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MBS Xojo Plugins, version 24.6pr1

New in this prerelease of the 24.6 plugins:
  • Improved WordFileMBS class with PropertyValue() to work on custom properties, too.
  • Fixed memory leak in Invoke method of DeclareFunctionMBS class.
  • Fixed a memory leak in the RequestAccessCompleted event of WindowsBluetoothLEDeviceMBS class.
  • Fixed a memory leak in the RequestAccessAsyncCompleted event of WindowsGattDeviceServiceMBS class.
  • Fixed a memory leak in DeclareLibraryMBS constructor.
  • Fixed a memory leak in ConvertStyledText in DynaPDFMBS class.
  • Added GetFontSize method to DynaPDFMBS class.
  • Fixed a memory leak in running request in FMConnectionMBS class.
  • Fixed a memory leak in recordWithIDWasDeleted event in CKFetchRecordZoneChangesOperationMBS class.
  • Fixed a memory leak in FieldByName function in MimeHeaderMBS class.
  • Fixed a memory leak in EstimatedDocumentCount function in MongoCollectionMBS class.
  • Fixed a memory leak in exception handling for Java classes.
  • Fixed a memory leak in Root method in IORegistryMBS class.
  • Fixed a memory leak in Match method in PCRE2CodeMBS class.
  • Fixed a memory leak in the Convert method in RabbitMQ classes to convert dictionaries.
  • Fixed a memory leak in fetchSubscriptionCompleted, discoverUserInfosCompleted and fetchRecordZonesCompleted events in CloudKit classes.
  • Updated to Xcode 16.1.
  • Deprecated ContentLengthPenaltySize, ChunkLengthPenaltySize and MaxPipelineLength properties in CURLSMultiMBS class.
  • Updated taglib to version 2.0.2.
  • Added ID3v2Tags property to TagLibFileRefMBS class.
  • Added Document property to XMLXPathResultMBS class to keep the reference to the parent document here.
  • Updated mongo-c-driver library to version 1.29.0.
  • Added AVPlayerViewControllerMBS class.
  • Added AVPlaybackSpeedMBS class.
  • Updated ssh2 library to version 1.11.1.
  • Improved Advances function in CTRunMBS class to be quicker if possible.
  • Fixed a few memory leaks where the result array was leaked if an exception was raised in the same method later.
  • Fixed a memory leak in GetSupportedIntentCodes in LCMS2MBS module.
  • Added more parameter checks for MongoDB functions.
  • Updated zlib to version 1.3.1.
  • Updated LibXL to version 4.5.0.
  • Added XLCorePropertiesMBS class.
  • Added RemoveAllPhonetics and CoreProperties methods to XLBookMBS class.
  • Added RowFormat and ColFormat functions to XLSheetMBS class.
  • Updated SQLite to version 3.47.1.
  • Improved DynaPDF.Initialize to log the version of DynaPDF loaded in the trace log.
  • Improved XL.Initialize to log the version of LibXL loaded in the trace log.
  • Split UIViewControllerMBS into it's own plugin part, so it can be used without AdMob classes.
  • Fixed a crash with UIViewControllerMBS destructor not working as it should.
  • Improved OSVersionString function in SystemInformationMBS module to better recognize Windows Server 2019 and newer.
  • Added BasicAuthenticationRequested event for WebView2ControlMBS control.
Download: monkeybreadsoftware.de/xojo/download/plugin/Prerelease/.
Or ask us to be added to our shared DropBox folder.

You can subscribe to our Xojo mailing list to get notified for new pre-release and release versions.


Black Friday coming soon

As you may know Americans love to shop on Black Friday and Cyber Monday. This year Black Friday is 29th November. About half our customers are in North America, so we are happy to offer you a discount if you buy this weekend.

Please use coupon code BlackFriday for the web shop with 20% off for new licenses of MBS Plugins, DynaPDF and LibXL.
Updates are already offered with discount (usually 50%) compared to new purchases and and our academic prices already have a discount, too. If you like, you can email us to get an order link for all licenses you need or provide an invoice if needed. Especially if you like to use Paypal for payment, we can provide a link with discount or write a custom invoice.

Order MBS FileMaker Plugin     Order MBS Xojo Plugins     Order LibXL

As usual the discounted offer allows you to buy whatever licenses you may need in the next year. Especially if your license expired in 2023 or before, this is a great chance to get up to date!

This offer expires 3rd December 2024.

PS: We can do DynaPDF upgrades with the discount, too. Please contact us if you need an upgrade for something, e.g. to make invoices with ZUGFeRD.

You have a question? Please don't hesitate to contact us by email or form. We may help to point you to the right offer.

LibXL 4.5.0 has been released

We are glad to inform you that the new LibXL version 4.5.0 is available now.

What's new in the version 4.5.0:

  • added support of workbook properties (xlsx)
  • added support of XLOOKUP, LET and XMATCH functions (xlsx)
  • added access to default column and row formats: Sheet::colFormat() and Sheet::rowFormat() methods
  • added the updating/moving existing pictures after inserting or removing rows and columns with Sheet::insertRow(), removeRow(), insertCol() and removeCol() methods (xlsx)
  • added the Book::removeAllPhonetics() method: removes all phonetics data (furigana) from a workbook (xlsx)
  • added some specific language locales for detecting dates in the Sheet::isDate() (xlsx)
  • fixed a precision error with calculating RGB values from theme colors (xlsx)
  • fixed a bug with writing a corrupted file after using Sheet::removeCol(), Sheet::insertCol(), Sheet::insertRow() methods with shared formulas in a sheet (xlsx)
  • fixed a bug with using a sheet name with a quote together with the Sheet::setPrintRepeatRows() and Sheet::setPrintRepeatCols() methods (xlsx)
  • fixed a bug with loading some xlsx files

    The LibXL library can be used with MBS Plugins in Xojo and FileMaker. Updated plugins will be available soon. As usual we add the new functions soon. If you need help or want to try the new version early, let me know.


  • Xojo November Sale

    Xojo Inc. announced a sale for the next few days:



    If you waited to get a Xojo license or to renew your license or to upgrade to Xojo Pro, this is your chance.

    As usual, if your Xojo license is up for renewal in November or December, you can update now and enjoy a discount. If your Xojo license expired already, just get a new one. With the discount it is cheaper than a regular update.

    The add-ons are included in the sale. If you like to get one of the MBS articles there, you can use the sale price at Xojo Store or we match the price if you buy directly from us. Please contact us if you need a MBS Plugin license.

    MonkeyBread Software Releases the MBS Xojo Plugins in version 24.5

    Nickenich, Germany - (November 12th, 2024) -- Monkeybread Software today is pleased to announce MBS Xojo Plugins 24.5 for macOS, Linux and Windows, the latest update to their product that is easily the most powerful plugin collection currently available for Xojo. MBS Xojo Plugins have been updated and now includes over 3000 classes and 82,000 documented features, and the versatile plugins have gained more new functions:

    We provide WebView2ControlMBS control to use the WebView2 control from Microsoft in your Xojo application as an alternative to HTMLViewer control. You can use AddBrowserExtension function to load browser extensions into the control. The IsDocumentPlayingAudio property informs you whether audio is playing and the IsMuted property allows you to mute the audio.

    The Webkit browser control for macOS and iOS got similar functions to query the media playback state and methods to pause audio.

    For DynaPDF we have new parser functions to list and then delete images on a PDF page. You can query the color and text alignment and bounding box for annotations.

    We upgraded the toolbar classes for macOS to include new properties in macOS Sequoia. We add NSMenuToolbarItemMBS, NSSearchToolbarItemMBS and NSTrackingSeparatorToolbarItemMBS classes. These allow you to add a separator tracking, a menu or search toolbar item to your toolbar.

    On macOS and iOS you can now use the VNDetectDocumentSegmentationRequestMBS class to align and rectify an image. The same feature as used in the VNDocumentCameraScanMBS class, but now available on its own.

    For macOS Sequoia and the Apple Intelligence features we have new properties and methods for writing tools. Use showWritingTools method to show the tools on a text view. Use isWritingToolsActive to check whether tools are visible and configure options with writingToolsBehavior and allowedWritingToolsResultOptions properties. The textViewWritingToolsWillBegin and textViewWritingToolsDidEnd events inform you when writing tools start and end.

    We added more properties for ArchiveEntryMBS class, the SQL connection handles the option MYSQL_OPT_LOCAL_INFILE for MySQL, we added AVVideoCodecTypeJPEGXL for AVFoundationMBS class to use JPEG XL as format, new WordFileMBS methods to read and write metadata in Word files and more events for NSComboBoxControlMBS control.

    Finally we updated the CURL library to version 8.10.1, discount to 2.2.7d, DynaPDF to 4.0.93.262, jpeg to 9.6, libarchive to 3.7.6, OpenSSL to 3.3.2, SQLite to 3.47.0, libxml2 to 2.13.4, libxslt to 1.1.42 and Xcode to 16.0.

    See release notes for a complete list of changes.


    MBS Xojo Plugins, version 24.5pr8

    New in this prerelease of the 24.5 plugins:
    • Fixes a crash in Python functions when using older Python 3.9.x version.
    • Fixed a bug in the Gamutcheck for lcms2.
    • Added LinuxWebViewMBS method for DesktopHTMLViewer class.
    Download: monkeybreadsoftware.de/xojo/download/plugin/Prerelease/.
    Or ask us to be added to our shared DropBox folder.

    You can subscribe to our Xojo mailing list to get notified for new pre-release and release versions.


    WebView2 for Xojo upgrades

    For the upcoming 24.5 we got a few upgrades for our WebView2ControlMBS control. We upgraded the SDK we use to a newer version and started to add a few new things. If you need more, please let us know.

    The WebView2ControlMBS control allows any Windows application to use the Chrome based Edge browser as a control within your application. Enjoy all the latest JavaScript, HTML and CSS features and replace use of Internet Explorer or Chromium.



    For 24.5 we have a few new things: (more)

    MBS Xojo Plugins, version 24.5pr7

    New in this prerelease of the 24.5 plugins:
    • Added NSTrackingSeparatorToolbarItemMBS class.
    • Added NSSearchToolbarItemMBS class.
    • Added NSMenuToolbarItemMBS class.
    • Added toolbarImmovableItemIdentifiers and canBeInsertedAtIndex events to CustomNSToolbarMBS class.
    • Added centeredItemIdentifiers method to NSToolbarMBS class.
    • Added possibleLabels, copy, NSToolbarToggleInspectorItemIdentifier and NSToolbarInspectorTrackingSeparatorItemIdentifier methods to NSToolbarItemMBS class.
    • Deprecated fullScreenAccessoryView, fullScreenAccessoryViewMinHeight, fullScreenAccessoryViewMaxHeight and centeredItemIdentifier properties for NSToolbarMBS class.
    • Deprecated NSToolbarSeparatorItemIdentifier and NSToolbarCustomizeToolbarItemIdentifier in NSToolbarItemMBS class.
    • Added more methods and properties to NSToolbarItemGroupMBS class.
    • Fixed a problem on Windows with shared memory objects not accessible for other users.
    Download: monkeybreadsoftware.de/xojo/download/plugin/Prerelease/.
    Or ask us to be added to our shared DropBox folder.

    You can subscribe to our Xojo mailing list to get notified for new pre-release and release versions.


    xDev Magazine 22.6

    The November/December (22.6) issue of xDev Magazine is now available. Here's a quick preview of what's inside:

    Beware of Intelligence by Marc Zeedar
    So-called "artificial intelligence" is nothing new, and previous uses of "AI" have issues. The rush to incorporate "AI" into everything is dangerous, however, and poses some serious questions about how we design software.

    Ambient & Infrared Temperature Sensor by Eugene Dakin
    Eugene shows how to use your Raspberry Pi to detect the ambient temperature. This is useful for temperature monitor devices and many other practical tasks.

    Testing Preemptive Threading by Marc Zeedar
    After decades of only offering "cooperative" threading, Xojo has finally added support for "preemptive" threads. These are bits of code that run indepent of the rest of your code, on their CPU core, finally bringing true multitasking to Xojo apps.

    Developing Mobile Apps by Tim Dietrich
    Tim launches a new series on the business of Xojo! He begins by addressing how to write a mobile app development proposal. What should you include? What should you leave out?

    Plus: Topics such as how to use ChatGPT to correct your grammar, embedding a vCard into a QR code, retro gaming with Xojo, an interview with Alyssa Foley, and more!

    MBS Xojo Plugins, version 24.5pr6

    New in this prerelease of the 24.5 plugins: Download: monkeybreadsoftware.de/xojo/download/plugin/Prerelease/.
    Or ask us to be added to our shared DropBox folder.

    You can subscribe to our Xojo mailing list to get notified for new pre-release and release versions.


    Building for 12 platforms supporting Xojo

    Did you know that MBS Xojo Plugins are available for 12 targets inside Xojo?

    OSArchitectureBits
    LinuxARM32-bit
    LinuxARM64-bit
    LinuxIntel32-bit
    LinuxIntel64-bit
    MacOSARM64-bit
    MacOSIntel64-bit
    WindowsIntel32-bit
    WindowsIntel64-bit
    WindowsARM64-bit
    iOS DeviceARM64-bit
    iOS SimulatorARM64-bit
    iOS SimulatorIntel64-bit
    (more)

    25 Years Monkeybread Software Party

    Next year in April our company will turn 25 years old.
    We'll plan to have a big party here in Germany near our office with over 100 guests.

    Invitations are going out this month in several batches.

    If you like to join and you miss an invitation, you can contact us and ask whether your invitation got lost.

    As people confirm they are coming, we'll add them to the guest list. If we run out of space, we may put people on the wait list.
    If you can't make it, please respond soon, so we don't need to contact you again later.

    MBS Xojo Plugins, version 24.5pr5

    New in this prerelease of the 24.5 plugins:
    • Added CURL fix #15102 to fix a bug with FTP over SSL.
    • Added IsDocumentPlayingAudio and IsMuted properties to WebView2ControlMBS control.
    • Added AddBrowserExtension method to WebView2ControlMBS control.
    • Added pauseAllMediaPlayback and getMediaPlaybackState synchronous methods to WKWebViewMBS class.
    • Added requestMediaPlaybackState and pauseAllMediaPlayback asynchronous methods and related events to WKWebViewControlMBS and WKWebViewIOSControlMBS controls.
    Download: monkeybreadsoftware.de/xojo/download/plugin/Prerelease/.
    Or ask us to be added to our shared DropBox folder.

    You can subscribe to our Xojo mailing list to get notified for new pre-release and release versions.


    The failure of Digital River's MyCommerce platform

    Something sad happened the last months and brought me lots of sleepless nights. A part of my business broke away, but let's talk a few details:

    We have been using the Share-it aka MyCommerce service from Digital River GmbH to sell plugin licenses since 2006. It was working flawlessly for many years until August 2024. They sold our licenses in their web shop, issues invoices, collected any VAT or sales tax, report sales and paid us usually on 15th of the month. But since August they didn't pay us for sales.

    On 20th August 2024 they announced to switch to report after 30 days and pay out another 30 days later, so effectively 60 day payout. Also they introduced a platform fee and customer support went to a $185/h rate. They put these changes into a new contract to go into effect in October 16th. (more)

    MBS Xojo Plugins, version 24.5pr4

    New in this prerelease of the 24.5 plugins:
    • Added picture parameter to captureStillImageAsynchronouslyCompleted and captureOutputDidOutputSampleBuffer events to AVFoundationMBS class.
    • Added MYSQL_OPT_LOCAL_INFILE option for SQLConnectionMBS and SQLDatabaseMBS classes for MySQL connections.
    • Removed the dependency on VCRUNTIME140_1.DLL file for newer zxing plugin part.
    • Added PropertyValue methods to WordFileMBS class.
    • Updated SQLite to version 3.47.0.
    • Added clickedOnLink event for NSTextViewControlMBS control.
    • Added textViewWritingToolsWillBegin and textViewWritingToolsDidEnd events for NSTextViewControlMBS control.
    • Added isWritingToolsActive, writingToolsBehavior and allowedWritingToolsResultOptions properties for NSTextViewMBS class.
    • Added showWritingTools method to NSResponderMBS class.
    • Fixed memory leak in NSAppearanceMBS.appearanceNamed function.
    Download: monkeybreadsoftware.de/xojo/download/plugin/Prerelease/.
    Or ask us to be added to our shared DropBox folder.

    You can subscribe to our Xojo mailing list to get notified for new pre-release and release versions.


    Segment documents in images for Xojo

    For the next plugin version we add the VNDetectDocumentSegmentationRequestMBS class for macOS and iOS to detect a document in a picture and rectify this. This is used internally for VNDocumentCameraScanMBS class on iOS, but now can be used independently.

    To give you an example. You may have the picture on the left and use the function to get the picture on the right side.

    (more)

    Using ChatGPT in Xojo

    From time to time we get asked to provide an example for ChatGPT. Since this is just another web service, we can just handle it with the MBS Xojo CURL Plugin. But since we don’t like to block the user interface while ChatGPT processes the request, we use our CURLSMultiMBS class to run it in the background. Later when finished, it performs a delegate to call our Finished method to process the result.

    The request is build with the JSONItem class to fill in the various values. We include a system message with the request, e.g. “Please translate text to English.” and then pass the text to translate in the user role. This way the user should not be able to provide instructions to the LLM in their text.

    (more)

    MBS Xojo Plugins, version 24.5pr3

    New in this prerelease of the 24.5 plugins: Download: monkeybreadsoftware.de/xojo/download/plugin/Prerelease/.
    Or ask us to be added to our shared DropBox folder.

    You can subscribe to our Xojo mailing list to get notified for new pre-release and release versions.


    News from the MBS Xojo Plugins Version 24.4

    In this article I want to introduce you the new functionalities from the MBS Xojo Plugins in version 24.4.

    ZXing

    We had zxing classes in our plugins to recognize barcodes for many years. The older zxing library we used got outdated, but there is a successor. The zxing library got branched and we can use the newer versions with a different interface to make new classes and a module for Xojo. Today we are pleased to introduce the three new classes ZXingReaderOptionsMBS, ZXingReaderResultMBS and ZxingRuntimeExceptionMBS, as well as the module ZxingBarcodeMBS.

    With this module 18 different types of barcodes including EAN, UPC and QRCodes can be read. We can pass the options as a ZXingReaderOptionsMBS instance in the call. We then receive an instance of the ZXingReaderResultMBS class as a result. This provides us with the required information about the barcode. If there are any exceptions, the ZxingRuntimeExceptionMBS class can help us.

    Dim result As ZXingReaderResultMBS = ZxingBarcodeMBS.ReadBarcode(pic, options)
    MessageBox result.Text

    If you would like more information on this topic, please have a look at our blog article Read barcodes with newer zxing classes

    (more)

    MBS Xojo Plugins, version 24.5pr2

    New in this prerelease of the 24.5 plugins:
    • Added WillPopUp, WillDismiss, SelectionIsChanging and SelectionDidChange events to NSComboBoxControlMBS control.
    • Updated DynaPDF to version 4.0.94.265.
    • Added GetTextBBox and GetAnnotColor functions to DynaPDFMBS class.
    • Fixed an edge case with swiss keyboard layout for PressKey function in RemoteControlMBS module and the virtual key lookup.
    Download: monkeybreadsoftware.de/xojo/download/plugin/Prerelease/.
    Or ask us to be added to our shared DropBox folder.

    You can subscribe to our Xojo mailing list to get notified for new pre-release and release versions.


    Older blog entries:

    2024-10-02 Xojo 2024r3
    2024-10-01 MBS Xojo Plugins, version 24.5pr1
    2024-09-23 Add the Saxon processor to MBS Plugins?
    2024-09-20 Omegabundle for Xojo 2024 ends in a few days
    2024-09-19 Find computer location
    2024-09-17 MonkeyBread Software Releases the MBS Xojo Plugins in version 24.4
    2024-09-16 Plugin backwards compatibility to older operation systems
    2024-09-14 Xojo Stammtisch in Wien
    2024-09-13 Read barcodes with newer zxing classes
    2024-09-11 MBS Xojo Plugins, version 24.4pr6
    2024-09-10 Deprecation of TLS 1.0 and 1.1
    2024-09-05 Managing File Access in Xojo with NSFileCoordinator
    2024-09-02 xDev Magazine 22.5 Issue
    2024-09-01 17 years of MBS Xojo DynaPDF Plugin
    2024-08-29 MBS Xojo Plugins, version 24.4pr5
    2024-08-21 MBS Xojo Plugins, version 24.4pr3
    2024-08-08 MBS SQLite Extension in version 1.7
    2024-08-06 MBS Xojo Conference - Xojo Update
    2024-08-03 Phone system down
    2024-08-01 MBS Xojo Plugins, version 24.4pr2

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