• What's new in Preview Release 2
• Features not yet implemented
• Known issues in this release
• How to use Messenger and Collabra

• From the Help menu, choose Help Contents
• From the Help menu, choose Frequently Asked Questions
• Technical Notes

General and Setup

• Enhanced visual appearance and user interface
• Task bar that enables easy access to Communicator components
• Context-sensitive NetHelp
 
The following features are new since Preview Release 1:
 
• Cross-platform support
• New animation indicating network activity
• Multiple user profiles

Navigator

• Layering and absolute positioning
• If a system halt related to the Kernel32.dll occurs, update the kernel. You can obtain the update from http://www.microsoft.com/kb/articles/q148/3/36.htm. This may correct the problem.
• Personal toolbar
• Bookmark quick file
• Keyboard navigation
 
The following features are new since Preview Release 1:
 
• Style sheet support (CSS1 and dynamic style sheets)
• Enhanced kiosk mode
• Automatic installation of plug-ins (must be explicitly enabled in preferences) 
• Java and LiveConnect available on all platforms 
• Macromedia Fireworks 
• Improved OLE support
• Layering and absolute positioning
• Supports the W3C working draft standard "Positioning HTML Elements with Cascading Style Sheets"
• The ILAYER tag can be used to create in-flow layers
• The zIndex, above, below, bgColor, and background JavaScript properties have been added to the JavaScript Layer object.
• Navigator's scroll bars automatically expand to allow viewing of all layers in a document.

Composer

• WYSIWYG HTML editing
• Integrated with Messenger and Collabra
• Improved table editing performance
• Improved line and character spacing behavior
• Improved tool bars
 
The following features are new since Preview Release 1:
 
• Spelling checker (Windows 95 and Windows NT)
• Japanese inline input (Windows 95 and Windows NT)
• Composer plug-ins (Windows 95 and Windows NT)
• Image resize 
• Image import
• Improved publishing

 Messenger

• IMAP4 for server-based management of mail
• Rules and filters for IMAP server folders
• HTML compose with the ability to drag and drop images within a message (MIME HTML)
• Quoted text with HTML
• Intelligent sending of HTML or plain text based on address book entries

Collabra

• End-user management of discussion groups on Collabra Server 3.0. Ability to create:
• groups
• categories
• access control lists
• Display to categories in Message List window with Collabra Server 3.0
• HTML compose with the ability to drag and drop images within a message (MIME HTML)
• Quoted text with HTML
• Ability to read and post to Internet newsgroups 

Conference

• Windows 3.x version
• Unix to PC interoperability
• Launching of Communicator Address Book
• Speed Dial capability
• Call Log (Windows 95 and Windows NT)
• 800x600 White board canvas size
• Watcom tablet support
• Support for IBM Aptiva

Live 3D

 
• VRML 2.0/1.x support (including Live3D 1.0 extension nodes) 
• JavaScript supported in Script Node 
• Per-Vertex Colors
• Support for 3D sound using Intel's RSX Technology (can be downloaded 12/24/96)
• Support for 256x256 and MPEG textures 
• Improved lighting and material models 
• Support for large data sets 
 
The following features are new since Preview Release 1:
 
• Protos
• Improved Collision with terrain following
• Support for MFString URLs
• Visibility sensor
• Performance enhancements

General and Setup

The following features are not yet implemented for Communicator:
 
• NetHelp (Help Contents from the Help menu) is not completely implemented
• Reorganized preferences, including help application preferences

Navigator

The following features are not yet implemented for Navigator:
 
• Navigator plug-in enhancements
• Stop animation and applet items
• Dynamic Fonts

Java and JavaScript

The following features are not yet implemented for Java and JavaScript:
 
• Event model for filtering keyboard events 
• Dragging the cursor over the items does not result in an image being displayed in the top part of the frame
• Entities in image size specifiers do not work properly 

Composer

The following features are not yet implemented for Composer on Windows 3.1 and 3.11 platforms:
 
• Spelling checker
• Composer plug-ins
• Japanese inline input

Messenger

The following features are not yet implemented for Messenger:
 
• Encrypted messages and digital signatures (S/MIME)
• Full synchronization of server mail folders and local mail folders
• Encrypted passwords
• Full vCard support
• UUencode of attachments

Collabra

The following features are not yet implemented for Collabra:
 
• Cross-discussion group searching
• Off line reading of discussions
• Retention policies for discussion messages
• Editing a message already posted

Conference

The following features are not yet implemented for Conference:
 
• Voice mail
• Interface to Communicator Address Book in Windows 3.x
• Calling from Web Phone Book in Windows 3.x 

Live 3D

The following features are not yet implemented for Live 3D:
 
• Text, font style
• Live3D 1.0 SDK 
• VRML 2.0 external authoring interface 
• Live3D not available for Windows 3.1 platforms

General and Setup

• This release has not been fully optimized for size or performance. 16 MB of RAM or more is recommended.
• If you install the 16-bit version of Communicator PR2 (Windows 3.1 or 3.11) in the same directory as previous versions of Communicator, the previous versions are deleted. If you want to switch between versions while evaluating the PR2 version, install Communicator PR2 in a new directory. If you install in the same directory, do not run the deleted version's Deinstaller program. You might have to re-install Communicator PR2.
• If you upgrade from Navigator 3.0 and select the Move Files options during Profile Setup, copy the cookies.txt file in your new user directory to your existing Navigator 3.x directory if you want the options to work with Navigator 3.x. If you choose the Copy Files option, copy the cookies.txt file from Navigator 3.x directory to your new user directory if you want the options to work with Communicator PR2. The default location for your new user directory is \Program Files\Netscape\Users\<user name>.
• Help information is available on some, but not all, tasks and topics. Minimum Install includes Help on some functions that are not provided with the minimum installation. Resizing, maximizing, or restoring the Help window causes the contents to forward a page.
• Plug-ins installed in previous versions of Navigator are not automatically transferred to Communicator. Re-install these plug-ins.
• During installation, Communicator copies the address book from Navigator 3.0 to your user directory, but in order to update the address book format, import the address book file. To import address books, choose Import from the File menu in the Address Book window. The address book is the file address.htm in the user directory (the default is \Program Files\Netscape\Users\<user name>).
• Several printing problems exist, including incorrect printing of images and improper alignment on the page.
• On some intranets, the default Collabra server is a secure Collabra server. The setup wizard does not have any way of specifying the default discussion host as a secure Collabra server.

Navigator

• The Find in Page feature does not always find all the words being searched.
• Resizing the window of a page containing Layers might cause your system to halt.
• Resizing the window of a page containing plug-ins, forms, or style sheets causes the plug-in, form, or style sheet to lose its original position or formatting.
• Resizing or reloading frame pages might cause the window to be redrawn incorrectly.
• Some web counters are not displayed correctly in Communicator.
• When trying to click on regions within Image Maps, the hot spots for clicking are shifted.
• In Windows 3.1, resizing the window of a page containing tables that have different alignment might cause your system to crash.

Java and JavaScript

• JavaScript is Off by default after installing Communicator on Windows 3.1. Enable Javascript under the Advance section of your Preferences if you have pages that make use of Javascript, or if you have pages with Style sheets.
• The View Source command on Windows 95 and Windows NT shows the JavaScript code not dynamically created HTML. 
• JavaScript encounters errors when performing user or group management.
• Running Java in some circumstances might result in lost resources.
• Maximizing and minimizing a page running an applet might cause the system to hang.
• Java might be slower in this release than it was in previous versions of Navigator.
• Reloading IIOP applets leaves the the server in an undetermined state.
• In JavaScript event handlers might be lost when resizing a frames page. 
• JsObject.getWindow requires an applet as an argument.
• JavaScript sometimes shows the incorrect color or halts on frame pages.
• Launching any page containing Java applets for the first time might cause a JavaScript Error.
• toLocaleString() method in Date Class throws security exceptions.
• Image onAbort event handler does not work correctly.
• onUnload does not work correctly in nested frames.
• History.back, history.forward, and history.go(n) display the local frame history and not the previous Navigator window.
• You must include new when calling constructor functions. For example, 
var size = new java.awt.Dimension (...)
• To enable JavaScript after disabling it, you must restart Communicator.
• The View Source and Save commands do not parse JavaScript writes to HTML.

Layering and absolute positioning

• Pages containing layers cannot be printed.
• The overflow property and the height property are not implemented for style sheet based positioning.
• Percentage values cannot be specified for the CLIP attribute on the LAYER tag.
• Negative values for the Z-INDEX attribute on LAYER and ILAYER tags are not recognized.
• A value of SHOW for the LAYER tag's VISIBILITY attribute is ignored.
• Tables within layers might not obey the layer's WIDTH attribute.
• Centered HTML in a layer might not be truncated on its right side.
• The ALIGN attribute might not be obeyed for applets and plug-ins inside layers.
• Resizing pages with layers might cause a system halt or erratic behavior.

Composer

• The Undo and Redo commands might not work
• Composer plug-in windows open behind the Composer window. Bring them to the front using the task bar.
• The Edit Frame command is not working correctly. The Edit Frame command edits the frame set rather than the selected frame pane.
• Trying to use an external HTML editor or image editor does not work in this release.
• Composer does not resolve links properly if Escape characters are contained in the URL.
• Composer does not handle certain HTML tags correctly. You should use caution when attempting to use Composer to edit HTML documents that contain these tags: SCRIPT, SEVER, STYLE, DIV, OBJECT, ILAYER, LINK, BASE.
• Do not use this release of Composer to publish to a secure HTTP server. Composer might hang after displaying the "New Site Certificate" dialog. 

Messenger and Collabra 

• If you run Netscape Communicator PR1 after installing Netscape Communicator PR2, you need to delete all the .snm files from your mail directory (including those within subfolders) and the .sbd files. These files will be rebuilt by PR2.
• Accessing About Netscape from the Help menu in the Message Center, Message List window, or Message window might not display the information. Go to the Navigator window and access About Netscape.
• In the Address Book, if you type a name in the type down field and select it and press Delete, the name in the type down field is not deleted. Instead, the highlighted address is deleted. 
• The No Pages to Print error occurs if you have just scrolled down to the bottom of a message. To workaround, scroll back to the top of the message. 
• If you get a system halt when invoking the Compose window, rename abook.nab (Address Book file) located in your Users Profile directory. 
• Some Preference settings are not completely implemented. In such cases, this release uses the settings from Netscape Navigator 3.x. 
• When using the Address Book or the Join Discussion Dialog, all the columns might appear forced to the left. Click on the < and > buttons in the column heading area to correct this problem. 
• The Add to Address Book button in the Search Directory dialog does not work. Selected names are not added to the Address Book. Access the LDAP Search feature from within the Address Book, select the desired name, and choose to compose a message. Copy the address, and then from the Address Book, add a new user and paste the address in the specified field. 
• Shortcut keys might not bring up the correct dialog or perform the correct action for Windows NT 3.51. 
• When opening the Message window, some extraneous characters are displayed. This can be ignored.
• The default values for the Disk Space tab in Mail and Discussions Preferences are not optimally set. If using these options, specify the values you wish to use.
• The Next Folder and Next Unread Folder commands under the Go menu within the Message List window and the Message window are not working. 
• Ctrl-Enter Accelerator - This accelerator key for sending messages is not working. Use the Send toolbar button to send your messages.
• In the Mail and Discussions Preferences, Identity section, include a valid user name and domain name in the E-mail field (for example, johndoe@company.com). If you do not include the domain name, a system halt might occur when composing with the HTML Composer.
 
Messenger 
• After you get new messages, the message you had selected before downloading stays current. To get to the first new (unread) message, click Next Unread on the toolbar.
• If Communicator has not accessed a mail folder (and built a summary file for it internally), a mail filter using that folder might not correctly filter messages to that folder. The messages appear in your Inbox rather than in the designated folder. 
• Setting Priority of Outgoing Mail - You can set the priority of outgoing mail under the third tab in the Composition window. You must reselect the addressing tab prior to sending the message, otherwise the priority reverts back to Normal.

Mail with IMAP Servers

• You can access IMAP4 Servers with this version of Communicator. Synchronization of on-line and off-line mail folders has not yet been implemented.
• If you accessed an IMAP server in Communicator PR1, a directory/mail folder named IMAPMailboxes appears after you log in to a IMAP server. The directory structure has changed for this release and you can delete the folders in the IMAPMailboxes folder or move them elsewhere.
• After switching between IMAP and POP servers, you should exit and restart the application.
• You can specify a directory for your IMAP folders. Set this preference in Mail and Discussions preferences under the Mail Server tab. Click More and set the IMAP mail directory.
• You can delete IMAP folders from the Message Center by dragging them to the trash and emptying the trash. 
• If you mark all messages Read or Catch up by Date, the next time you get new messages, those messages become unread again.  Manually mark each message as Read by selecting each one or clicking on the green unread indicator in the Message List window. 
• After getting new mail from the Inbox, the message list pane scrolls back to the top of the list. 
• Mail filters are supported on server folders in IMAP mode, but not for local folders. 
• After you create a folder, it will not appear in the Message Center until you close and reopen the Message Center.
• From the Message Center, the File|Empty Trash Folder menu item is enabled after you select a mail folder in the Message Center. Emptying Trash empties both your online Trash folder, as well as your local Trash folder (POP server), if one exists. 
• Ignore the error message that appears when you cancel the password dialog . To get the password dialog again and to re-enter your password, close and reopen the Message List window.
• Searching all mail folders does not find items located in an online folder. 
• You might not get a login prompt when you open your Inbox. The Inbox window appears, the Netscape logo is animated, but you are not prompted for your password. To avoid this problem, do not bring up the Message Center from Collabra|Discussions, but instead use the Message Center from the menu. You can also select another IMAP folder from the folder drop-down list in the Inbox. This causes the login dialog to appear. Log in and switch to the Inbox folder.
• MIME HTML messages (mail with embedded images) does not display properly when read with IMAP.
 
Collabra
 
• Searching Discussion Messages command is case-sensitive.
• Composing a message to a discussion group with the Compose menu item (and not using To: Discussion from within the discussion group) sends the message to the default server. An error message occurs if the discussion group is not on your default server. The workaround is to compose a message from within the Discussion Group so that the To: Discussions toolbar or menu item is available.
• For discussion group messages, the Mark Read toolbar button and corresponding menu items within the Message window are disabled. You can mark items read (or unread) from the Message List window.
• When you switch to the Message Center with the Communicator|Collabra Discussions menu item or access any of the Discussion Hosts in the Message Center, you might get a reminder that new discussion groups are available. 
• If you want to get a new message in discussion groups, close and reopen the discussion group.

Categories within Discussion Groups on Beta Collabra Server

• You can access categories created on Beta Collabra Server 3.0, which supports category creation. The Message List window shows the categories in the upper left pane.
• The unread count displayed in the Message Center for discussion groups containing categories displays "1" as the count. Open the discussion group to view the actual unread count for each category in the discussion group.
• If you have the Message List window set to display the upper pane, it automatically switches to display the message pane (bottom) when you select a category.
• Occasionally, a duplicate category might appear. Close and reopen the discussion group to correct this problem.
• After switching between different discussion groups containing categories, using the drop-down list in the Message List window might cause some selection problems. Select any message within the Message List window to correct this problem.
• Your system gets a general protection fault when you select and open a discussion group containing categories, without first opening that discussion group from the Message Center.
• You may experience a time delay when marking a large (for example, 10,000 messages) discussion group as read using the Catch Up By Date feature.
• The Next Category command under the Go menu within the Message List window is not working. Nothing happens when you select this command.
• Using the Next Unread command within categories or within threads might not expand any of the collapsed categories or threads. You can manually expand the categories or threads by toggling the + control next to the category/thread.
• The Hide Categories command under the View menu does not work.
 
Windows 16-bit Platforms Specific
 
• Your system might halt when adding a secure news or discussions server that has an incorrect certificate. 
• The Message List window and the Message window might display dates and times in various formats. 
• Sent messages do not automatically attach your personal address card even when this option is set in Mail and Discussions Preferences.
• Selecting the Account Services menu item under the Edit menu might result in a General Protection Fault.
• The New Discussion Groups feature within the Join Discussion dialog is not working.
• Categories and a third pane for viewing them are not available.
•  If you open the Address Book, you may see just a title bar.  Click the ^ button in the title bar to maximize the Address Book. 
• The dialog for saving attachments does not appear if the attachment you are saving exceeds the standard 8 character limit. 

Conference

• Conference needs to be running to receive calls. 
• The calling features between Communicator PR1 and PR2 are not compatible. A connection can be made between the two versions, but no data is exchanged. Calls from Communicator PR2 to PR1 do not connect properly.
• Help within dialogs is not yet available for Windows 3.1.
• The Collaborative Browser does not work with JavaScript pages that require user action and anchors linking different portions of forms. 
• The Collaborative Browser does not yet automatically open a new Navigator window if you have the Address Book or Composer or the Collections window running without the Navigator window running. 
• Calling a fictitious user prompts you to leave Voice Mail. 
• Calling a valid user that has selected Do Not Disturb does not prompt you to leave voice mail. 
• When calling a valid user already in a conference the "Pending Conference" status reports "Line busy, try again later" but does not prompt you to leave voice mail. 
• Placing a call to a user who does not have Conference running does not prompt you to leave voice mail.
• Placing a call to a valid user that is running Conference but does not accept or reject your call does not time out and prompts you to leave voice mail. 
• Netscape Conference does not interoperate with Cool Talk or with the Netscape 411 Server for Collate.
• Netscape Conference does not usually run across firewalls unless the firewall is configured to allow UDP data to pass through.
• Netscape provides a central DLS server. You can run your own DLS server, but if you do you are currently restricted to calling within your realm.
• A conference call maybe automatically initiated after clicking OK in the Call Preferences window.  This  occurs only if the options for the name of the DLS server are changed or the publish Name option is changed. All subsequent times that the Call Preference window is accessed and closed with the OK button, initiates a call to the last person you conferenced.  Closing and restarting the conference application resolves the problem.
• Canceling a call initiated through the web phone book might cause the person being called to crash if they have Auto answer selected. Let the call connect and then hang up.
• Answering or placing calls causes a system halt and terminates the application. (Windows NT 3.51) 
• Selecting the web phone book when a Navigator window is already open results in an incorrect URL to be entered.  Close the error message dialog box and enter DLS.Netscape.com in the address window of the newly opened Navigator and press Enter.  (Windows 3.x )

Plug-ins

• ViewDirector Pro2 plug-in does not work.
• QuickTime movies stutter when there is more than one movie on a page. 
• Plug-ins currently do not redraw correctly after resizing the window.
• Plug-ins requesting a URL for a gif or jpeg file crashes Navigator.
• AVI or sound files (au,wav,aiff, or mid) attached from a local disk drive in a mail message do not play. 
• Plug-ins from other companies installed in previous versions of Navigator are not automatically transferred over to Communicator. Re-install these plug-ins.

• Add a Collabra/news server and subscribe to discussion groups - use the Join Discussions from the File menu in the Netscape Message Center folder window. For more information on how to search for and subscribe to discussion groups, choose Help Contents from the Help menu.
• New windows:
• Folder window: displays the Netscape Message Center, which contains lists of mail folders and discussion groups to which you subscribe
• Message List window: displays the contents of a mail folder or discussion group, and provides a collapsible message area in which you can view a selected message
• Message window: displays the content of a selected message
• Reusable windows - When opening mail folders, discussion groups, and messages, Communicator reuses the Message List or Message window you currently have open, instead of opening a new window
• One- or two-pane display in message list window - The Message List window has a collapsible message area, which you can use to view a message you select from the message list
• New mail icon - The Inbox icon on the task bar indicates when you have new mail on your server. Opening your Inbox no longer downloads new messages. To receive new messages, click the Get New Messages button on the toolbar.
• Mail Notification application - To launch this feature, run Netscape Mail Notification from your Communicator program folder. This notification runs minimized on the Windows 95 and Windows NT 4.0 task bar. To set up this mail notification, right mouse click on the mail notification icon in the task bar. You can check to see if you have new mail (without having Communicator loaded) or run mail directly from this icon. This mail notification program remains loaded unless you exit by using the right mouse menu. This feature does not work when your mail is set up for an IMAP4 server. 
• Reuse Message List and Message Windows - There is an option to reuse the Message List and Message windows or open a new window when another folder, discussion or message is selected. You can set this option from Mail and Discussions Preferences, Mail and Discussions tab. The option is "Reuse thread and message window" and "Reuse message window."
• One or Two Pane Display in Thread Window - There is an option to show the message contents from the Message List window (two panes) or to show just the threads (one pane). You can set from Mail and Discussions Preferences, in the Mail & Discussions tab. The option is "show message in thread window by default." You can also switch between one or two panes by clicking on the blue arrow toggle shown in the left side of the window below the end of the thread list. 
• Next Unread - Next Unread spans across mail folders and  discussion groups 
• Backtrack and Forward - Backtrack is a feature, available from the Go menu, that takes you to the messages that you have just read. Forward, available from the Go menu, takes you to the messages you've backtracked from. 
• Inbox Icon in the Netscape Task bar - Unlike Netscape Navigator 3.0x, displaying the Mail Inbox or the Netscape Message Center does not automatically get new messages for you. To receive new messages, click Get New Messages on the toolbar or the Message menu.
• Filing or Copying Messages - Instead of trying to display both the Message window and a Message List window side by side to drag and drop messages into folders, you can file (move) or copy messages directly from the Message List window or from the Message window. Use the File toolbar button to move messages into folders or use the commands from the Message window. You can also file discussion group messages into folders that you create to capture information you want to refer to later. 
• "More" feature - You can press the spacebar to read through all your unread messages. 
• Send Later - You can defer sending of your messages by choosing the Send Later command under the Message menu. Choosing Send Later places your message into the Outbox folder. You can send the outgoing messages by choosing Message | Send in Outbox from the Netscape Message Center or from the Outbox's Message List window when you are online. 
• Save Drafts - You can save messages that you are in the process of composing. From within the Composition window, click the Save Draft toolbar button. You can continue composing your message and then send it. Or, you can close the Composition window and then go into the Drafts folder and select the draft you saved. Double-click the draft and the Composition window appears for you to modify the message and send it. 
• Filters - Filter support allow you to organize your incoming messages. Use Mail Filter Rules in the Edit menu to create filters. 
• Views - You can display five different views in the Thread window. They are: New, Threads with New, Watched, Ignored, and All. Use the Messages command in the View menu to change views to one of these options:
Threads with New - Only unread messages appear. If your messages are sorted by thread and the unread message is a reply, the "parent" of this reply also displays. 
Watched - Only new messages which belong to a thread that is marked "watched" (using Watch Thread from the Message menu) appears in this view. For example: When you only have time to read new messages for the threads that you've marked watched, you can access those threads directly by choosing the Watched view after getting new mail or opening a discussion group. 
Ignored - All messages, including messages which belong to a thread that is marked "ignored" (Ignore Thread command in the Message menu)  appear in this view. 
All - All messages, except ignored threads, appear in this view. 
Note: When switching views, you may not see any changes because the views are cached. If this occurs, use the "All" view and select another message to clear the cache or close and reopen the folder or discussion group. 
New - Only unread messages appear.
• Showing More Columns in the Thread Window - Communicator defaults to showing a specified set of columns in the Netscape Message Center and the Netscape Message List window. You can increase or decrease the number of columns shown by clicking on the < or > buttons at the right of the column headings.