[Dx4win] Version 9 of DX4WIN available

[John Warburton G4IRN]

Thanks Paul and the dedicated team - it's all installed perfectly here 
on W10 with DropBox hosted log-files. All the country totals are correct 
too.

There has already been mention of the next release - now that the basics 
are sorted out, can we expect some real enhancements next time around? 
(and the packet filtering bug fixed, too?)

It would be good to understand the road-map, if there is one?  In my 
mind, the enhancements offered do not particularly warranty a version 
upgrade, they're 'point upgrade' features that should have come out a 
long time ago. I'm really disappointed by it - the only real benefit for 
me is the ability to log FT8 QSOs, the rest is superficial. Others may 
view it differently of course.

I do like DX4WIN for its multiple groups functionality, stability, 
interface, speed and powerful searching but we're now in 2017 and people 
use MMVARI, FLDIGI, WSJT-X, Clublog etc... I'm sure there is more to 
come. Modern day logging software needs to interface with these tools; 
for a 'paid for' product I would expect much more than what has been 
delivered.

I've paid and I'll stick with it because I know it. But probably not for 
much longer, I feel I'm being taken for a ride here.

John G4IRN




On 19/10/2017 19:30, Paul van der Eijk wrote:
> Happy to announce that version 9 is available!
>
> The website still needs work and I plan to do that in the coming days but
> the order form is current (you may have to reload the form if you still see
> version 8)
>
> You can download the installer here: www.dx4win.com/files/dx4w901.exe
>
> The improvements in this release would not have been possible without the
> suggestions and bug reports from the beta testers:
>
> Jim,  AD1C
> Paul, F6EXV
> David, K2DBK
> Bud, N7CW
> Lee, N7NU
> Guy, ON4AOI
> Kostas, SV1DPI
> Mike, W0VTT
>
> With a very special thank you to Jim for his tireless efforts to get the
> new data in shape to feed the country database and related files.
>
> Important Note:
> This version does not implement the editors for the various databases; this
> is planned for the next update.
>
> Callsigns
> Support for on-line callsign lookups for QRZ and Buckmaster (HamCall)
> Separate menu option to lookup a callsign using a web browser
> Callsigns can be up to 16 characters long (up from 12)
>
> Country Database
> The country database is now split in two files; country.dat contains the
> callsign mappings, country information etc. A second file, usrexcpt.dat
> contains the exceptions (overrides) entered by the user. This applies to
> prefix/zones/date exceptions for a callsign, QSL manager information and
> QSL manager address.
> Callsign exceptions and mappings in the country database have now a start-
> and end-date allowing multiple date ranges to be specified.
> Counties have now coordinates
>
> Custom Awards
> Custom awards have been updated to allow for more flexibility in naming
> awards and better error checking.
> Awards 'codes' can be 6 characters in length (up from 4). The longer values
> allow for a more logical organization of the awards avoiding splitting a
> single award into multiple awards.
> Award 'values' can be 12 characters in length (up from 8)
> The abbreviation for an award is shown in the QSO Window; pressing F1 will
> show the list of valid entries and their description. The list shown takes
> the restrictions for Prefix, Date, Band and Mode into account
> When selecting a custom award, an information page can be displayed which
> may have an URL for the home page for the award
> A new menu option is available to verify and convert the custom award
> setting for each QSO; see QSO Window | Multiple QSO operations | Check
> Custom Awards.
> A new file, awdmap.txt, has been introduced to convert awards and award
> values to the new custom awards.
>
> IOTAs
> For a new QSO, the IOTA field is set when the IOTA for the entity is
> unique. Similarly, the Island field is set for an IOTA when the Island is
> unique for the IOTA.
> A new menu option is available to check existing QSOs for a valid IOTA and
> set the IOTA and Island fields when they are unique; see QSO Window |
> Multiple QSO operations | Check IOTAs.
> The relation between Prefix and IOTA is stored in a new file: prf2iota.txt
> The PopUp menu for selecting an IOTA can be limited to IOTAs by continent
> or by Prefix in addition to the full list of IOTAs.
> An option has been added to confirm IOTA QSOs using the .CSV file
> downloaded from the RSGB; see QSO Window | QSLs | Confirm QSOs using IOTA
> file.
>
> Modes
> Added many more modes, and a new QSO field to enter a sub-mode. See Modes
> for a table of modes and sub modes.
> The option to modify the modes for the selected QSOs can also modify the
> sub-mode. See QSO | Multiple QSOs Operations | Set Mode.
> Added an option, (Alt+F8), to search for generic modes like Phone and
> Digital.
> A double-click in a summary window uses the generic mode search and
> searching using the previous filter will show how that was done.
>
> Packet Cluster
> Ability to auto connect to a cluster node. The node is shown in the
> preferences and will not change when the clusters.txt is updated.
> The redesigned Announce DX Window can automatically include state, county,
> IOTA and VUCC grid in a DX spot if specified in the QSO Window.
> The clusters.txt is no longer modified after selecting a node and is now a
> single file. Previously, two files were used specify a keep alive parameter
> or not. The keep alive value is now part of the cluster node configuration.
>
> Radios
> A number of new radios were added.
>
> Reports
> Progress reports use now three dates for reporting.
> Submission report honors the exclusion of deleted countries
> Added columns to WPX submission report so it can be used for submissions by
> saving the report as a csv file.
>
> RST
> rstR and rstS fields can have 5 characters; numerical formatting is no
> longer enforced to allow for EME reports etc
>
> System
> On-line updating for program and data files. See Main Form | Help | Check
> for Updates
> Many files have been renamed to better reflect their use; binary files have
> the *.dat file extension and text files the *.txt file extension. See
> Appendix B for more details.
> Cosmetic changes and fixes; most importantly that when using skins, windows
> no longer change position and size when restarting the program.
> Many small bug fixes; many of them never reported previously!
> Reading of ADIF files is substantially faster
> Expanded the memory available to the program; log files with a million QSOs
> are possible.
>
> --Paul, KK4HD
>