Plant Base 2 - Version Change Log
version 2.1.15
Added to the right-hand panel of the plant page and data tabs when unused - clickable list of all Plant Lists.
Various small tweaks to the user interface, insignificant but most noticable on the MacOS edition.
Added warning when deleting an entire Plant List, similar to other delete functions.
Fixed bug - in certain circumstances main tabs could misbehave following a plant select that returned no results.
Fixed bug - deleting the last plant in a list, resulting in an empty list, did not correctly disable the main tab recordset buttons.
Fixed bug - for the Picture Maintenance tab if the top corner X-close button was used while an edit or add was in progess, the tab would be close immediately and the Save/Cancel menu options and buttons not reset. A check and warning message message has been added to aviod this.
Fixed bug - Linux only, record counter for detail list records displayed incorrectly after first click on move-to-last button.
Cleanup and improvements to many sections of code, helpful for maintenance and future changes. No obvious effects for the user result, though there may be some small performance gains.
version 2.1.14
Added Language change option to import database common data from pre-prepared translated files (colours, leaf shapes, habit, plant types, origin areas, plant family descriptions).
For the List Details display, grid or record-by-record, the sort order can now be changed. There is a right-click menu option for the grid or a drop-down box selection for the record view. Any of the list record fields except for GPS coordinates can be selected as the sort sequence. This is a display only feature with no effect on record storage. The right panel name list and main plant record sequence remain in name order.
Minor change - when editing a List Details record, on completion the view is restored to prior the edit action (Grid or Record).
Minor change - main window tabs that are not permanent can be closed by 'x' on the tab itself.
Various small changes to the appearance of the user interface. Some give improvements when using a non-English language.
Fixed bug - for Extract plant data the progress bar often never reaches the end even though extract run has completed.
Fixed bug - Open database dialogue window, the Accept and Open button was not enabled after entering or changing a filename directly in a textbox, rather than by Browse (Windows only).
Fixed several other very small bugs, mostly insignificant issues.
version 2.1.13
(Windows only) Incorporate new version of Extra Keys, 2.2.4. Also recognise and use the new versions of Extra Keys or Extra Keys Pro if independently installed and running in taskbar.
Fix several bugs in use of language files, mostly for printing.
Inclusion of new Swedish language file.
Fixed bug - program would not start immediately after entering valid registration code when trial period had expired.
(Windows and Linux) Few small UI adjustments.
version 2.1.12
In the Select Colour tool window for the plant data or select tabs, double-clicking on a colour box will select it, same as single-click, and also immediately apply that option as if the OK button was clicked.
When adding/editing a plant record the common-name and synonyms boxes now have optional expanded drop-down boxes, similar to normal read-only mode but editable. They are opened by the icon to the right of the box. This allows entry as a line-by-line list. The edit box is closed by clicking anywhere outside it, or Esc key, transferring the content to the original field which can still be edited directly.
Using option "display the first available picture" - when moving plant record, the zoom level, if any, is no longer preserved between records. Therefore pictures are always initially displayed either at natural size or "fit to screen". Using the previous zoom level for the next picture could sometimes produce undesirable screen effects.
Added - further error checking when opening picture windows. This may help prevent program crash if unpredicted OS/windowing events occur. May produce an error message but allow program to continue.
Fixed bug - when entering CRLF (carrige return, enter key) in Plant List detail record view, it appeared initially correct but when re-dislayed caused breaking of field data and shifting of lines into adjoining record fields. The issue could be compounded if re-edit was attempted.
Fixed bug - using the option to display the first available picture, if picture is manualy closed then that plant record edited, the picture would be re-displayed on Save or Cancel.
Linux edition only - numerous small UI adjustments. Many of these are to improve appearance under a wider range of Desktop Environments.
version 2.1.11
Fixed bugs and other changes in HTML Reporter. Changes made in version 2.1.9 broke compatibity with MS Word. Simple reversion broke compatibity with some web browsers, so a modified method is used duplicating page-break in separate tags. A page break is now done after the report heading so that the first plant record starts at the top of a page. This and other minor CSS changes also improves compatibility with OpenOffice/LibreOffice.
Added new Configuration Option to display the Plant List at startup. This is ignored if a Plant List has not been created yet.
Minor user interface adjustments.
Some minor bug fixes for Windows and Mac editions.
Bug fixes and numerous other small changes specific to Linux edition.
version 2.1.10
Improved and simplified Manage Plant Lists window.
Add option to enable plant select using a plant list, chosen by drop-down on select tab. Plants are still selected from main records, using normal criteria, but limited to those in the list.
Mac only: the normal program is now 64-bit. An optional 32-bit build is provided for running on older hardware or with limited memory.
Mac only: the program app bundle now includes all the help and language files, instead of being held separately in the same folder. This means only PlantBase.app is needed in Applications folder, as typical for Mac systems.
Various minor layout corrections and improvements, mostly for the Linux edition.
Fixed bug - Add to List menu panel button remains greyed after adding a picture (Windows)
Fixed bug - when adding or editing a plant record, if Family or Origin is entered as text (rather than selected) and includes leading or trailing spaces then the check for an existing entry would fail. This could allow values with unwanted spaces to be recorded.
Fixed bug - when maintaining common data a duplicate name could be added. An error message is now issued if this is attempted.
Fixed bug - when configured to show size/temperature conversions, spurious numbers were shown over blank boxes when editing.
version 2.1.9
Added alternative view for Plant List data detail display, controlled by a view toggle button. This gives a record-by-record view similar to the main plant records and also replaces the previous Edit method which used a separate window. The existing grid style view is unchanged and the view choice is remembered between sessions.
Added menu function (under File) to copy the current database files to another folder. The existing database file settings are not changed, the function simply creates extra copies which may be useful for backup or transfer to other systems.
Changed page-break method in HTML reporter so it should work in all common web browsers.
Fixed bug - when saving record with Season = January the season value was set to null.
Fixed several other minor UI bugs.
version 2.1.8
Added "roll-up" button to Plant Select form, allowing results to use more space.
Database file open (from File menu) revised to make it simpler. The wizard style dialogue for opening the main and picture library files is replaced by a single window where all files can be selected. If picture files are absent then any previous ones associated with the main database are suggested. There is no longer a separate menu item to re-select picture libraries as this can be done from the same window.
Associated with the above change - if the database is not found at program statup, then once the main file is selected it's last associated picture libraries are tried and opened if found. The user is only prompted to select the picture library files if they cannot be opened.
Small screen layout option is slightly revised. Picture thumbnails are now placed as a single row below the main panel, looking similar to the normal display but always at the bottom with the main panel using the remaining available space above. This gives more horizontal space for the plant list panel.
Fixed 2 related bugs in the Mac edition. The status bar was not hidden when switching to small screen mode. When the status be was hidden by View menu selection then program errors would be caused when updating records.
Fixed bug - if a picture library 3 record existed but its linked file was missing, then although a warning message would be correctly displayed, a program crash could happen later when navigating away from that plant record.
Several small bug fixes for potential file opening problems when running in portable mode, mostly affecting the Mac edition.
Uses new program compiler for exe/app build.
First complete Linux edition produced, based on this version. Under restricted test release only.
version 2.1.7
New search history - the select criteria are recorded for the previous 200 searches. They can be retrieved by selecting the date/time of the search from a drop-down box or using the toolbar history icons.
When adding new plant pictures it is now possible to use GIF format.
Several changes to window start positions to better allow for scaled displays under Windows 10 when using very high resolution monitor screens (Windows edition only).
Small performance improvements, especially when saving records.
Mac only - when running from the Applications folder the settings file PlantBase.prefs is now located in the ~/Library/Application Support folder.
Fixed - small bug in Select Plants, where certain combinations of multiple criteria could return spurious additional plant records.
Fixed - switching from small-screen mode to normal display mode could sometimes cause a program crash.
Fixed - a few small layout bugs in the Mac edition.
New compiler version used to build executables.
version 2.1.6
Maintenance program build with latest compiler and database engine. Due to this, there are a number of program code optimisations for performance and stability.
Minor display adjustments and fixes.
Several changes to HTML Reports function. Page-break option includes MS Word special break as well as normal one. Pictures optionally placed before text or after (was previously always after). Display of pictures can be resized by percentage scaling. Option added to output HTML 5 markup or HTML 4.01 (as previous). When displayed in a browser there are only small differences between markup standards, the most visible is that pictures will stack left-to-right if space allows.
Added check on program exit for unsaved record being edited or added.
Added drop-down by clicking Family name in plant data view tab. This displays information about the plant family, if available.
History of Plant Master records viewed extended to 200 (was 50).
Fixed bug in MacOSX edition where Find Picture dialogue only allowed one character of text.
Fixed inconsistency issue where a hybrid name prefix (x or +) was treated as a literal alpha value for plant select or find, when not significant in plant record sequence. The prefix is now ignored so name searches will return results based on the genus name itself.
Version 2.1.5
Added - Plant Master record history is now saved between sessions.
Added Configuration Option for display of non-metric convert ions on the plant page tab, printed pages and HTML reports.
Added page-break option to HTML reports.
HTML report formatting is improved by substituting <br> where line-breaks (CRLF) occur in text. Also pictures are aligned with text and some other minor improvements.
HTML report options are now saved between sessions.
Fixed bug - in HTML reports pictures from libraries 2 or 3 were incorrectly output as files with extensions omitted in the names.
Fixed bug - picture links in HTML report could include back-slash (\) which is not valid and not handled by some browsers. Forward-slash is now always used.
Fixed bug - editing a picture to change it from Picture Library 3 to either 1 or 2 caused an error when saving the record.
Version 2.1.4
Removed configuration option Start Maximised. This setting still exists but is set or unset simply from the main window being maximised or not at the end of the previous session.
Improved size and positioning of main window when not maximised at start.
Fixed bug - Selected and Listed buttons not enabled immediately after a selection or a list is opened, but only after clicking an item.
Fixed bug - when a listed plant is shown in the main tabs but the list is changed to another, the record navigation is not correctly reset and could give a program error after some subsequent navigation actions.
Fixed re-sizing problem with print preview window.
Fixed bug - Fahrenheit conversion in tooltip not updated when Celsius temperature changed by clicking up/down arrows.
Fixed bug - Compact database did not correctly report any percentage reduction in file size.
Internal program optimisations for run-time performance.
Version 2.1.3
Changed behavior when adding a picture from a plant tab - after the picture has been added (or canceled), the view will return to the original tab. However, the picture maintenance tab, if not already opened, will remain available in case further editing of the picture record is needed.
Changed behavior when adding a new picture from the picture maintenance tab - the plant name will be pre-filled to the current plant picture displayed. If required, before saving the record it may be changed to any plant name. When adding a picture from any other tab (not plant view or picture maintenance) the name field is initially blank, as in previous versions.
The "choose a list" menu, button and window is renamed to "manage lists". This window now has additional functions - rename a list and copy a list. When copying a list there are options to either copy only the plant name or all of the existing list record data.
On the main window, the right-hand list panel has changed so that all the buttons are at the bottom. A new icon appears next to the list title. When the mouse hovers over this icon, the list display panel changes to show all plant lists. Selecting a new list name will switch to that list. If no new list is selected then the normal list display is restored by several actions - a second hover over the icon, clicking below plant list names (cancel), any add-to-list action or list change.
Added simple picture resize function to right-click menu of picture edit. The resize function is the same as already used when adding an over-size image.
The order of the large buttons on the Menu Panel may now now be changed by adding optional settings to the preferences file. This is in preparation for a future on-screen customisation feature, but the file options may be used from this version.
Fixed bug - when opening the colour selection tool window for a plant edit or selector tab colour box, it was not pre-set to the colour in the associated field.
Fixed bug - when conversion mouse-over option was set, the conversions were not shown while a plant record was being edited or on plant selector tab fields.
Fixed bug - when Imperial/US size entry is enabled, the entry tool window failed to re-open if it was closed between moving fields (height to width, min to max etc.)
Fixed bug - when entering sizes as Imperial/US, if both feet and inches are blanked in the converter window then the target field is now also blanked. It was previously set to a size of 0.00, which has different effect to a blank field.
Fixed bug - if a new over-sized picture was added and saved, then another picture was added but cancelled at the file-open - the over-size dialog would be shown again, though no image is available to operate on.
Several internal program optimisations.
Version 2.1.2
Fixed bug - when generating HTML Reports the plants could sometimes appear in random order rather than alphabetically.
Fixed bug - generating HTML Reports with 'Open in web browser' checked, sometimes the browser fails to open the report file even though the file itself is valid and could be later opened manually.
(note: the default web browser is always used and if there is some problem with it at the time then the report might still not open)
Changed behavior when deleting a list entry - if the main plant tabs are showing Listed records and also currently displaying the plant being deleted from the list, they will switch to 'All records' but continue to show the same plant. If immediately switching back to Listed records, the first in the list is shown (as the current plant was removed). If Listed plants was not displaying the one being deleted, there is no switch and the deleted list record is simply removed from the set, so only the record counts will change.
New compiler version used to build program executable, with some internal syntax changes to match the improved compiler.
Version 2.1.1
Fixed bug - closing picture window occasionally caused program error.
Fixed bug - importing a plant list from a text file appeared to work but no list records were created (due to a previous fix skipped in the last version build).
Additional checking added to list import, to trap further potential errors.
Version 2.1.0
1st production release.
Fixed bug - incorrect label for Cultivation on Reporter window.
Fixed bug causing inadequate resizing of Select form tab elements.
A few minor cosmetic changes.
Removal of test code.
Latest compiler used to build exe.
Version 2.0.38
Minor cosmetic changes to allow more space for language translations.
Improved handling of null values in Plant List data fields.
Fixed bug - non-validated numeric values in lists could cause failure to update.
Version 2.0.37
Fixed bug - the options in drop-down boxes on the plant selector and plant add/edit tabs were not correctly refreshed when switching to a new main database file.
Fixed bug - height and width were not shown in printed plant data sheet.
Slight increase in font size for data view and search fields, to improve readability.
Numerous minor cosmetic adjustments.
Fixed an issue where clicking the Extra Keys icon or menu could start multiple copies of the tool. Also this action will now make use of any existing running instance of Extra Keys even if launched independently of the main program.
New compiler version used to build executable.
Version 2.0.36
Many logic changes to the Import plants function. Most of these are to improve the robustness of the import procedures.
A number of bugs in the plant data import procedures were also fixed.
Fixed bug in the Plant List import - where new lists where imported from a database input, the list records were correctly imported but the new list names did not show in the drop down selection of lists.
The above import changes required a number of modifications to the database schema, implemented from database release 24.
Version 2.0.35
Paste Record will now directly add a plant if not already in Add or Edit mode. The menu item and shortcut (Ctrl+W) is therefore available at most times and has the same effect as Add New plus Paste Record.
When using Imperial/US Standard data entry for size or temperature, changes in the metric boxes are also reflected in the converter tool window.
For very small height and width dimensions, accuracy has been increased to 4 decimal places, that is to 100 micrometre/microns.
Improved logic for the Import function to reduce possible record anomalies.
Fixed bug - display issue only, where picture thumbnails could get messed up after running a Compact Database.
Fixed bug - intermittent problem occasionally causing a sudden program crash when closing a picture window by clicking the top-right X button.
Fixed bug introduced in a recent version - error message and picture thumbnail fails to display when that picture is from Library 3, even though it is correct in the picture maintenance tab.
Internal program optimisations.
Version 2.0.34
Added print routine for picture and its details from the maintenance tab.
Added function - Report to HTML File. This is equivalent to the optional HTML Reporter module in Plant Base 1. This version includes additional checkboxes to select specific content to include in the report.
Extra screen layout adjustments to allow for some German translations.
Picture windows now allow resizing/zooming. From context menu or more usefully with keyboard shortcuts Ctrl + up/down arrow, alternatively the mouse scroll-wheel. Ctrl + Home key or clicking the mouse wheel returns to 100%. If using the 'always show 1st picture' option then the zoom scale of the window is kept when moving records.
Added less/more resize to the Slide Show control panel, by clicking the small arrow button in the top-right corner. Allows reducing height to only show navigation, so that it takes less screen space.
Added keyboard shortcuts for Slide Show - Ctrl+N and Ctrl+B for next or previous picture, Ctrl+Space to stop auto-run of show.
Version 2.0.33
Added print routines for Plant Lists and Plant Select results (output to printer devices or on-screen print preview).
Fixed bug - where several picture windows were opened at the same time and then closed, one would remain open and refuse to close.
Fixed bug - when running Import of plant data, update of some existing records fails due a format error (message = near',').
Fixed bug - in compact screen mode, record navigation disabled when the references tab is active.
Fixed bug - in compact screen mode, when switching back to a plant data or page tab from any other tab, the navigation buttons on the toolbar remained disabled even though correctly enabled on the panel record selector.
Fixed bug - when showing the Select plants tab and also the look-up data maintenance in the right-hand panel, editing the data comment box would not allow the Return key to make a line-break (key was trapped by the Select function).
Fixed bug - when a editing a look-up data entry, any selection for that set (Family, Colour etc) in the main tabs was removed. This could lead to unexpected results when editing a plant record or selecting plants.
New compiler used to build exe and several internal program optimisations done.
Version 2.0.32 (no public release)
Added option to keep the first picture window open and change the image when navigating to another plant record.
Additional keyboard shortcuts.
Fixed several minor bugs and added some additional error checking.
Import of picture records changed to write database records in smaller batches, to avoid resource issues when making very large imports.
Version 2.0.31 (no public release)
Added Deletes Journal processing to Import function.
Added Deletes Journal log viewer window, with functions to clear all logs or remove individual entries.
Fixed a number of minor bugs and improved internal code organisation.
Version 2.0.30 (no public release)
Fixed bug - editing a plant record changed the History sequence.
Added Import Plant Data and Extract Plant Data functions.
Changed default positioning of picture windows, with centre-sceen for first window.
Position of the first picture window is remembered in the preferences file and if present is used for the next run. The 'reset window panes' menu function now includes resetting this picture window position.
Version 2.0.29
Fixed bug - program crash when using History back/forward and a recently viewed plant record had been deleted.
Fixed bug - when a new record was added that did not have data fields entered, the plant page tab showed some data left over from the previous plant. The database record was not affected, it was a display problem only.
Version 2.0.28
Changed search order for opening the program settings file, PlantBase.prefs so that the program folder is checked first, followed by the user's AppData folder and finally the All User's AppData folder. This allows multiple application copies on the same system. If no file is found, a warning message will prompt to create a new, empty one and prompts to open the database will normally follow.
On the menu panel, the Add New becomes Add Plant and always performs that action, even when the Picture Maintenance tab is open. Add Pic is used to add new picture, removing the duplicated function on the Pic Maint tab.
Fixed bug where nothing happened when selecting Show Plant from the Picture Maintenance pop-up menu and the plant does not exist in Plant Master. A warning message now shows also gives the option to add that plant record. This together with the previous point gives an improved work-flow when adding both pictures and plant records.
Several small fixes for missing alternative language translations.
Version 2.0.27
Additional small format changes to improve display in alternate languages.
Fixed several minor bugs.
Changes to pop-up menu for lists, including setting of allow duplicates.
Version 2.0.26
Numerous small format changes to better handle other languages (initially based on testing with Quebec French).
Fixed bug causing strange layout in data maintenance panel when operating in a language other than English.
Fixed bug with numeric data entry on PC's with a locale using a comma decimal separator. Numeric fields should also now be displayed according to the locale - with dot, comma or other decimal separators. When entering decimal numbers any of the valid separators should be accepted. To enable this, thousand's separators should never be used - they are not needed for plant data. Note that, regardless of locale the Import/Export of plant lists via CSV data files will always used the decimal dot separator, avoiding potential format conflict.
Version 2.0.25
First public Beta Test release of Plant Base 2 - program re-write following version 1.6.1.
