*** BEGIN RELEASE NOTES *** In this document you will find the release notes for COLUMBUS. This document begins with the current release (version 3.8.1.31) and includes notes back through version 3.7.2.33 of COLUMBUS. If you need release information prior to version 3.7.2.33, please see the Readmore.txt file included with your installation. If you ever have any questions, please contact us at support@bestfit.com ************************** AVAILABLE NOW *************************** - Training Videos can be viewed or downloaded from our web site. These videos cover specific topics and are generally from 10 to 25 minutes long. Check back often ( http://www.bestfit.com ) to view the latest videos. If you have a topic you would like us to explore in a video, please send us your ideas. ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.8.1.31 For Windows (03/01/2011) Summary of new features found in this release. Please check our website URL below for additional information and to get the latest updates to the Columbus.exe executable. http://www.bestfit.com/product_updates.shtml http://www.bestfit.com/download.shtml 1) Fix crashing bug that can occur when closing the "Outlier Obs View" or the "NoCheck Obs View" (adjustment results). ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.8.1.29 For Windows (01/08/2011) 1) Add error message if COLUMBUS cannot write Options data to disk. This tells the user the location where the file is to be written. The user can then ensure they have Read / Write access to that location. ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.8.1.22 For Windows (03/23/2010) 1) Add support for Geoid 09 Modeling (little endian (PC) format). ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.8.1.21 For Windows (01/29/2010) 1) Fix two issues when reading Trimble Data Exchange (.asc) files. Slope distance standard deviation were not being converted properly, resulting in values that were too large. the distance prism constant was being read in the active linear units instead of metric. This could lead to small error when units other than meters were active in the file. ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.8.1.18 For Windows (10/03/2009) 1) Fix minimum allowable value for Instr/Target height in applicable Observation Data Management grids. Prior to fix, negative values were not allowed. ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.8.1.17 For Windows (09/24/2009) 1) Fix bug that occurs when loading an angular value such as 39.5960 39 degrees, 59 minutes, 60 seconds. Internally, this real number get respresnted as: 39.59599999999947 due to the limit on 8 byte real numbers. When this number is validated, the seconds portion was getting rounded to 60.0000000047 seconds (from 59.9999999947). Since this value > 60, it was being reported as an error. 2) Fix bug in Demo version that (in some cases) was not allowing data to be entered using the Data Entry grids. ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.8.1.14 For Windows (08/22/2009) 1) Add support for performing Pre-Analysis using State Plane, UTM and Local NEE coordinate systems. To perform Pre-Analysis, simply change the View to the coordinate system or your choice (2D or 3D Geodetic, State Plane, UTM or Local NEE) and enter the approximate coordinates for each planned station location. Right click from one station to another to add pseudo observations and their standard deviations (right click, then select the Setup Design Leg toolbar button). You are now ready for network Pre-Analysis. See Chapter 5 (Network Pre-Analysis section) for additional information. 2) Add support for Canadian Geoid files using the .BYN extension and file format. ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.8.1.11 For Windows (05/05/2009) 1) Add FILE - IMPORT support for Trimble JXL (XML) files (GPS data). 2) Add FILE - IMPORT support for .RAW and .RW5 files (GPS data record types: AH, BP, BL, CV). 3) Add FILE - IMPORT support for Leica SKI files (GPS data). 4) Add option to export field headers in User Defined export. 5) Add UTM Zone selection by Zone Number. 6) Change Data Grid Add Button Text to "Add 25 Rows". This allows you to quickly add dozens of empty rows prior to copy/paste from excel or other sources. ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.7.2.92 For Windows (02/24/2009) 1) Add FILE - IMPORT support for Trimble Data Exchange 'ASC' files. Import station and observation data from these files directly into the current project. Sections supported in the 'ASC' file include: [General] [Stations] [GPS] [Terrestrial] [Laser] [Level Run] 2) Add support of the Local Geoid Model for the city of Albuquerque, New Mexico. This custom geoid is based on established vertical positions (orthometric and ellipsoidal) collected over the course of 15 years. Be sure to use the local geoid file version that has the same format as Geoid03 (little endian version). Filename: GCOA2008.BIN We would like to thank Mr. Cliff Wilkie, Geodetic Surveyor, Albuquerque, for all his help in making this geoid model available. ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.7.2.90 For Windows (01/06/2009) 1) Add Google Earth 'kml' file support. You can now import WGS 84 geodetic coordinates found in the 'kml' file. Coordinate values found inside the "LookAt" and "coordinates" elements are supported. When reading the geodetic coordinates from the "coordinates" element, each set of coordinates is assigned a unique id at the end of the common (to all coordinates) station name. This is a great way to create networks for design. Simply run Google Earth, create your coordinate positions, then save the data to a KML file. Import the coordinates into COLUMBUS, define your observations and expected errors, and you are ready for computing the network design (pre-analysis) statistics. ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.7.2.88 For Windows (12/21/2008) 1) Fix rotation of error ellipses (graphic display issue). All ellipse data are correct, but within the Adjusted Network View, each ellipse was visually rotated to the left (counter-clockwise). An ellipse with an azimuth of 30 degrees, was being rotated to -30, etc. 2) Fix the height of Standardized Residual Count bars in the Results - Observations - Residual Distribution graphical view. ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.7.2.87 For Windows (12/09/2008) 1) Recalculate Adjusted State Plane/UTM coordinates and inverses each time their respective Adjustment Result View is opened - in the event the user closes the view, changes the zone, then opens the view again. 2) Allow user to enter ALTA PPM and Fixed values of 0. Under the hood, the min fixed value is 0.0000001 meter. ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.7.2.85 For Windows (10/26/2008) 1) Add support to import legacy Trimble SSF and SSK files. 2) Fix intermittent program crash problem whem viewing the adjusted ALTA results. ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.7.2.81 For Windows (10/20/2008) 1) Add column sorting support for the data entry grids. Simply click on the column header to sort all rows based on the items in the column. Click on the column again to reverse the sort. When sorting columns that contain Real numbers, you can sort by the abolute value by first enabling the VIEW - SORT BY ABSOLUTE VALUE command. 2) Add FILE - IMPORT support for Ashtech 'O' Files and Thales 'OBN' files. Import station and observation data from these files directly into the current project. ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.7.2.71 For Windows (09/28/2008) 1) Add support for ECEF XYZ 3D network adjustments. The underlying mathematical model is still 3D Geodetic, but ECEF XYZ coordinates can be used directly. Solutions still require a few iterations to converge, but the results are the same as would be obtained using a pure ECEF XYZ mathematical model. 2) Add support for ECEF XYZ 3D Inverses including: 3D NEU Inverse 3D XYZ Inverse 3D Astro Geodetic Inverse These same inverse types are currently provided by the 3D Geodetic Model using ellipsoidal height. 3) Add support to export the adjusted geodetic covariance matrix for each station (NN, EE, UU, NE, NU, EU) after keeping the coordinates into project memory (following a 3D Geodetic or 3D ECEF XYZ network adjustment). Add support to export the adjusted ECEF XYZ covariance matrix for each station (XX, YY, ZZ, XY, XZ, YZ) after keeping the coordinates into project memory (following a 3D Geodetic or 3D ECEF XYZ network adjustment). These fields can be set up in the OPTIONS - EXPORT FILE SETUP - USER DEFINED dialog. Compute your adjusted Geodetic or XYZ coordinates, keep the coordinates into the project, then use the TOOLS - USER DEFINED XPORT tool to export the selected coordinate components to a file. ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.7.2.67 For Windows (09/08/2008) 1) Add the ability to export UTM and State Plane scalers (grid scale, height scale, combined scale) and mapping angle after generating these coordinates using either the network adjustment or the State Plane or UTM coordinate transformation tool. Set up the fields to export in the OPTIONS - EXPORT FILE SETUP - USER DEFINED dialog. Compute your State Plane or UTM coordinates. Keep the coordinates into the project, then use the TOOLS - USER DEFINED XPORT tool to export the selected coordinate components to a file. 2) Change format of Mapping Angle in the .CSV created when generating a report in the Adjusted UTM and State Plane views. The format is: DD.MMSSsssss (changed from DD-MM-SS.ssss) ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.7.2.66 For Windows (09/01/2008) 1) Enable the powerful adjustment tools "Free - Eliminate Outliers" and "Fixed - All Cases" for Local NEE networks. 2) Fix bug in which final statistics for Direction observations are not computed in runs 2..n when using the tool mentioned in #1 above. ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.7.2.64 For Windows (06/29/2008) 1) Fix bug that fails to merge geodetic coordinate observations when using the TOOLS - COMBINE TWO STATIONS tool. This only pertains to a project containing geodetic coordinate observations. ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.7.2.63 For Windows (06/12/2008) 1) Increase the size of the Datum to Datum (Geo <--> Geo) Transformation dialogs. Data entered into these fields are then persisted in the registry. 2) Add additional internally defined datums. Datums that are not internally provided, can be easily added using the DATA - DATUMS grid. 3) Fix bug that, under certain circumstances, highlights the wrong active datum in the Pick Datums Dialog. ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.7.2.62 For Windows (05/28/2008) 1) Simplify the format of ASCII (Text) Options Settings. These settings can be included in the COLUMBUS Input File. The new format is more intuitive and self documenting. The old format is still supported for reading. ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.7.2.60 For Windows (05/07/2008) 1) Fix DATA - STATIONS - GEODETIC tab. When editing the geodetic station record type, the vertical deflection in NS and EW may get reset to zero after selecting the Keep and Exit button. ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.7.2.59 For Windows (04/11/2008) 1) Fix DATA - OBSERVATIONS - BEARING SET tab so the user can set the Quadrant field to blank (empty) without generating a validation error. ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.7.2.58 For Windows (03/30/2008) 1) Minor terminology changes in some UI screens and reports. ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.7.2.57 For Windows (03/24/2008) 1) Add gaussian radius, mean scale factors and mean PPM's to the State Plane and UTM transformation dialogs and network adjustment State Plane/UTM views. Add support for an Approximate Geoid Height (OPTIONS - GLOBAL SETTINGS dialog). This value is added to State Plane/UTM Ortho Heights to compute the Height Scale Factor (HSF) and Combined Scale Factor (CSF) based on Ellipsoidal Height. 2) Moved Ortho Height option outside the TOOLS - TRANSFORMATION - NEU <--> GEO dialog. This was causing confusion. NEU --> GEO always requires UP not delta Ortho Height. To augment this change, we have added the TOOLS - CONVERT DATA - ORTHO HEIGHT --> UP tool. Using this tool, you can compute the UP component for any Local NEUE station by differencing the Ortho Heights. However, computing an UP component (in this way) is only accurate over limited area. 3) The TOOLS - COPY ORTHO HEIGHTS dialog has been simplified and renamed to TOOLS - SYNCHRONIZE ORTHO HEIGHTS. Use to tool to synchronize Ortho Heights (elevations) for station records that have an elevation field (1D Height Coordinate record, Geodetic coordinate record, State Plane coordinate record, UTM coordinate record and Local NEUE coordinate record). 4) Add Height Type indicator to the Status Bar. Height type is either Orthometric Hgt (elevation) or Ellipsoidal Height. Ellipsoidal Height is only used when the Cartesian XYZ or 3D Geodetic View context is active. When the 3D Geodetic View context is active, Ellipsoidal Height is only applicable when the OPTIONS - GLOBAL SETTINGS - 3D Geodetic Height radio button is set to Ellipsoidal Height. 5) Remove the following dialogs : OPTIONS - PROJECTION ZONES - MISC ZONE OPTIONS dialog. The options in here have been removed. They are not needed. OPTIONS - HEIGHT UPDATES dialog. This was confusing for many so it has been replaced by a prompt dialog similar to that used when entering a geodetic coordinate in the Geodetic Station Data Management grid. The Local Geoid Height Modeling correction (formerly in this dialog) has been moved to the Global Settings dialog. OPTIONS - NETWORK OPTIONS - OUTLIER SORTING METHOD dialog. These settings have been moved to the OPTIONS - NETWORK OPTIONS - REPORT SETTINGS dialog. This option is seldom used anymore. You can sort reports by any column you desire in any of the Report Grids. 6) Move 2D Network Height and 3D Network Type from the OPTIONS - NETWORK OPTIONS - NETWORK SETTINGS dialog. They now reside in the OPTIONS - GLOBAL SETTINGS dialog and have been renamed to 2D Height and 3D Geodetic Height. They are not only applicable network adjustment computations. They also apply to several TOOLS computations. 7) Add additional error checking when importing G-FILE data. 8) Remove the Hemisphere Settings from the OPTIONS - GLOBAL SETTINGS dialog. With the introduction of the Data Management Grids, these settings are no longer used. Always enter Latitude and Longitude in the following way: Latitude: positive North (negative South) Longitude: positive East (negative West) ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.7.2.38 For Windows (02/18/2008) 1) Add BlueBook G-File support to FILE - IMPORT command. A. Open a new Project and invoke the FILE - IMPORT - BLUEBOOK G FILES command. B. Select one or more G Files and COLUMBUS will import the GPS vectors into the current project. C. Enter coordinates for any known stations that were created. Records supported: A, B, C, D, E, F and G. 2) Create Network DXF for State Plane and UTM networks. Create these file using the NETWORK - CREATE NETWORK DXF command. 3) Force Ashtech 'O' file processing to load all baselines in the 'O' file even when the header record is incomplete. Some vendors are creating Ashtech 'O' files without properly setting the vector_strct.iNumLines field. There may be 2..n valid vectors in the file, but vector_strct.iNumLines is only set to 1. 4) Always write out selected network fixed (or constrained) stations when using the FILE - SAVE or FILE - SAVE AS command. In the past, this was only performed when invoking the NETWORK - SAVE NETWORK command. 5) Fix direction set number assignment when merging stations. When merging two stations that both have direction measurements, we ensure that the "merged" (final) station maintains these directions as two different sets. For Example: At station AAA, four directions were measured and assigned a set number of 1001. At station BBB, 10 directions were measured and assigned a set number of 1001 If station AAA and BBB are then merged, one of the direction set numbers must change. The 10 directions measured at BBB will be changed to 15 or the first available set number between 1 - 999999. The resulting set numbers might be: 1, 15, 23, 41, 56, etc. The actual set number assigned is dependent on the available set number at the merged station. Set numbers can range in value from 1 - 999999. 6) Add testing for DD.MMSS when either Min or Sec > 60. Applies when loading COLUMBUS input text files and data entry within COLUMBUS. 7) When you double click on an observation line, we will only bring up a selection dialog for Horizontal Angle observation sets OR when multiple observation sets match the click area. When double clicking on an observation "line" in the main graphical view we follow these rules: If all nearby observation sets are of the same type (GPS or AZ/ZEN/CHORD or DIR/ZEN/CHORD, etc.), do the following: Immediately bring up the corresponding GRID. The exception to this rule is the HA/ZEN/CHORD observation set in which a backsight is also observed. In this case, bring up a observation set dialog picker, followed by the HA/ZEN/CHORD observation set GRID. If any nearby observation sets are NOT of the same type (GPS or AZ/ZEN/CHORD or DIR/ZEN/CHORD, etc.), do the following: Bring up the observation set dialog picker, followed by the GRID for the selected observation set type. 8) Remove OPTIONS - GLOBAL SETTINGS - NS and EW Hemisphere settings. These settings are no longer used. They became obsolete after introducing Data Management Grids in COLUMBUS, version 3.7.2.34 ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.7.2.34 For Windows (01/27/2008) 1) Fix intermittent crash that occurs when entering the Tools - Geodetic <--> NEU dialog. 2) Fix issue of recurring busy cursor in Data - Stations dialogs. ********************************************************************* COLUMBUS 3.7.2.33 For Windows (01/23/2008) 1) Completely redesign the Data Entry screens found under the Data menu. The screens are now grids (spreadsheet like) which allow entry and editing of large amounts of data in one shot. There are seven different Station grids to support each of the different coordinate types (plus station description). There are 10 Observation Set screens. There is one Datum grid screen for adding/removing datums. After entering/editing/removing data in related grids (Station grids for example), select the KEEP And EXIT command to keep your changes into project memory. Invoke the FILE - SAVE or FILE - SAVE AS command to save your project to a file. STATION GRIDS: To delete a station (and all of its coordinates) from the project, clear out the entire station row in ANY one of the SEVEN station grids. This will remove the station (and all connected observations) from the project when you select the KEEP And EXIT button. If you don't want to delete the station (e.g., only want to remove the State Plane coordinate components), clear out the entire row of State Plane coordinates, but leave the station name. OBSERVATION GRIDS: To delete any observation set, simply clear out the entire row of data for that observation set. When you select the KEEP And EXIT button, the observation set data will be removed from the project. To remove an individual observation in row three, simply clear out the field for that observation (in row three). When you select the KEEP And EXIT button, the observation will be removed from the project. DATUM GRIDS: To delete any Datum, clear out all the fields in the row (for that Datum) and select the KEEP And EXIT button. You cannot delete the active datum. Most users prefer to navigate through the grids using keystrokes. For an explanation of the most common keystrokes, invoke the HELP button from within any grid (or see below). There will be a link to all the commonly used keystrokes. Most of them are comparable to the keystrokes used in popular spreadsheet software. CELL MODES: Edit Mode When editing a cell Entry Mode When on a cell, but not in edit mode NAVIGATION: Ctrl + PgUp Next Tab page to the left Ctrl + PgDn Next Tab page to the right Ctrl + Tab Next Tab page to the right Ctrl + Shift + Tab Next Tab page to the left Tab Move to cell to right (Edit Mode) Shift + Tab Move to cell to left (Edit Mode) End Move to last cell in row (Entry Mode) Home Move to first cell in row (Entry Mode) Up Arrow Move up one cell Down Arrow Move down one cell Ctrl + Home Move to upper left corner of grid Ctrl + End Move to lower right corner of grid Alt + K Keep changes and exit (Entry mode) SELECT AND EDIT: Alt + A Add a row (Entry mode) Alt + Space Window menu Ctrl + Space Select entire column Shift + Space Select entire row Ctrl + A Select all cells Ctrl + Left Click Select multiple cells Ctrl + C Copy content of selected cells Ctrl + X Cut content of selected cells Ctrl + V Past clip board to cells Ctrl + ‘ Copy contents of cell above (Entry mode) Shift + Left Arrow Select multiple continuous cells to the left Shift + Right Arrow Select multiple continuous cells to the right Shift + Left Mouse Click Extend selection to selected cell Shift + End Select current cell and all cells to its right Shift + Home Select current cell and all cells to its left Shift + PgUp Select current cell and all cells above Shift + PgDn Select current cell and all cells below Del Delete contents of selected cells (Entry mode) Del Delete current character (Edit mode) End Move to right side of cell (Edit mode) Home Move to left side of cell (Edit mode) Enter When in Edit mode, changes to Entry mode Esc Exit grid and abandon changes (Entry mode) Esc Abandon cell changes (Edit mode) Bksp Delete cell contents (Entry mode) Bksp Delete character to left (Edit mode) ********************************************************************* Questions? Please contact us at: Best-Fit Computing 17490 NW Woodmere Court Beaverton, OR 97006 U.S.A. (503) 531-8819 (Voice) (503) 214-5406 (FAX) Email (Internet): support@bestfit.com Home Page: www.bestfit.com *** END RELEASE NOTES ***