Release Notes for JMRI 2.7.3 release

Date: July 17, 2009

From: Bob Jacobsen

Subject: Test version 2.7.3 of JMRI/DecoderPro is available for download.

Notes:

This is a test release. Please post a note if you encounter any new or old bugs! And please back up your JMRI files before installing this, in case you want to go back to an earlier version.

This is the next in a series of test versions. We expect this series to end in a JMRI 2.8 production release in December 2009.

It contains many new features, including:

• fix for the problem that caused JMRI 2.7.1 to occasionally hang
• improvements to Logix and Panel Editor

along with lots of other changes. See the complete list below.

Some of the changes involved are quite extensive. They may require a certain amount of experience before they are working well. Therefore, this test version should be considered experimental.

JMRI is now only available under the GNU General Public License. For more information, please see our copyright and licensing page.

New warnings for this version:

(None)

Warnings from older versions:

(None)

Download links:

Please use these links for downloading:

MacOS X: http://downloads.sourceforge.net/jmri/JMRI.2.7.3.dmg

Windows: http://downloads.sourceforge.net/jmri/JMRI.2.7.3.exe

Linux: http://downloads.sourceforge.net/jmri/JMRI.2.7.3.tgz

Changes since test version 2.7.1

Paul Bender added initial support for connecting to a Lenz LI-USB via the Lenz server.

Nigel Cliffe added a SerialPortRFID.py script to allow MERG RFID equipment to be read into JMRI.

Pete Cressman made several improvements to the Panel Editor:

• The icon editor's window title now shows which panel it's associated with.
• The Icon editors now reset to their default settings whenever opened.
• The "Add to Table" function of the Icon editors now has a button to enter the element. The new entry is highlighted in the table before adding it to the panel.
• Sensor icons now have a text attribute to make them easier to use as buttons.
• Moving all the panel text to a properties file so it can now be translated.
• Having the image index only store user modified default icon settings.

Pete Cressman improved Logix Conditionals by

• Adding a state variable memory-to-memory compare operation. Two memory values may be tested for: less than, less than or equal, equals, greater than or equal, greater than. When one or both values is numeric, the test is numeric. Otherwise the compare is lexicographic.
• The previous state variable "memory equals" comparing a memory value to a value, has been extended to test for: <, <=, =, >=, >.

Dan Boudreau made some minor bug fixes in the operations feature: Locations window didn't always show the correct number of car and engine pickups for each location. Small change in functionality, train reset no longer swaps car loads.

Internal Lights (IL1, etc) now support variable intensity.

The bug causing the program to hang when editing a Logix, Route or Light has been fixed. (This fix was in JMRI 2.6.1, but not in JMRI 2.7.1)

Dan Boudreau added a new save panel feature. When saving a panel that already exists, the program now saves a backup copy of the panel in a directory called "backupPanels". The backup panel's file name is modified with the current date and time.

Added a new Panel Editor icon for Memory objects that lets you set and modify numeric values. This is a simple initial implementation for values that range from 0 to 100, with more customization, etc, to follow if people are interested in this.

Fix the script input window so that large scripts can be entered. Once the initial text window is full, scroll-bars will appear. Also, fixed a bug that could cause the "Execute" button to disappear.

Dan Boudreau added initial support for RFID tags to the operations database.

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