DJM Questor Software

Host: Club Cruceros, La Paz, B.C.S., Mexico
Base: DJM Questor Software

MarinePlotter Version-1 Release History

See also: Known Problems.

Released program versions:

To determine the version of your installed copy, select the program "Help" menu "About" command. The About Dialog will display the version number.

Version 1,0,59 . . . Final release. Next release is version-2

• Fixed an additional problem with the bad or missing 'user.config' error recovery method.
• Fixed the TOPMAR and M_NPUB error messages item is empty of some San Francisco ENCs.
• Fixed the error CheckEncProximity[5] ... Object reference not set to an instance of an object. that was related to the above errors.
• Fixed the error System.Collections.Generic.IComparer`1[T]) ... Failed to compare two elements in the array that was related to the above errors.

Version 1,0,58

• Fixed the error Could not start the MarinePlotter application that occurred when starting a new MarinePlotter version. The error occurred if the current or prior version 'user.config' file was corrupted.

Version 1,0,57

• The MCG Editor form message Checking data usage . . . please wait now appears only when you click the Clean button. This change enabled the form to load faster.
• Updated the MCG Editor attributes for DWRTPT, TSSCRS, TSSLPT, TSSRON, TSEZNE, and TWRTPT. The attributes for CATTSS, DRVAL1, DRVAL2, ORIENT, and RESTRN were missing.
• Fixed the drawing error for ENC object SLOGRD.
• Fixed the "symbol QUESMRK01 not found" error. The corrected symbol acronym is QUESMRK1.
• Fixed the "conical color 'Black' not processed" error detected in ENC 'EA200002'.
• Fixed the Tx check box of the Chart objects display filter form. You can now turn-off the annoying TSSLPT text "All charted traffic separation schemes . . ." displayed in the South China Sea Singapore charts from "http://scsenc.eahc.asia".

Version 1,0,56

This release fixes problems with the CM93 to MCG conversion and fixes some MCG object display errors.

If you still get the MCG errors listed below, reconvert the related CM93 cell to a new MCG file. To re-convert the CM93 cells to MCG files, use the new Remake command.

If you get an MCG error message invalid point object..., invalid line object..., or invalid area object..., reconvert the related CM93 to MCG because a prior update might have fixed the error.

• Added the Remake command to the CM93 to MCG form. In the CM93 to MCG form, see the "Commands menu", "MCG files", "Remake" command and related help topics.
• Fixed MCG error "drawn as orange line" for objects CTNARE, COSARE, CONZNE, CUSZNE, FRPARE, GRIDRN, HRBFAC, ICNARE, LOCMAG, LOCMAG, OSPARE, RADRNG, SUBTLN, TSSRON, TWRTPT.
• Fixed the MCG error message invalid attribute $COLOR. The CM93 to MCG conversion now changes the $COLOR to the S57 attribute COLOUR.
• Fixed the MCG error message [WIRLNE] drawn as NEWOBJ. The MarinePlotter now draws the MCG WIRLNE as DAMCON with CATDAM value 1.

• Changed the CM93 to MCG conversion so point WIMCOM is LNKMRK with CATLMK value 19.
• Changed the CM93 to MCG conversion so point WNDMIL is LNKMRK with CATLMK value 18.
• Changed the CM93 to MCG conversion so line DYKCRW is SLOTOP.

• Changed CM93 attribute $ROTAT to IHO S57 attribute ORIENT.

Other changes:

• Fixed the drawing of ENC line style SOLD. The acronym is for a SOLID line. These lines were drawn as thin dashed lines (for example: small craft marina docks or slips.)
• Fixed the method of computing the center of ENC and MCG areas.
• Fixed the AIS simulator recording method for 64-machines. The method failed to copy and delete a temporary recording file.
• Fixed the MarinePlotter error logging method for 64-bit machines. The program failed to copy and delete the temporary error log.
• Repaired the symbol obstrn11.sym used for "obstruction in the water which is always above water level". Part of the symbol was missing.
• Fixed the CM93 to MCG cell select annoying multiple messages for Redrawing plot overlay.

Version 1,0,55

• Changed the GPS Clock Form so the automatic clock setting method is not enabled until the clock has received at least 10 consecutive good GPS sentences.
• Fixed the MCG error CheckEncProximity[6] ... Unable to cast object of type.
• The program now disables the Automatic tile download commands when the Follow vessel command is enabled. The program methods for "follow vessel" plot redraws and for tile downloads interfere with each other.
• Added a record [R] button to the Simulate from socket option of the AIS Simulator Form. The [R] button performs the same funtsion as the File menu Record command. The button is red during a recording. You can no longer close the form if a simulation is running. You can now minimize the form and restore the form. The program will prompt you to save the recording when you stop the simulation.
• Fixed the failed deletion of temporary files created during CM93 to MCG conversion. The files are created in your Documents/.../AppData/Local/Temp folder. To recover needed disk space, you can safely delete all the *.tmp files. If a Windows message says it cannot delete a file because the files in use elsewhere, then click the file Skip option.
• Fixed the MarinePlotter startup random error DrawVesselIcon ... Value cannot be null.
• Fixed the Xtools menu Restore settings command. Windows 8 uses a different configuration file location. The MarinePlotter would fail to run after the user restored the program settings.
• Added the MarinePlotter Reconfigure command to the program's Start menu commands. Use this command to re-initialize the MarinePlotter in the event of a bad form settings (user.config) or bad settings backup file.
• Fixed the CM93 to MCG Conversion Form so the program will display a more informative message when either the CM93 folder or the MCG folder is undefined.

Version 1,0,54

This update corrects some Proximity, AIS and CPA alarm problems introduced in the prior version.

Note: With this update, to hide stationary AIS targets, use the AIS Filter Form option; to hide the stationary AIS target alarms, use the AIS Alarm Form option; and to hide stationary CPA target related alarms, use the CPA Alarm Form option. For additional related information and the usage warnings, see the updated Help topics for these forms.

• When you opened a route, the program fit the route to view. The program now requires that you select the Display menu Route command.
• Fixed the plot tool bar buttons and the menu bar so they do not require two clicks. The main window now uses "Click Through" to activate a command. In prior versions, if another form had input focus, the first click was required to activate the MarinePlotter form and the second click then activated button or menu item.
• Fixed the MCG to ignore the M_SSOR disallowed object of some CM93 MCG cells.
• Fixed the tile ... delete failed error that occurred when replacing, updating, or deleting tiles.
• Changed the Xtools menu Web browser command. The Web-browser form now checks the tile version number for the currently viewed tile type. For more information on how you can update the MarinePlotter so it will download the current GoogleMaps tiles, see the Web browser form help topic. To view the help, open the form with the Xtools menu Web browser command. After the browser form opens, press the keyboard F1 (Help) key.
• Added a Redraw button to the Tile Cache Manager Form to simplify switching views between Satellite, Roadmap, and Terrain views.
• Updated the tile version number of the Satellite, Roadmap, and Terrain tile download methods.
• Added the Hide when SOG is less than [value] control to the AIS Alarm form. This control replaces the prior checkbox control and allows you to specify a minimum AIS object speed in tenths of a knot. The program will not generate an alarm if the related AIS object's speed is less than the specified value. This does not prevent the display of the stationary objects.
• In the AIS Filter form, changed the Show when SOG is greater than [value] to Hide entry when SOG is less than [value]. AIS objects with speeds less than the specified value are not displayed in the table or in the plot. This does not prevent the display of a hidden object related alarm.
• Changed the CPA Alarm Form to replace the Ignore stationary targets to Hide when SOG is less than [value]. Use this option to prevent alarms when passing near marinas, anchorages or crowded harbor dock areas.
• Revised the Proximity Alarm method to provide distance information and to clear the alarms when no longer valid.
• Fixed the AIS Filter so the SOG value is saved on program exit and restored on startup.

Version 1,0,53

• Modified the Depth Alarm to point to and report the offending ENC depth.
• Fixed a Proximity Alarm pointer error. The alarm did not point to the offending ENC object.
• Removed the Ignore stationary AIS target proximity option from the Alarm AIS form. The option is now defined in the AIS filter form as Ignore SOG less than [value]. The prior option ignored SOG less than 1 knot. The new option will ignore SOG less than 0.1 knots and thus gives a finer control on the definition of stationary AIS target.
• Fixed the Alarm display method so it forces the MarinePlotter to become visible if minimized or hidden.
• Fixed the plot Depths: "units" box location. The units might be "unknown". The Navigation Information Bar covered the depth-units indicator when the Navigation bar was visible on the right side of the plot. Also, added UN=METERS to new IMG hdr-files. If necessary, use a text editor to change to FEET or FATHOMS. The program will now display the depth-units indicator to the left of the nav-bar.
• Modified the Follow vessel commands so that the Follow vessel disabled message occurs only after you manually recenter the plot or change the plot scale when the program is also trying to draw the plot based upon the your vessel's position. The program must disable the Following mode whenever a pan or zoom command conflict with vessel following procedure.
• Improved the tile redraw speed for incremental chart movement during a Follow Vessel plot mode. Tiles are now retained in memory until they are no longer needed for the plot. This significately reduces the number of disk accesses for tiles.
• Fixed the Lost the AIS signal Alarm. The alarm occurred if you disabled the AIS input after the program received some AIS NMEA sentences.
• Changed the method for moving a Route point or a Tracer point. Once you enable the point move command, you can select and move one point and then select and move another point without having to re-enable the move command. Refer to the Route Editing topic in the Plot Context Menu Help.
• When creating a route and appending route points, the program now displays the prior leg length in the currently selected units (nms, km, m, f.) Also, the program displays the current length of the route plus the distance to the next point as defined by the mouse cursor location.
• For an existing route, if you move the mouse cursor over a route point, the program now displays the remaining route length.
• Fixed the MarinePlotter multiple instance detector. If the computer or the program crashed, a flag was not cleared. Later, when you started the MarinePlotter it determined from the flag that it was already running and would only let you start a limited capability copy.

Version 1,0,52

• Fixed the View menu Navigation bar command that I broke in the prior release.
• Fixed the clock.xml access error to a non-existent public folder.

Version 1,0,51

• You can now move the plot bar, nav bar, and settings bar to the top, bottom, right, or left edges. On restart the program will restore the bars to your layout. To move the bars, use the mouse to drag the bar gripper to the new location.
• Fixed the plot button bar so you can move it to any edge of the plot: top, right, bottom, or left (default.)
• Changed the AIS Filter speed selection control. You can now hide vessels moving less than a 0.1 knots to get a better idea of true traffic and to reduce the number of AIS objects the program would otherwise have to process. Some vessels on a mooring or at a dock will display SOG values of 0.1 to 0.4 knots. To display all AIS targets, set the filter value to 0.
• You can now run two instances of the program at the same time. The 1st instance will save its program settings. The 2nd instance will not save its settings to prevent overwriting the settings of the 1st instance. Use the 1st instance as normal. Use the second instance to view other charts or other areas of the same chart without disturbing the plot in the 1st instance. Use the Alt + Tab key to fast switch between application views.
• Added an option to turn-off the "Not for navigation" watermark. To access the option, select the MarinePlotter's "Help" menu "Navigation warning" command.
• Changed the proximity zone ring display method to make it easier to show or hide. To display the orange colored proximity alarm zone ring for your vessel or an AIS object, move the mouse cursor over the object's GPS position marker. To hide the ring, repeat the process. To open the object's data form, click the mouse right-button on the marker as in the prior versions.
• Revised the CPA algorithm. Repaired the CPA alarm display. The program did not use the CPA radius in the CPA Alarm form.
• You can now use the Escape keyboard key to disable the mouse mode commands. Alternatively, click the [X] box of the MarinePlotter button bar.
• Simplified route and tracer editing. Removed the Edit route and Edit tracer menu commands as redundant. To disable a route or tracer edit mode (Append, Insert, Move), click the [X] box on the plot button bar.
• Fixed the route line style color error. You can change the route line color with the Route menu Line style command.
• Add a [TT] (Track Target) button to the plot tool bar buttons that enables you to track up to 4 targets.
• Fixed an ENC BOYSPP11 color 4,3,4 not processed error.
• Added a Create table to the File menu of the AIS Simulator. The command will create table entries for the simulator from the simulation file.
• The AIS simulator can now read data from a TPC port.
• Modified the AIS simulator so you can programmatically or manually create simulation data. You can create several AIS simulated vessels and assign a route to each vessel. Use the AIS simulator at the same time you use the GPS simulator to investigate how the program handles a variety of vessel traffic situations.
• Added a simulation file read speed control to the AIS simulator.
• Added a Record check box to the AIS input form. If you have an AIS receiver, you can record the input NMEA sentences. You can use the recording as input to the AIS simulator to test various senarios.

Version 1,0,50

This update is to patch for the Follow vessel command Centered option. Simulated vessel movement with simulated AIS traffic indicates the program does not always provide timely proximity alarms and might not be suitable in areas of heavy traffic, with tiles, or charts that require several seconds to redraw. Use the Centered option with caution!

• Fixed the Follow vessel command Centered option to eliminate an annoying twitch in the chart movement and to improve the response to user commands.
• Fixed the Object Display Filter form so the program could load at startup the optional text filter of the MARINER'S display mode.
• Fixed View Open Charts form invoke error.

Version 1,0,49

• If the Follow vessel command is enabled, the program will disable the anchor alarm. If the anchor alarm is enabled, the program will disable the follow vessel command.
• Added to the Display menu Follow vessel command the optional sub-command Centered. If checked, the centered option will keep the vessel centered and move the chart across the plot window. This option requires a very fast chart redraw and might not work for your computer. See the Display menu Help topics.
• Changed the GPS Clock form to display the GPS time when the date is not available: Instead, the program will display the system date with the GPS time. The older model BU-353 GPS receiver driver on Windows-8 does not provide the needed NMEA RMC (recommended minimum sentence C) data.

Version 1,0,48

• Added a SOG and COG vector display option for AIS objects. To enable, see the help topics for the AIS Filter form.

Version 1,0,47

• Added in the Vessel settings form an option to display a user created ownship icon.
• Added an optional SOG and COG vector to the "own ship" display. For information select the Display menu Vessel settings command. When the Vessel Settings form opens, press the keyboard F1 (help) key. Read the Vessel SOG & COG Vector help topic.
• Fixed the Symbol Selector and Viewer form "View" command so it correctly lists the selected symbol types.
• Added the Select coastline to the View menu. The command opens the Graphical chart selector so you can load a different coastline file.
• Fixed the plot mouse cursor type. When a Tracer was loaded, the program used a Cross even though the Tracer menu Edit point was unchecked.
• When the program was maximized and closed, the program was supposed to restart maximized but instead restarted as a normal window. This error is now fixed ... again!
• Added a popup menu to the AIS Filter form table. To open the menu, click the mouse right-button on the table.
• Fixed the Proximity Alarm form Display button command to behave as the same as the plot Display menu Current alarm command.
• The CM93 to MCG conversion now converts the _extgn object to a BCNCAR with attribute BCNSHP 5 and the attribute INFORM with value CM93: Extended navigational aid, generic.
• Changed the Graphical chart selector form. To select charts, the number of viewed rectangles must be less than about 500. Zoom-in to reduce the number of viewed rectangles. Changed the zoom button icons to match the MarinePlotter plot tool bar buttons. To select a chart, both the [hand] and the [ZR] buttons must be Off (color: cyan.) To turn-off the [hand] or [ZR] button (color: yellow,) click the button with the mouse left-button.
• Fixed the CM93 to MCG conversion message that reported a number of cells outside the view when the whole world was in the view.
• Fixed the Help so you can open multiple Help for different forms.
• Fixed the Objects form so it displays MCG object attribute values.
• Changed the WNDMIL point object of CM93 cells to the MCG LNDMRK object CATLMK 18. This error is reported when you open an MCG that contains a WNDMIL object. To stop the MCG error log message related to this object, you need to re-convert the CM93 cell to the MCG file.
• Modified the Route menu. Added Edit points and Clear commands to the Route and Tracer plot context menu commands. See the Help on Plot Context Commands commands.
• Added a lookup table for zoom-level to chart scale conversion. See the About Charts Help topic.
• Removed a cross thread error from the Xtools menu Test all charts command for MCG charts.

Version 1,0,46

• Added Automatic updating (GPS) to the Route Report/Planning form. Also, fixed the invalid DTG and TTG values.
• Fixed the RNC color palette so the Black and White brightness can now be adjusted. See the RNC transparency comments in Known Problems..
• Fixed the Route -> Move problem which caused the program to crash from an undefined object.
• The program now clears the plot mouse mode when you check the Create or the Modify box of the RNC Align or IMG Align forms.
• Added a menu to the IMG Reference Coordinates form for C1 and C2 adjustments. To open the menu, click the mouse-right button on the C1/C2 information bar.
• The program now saves the IMG Header Editor form Projection and Attribution list changes.
• Deleted the CM93 to MCG toggle button and the MCG toggle menu command. The toggle methods are not part of the Commands menu Toggle [X] boxes commands.
• The MarinePlotter now displays a CM93 cell conversion as orange to distinquish it from the red cell rectangles.
• Fixed a CM93 to MCG conversion "out of memory" error that occurred after about 50 or more of F-cells were converted. The program failed to clear a buffer after processing a cell.

Version 1,0,45

This patch deals mainly with fixing major problems in the IMG header creation and editing methods. Recent new interest in geo-referenced images has brought the IMG problems to light.

• Fixed the IMG header create so the REF1 is not reset to (0,0) after it is defined.
• Fixed the IMG open so that if there is an offset file, the program now applies the offset.
• Modified the AIS Filter so you can orient a stationary vessel parallel to a dock. You can also set a proximity minimum distance. The data is now saved and restored automatically. This feature is useful if you have the same vessel in your area for a long period of time.
• Added OpenCPN icons to the waypoint icons folder in support of the OpenCPN gpx-file route file. The program uses only the 16x16 icons: If a version cannot be found that exactly matches the size, the closest match is used. Deleted the 24x24 and 32x32 icons. Changed some 32 bit icons to 24-bit icons. The MarinePlotter does not support all OpenCPN icons. The folder is located on your computer at ..\Program Files\Common Files\DJM Questor Software\MarinePlotter\Application Data\Waypoint icons\.
• Modified the Waypoint Editor form so you can increase the length of the waypoint list: Resize the form height as needed.
• The Waypoint data appears on the Navigation bar only when a waypoint "goto" is active.
• Added Route data to the Navigation bar. The route data includes overall DTG, TTG, and ETA.
• Fixed IMG menu Clip region command. The program now saves your setting.
• Fixed the Route point move so the related "goto" point also moves.
• Fixed the chart Graphical selector. The program no longer opens more than what was selected.
• Fixed the automatic settings update mechanism for a new release. You now have the option of restoring a backup copy of your program settings which might be different from the prior operational (and possibly defective) settings. To save and restore your program settings, select the Xtools menu User settings command.
• Added a note to the MCG Align about how to undo an offset because there is no undo command.

Version 1,0,44

An quicky patch to fix a serious IMG problem.

• Fixed the NavBar TTG update. The update only occurred if the GPS Fix data form was visible.
• Fixed the IMG Editor so that the program does not crash when the user opens a jpg, png, bmp, etc. instead of an expected hdr-file.
• Fixed the repeating/non-stoppable error message "A new version of the MarinePlotter is available".
• Fixed Route menu Line style for route turn point marks. The program can now optionally display a Dot, Square, or Diamond.

Version 1,0,43

This update is a patch to the prior update which did not include all the expected fixes.

• Fixed the [hand] button on the Graphical Selector. I broke it while moving code in 1.0.42.
• Added the Help topic How to use OpenCPN waypoints.
• Fixed the IMG menu Edit command. The program failed to draw some images at the correct scale.
• Added the IMG menu Clip region command. Clipping is based on the reference rectangle if PLY values are not in the header file.
• Added the IMG menu Align command.

Version 1,0,42

Note: Due to changes in the user settings data storage mechanism, this update might required that you re-specify the Tile Cache and other folder locations. Other user settings should not change.

• Revised the AIS Simulator Help topic.
• Changed the Range Ring form to add vessel range ring settings.
• Added the [VR] button to the plot tool bar so you can create the vessel rings (1 to 3.)
• The Program now updates the View Open Chart form after a file is opened or closed.
• The ENC, MCG, RNC, and IMG catalogues now have an option to Auto load. If the Catalogue menu Auto load command is checked, the on startup, the program load the catalogue in a background worker thread.
• The ENC, MCG, RNC, and IMG menu Graphical selector command is enabled when a catalogue is loaded.
• Fixed IMG menu Edit command. The Image header editor form was not loading the header data. Also, the related Image plotter was not providing the correct pixel locations.
• The RNC menu Image files commands are changed. Refer to the related Help topics. Basically, the program will convert RNCs to bitmaps with palettes and put the image files into the selected IMG folder.
• Fixed a CM93 to MCG conversion error that caused the program to crash.
• Fixed a Tracer error that caused the Big Red-X to appear and caused the program to crash. The problem occurred following a Tile Cache Manager form Trace procedure and a plot [R] refresh command to display the new tiles.
• Added the Xtools menu User settings -> Make backup copy and Restore settings commands to help recover from a bad configuration file. After you have the MarinePlotter working as desired, you should make a backup copy of your program settings.
• Fixed the Xtools menu Fix Red X command. The program was not redrawing the plot after the Red-X fix.
• Fixed the Route/Trace drawing. The program will now limit the drawing to (85N,-180W) and (-85S,180E). Before the fix, the program would stop appending points if you moved the mouse outside this area.
• An improper shutdown of the Windows system or MarinePlotter program can corrupt the user setting file. The MarinePlotter program will not start if the user setting file is corrupted. If the program detects a bad configuration file, the program will ask if you want to delete the bad file (recommended) or if you want to attempt to fix the bad file (advanced.) If you delete the bad file, you will need to re-enter all your preferences. If you chose to fix the file, the program provides the location information. If you use a system backup program, you might be able to restore the backup 'user.config' file to the above location.
• Added a minimum scale to the Object Filter Selector form for Text and Soundings.
• Fixed the [R] Refresh button. The refresh button was unintentionally disabled when the [E] Error button was enabled.
• Fixed the Graphical Chart Selector so you can select from a stack of charts wherein the rectangles are the same size and at the same location.
• Fixed the program startup: The program failed to load the Text display filter.
• Removed the check mark from the ENC and MCG Display filter menu command.
• Fixed the Graphical Selector form so it remembers the prior center location and zoom level.
• Fixed the MCG catalogue so it remembers the prior catalogue selection.

Version 1,0,41

• Fixed the View menu Open charts form [X] boxes. The charts that are visible are checked and the charts not visible are unchecked.
• Fixed the manual simulation mode. The vessel icon would disappear at the start of the simulation. The program was expecting a waypoint or route point.
• Removed the red proximity alarm area fill because it obscured other data. The program now draws a thick red ring around the alarm area. If the vessel violates the AIS zone then the ring is around the AIS object. If the AIS object violates the vessel's proximity zone, then the ring is around the vessel. If the alarm is for an AIS object, the program will draw the AIS object with and alternating red and blue color.
• Fixed the program so it will draw AIS objects when the GPS is disabled.
• Fixed the Display menu AIS objects -> Closest command. The command will fit your vessel and the closest AIS target to the plot window and display a tracking range and bearing line to the AIS object.
• Fixed the program startup window state. If you close the program with a Maximized window, the program will open with a Maximized window. Otherwise, the program will open with a Normal window.
• Fixed the ENC depth sounding filter so the program optionally does not display depths greater than 30-meters or greater than Min-Safe.

Version 1,0,40

• Fixed a plot drawing problem that sometimes caused a gray blank screen and required a manual refresh.
• If you select the Route file menu New command, the program will enter into a route create and append mode. To create and append route points, click the plot window where you want the route turn point. For more information see the related Help topics.
• If you select the Trace file menu New command, the program will enter into a trace create and append mode. To create a trace, press the mouse left-button down and drag the mouse. For more information see the related Help topics.
• After the program opens a new chart and if the chart is outside the current plot window, the program will ask if you want the program to fit the chart to the plot window. In the prior versions, the program wasted time drawing charts which were outside the plot window.
• Added the [i] inform button to the plot tool bar. The program will enable the button when an ENC or MCG is open. When the inform button is checked, the program will mark all objects that contain the INFORM attribute. To view the information, move the mouse cursor to "o" of the marker and click the mouse right-button. If you miss the object or the INFORM is empty, the program will display "No data". To remove the markers, uncheck the [i] button.
• Removed the variable indicator Not for navigation. The program will always display a semi-transparent red message "Not for Navigation" at the bottom of the plot window. This is to remind you that this program is no more than an aid to navigation regardless of the quality of the charts it displays.
• Fixed the Error form so it no longer blocks the drawing. The Error message form blocked the chart drawing to forcefully bring to your attention to the fact that there was something wrong with the program or the ENC chart. However, known but unimport errors, warnings, or simple information can annoyingly block a simple plot redraw. The program will display a flashing error [E] button on the information tool bar to indicate the chart might have significant errors. To open the error message form, click the error [E] button.
• Fixed the Route point Move command so it works when the Edit route command is checked.
• Fixed the drawing of CM93 generated MCG sector lights.
• Added a Toggle MCG menu command to the CM93 to MCG menu. The command will uncheck all table entries and then will check all [X] boxes of entries which contain "mcg". Uncheck any "mcg" entries for MCG files you have edited and do not want replaced. You can then select the Convert command to re-convert the selected CM93 cells in order to replace the MCG with CM93 cell conversion fixes in this release or subsequent releases.
• Added View log to the CM93 to MCG menus. The program will open the selected log files with Windows NotePad. Also, when the MarinePlotter Error form displays an error with a FILE: line, then you can open the indicated log file by double clicking FILE:.
• Fixed the error wherein the conversion process eliminated data outside the CM93 cell boundary. The MCG display then reported the missing data: For example sounding s16205 node not found. The MCG specification does not allow data outside the MCG boundary or area of coverage. This restriction is removed; however, each time you open an MCG file which contains data outside the boundary, the MarinePlotter will report the error. To eliminate this MCG error message, either delete the data and the reference data in the MCG xml-file; or, if you created the MCG file from a CM93 cell, re-convert the CM93 cell.
• Updated the Help on the CM93 to MCG conversion and related plot menu commands.
• Fixed the CM93 to MCG table [X] box behavior. The plot now shows the cells select state per the table box check state when the Select cell is checked.
• Fixed the CM93 to MCG catalogue should save behavior. If you load the table from a directory scan, the program will ask if you want to save the table data as a new CM93 catalogue. The program does not save the catalogue [X] box check states.

Version 1,0,39

Note: Free ENCs are now available for the South China Sea.

Added CM93 V2 support: Most of the listed changes are a consequence of the addition of the CM93 to MCG converter.

You might need to edit any MCG files you have created. The sample MCG files are updated to the changes in the MCG format.

• Fixed the ENC text display filter.
• Added the Plan command to the Route menu. When you create or open a route, you can display route plan data to get distances and ETA for various boat speeds along the route.
• The Set button of the Minimum scale in the MCG Editor is now enabled when Coverage is checked.
• Fixed the Waypoint list save command error that caused the program to crash when you failed to select a waypoint symbol. The program now requires that you select a symbol or cancel the creation of a new waypoint.
• Fixed a waypoint delete error that caused the program to crash when you tried to display all waypoints after deleting a waypoint.
• Added Mouse Wheel functions to the Plot window. To center the plot, click the Mouse Wheel button. To Zoom-In, press the mouse wheel down and rotate the wheel away from you. To Zoom-Out, press the mouse wheel down and rotate the wheel towards you. The scale factor is determined from the number of wheel rotation clicks. Also, if viewing tiles, then each click is one level; otherwise, each click is 1/10th of a level. To restore a view from a center and zoom-in operation, click the [Zo] plot tool bar button. Use these commands to move and scale the plot view when you create a route or a trace or when you create or edit and MCG.
• Added a method to align an MCG chart to a known reference. The alignment method is to enable you to correct the coordinates of an MCG created from a CM93 wherein the cell data is misplaced. For an example, refer to a conversion of the Santa Rosalia, B.C.S. Mexico CM93 cell 03510743.G (the cell appears about 1.38 km SW of where it should appear.) To align an MCG to a reference, use the MCG Editor Chart align option. The program will enable the option when you select the Coverage button.
• Removed the confusing View filter from the Object Display Filter. Removed the related ENC Object Filter Selector form.
• Fixed the ENC and MCG Object Display Filter to reference the same object class visibility data. There is no longer a distintsion between the object class visibility. If you show or hide an object, the change will affect both ENC and MCG objects.
• The MCG file format no longer contains the symbol name sm attribute because object symbols are predefined in the ENC standard. The program will select the correct symbol from the ENC S57 symbolization tables per the object name (LNDMRK), the object attribute names (CATLMK) and the descriptive values.
• Increased the ENC and MCG sounding font size from a pixels to 12 pixels to improve readability. Also, if the depth is less than min-safe, the sounding is black and bold; and, if the depth is greater than min-safe, the sounding is gray. The program also enhances the min-safe depth contours.
• Removed SCAMAX from the ENC and MCG objects. The attribute is not allowed: IHO S57 Product Specification
• The MCG attribute values have been changed from text to list indexes for the IHO standard list attributes.
• The MCGs use of the $TEXTS object is changed to also use the $TXSTR attribute. The $CHARS attribute usage is also changed. The program will convert data in the prior invalid format to the new format. You should avoid using the $TEXTS object because it is not allowed in ENCs. The MarinePlotter uses the $TEXTS object for the Not for Navigation notification and to represent CM93 text. In the future, text will be limited to only IHO objects with text display commands in the object presentation instructions.
• Revised and simplified the MCG feature attribute value definition form.
• Revised the MCG_ROOT (samples) to use the new attribute value format.
• Revised the program to recognize and fix most MCG attribute data from the old 'text' format to the new 'index list' format. The program will record the changes in the error log. You will need to save the MCG in order to retain the fixes.
• Added the MCG Validate command to the Xtools menu. The command opens the MCG Validate form. The form enables you to check for objects that are missing mandatory attributes. IHO S57 Product Specification
• Added an MCG file open check for attributes Not Allowed. IHO S57 Product Specification
• Added an MCG file open check for objects Not Allowed. IHO S57 Product Specification For the time being, the $TEXTS object is the only allowed MCG exception and should be not be used in new MCGs.
• Added the CM93 to MCG command to the Xtools menu. The command enables you to convert CM93 version 2 cells to MCG xml-files that you can edit.
• Added missing object definitions to the ENC tables found during tests of the "CM93 to MCG" conversion method.
• Removed the no longer needed Refresh button from the Error log form.
• Fixed the ENC Catalogue form so it once again lists the CATALOG.031 entries in the drop down list.
• Changed the RNC catalogue initialization process. You can now make a catalogue of BSB, KAP, or Both file types. When making a catalogue of BSB files, you have the option to compute the chart set dimensions form the related kap-files. Also, the BSB chart set size will be the sum of the kap-file sizes.
• Improved an MCG sounding "missing node" error message.

Version 1,0,38

• Fixed the timer that updates and draws GPS position. The program was not drawing the vessel position.
• Fixed the Recent files, View opened charts, and Close file forms so they do not create an Invoke error.
• Added the Minimum scale command to the MCG Soundings edit menu. This command enables you to define a SCAMIN value for all soundings. For more information, search for form soundings minimum scale in the Help search tab.
• Fixed MCG transparency so it now changes. Also, fixed the ENC transparency range.
• Added Center, Zoom-in, and Zoom-out commands to the MCG Editor plot edit menus. If you are creating a chain or area, you can now change the plot window center and scale without leaving the MCG edit mode.
• Fixed the To create the area perimeter polygon tutorial help.
• Fixed the MCG Editor file open command. The program now forces a redraw after it opens the MCG.
• Removed the MCG automatic Fit chart to view on filel

Version 1,0,37

• Fixed the MCG hole punching method.
• Fixed the MCG node Delete command.
• Fixed the XmlNotePad commands in the MCG Editor's File menu.
• Increased the size of the test boxes in the plot information tool bar to fix a display problems related to some 64-bit machines, screens with difference resolutions, and systems with different font sizes.
• Removed the plot Scale setting by Radar range to simplify the plot settings and information tool bar. The radar range information is now part of the plot Scale dropdown box tool-tip.
• Removed the plot Named scale drop down box to simplify the plot settings andd information tool bar. The same command entries are listed in the Display menu.

Version 1,0,36

I recently sent an inquiry to the NOAA Office of Coast Survey via NOAA's Nautical Inquiry System reguarding the display of optional items such as soundings, text and meta data. The OCS replied, "If your system is to be a type approved ECDIS then it must follow the display categories as perscribed by the IMO. That being said the users can optionally display things however if they choose to turn things off that are suppossed to be in the standard display mode then the system is not suited for paperless navigation."

I mistakenly made the ENC options too restrictive: I have removed the restrictions in this release. However, to turn-off displayed object of the STANDARD or the STANDARD plus OTHER display modes, you must create a custom MARINER'S display mode. If any STANDARD display mode object in the MARINER'S display mode is turned-off, then the chart is not be used for navigation.

The question then arises: What does "not for navigation" mean? For the MarinePlotter program, "Not for Navigation" means the program will not steer your vessel as an autopilot or even provide information to an autopilot. This program is an Electronic Chart System (ECS) that is intended to be only an aid to navigation and as such the program contains no methods for automatically controlling your vessel as might be available in an Electronic Chart Display and Information System (ECDIS).

• Fixed the plot popup menu Download tiles option Update, Replace, and Delete commands. The command are one shot but were not turned-off.
• Fixed all DataGridView CheckBox display problems related to running the program on some 64-bit machines. The checkbox was too small and the size is now automatically scaled.
• Added the ENC filter option Use SCAMIN to the ENC menu Display filter commands. This option is normally checked to filter clutter in large area views.
• Fixed the ENC [C?] information picker. The extend information window no longer opens automatically. When the mouse is over multiple objects, the program will display "Click for more..." at the end of the base object information display. If you click the mouse, the program will open the extended information box that will show all information for the selected objects.
• Added a Chart viewed scale display next to the latitude and longitude coordinate display in the plot information bar. A scale of 1:100000 means that a viewed units of measure on the plot is 100000 real world units measure. For example: One inch in the plot is 100000 real world inches or 2.54 kilometers or one inch in the plot is 1.37149 nautical miles.
• Changed the Select chart to close form to close the chart when you double click the mouse left-button on the chart table row entry.
• The program no longer automatically fits a chart to the plot window when you open a chart. If you are viewing an area image and then open a chart, the program will not change the view. To fit the charts to the view, click the plot tool bar Fit chart to view button that is under the View World button.
• The program will now restore the application window to Maximized or Normal per the state it was in when closed. If the window was Minimized when closed, the program will re-open the window in the Normal state.
• Fixed the Stop command for redraw and other background operations. The button was mistakenly disabled when another group of buttons was disabled.
• Fixed the View menu Open charts command for MCGs and Images. The charts were not listed.
• Removed the RNC menu Clip region by REF and PLY command. The RNC menu Clip region command is now by PLY (polygon outline) only.
• Fixed the Clip region command. When RNC clipping was enabled, then other charts were clipped by the RNC region because the region was not restored after the last RNC chart clipping.
• Fixed the "Unhandled exception error" that occurred when using the [C?] information picker with an ENC.

Version 1,0,35

The program can now process the NOAA Product Catalogues in the 19115 xml-file format. An example of the files you can download with the chart files are the files FL_RNCProdCat_19115.xml and FL_ENCProdCat_19115.xml. The FL is the Florida prefix. A different prefix is used to identify each state's catalogue.

Note: The product catalogue for all charts is called RNCProdCat.xml and ENCProdCat.xml. This xml-file format is not the same as that of the 19115 format. The MarinePlotter recognized both formats.

Other countries might use xml-files formats the program does not recognize. However, the program can process the standard IHO CATALOG.031 format for ENCs.

• Added a (Product Catalogue) reader for the U.S. ENC and RNC ProdCat_19115 xml-file downloads at the NOAA web-site.
• Updated the RNC and ENC Catalogue forms to use the NOAA chart ProdCat_19115 xml-file format.
• Updated the RNC and ENC Update Methods forms to use the 19115 xml-file format.
• Fixed additional errors in the Tracer methods.
• Fixed the Web Browser form Options menu Scan and List commands used to get the GoogleMaps version number.

Version 1,0,34

Please report any cases where the program does not record and apply your preferences or program settings.

• Fixed some errors with the creation and use of Tracers. Fixed the Tile Cache Manager's Begin tracer command. To start a trace, the program now disables the Tracer mouse mode and forces the plot to redraw maximized.
• Revised the MarinePlotter download and installation procedure. The download now consists of three parts instead of several option parts:
  • MarinePlotter
  • The MarinePlotter folder for user settings
  • The chart folder for all users of the computer
  With this release, the program no long creates user related installation folders.
• Fixed the GPS Form so it now applies your selected port settings at startup. In the prior releases the program saved the data but failed to use it. The prior versions reset the GSP receiver port to 4800 baud during each startup.
• Revised the Depth alarm form to comply with the IHO S52 depths. The program now defines Very shallow as from 0 to less than 2 meters and Shallow as 2 meters to less than Min safe. You can adjust the value of Min safe to the minimum depth safe for your vessel draft with consideration for maximum wave height. For more information, see the Depth alarm Help topic. This change will improve the display of ENC and MCG depth areas.
• Fixed the program so it does not ask at startup for the RNC folder location when you have configured the program to not use RNCs.
• Changed the File, Display, and View menus so they display only the program Configuration relevant commands.

Version 1,0,33

This update is a continuation of the RNC testing. The program found a couple of additional US chart errors which NOAA has since corrected. The program appears to correctly display all 2200 + US raster charts and an additional 2000 + foreign charts I use for testing. The program does not correctly display the US RNC 14500_1.KAP and the 14860_1.KAP because they are non-Mercator (POLYCONIC) and cover a large area. However, other (small area) POLYCONIC charts can be useful because the errors are small.

• Changed the Route menu. Added the Tracer file command to separate the tracer concept from the route concept. Although the two commands use the same program methods, they sever different purposes and the separation is to help you more easily achieve your goals.
• Changed the plot's standard popup menu to add the Tracer command in support of the above Route menu change.
• Added the Clip region options by REF and by PLY to the RNC menu. The clip by REF uses the bitmap reference boundary and is marginally useful for non-rotated images in that it removes the chart boarder information that one might consider to be clutter. The clip by PLY uses the chart outline polygon. The clip by PLY can be used to "stitch" charts because it reduces the drawn data to just that inside the reference polygon. However, not all charts have valid PLY coordinates. Also, you should not use these options for non-Mercator charts.
• Fixed the tile download method. Tiles now download much faster than in prior versions.
• Added a tile download quota detector. The program will issue a message when the program receives an Access Forbidden (403) message. When downloading tiles the 403 error indicates that the MarinePlotter has probably downloaded the server's daily quota for the application. You will need to wait a day before the MarinePlotter can download additional tiles.
• Added GoogleMaps to the Display menu. The command opens GoogleMaps in the Internet Explorer to the same view as in the MarinePlotter. Use the command to determine if new and better tiles are available before updating or replacing tiles. Also, you can use the command to determine if tiles exist if you receive an "Basic tile not found" message. The message can occur if you have exceeded the server's daily tile download quota.
• Fixed the tile Delete command of the plot popup menu. The command would fail to reset and caused tiles to be deleted with each plot refresh.
• Added a new RNC Warning Options form. The form makes it easier to enable and disable various RNC data processing warnings related to chart projection, offset, color, etc..
• Fixed an index error in the RNC Color Palettes form option that caused the chart to become invisible.
• Fixed and index error in the RNC Offset option that caused the chart to shift to infinity.
• Added the Steer course option to the Cross track alarm form so you can turn-off the direction to steer message.
• Revised the optional Follow Ship method which keeps your moving vessel or simulated moving vessel visible in the plot window. In the prior versions, the program would sometimes start a redraw just before a turn point; and, during the redraw, the vessel would move past and miss the turn point and cause a waypoint departure alarm. As the vessel progresses toward the next waypoint, the program will now redraw the plot with the next waypoint centered if the vessel is also visible. In addition, to minimumize the plot redraws while following a route, the program now adjusts the vessel's plotted position to maximize the vessel travel distance across the plot area.

Version 1,0,32

This update is a result of extensive testing with US and European raster charts. Many minors errors are fixed and the RNCs now load and display slightly faster. A few SK=angle and REF coordinate errors were found in some US RNCs and reported to NOAA. NOAA has provided new zip-files with the errors corrected.

• Fixed an RNC index error that occurs in several old French charts such as 7053.kap. The program will now draw what it can: The index error will cause part of the chart to be grayed-out.
• Added a Update method to the RNC menu. The method is similar to the ENC update method.
• Fixed a scaling error that occurred for some French RNCs such as #5252.kap.
• Move the chart [E] button to the plot Settings tool bar to improve the visibility of a flashing error status.

Version 1,0,31

• Fixed the East to West span problem again. Charts like US 50_2.kap now draw correctly.
• Fixed a plot scaling round-off error that caused the program to draw at scale 7.6 instead of scale 7.7. This caused an error in the plot size of the RNC and could be seen as chart mis-alignment with the world coastline that an offset could not fix..
• Fixed a scaling error caused by a bad US RNC 18687_5.kap. The SK=0 parameter is invalid and should be SK=-90. US RNC 11467_4.kap also has a bad SK value. These angle errors causes the program to plot the chart wrong. I have reported these errors to NOAA.
• When the program centers the plot, program now sets the (lat,lon) on the Settings tool bar to the chart's center position. Otherwise the position is that of the mouse cursor.
• Fixed the [E] error button on the plot tool bar. The button failed to open the Error message form.
• Added Initialize, Prior, Test, Next to the Test all charts form for stepwise testing. Reference X tools menu.
• Fixed an invalid ENC FSPT.RCID problem found in Italy chart IT300017. Some RCID (record identification) values were negative. The values are supposed to be unsigned integer values. Converting the values to uint fixed the problem.
• Added attributes SHIPAM and HORDAT to the non-processed and ignored area draw method. This eliminates the related error message for some Mediterranian charts.
• Removed the "unhandled MASK = 1" error message from ENC area builds. Area edges are not drawn and the masking does not matter. Area edges must be defined by separate line objects.
• Stopped vessel position flashing during a plot redraw. The error caused a random "Object in use elsewhere" error and also caused an annoying flickering during the redraw.
• Fixed an error in the ENC chart update method. The prior method processed some non-update files and generated false error messages.
• Fixed the Error message form Refresh method so it does not clear the prior error messages when adding new messages.
• Fixed an an "Object in use elsewhere" error caused by a plot redraw during a plot redraw.
• Fixed the error that prevented normal tile drawing when the Draw only new box was checked in the Tile Cache Manager. This option now only works when downloading tiles.
• Fixed the "Control 'menuStrip' accessed from a thread other than the thread it was created on." error that prevented tile downloading for waypoint locations.

Version 1,0,30

• Fixed a long standing invalid setting that prevented background color changes for the AIS, GPS, and Alarm menu items.

Version 1,0,29

• Rebuilt the Setup.exe file to work on 64-bit machines. For some undiscovered reason, this option gets reset to support only 32-bit machines.
• Fixed the confusing MarinePlotter download web page entry for downloading the ENC_ROOT (sample).
• Changed the name of the installation setup msi-file from Setup.msi to Setup MarinePlotter.msi. The name Setup.exe is a Microsoft Installer generated "standard" name that will not be changed. For more information, search the Internet for "Setup msi vs exe".
• Fixed the MCG charts command of the X Tools Test all charts menu. The method was not set to the correct chart folder.

Version 1,0,28 with MCG

• Added the capability that will enable you to create vector charts in the form of Mariner's Cruising Guides (MCG). For more information, see the MCG related Help topics (use the Help Search tab.) Also, see the MCG_ROOT (samples) and the related Tutorial.
• Updated the GoogleMaps tile download method: Newer (but not necessarily better) tiles are now downloaded. Also fixed the tile "update" and "replace" methods which failed to download.
• Added Very shallow to the Depth Alarm settings: The depths define the depth area colors for ENC and MCG charts.
• Removed the Layers command from the ENC, MCG, RNC and Image menus.
• Added the View menu Opened charts command. You can use the Open charts form to Show or Hide a chart and to Fit a chart to the plot window. The Fit to view occurs when you double click the chart entry in the table.
• Added Drag and Drop to the MarinePlotter for file types 000, mcg, bsb, kap, bmp, jpg, jpeg, png, gif, tif, tiff. Also added Drag and Drop to the MCG Editor for the file type mcg. Note that for security reasons, Drag and Drop does not work when the program is run as "Administrator".
• Added the Configuration command to the Xtools menu. If you do not use some features of the MarinePlotter, you can tell the program not to display the menus or to load any of the related data.
• Repaired the Tile Cache Manager tile download methods for Waypoints and Coastline. A flag was not set and the appropriate methods where not called to download the tiles. Also, repaired the tile download method such that it will now create a missing "level" folder.
• Added two retry buttons to the Tile Cache Manager. These commands reprocess a "tile not found" and a "tile error" download list. Adjacent to each retry button is a Draw button. If you click the Draw button, the program will draw the error locations as a red dot. You can then examine the tile location.
• Changed the automatic method for downloading new or missing tiles. When the Tile Cache Manager automatically downloads tiles using the waypoint, coastline, or tracer methods, the program will draw only the new tiles during data point processing. As a consequence, the program will run much faster looking for and drawing only the missing tiles. If the program displays a "Downloading" message but does not display the tiles, it is because the tiles were not available. the Tile Cache Manager will display a running count of newly downloaded tiles and of missing tiles.
• Added the Scan all tiles command to the Tiles menu to plot all tile locations to help remove a large number of tiles in areas no longer of interest. The command opens the scan settings form. Added the Help topics.
• Changed the auto-update check so the program loading is not delayed when the Internet is slow or there is no connection.
• Added the Download basic tile-level button to the Tile Cache Manager. Also, added the command Basics to the Tiles menu Download tiles command. Added the Help topics.
• Revised the Tracer method so that it is more efficient and makes fewer calls to the tile servers. The tracer method will now optionally draw only the "new" tiles or "Basic tile not found". This enables the program to rapidly skip over areas not modified.

Version 1,0,27 patch

• Corrected the AIS input signal checksum processing. The program was rejecting some AIS sentences that had legitimate binary data after the text sentence.
• Added a optional Show Binary command to the AIS input sentence listing popup menu.

Version 1,0,26

Important: With this release, you will need to remove and re-evaluate any RNC offsets you have manually added to RNCs. In this release, charts are now offset by a DTM correction factor which will eliminate the need for you to manually offset some older charts. Although the DTM value has been available in the kap-file header data, the MarinePlotter ignored the data in prior versions. Not all RNC have been updated and the DTM values are either missing or zero. For these charts, you will need to add a small placement offset. See the Help on RNC Align.

• Fixed the RNC drawing sequence so that small area charts now draw on top of large area charts.
• Fixed the Fit to View button command. The method did not always center and scale a raster chart correctly because the boundary data was not computed correctly. Some older (French for example) RNCs contain an invalid outline polygon. Some RNCs (Pilot Charts for example) do not contain the CPH flag to indicate the chart data cross East-to-West.
• Added the DTM offset to the RNC charts to correct the chart placement to the (World Geo-Survey) WGS84 standard. If you have added a manual offset to some older kap-files, you will need to remove the offset and then re-evaluate the need for any new placement correction.
• Changed the RNC to Bitmap conversion method. The program will now load and display RNCs 4-times larger than in the prior versions. Also, the RNCs are in most cases displayed up to 4-times faster.
• Added Day, Dusk, Night color tables to RNC bitmap display. If the tables are not defined in the KAP-file, then the program will display the default RGB colors. To change chart color displays, select the Day, Dusk, or Night entry of the Brightness box on the plot information tool bar of the MarinePlotter.
• Added the Palette command to the RNC menu. The command is to enable you to correct raster chart colors. This addition provides Day, Dusk, and Night U.S. raster chart palette color references. However, you can assign any color to a chart color index. Charts use indexes for each pixel to identify the pixel color. The palette defines the color to each index. The program now provides support for Day, Dusk, and Night palettes. You should change chart colors only when they are obviously incorrect or are otherwise detrimental to chart reading. The program will save the color changes to the chart palette-file and will use the corrections each time the chart is reloaded. The program will also generate a chart color correction notification.
• Changed the plot background color setting so it will be what you set for Day, Dusk, or Night. For example: You can now set a light background color for the Day and a dark background color for Night.
• Fixed the Out of memory message to now include information about how much is needed and how much is available.
• Fixed another problem with raster chart placement when they spanned East-to-West. Some older kap-files (Pilot Charts for example) did not set the CPH span indicator flag. Note that the raster version of the "Altas of Pilot Charts" available on the Internet were created from pfd-file images, do not contain needed offset corrects, nor the CPH flag, and should not be used for navigation. These charts are useful in determining global wind patterns at different times of the year.

Version 1,0,25

This is a patch to repair additional (1.0.23) source code file corruption problems.

• Removed the sample AIS file from the application installation program. The file is now available at the MarinePlotter download page.
• Revised the Tracer creation and tile download method.
• Fixed several Route creation and editing problems.
• Repaired a program startup error ClassForms.Create ... Object reference not set to an instance of an object.
• Repaired the corrupted ENC display code that caused the program to draw only part of the ENC data.
• Recompiled program to run on 64-bit machines. The option was turned-off.
• Fixed Auto-check for updates. The reference version file was corrupted.

Version 1,0,24

This version fixes some errors created by a corrupted backup file that resulted in the loss of several prior fixes and changes.

• You can now open the MarinePlotter from Windows Explorer by selecting one or more ENC, RNC or Image files. In order for this to work, you must set the file type (000, KAP, bmp, jpg and so on) to open with the MarinePlotter application. You can also start the MarinePlotter from the Start menu Run command or from the DOS Command Prompt window. The format is: "program path" "chart1 path" "chart2 path" etc.
• Added the Background to the plot popup menu. You can now change the plot background color.
• Restored the tile display source attribution.
• Fixed the Vessel Settings symbol selector.
• Fixed the ENC chart file close so that the chart data is removed from the object display list.
• Fixed an ENC line symbol drawing error that caused the program to redraw all symbols when only a few were in the plot window.
• Fixed the ENC Graphic Data Display Filter selector. You can once again select the MARINER's or OTHER display filters.
• Fixed the ENC, RNC, Image catalogue forms Catalogue drop down list so they list only existing and relevant catalogue.
• Fixed the Catalogue menu Delete command in the ENC, RNC, Image catalogue forms. The program now deletes the list entry even if the catalogue does not exist.
• Checked the chart Error message form to display the chart spans 180 east warning only once. Subsequent messages will appear only in the error log. The warning is from earlier versions of the program which did not correctly draw 180 spanning charts. The same applies to a unhandled MASK value warning. A ENC data contains a MASK to indicate part of a area or line is not to be displayed. Currently, the program display the MASKed part inorder to maximize the vector drawing speed. Of the charts tested, the flag appears only in the free South China Sea ENCs.
• Added a Mexico sample RNC to the MarinePlotter download page.
• Fixed a world outline drawing problem wherein the bottom part of the outline was not always drawn for high magnification views.
• Fixed the RNC, Image, and Tile transparency setting. The program was ignoring the transparency values.

Version 1,0,23

• Added an error message when attempting to open an encrypted (S63) ENC.
• The program now ignores AIS object initialization coordinates wherein lat = 91 or lon = 181.
• Changed the [zO] and [zC] plot tool bar button behaviors. If you change the plot size, the program will clear the zoom-stack and disable the [zO] and [zC] buttons. When the zoom stack is cleared, the zoom-in command remains enabled so you can zoom-in to a new location without having to first re-enable the [zR] tool bar button. To disable the command, click the [X] button.
• Changed the plot Zoom-in/Magnify 2X tool bar button and the plot mouse double click so that a zoom-in places the prior view on the zoom stack. Click the [zO] button to rapidly return to the prior plot zoom-level.
• Added the Display menu AIS objects commands All objects and Closest. If you select All objects, the program will set the plot view to include all AIS objects in the area of your vessel. If you select Closest, the program will set the plot view to include the closest AIS object to your vessel.
• Added Vessel to AIS target distance and bearing information to the AIS target information picker.
• Added CPA and "distance and time" to CPA to the AIS target information picker. This information is displayed only if your vessel is moving.
• Fixed the Enc menu Update->Method command. The method failed to compare the catalogue against the local update files. The program indicated a chart (US4VA40M edition 12 update 12) needed to be updated even after it had been updated. If this occurs in the future, check the NOAA zip-file content to ensure the number of updates .001, .002, etc. correspond to the update number (UPDN) specified in the catalogue. If the UPDN is 12, then .012 should be the last update file in the zip-file. If the catalogue and zip-file are not in agreement, your catalogue copy might be invalid or the zip-file might be invalid.
• Removed the Track command from the plot popup menu.
• Added a Trace command to the plot popup menu.
• Fixed the incorrect vessel length listed in the AIS Filter.
• Removed the [A?] tool bar button. The control was an unnecessary level of complication. If you move the mouse over the orange dot of an AIS target, the program will display the target information window. If you click the mouse left-button on the AIS orange dot, the program will open the AIS filter form and will display the proximity alarm range ring. To clear the range ring, click the target again.
• Added a toggle to the own-ship proximity zone ring. To show or hide your vessel proximity alarm zone ring, move the mouse cursor over the vessel and when the vessel info box appears, click the mouse left-button.

Version 1,0,22

• Revised the chart display generator to improve plot redraw and refresh speeds.
• Removed the Download missing tiles from the Test all charts form. The option is now on the Tiles menu.
• Re-organized the Alarms menu commands into a GPS group and into a group for ENC and AIS related alarms.
• Fixed the AIS detected option in the AIS Alarm. It failed to disable the alarm.
• Revised the ENC Chart Display Filter to improve the view of the selectable objects and the selectable text and fixed the plot display of selected object text. You can now select for display in the plot the text of individual object's or the text of groups of objects.
• Fixed the plot so it once again displays tiles when the form is Maximized. In fixing a prior drawing error, I had forgotten to remove some experimental code that skipped the tile drawing code.
• Fixed the plot refresh so that when you switch from a Minimized to a Normal window state the program does not require a complete plot redraw.
• Moved the View menu Soundings, Meta data, and Text commands to the ENC menu Display filter command and fixed the related plot refresh so that it does not require a complete plot redraw. Note: Soundings are not part of the Standard Display. To view soundings, the ENC display filter must be Standard + Other or Mariner's Display and, in the display filter table, the SOUNDG object's [X] box must be checked.
• Renamed the RNC menu Show command to Display filter to be consistant with the new ENC menu Display filter command.
• Renamed the Image menu Show command to Display filter to be consistant with the new ENC menu Display filter command.
• Fixed the error that prevented the display of AIS objects when the GPS was disabled.
• Added a Show marker option to the chart information picker to help identify the pick points and ENC line vertices. Line information is available only at the marked vertex points. This also marks individual depth sounding nodes.
• Fixed a drawing error associated with the Xtools menu Vector nodes command.
• Added an Options menu Select listing command to the ENC chart object display filter. The option provides a new AND operator you can use to limit the items listed in the chart object filter table. For example: You can list objects that are checked for display, have data, and have text to display. Other combinations are also possible. The default is to list everything.
• Re-added the "Basic tile not found" message for each tile location wherein the tile data is not available. I accidentally removed the message generator when I changed the tile downloading and drawing methods.

Version 1,0,21

• Fixed a plot redraw/resizing deadlock that caused the program to stop redrawing and required a program restart.
• Fixed an flashing vessel error for the vector based own-ship.
• Removed the chart centering button [+] for lack of need and to make room for the new [Av] button.
• Added an [Av] button to the plot tool bar. The V represents a down arrow for "download". The [Av] is to enable and disable automatic tile downloading. It is also is a handy visual indicator of the automatic download state. When enabled, the program will automatically download new tiles whenever you change the plot scale or location. This can be handy when you want to browse an area and you want any missing tiles.
• Added to the Tiles menu a Download tiles command. This is the same cammand as in the plot popup menu.
• If you viewed a chart without viewing tiles and the scale was not a whole number (for example: 10.9, 11.3) and then you enabled the Display tiles command, the program would incorrectly draw the tiles. This problem is fixed. When you enable the Display tiles command, the scale is set to the lowest whole value (for example: a scale of 12.6 become 12.) When you disable tile display, the program resets the scaling to 0.1 increments. This special scaling is necessary because ENCs and RNCs can display at nearly any scale, whereas tiles display at fixed scales of 1, 2, 3, etc.
• Changed the [E?] button for ENC information picking to [C?] for general chart information picking because RNC and Image charts can have information points such as reference marks and text nodes.
• When unchecking ENC, RNC or Image Layers, the program changed the view. This has been changed and you can now show and hide a chart without the program changing the scale or location.
• Fixed RNC reference marks and text nodes so they move with any applied chart offset.

Version 1,0,20

• Fixed the CheckDriveExists error "Object reference not set to an instance of an object" that occurred after a first time MarinePlotter installation. The error prevented the MarinePlotter from completing the startup process.
• Fixed a main menu black background color error that made the menu item difficult to read.
• Fixed the tile cache source to default to GoogleMaps.

Version 1,0,19

• Fixed the AIS signal test when opening an AIS port. The prior algorithm expected a continuous signal (as with GPS) but AIS signals only exist when AIS targets are within range of your vessel. The program now simply connects to the port and then waits for a signal. When the first signal is detected, the program will announce the detection and begin AIS signal processing. The program will report a Lost signal alarm if the program's AIS target list is not empty but the signal from all targets is lost. If the current AIS list becomes empty, the program will announce that it no longer detects any AIS targets. If an AIS target is not updated within 30-minutes, the program will remove it from the working list. If the current AIS processing list is empty and a new signal is detected, the program will announce the new AIS target.
• The AIS port baud rate default is changed from 4800 baud to the standard high speed AIS rate of 38400 baud. If you previously used the 4800 baud rate, try running at 38400 baud.
• Moved the AIS vessel auto scale option from the Vessel Settings form to the AIS menu.
• Added a Vessels Name entry box to the Vessel Settings form. The name of your vessel is displayed when you move the non-modal mouse cursor over your vessel symbol in the plot.
• Added a Man Overboard (MOB) button to the plot tool bar and a menu command to the plot popup menu. The tool bar MOB button marks the MOB position from the current GPS fix. The menu MOB marks a "dead reckoning" MOB position from the mouse cursor position. The program will display multiple MOBs as waypoints.
• Added a folder existance check at the program startup. This checks that an removable hard drive with required files is connected to the computer. The program will now inform you when it cannot access a previously accessable folder.
• Changed the GPS Clock form Auto adjust algorithm to respond more rapidly to an increase in the system clock error rate.

Version 1,0,18

The new ENC Depth Alarm and the new AIS CPA Alarm are experimental and subject to change.

• NOTE: You need to update the GPS data field in your Display menu Vessel Settings. Changed the vessel GPS location to the distance in meters from the bow and port (example 5,3) The prior versions used just the distance from the bow. This is insufficient for large ships. You must now also specify the GPS receiver distance from the port side. If the distance to the bow is 10 meters and the distance to the port side is 3 meters, then enter 10,3 for the GPS value. Round the values to the closest meaningful whole meter.
• Added an AIS target Closest Point of Approach (CPA) and collision detection alarm.
• If an AIS target is not updated after 12-minutes, the program marks the last known position with a red-X as a lost fix.
• Added a Depth Alarm for ENC chart data. The alarm works only for ENCs and is basically a proximity alarm for submerged ENC objects. The program will sound the Depth Alarm if your vessel's minimum separation zone encounters a sounding, wreck, depth contour, submerged rock, etc. which is less than the vessel's safe depth.
• Changed the GPS simulator. You can now manually simulate vessel movement without a waypoint or route. This is mode is convenient for testing various Proximity alarm and CPA alarm senarios. Place a simulated vessel near several targets, then move and steer (rotate) the vessel to see the CPA and Proximity alarm behavior. With ENC charts, use the manual simulation mode to checkout the new depth alarm as well as other ENC object proximity alarms.
• Removed the redundant depth information from the Vessel Settings form. The information is now in the Depth Alarm form.
• Added a symbol for AIS Search and Rescue Transmitter (SART), Man Overboard (MOB) and AIS-EPIRB messages.
• Removed several automatic redraws, FitToView and FitAllChartsToView operations. When you restart the program, the program will return to the prior view. When you open a chart or image file, the view will not change. To view the new data, you need to click the Fit Chart button on the plot tool bar.
• IHO requires that the plotter start and display ENC chart objects with the STANDARD display category. If you start the program with a different category (saved settings,) the program will prompt you for verification. Upon verification the program will continue with your previous display settings. Otherwise, the program will revert to the STANDARD display settings.
• Changed and enhanced the AIS proximity checker. See the Help topics on proximity and alarm filters.
• Added optionally scaled AIS vessel symbols. This change causes large ships to stand out at close-in viewing.
• Added the Aid-to-Navigation AIS data type and related ENC symbol.
• Added a red symbol for a dangerous AIS targets.
• Removed the Turn Zone alarm from the waypoint arrival alarm.
• Added the vessel country of origin to the AIS information picker. Also, added vessel dimensions and status information.
• Added a information type selector to the information picker. You can now select [A?] AIS objects, or [E?] ENC area, line, and point objects.
• Fixed the error that prevented the program from displaying the ENC depth soundings. Note: soundings are not part of the Standard ENC display. To view soundings, select the Standard + Other ENC display mode and also enable the View menu Soundings command.
• Fixed the ENC display of piles and bollards from squares to dots. Also corrected the display of moorings and dolphins.
• Fixed the ENC objects attribute list error. The program now displays the object attributes when scrolling the object list.
• Fixed an ENC 'WRECKS05' not found error.
• If you close the program with an active waypoint "GoTo", the program no longer saves the state data. You must manually restart the "Goto".
• Removed the Automatically download missing tiles from the Tile Cache Manager.
• Revised the Follow vessel mode to maximize the vessel look ahead view as a funtsion of plot scale. See revised help on the "Follow vessel" command in the "Display" menu help topic.
• Added an Add chart command to the Graphical chart selector so it can open multiple selected charts instead of just one selected chart at a time.
• Added a time Adjust Rate to the GPS Clock form. The Auto adjust uses the rate to incrementally change the clock speed to correct for a system clock error relative to the GPS clock.
• Added a Set System Clock popup menu to the GPS Clock time display. When you known that the system clock is very wrong and that the GPS clock is correct, Use this command is to force the system clock to be the same as the GPS clock.

Version 1,0,17

I tested the RNC load and display for this program version using a small ACER Netbook computer with only 1-gigabyte of working memory. All U.S. raster charts displayed correctly. In some cases, the program could display a few large and small charts together. However, because of the computer's processor and memory limitations, the loading and viewing is slower than desired.

• Possibly fixed the RNC and Images "Out of memory" drawing problem. This fix also reduced the drawing time of most large raster charts. The program now measures the amount of available working memory and then divides the data into drawable slices to fit the memory. However, the MarinePlotter can still encounter situations wherein there is simply not enough available memory. The solutions is to load as few charts as needed and to close charts no longer needed.
• Fixed the RNC and Image scale limit problem. The program can now zoom-in to level 21.
• Fixed the display of the Alaska raster charts that cross from 180 East to -180 West.
• Fixed the the save and restore of the alarm Voice and Sound preferences settings. Some settings were not saved.
• Fixed the route drawing error. When adding or inserting route points, the new lines were not drawn.
• Fixed the Xtools menu Find form command and Help topic.
• Removed the information message box that displayed the number of new tiles downloaded and the number not available. This message display was not that useful and interferred with other operations.
• Fixed the MarinePlotter Error message form so the Close is now the default button.
• Fixed the Error message form so it does not automatically try to display a picture in the Chart Picture form. Some raster charts are not really charts but instead are chart book title pages and area coverage information pages. When you load one of these information kap-files, the program will issue an warning that indicates the REF coordinates are missing. To view the non-chart image file, click the Show button on the Error message form. Click the image with the right mouse button and select the Fit width option.
• Changed the Continue button on the Test All Charts form so that it closes the Error message form and then continues the test starting with the next chart. This change is for skipping known warning messages mentioned above.
• Revised the Chart picture form and help topics. The form now provides selective viewing of portions an RNC information bitmap. See the error message topic above.
• Added a Miminize box to the Test All Charts form so you can hide the form while running a test.
• Fixed a vessel proximity message error.
• Added Registry storage of folder locations so you do not have to re-enter the information after installing a new version of the MarinePlotter.
• Added an Unzip command to the RNC Catalogue menu. If you download a large number of RNC zip-files for a country, then use this command to unzip and install the RNC files. See the RNC Catalogue help topic.

Version 1,0,16

• Added Automatic Identification System (AIS) commands and data processing to the MarinePlotter. Please refer to the AIS topics in the program Help.
• Added a Proximity Alarm for AIS vessels and ENC objects. See the Proximity Alarm topic in the program Help.
• The MarinePlotter is now listed at NOAA under Free ENC viewers.
• Fixed the RNC and Images menu Open commands so the chart is drawn after the load. All layered charts are fit to the window.
• Added How to create a trace to the Help.
• Added a verification prompt to the Route menu Clear command.
• Fixed a minor error in the Auto-check for update and the Check for update commands.
• Fixed the vector based vessel symbol drawing funtsion. The program did not erase the prior vessel symbol before drawing the symbol in a new plot location. The result was a smeared plot of overlapping multiple vessels. This problem did not occur for the bitmap vessel symbols.
• Removed Follow vessel from the Auto Scale Settings form.
• Added a Not following form for the case when the program is following the ship but the user manually changes the view and causes the vessel to go outside the plot window. The program will turn-off the Following vessel command and display the Not Following form.
• Added an alarm condition popup message box to separate alarm messages from status bar messages.
• Changed the program so you can re-open ENCs in a display category other than Standard. When you start the program and it attempts to use a prior non-standard category, the program will request verification.
• Changed the grogram so you can re-open ENCs with transparency. When you start the program and it attempts to use transparency, the program will request verification.

Version 1,0,15

• NOAA issues two xml-file formats for ENC and RNC catalogue. NOAA says, "One of the catalogues is non-standard and the other conforms to standard ISO 19115 Geographic Information - Metadata. The data contained in the two files is the same." The MarinePlotter program recognizes only the simplified non-standard format. The program does not recognize the format of xml-files with _19115 in the file name. Version 1,0,14 uses both formats incorrectly. This version fixes the problem. If you have xml-files with _19115 in the names. Please delete the files to prevent confusion.
  
  Download the correct files
  • from Index of ENCs and
  • from Index of RNCs.
  
  Make certain that you place the catalogue xml-files in the correct ENC folders.
• Fixed the ENC menu Update -> Method so it downloads and uses the correct catalogue xml-file.

Version 1,0,14

• NOAA issues two xml type catalogues: a basic ProdCat.xml catalogue and an update ProdCat.xml catalogue. The data formats are different. When the program updated the ENCs with the update catalogue, it replaced the old basic catalogue and this caused the problems reported in version 1,0,12. The program no longer replaces the original catalogue with the incorrect catalogue.

Version 1,0,13

• Fixed the ENC ProdCat.xml format error. The program now processes both the ENC and RNC xml-file the same. The ENC file must contain the "NOAA ENC Product Catalogue" identifier. The RNC file must contain the "NOAA RNC Product Catalogue" identifier. The program will process only U.S. xml catalogue files because the format is not an international standard.
• Fixed the ENC catalogue name rejection problem. The program now accepts any catalogue name for xml-file catalogue. Previously it was expecting then name "EncProdCat.xml" or "RncProdCat.xml".
• Fixed the Help menu Auto-check for update command. You can now uncheck the menu item.

Version 1,0,12

• Fixed the non-working coastline tracing method. The program tried to display the message that the trace was ready to start, but& two message box options conflicked and caused the trace funtsion to simply return without doing any work.

Version 1,0,11

• Added a Make thumbnails option to the Test all charts form. Use this option to make thumbnails of ENCs.
• Fixed the Object form. When a selected object had an attribute that pointed to and external picture or text file, the program passed the wrong file access path. The Picture and the Text forms would display a file not found message.
• Added the missing ENC attribute 'COMCHA'.
• Added a Show button to the Error form. If the program encounters an RNC kap-file that has no placement references 'REF/', then the image is likely to be a chart set cover or information page. The Show button opens the Picture form so you can examine the image.

Version 1,0,10

• Fixed: ENC, US5CN42 BCNDEF13 CATCAM ATTF ATVL 3827 not processed. Cardinal beacons with unknown attributes are now processes as the default BCNDEF13.
• Fixed: ENC, US5MA34M, BOYDEF03, FRID 1889 COLOUR 1,11 not processed. When the program encounts a stripped bouy of 2-to-3 colors or a color not white, black, red, green or yellow; the program will draw the default BOYDEF03.
• Fixed: When transparent tiles were displayed during a "Test all charts" sequence, the coastline was not drawn. Also, the drawing sequence caused an annoying image flicker.
• Fixed the ENC, RNC, and Image Graphical Chart Selectors. The Open menu command did not open the selected chart.
• Fixed several problems in the ENC, RNC, and Image Catalogues. Fixed the Microsoft "Parameter is not valid" GDI+ error. Added the thumbnail option to the ENC catalogue.
• Changed the Test All Charts form and method. Replaced the Pause/Resume with a Continue from prior Stop. Updated the Help topic.
• Fixed an ENC file open nuisance error caused by a missing code block "return" statement. The chart opened and displayed the ENC but then the program continued to the next code block and tried to open an non-existent img-file and failed.
• Added an Automatic update check option to the Help menu. If checked, then each time you start the program, the program will notify you if an updated is available.
• Fixed an RNC Catalogue index error in the "Initialize" command of the "Catalogue" menu. The error occurred when the program tried to create a catalogue entry from and RNC related img-file. The related hdr-file or kap-file data is now added to the catalogue img-file table entry.
• Fixed the non-working Automatically download missing tiles option of the Tile Cache Manager. Fixed other tile download errors caused by the 1,0,9 changes. Added a download summary message box.

Version 1,0,9

This update contains numerous changes to support raster nautical charts and GpsDataLogger type images. Many changes are to improve presentation consistancy. Some changes require that you re-read the related help topics.

This version contains the support for creating, editing and displaying image files of types bmp, gif, jpeg, jpg, png, and tiff. You can align and display image files as in the GpsDataLogger. The program will also use the GpsDataLogger images. For more information: See the updated MarinePlotter Help.

• Added a Save as command to the Catalogues form in the Catalogues menu. The Save as command enables you to create a fast loading xml-file of the current catalogue listing. The program saves the catalogue xml-files with the file type CXML. The program will enter recognized catalogues names into the catalogue selection box when the you open the form.
• Moved the Tile Cache Folder button from the Attributions form to the Tile Cache Manager form and to the Tiles menu on the MarinePlotter menu bar.
• Added an Auto build option to the ENC menu. If checked, then when you open an ENC, the program will automatically construct the display data. Otherwise the Build button will appear at the top-center of the plot.
• Fixed the slow [?] information picker and related ENC menu Objects display. When you select an object, it is now highlighted in the plot even if the object is not part of the object filter display group. Also, the extended information text box and picture box now stay open instead of annoyingly automatically opening and closing.
• Fixed user reported errors in the MarinePlotter Help.
• Changed the [zR], [zO] and [zC] zoom behavior. The program now saves and restores the image to eliminate unnecessary redraws and thereby speedup the operation. However, if you use the [zR] method to zoom-in and make a change to say a waypoint position and then use [zO] to restore the plot to the prior zoom level, the plot will display the waypoint in the prior position because the program used the old image. This behavior is deliberate because it enables you to rapidly and repeatedly zoom-in, make a change, then and zoom-out several times before updating the display. To update the plot, click the plot refresh [R] button.
• Fixed the catalogues so they indicate which files are opening, opened, failed to open, and have been closed. Also, you can close a file by clicking the mouse right-button on the selected catalogue entry. A menu will open, select the Close command.
• Fixed the catalogues so you cannot open a file when it is already opened.
• Fixed the program so you cannot open an already opened ENC, RNC or Image file.
• Fixed the startup and exit procedure for when the MarinePlotter's Documents folder is undefined.
• Rearranged the tool bar buttons to reduce button selection errors.
• Changed the behavior of the plot tool bar Hand button. If the Hand is enabled (yellow), then the mouse can perform two funtsions. To move the image, drag it as in the prior version of the program. To center a point in the plot, double click the point (this is new.) In order to center the image at a point and also zoom-in a level at the point, click the [X] to disable the mouse mode. Then double click to center and zoom-in as in the prior program versions.
• Removed the left, right, up, down buttons from the plot tool bar. The tool bar's Hand provides a more accurate and more flexible method of moving or positioning the plotted image.
• Removed the code dealing with the ENC samples. You should move the ENC_ROOT (Samples) folder to the ENC_ROOT folder and access the samples as any other ENC.
• Added Check for update command to the Help menu. The command compares the MarinePlotter version on your computer with the version at Club Cruceros and will advise you if an updated version is available..
• Added an imageList to Image header file converter for the conversion of GpsDataLogger imageLists. The conversion will enable the MarinePlotter program to use the old GpsDataLogger images. The new format supports an image catalogue to improve finding and opening image files.
• Added an RNC to Image File converter. The image files display faster than kap-files, you can edit the image files, and you can edit the separate image header file.
• Added bmp, gif, jpeg, png, and tiff image display to the plot. To display these images, an image header text file is required for each image file. See the About Images Help topic.
• Added the Image menu commands to the MarinePlotter menu bar.
• Updated the application Help. Added a Transparency topic and several Image topics.

Version 1,0,8

• Fixed the [R/B] method so it will display bearing as degrees True and Magnetic.
• Fixed an inconsistant display of both Magnetic for COG and True for CTS. They now display both as M or both as T.
• Added a save and load method for a waypoint or route point "go to". This also works for a simulated "go to".
• Fixed the route point Delete command to now mark the route as modified so the program will notify you to save the route.
• Added a context menu to the Navigation Bar. Click the mouse right button on the NavBar.
• Moved and renamed the Image menu to the Tiles menu. This is in preparation for the addition of a method to add and to view general image overlays from bmp, jpg, gif, and png files.

Version 1,0,7

• Corrected an RNC placement and scaling error caused by the use of incorrect reference points.
• Fixed a typo-error: Temporary raster images are now saved as (png type) img-files and not erroneously as png-files.

Version 1,0,6

• Fixed the problem with the program not remembering the tile cache location. The tile cache location is tied to the tile source (GoogleMap:) When the tile source is selected, the tile location is also selected. The program now sets the tile location at startup based upon the previously selected tile source.
• Fixed the "Out of memory" error for multiple large RNCs. RNCs are now loaded and displayed on demand from an image cache. The cache consists of kap-files converted to png-files in the same location as the kap-files. The existance of the png-file does not negate the need for the kap-file.
• Panning is now limited to the lon gitude range of -180 to 180 degrees; and, to the latitude range of -85 to 85 degrees. The double click zoom-in is limited to the same range.
• Fixed the tile display error. When an RNC displays from East to West across 180 degrees West, the tiles to the East did not display correctly. Reference: US RNC 513 "Bering Sea Southern Part East Part".
• Expanded the tile based image view range to beyond the longitude limits of -180 and 180 degrees longitude. However, the world shoreline plot is still limited to within that range. Some charts will plot crossing the boundaries but no chart will plot completely outside the 180 degree boundaries.
• Fixed the Chart Layer form to update it's chart list when a chart is opened or closed.
• Fixed the East-to-West chart display for charts that span 180 degrees East. All such charts now appear crossing 180 degrees West at the left side of the plot. This also fixes the large West to East rectangles that spanned the globe instead of displaying East to West.
• Added the Region button to the RNC Catalogue form.
• Fixed the Region and Open button enable controls for both the ENC and RNC catalogue forms.
• The program sometimes displayed "MarinePlotter Closing . . .", but failed to exit. At this point, the program had already saved all data and was ready to exit. This problem should be fixed; however, if this problem re-occurs, you will see the message "Cannot exit: Safe to End Process". You will need to use the Microsoft Task Manager to stop the program. To open the Task Manager, click the mouse right-button on a blank spot on the "Start" menu bar at the bottom of the Windows Desktop. A menu will appear: Select the Task Manager entry. In the Task Manager dialog, select the "MarinePlotter.exe" process entry and then click the "End Process" command. The Windows Task Manager verification dialog will appear. In the verification dialog, click the "End Process" button. Windows will then terminate the MarinePlotter application.

Version 1,0,5

• Fixed the ENC catalogue xml-file read error that caused the chart URL to appear in the chart name location of the catalogue table.
• Fixed the RNC and ENC file open commands so they remember the previously accessed folders or the related root folder.
• Fixed the tile based image tile placement error caused during a window resizing.

Version 1,0,4

• Changed the Chart menu to the ENC menu followed by the RNC menu. Moved the File menu Open command to the ENC menu.
• Added "Raster Nautical Chart" (RNC) display capabilty for BSB/KAP version 3+ charts. This is a very basic RNC display and provides an alternate chart display capability for when ENCs are not available. However, the program currently does not display the RNC meta data. When viewing the RNCs, verify the chart position registration against known positions. The display overlay sequence for the optional views is the World Shoreline, Image Tiles, RNCs, and ENCs. You can open multiple RNCs and ENCs, use the Chart Layers dialog to select which of the open charts to view, and close the charts with the File Close commands. The program correctly displays (most of) the U.S. RNCs and has been tested with Argentina and Chili RNCs. You can acquire free RNCs from NOAA Nautical Charts.
• Added an Okay button to the Error log form. If you click the Okay button, then the form is closed and the plot redraws. If you click the Close button, then the form closes but does not force a plot redraw. See Ignore errors option in version 1,0,3.

Version1,0,3

• Added an Ignore check box to the Error log list form. When the program encounters ENC or RNC errors, the program will list the errors in the error log form and then display the log. You must close the error log form before the program will enable you to performing any further drawing operations. Some errors repeat each time the program does a redraw and this causes the error log to re-appear. To prevent repeated and annoying error log messages, put a check-mark in the Ignore box. The program will remove the check mark when you open a new chart or close a current chart.
• Added an incremental system time adjustment option to the GPS Clock. Small changes in the system clock are made to increase or decrease the clock speed to reduce the clock drift to less than 10 ms per hour. This can reduce the amount of jumps in the clock time when the clock is otherwise set to the GPS time.
• Fixed the Set the system clock now button to enable when the average clock error exceeds 80 ms.
• Added an option to adjust the system clock drift using the GPS Clock time references.
• Added the UAC Shield icon to the GPS Clock Enable clock setting button and to the Tile Cache Manager Edit button. When the shield is displayed, the commands will prompt for permission to restart the application and "Run as administrator" to acquire the necessary elevated privileges.

Version 1,0,2

• Added save/restore for the serial port data.
• Added a dialog to request a program restart with "Run as administrator" when the program requires privileges greater the those of the standard user. This can occur if the user enables the GPS Clock time setting feature. It can also occur when the user changes the Tile Cache information.
• Revised installation methodology.

Version 1,0,1

• Fixed the GPS NMEA sentence parsar to handle $XX sentences instead of just $GP sentences. The XX part is ignored.
• Fixed the GPS NMEA sentence parsar to try to process sentences without a cyclic redundancy check (CRC).
• Fixed a Tile Cache folder access error.

Version 1,0,0

• Initial beta tester release.