OpenCPN Beta Version 3.1.802 Released

[JesperWe]

Originally Posted by sinbad7

I´m surprised that the problem with the very small font in the Chart selection bar has not
been mentioned by anyone earlier,after all, v. 3.1.802 has been out for 10 days??

We try to be smart when selecting the default size for a font setting.
The screen resolution of the computer being used is taken into account.
This relies, however, on the operating system, and ultimately the display/monitor drivers to return the correct value for the screen size of the current monitor. If they do, all is fine. If your display driver reports an incurrect size, the font size default will be proportionally wrong.

[dpons]

Originally Posted by JesperWe

Well 2.8.10 has bugs and there is not a whole lot I can do about that...

There are 2.8.12 packages available. See InstallingOnUbuntuOrDebian - wxPyWiki

All software has bugs. Opencpn 3.0.0 runs fine regarding this issue on the same environment, so I guess the problem is not entirely on wx.

[sinbad7]

Paul-Dave
The FINAL attempt created no error messages and I managed sort of to remove the annoying Chart selection buttons with no other ill effects than deleting a little part of the chart without upsetting the calibration.

Jesper
I hear what you say but I can´t imagine I´m the ONLY one who experienced
this problem after v 3.0.2

Tore

[JesperWe]

Originally Posted by dpons

All software has bugs. Opencpn 3.0.0 runs fine regarding this issue on the same environment, so I guess the problem is not entirely on wx.

3.0 did not use those features of wx. 2.8.12 is the official stable wxWidgets release and that is what the next version of O will require.

BTW there are some things in 3.0 too, most notably the Object Query window, which does not work well with 2.8.10.

[sinbad7]

I´m surprised that the problem with the very small font in the Chart selection bar has not been mentioned by anyone earlier,after all, v. 3.1.802 has been out for 10 days??

A lot of burning hoops to jump through and many considerations to make when developing
software,appreciate your efforts.

As I said in my #117 above,considering the many elements which has to coexist in a continuous development of software and upgrading of tools,I am surprised at the reliability and quality of the end product. PURE GENIUS!!

All the rest of us un-initiated can contribute is experience and ideas of improvement.

TOGETHER WE ARE UNBEATABLE!!

Tore

[sinbad7]

Dave..

Now that the OCR problem etc. is resolved,I have finally upgraded to the latest v. 3.1.802 and I notice that a couple of map features are missing?

No longer possible right mouseclick Go to best map.
Mouseover the Chart selection buttons no longer shows the map miniature.

Is this intentional or is it a Win 7 problem?

Tore

[JesperWe]

Originally Posted by sinbad7

Mouseover the Chart selection buttons no longer shows the map miniature.

This was a Windows problem that is already fixed for next beta.

[sinbad7]

Dave..

Show ENC text is missing from my CM93 charts???
I depress the Show ENC button in the bar but nothing happens.

Tore

[sinbad7]

Dave..

I am somewhat concerned as we seem to be ´breaking the mould´as far as the original concept of keeping OCPN simple and not dependent on external software other than the programing languages. Extra features were always presented as optional plug-ins.

In order to acheive compatibility with the very useful qtVlm route planning software,
many of the features in the pre v. 3.0.2 has been lost or changed as new and different features of wx. 2.8.12 is used in v. 3.1.802 causing some confusion and need of
alteration in our regular setup.

I feel it is important to keep OpenCPN simple,effective and reliable regarding it´s main features as it is´nt always so easy to change once you´re underway without internet connection. Is there any reason why the new integration with qtVlm can not be done via a plug-in as with all other new features?

Tore

[JesperWe]

Originally Posted by sinbad7

In order to acheive compatibility with the very useful qtVlm route planning software, many of the features in the pre v. 3.0.2 has been lost or changed as new and different features of wx. 2.8.12 is used in v. 3.1.802 causing some confusion and need of
alteration in our regular setup.

I feel it is important to keep OpenCPN simple,effective and reliable regarding it´s main features as it is´nt always so easy to change once you´re underway without internet connection. Is there any reason why the new integration with qtVlm can not be done via a plug-in as with all other new features?

Tore, I appreciate your enthusiasm, as we all do, but you can't go around making posts like that which has basically all the facts upside down.

1. There is absolutely nothing in the KML Copy/Paste features that affect any of the other features of the program. No feature have been lost or changed because of this. It does not change or introduce any dependencies on any external software. And anyway it's not even part of 3.1.802 so you wouldn't even know.

2. wxWidgets 2.8.12 has been required since 3.0. This is the official "stable" release of wxW (see http://wxwidgets.org/stable/) and the one we should be developing against. There are apparently a few distributions of Linux that are lagging behind and include older non-stable releases of wxW, and for those distributions there is a need to upgrade to the stable one, which is available. There is no "confusion" necessary.

We all agree on the need to "keep OpenCPN simple, effective and reliable", especially me since my next leg will be around Cape Horn :-)

That is why we have stable releases. Currently 3.0.2. If you worry about stability, stay with 3.0.2. Beta testing is meant to test new features, and new features with as small a team as we are always means bugs and trouble.

Your participation in the Beta testing is appreciated very much, you are a thorough tester. But please try to get the facts straight before posting opinions like those above...

[sinbad7]

Jesper..

Tore, I appreciate your enthusiasm, as we all do, but you can't go around making posts like that which has basically all the facts upside down.

1. There is absolutely nothing in the KML Copy/Paste features that affect any of the other features of the program. No feature have been lost or changed because of this. It does not change or introduce any dependencies on any external software. And anyway it's not even part of 3.1.802 so you wouldn't even know.

2. wxWidgets 2.8.12 has been required since 3.0. This is the official "stable" release of wxW (see http://wxwidgets.org/stable/) and the one we should be developing against. There are apparently a few distributions of Linux that are lagging behind and include older non-stable releases of wxW, and for those distributions there is a need to upgrade to the stable one, which is available. There is no "confusion" necessary.

We all agree on the need to "keep OpenCPN simple, effective and reliable", especially me since my next leg will be around Cape Horn :-)

That is why we have stable releases. Currently 3.0.2. If you worry about stability, stay with 3.0.2. Beta testing is meant to test new features, and new features with as small a team as we are always means bugs and trouble.

Your participation in the Beta testing is appreciated very much, you are a thorough tester. But please try to get the facts straight before posting opinions like those above...

As a layman,I can only speak for myself,but find it hard to accept your claim that the new copy/past feature (only used for qtVlm) had no bearing on the changes which has taken place in OpenCPN since v. 3.02. If wxWidgets 2.8.12 has been used in both v. 3.02 AND the present v.3.1.802 why all the changes? If the copy/paste feature of kml files has no dependancy with qtVlm,what else can it be used for? And how can it not be part of v 3.1.802?

I still do not agree with the new ideology to include any number of extra features in OpenCPN,especially not where we become dependant on external software,no matter how valuable,these extentions should always be in the form of optional plug-ins.

I would advice you not to be so touchy when anyone in this forum raises concerns,
you can not always expect accolades but instead become a better listener,regression is not a valid solution to the problem.

Tore

[bdbcat]

Just to chime in here...

I'm a linux user. I don't use GE (google is the work of the devil, but don't get me started...) Only so many hours in a day....

So, could someone please explain in simple terms why OpenCPN 3.1.x has trouble with GE? Where the heck does OCR character reading come into play? O knows nothing about this.... And what's up with the chart bar? Does it affect the toolbar too?

Teach me....

Dave

[LeaseOnLife]

Originally Posted by bdbcat

Just to chime in here...

I'm a linux user. I don't use GE (google is the work of the devil, but don't get me started...) Only so many hours in a day....

So, could someone please explain in simple terms why OpenCPN 3.1.x has trouble with GE? Where the heck does OCR character reading come into play? O knows nothing about this.... And what's up with the chart bar? Does it affect the toolbar too?

Teach me....

Dave

Dave

some of the confusion comes from a tool called GE2KAP, made by Paul Higgins, user "phiggins" on this forum. http://www.cruisersforum.com/forums/...ghlight=ge2kap

This tool is quite versatile, I use it to take screenshots of charts in opencpn and do semi-transparent GE overlays, then store the whole thing as a .kap file, which then later can be used offline, in opencpn.

Paul will hopefully chime in here.... in the meantime...: I understand, Paul is using OCR to read the characters of the statusbar (ship position, scale), the get GE to display the same viewport. Then he does some magic and merges the two pics, and stores them, for example as .KAP

So, one of the 'problems' is that the statusbar font has changed/is changeable and the OCR mechanism of GE2KAP fails.

It would be great to have GE2KAP+Opencpn to use an interface similar to the plugins, instead of relying the OCR mechanism.

Cheers

Dirk

[sinbad7]

Dave..

I am sure you are familiar with the popular GE2KAP conversion software written by Paul?
Judging by the 59.000 postings in his GE2KAP thread it is widely used.

Although the name indicates a GE dependance it is a lot more than that as it is able
to convert ANY OpenCPN displayed chart to .kap format. For this to happen the co-ordinates of the displayed map is read by an OCR function,teaching GE2KAP the characters use,usually a one time occurrance.

As you will be able to read further in the Navigation/GE2KAP thread,a lot of alterations had to be made after v. 3.0.2 to make it continue to work. The changes made also changed the way GE2KAP eliminates the Chart selection bar from the final converted .kap charts. This bar can no longer be removed and becomes an intrinsic part of the chart produced.

As you know,there has been several other changes caused after v. 3.02, the tidal displays,the mini chart is no longer shown in the Chart toolbar,the ´Display best chart´in the right mouse click has disappeared,the Show ENC text in the toolbar no longer functions,the text in the Charts toolbar is too small to be readable etc.

The Charts toolbar buttons are displayed in three different ways,blue with a pink box somewhere and minimal chart info,in pale blue with all info and finally as a grey framed button with minimal chart info. The number of dark blue boxes also changes while you pan. And finally the brown button representing CM93 with minimal info.

All works perfectly in v. 3.0.2 and since the same wxWidgets 2.8.12 is used,one wonders where all the problems came from?

Tore

[bdbcat]

Tore...

I thank you for your input.

Please continue to use 3.0.2 if the Beta process causes your application of OpenCPN to fail. Beta builds are incremental, fix some stuff, and break other stuff. There is no Windows version available which includes all the latest corrections, so your observations are not current. Has nothing to do with wxWidgets 2.8.12. Please discontinue this misleading "red herring".

I say again that the only reliable way of getting bugs addressed and corrected is Flyspray task tracker. Anything else is anecdotal, and may easily be overlooked.

The GE2KAP issue is a prime case. I don't even read the GE2KAP thread... So, if your favorite feature has bugs during Beta, step up to the plate and create a Flyspray task. It WILL get addressed before release.

Thanks
Dave