This chapter provides reference material for the Attention Manager, and is divided into the following sections:
- Attention Manager Data Structures
- Attention Manager Constants
- Attention Manager Functions
- Application-Defined Functions
The Attention Manager API is declared in the header file AttentionMgr.h
.
For more information about the attention manager, see the section "Getting the User's Attention" in the Palm OS Programmer's Companion, vol. I.
IMPORTANT: The Attention Manager was introduced in Palm OS® 4.0 and is not available in earlier versions of the operating system.
Attention Manager Data Structures
AttnCommandType Typedef
Purpose
The AttnCommandType
typedef specifies the set of possible commands that can be sent to the application requesting the user's attention, either as a parameter to the AttnCallbackProc()
callback function or as one of the arguments that accompanies a sysAppLaunchCmdAttention
launch code.
Prototype
typedef UInt16 AttnCommandType;
The following are the values that AttnCommandType
can assume.
-
kAttnCommandDrawDetail
- Indicates that the application needs to draw the detailed contents of the attention dialog. The command arguments parameter points to a structure of type
drawDetail
. -
kAttnCommandDrawList
- Indicates that the application needs to draw the appropriate list item in the attention dialog. The command arguments parameter points to a structure of type
drawList
. -
kAttnCommandPlaySound
- Indicates that the application needs to play a sound. The command arguments parameter is
NULL
. -
kAttnCommandCustomEffect
- Indicates that the application needs to perform any application-specific special effects. This command is only sent for attention items that set the
kAttnFlagsCustomEffectBit
when they callAttnGetAttention()
, which most applications won't do. -
kAttnCommandGoThere
- Tells the application to navigate to the item. The command arguments parameter is
NULL
. An application commonly callsSysAppLaunch()
upon receipt of this command to have itself launched. -
kAttnCommandGotIt
- Tells the application that the user is dismissing the item. The command arguments parameter points to a structure of type
gotIt
. The application may choose to clean up memory at this point. -
kAttnCommandSnooze
- Indicates to the application that the user is snoozing. The command arguments parameter is
NULL
. Most applications do nothing upon receipt of this command. This command is passed to the appropriate application for each and every item currently pending, insistent or subtle. Applications with more than one attention item pending are called more than once. -
kAttnCommandIterate
- This command is passed to the application during the enumeration of attention items. It is particularly useful after HotSync® operations, as it allows the application to examine each item, updating or removing those that are stale or invalid. The command arguments parameter points to a structure of type
iterate
.
AttnCommandArgsType Struct
The AttnCommandArgsType
structure is a union of C structures. How you interpret the union's contents depends on which command it accompanies. Not all commands are accompanied by an AttnCommandArgsType
structure, as listed in the following table:
The structures that make up the AttnCommandArgsType
union are described in the following sections.
drawDetail
When kAttnCommandDrawDetail
is passed to the application, either via the callback function or as a parameter accompanying the sysAppLaunchCmdAttention
launch code, the application needs to draw the detailed contents of the attention dialog. The drawDetail
structure accompanies the kAttnCommandDrawDetail
command, and provides the information needed to draw the contents of that dialog.
Prototype
struct AttnCommandArgsDrawDetailTag { RectangleType bounds; Boolean firstTime; AttnFlagsType flags; } drawDetail;
Fields
-
bounds
- Contains the window-relative bounding box for the area to draw. The clipping region is also set to the dimensions of this box to prevent accidental drawing outside.
-
firstTime
- Set to
true
if the user has not yet seen this item. The value of this field could be used to display attentions that the user hasn't seen before in some special way.firstTime
also indicates to your application whether or not the area in which your application is to draw has been erased. IffirstTime
isfalse
, the area is not guaranteed to be blank; your application will need to erase it. -
flags
- The global user preferences for this attention attempt combined with the custom flags passed in by the developer. Only the lower 16 bits of this field have meaning; use
kAttnFlagsSoundBit
,kAttnFlagsLEDBit
,kCustomFlagsVibrateBit
, andkAttnFlagsCustomEffectBit
(described under "AttnFlagsType") to interpret the contents of this field.
drawList
When kAttnCommandDrawList
is passed to the application, either via the callback function or as a parameter accompanying the sysAppLaunchCmdAttention
launch code, the application needs to draw the appropriate list item in the attention dialog. The drawList
structure accompanies the kAttnCommandDrawList
command, and provides the information needed to draw the contents of that dialog.
Prototype
struct AttnCommandArgsDrawListTag { RectangleType bounds; Boolean firstTime; AttnFlagsType flags; Boolean selected; } drawList;
Fields
-
bounds
- Contains the window-relative bounding box for the area to draw. The clipping region is also set to the dimensions of this box to prevent accidental drawing outside.
-
firstTime
- Set to
true
if the user has not yet seen this item. The value of this field could be used, for example, to trigger a custom sound the first time this attention item is presented to the user. -
flags
- The global user preferences for this attention attempt combined with the custom flags passed in by the developer. Only the lower 16 bits of this field have meaning; use
kAttnFlagsSoundBit
,kAttnFlagsLEDBit
,kCustomFlagsVibrateBit
, andkAttnFlagsCustomEffectBit
(described under "AttnFlagsType") to interpret the contents of this field. -
selected
- Set to
true
if the item has been selected. It is up to your code to draw the item appropriately (typically by changing the UI colors) based upon the value of this flag.
gotIt
When kAttnCommandGotIt
is passed to the application, either via the callback function or as a parameter accompanying the sysAppLaunchCmdAttention
launch code, it is accompanied by an gotIt
structure. This structure indicates whether the kAttnCommandGotIt
command was generated because the user dismissed the attention, or whether the system is simply informing your application that AttnForgetIt()
was called. Your application normally ignores the latter case if your application made the call to AttnForgetIt
.
Prototype
struct AttnCommandArgsGotItTag { Boolean dismissedByUser; } gotIt;
Fields
-
dismissedByUser
-
true
indicates that the user dismissed the attention.false
indicates that thekAttnCommandGotIt
command was generated by a call toAttnForgetIt()
.
iterate
When kAttnCommandIterate
is passed to the application, either via the callback function or as a parameter accompanying the sysAppLaunchCmdAttention
launch code, it is accompanied by an iterate
structure. This structure contains any necessary data that the application may need in order to process the callback or launch code.
Prototype
struct AttnCommandArgsIterateTag { UInt32 iterationData; } iterate;
Fields
-
iterationData
- Any necessary data that the application may need in order to process the callback or launch code. The value of this field is that which was originally passed to
AttnIterate()
.
AttnFlagsType Typedef
Pass a value of this type to AttnGetAttention()
and AttnUpdate()
to specify what means the device should or should not use to get the user's attention. A value of this type is also passed back to your code either as a parameter to the callback function or, if no callback was specified, as part of the structure passed with the sysAppLaunchCmdAttention
launch code.
Prototype
typedef UInt32 AttnFlagsType;
Note that more bits may be defined if necessary to accommodate additional hardware.
The following constant values can be used to override the user's settings and force or prevent specific behaviors:
These constants can be used in combination. For example, to disable both sound and the LED, use kAttnFlagsNoSound | kAttnFlagsNoLED
.
If neither kAttnFlagsAlwaysSound
nor kAttnFlagsNoSound
is set for a given attention item, a sound plays if and only if the user's preference is to play a sound and the user's preference for alarm volume is non-zero.
AttnLaunchCodeArgsType Struct
If a callback function is not specified in a call to AttnGetAttention()
and the Attention Manager needs your code to draw the details of your attention in the attention dialog or perform another attention-specific function, it sends a sysAppLaunchCmdAttention
launch code to your application. Along with the launch code, it passes a pointer to the following structure, which indicates both what your code is expected to do and identifies the attention that triggered the launch code:
Prototype
typedef struct { AttnCommandType command; UInt32 userData; AttnCommandArgsType *commandArgsP; } AttnLaunchCodeArgsType;
Fields
-
command
- Indicates what your code is being requested to do. The complete list of possible commands are described in the definition of
AttnCommandType
. -
userData
- Identifier that distinguishes the particular attention item from others made by this application. This identifier was specified when the attention item was created.
-
commandArgsP
- Pointer to command-specific arguments. See the description of each command for a discussion of that command's arguments.
When processing the launch code be aware that your application doesn't have application globals available to it; it is important that anything necessary to draw or otherwise display be available through commandArgsP
.
AttnLevelType Typedef
Attention attempts can either be insistent or subtle. Insistent attention attempts make a serious effort to get the user's attention, by both displaying a dialog and possibly by triggering one or more special effects, such as blinking a light, vibrating, or playing a sound. Other alerts are of a less serious nature and shouldn't disrupt the user. Consequently, subtle attention attempts typically make the attention indicator blink and may trigger one or more special effects, but don't display the Attention Manager dialog. The user can then work until a suitable time, at which point they can tap on the indicator to see what needs their attention. Subtle attention attempts might be used for telling the user that they have new e-mail, or perhaps that a holiday or birthday is coming up.
Prototype
typedef UInt16 AttnLevelType;
The following are the two defined values for AttnLevelType
:
-
kAttnLevelInsistent
- An insistent attention attempt. Make a serious effort to get the user's attention by displaying a dialog and optionally triggering one or more special effects.
-
kAttnLevelSubtle
- A subtle attention attempt. Notify the user using special effects, but don't disrupt the user with the dialog if the device is in use.
Note that user preferences for the various special effects can't be set separately for subtle and insistent attention attempts. If your application needs to vary the effects based upon the AttnLevelType
, pass a suitable value for the flags
parameter in your AttnGetAttention()
call.
Attention Manager Constants
In addition to the constant values defined specifically for use with AttnCommandType
, AttnFlagsType
, and AttnLevelType
, the Attention Manager defines the following constant types:
Error Code Constants
The Attention Manager returns the following error code under the circumstances described below.
Returned by |
Attention Manager Drawing Constants
The following four constants define the on-screen boundaries of the attention indicator:
The following two constants are used when drawing the list view. Applications should use these constants to format the display of information in the Attention Manager's list view. Draw the application's small icon centered within the first kAttnListMaxIconWidth
pixels of the drawing bounds. Then draw two lines of text describing the attention, left-justified, starting at kAttnListTextOffset
from the left edge of the drawing bounds.
Attention Manager Feature Constants
The Attention Manager defines a read-only feature ('attn', 0
) that indicates the current user settings and capabilities of the hardware. The upper 16 bits of the feature indicate whether or not the hardware has the capability to perform that sort of alert. The lower 16 bits indicate whether the user has currently enabled that sort of alert.
When working with the value obtained with FtrGet
, use the following two constants to separate those bits that contain the user settings from those bits that identify the device's capabilities:
These constants can be used to interpret the device capabilities (kAttnFlagsHas...
) and the user settings (kAttnFlagsUserWants...
):
The device has an LED that can be illuminated to indicate an alert. |
||
The device is capable of playing a sound to indicate an alert. |
||
Attention Manager Functions
AttnDoSpecialEffects Function
Purpose
Triggers an Attention Manager special effect set.
Declared In
AttentionMgr.h
Prototype
Err AttnDoSpecialEffects ( AttnFlagsType flags )
Parameters
-
→
flags
- Specifies the behavior to be exhibited by this special effects request. See
AttnFlagsType
for the various bits that make up this flag. Note that the behavior is undefined if you set incompatible flags. SupplykAttnFlagsUseUserSettings
to have this attention request follow the user's pre-set preferences.
Returns
Returns errNone
if no problems were encountered. Returns attnErrMemory
if there wasn't enough memory to accommodate the attention request.
Comments
This routine is provided as a convenience for applications that need to trigger special effects. It does the equivalent of one "nag" of an Attention Manager special effect set.
Compatibility
Implemented only if 4.0 New Feature Set is present.
AttnForgetIt Function
Purpose
Provides a way for applications to tell the Attention Manager to forget about an attention item.
Declared In
AttentionMgr.h
Prototype
Boolean AttnForgetIt ( UInt16 cardNo, LocalID dbID, UInt32 userData )
Parameters
-
→
cardNo
- Card number on which the application making the request resides.
-
→
dbID
- Database ID of the application making the request.
-
→
userData
- Identifier that distinguishes the attention attempt from others made by the same application. This identifier can be an integer, a pointer, or any other 32-bit value.
Returns
Returns true
if the item was removed, false
if a matching item was not found.
Comments
You typically call this function after your application has handled a "Go There" event and the user has read about the item. For example, if there is a subtle attention pending that says "you have three e-mail messages waiting" and you go to the e-mail application on your own and read your e-mail, the subtle notification must disappear. AttnForgetIt
allows the application to do this.
Note that this call can be made when the Attention Manager dialog is on-screen (though presumably that is rare, since the application is probably not doing much at this point). If this call removes a list item, then the Attention Manager may call back into other items to redraw the list.
If this call removes the last item when any indicator is present, the indicator disappears. If this call removes the last unread item, but read items remain, the indicator switches from blinking to steady state.
Compatibility
Implemented only if 4.0 New Feature Set is present.
AttnGetAttention Function
Purpose
Requests the user's attention.
Declared In
AttentionMgr.h
Prototype
Err AttnGetAttention ( UInt16 cardNo, LocalID dbID, UInt32 userData, AttnCallbackProc *callbackFnP, AttnLevelType level, AttnFlagsType flags, UInt16 nagRateInSeconds, UInt16 nagRepeatLimit )
Parameters
-
→
cardNo
- Card number on which the application making the request resides.
-
→
dbID
- Database ID of the application making the request.
-
→
userData
- Application-specific data that is later passed back to your code through the callback function. If no callback function is specified in the
callbackFnP
parameter, this data is included in what is passed along with asysAppLaunchCmdAttention
launch code.userData
can be an integer, a pointer, or any other 32-bit value as needed by your application. Most applications pass the unique ID or other key for the record which caused the attention request.userData
is also used to distinguish a given attention attempt from others made by the same application. -
→
callbackFnP
- Pointer to the function registered by the application to be called by the Attention Manager when the attention is displayed or removed. See
AttnCallbackProc()
, below, for the callback function's parameters. SupplyNULL
to instead have asysAppLaunchCmdAttention
launch code sent to the application that made the attention request whenever the attention is displayed or removed. -
→
level
- Indicates the annoyance level. Pass one of the values defined for
AttnLevelType
. -
→
flags
- Behavior override, if necessary, for this attention request. This override allows, for instance, silent alarms or noisy alarms. See
AttnFlagsType
for the various bits that make up this flag. Note that the behavior is undefined if you set incompatible flags. SupplykAttnFlagsUseUserSettings
to have this attention request follow the user's pre-set preferences. -
→
nagRateInSeconds
- How long to wait before nagging.
-
→
nagRepeatLimit
- How many times to nag, excluding the first attempt.
Returns
Returns errNone
if no problems were encountered. Returns attnErrMemory
if there wasn't enough memory to accommodate the attention request.
Comments
The combination of cardNo
, dbID
and userData
uniquely identify an attention-getting attempt. If another call is made to AttnGetAttention
with identical values for these arguments, an error is reported. To update or delete an existing attention item, pass these same values to AttnUpdate()
or AttnForgetIt()
, respectively.
In response to AttnGetAttention
, the behavior of the operating system or application depends on whether there already are other demands and on the annoyance level passed in the AttnGetAttention
call.
- No other demands, insistent attention request:
The Attention Manager puts up a dialog that details the current attempt to get the user's attention.
- Other demands exist, insistent attention request:
The Attention Manager adds a summary of the current attempt to get the user's attention to a list of things that need attention. If the dialog is currently in detail form—which is the case if just one other demand exists—the view is refreshed, changing from detail to list form. In this case, the pen and key event queues are also flushed so that any user events that are happening while the display is changing are explicitly ignored. Two exceptions to this behavior exist: if all existing attentions are subtle, or if all existing insistent attentions were snoozed, the new insistent attention brings up the dialog in detail mode, rather than list mode.
- Subtle attention request:
The Attention Manager starts the attention indicator blinking, and adds the item to its list for later display, unless the dialog is currently being displayed in list mode. In this event, the new subtle attention item simply appears in the list; the indicator does not blink to announce it.
Compatibility
Implemented only if 4.0 New Feature Set is present.
See Also
AttnGetCounts Function
Purpose
Returns the number of attention items that are currently pending.
Declared In
AttentionMgr.h
Prototype
UInt16 AttnGetCounts ( UInt16 cardNo, LocalID dbID, UInt16 *insistentCountP, UInt16 *subtleCountP )
Parameters
-
→
cardNo
- If this value is zero, counts pending attention items from applications on all cards. Otherwise, counts only pending attention items from applications on the specified card.
-
→
dbID
- If this value is zero, counts pending attention items from all applications. Otherwise, counts only pending attention items from applications with the specified database ID.
-
←
insistentCountP
- Pointer to a 16-bit unsigned value that is filled in with the number of insistent items pending. Pass
NULL
for this parameter if you don't need to know the number of insistent items that are pending. -
←
subtleCountP
- Pointer to a 16-bit unsigned value that is filled in with the number of subtle items pending. Pass
NULL
for this parameter if you don't need to know the number of subtle items that are pending.
Returns
Returns the total number of items, both insistent and subtle, that are currently pending.
Comments
Call this function if you need to exhibit different behavior if attention items are already pending.
Compatibility
Implemented only if 4.0 New Feature Set is present.
AttnIndicatorEnable Function
Purpose
Enables and disables the on-screen attention indicator.
Declared In
AttentionMgr.h
Prototype
void AttnIndicatorEnable ( Boolean enableIt )
Parameters
Returns
Comments
This function is used by applications to enable or disable the on-screen attention indicator. The indicator only blinks when all of the following are true:
- The indicator is enabled.
- The indicator is being asked to blink by the attention manager.
- The operating system isn't using the display in such a way as to prevent the attention indicator from showing, such as when the menu bar is being displayed or when a modal dialog is on top of the form.
The attention indicator is enabled by default. If your application controls the upper portion of the screen and needs to prevent the attention indicator from being displayed, call AttnIndicatorEnable()
and pass it a value of false
.
Compatibility
Implemented only if 4.0 New Feature Set is present.
See Also
AttnIndicatorEnabled Function
Purpose
Returns whether the on-screen attention indicator is currently enabled.
Declared In
AttentionMgr.h
Prototype
Boolean AttnIndicatorEnabled ( void )
Parameters
Returns
Returns true
if the on-screen attention indicator is currently enabled, false
otherwise.
Compatibility
Implemented only if 4.0 New Feature Set is present.
See Also
AttnIterate Function
Purpose
Instructs the Attention Manager to check each attention item currently pending and, for those that match the specified card number and database ID, invoke the item's callback routine. If a callback routine was not specified in the request, the sysAppLaunchCmdAttention
launch code is sent to the application that made the attention request.
Declared In
AttentionMgr.h
Prototype
void AttnIterate ( UInt16 cardNo, LocalID dbID, UInt32 iterationData )
Parameters
-
→
cardNo
- Card number on which the application that made the request resides.
-
→
dbID
- Database ID of the application that made the request.
-
→
iterationData
- Any necessary data that the application may need in order to process the callback or launch code. See the description of the
AttnCallbackProc()
function for more information on this parameter.
Returns
Comments
This function iterates through all of the attention requests made by this application and uses the callback or launch code for each to inform the application about the attention request. When an application receives a sysAppLaunchCmdSyncNotify
launch code, signifying that a HotSync occurred that affected that application's databases, the application typically calls AttnIterate
so it can remove attention requests for records that may have been removed during the HotSync. Applications can also call AttnGetAttention()
after a HotSync, if necessary.
Note that you can call AttnForgetIt()
inside the iteration since it only marks the record for deletion and thus doesn't confuse the iteration.
Compatibility
Implemented only if 4.0 New Feature Set is present.
AttnListOpen Function
Purpose
Displays the attention dialog in list mode and, after the user has dismissed it, acts accordingly based on how it was dismissed.
Declared In
AttentionMgr.h
Prototype
void AttnListOpen ( void )
Parameters
Returns
Comments
This function allows applications that do not provide the blinking attention indicator to open the list, if necessary.
Compatibility
Implemented only if 4.0 New Feature Set is present.
AttnUpdate Function
Purpose
Updates one or more aspects of a specified attention item.
Declared In
AttentionMgr.h
Prototype
Boolean AttnUpdate ( UInt16 cardNo, LocalID dbID, UInt32 userData, AttnCallbackProc *callbackFnP, AttnFlagsType *flagsP, UInt16 *nagRateInSecondsP, UInt16 *nagRepeatLimitP )
Parameters
-
→
cardNo
- Card number on which the application that made the request resides.
-
→
dbID
- Database ID of the application that made the request.
-
→
userData
- Application-specific data that is passed back to your code through the callback function. If no callback function is specified in the
callbackFnP
parameter, this data is included in what is passed along with asysAppLaunchCmdAttention
launch code.userData
can be an integer, a pointer, or any other 32-bit value. Most applications pass the unique ID or other key for the record which caused the attention request. The value of theuserData
parameter is also used to distinguish a given attention attempt from others made by the same application. -
→
callbackFnP
- Registers a new function to be called by the Attention Manager when the attention is displayed or removed. The function to which this parameter points should conform to
AttnCallbackProc()
. SupplyNULL
to instead have asysAppLaunchCmdAttention
launch code sent to the application that made the attention request whenever the attention is displayed or removed.
IMPORTANT: Because
NULL
indicates that a launch code should be sent whenever the callback would otherwise be invoked, it isn't used in this instance to leave the original setting for the callbackFnP
parameter intact. The value supplied for this parameter always overwrites the value supplied in the original attention request.
-
→
flagsP
- Pointer to a set of flags that can be used to override user-specified attention behavior; for instance, to force silent or noisy alarms. See
AttnFlagsType
for the various bits that make up this flag, and note that the behavior is undefined if you set incompatible flags. PassNULL
to leave the current flag settings unchanged. -
→
nagRateInSecondsP
- Pointer to the length of time to wait before nagging. Pass
NULL
to leave the "nag rate" unchanged. -
→
nagRepeatLimitP
- Pointer to the maximum number of times the user should be nagged. Pass
NULL
to leave the nag repeat limit unchanged.
Returns
Returns true
if the update was successful, false
if no matching attention item was found.
Comments
This call may result in the callback function being called to re-display the item. If no callback function is specified, the sysAppLaunchCmdAttention
launch code is instead sent to your application. It may also result in callbacks to other pending attention requests.
You call AttnUpdate
to tell the Attention Manager to update, forcing it to call into all of its clients to redraw. This provides a way for an application to update the text of an attention item without tearing down and re-opening the Attention Manager dialog. For example, AttnUpdate
could be used to update an existing email notification to say "You have three new email messages" when additional messages are received.
Although AttnUpdate
may cause a given attention item to redraw, it does not rerun the special effects (if any) that occurred when that attention item was added. If you want to trigger Attention Manager effects for a particular item, call AttnForgetIt()
followed by AttnGetAttention()
.
Compatibility
Implemented only if 4.0 New Feature Set is present.
See Also
Application-Defined Functions
AttnCallbackProc Function
Purpose
Provides a function prototype to be used by callback functions supplied to AttnGetAttention()
and AttnUpdate()
. The supplied function is invoked by the Attention Manager whenever the attention is displayed or removed.
Declared In
AttentionMgr.h
Prototype
typedef Err AttnCallbackProc( AttnCommandType command, UInt32 userData, AttnCommandArgsType *commandArgsP )
Parameters
-
→
command
- Indicates what the callback function is being requested to do. The complete list of possible commands are described in the definition of
AttnCommandType
. -
→
userData
- Identifier that distinguishes the particular attention item from others made by this application. This identifier was specified when the attention item was created.
-
→
commandArgsP
- Pointer to command-specific arguments. See the description of each command for a discussion of that command's arguments.
Returns
The callback function should return errNone
if it correctly handled the command, or an appropriate error code otherwise. If the callback function returns an error code other than errNone
, the attention is removed from the list of active attention items.
Comments
For a given attention item, the Attention Manager calls back to the code resource that created that item whenever the Attention Manager needs the resource to draw the attention dialog contents or whenever it needs to inform the code resource of activity relating to the attention item. The Attention Manager calls back using one of two mechanisms:
- If a callback routine has been specified for a given attention item, the Attention Manager invokes the specified routine. This callback routine doesn't have application globals available to it, so it is important that anything necessary to draw or otherwise display be available through
commandArgsP
. A callback routine is typically used by libraries and system extensions. - If a callback routine has not been specified for a given attention item, the Attention Manager instead sends a
sysAppLaunchCmdAttention
launch code to the application that registered the attention item. Accompanying that launch code is anAttnLaunchCodeArgsType
structure containing the three parameters documented above. Applications typically use the launch-code mechanism due to the restrictions that are placed on callback routines.
IMPORTANT: It is your responsibility to ensure that the callback procedure is still in the same place when it gets called, dealing with the possibility that the code resource might be unlocked and moved in memory, and with the possibility that the database containing the code resource might be deleted. For the most part, these problems don't exist when using launch codes.
Compatibility
Invoked only if 4.0 New Feature Set is present.