Technical Notes

This technical note outlines the new features available in Reflection 2008, as well as product release notes.

Reflection 2008 products include the following:

• Reflection for IBM 2008
• Reflection for UNIX and OpenVMS 2008
• Reflection Standard Suite 2008 (which includes the functionality of Reflection for IBM 2008 and Reflection for UNIX and OpenVMS 2008)
• Reflection Enterprise Suite 2008 (which includes Reflection Standard Suite 2008 and Reflection for the Web 2008)

New Features in Reflection 2008

If you have previously used Reflection or EXTRA! for terminal emulation, you will find many new features in Attachmate Reflection 2008. These features combine the best emulation features of Reflection and EXTRA! into a single solution, optimized for Microsoft Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007.

Following is a summary of the many new and enhanced user interface, productivity, management, and security features you'll find in Reflection 2008.

User Interface

Reflection 2008, as the first terminal emulation program built and certified for Windows Vista, reflects the look-and-feel of that platform, including the Microsoft 2007 Ribbon user interface, integrated search, and theme support. The workspace provides a multiple document interface, in which you can open multiple sessions as tabbed documents, or windows that you can tile or cascade.

For more information about the user interface, see http://docs.attachmate.com/Reflection/2008/R1/Guide/en/user-html/ui_ch.htm.

Reflection includes an integrated Web browser (based on Microsoft Internet Explorer), with which you can view Web pages within the application framework.

Productivity Tools

Tightly integrated with Microsoft Office, Reflection 2008 supports Productivity features such as Recent Typing, Scratch Pad, Auto Complete, Auto Expand, Spell Check, and Screen History to drive user efficiency. If Microsoft Office 2003 or later is installed, you can reuse host data in e-mail messages, contacts, appointments, notes, tasks, and word-processing documents.

For more information about productivity tools, see http://docs.attachmate.com/Reflection/2008/R1/Guide/en/user-html/productivity_ov_ch.htm.

Management

You can create and distribute customized 3270, 5250, and VT session documents that include host specifications, or add Web pages to your workspace or layout. Session documents include pointers to mouse maps, keyboard maps, theme files, hotspot files, and Ribbons that you can use to customize the behavior of the session. You can further customize each session by adding macros, scripts, executables, and other options to context menus.

You can connect to hosts that use IP version 6 addresses. And, you can specify a backup host to which Reflection 2008 automatically connects in case of connection failure or interruption.

License metering for Reflection 2008 is available through the administrative console of Reflection for the Web 2008 R2 for these products.

Security Services

Reflection provides the following security features for determining who can access and use sensitive host data.

• User Account Control (UAC) for Installation—Build Microsoft Installer (.msi) packages and lock down features.
• Online Certificate Revocation—When making secure connections, check the authenticity of certificates using Online Certificate Status Protocol (OCSP), a faster alternative to checking Certificate Trust Lists (CTL).
• Trusted Locations—Prevent security problems by opening macros, session files, and other documents only from trusted locations that you specify in the Trust Center.
• Expanded Privacy Filter Support—Filter out sensitive data from screen history, screen capture and printing, Office integration, and more, using privacy filters that you tailor to suit your specific needs.

Automation and Developer Support

Using the Reflection 2008 object-oriented API model, you can add functionality to terminal sessions and Web pages using authenticated .NET remote access, Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), and HLLAPI. You can also create and run VBA scripts using functions provided by the VBA development environment. Documentation for the .NET API and VBA are provided from the Help button on the workspace frame.

Layout files give you the ability to access the Reflection .NET API in multiple instances of Reflection simultaneously. API security settings allow you to control access to the application through remote API or macro calls.

Legacy Support

Attachmate Reflection 2008 protects the investment you've made in previous products. You can open and run sessions created in legacy Reflection, EXTRA!, NetManage RUMBA, or IBM PComm.

Additionally, if you have macros that you created in Reflection or EXTRA!, you can run those too. For a complete list of supported legacy Reflection and EXTRA! files, see Technical Note 2193.

For NetManage RUMBA or IBM PComm session support, you must install the applicable compatibility support during the Reflection 2008 installation. (On the Feature Selection tab, expand Reflection Workspace > Emulation > Compatibility > and select IBM Personal Communications (PCOMM) or NetManage RUMBA Compatibility).

New Features for EXTRA! Users

Attachmate Reflection 2008 includes many updated features previously found only in Reflection for IBM, such as support for Secure Shell, FIPS 140-2 Secure Sockets Layer protocol (SSL), and Transport Layer Security (TLS). SSL and TLS ensure secure access to hosts and gateways, and provide the tools to verify the authenticity of hosts, gateways, and clients. Also new to EXTRA! users is the Reflection Certificate Manager, which manages certificates for host and user authentication for SSL/TLS sessions. (Reflection 2008 also supports certificates in the Windows certificate store.)

Known Issues

This section describes known issues in Reflection 2008, and provides suggested solutions and workarounds when appropriate.

• Language Versions—Reflection Enterprise Suite 2008 includes Reflection Standard Suite 2008 and Reflection for the Web 2008. Note that the language versions for these component products are different. Reflection Standard Suite 2008 is localized in English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, and Spanish. Reflection for the Web 2008 Standard Edition is localized in English, French, German, and Japanese.
• Unable to create a companion installer containing permission (*.access) files—See Technical Note 2396 for details about this issue and a recommended workaround.
• Reflection for the Web links list feature—If you have both Reflection for the Web and Reflection for IBM version 14.x installed and are using the Links List feature in Reflection for the Web to launch a Reflection for IBM session, you will receive an error if you upgrade Reflection for IBM 14.x to Reflection for IBM 2008. If you upgrade, when you try to launch your Reflection for IBM session from Reflection for the Web links list, you will receive the error, “Your Windows-based application is version <version number>. Reflection for the Web does not support this version.”

• Modem Option Unavailable—The Modem connection option mentioned in the documentation is not available on the user interface. As a workaround, you can select Serial Port as the Connection Method, and then enter the modem commands into the emulation window.
• Macro recording—When recording a macro that spans both IBM and VT sessions the macro should be saved in the Common project. If the macro is saved in the current document’s folder some editing of the VBA will be required to get the macro to compile.
• Search results vary depending on what area of the product you are searching from. For more information about searching within Reflection 2008, see the following topic in the product guide for Reflection 2008: http://docs.attachmate.com/Reflection/2008/R1/Guide/en/user-html/navigation_search_ov.htm.
• Missing Shortcuts—If you install an evaluation copy of Reflection 2008 on a workstation where your licensed copy of Reflection 2008 is already installed, when you remove the evaluation, the Start Menu shortcuts for the licensed copy will be removed as well.

Obtaining the Product

Maintained customers are eligible to download the latest product releases from the Attachmate Download Library web site: https://download.attachmate.com/Upgrades/.

You will be prompted to login and accept the Software License Agreement before you can select and download a file. For more information on using the Download Library web site, see Technical Note 0200.

For information about purchasing Reflection 2008, please e-mail us: SalesRecept@attachmate.com.

Operating System and Virtualization Support

The following operating systems and virtualization products are supported by Reflection 2008 products:

Note: Reflection 2008 products will not install on Windows XP SP1 or earlier operating systems (including Windows 2000).

For additional system requirements, see the System Requirements topic in the product guide for Reflection 2008: http://docs.attachmate.com/Reflection/2008/R1/Guide/en/user-html/install_requirements_ov.htm.

Installing or Upgrading to Reflection 2008 References

Installing—For information about installing Reflection 2008, see the Installation topic in the product guide for Reflection 2008: http://docs.attachmate.com/Reflection/2008/R1/Guide/en/user-html/install_ch.htm.

Upgrading—The Reflection 2008 installer will, depending on the product, upgrade and remove Attachmate products or prompt you to manually remove Attachmate products before completing the installation.

For detailed information about upgrading to Reflection 2008, see Technical Note 2383.

Evaluating Reflection 2008

The Reflection 2008 Evaluation software installer will, depending on the product, upgrade and remove Attachmate products or prompt you to manually remove Attachmate products before completing the Evaluation installation. To retain your existing Attachmate installations, we recommend that you install Reflection 2008 Evaluation software on a machine that has no other Attachmate products installed.

If installing this evaluation is not a suitable option for you, view the Reflection 2008 Flash Demo: http://www.attachmate.com/Flash/demo_reflection/index.html.

If you are a heritage EXTRA! or Reflection customer, see the following webcasts to find out what's new for you in Reflection 2008:

• What's new for EXTRA! users: http://www.attachmate.com/Flash/R2008_extra_wc/R2008%20Webcast%20EXTRA!%20Customers.htm
• What's new for Reflection users: http://www.attachmate.com/Flash/R2008_ref_wc/R2008%20Reflection%20Customers.htm

Documentation

Product documentation and evaluation guides for Reflection 2008 can be found at: http://support.attachmate.com/manuals/reflection2008.html.