Thak you Matt (and all others involved) for the new ReefMaster update.

I have just had a brief look at the new Sonar viewer and it looks really good at a first glance.



Will be back with more kudos when I have had time to test it a little more this upcoming week.
//Mats

Thanks Mats, you beat me to the announcement :)

ReefMaster version 1.7 has been released

You can update to v1.7 by running the "Check for Updates" program in the ReefMaster folder. Please note that sonar log files must be reimported to support the new sonar viewer. This happens automatically when opening an existing v1.6 (or earlier) workspace, and the process may take some time for larger workspaces.

Changes

Multi-channel sonar viewer
The Sonar Viewer has been completely overhauled, with added support for side-scan sonar from Lowrance and Humminbird in a vertical, waterfall display:

• View any combination of available channels from primary 2D, secondary 2D, Down-scan and side-scan, with pan, grab, zoom and playback speeds up to 30x.
• Sophisticated gain correction for side-scan channels compensates for dark fringes and bright central area by evening out the signal curve.
• Real time Slant Range Correction in side-scan channels eliminates the water column and geographically corrects the side-scan image.
• Drop waypoints in any sonar channel display, with offsets calculated for side-scan channels.
• Measure distance in any channel display.
• Estimate object height from shadow length in side-scan displays.
• Innovative Mouse Tracer feature shows the current mouse position in all visible displays.
• Export sonar viewer images to clipboard or file.

Application Layout
The overall application look has been updated, with some minor changes to the window layout and a range of functional improvements:
• The Asset Library and Main Toolbar, Edit window and Waypoints window are now contained in expandable panels to the side of the main work area. These panels can be expanded or hidden, and located on either side of the work area as required. The Edit window shows the editable properties for the active work window. This new layout increases the amount of screen space that can be made available for the work windows.
• Folders have been added to the Asset Library. Folders enable much more effective organisation of workspaces with large numbers of assets. Most operations that could be carried out on groups of assets can now also be performed using folders; e.g. a folder containing tracks can be added to a project, exported to file or deleted.
• Drag and Drop in the Asset Library. Assets and folders can be moved using drag and drop. Additionally, tracks and track folders can be dragged to projects instead of using the existing add to project functions.
• Full-Screen Mode for edit windows. Individual edit windows, such as tracks or projects, can be made full-screen by using the F11 key. Full-screen mode provides a little extra screen real-estate and is particularly useful on laptops with smaller screens.
• Application Size and State Restore. ReefMaster now remembers previous window size, and the state of individual edit windows such as tracks and projects. Options such as selected palettes are retained.
• Functions have been added to create copies of User Maps and Projects.

Performance Improvements
Database performance has been overhauled and is now much faster, particularly when opening a workspace; large workspaces load in seconds, not minutes. Vector maps also generate much more quickly than before. Overall performance in the graphical editing windows has also been improved.

Project Window
• The Define Map View has been updated to show individual data points instead of separate tracks. Individual points can be selected or deleted, which makes correcting bad data points across multiple tracks much easier. Additionally, track water levels can be adjusted from the same window and tracks can be opened for editing or sonar viewing using the right-click menu on any track-point.
• The map area can now be resized or dragged to a new position, in addition to the existing draw area function.
• Graphical performance in the define map view has been greatly improved, especially for projects with large shorelines and/or large numbers of islands.

Other Changes
• Export of waypoints in Shapefile format
• Support for MBTiles tiled image database format. Imported KML files are now tiled to a single MBTiles database file, that can be reused in other workspaces (or applications) without the need to reimport.


Matt

Performance improvement is massive for large projects, great job! :)

And track editing improvements makes it much easier to edit them, great!

Matt

I saved the info for RM and now I'm getting ready to update. Do I go into RM on my PC and remove it then re install the 1.7 back on the PC?

Saw that you spoke of a new way you had to get the update out but needed to know if taking the old one off first is still needing to be done.

thx

Matt

Thank you ReefMaster! Large projects load much faster and the side imaging view is more clear than it is on my machine. Well done!

Bill

Tom/TN wrote:
Hi Tom,
No need to remove 1.6 - the update from 1.5-1.6 was a little different because we changed the way RM is installed.

For this update, just run the "Check for updates" program in the ReefMaster folder and follow the prompts. When you open your old workspaces in 1.7, they will be updated to the 1.7 format. Although this process has been thoroughly tested, I would still advise taking a backup of your workspaces beforehand as a precaution. Also note that sonar files will need to be available in their original locations so that they can be re-processed.

Matt

Thank you Matt and RM! Now its so much easier to mark and organize my underwater findings. No longer have to use multiple programs to get them into RM!

Matt wrote:
THX Matt! Glad I asked

Matt
when it is implemented on ethernet connection for lowrance sonar and display images in real time?

Where do i find "running the "Check for Updates" program in the ReefMaster folder"
Where can i find the Reefmaster folder?

nvc: We'd like to do something with live ethernet for both HB and Lowrance, but it is not scheduled yet. Perhaps after sidescan mosaic.

Esox: You can find the "ReefMaster" folder in your start menu (Window 7/Vista/XP) or in the application tiles (Windows 8). You should see a program called "Check for updates".

esox after the update the "check for updates" will be on the window when you go into RM. I went through the steps Matt gave this time but others should go faster.


Matt,I only use this for small fishing maps and a tool for locating new / marking new and keeping a log for myself. Not like some of the incredible maps I've seen other members make but maybe someday.

THX for a great setup!!! it keeps getting better.