The short story:
 
 
Important, but easy and FREEWARE fix to a nasty latent corruption in the default template shipped with EccoPro 4.1. Simply download the file and save it in your EccoPro program directory (where ecco32.exe is located).   It's simple,  and.. it's free!  
 
 
 
The long version:
 
 
What seems like so long ago,  very much enjoyed a DOS based outline program "GrandView".   Used it extensively,  both for professional work and for organizing and tracking my private life.
 
But,  being a DOS based program,  it became very unpleasant to use... after being used to the graphics,  adjustable font sizes, etc.  that windows brings us.   So,  after much searching,  started using EccoPro.
 
Didn't actually like Ecco very much.   Found it lacking key features from Grandview,  and found that it very frustratingly did not behave like a standard windows program in a couple of critical ways-- primarly in relationship to copying and pasting.
 
Then one day,  divine insperation struck,   and a door opened.    I discovered a way to allow ecco to link to any file on my disk (even with spaces in the name!),  and then... broke the code to being able to copy and paste to and from ecco like a 'normal' windows program.  [you can also enjoy the results of that in the eccoMAGIC!  program.]
 
Suddenly,  found that was using EccoPro a whole lot more.
 
And, a couple of more innovations and 'super powers' later,  found that was using EccoPro ALL THE TIME.
 
 
But then,  started having some 'crashes'  or  'error' message problems.   I posted in the Yahoo! forum,  but although others had similar or related problems,  no solution.
 
 
Then came the task of putting the Yahoo! forums into an ecco file.  Seemed like a simple task.  In a brilliant stroke,  devised a program to inject ecco directly with the on-line postings.  But instead,  all hell broke lose!
 
Ecco started crashing left and right.   Slowly went over the code internally.  After a HUGE investment of effort,  discovered the definitive 'memory' issues related to ecco and the folders.  If we just respect those structural limits (ie. open a second folder when the first becomes full),  all works as it should.   The result,  a smooth,  working perfect,  50 MEGABYTE ecco file with over 20,000 forum posts, dated, assigned to members and threads.   (The file is in the Ecco_Pro forum files section-- highly recommended to download.)
 
 
So,  with that and the EM Memory Reporter, thought that crashes and memory problems were a thing of the past.  But then...  along came "slangmgh" to change all that.    Slangmgh came up with the earth shattering idea of adding programically evaluated rules to the ecco folders.  
 
 
Suddenly Ecco had a whole new flavor.  I was using it more than ever, but suddenly,  it was crashing left and right.   It got so bad that one of two things had to happen,  either I had to fix the problem,  or find a new program to replace Ecco.
 
 
It turns out the former was the easier task.  And it was not simple.
 
 
After a *huge* effort to track and debug the crashing,  was able to trace crashes back to a structural defect in my files.  Almost *all* of my files had the same defect.  How could this be ?
 
I went over line by line what ecco was doing when I created and saved a file.  Step by step I looked to see where and how the corruption happened.    Nowhere.   Ecco wasn't doing anything to the file.   Eh?   After lots of head scratching, an inspiration came-- testing the default.ect template... and...
 
The default template used by ecco when creating a new file was the cause.  A latent defect in the default.ect file...  the cause of so much sorrow and trouble!  Essentially a pointer corruption.   Who would have guessed!
 
 
 
well,
 
 
you can now enjoy the benefit of all that work.
 
 
 
simply download the fixed default.ect file,
 
and replace the default.ect file in your ecco's program directory (where ecco32.exe is located).
 
it's that simple.