| General
Calmira Topics:
1.
What is Calmira?
Calmira
is a free 16-bit shell that lets you manage files, launch applications
and control tasks. Free means that everyone can compile his or her own
version of Calmira, this is possible because the source code is available
for everyone.
It
brings Windows 3.1 up to date with some of the advanced user interface
enhancements from the Windows world, and for most people, provides welcome
relief from the awkwardness of Program Manager.
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2.
Where can I get it?
Your
first stop should be Calmira's home page where there will be links for
you to download the latest version or any patches.
If
that's unavailable, try the Simtel and WinSite collections (which will
always receive updates) or use search engines that can point you in
the right direction.
•
Calmira home page: www.calmira.de
• Simtel.net: www.simtel.net
• Winsite archive: www.winsite.com
• CNet search engine: www.shareware.com
If
Calmira's home page has moved, you should be able to find the new address
through a standard web search engine such as Google.
Click here
for a direct search for "Calmira" on Google.
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3.
What are the software versions?
Older
Calmira Source Releases are distributed as calmir??.zip, with a major
and minor version number.
Newer
versions of Calmira are distributed as calmii??.zip, where the question
marks are to be replaced with the version number; the appropriate source
code is named cal??src.zip.
The
archive from which you received version 2.2 should have been calmir22.zip.
Versions 3.0 and higher archives should look like this: calmii30.zip;
subsequent versions will also follow this convention. Versions from
3.2 onwards are also available as executable setup files, named c??setup.exe,
e.g. c32setup.exe.
The
most current version as of 05/11/02 is Calmira II 3.3 "collaborative
version".
Calmira II 3.3 is available from the Downloads
Page as:
• Zip file: calmii33.zip
• Executable setup: c33setup.exe
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4.
What are the Computer System Requirements?
•
386 processor or higher
• Microsoft© Windows® 3.1 or Windows® for Workgroups
3.11
• At least 4 megabytes (MB) of free hard disc space
• At least 4 megabytes (MB) of RAM or more
• A VGA monitor or better
• A mouse
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5.
The history of Calmira.
Calmira
was first developed by Li-Hsin Huang. The first code was written around
November of 1995. It began life as Calypso, but Li-Hsin was forced to
use another name, because an email program with that name already existed.
These
are the versions he has developed over the short life of Calmira:
Source
Release 1.0 (calmir10.zip), February 1997
Source Release 2.0 (calmir20.zip), October 1997
Source Release 2.1 (calmir21.zip), February 1998
English
Edition Update 2.11 (cal211up.zip), April 1998
English Edition Update 2.12 (cal212up.zip), May 1998
Source
Release 2.2 (calmir22.zip), July 1998
Incorporates all enhancements of 2.11 and 2.12 updates last version
development independently by Li-Hsin Huang.
After
the 2.2 release, development was taken over by Erwin Dokter, resulting
in the following versions:
Calmira
Online! II 3.0 (calmii30.zip), November 1998
Calmira Online! II 3.01 Bugfix, December 1998
Calmira Online! II 3.1 Beta 1, February 2000
Calmira Online! II 3.1 (calmii31.zip), January 2001
Calmira Online! II 3.11 Update, May 2001
Calmira Online! II 3.12 Bugfix, June 2001
Calmira Online! II 3.2 Beta 1, December 2001
Calmira Online! II 3.2 (calmii32.zip), January 2002
Calmira Online! II 3.25 Update (cal325up.zip), February 2002
Calmira Online! II 3.3 (calmii33.zip), May 2002
Other
versions are being developed by many people and in many different languages.
This
Frequently Asked Questions document can only address the Calmiras developed
by Li-Hsin Huang and Calmira II versions, the development of which is
being coordinated by Erwin Dokter.
Please
check the about dialog window by right clicking in the Computer Icon
Window and then go to help at the bottom of the popup dialog.
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6.
Current developments.
See the
Developer's Page, which can be found on the left hand side in the navigation
menu.
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7.
Overview of Calmira and its features.
Calmira
is a free 16-bit shell that upgrades your Windows 3.1 and above user
interface with features from Windows 95.
Its
features include shortcuts and aliases, a movable Taskbar with Applet
Tray, Start Menu, a Wastepaper Bin, Icon windows and Explorer, as well
as the My Computer window that contains the disk drives that have been
detected, plus some useful programs.
Additionally, instead of the Windows® 9x style close button, there
is the ability to close any window by right clicking the minimize/maximize
buttons. A right click on the desktop brings up a Calmira dialog to
open a folder, run a program, find files, etc.
Calmira
also allows you to run Windows® programs from a DOS® window.
All
these features are also listed on the Features
Site.
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8.
Does Calmira have its own web page?
Yes,
http://www.calmira.org, established 1st October 1998 by Brian Johnson
& Stephen Benjamin.
After Calmira.org's old web host has pulled the plug, we had to move
to a new host. Past the 25th July 2003 the site is reachable under http://www.calmira.de,
until we have the domain transferred. The calmira.de will remain though,
with the same contents, as an alternative URL pointing to the same location.
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9.
Is the Calmira website available in other languages?
• French: http://www.calmira.fr.tc/
• German:http://www.vv-soft.de/prog/cal2d.htm
• Italian: http://www.genie.it/utenti/fernandoa/
• Spanish: http://spanish-calmira.8m.com/
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10.
Listing of the Calmira staff.
• Erwin Dokter, Calmira development coordinator, administrator
of the CTML and webmaster.
• Gaby Chaudry, recent host and administrator of www.calmira.de.
• Mike Gränz, FAQ and Tips & Tricks maintainer.
• Brian Johnson, previous owner of Calmira Online! and previous admin of the CTML.
• C.m.Hitt, previous FAQ maintainer.
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11.
Are there any modified versions?
The first
known mod was from David Burgess, he developed Calmira 3.0 DB. It contains
some extra features like a Calmira settings backup program, modified
icons on the dialogs,...
Another
modified version is from Lionel Lowie, its called Calmira XP and provides
a user interface similar to Windows® XP.
You can
find them on the Downloads
Page.
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12.
What program is used to create Calmira and where can I get a copy?
Calmira
was created using Borland©
Delphi® 1.0 for Windows® 3.1.
You
only need a standard version of Delphi® 1.0 Desktop edition, although
Borland© Resource Workshop is useful for editing the graphics in
the RES files. You can download the Resource Editor at www.win31.de.
More
details on Re-compiling the source code are in the Calmira help file
section: Developer's Notes. Info about the current source code can be
found at the Developer
Pages.
You
can get a free copy of Delphi® 1.0 Desktop edition from PC Plus
magazine (and others?) November issue from the UK. You can go to http://www.pcplus.co.uk
and you can order it there.
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13.
How many different language versions are there?
These are
the different language versions that we know of:
Czech Edition
Dutch Edition
French Edition
German Edition
Hungarian Edition
Italian Edition
Polish Edition
Portuguese Edition
Spanish Edition
Swedish Edition
They are
all available from the Downloads
Page.
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14.
Where can I buy Windows® 3.1 or Windows® for Workgroups 3.11?
We
have no official connection with these companies but these are some
places members of the Calmira Tips Mailing List have suggested.
Visit:
Recycled Software
Visit:
INTYSOFT
Or
try to find a used version on electronic markets like Ebay.
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15.
How can I get the Windows 9x like mininize, maximize, close buttons?
Try this
download:
ftp://gaby.de/pub/win3x/ptchdrv.zip
For more
info about this program go to the tips site on: www.win31.de
If this
is not enough for you, you should visit www.calpaint.de.
There you can find a theme program similar to the one in Windows®
9x.
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The Calmira
Tips Mailing List (CTML)
1.
What is the Calmira Tips Mailing List?
The main
topics of discussion on the Calmira Tips Mailing List are these:
•
Calmira - discussions relating to the functions and features provided
by Calmira.
•
Windows® 3.1 and Windows® for Workgroups 3.11.
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2.
History of the Calmira Tips List.
The
list was started on 4/6/98 as calmira_tips@juno.com, as a weekly digest
every Sunday (the inaugural issue was a day late), put together by hand.
Brian
Johnson the list's owner and creator started out with seven subscribers.
A few days later, He contacted Li-Hsin, asking him to join the list,
and he accepted.
For
a few weeks, it was a weekly digest, but pretty soon, he had 45 members
and there was enough traffic to justify a daily edition.
In
the beginning of June, due to technical problems Brian Johnson decided
to host the list with Makelist.com, however there continued to be technical
problems and Brian Johnson moved the list to its new host, world.std.com,
on 8/6/98.
Later,
the list moved to Onelist.com, but this host was very shortlived, due
to many outages. So the list moved to EGroups.com, but after they were
taken over by Yahoo and started spamming its members, the list moved
to its current host: freelists.dhs.org.
Currently
the list has approximately 200
members and there haven't been any more technical problems.
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3.
Current developments in the list.
The Calmira
Tips Mailing List is currently available in two formats: Individual
posts and a Digest.
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4.
How to subscribe/unsubscribe the list.
Fill
in the form on the Calmira Tips Web page,
after that you will receive a confirmation message by email. All you
have to do is reply to that message, and you will be subscribed.
If
you ever want to remove yourself from the Calmira Tips Mailing List,
refer to the instructions that are sent at the bottom of each posting.
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5.
What's available on the ftp site?
ftp://ftp.calmira.de/pub/calmira/
Due to
the domain change, the ftp site currently contains only some older versions
of Calmira for download. This could change, though ...
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6.
Does the list have its own web page?
Yes, Calmira
Tips Webpage.
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7.
Is there a Calmira newsgroup?
No, but
a good alternative is
comp.os.ms-windows.apps.utilities.win3x.
Miscellaneous
1.
Where can I find more info about Windows® 3.x / Calmira?
There are
several very good sites, most of them can be found either on the Members
Site or on the Links Site, if you
think there's a site that should be named too, just mail us!
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2.
How can I contribute to this FAQ?
Send your
contributions to
Mike.Graenz@calpaint.de or use the following form.
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