Metafile Companion Version History

Metafile Companion Version 1.4.3

Release date: 5/7/2018

Metafile Companion version 1.4.3 is a minor upgrade of version 1.4.2 that:

  • Updates the code signing certificate with an expiration date of May 3, 2022.
  • Updates support hyperlinks from “http:” to “https:” secure protocol.

If you are happy with the version of Metafile Companion that you have, there is no need to upgrade to this version. It is not functionally different from v1.4.2 for editing Windows metafiles.

To upgrade to the latest version of the product, please see Upgrade Instructions.


Metafile Companion Version 1.4.2

Release date: 1/20/2014

Metafile Companion version 1.4.2 is a minor upgrade of version 1.4.1 that:

  • Updates where license information is read from to allow Administrators as well as Standard Users the ability to read and write this information in accessible keys in the Windows Registry. In particular, Metafile Companion now reads license information from the following places in this order:
    1. Windows Registry: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Companion Software\Metafile Companion
    2. Windows Registry: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Companion Software\Metafile Companion
    3. File: MetaComp.ser (in the program folder)

    If license infomation isn’t present at the first location, Metafile Companion will go down the list in order to look for it.

  • Allows you to explicitly save license information to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE by using “Run as Administrator” (right-click MetaComp.exe and choose “Run as Administrator”) and then entering the license key, etc. Otherwise, license information is saved in HKEY_CURRENT_USER.

To upgrade to the latest version of the product, please see Upgrade Instructions.


Metafile Companion Version 1.4.1

Release date: 7/22/2013

Metafile Companion version 1.4.1 is a minor upgrade of version 1.4.0 that:

  • Adds limited support for the Path commands: StrokePath, FillPath and StrokeAndFillPath. Paths can only contain our supported drawing objects (Line, Polyline, Polypolyline, Polygon, Polypolygon, Rectangle, Ellipse, Text and Arc). Paths can be displayed, moved, sized, formatted and deleted, but they cannot be otherwise edited, ungrouped or created. While Paths can be drawn as stroked, filled or both, Metafile Companion cannot change the drawing mode of a selected path.
  • Adds support for EMR_SETMITERLIMIT command. This helps constrain path line segments drawn with a geometric pen with PS_JOIN_MITER set.

To upgrade to the latest version of the product, please see Upgrade Instructions.


Metafile Companion Version 1.4.0

Release date: 7/16/2013

Metafile Companion version 1.4.0 is a minor upgrade of version 1.3.0 that:

  • Adds support for the Arc command.
  • Preserves Comments that are embedded in the metafile (but does not allowing viewing or editing of comments).
  • Scales geometric pen widths properly when opening a file.
  • Improves position stability of rectangle-based objects (Rectangle, Ellipse and Arc) through multiple open and save cycles.

To upgrade to the latest version of the product, please see Upgrade Instructions.


Metafile Companion Version 1.3.0

Release date: 1/27/2010

Metafile Companion version 1.3.0 is a minor upgrade of version 1.2.0 that:

  • Added official support for Windows Vista and Windows 7 including both 32- and 64-bit versions.
  • Fixed registration problem reported on 64-bit versions of Windows.
  • Digitally signed the installer to avoid “Unknown publisher” warnings on installation.
  • Switched from WinHelp to HTML Help for smoother operation on Windows Vista and 7.
  • Removed obsolete information about older versions of Windows from Help.
  • Added Unicode support so now you can add or paste text in languages such as Japanese, Russian, etc. and special characters and mathematical symbols not available in the ANSI or ASCII character sets.
  • Added the ability to paste Unicode text from the clipboard into a metafile (even if it is not in metafile format on the clipboard).
  • Added new Paste As commands for Enhanced Metafile, Windows Metafile and Text to give you more control over what is pasted.

To upgrade to the latest version of the product, please see Upgrade Instructions.

Note: Metafile Companion Version 1.3.0 has also been tested on Windows 8 and works well.


Metafile Companion Version 1.2.0

Release date: 3/22/2008

Metafile Companion version 1.2.0 is a minor upgrade of version 1.11 that:

  • Corrects a minor startup problem on machines with limited user rights. See “Failed to update the system registry” message on startup on limited user account for more details.
  • Updates contact information for Companion Software.
  • Improves ease of entry of license key information. Your license key can now be entered on startup or from the About box.
  • Renames the license “Company” field to “Email” to better reflect its current usage. (The text you enter in the license fields should always be the same as previous versions if you are upgrading.)
  • Was recompiled with Visual Studio 2008.
  • Has a Microsoft installer (.msi) setup file for improved setup experience on newer platforms.

Metafile Companion Version 1.11

Release date: 9/13/1997

Metafile Companion Version 1.11 is a minor upgrade of Version 1.10 that:

  • Updates our mailing address and fax number.
  • Corrects a problem reading certain EMF files that appear too large when read into Metafile Companion. (See Metafile Companion Known Issues for more details.)
  • Adds support for EMR_EXTTEXTOUTA records in metafiles. This fixes an obscure problem on Windows 95 with WMF files that use unusual symbol fonts (such as the musical Capella font). There was no problem on Windows NT.

Metafile Companion Version 1.10

Release date: 11/6/1996

Metafile Companion Version 1.10 is a minor upgrade of Version 1.01 primarily to add gridding and units support to the product. To upgrade to the latest version of the product, please see Upgrade Instructions.

New

  • Status Bar Information
    • Coordinates and sizes can be displayed in picture units, inches or centimeters as selected in the Edit, Properties, Picture property sheet or in the new View, Grid Settings dialog box
  • Grid
    • Turn grid on or off
    • Snap to grid feature assures consistently sized objects
    • Grid displayed as lines or dots
    • Set grid origin and spacing in picture units, inches or centimeters
    • Grid toolbar gives quick access to Grid On/Off and Snap On/Off
    • Grid settings are remembered when you exit the program

Improved

  • Installation
    • The version number of the product is now displayed in the Add/Remove Programs dialog box accessible from the Windows Control Panel.
  • Filing
    • Improved fidelity when reading WMF files that contain rectangles and ellipses.

Metafile Companion Version 1.01

Release date: 11/2/1996

Metafile Companion Version 1.01 is a minor upgrade of Version 1.00 primarily to improve the documentation and user interface. To upgrade to the latest version of the product, please see Upgrade Instructions.

Improved

  • Documentation
    • Updated to reflect the release of Windows NT 4.0
  • User Interface
    • Improved the look of toolbars and the document window under Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0
    • Fixed a problem with left toolbar placement when the main window is resized

Metafile Companion Version 1.00

Release date: 7/2/1996

The initial release of the program.