SOLAR DATA PLOTTING UTILITY RELEASE NOTES
This page will describe the changes in the utility between versions so that you can decide if downloading a newer version is worth the time and effort.  If for some reason you find that you need an older version of the software, send me an email and I will be glad to send it to you.

I should have started this section earlier so that it would contain a complete listing of fixes and enhancements, but I did not.  I apologize for that oversight, and will keep better track of it in the future.

I have a "Validater" that can be used to verify the integrity of version 3.11 through 3.13 files and insure that they have not been tampered with.  This will allow you to insure that the files that you download and install are still the same filse that I distributed.  If a virus has attached itself to the file, the validation routine will fail.  The validater page is at This Link

There is also a web page that describes various "Parsing Errors" that have been reported when inserting Propagation Forecast Bulletins into the data.  There are only a few of them, but this page describes the errors and how to resolve them.  The parsing errors page is at This Link

Version 3.13 - Released 3/29/04
This version has one minor change:

  1. Revised the leap year calculation code so that leap years are detected properly.

Version 3.12 - Released 3/12/02
This version has some minor changes:

  1. Revised the internet download code so that files that report parsing errors are saved to the local machine if the "Save Files Locally" option is enabled.
  2. Added hyperlinks to the "Support" dialog to automatically connect to this web site or send email.  Also added a [SUPPORT] button to the "About" dialog.
  3. Added provisions for a CITIES.TXT file that contains names for different cities that the bulletins originate from.  This may help to prevent some of the parsing errors.
  4. Minor change to the version handling code (nothing significant to end users).
  5. Changed from using a "Standalone" compile option to a "Shared" compile option.  The only significant difference from a user's standpoint is a reduction in the size of the program file as well as a slightly faster loading time.  See the help file for further information.
  6. Added provisions for downloading a single file from the FTP server.
  7. Modified the FTO download code so that files that report parsing errors are still saved to disk if the "Save Locally" option is enabled.
  8. Added provisions for managing the FNAMES.DAT file
  9. Added "Date Stamping" to the files.  All files will have the same date and time so that you can tell if one has been tampered with.
Version 3.11 - Released 3/09/01
This version has several new features:
  1. Added code to save the type of PFB files between uses.  Version 3.10 rememberw the last directory used when inserting a forecast bulletin.  Version 3.11 takes this one step further and also remembers the file extension (.TXT, .PFB, etc.).
  2. Added code to allow shoosing "Flat" or "Real" toolbar buttons.
  3. Added code to automatically connect to the internet and download updated bulletin files.  The ARRL has kindly set up an FTP site for the bulletins (ftp://ftp.arrl.org/pub/bulletins), and Version 3.11 will download the files necessary to keep your data file updated.
  4. Fixed a reported problem with the printout.  It was showing 1901 instead of 2001 (not a Y2K bug, a programming bug)
  5. Pressing [F1] will open the help file in most of the dialogs now.
Version 3.10 - Released 2/01/01
This version was released to add a feature requested by a user:
  1. Added code to save the location of the PFB files between uses.  Version 3.10 will remember the last directory used when inserting a forecast bulletin, and use it as the default directory for subsequent uses.
Version 3.09 - Released 1/09/01
This version was released to resolve a problem under Windows 2000:
  1. Increased the length of two string variables to compensate for an error being reported by Windows 2000 that caused the program to fail when the data file was saved to disk.  The problem appears to be something in Windows 2000 because the particular section of code has been in use for years with no reported problems.
Version 3.08 - Released 7/17/99
  1. Changed the PFB parsing function to resolve a temporary change in the format of the bulletin files.
Version 3.07 - Released 1/31/99
This version was released to resolve some problems that have been reported in 3.06:
  1. Fixed a problem in the file save function that caused all records to be saved with the incorrect date.
  2. Added some functionality to the Add/Edit function that validates the format of the date.
Version 3.06 - Released 1/23/99
This version was released to resolve some problems that have been reported in 3.05:
  1. Fixed another bug in the INSERT PFB function that sometimes caused bulletin files to be parsed incorrectly, resulting in the "Unable To Parse Solar Data" error message.
  2. Fixed a minor problem that caused the file name on the main title bar to be displayed as a series of exclamation points if the default data file could not be opened when the application started.
  3. Fixed a problem that caused the print and print preview to be outside the frames when a small data file was used.
  4. Fixed a problem I induced in version 3.05 that prevented the Stagger Plot from being saved in the configuration file between sessions.
  5. First attempt at Y2K compliance.  All internal dates now use 4-character year fields, and a function was added to convert the data file from 2-character format to 4-character format.
  6. Resolved a problem induced in version 3.05 that prevented it from running properly no Windows NT systems.
  7. Added a small "Legend" dialog that will display the colors of the plotted elements.
  8. Added a means to change the search phrases used in the Insert Bulletin Function
Version 3.05 - Released 1/10/99
This version was released to resolve some problems that have been reported in 3.04:
  1. Fixed a bug in the INSERT PFB function that sometimes caused bulletin files to be parsed incorrectly, resulting in the "Unable To Parse Solar Data" error message.
  2. Fixed a problem that resulted when new data was inserted into an empty data file causing a protection fault.
  3. Fixed an occasional problem that resulted when new data was inserted into the file causing the minimum or maximum values to be changed, resulting in some of the graph being drawn in the border areas.
  4. If the data file has been changed the dialog asking if you want to save the data is displayed before the main window is cleared.  An aesthetic change since it really had no affect on program operation..
  5. Fixed a problem that caused a white line to be displayed in the frame when filled plots were enabled.
  6. Resolved a problem that caused average values to be displayed incorrectly with small data files.
  7. Fixed a problem that caused the mouse cursor position information to not be displayed when the frame was panned.
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