Panorama X 10.2.4 Release Notes

ProVUE News & Blog
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A new Panorama X release is now available. Most users can simply let Panorama automatically update. If you have any problems with the automatic update, the direct download link is:

https://www.provue.com/downloads/sparkle/PanoramaX/4692/PanoramaX.zip

Or, you can simply go to http://www.provue.com and download the trial version, which is the same version.

Note: For a short time earlier today (1-2 hours) there was an earlier 4688 build available both for automatic update and on the provue.com web page. Unfortunately, a small problem wasn’t discovered until after this version was uploaded. The problem was only with the documentation, but if you downloaded this earlier version, you should re-download the 4692 version.

This release primarily updates Panorama for macOS 27 (Golden Gate), and for upcoming California sales tax changes.

  • Fixes menu bar handling for macOS 27 (Golden Gate).
  • To comply with new legislation, sales taxes will be added to all software sales made to California customers (starting on January 1, 2027). Since older versions of Panorama X do not handle sales tax, it will no longer be possible to purchase or renew Panorama licenses with older versions of Panorama after 12/31/26.
  • The standardpanoramamenu( and standardhelpmenu( functions now allow these menus to be “hacked” to customize them, just like the other standard menus. In other words, you can now add, remove or change items in the Panorama X and Help menus, which was never possible before.
  • The new helpmenu( function makes it possible to create a bespoke help menu completely from scratch. A menu created with this function will have the special “Spotlight Search” area that is standard for Help menus in Mac applications.
  • Fixed the serverlookupall(, lookupfromserver(, servervariable( and servervariables( functions. (Note: This fix may have actually been in the 10.2.3 release.)
  • The runningappinfo( function can now provide a list of running apps that have a menu bar (excluding background apps).
  • New UnHideOtherApplications statement, makes all other apps visible.
  • The OpenWizard statement now allows a full path to be supplied, instead of just a wizard name. This allows for opening a wizard in a non-standard location (especially useful for testing and/or development of custom wizards)
  • The Share Preferences dialog is no longer resizable (so you can no longer expand it into the blank area).
  • Fix menu bar display when Panorama Video Training wizard is initially opened.
  • Documentation corrections submitted by Robert Ameeti, David Thompson, Chris Watts, Peter Newble and Robert McGarey
  • Multiple (39) under the hood changes in preparation for a possible new distribution channel for Panorama. None of these changes should affect existing Panorama users.
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A question about the change regarding the California sales tax — will updating to this version enable users with previous licenses to renew licenses going forward (i.e., it’s mandatory to update to this version)?

Asking as a writer for TidBITS.com (where I manage the software update watchlist items).

Thanks for any clarification.

cheers.agen

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will updating to this version enable users with previous licenses to renew licenses going forward

Not quite the way I would word it, but yes.

If someone continues to use Panorama long term, they will eventually have to install the 10.2.4 version. But they don’t absolutely have to do that until they need to make a payment to extend their license (and until Jan 1, 2027, payments can still be made with the older version).

On the other hand, there is no reason not to install 10.2.4. It doesn’t cost anything, and I always recommend that everyone should install new versions of Panorama as soon as they are available.

By the way, this isn’t the first time an update has been mandatory to allow purchasing license extensions. Two or three years ago Stripe made a change that also required a mandatory update. This didn’t really cause a problem, but there were a couple of customers that didn’t get the word and contacted us by email after being unable to complete a purchase. They simply installed the update and were on their way. I’m sure we will receive a few emails like this over the next year or two, even though we’re trying to get the word out.

By the way, I am of course familiar with your name since I’ve been a TidBITs reader for decades. Say hello to Adam and Tonya for me :slight_smile:

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