Anzio on Windows 8

[Bob Rasmussen]

I've already had a few questions about the possibility of running Anzio on 
a Windows 8 PC. The short answer is "no problem". Keep reading for the 
long answer.

First, Windows 8 being released doesn't really change anything. Anzio Lite 
and AnzioWin run as they have since, oh, Windows XP. Anzio counts as a 
"desktop" application, and those almost all run without problems. But I 
don't want to take on the task of educating you all on Windows 8; there 
are lots of better sources for that. But one note: Anzio (or any other old 
app) will not run on Windows RT, which is the OS that runs on the ARM 
platform.

NEW HARDWARE

What's really new is the surge of portable hardware generally referred to 
as "tablets". There are units where the screen folds all the way around 
onto the back of the keyboard. There are units where the screen detaches 
from the keyboard base. And there's at least one unit with a "slider" 
design -- the Sony Duo. I picked up one yesterday at Fry's, and they're 
available online from Sony. Very cool!

All these units (and many others) are touch capable. SOME of them, 
including the Sony, can take a stylus, too. That's an important 
distinction. For one thing, it helps when you want to click on small 
buttons (and don't want to use an external mouse). For another thing, it 
lets you sign documents on-screen. More on this below.

If you're considering using these units in the field, cellular support may 
be important. However, tethering to an iPhone (or similar) is another way 
to go.

Some (maybe all) W8 touch devices have a gravity sensor, and they rotate 
the screen image if you rotate the device. On the Sony, there's a physical 
switch that locks this out.

ANZIO ON SMALL TOUCH DEVICES

Anzio in general works quite well. These units have adequate screen 
resolution to see an 80 by 25 screen quite well. (The Sony has an 11.5 
inch screen that is full HD - 1920x1080 pixels.)

When Windows 8 runs on a touch PC, it always shows an icon on the task bar 
that brings up a popup keyboard. You can choose between a couple of 
layouts. I just learned the other day that it is possible to configure W8 
to offer you a "standard keyboard", which lets you turn on function keys. 
That's good! All that seems to be missing then is PageUp and PageDown.

Anzio can be configured to have a toolbar, with up to 20 buttons. You can 
make these do whatever you want (at least in AnzioWin). So one option is 
to have toolbuttons perform as certain special keys, such as F-keys, Esc, 
Del, and Ctrl-C.

When the screen rotates, Anzio's window may get resized. Anzio handles 
this as it has always handled window size changes, by changing the text 
size, but keeping the number of rows and columns the same.

So I think these units end up being very usable with Anzio.

A FIELD REP'S DREAM APP

Now let me tantalize you with a combination of features we're bringing 
together in an as-yet unreleased version of AnzioWin. It goes like this:

1) Your host app (in filePro, for instance) generates a print document, in 
one of the formats that Print Wizard (inside AnzioWin) supports.

2) Optionally, you specify a form overlay.

3) You tell AnzioWin to Preview the document. The preview can be in "page 
mode", allowing the user to view all the pages in the document.

4) The Preview window can also cause the screen orientation to switch to 
portrait, and zoom to full screen.

5) A "mask" can be defined, which indicates where on the screen the 
customer needs to sign - in what rectangle(s), on what page(s). The user 
clicks on the rectangle, and it expands into a larger area where the user 
cah sign on the screen. Note that they're seeing the actual document 
(invoice, delivery ticket, etc.) they're signing.

6) User clicks "print", and Anzio prints, or creates a PDF, (or both) 
containing the original document PLUS the signature.

7) The host app requests Anzio to upload the signed document, where it is 
filed away.

Just like UPS! Better than UPS!

Let me know of your interest in any of this.

Now batten down the hatches (those of you on the US Atlantic coast)!

Regards,
....Bob Rasmussen,   President,   Rasmussen Software, Inc.

personal e-mail: ras at anzio.com
 company e-mail: rsi at anzio.com
          voice: (US) 503-624-0360 (9:00-6:00 Pacific Time)
            fax: (US) 503-624-0760
            web: http://www.anzio.com
 street address: Rasmussen Software, Inc.
                 10240 SW Nimbus, Suite L9
                 Portland, OR  97223  USA