Posts Tagged ‘Ribbon’

Diving Log 6.0.6 released

Thursday, September 22nd, 2016

I’ve released a new update for Diving Log 6.0 with the following new features:

  • Divesite map in logbook window
  • Tanklist in logbook window
  • Extended Layout updated
  • DAN Diver Safety Guardian Upload
  • Office 2016 Ribbon theme
  • Downloader improvements
  • Android USB Sync device lookup improved
  • Drag and Drop logbook files to main window
  • Import all waypoints of a GPX file as new dive sites
  • French localization improvements
  • Bug fixes and other improvements

Logbook window improvements:

You can now include the “Tank & Gas” list directly in the logbook window. Additionally you can add a map view to your logbook layout, which automatically shows the dive site of the currently selected dive on a map. I’ve updated the “Extended Layout” which now includes both new items. In the screenshots below you can also see the new Office 2016 theme, which you can select in the preferences dialog.

Tank & Gas List

Tank & Gas List

Dive Site Map

Dive Site Map

DAN Diver Safety Guardian Upload:

You can now upload your dives to the DAN Diver Safety Guardian website, for additional decompression risk analysis and statistics. Read more about that feature on this page.

DAN DSG Upload

DAN DSG Upload

Other improvements:

If the Android USB sync dialog did not show your connected Android device, please try it again. In this update I’ve improved the device lookup and it should now show up. There are also improvements in the dive computer downloader as well as the latest libdivecomputer library. You can now also drag and drop Diving Log logbook files (*.mdb) to the main window to quickly open them.

Sync directly to MTP connected devices

Sync directly to MTP connected devices

New beta version available

Thursday, July 29th, 2010

You can download a new beta version of Diving Log 5.0 with several new features:

Full Setup (26 MB)
Update from 5.0.0 (19 MB)
(Please download the final version)

In the main toolbar you will find a new “Web” dropdown button, which is now the central location for cloud services like online logbooks. Currently there are 4 online logbooks included:

  • Dilogs.com – already included with the Dilogs manager, but the new sync interface offers a lightweight and easier sync experience
  • Divelogs.de – was only available in the export menu, but now you can upload and download your dives in the new sync dialog
  • Yourdivebook.com – completely new integrated with upload and download
  • Divelogpool.com – new beta portal to collect dive data for the NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) in Trondheim for a research project
  • In future MySQL sync will be added for phpDivingLog

Dilogs Sync

Divelogs Sync

YourDiveBook Sync

Great news for all Android users out there: there is now a sync function from Diving Log 5.0 to the already available Android Dive Log (Dive Log Key) from Rob Knapen. It is included in the sync menu in the main toolbar of Diving Log. The sync is done at the moment only via the sdcard. Diving Log saves the file to the sdcard, Android Dive Log reads this file from the card when you use the restore function. To sync back to the desktop you must create a backup in the Android DL to the storage card, Diving Log will import that and merge the changes into the desktop logbook.

Android Sync

Main Screen

Dive List

Dive Site Map

The ribbon in the logbook window could now be displayed also in the Windows 7 ribbon style:

Windows 7 Ribbon Style

Other new features in this beta:

  • Import from JDiveLog
  • French localization completed
  • Many small improvements and bug fixes

Diving Log 5.0 – New profile functionality and more

Sunday, December 6th, 2009

Today I’ve uploaded an update which brings a lot of the missing profile features from version 4.0. And there are a few more things included in this update:

  • Sort dives function
  • Profile data and graphic export
  • Profile split and merge
  • Profile cursor and auto scroll
  • Tank pressure gauge works now also without tank profile
  • Ascend/descend rate profile improved
  • Comments print function
  • Layout gallery in Ribbon
  • Time zone picker in country editor

The dives sorting and renumbering feature (menu File > Logbook Maintenance > Sort Logbook) is now included. Remember, in version 5.0 you can also sort a set of dives in the table editor.

Sort Dives

Sort Dives

The profile export function allows you to export the profile data to the clipboard, text, CSV, Excel and printer and the profile graphic to the clipboard, image file and printer. The profile split and merge feature is now also included as well as the red cursor line and the auto scroll function. The tank pressure gauge will now also work if no tank profile is available, by interpolating between start and end pressure. The only thing that is still missing is the profile editing function.

Profile Ribbon

Profile Ribbon

The ascend / descend profile calculation has been improved. With the old method the profile was difficult to read when the computer used short recording intervals. The new calculation outputs a much better profile which is more realistic.

Old ascend rate profile

Old ascend rate profile

New ascend rate profile

New ascend rate profile

In the layout tab of the ribbon I’ve included a ribbon gallery with layouts included in Diving Log. In future I want to add more layouts (e.g. for small Netbook screens) and a way to add your own layouts to this gallery.

Layout Ribbon

Layout Ribbon

Diving Log 5.0 – Latest updates

Tuesday, October 27th, 2009

The beta version is now since two weeks online and I’ve updated it about 3 or 4 times during this period (I just uploaded a new version). I want to give you a quick overview about some of the changes (I’ve done also a lot of small changes not mentioned here):

  • Bug fix for Oceanlog 2 and Sherwood import
  • Improved import for Delta P ProDive
  • Improved UDDF import for HeinrichsWeikamp DR 5
  • Improved Mares DRAK import for air integrated computers
  • Import added for the new Shearwater Desktop beta program
  • Divelogs.eu upload bugs fixed
  • Welcome Center added
  • Info dialog added
  • Compact database function added
  • Print engine runtime files updated with service pack
  • Localized more parts of the UI
  • Profile info panel added
  • Default gas icons added
  • Added a few more buttons to the profile ribbon tab

There are still some features missing, e.g. the MySQL export and upload, the profile section of the logbook is not complete (split and merge dives, export profile data, edit profile, red cursor line with auto scrolling, the compass, templates). I’ll add these features during the next weeks.

Overall the beta test is very positive, only a few minor bugs were discovered up till now. There seems to be a problem with the print function and designer when Diving Log 4.0 and 5.0 are running at the same time or on the same computer. If you discover some instability with the print function or designer in version 5.0, it is very likely that it is caused by version 4.0.

The new profile info panel and gas icon panel are hidden by default. You must either drag and drop them from the hidden items in the customization window, or download the “Extended Layout.xml” file and open it in the layout tab in the logbook window.

Customize Layout

Hidden Items

Drag and drop gas icons

Drag and drop gas icons

Icons on the right side

Icons on the right side

Icons below

Icons below

Profile Info Panel

Profile Info Panel

Diving Log 5.0 – Logbook Part 2

Tuesday, March 3rd, 2009

I already wrote about the new ribbon element in the logbook window and I want to show you a few other details in the case you’re not familiar with the ribbon in Office 2007. The ribbon can be minimized so only the ribbon tabs will require space. This is especially useful for small displays. When you click on a tab the ribbon will dropdown and you can use any command. When you’re done it will collapse itself automatically. The 2nd feature I want to show you is the ability to pin any command from the ribbon to the “Quick Access Toolbar”. This is the small toolbar below the ribbon. This toolbar can also be moved above the ribbon onto the title bar so even less space is required. You can add to this toolbar often needed commands so they are only one click away, no matter which ribbon tab is selected.

Minimized Ribbon

Minimized Ribbon

Dropped Down Ribbon

Dropped Down Ribbon

I’m not yet sure what to do with the “Office Button”, this is the round shaped button (without icon in the screenshot) in the upper left corner. In Office this button opens up the application menu with “File Open”, “File Save” and so on but these features are in Diving Log in the main application toolbar and menu, so it doesn’t make much sense to put them also into this menu. I can simply hide this button and maybe this is the best solution if there is no functionality which makes sense. If you have any idea, please let me know.

The 2nd feature I want to talk about in this post are the location and buddy dropdowns. You may know from Diving Log 4.0 that there are two ways to enter “Countries”, “Cities / Islands”, “Dive Sites” and “Buddies”. If you only want to store the name of the location or buddy into your logbook you can simply enter it directly in the field. This is useful for locations and buddies you have no further information, e.g. a buddy who dived only one time with you in your vacation. If you want to store additional information you can link the field to one of the detailed entries. Linked items are displayed in blue font color in Diving Log 4.0 and you have to click the chain icon above the field.

Now in Diving Log 5.0 linking an item is easier. Manual entered items now have a pencil icon, linked items have a chain icon in front of it. And you can link an item by simply selecting it from the dropdown list or by using the auto-complete function. Thus you don’t have to leave the logbook window to link an entry. To create a new detailed entry you can click the plus button which opens up the detail window.

Dive Site Dropdown

Dive Site Dropdown

Diving Log 5.0 – Logbook Window

Sunday, March 1st, 2009

In this post I want to give you a general overview of the logbook window changes in version 5.0. In later postings I’ll go more deeply into details like profile display and photo management. The following screenshots show an early state, so the GUI, the icons and the layout may change over time.

Logbook Window

Logbook Window

The first thing you will recognize is the ribbon at the top of the window. I know the ribbon, first introduced in Office 2007, is a very controversial GUI element. There are users who like it, and there are users who hate it. You can believe me, I was thinking a long time about using it or not. I have not added the ribbon because it is looking “modern” or “stylish”. I’ve added it because I think it’s the only control which makes sense in this place. And here is the reason:

Everything below the ribbon is now customizable. The whole layout can be rearranged by the user, even the dive list and the tabs. You can save any amount of layouts and restore them at any time. You can even share these layouts with other users. It’s the same as the print designer, just for the logbook window itself. You can have one layout on your big 22″ widescreen desktop monitor and another layout on your small netbook display.

So if you don’t like the dive list on the left, simply drag it to the right – or to the top. You want the profile on the main tab? You can do so. And because of this flexibility I cannot add the 2nd level toolbars (above comments, photos and the profile) to the tab pages anymore. Because you can even entirely remove the tabs. I have to merge all toolbars into a single place above the customizable area. And this can be done best in a ribbon control. It offers all the needed space and flexibility. The ribbon layout in the screenshots is not final, I’m still searching for the best number of ribbon tabs, icon size and layout so you need as little clicks as possible.

You can also see a splitter control which makes it possible to resize the dive list. The columns displayed in the dive list are also customizable. Here are some screenshots how you can customize the layout using drag and drop and the customize toolbox window:

Customize Toolbox

Customize Toolbox

Drag and Drop

Drag and Drop

Item Options

Item Options

Alternate Layout

Alternate Layout

You can see from the above screenshots that you have a lot of options – you can create tab pages, expandable areas, group or hide items you don’t use. I’ll dive deeper into the other improvements soon. In the meantime please post your comments and write what you think (especially about the ribbon).