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(Also notes on updates
2.01 - 2.06)
Release 2.0 is our first major release in two years. It is the
first time we are having a price increase, and so it is the first
time we are asking existing users to pay an upgrade fee. It is likely
that, as with release 1.0, we will issue follow-on point releases
with new features at no additional cost over 2.0.
Here's a quick synopsis of the new features in
Metron-PX 2.0
Metron-PX 2.0 now generates multi-page automatically formatted
reports which are a great way to communicate to your clients or
keep hard-copy records.
Panel for "Conformation Reports"
There are two types of reports -- the "Conformation
Report" shows the horse on one given date. The "Before/After
Report" documents the change in conformation between two dates.
Panel for the "Before/After Report"
The great thing about these reports is that once you
have picked the images (using "Guided Mark-Up" as usual)
you get the reports with just a couple mouse clicks. You can then
choose to add your own comments and suggestions to the reports.
When you start Metron-PX version 2.0 it automatically displays
a "palette of thumbnails". With a panel on the right hand
side of the screen, you can choose the Owner, Horse, and Date, and
the thumbnails update accordingly. To enter metron, you simply click
on one of the thumbnails.
Control Display of the Metron Thumbnails
In Metron-PX version 2.0, when you wish to import
a new image into Metron, you are shown a "palette of thumbnails"
for all the images within any folder on your PC. On the right hand
side of the screen is a "folder tree browser" for you
to navigate to any folder on your PC. Makes a great way to look
around your disk for a certain image.
Metron now has the ability to rotate, crop, repixelate,
filter, and other operations on images. There is no longer any need
to use some other software first, prior to using Metron. Hence metron
is now more complete -- from raw images to professional reports.
An exciting new feature in Metron-PX version 2.0 is
the ability to post Metron images directly to an Internet discussion
forum. You can find this forum on our web-site. Users of Metron
can upload images and comments. Web surfers can read the discussions,
and may post comments, but only users of Metron can upload images.
The main discussion topic is, of course, "Trimming and Shoeing",
but there is also a topic called "Using Metron-PX" which
you may use if you wish to ask us (or other users of Metron) how
to do certain things, how to pick an image, etc.
Choosing a Topic and Discussion on the Internet
We have studied hundreds more images and have refined
our scoring system. Metron 2.0 uses the new rules "EponaTech#3"
and "EponaTech#3H" ( the later being for hind feet). We
believe these rules give more meaningful scores of conformation.
We hope to put up a new web-page soon which will explain the choices
made in the rules in detail.
Version 2.01 is now available and includes the following
additions to version 2.0:
7.1 Added the "Unsharp Mask" filter to the
operations available when you import a new image. This is an edge
enhancing algorithm as found in PhotoShop and can help sharpen radiographs.
7.2 Add the "Magnifier" tool, available
when you are importing a new image. Lets you zoom into a specific
region of the image.
7.3 Fixed a "memory leak" that was in 2.0.
If you used version 2.0 for a while without stopping and restarting
it, eventually it would use more and more memory, and lead to a
crash. This has been fixed in 2.01.
7.4 When browsing the folders on your PC to import
an image, we have added a button labeled"DeskTop" which
is a handy way to set the browser to the folder which corresponds
to your "desktop". This way, you can easily find folders
containing images which are placed on your desktop.
7.5 Speed up: Once you are good at doing the "guided
mark-up" it becomes annoying to always move the mouse over
to the right side of the screen to click "Next Step>>".
Now, you can just keep the mouse over the graphic image and hit
the 'space bar' on your keyboard to go to the next step.
7.6 Fixed several minor bugs: scoring in 3-photo page
would sometimes give a "D" grade when it should have been
"C"; automatically place cursor in field (e.g. New Owner
panel) so you can just start typing directly; disallow typing into
pull-down items for Owner, Horse, etc. - to avoid confusion; Show
an 'hourglass' during long image operations - mostly important for
big images on slow PCs; In 'Output/Print Image...' now show panel
offering which printer - used to always default to the 'default
printer'. Fixed layout problem in the Preferences panel.
Version 2.02 is now available and includes the following
addition to version 2.01:
8.1 Fixed a bug which caused problems when previewing
or printing reports on some systems.
Version 2.03 is now available and includes the following
additions/fixes to version 2.02:
9.1 Fixed a bug which caused the score for a Solar
Photo to occasionally go over 100%!
9.2 Added a "Save As..." button in the "Image
Preparation" panel used when importing a new image.
9.3 When displaying thumbnails during "Import"
the images are arranged in alphabetical order on the screen. If
the file names contain numbers, the numbers are extracted and used
to sort the images.
9.4 There is a file in the folder C:/Epona/Databases/Main
called "ReportConfig.txt" which can be edited to select
the titles to be used on the pages of formatted reports. Only edit
the text "to the right of the equal signs" in that file.
10.1 The "Unsharp Mask Filter" operation
(available when importing new images) has been improved. It is a
really great filter to use on lousy-looking radiographs. It enhances
edges and helps to bring out detail.
10.2 "Window Leveling" now available (when
importing new images). This graphic manipulation lets you adjust
how the gray-levels are used -- particularly helpful with radiographs.
10.3 Metron is now a "Single Instance" program.
This means that only one copy of it can run on your PC at a time.
If Metron is already running, and you attempt to start it again,
it just causes the running copy to pop to the front. Previously,
it could get mighty confusing if you accidently started 2 or more
copies of Metron at the same time.
10.4 Small improvements to "Export Data"
when you are using images other than the ones we support for Guided
Mark-Up.
10.5 Added german translations, some of which have
been missing since we went to 2.0. Now the report generation and
other features from 2.0 are translated into german.
10.6 Metron now supports "Partner Applications"
(other software products that can exchange data with Metron). We
will shortly be announcing one or two of these.
11.1 From the main "Thumbnail" view (where
Metron always starts when you start it up) it is now possible to
rename a Horse or Owner or to correct a Date. Previously, it was
a pain in the a** if you spelled a Owner or Horse name incorrectly
and you wanted to change it. This feature also lets you "merge"
Owners, Horses, and Dates. For example, if you had some images filed
under "Smith, Mary" and others filed under "Mary
Smith" now just be asking to rename one of these names to match
the other, your files will ger merged together.
11.2 A new to-bar entry called "DataBase"
let's you count the number of images in your copy of Metron. Soon,
the "Database Option" will be released for Metron which
will provide additional functionality under this item.
11.3 There is now a "Save As..." and a "Print"
button right in the "Image Prep" panel (used when you
are importing a new image into Metron).
11.4 Fixed a long-standing problem with Metron when
running on a PC which has been configured to use "Large (120
DPI)" fonts. This problem made the "Image Prep" panel
almost unuseable - the Owner entry pulldown would overlay the "New"
button next to it, and other layout problems occured as well. Now
Metron knows how to layout the panel properly even on PCs configured
for larger fonts.
11.5 You can now add additional breed names by adding
a file under Databases/Main called "MoreBreeds.txt" with
one breed name per line of that file.
11.6 Modern "Date Picker" user interface
items now used when selecting or specifying a date.
12.1 In the "Image Prep" panel (when importing
to Metron) if you use "Save As..." you now have the option
of saving all the images from the current date in a different file
format. Yo ucan use this to convert images files from JPEG to Bitmap
and so on.
12.2 Some of the image manipulations (e.g. "Window
Leveling" and "Brighter/Dimmer") now work in real
time as you drag the mouse over the image. A little icon of the
mouse on these panels give you a clue that dragging the mouse over
the image will dynamically apply these operations to the image.
12.3 The "AutoContrast" feature now can
make use of a "selection rectangle" on the image. It bases
it's algorithm on the portion of the image in the rectangle. Try
indicating the important part of the image in a rectangle and then
use Auto-Contrast.
12.4 Important new feature! Previously the image manipulation
tools were only available in the Import panel *before* the image
came into Metron. Now, if you look under "Image" in the
top-bar you will find that you can use the image tools anytime.
They don't affect the mark-up on the image, they just operate on
the underlying original image.
If you missed past release notes, you can read them here:
Release 1.2 and 1.21
Release 1.22 and 1.23
Release 1.3
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