Some highlights of this new release are:

• Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) support for security-enabled communications including identity authentication and secure, private communication through encryption. We have set up a secure Ggate DSA server to let you test the new functionality.
• Glink FTP client is delivered and installed giving full FTP access to FTP servers (including GCOS) with functionality such as editing, viewing or opening remote files with just a double click and full Glink script integration.
• The Look 'n' Feel of Glink has been enhanced to give it a 21st century look, this includes new highlighted and undockable toolbar button bars.
• Automatic facelifting feactures have been added giving a new webby dimension to old legacy applications.
  • on-screen 'hotspot' buttons are displayed when function key abbreviations are detected, e.g. "F1", "SF1", "PF1"
  • background wallpaper for the emulation window leaving the variable fields as normal white edit controls
  • a frame and frame background wallpaper

Full list of new features

Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)

Glink can be configured to use the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) through Microsoft's Secure Channel (SChannel) security package to provide security-enabled communications, including identity authentication and secure, private communication through encryption.

All currently supported versions of Microsoft Windows include SSL (SSL v2/v3 and TLS v1) and data encryption as a standard, and require no additional software, for Windows 95 and 98, refer to the Prerequisites section for details of how these must be upgraded to support SSL.

When a secure connection has been established, a small icon of a lock is displayed in the status bar. If the mouse is hovered over the lock, then the servers X.509 credentials are displayed.

GlinkFTP client

An FTP client is now provided with Glink. This runs as a free-standing program and may be started either directly from the Glink folder, or from the transfer menu in Glink. GlinkFTP is also integrated with Glink via the script language, see the script enhancements section below for more detail.

User interface new-look

The basic look and feel of Glink has been enhanced to give it a 21st century look.

The main features are the new highlighting toolbars and the possibility of configuring a background wallpaper in the host emulation window and surrounding it with a frame with its own wallpaper (see facelifting section), giving a completely new dimension to old legacy applications.

The toolbars automatically highlight as the mouse moves over them. There are two new bars, a keyboard bar and a function bar, which contain emulation specific buttons. All the bars can be moved and docked at the top or bottom of the Glink window, or they can be parked partially or completely outside the emulation window. Their last positions may be saved on exit. An option to prevent moving of the bars is also available.

The Glink dropdown menus now contain menu-tip images. The Settings menu menu can be configured to be a dropdown menu rather than the Win95 style Control Panel icon box.

Facelifting enhancements

Several options have been added to provide for additional automatic facelifting of the emulator screen. These have been grouped in a new dialog box in Settings->Screen. They include:

• Automatic conversion of function key abbreviations sent by the host into on-screen buttons.
• Specification of an image file to use as a background image for the emulator screen, and several additional options for controlling the image display.
• Specification of a frame (margin) around the emulator screen.
• Specification of an image file to use in the frame, and several options for controlling the image display.

Emulation enhancements

IBM 3270 and 5250 emulations can now be used in typeahead mode.

The 5250 Field exit keys can be configured on the numeric pad in the IBM 5250 emulation options.

AS/400 error messages sent to the status line can now be configured to automatically unblock the keyboard on the next keypress.

Script enhancements

A startup script may now be associated with a particular configuration file.

Names set in the status line with the HOST or NAME commands can now be URLs which will work as hyperlinks.

VBScript or Jscript files can now be started in exactly the same ways you can start a normal Glink script, you can pass input parameters to their Main() function and retrieve return values return values in the $GPARAM script variable.

The OLE script command has been enhanced to work with object collection lists.

The following new commands and variables are available:

Other enhancements

• Default support has been added for WinSock2 when available. TCP/IP domain name addresses can now be above the previous 32 character limit.
• Glink internally now uses dynamic length strings. This means that some of the 254 length limits have been lifted, this includes IP Addresses, Script variables, Script texts, etc.
• When an 'inline macro' has been defined you will be asked whether the macro should also be saved as a numbered keyboard macro or as a script file.
• Editing the recall buffer is now available as a configurable internal function from GLLAY.
• The terminate on disconnect option has been extended to provide automatic reconnection if the host connection is lost.
• NETSETUP can now install icons on the desktop without creating a program group folder.