Differences

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--- current [2019/11/08 15:40] – 9.4.24 James Sentman
+++ current [2019/11/15 17:30] – 9.4.26 release notes James Sentman
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-=====XTension Version 9.4.24=====
+=====XTension Version 9.4.26=====
-Released: 11/8/2019\\
+Released: 11/15/2019\\
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-Download: [[https://www.machomeautomation.com/files/xtension/xtension_9.4.24.zip|XTension v9.4.24 (build 1012) 11/8/2019]]\\
+Download: [[https://www.machomeautomation.com/files/xtension/xtension_9.4.26.zip|XTension v9.4.26 (build 1014) 11/15/2019]]\\
-zipfile md5 = [[tech_notes:md5|76e7d1c75f90e61b1b68fc4e1ebeea14]]\\
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-Download for Catalina: (awaiting notarization, as soon as I get that sorted out I will post the disk image)\\
+**NOTE:** Due to problems with Apple’s new file API there is no Catalina build of this version. I have had to revert to the older API. Because of file management incompatibilities with the new API this update is recommended for all XTension users. No database format changes are made by this release so reverting to a previous version is as easy as replacing the app. It is not necessary to replace the database with a previous backup version.
-**NOTE!** not all plugins are included in the Catalina build. Please see the Catalina note below for more info.\\
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-====9.4.24 Change Log====
+====9.4.26 Change Log====
-  * NEW: added “reset low battery flag” contextual menu item to the unit lists. If you have a unit that has a stuck low battery flag for whatever reason you can now reset it manually. If the low battery flag is actually coming from the interface it will reset itself as soon as the next command from the device is received though.
+  * NEW: Plugin for [[supported_hardware:tplink|TP-Link and Kasa]] devices. Included as part of the standard XTension bundle of build in plugins. This plugin does not require internet access and does not go through the Kasa cloud to find or control the units. You can discover and control any of their devices that are on the local subnet with the XTension machine. Support for smart outlets, wall switches, dimmable switches and outlets, dimmable, color capable and color temperature capable bulbs as well as multi-outlet power strips is included and tested. This is the first beta release of this plugin so if you find devices that do not work properly or have other issues please let me know.
-  * NEW: added xtUnit class applescript parameters for the newer Group properties. You can now set the following parameters for Groups, they will have no effect if you try to use them for a non-group unit. They are read/write so you can query them or set them from another script.
+  * FIX: Reverted completely to the older File API. It turns out that the new file API from Apple that is required for Catalina is incompatible with much older software including XTension, in some difficult to find while testing ways. Until I can rebuild entirely the philosophy of managing the database to support the new API we will not be Catalina compatible. This reversion fixes several strange and difficult to duplicate problems that you might have seen with the previous version when doing things as simple as trying to rename a Unit in the database.
-    * xtGroupBehavior
-    * xtTreatAsRadioButtons
-    * xtScriptsRunWhenAutochanged
-    * xtShowDimmableControls
-    * xtShowColorControls
-    * xtShowColorTempControls
-  * FIX: the xtUnit class property xtFlags now includes the correct battery level, if any, reported by the device.
-  * FIX: the xtUnit class property xtFlags no longer includes the no longer used “rfOK” flag.
-  * Totally rebuilt the internal handling of unit properties. They are now more abstracted so that they will be easier to use from other scripting languages once those are available. You can still store AppleScript specific parameters like lists and records but they may not be available to other scripting systems in the future. There should be no changes for how you’re using them at all. For the moment I am maintaining the data in the original format in the database so that if you need to revert to an earlier version of XTension you can do so without losing any data. After some number of releases without any bug reports on the new system I’ll remove those files.
-  * Change: Global Scripts now update their Last Activity date even if the script fails due to an error. Previously they would fail to update this if the script did not complete successfully.
-  * Change: Unit Properties are now sent through the Database Sharing plugins. The unit properties are synced in both directions. If you make a change on either side of the shared database connection the change will be sent to the other side. If you make a change on the receiver side while the connection is down or the interface is disabled then the receiver side will be overwritten by the data from the sender side when the interface reconnects. At this time the syncing of the unit properties is limited to Strings, Numbers and Dates. Applescript specific types like Lists and Records are not synced. This is possible to do so please let me know if you need this.
-  * The new RFX plugin for the older RFX and RFXe devices is no longer considered beta. I and several beta testers have been using it successfully now for months. Note that the newer devices are NOT yet supported by this plugin. Please make sure you’re connecting to one of the older protocol devices and that you select the Legacy protocol in the plugin setup dialog in XTension. The beta level support for that device will appear in the next XTension release.
-  * FIX: The previous rare but real occurance of the Vera, and potentially some other plugins become unresponsive is fixed. I was finally gifted a duplication of this problem by my own server after having been unable to duplicate it or figure out what was happening at all. It turns out to be a lower level system problem that hung up all networking for a short time. Not all plugins were affected, some seemed to recover just fine, others became suck in a hang down in the system. Since there was no error that could be trapped the only way to fix the problem was to implement a ping and restart system in XTension for the affected plugins. If a plugin of any type goes unresponsive for more than around 2 minutes XTension will quit it and start a new instance which does fix the problem. If the system does ever return a proper error from the networking level that will also result in the interface restarting to get itself running again.