diff --git a/brickcompat/015plus/TextUI/ItemField/BrickHelper.hs b/brickcompat/015plus/TextUI/ItemField/BrickHelper.hs
deleted file mode 100644
--- a/brickcompat/015plus/TextUI/ItemField/BrickHelper.hs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,53 +0,0 @@
-module TextUI.ItemField.BrickHelper
-       (getEventWidgetLocation)
-       where
-
-import Brick.Main (lookupViewport, lookupExtent, clickedExtent)
-import Brick.Types (EventM, Location(..), locationRowL, locationColumnL,
-                    Extent(..), Viewport(..))
-import Brick.Widgets.Core (Named(..))
-import Data.Monoid ((<>))
-import Lens.Micro ((^.))
-
-
--- | When processing a global EvMouseDown VtyEvent, the coordinates of
--- the mouse event on the screen must be mapped to a specific location
--- in a Widget.  The `lookupExtent` function will return the "extent"
--- of the Widget (i.e. where it was drawn and how big it is) but this
--- only indicates that the widget was clocked and does not identify
--- the actual location within the widget where the click occurred.
---
--- The `getEventWidgetLocation` function translates the mouse event
--- coordinates to a specific location within the widget in the
--- widget's local reference frame, taking into account any scrolling
--- that has occurred within a viewport that wraps that widget.
---
---    drawUI st = reportExtent (getName st) $
---                viewport (getName st) Vertical $
---                Widget Fixed Fixed $ ...
---
---    handleEvent event st =
---      case event of
---        EvMouseDown col row button _mods ->
---          do wcoords <- getEventWidgetLocation fieldw col row
---             case wcoords of
---               Nothing -> return fieldw
---               Just l -> ...
---
-getEventWidgetLocation :: (Named a n, Ord n)
-                          => a -> Int -> Int -> EventM n (Maybe Location)
-getEventWidgetLocation widget screenCol screenRow =
-    do mExtent <- Brick.Main.lookupExtent (getName widget)
-       case mExtent of
-         Nothing -> return Nothing
-         Just e@(Extent _ upperLeft _) ->
-             if Brick.Main.clickedExtent (screenCol, screenRow) e
-             then let widgetRow = screenRow - upperLeft^.locationRowL
-                      widgetCol = screenCol - upperLeft^.locationColumnL
-                      widgetLoc = Location (widgetCol, widgetRow)
-                  in do mView <- Brick.Main.lookupViewport (getName widget)
-                        case mView of
-                          Nothing -> return $ Just widgetLoc
-                          Just (VP left top _) ->
-                            return $ Just $ widgetLoc <> Location (left, top)
-             else return Nothing
diff --git a/brickcompat/pre015/TextUI/ItemField/BrickHelper.hs b/brickcompat/pre015/TextUI/ItemField/BrickHelper.hs
deleted file mode 100644
--- a/brickcompat/pre015/TextUI/ItemField/BrickHelper.hs
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,53 +0,0 @@
-module TextUI.ItemField.BrickHelper
-       (getEventWidgetLocation)
-       where
-
-import Brick.Main (lookupViewport, lookupExtent, clickedExtent)
-import Brick.Types (EventM, Location(..), rowL, columnL,
-                    Extent(..), Viewport(..))
-import Brick.Widgets.Core (Named(..))
-import Data.Monoid ((<>))
-import Lens.Micro ((^.))
-
-
--- | When processing a global EvMouseDown VtyEvent, the coordinates of
--- the mouse event on the screen must be mapped to a specific location
--- in a Widget.  The `lookupExtent` function will return the "extent"
--- of the Widget (i.e. where it was drawn and how big it is) but this
--- only indicates that the widget was clocked and does not identify
--- the actual location within the widget where the click occurred.
---
--- The `getEventWidgetLocation` function translates the mouse event
--- coordinates to a specific location within the widget in the
--- widget's local reference frame, taking into account any scrolling
--- that has occurred within a viewport that wraps that widget.
---
---    drawUI st = reportExtent (getName st) $
---                viewport (getName st) Vertical $
---                Widget Fixed Fixed $ ...
---
---    handleEvent event st =
---      case event of
---        EvMouseDown col row button _mods ->
---          do wcoords <- getEventWidgetLocation fieldw col row
---             case wcoords of
---               Nothing -> return fieldw
---               Just l -> ...
---
-getEventWidgetLocation :: (Named a n, Ord n)
-                          => a -> Int -> Int -> EventM n (Maybe Location)
-getEventWidgetLocation widget screenCol screenRow =
-    do mExtent <- Brick.Main.lookupExtent (getName widget)
-       case mExtent of
-         Nothing -> return Nothing
-         Just e@(Extent _ upperLeft _) ->
-             if Brick.Main.clickedExtent (screenCol, screenRow) e
-             then let widgetRow = screenRow - upperLeft^.rowL
-                      widgetCol = screenCol - upperLeft^.columnL
-                      widgetLoc = Location (widgetCol, widgetRow)
-                  in do mView <- Brick.Main.lookupViewport (getName widget)
-                        case mView of
-                          Nothing -> return $ Just widgetLoc
-                          Just (VP left top _) ->
-                            return $ Just $ widgetLoc <> Location (left, top)
-             else return Nothing
diff --git a/compat/base48/Compat.hs b/compat/base48/Compat.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compat/base48/Compat.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,3 @@
+module Compat
+       (length, (<$>))
+where
diff --git a/compat/base_pre48/Compat.hs b/compat/base_pre48/Compat.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compat/base_pre48/Compat.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,15 @@
+module Compat
+       (module Data.Foldable
+       , length
+       , (<$>)
+       )
+where
+
+import Prelude hiding (length)
+import qualified Prelude as P
+import Data.Foldable hiding (maximum, concat, mapM_)
+import Control.Applicative
+
+
+length :: Foldable t => t a -> Int
+length = P.length . toList
diff --git a/compat/brick_015plus/TextUI/ItemField/BrickHelper.hs b/compat/brick_015plus/TextUI/ItemField/BrickHelper.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compat/brick_015plus/TextUI/ItemField/BrickHelper.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+module TextUI.ItemField.BrickHelper
+       (getEventWidgetLocation)
+       where
+
+import Brick.Main (lookupViewport, lookupExtent, clickedExtent)
+import Brick.Types (EventM, Location(..), locationRowL, locationColumnL,
+                    Extent(..), Viewport(..))
+import Brick.Widgets.Core (Named(..))
+import Data.Monoid ((<>))
+import Lens.Micro ((^.))
+
+
+-- | When processing a global EvMouseDown VtyEvent, the coordinates of
+-- the mouse event on the screen must be mapped to a specific location
+-- in a Widget.  The `lookupExtent` function will return the "extent"
+-- of the Widget (i.e. where it was drawn and how big it is) but this
+-- only indicates that the widget was clocked and does not identify
+-- the actual location within the widget where the click occurred.
+--
+-- The `getEventWidgetLocation` function translates the mouse event
+-- coordinates to a specific location within the widget in the
+-- widget's local reference frame, taking into account any scrolling
+-- that has occurred within a viewport that wraps that widget.
+--
+--    drawUI st = reportExtent (getName st) $
+--                viewport (getName st) Vertical $
+--                Widget Fixed Fixed $ ...
+--
+--    handleEvent event st =
+--      case event of
+--        EvMouseDown col row button _mods ->
+--          do wcoords <- getEventWidgetLocation fieldw col row
+--             case wcoords of
+--               Nothing -> return fieldw
+--               Just l -> ...
+--
+getEventWidgetLocation :: (Named a n, Ord n)
+                          => a -> Int -> Int -> EventM n (Maybe Location)
+getEventWidgetLocation widget screenCol screenRow =
+    do mExtent <- Brick.Main.lookupExtent (getName widget)
+       case mExtent of
+         Nothing -> return Nothing
+         Just e@(Extent _ upperLeft _) ->
+             if Brick.Main.clickedExtent (screenCol, screenRow) e
+             then let widgetRow = screenRow - upperLeft^.locationRowL
+                      widgetCol = screenCol - upperLeft^.locationColumnL
+                      widgetLoc = Location (widgetCol, widgetRow)
+                  in do mView <- Brick.Main.lookupViewport (getName widget)
+                        case mView of
+                          Nothing -> return $ Just widgetLoc
+                          Just (VP left top _) ->
+                            return $ Just $ widgetLoc <> Location (left, top)
+             else return Nothing
diff --git a/compat/brick_pre015/TextUI/ItemField/BrickHelper.hs b/compat/brick_pre015/TextUI/ItemField/BrickHelper.hs
new file mode 100644
--- /dev/null
+++ b/compat/brick_pre015/TextUI/ItemField/BrickHelper.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,53 @@
+module TextUI.ItemField.BrickHelper
+       (getEventWidgetLocation)
+       where
+
+import Brick.Main (lookupViewport, lookupExtent, clickedExtent)
+import Brick.Types (EventM, Location(..), rowL, columnL,
+                    Extent(..), Viewport(..))
+import Brick.Widgets.Core (Named(..))
+import Data.Monoid ((<>))
+import Lens.Micro ((^.))
+
+
+-- | When processing a global EvMouseDown VtyEvent, the coordinates of
+-- the mouse event on the screen must be mapped to a specific location
+-- in a Widget.  The `lookupExtent` function will return the "extent"
+-- of the Widget (i.e. where it was drawn and how big it is) but this
+-- only indicates that the widget was clocked and does not identify
+-- the actual location within the widget where the click occurred.
+--
+-- The `getEventWidgetLocation` function translates the mouse event
+-- coordinates to a specific location within the widget in the
+-- widget's local reference frame, taking into account any scrolling
+-- that has occurred within a viewport that wraps that widget.
+--
+--    drawUI st = reportExtent (getName st) $
+--                viewport (getName st) Vertical $
+--                Widget Fixed Fixed $ ...
+--
+--    handleEvent event st =
+--      case event of
+--        EvMouseDown col row button _mods ->
+--          do wcoords <- getEventWidgetLocation fieldw col row
+--             case wcoords of
+--               Nothing -> return fieldw
+--               Just l -> ...
+--
+getEventWidgetLocation :: (Named a n, Ord n)
+                          => a -> Int -> Int -> EventM n (Maybe Location)
+getEventWidgetLocation widget screenCol screenRow =
+    do mExtent <- Brick.Main.lookupExtent (getName widget)
+       case mExtent of
+         Nothing -> return Nothing
+         Just e@(Extent _ upperLeft _) ->
+             if Brick.Main.clickedExtent (screenCol, screenRow) e
+             then let widgetRow = screenRow - upperLeft^.rowL
+                      widgetCol = screenCol - upperLeft^.columnL
+                      widgetLoc = Location (widgetCol, widgetRow)
+                  in do mView <- Brick.Main.lookupViewport (getName widget)
+                        case mView of
+                          Nothing -> return $ Just widgetLoc
+                          Just (VP left top _) ->
+                            return $ Just $ widgetLoc <> Location (left, top)
+             else return Nothing
diff --git a/examples/workreport.hs b/examples/workreport.hs
--- a/examples/workreport.hs
+++ b/examples/workreport.hs
@@ -9,6 +9,8 @@
 
 module Main where
 
+import Prelude hiding (length)
+import Compat
 import Data.List (intercalate)
 import Data.Monoid
 import Data.Default
diff --git a/itemfield.cabal b/itemfield.cabal
--- a/itemfield.cabal
+++ b/itemfield.cabal
@@ -1,6 +1,5 @@
 name:                itemfield
-version:             1.2.0.0
-
+version:             1.2.1.0
 synopsis:            A brick Widget for selectable summary of many elements on a terminal
 description:         
 
@@ -27,6 +26,8 @@
   * 1.1.0.0  -- add support for 's' and 'f' keys and mouse events
   .
   * 1.2.0.0  -- intermediary state is "Pending"
+  .
+  * 1.2.1.0  -- added compatibility for older distributions
 
 license:             BSD3
 license-file:        LICENSE
@@ -37,8 +38,10 @@
 build-type:          Simple
 cabal-version:       >=1.8
 
-extra-source-files: brickcompat/015plus/TextUI/ItemField/BrickHelper.hs
-                    brickcompat/pre015/TextUI/ItemField/BrickHelper.hs
+extra-source-files: compat/brick_015plus/TextUI/ItemField/BrickHelper.hs
+                    compat/brick_pre015/TextUI/ItemField/BrickHelper.hs
+                    compat/base_pre48/Compat.hs
+                    compat/base48/Compat.hs
 
 library
   hs-source-dirs:    src
@@ -48,40 +51,58 @@
                      , TextUI.ItemField.Operations
                      , TextUI.ItemField.Layout
                      , TextUI.ItemField.BrickHelper
-  build-depends:       base ==4.* , vty, text, microlens
+                     , Compat
+  build-depends:       vty < 5.14
+                     , text < 1.3
+                     , microlens < 0.5
+  if flag(base48)
+    build-depends:   base >= 4.8 && < 5.0
+    hs-source-dirs:  compat/base48
+  else
+    build-depends:   base < 4.8
+    hs-source-dirs:  compat/base_pre48
   if flag(brick015plus)
     build-depends:   brick >= 0.15
-    hs-source-dirs:  brickcompat/015plus
+    hs-source-dirs:  compat/brick_015plus
   else
     build-depends:   brick >= 0.13 && < 0.15
-    hs-source-dirs:  brickcompat/pre015
+    hs-source-dirs:  compat/brick_pre015
   ghc-options:       -Wall -fno-warn-unused-do-bind -O3
 
 
 Flag examples
      Description: Build example programs
-     Default:     False
+     Default:     True
 
 Flag brick015plus
      Description: true for Brick version 0.15 or later
      Default: True
 
+Flag base48
+     Description: base 4.8 or later
+     Default: True
+
+
 executable bookcase
            if !flag(examples)
               Buildable: False
            hs-source-dirs: src, examples
+           if flag(base48)
+             build-depends:   base >= 4.8 && < 5.0
+             hs-source-dirs:  compat/base48
+           else
+             build-depends:   base < 4.8
+             hs-source-dirs:  compat/base_pre48
            if flag(brick015plus)
              build-depends:   brick >= 0.15
-             hs-source-dirs:  brickcompat/015plus
+             hs-source-dirs:  compat/brick_015plus
            else
              build-depends:   brick >= 0.13 && < 0.15
-             hs-source-dirs:  brickcompat/pre015
+             hs-source-dirs:  compat/brick_pre015
            ghc-options:  -threaded -Wall -fno-warn-unused-do-bind -O3
            -- default-language: Haskell2010
            main-is: bookcase.hs
-           build-depends: base==4.*
-                        , brick >= 0.13 && < 1.0
-                        , vty, text, microlens, microlens-th
+           build-depends: vty, text, microlens, microlens-th
                         , itemfield, data-default
 
 
@@ -89,18 +110,22 @@
            if !flag(examples)
               Buildable: False
            hs-source-dirs: src, examples
+           if flag(base48)
+             build-depends:   base >= 4.8 && < 5.0
+             hs-source-dirs:  compat/base48
+           else
+             build-depends:   base < 4.8, transformers
+             hs-source-dirs:  compat/base_pre48
            if flag(brick015plus)
              build-depends:   brick >= 0.15
-             hs-source-dirs:  brickcompat/015plus
+             hs-source-dirs:  compat/brick_015plus
            else
              build-depends:   brick >= 0.13 && < 0.15
-             hs-source-dirs:  brickcompat/pre015
+             hs-source-dirs:  compat/brick_pre015
            ghc-options:  -threaded -Wall -fno-warn-unused-do-bind -O3
            -- default-language: Haskell2010
            main-is: workreport.hs
-           build-depends: base==4.*
-                        , brick >= 0.13 && < 1.0
-                        , vty, text, microlens, microlens-th
+           build-depends: vty, text, microlens, microlens-th
                         , itemfield, data-default, random
 
 
@@ -108,14 +133,20 @@
            type: exitcode-stdio-1.0
            main-is: test_itemfield.hs
            hs-source-dirs: test, src
+           if flag(base48)
+             build-depends:   base >= 4.8 && < 5.0
+             hs-source-dirs:  compat/base48
+           else
+             build-depends:   base < 4.8
+             hs-source-dirs:  compat/base_pre48
            if flag(brick015plus)
              build-depends:   brick >= 0.15
-             hs-source-dirs:  brickcompat/015plus
+             hs-source-dirs:  compat/brick_015plus
            else
              build-depends:   brick >= 0.13 && < 0.15
-             hs-source-dirs:  brickcompat/pre015
+             hs-source-dirs:  compat/brick_pre015
            ghc-options:  -threaded -O0
-           build-depends: base, HUnit, QuickCheck
+           build-depends: HUnit, QuickCheck
                         , test-framework, test-framework-hunit
                         , test-framework-quickcheck2
                         , brick >= 0.13 && < 1.0
@@ -125,15 +156,21 @@
            type: exitcode-stdio-1.0
            main-is: test_layout.hs
            hs-source-dirs: test, src
+           if flag(base48)
+             build-depends:   base >= 4.8 && < 5.0
+             hs-source-dirs:  compat/base48
+           else
+             build-depends:   base < 4.8
+             hs-source-dirs:  compat/base_pre48
            if flag(brick015plus)
              build-depends:   brick >= 0.15
-             hs-source-dirs:  brickcompat/015plus
+             hs-source-dirs:  compat/brick_015plus
            else
              build-depends:   brick >= 0.13 && < 0.15
-             hs-source-dirs:  brickcompat/pre015
+             hs-source-dirs:  compat/brick_pre015
            ghc-options:  -threaded -O0
            cpp-options: -DTEST
-           build-depends: base, HUnit, QuickCheck
+           build-depends: HUnit, QuickCheck
                         , test-framework, test-framework-hunit
                         , test-framework-quickcheck2
                         , brick >= 0.13 && < 1.0
diff --git a/src/TextUI/ItemField.hs b/src/TextUI/ItemField.hs
--- a/src/TextUI/ItemField.hs
+++ b/src/TextUI/ItemField.hs
@@ -83,10 +83,6 @@
     )
 where
 
-      -- KWQ: user provides marks?  that would imply state as well?  no for simplicity
-      -- KWQ:  finish top level documentation.  Then ItemField is in good position refactoring lens, and then publishing.
-
-
 
 import           Brick.AttrMap
 import           Brick.Main (lookupViewport)
diff --git a/src/TextUI/ItemField/Layout.hs b/src/TextUI/ItemField/Layout.hs
--- a/src/TextUI/ItemField/Layout.hs
+++ b/src/TextUI/ItemField/Layout.hs
@@ -1,6 +1,8 @@
 module TextUI.ItemField.Layout where
 
 
+import Prelude hiding (length)
+import Compat
 import Data.Monoid ( (<>) )
 import Data.Either
 import Data.Maybe
diff --git a/src/TextUI/ItemField/Types.hs b/src/TextUI/ItemField/Types.hs
--- a/src/TextUI/ItemField/Types.hs
+++ b/src/TextUI/ItemField/Types.hs
@@ -47,10 +47,7 @@
     showsPrec p s = showParen (p > 10) $
                             showString "ItemFld @ " . shows (curSel s)
                             . showString " with " . shows (length $ itemst8 s)
-                            . showString " items:"
-                            . shows (items s)
-                            . showString " states:"
-                            . shows (itemst8 s)
+                            . showString " items"
 
 
 -- | Standard factory to create an ItemField from a specification of