Axon2008 - Whats New

1. Improved 3D

1. The Level (which is the Z axis) has a distance of 100 by default. Entities can be rotated about the X,Y or Z axes. There is also a continuous rotation function.
2. Objects further away can be blurred for better realism. Shadows are colorized for easier recognition.
3. The Level distance equivalent and other 3D settings are found in the 3D Settings dialog box, previously called the 3D Viewer.
4. A diagram can be viewed from various angles (e.g. see from the left, behind, top, etc.), using Alt+Drag, regardless of whether the diagram is drawn in 2D or 3D.
5. Objects and Shapes can be moved along Z using Space+Up or Space+Dn, or Space+Drag (Up or Down).
6. Objects align and distribute functions are extended to 3D. Objects can also be distributed as a solid or hollow sphere, or a ring.
7. Objects can be flipped front-to-back, Level-wise. Objects in all Levels can be shifted at one go including the Z direction. The "Center of Gravity" of all Objects is displayed while shifting.

2. Improved GUI

1. Axon2008 is now flicker-free using double-buffering of screen display.
2. Many dialog boxes are redesigned. Some listboxes are now colorized to reflect the color of Entities listed. Slider controls are also introduced.
3. Slideshow mode and Full Screen mode are fully functional.
4. Improved Object Indicators that show links to other files and Levels as thick orthogonal lines.
5. Level Tab widths can be proportional to the Level name length.
6. It is now easier to keep multiple Textwindows opened (will be prompted when trying to close all Textwindows).
7. Generated Random Pictures can be used as background. Random Pictures quality is also improved.
8. Selection handles are clearly visible (i.e. constant in size) at all viewing scale.

3. New Functions

1. Shortcuts of buttons on the Toolbar can be created in one step. Font Objects can also be created in one step using Object|Insert|Character ID.
2. Entities can be selected by Level, Color, or both. Cross Links (all) can be selected.
3. Tree Clusters can be resized by dragging the node immediately below the parent.
4. Can "Collapse All" and "Expand All" Objects.
5. More defaults can be set for creating Entities.
6. Calendaring functions are available using Level-dependent Background patterns.
7. The Analyzer provides file diagnostics of duplicate or missing Ref#.
8. The Tabulator allows text to be edited without opening a Textwindow. The Tabulator can save a table in HTML format or Tab/Comma/Pipe delimited text. The Tabulator can also compute weighted score, totals, averages, etc .
9. The Simulator plots the total packets in a model as bar charts. Single-stepping can be done by pressing Ctr and the Resume button.
10. The new setobjpos() function can move Objects around for animation (even if not doing a Simulation).
11. The Calculator can evaluate a user-entered Expression, just like an ordinary calculator.
12. Tracks the number of times a file is saved, in File|Information.
13. Can check for updates via internet link.

4. Import and Export

1. Import: Outlines can be imported to form an Outline Tree or other Tree shapes. Outline hierarchy can be indicated by space indentation, tabs, or HTML Header Tags. A Word outline can be imported by first saving it as HTML.

2. Export: Hierarchical outlines (based on Link hierarchy) can be exported to HTML indicated as Header Tags. Bullets can be created from "-" prefixes. Numbered lists can be created from "*" prefixes. A CSS Stylesheet can be used to format the output. Outlines are exported to HTML which can then be opened as a Word outline.

5. New Object Actions

1. "Activate:Toolbar" extends the capability of Actions to any Toolbar functions.
2. "ID:Spin Next" gives the next item in sequence.
3. "Toggle:Collapse" provides an easy way to perform a Collapse. Similarly for "Toggle:Translucent".

6. New Shapes

1. "Scale Horz" Shape provides an easy way to draw evenly spaced ruled lines. Similarly for "Scale Vert".
2. "Grid" Shape provides an easy way to draw tables.
3. "Saw" Shape is similar to the "Saw" Link.
4. Some Shapes can also have Arrowheads, like Links.

7. Styles and Formatting

1. Objects can have the Hatch Style (e.g. forward hatch). The number of Hatch Styles is extended to 50 types.
2. The Object fillstyles are also available for Pictures and Icons.
3. Droptext can be displayed as HTML, in addition to plaintext and richtext.
4. Arrowhead size now varies with line thickness.
5. The Tapered Link shape is improved.
6. The Overview Window can become translucent if not in focus. The translucence effect is also applied to the following:
   1. Objects - an Object can be set as Translucent.
   2. Links - similary a Link can be set.
   3. Shapes - a Shape can be set as Translucent with different opacity.
   4. Tooltip - this is now always translucent.
   5. Shadows - Shadows further away can be more translucent.
7. More Background Patterns:
   1. "Big Characters" provides an easy way to put text in the background.
   2. "Hatch" with over 50 hatch styles.
   3. Level dependent background patterns showing monthly or weekly calendars.
   4. "Random Picture" (specific) composed from a single random number.
   5. "Random Pictures" (ever changing) give a refreshing look to your diagrams.

8. New Axon Files

1. BVITS Generator.xon - "Business Value Innovative Thinking Symbols" courtesy of BVOTECH.
2. Calendar(Monthly).xon and Calendar(Weekly).xon - using the new calendaring functions.
3. Dodecahedron.xon and Icosahedron.xon - for demonstrating 3D rotation.
4. Feynman Diagram.xon - using the rounded Saw Link.
5. Font Objects.xon - templates for Wingdings, Webdings, Symbol, and Lucida fonts.
6. Simulate Galton Board.xon - showing the distribution of falling pinballs.
7. Simulate Radioactive Decay.xon - for observing the half-life of atoms.
8. Simulate Satellite.xon - using the setobjpos() function for animation.
9. Simulate Turing Machine.xon - demonstrating state-transition diagrams and tape read/write animations.
10. Symphony Orchestra.xon - another example of using the Tabulator.
11. Tallysheet.xon - for counting votes, etc.
12. Time Planner.xon - demonstrating the Grid and Scale Shapes.

1. The "Moods.txt" checklist.
2. The "Lorum Ipsum.txt" for text prototyping.

9. Functions Remove/Changed

1. File|Send to Floppy A: is removed.
2. The "Display Picture Files last" option (in Option|Entity) is removed.
3. Shortcuts to URLs for spell checking, thesaurus, etc. are removed.

1. Arrow Shapes are auto-migrated to Line Shapes with arrowheads.
2. Bracket (Horz/Vert) Shapes are auto-migrated to Scale (Horz/Vert). Bracket (Horz/Vert) Shapes with curvature are auto-migrated to Polylines.
3. The Options|File Settings dialog box is removed. File settings are now handled more directly by the respective dialog boxes referencing the files.
4. Generate Draft report (from the Analyzer) is renamed as Save As.
5. The "Protrude" feature is replaced by "ID shadow".
6. The "Promote" feature is renamed as "Import as Objects".
7. The "ID:Spin" Action is renamed as "ID:Spin Random".
8. The Toggle:Color Action is renamed as Toggle:Fill.
9. The Fillstyle "None" is renamed as "Outline".
10. The Brain Icons in various colors are replaced by a single gray color. Old files having these Icons will be displayed with a colored frame. Similarly for the Eye Icons.

10. Changes made to Beta R1.0X (June 20 to July 1, 2007)

1. When importing indented text, the resultant IDs no longer have spaces before it. The number of space to indent a line can be 1,2 or 4 spaces.
2. A button (in the Rotation dialog box) is avaliable for capturing rotated diagrams.
3. Grouped Shapes can now change Level using Space+Up/Dn or Space+Drag.
4. More than one Object (or Shape) can now be moved (Level-wise) using Space+Up/Dn or Space+Drag.
5. The Picture Frame.xon file demonstrates how the setobjpos() function can be used.
6. Level Tracking is now optional and can be set in Preference|Navigation.
7. Symbol Object Shadows can have various color options, specified in Options|Entity|Object Options.
8. The Outline Fillstyle is now applicable to all Objects.
9. IDs of Objects with the Hatch fillstyle can now be seen clearly.
10. When creating multiple Objects using the ';' delimiter, the parent object is no longer assigned as a tree. (Revert to non-cluster).
11. A new Outline Tree structure is available. This Tree structure is suitable for creating trees from text outlines with minimal overlapping.
12. Paste (Ctr+V) now works in any text fields where text can be edited.
13. The function setobjpos(RefNo,X,Y) is now changed to setobjpos(RefNo,X,Y,Lev).
14. The Windows icons for an Axon file (Axonfile.ico) are modified so that the large and small icons look consistent.

11. Changes made to Final R2.00 (July 9, 2007)

1. Object Properties allow editing of plaintext contents if Action is not Open:Plaintext.
2. A new hotkey for toggling Droptext is Space+Click.
3. When copying the list from the Sequencer, indentation results in tabs instead of spaces.
4. Using Autohide Statusbar, some minimal information is still displayed when the bar is hidden.
5. Hotkey for Text|Find Text is now Ctr+F, and for Edit|Selector is Ctr+F2.
6. Richtext when displayed as Droptext will not be displayed in raw format.

12. Changes made to Final R2.01 (July 15, 2007)

1. Modified the Tabulator's Search and Replace controls to log previous entries.
2. Corrected an error (ErrCode=311) when moving a node in a Cluster immediately below the parent node.
3. Prevented the AutoSave notification messages from interrupting keyboard entry.
4. The Preference|"Dialog boxes always extended" option now works for all dialog boxes.
5. The Preference|"Auto Backup - Location" option now works correctly.

13. Changes made to Final R2.02 (July 22, 2007)

1. The Axon window size can now be fully extended using multiple screens.
2. Printing using the "Hollow Objects" option now works as in Axon2007.
3. The "Fit Window upon changing Level" now works.
4. Uninstalling an older version will not affect the file association of the current version.

14. Changes made to Final R2.03 (August 5, 2007)

1. Using the mouse to resize an Object at a lower Level can now be done more precisely.
2. Richtext hyperlinks now works even for long URLs (max 150 chars).
3. Hyperlinks can be created directly in textwindows using Paste (Ctr+V).
4. Corrected a problem with creating Shapes when no Arrowhead Shape is selected.

15. Changes made to Final R2.04 (December 19, 2007)

1. Using the mouse to move Objects is now smoother.

16. Known Problems

1. To install on Win2000, the .zip version is needed. You will also need to download the gdiplus.dll from Microsoft and copy it to the same location as Axon. Also ensure that the Lucida Sans Unicode font is installed.
2. If you have a problem accessing the Help (from the Help menu), it is likely that your latest security patch from Microsoft has prevented it. To correct this problem, doubleclick on the Axon2008.chm file in the Help subfolder. Then uncheck the option labelled "Always ask before opening this file". For more details see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/902225/
3. Droptext having the Richtext format is printed without text formatting.
4. An Axon file containing Random Pictures as background cannot be saved as .emf.
5. In Random Words, the Copy All button does not work if the listbox (containing the random words) has been opened once.
6. If using a pen-cum-tablet and running Vista, do not (in 'Pen and Input Devices') substitute 'press and hold' for a right-click. Also the pen input tab should be docked to the bottom of the screen to avoid crashing the pen (which is a Vista bug).
7. The Preference|User Interface|"Enter Label while creating Link" does not work correctly.