1:135/382
VOICE:                   305-248-3204 (9am-7pm EST)

You should always check the PLATINUM_XPRESS echo or PXWIN_SUPPORT echo
for possible resolved issues you may have before using direct
communications.   Standards support questions should be posted in the
Echos, and direct communications (such as email/fidonet netmail) should
be minimized to include major problems you are having. However, if you
have a "Show Stopper" (a major problem that is stopping you from running
PX/WIN) you should always call voice support.

Known Issues
------------

Besides the fact this is a pre-release and there are some items that
we are aware of to be unsolved issues with PX/WIN v3.0

Although they are known issues, these issues are not critical enough to
delay a release.   Except where noted, we will be working on this items
for the official release.

1) Can not create duplicate ECHO TAG for two different networks.

   This has been a long outstanding issue. Not many mail processors
   support this so even if PX offered this feature, other mail
   processors may not allow it anyway.   However, we are going to
   make the attempt to make adjustments to the database system to
   allow this feature to occur.  It will take some drastic changes
   so it may not ever be done.  It might depend on how many people
   really need this capability.

2) PXONLINE "Failure to Reset Modem" error.

   There is an yet to be explained situation where PXONLINE may fail
   to "reset" the modem after a call to a batch file which does a
   internet call using RAS or PPP.

   The problem seems to be confirm but it is intermittent, rare. It may
   happen 1 day but then not happen for a week or month. Then it may
   happen 2-3 times day.  So its been difficult to find out why this
   happens with such inconsistent repeatability.

   We will be looking at this issue for the official release.  We
   would like to hear from those people who do encounter this
   problem.

   NOTE: This should not happen for modem lines which are not calling
   batch files in events.  if this does occur, there might be a modem
   setup issue here.  So double check this before informing us of this
   problem.

3) "Junk" or "Garbage" characters in Netmail messages

   There has been 2 beta reports (from the same person) where netmail
   created with the sysop editor had garbage characters as seen in
   the final netmail message sent out to the remote node.

   This is not a problem we can duplicate.  So if you see this problem,
   please inform us and provide as much information you can.

There are no other known issues at this time.
