Wednesday, July 10, 2013

GTViewer Version 14 – What happened to versions 12 and 13?



GTViewer version 11 has had a long run.  In fact, it has the longest stretch for a major version of GTViewer so far.  There are several reasons why version 11 has been around so long:  

First, the development of GTViewer for iOS (iPhone/iPad) and the matching GTViewer for Android (phones/tablets) was squeezed into the last development cycle.  Anyone interesting in trying them, please contact us!  

Second, GTViewer versions march along regardless of the Major Version number.  There are currently 28 incremental versions of version 11.   The Major version is really just where we draw a line in the Readme.txt file and update the splash screen.  However, we do like to roll the major version on a yearly basis because it gives us an opportunity to sum up and talk about what has been added to GTViewer over the previous year.

Third, the major version has generally been in sync with the year (version 1 was in 2001, …, version 11 was in 2011); however, we have pushed into the year so far over the past 11 versions, we are not longer in sync with the year.  Combined with the development of the Apple and Android versions of GTViewer, we are now well into 2013 and still on version 11.  I also have a problem with any version 13 (“I’m not superstitious, just a little stitious” as Michael Scott said), so this is a perfect time to sync right over 13 (and 12 too) and be at version 14.  I am sure this will be a little confusing, but when 2014 gets closer, it will seem normal.      **** Update:  it is now 2014 and all does seem normal again -  lol *****

We are in the process of finalizing GTViewer version 14 and testing its new functionality. It should be released sometime in the next few weeks.  Anyone wanting to try it now and help test is welcome to.  

There are a number of new features that will available in version 14 (some have already been introduced in version 11 updates):

-          Pan and Zoom
o   By popular demand, the mouse-wheel zoom in and out are now anchored to the mouse point instead of the view center. 
o   The regular zoom out is anchored on the first click instead of the view center.
o   The middle mouse button (usually associated with the mouse wheel) can be used to pan.

-          Style Name Map and Style Definition Id
o   Now supported in GTX file as well as the GTM File
o   Enhanced to allow Abstract Style Names which can be mapped to a list of Zoom Level Ranges and Style Definition names (rather than always being mapped to a list).
o   Support for Style Name Map in the FME Writer Plugin

-          Session Graphics (Redlines)
o   Drawing Info Dialog has been provided for most drawing commands to show segment length, total length, and Angle.
o   Reference Lines are now shown when drawing Circles and Rectangles, and on element Moves.
o   Draw Text, Draw Dimension, and Draw Symbol dialogs are now non-modal.
o   Draw Text and Draw Dimension dialogs have been updated to make them more user-friendly.

-          Admin Key combinations added:  Shift-Ctrl-Alt-S will enable the select of all filters and categories, Shift-Ctrl-Alt-E will enable the Edit Style button on the Attribute Info Dialog’s Element tab.

-          View Location History now stored in session.

-          Display Presets
o   Default button has been added to Dialog to return the settings to their original settings (without having to have a preset for this configuration).
o   Default Preset can now be specified in the GTM file.

-          Dynamic Graphics can have the display of its Actions controlled by ToolBox buttons.

-          New Command-Line options:  -indColor, -sess

-          Separator Lines can now be specified in the Application menu list.

-          Data Encryption now supported with the Tabular Data files.

-          The Thematic Query dialog now supports a Total Length command.

-          Data Monitors now support s Symbol elements.

-          Add On Apps
o   Add On Applications are like any other External Application used with GTViewer with the exception that you do not have to specify them in the data’s GTM file.  Once installed, they will appear in the Query or Application menu for all datasets.
o   Available Add On Apps:
  Feature Tooltip Builder – this tool helps you interactively build or edit a Feature Tooltip Definition
  Query Builder – this tool helps you interactively construct a Query Definition File for GTViewer.  These definition files are compiled with GTQuery.
  GTSpot Viewer – this tool will download and display all GTSpot records as Data Monitors.

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