Plant Base Release Status (February 2023)

21st February 2023 - Linux Plant Base Beta 13 (2.1.15)

Beta 13 update for Linux - fixes scaling bug in Print Preview which was caused by an attempt to improve the known print quality issue of the Linux edition only. There are no other changes.

12th February 2023 - release of Plant Base 2.1.15

Maintenance release with most changes being internal code cleanup and optimisation which have no visible effects for the user. In addition a small but noticable change is the display of a clickable list of personal plant lists in the empty right panel space when no list is shown. Also there are some minor user interface adjustments plus a few small bug fixes.

The update applies to Windows, Mac and Linux editions. There is no change to the database at this time. Existing users are recommended to update the program, although not essential. As usual, the database files are both forward and backward compatible between versions.

The Linux edition is now at Beta 12. It is stable and usable, but still has a known issue concerning print quality which we cannot fix until a resolution in the build software is supplied. We hope this will be soon, but in meantime recommend that any important prints from Linux are done indirectly by using the report-to-file or export functions.

21st March 2013 - release of Plant Base 2.1.0

This was a major version of the application and the first public release of the newly re-coded program.

The database content was Data Release 24, the same as the final Plant Base '1'.

Plant Base 2 is a full re-write that replaces the previous 1.6.1. version. As it uses completely different program technologies, upgrading from old versions requires a database migration step in order to preserve user data. Here is a detailed guide describing how to convert from a 1.x.x version to 2.x.x.

It is possible to install and run the new Plant Base 2 version alongside version 1.6.1

All existing license registration codes remain valid for Plant Base 2. New users get a 15 day trial period, exactly as before.

Notable changes since Plant Base 1.6.1

• Plant records have 3 new fields - spiny/thorny, invasive and leaf-shape. As these are additional to the existing database they have not been completed for many plant records.
• List records have 3 new fields to hold GPS data - these are intended mostly for the future mobile edition.
• Imperial sizes and Fahrenheit temperature are handled differently. Main display is always metric/Celsius but with options for mouse-over conversions and alternate data entry in Imperial/US Standard units.
• Portable run-time mode is available - can run entirely from a USB memory stick.
• Optional small screen display mode, suitable for netbooks and other compact laptops.
• Archive function has been renamed to Extract and is no longer a separate program.
• Import plant data function now has a new option to apply record deletions, as logged in the import file.
• Resize new pictures on-the-fly when adding.
• Add pictures from the Windows Clipboard as alternative to the usual file method.
• Possibility of alternative languages for the user interface.
• The old plant reporter module has been improved and merged into the main program.
• The screensaver module is now an optional, separate install file.
• Both 32-bit and 64-bit program builds are available.
• Cross-platform edition support for MacOS and Linux in addition to Windows.

General release notes

The current release has approximately 12,000 plants and 6,000 pictures. However our eventual aim is for this to grow considerably and loading additional data and images will be an ongoing process for some time to come. For this reason all registered users can update to new versions at no additional cost.

The default language for user interface of Plant Base 2 is English, but language can be changed by using external translation files. Versions 1.x.x. are English language only. Please see the languages page for further information..

Plant Base 2 needs Windows 2000 or later, Plant Base 1 will run on older Windows versions (95, 98, NT4, ME as well as 2000, XP, Vista and Windows 7). The old version will remain available for download on request.

Plant Base was originally developed for MS Windows PCs, but now available as native editions for MacOS and Linux platforms. There is also a mobile Android app for tablets and smartpones. All editions use the same database so that plant data is interchangeable regardless of platform.

PureBasic

Plant Base 2 is coded in a different programming language from the older versions, which used a now obsolete Microsoft system.

After considering several alternative programming languages for the re-coding, we selected PureBasic from Fantaisie Software, France. This powerful and highly efficient cross-platform development tool is an excellent choice for small-scale developers with limited resources and one of the best programming languages we have seen.

We would like to thank the Fantaisie Software team and the entire PureBasic forum community. Many have helped and provided code examples, but for their substantial contributions we specially mention Timo Harter, Stephen Rodriguez and Martin Guttman.