The Archive

I have decided to make every previous version of Costa available for download.

In the archive you will find a complete list of releases, with a changelog for each version.

It's a long list, with releases spanning nearly two decades.

Version 1.7.2

29th of May, 2023

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Aside from one minor new feature, 1.7.2 brings bugfixes and further optimizations.

  • Implemented an 8x8 pixel grid on the desktop, so that icons are moved in increments of 8 pixels. This makes it much, much easier to align icons with mouse or keyboard
  • Fixed extra backslash in some paths, which caused issues on some systems
  • Minor optimizations, like not constantly showing/hiding mouse while drawing on screen, instead hiding once and showing when done drawing
  • Fixed bug in status bar display in Tic Tac Toe
  • Fixed mouse cursor not always showing at launch

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Version 1.7.1

10th of April, 2023

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The focus for 1.7.1 is performance improvements, and reduction of file sizes. Not many new features have been implemented, but some have been removed. The config utility has seen a complete rewrite and many icons have been remade. VGA support has been removed, as EGA 640x350 looks good on both old CRT monitors, and modern widescreen monitors where the aspect radio fits nicely.

  • New icon format - sacrificing transparency for speed. At the same time, a bunch of icons have been remade to fit this new format better
  • Replaced user profiles with desktop pages - 5 navigateable pages for icons
  • Remade configuration utility from scratch - much simpler and cleaner UI
  • Improved UI in Tic Tac Toe, added status bar
  • Moved input box code to seperate module, to save space on programs that didn't use it
  • Removed VGA support - Costa now uses EGA 640x350 exclusively
  • Removed "Tip of the Day" functionality
  • Removed many redundant calls to system interrupts, improving performance
  • Bug fixes

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Version 1.7.0

7th of January, 2023

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Version 1.7.0 is all about making it easier to work with files. To fulfil this goal, a file selector has been added. This can be used to visually browse folders and select a file, instead of having to type path and filename in input fields. This is used for example when adding a desktop link, or opening a file in the text viewer.

  • File selector added for easier handling of files, without having to memorize paths and filenames
  • UI redesign - since Costa is single-tasking, there really was no need for windows. As such, windows are no longer present. All apps run full screen. Dialogs, such as message boxes and input boxes, still appear on top of content.
  • Setup utility can now auto-detect and suggest the path to Costa, removing the need to type the full path on first run
  • Previously, deleting the last desktop link recreated default links automatically. Now, Costa will ask the user if that is desired, and will remember the choice
  • Fixed theme dialog, so that profile switch or restart of desktop is no longer required to switch theme
  • Costa now uses the TEMP environment variable to place its temporary files, with a fallback to the DATA\TEMP directory. This allows temp files to be moved to a RAM disk, for a great increase in speed on computers with a slow drive
  • EXEs are now compiled with stub files to remove unnecessary features, such as COM/LPT port access, ISAM database support and advanced input editing, saving a total of 52 KB (6 percent) diskspace for the compiled programs

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Version 1.6.0

6th of June, 2022

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The most notable change of 1.6.0 is the addiction of EGA support. Now, Costa will run on computers with an Enhanced Graphics Adapter with at least 64 KB memory, broadening the range of computers on which Costa is supported. The new EGA mode is also considerably faster on older machines (pre-1990).

  • Support for both EGA/VGA (640x350) and VGA (640x480) graphics, and the ability to switch between them on the fly
  • New default theme - more lively than the one used in 1.5.0
  • New logo, for the first time ever. Since most other icons have changed, I gave the logo an overhaul as well, to now feature a blue floppy disk instead of the old black one
  • Font files converted from text format to binary format, reducing load time by 88%
  • Proprietary icons from Windows and games removed, and replaced with icons drawn by myself. There are two reasons for this - for starters, I don't own these icons, and won't be using them without permission. I also want to make as much as possible myself, rather than using things others have made
  • FILETYPE.DAT, which hold file association configuration data, will now be recreated automatically if missing. Now, as long as the font files and all EXE files are present, Costa will run even if all other files are deleted
  • Bug fixes, mostly graphical

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Version 1.5.0

29th of December, 2021

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This version comes with many minor improvements and changes, but three stand out from the rest: A new UI design based on Costa 0.9.4, massive speed improvements to handling of data files, and full keyboard support in all accessories.

Code optimizations has also helped reduced the combined size of Costas executables significantly.

  • UI layout from Costa 0.9.4 brought to life again, and all themes have been converted to fit this change. Costa now has a much more unique look, based on old sketches I drew in Microsoft Paint 14 years ago. Oh, nostalgia!
  • Data formats from config files and theme files changed from INI format to binary format, massively improving loading/saving times.
  • Icon files converted to raw memory format, major speed improvements
  • More data cached in memory (for instance, all settings) to reduce disk I/O and improve performance on older machines
  • Added sounds and save state to Tic Tac Toe - pick up your game where you left off!
  • Desk links are now opened with double click, like in almost any other GUI
  • Full keyboard support in theme editor and icon editor
  • Fixed minor graphical glitches, and removed superfluous drawing calls
  • Heavily reduced interrupt calls to mouse driver, while also reducing amount of mouse function calls in code, to improve performance further
  • Having read up on compiler options and optimizations, I was able to reduce the size of executables by a combined size of around 130 KB
  • Better error handling whenever working with files

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Version 1.4.0

22nd of May, 2021

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As with the previous release, the focus with this release has mainly been on behind-the-scenes improvements. A long requested flood fill function has been added to the icon editor.

  • Fill functionality ("paint bucket") for Icon Editor - right click any area to fill out that area with the current color. Makes for much easier editing!
  • New icon format, cutting size of icons on disk roughly in half
  • Heavy optimizations for icon editor
  • Several minor bug fixes - running Costa on a Windows machine produced bugs not present in DOSBox. These have been corrected. CuteMouse driver replaced with Microsofts mouse.com, since the former produced errors on some Windows machines.
  • More icons and themes

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Version 1.3.0

22nd of October, 2020

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Most of the stuff in this release takes place behind the scenes, where a bunch of minor bugs, typos etc. has been fixed. There is one major addition though - at last, Costa has a built-in theme editor!

  • New theme editor - allowing you to edit any theme, and modify the colors to your liking. User submitted themes are welcome!
  • Moved accessories out of desktop, and into separate programs, for easier development and modularity
  • Fixed bug introduced in 1.2.0, where the procedure responsible for running external programs did not put a space between the command/filename and the parameters, breaking some desktop links
  • More icons added - including one for everyones favorite game, MS-DOS Gorillas!
  • Moved Configuration from a desktop link to a button in top panel, to free up screen real estate for user links
  • Minor bugfixes
  • Theme files (.thm) now associated with Theme Editor

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Version 1.2.0

27nd of May, 2018

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The major feature of this version was support for multiple profiles - meaning more users could share the same installation of Costa, or that one use could have separate profiles for work, play etc.

  • Support for multiple profiles added, with each profile having its own settings, theme and personal desktop links
  • Added more tips for "Tip of the Day" dialog, to help users discover more hidden (or less well-known) features of Costa
  • Fixed bug in icon editor that resulted in a blank pixel being drawn when the left mouse button was lifted
  • Fixed bug in icon editor that caused it to repeatedly ask for confirmation before overwrite on each save, even if the icon had already been saved to that same filename
  • Fixed bug that allowed paths to be shown belong icon captions, instead of just filenames, which cluttered the desktop with text

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Version 1.1.0

2nd of March, 2018

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This version contained mostly minor improvements to Costa.

  • Added "Tip of the Day" dialog, which can be enabled/disabled from the configuration editor
  • DESKLINK.DAT will now be recreated automatically if missing. This also allows built-in icons to be recreated, since they cannot be added/edited through the UI.
  • Bug in checkboxes fixed, no more graphical glitches when moving cursor after checking/unchecking
  • Fixed bug that would in some cases make text on desktop icons disappear
  • More icons included

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Version 1.0.0

6th of May, 2012

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Since version 0.9.9, not much has changed - the focus was on improving stability and fixing any bugs I could stumble upon.

  • Documentation finished
  • Various bugfixes and stability improvements
  • Parts of the code further optimized
  • The icon editor now has an icon selector, instead of requiring a filename to open an existing icon
  • More icons has been added using the image editor introduced in 0.9.9
  • TextViewer no longer redraws the entire screen when scrolling, improving performance drastically
  • The icon editor will now ask before overwriting an existing icon
  • The icon editor now draws its grid using a pattern of grey and black, rather than just black, so that the grid is still visible when a region is painted black

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Version 0.9.9

1st of May, 2011

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Version 0.9.9 was mostly a heavily optimized version of 0.9.8, with a few new features and an icon editor added.

Since each executable file took up considerable disk space for shared functions, Costa and most of its accessories were compiled to a single EXE. This also allowed for faster execution, since everything was already in memory during runtime. By heavily optimizing the code I managed to squeeze all accessories into an EXE file less than 165 KB in size, saving about 400 KB disk space. The desktop alone from 0.9.8 was 105 KB, so that was quite decent.

  • All programs combined into one EXE file for improved speed and less disk usage. The decrease in disk loading times brought vastly improved performance on slow drives and floppy disks
  • A new icon editor was added, which - for the first time - allowed users of Costa to create their own icons
  • COSTA.EXE replaced with COSTA.BAT - works exactly the same, but uses about 50 KB less RAM when running external programs
  • When using the TAB-key to switch between desktop links, you could now press SHIFT+TAB to go in the opposite direction
  • The ability to associate programs with the built-in text viewer by associating them with COSTA099.EXE was added
  • Costa now used an environment variable, %COSTA099%, to remember the path to its files. This meant that C:\CPATH.INI was no longer required, which finally allowed Costa to run on systems without a C: drive
  • Text-viewer for viewing small text files (tested to work with files up to 60 KB in size)
  • Input dialog fixed, keyboard navigation now worked for the textbox

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Version 0.9.8

10th of October, 2009

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I came to the conclusion that Costa wasn't developing at the speed I wanted it to. The reason for this was that I needed to design a complete scripting language and write a parser for it before I could actually start making programs for Costa, which meant that all my time was used on the parser. So I decided that the best for Costa was to return to single-tasking, like back in the old days when I released a new version frequently.

  • Once again, a complete rewrite. I had learned a lot in the past years, and this would be the final rewrite. I was now heading for a 1.0-release
  • Desktop completed, with movable icons, menus and more
  • Animations. Parts of the UI are animated, which can be disabled through a configuration file if desired
  • Configurations are stored in plain-text files to allow easy editing
  • All controls implemented and working like a charm
  • The user interface resembles the one from 0.8.0
  • 3 different fonts, 2 of them are even variable width fonts
  • File associations, customizable through FILETYPE.CFG or the config utility
  • New binary icon format, with 4 times faster draws and smaller files
  • Configuration program, with theme selector, file association editor, and a dialog with checkboxes for various settings such as animations and desktop appearance
  • Keyboard navigation. If you unplug your mouse, you'll still be able to use Costa since everything has a hotkey, shown using an underlined letter (you don't have to press ALT, just the underlined letter). Desktop links can be used without a mouse too, using the TAB and ENTER keys.
  • Tic Tac Toe is back, also rewritten from scratch. This time with both 1 and 2 player support
  • Calculator, for simple calculations (+, -, * and /)
  • Desktop links are sorted left to right, top to bottom - meaning that they have the right TAB order
  • The mouse no longer disappears when editing a textbox
  • Much more error handling. No matter what files are missing, Costa won't crash. It might show an error and exit, but it won't crash. Config files are automatically recreated with default values. Removed directories will also be recreated, to avoid path errors.

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Version 0.9.5

20th of May, 2008

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This unreleased version was a little crazy. It's actually just 0.9.4, which can be seen if you look at the script files. All GUI code was removed, and replaced with TUI code. This made Costa a text-mode program, but still with moveable windows and such. It was kind of nice, and worked well. But it was more of an experiment than anything else. It was made available here in September 2015, for those interested in seeing it.

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Version 0.9.4

13th of January, 2008

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Due to the failure of Costa 0.9.3, the 0.9.2 code was pulled out, cleaned up and was briefly being used for Costa 0.9.4, which was released on the 28th of December, 2006.

  • A lot of the things present in 0.9.3 was written from scratch for this release, on top of the code from 0.9.2
  • A new, stylish black/white theme was implemented

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Version 0.9.3

22nd of October, 2005

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Costa 0.9.3 was never officially released, but is available here for historic reasons. It had a lot of improvements over 0.9.2 that made it my personal favorite of the task-swapping editions. Sadly, the code suffered from bad planning and messy programming style. On the 19th of May, 2006 Costa 0.9.3 was canceled.

  • Labels (text) on windows
  • Textboxes finally implemented and working
  • Icon support (not on desktop, though)
  • Drastically improved script parser with many new commands

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Version 0.9.2

Unreleased

Although never released to the public, this version was a great improvement over 0.9.1. It has sadly been lost, and cannot be downloaded.

  • New button design
  • Less flicker and faster redraws
  • Improved windowing engine
  • Bug in task manager was fixed, it can now be accessed at any time and not just when the GUI is idle
  • A lot of scripts
  • More themes

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Version 0.9.1

1st of September, 2005

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This is just about the same as BETA 0.9.0, with only a few improvements and additions.

  • Screen resolution can now be changed
  • It is possible to run up to 5 scripts automatically when Costa loads.
  • Buttons on the windows are now supported
  • All settings are now stored in COSTA.INI
  • More themes and a document describing how to make your own
  • Windows draw a lot faster
  • A few more example scripts

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Version 0.9.0

25th of August, 2005

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Yup, you guessed it. Costa has - once again - been rewritten from scratch. This time to include task-swapping and a script parser!

  • Rewritten from scratch
  • Scripting engine
  • Everything is written in Costa's own scripting language, meaning you can change almost anything!
  • Task-switching. You can run a lot of scripts at the same time!
  • Color themes
  • Custom shell script (the shell script is the equivalent of Windows' explorer.exe)

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Version 0.8.0

9th of July, 2005

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Once again completely rewritten from scratch, this time with lots of improvements.

  • Rewritten from scratch
  • Themes (Costa, Mac OS 1.1, Windows 95 and Windows 3.11)
  • Desktop replaced with a program manager like the one in Windows 3.x
  • EXE runner from BETA 0.7.0 included
  • Toolbar for editing icons in the program manager
  • A lot of "under-the-hood" optimizations
  • Multi-user support! Up to 5 users can have their own icon profiles, themes and desktop colors. Users can be protected using an encrypted password.
  • Auto logon. If there's only one person using Costa, he/she can use auto logon to go directly to the program manager.
  • Some of the first chapter of the "User's Guide and Reference".
  • Smaller icon format. In average the icons lost 1 KB in size each.
  • Tool to update icons from BETA 0.7.0 to the new format.
  • INI-files. All settings for Costa and the user profiles are stored in INI-files.
  • Icons are read from a folder instead of a file.

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Version 0.7.0

28th of May, 2005

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This release of Costa was very popular (I got a lot of positive reactions to it).

  • Improved scripting language, now with variable support. All commands in the scripting language will accept variables instead of parameters.
  • Documentation
  • Built-in desktop customization. No more editing files! Icons can be moved, added and deleted just by right clicking the desktop
  • Some improvements in the code for speed and stability
  • Costa takes up 200 KB RAM, but thanks to a new EXE runner Costa only takes up 40 KB RAM when running external programs
  • Some bug fixes and small improvements to some graphics and icons

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Version 0.6.0

9th of May, 2005

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Released in early 2005, Costa 0.6.0 had a lot of improvements over the last versions.

  • The desktop is back, better than ever and fully customizable!
  • File-viewer has been rewritten from scratch once again, this time to improve speed and reduce the size of CostaFormat files (the file format used by File-viewer)
  • Scripting engine greatly improved, many more commands added (now supports clickable buttons which will execute a block of code ONLY if the button was clicked)
  • Fixed bug in Tic Tac Toe which allowed the X player to put an X to much
  • Graphical form designer, to ease the progress of creating dialogs for use in scripts

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Version 0.4.0

16th of April, 2005

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This release was more of a preview than a BETA. It took the user on a quick tour, showing some of the accessories.

  • File-viewer greatly improved. Now supports text colors and more
  • Tic Tac Toe (I like that game!)
  • Scripting language once again rewritten from scratch
  • Desktop trashed, a new one will be written from scratch
  • Costa now reads all string from language files, making it possible to translate Costa, or just change the string for fun
  • Had a short start-up sound played through the PC speaker (just for fun, won't be there in the final version, not even the next one)
  • Screen resolution changed from 640x480 to 640x350. It reduces the amount of text which can fit on the screen, but it gives me the ability to remove almost all flicker
  • Inputbox updated, now the entire textbox isn't redrawn when pressing backspace
  • Scripting language back, rewritten from scratch!

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Version 0.3.3

2nd of February, 2005

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An incremental update over 0.3.0, this release did not bring much new functionality. There was a major change to the underlying code, though. All GUI related code was move to a so called "quick library", allowing the same code to be written and maintained in one place but used in different programs. This allowed subsequent versions to be developed far easier.

  • Script support removed, going to be rewritten
  • Keyboard-controlled desktop (no mouse support on desktop, didn't finish it on time)
  • Improved speed and stability

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Version 0.3.0

1st of November, 2004

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With 0.3.0, the third release of Costa, things really started to look better. This version was never released, but has now (sep. 2015) been made available for download on this site!

  • Completely re-done windowing engine, with new buttons, windows, textboxes and checkboxes.
  • Blue-bar replaced with Costa-menu
  • Paint-program removed
  • Icons stored in external files, making more memory available
  • New font routine, doesn't require font files
  • Desktop icons stored in a configuration file, which can be edited manually
  • FileViewer rewritten, looks better now
  • Window animations
  • Sounds (en errors etc.) through PC speaker
  • Settings-program for enabling/disabling sound and animations
  • Script functionality improved

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Version 0.2.3

23rd of April, 2004

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The second release of Costa. Had many improvements over 0.0.1.

  • Script support. All accessories (except for the DOS-Prompt and paint) was made using scripts.
  • Painting-program (could only save bitmaps, bitmap loading routine didn't make it to this version)
  • Icons all over Costa
  • More buttons added to the Blue-bar: Paint, Help and About
  • Full documentation, describing every aspect of Costa
  • Customizable start menu
  • Nicer inputbox
  • Faster than 0.0.1
  • Simple file-viewer
  • Desktop icons (hard-coded, not customizable in this version)
  • Menu animations

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Version 0.0.1

1st of February, 2004

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The first official release of Costa. 6 TUI versions were made before this one, under various names, but none of them where ever released.

  • Blue-bar with Start-button added to bottom of screen
  • Messagebox-routine
  • Mouse support
  • Can be used without mouse
  • Build-in DOS-Prompt
  • Windows XP-like look
  • Run-dialog
  • Font routine

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