Version 10 Beta Released!!
Posted: Mon 11 Jul, 2016 4:06 pm
Version 10 Beta Released!!
The long awaited version 10 of the program is finally available to download as a beta release. The final version of the program will be released at the end of this month. The beta contains a host of new features which are detailed below, but actually the changes in the program go much deeper than that.
To Install the beta:
a) If you already have version 8.0 or higher installed you can install it directly by clicking on this link:
http://www.orphalese.net/downloads/orph ... etaten.exe.
b) Otherwise you need to install the latest version of the program from the Downloads page and then use the link above. You can also find a link to the same file near the bottom of the Downloads page.
Long term users of the program will know that I tend to bring out a new version every summer, and the fact is that the organization of the program (such as the arrangements of tabs and checkable boxes on the Options form or the main menu itself) has become more and more messy with each incremental version. I have added things wherever it seemed to like a good idea at the time and that been at the expense of the overall coherency of the program. So version 10 includes a complete overhaul of how the program is organized which I am convinced people will find easier and more intuitive.
The main new features are as follows:
* Subsets - e.g. you can define a set of cards to use from a particular deck and load it up just like any other deck in your collection, so you can have say a Majors only deck and a full deck using the same cards without duplicating any files on your hard drive.
* Spreads and Readings with Multiple Decks, and also proper ordering of the cards so for example when two cards overlap the program will remember correctly which one was on top of which.
* Two kinds of collections. As well as the previous kind of collection which let you navigate your way through a set of decks, there is a new kind where a single click launches all the decks in the collection at the same time.
* Better emails, using default client. It was a big problem with the email feature in previous versions that when you sent an email you had no record of it your outbox. The program now creates a new email in your default mail client and adds the appropriate text and attachments, allowing the user to edit the message as much as they like before hitting send.
* Deck parking for multiple decks.
* Card Names - useful anywhere you need to select cards from the deck.
* Enhanced zoom function.
* Title bar data for current deck.
* New sort options in Deck Exchange that sort the whole set of results, not just the current page. Faster results.
* Maximized background image. This is a new option along with Tile, Stretch and Center. The program will make your image as big as it can while not stretching it out of shape.
* Enhanced caption bar graphics (optional).
Special thanks to Linda (Purple Scorp) for her part in this new version. At the end of last year she emailed me and offered to assist me with updating the Help file. One thing led to another and that grew into the dedicated Orphalese Help website which we can all now benefit from. During this process she also came up with a whole load of great suggestions, and many of the new features listed above were her ideas, the details of which were worked out with a great toing and froing of emails that didn't seem to suffer too much from us being on different sides of the planet. Also thanks to the other users such as Greg who have been asking for some of these features for at least a couple of years now. Thanks for the suggestions and also for your patience in waiting for them!
The long awaited version 10 of the program is finally available to download as a beta release. The final version of the program will be released at the end of this month. The beta contains a host of new features which are detailed below, but actually the changes in the program go much deeper than that.
To Install the beta:
a) If you already have version 8.0 or higher installed you can install it directly by clicking on this link:
http://www.orphalese.net/downloads/orph ... etaten.exe.
b) Otherwise you need to install the latest version of the program from the Downloads page and then use the link above. You can also find a link to the same file near the bottom of the Downloads page.
Long term users of the program will know that I tend to bring out a new version every summer, and the fact is that the organization of the program (such as the arrangements of tabs and checkable boxes on the Options form or the main menu itself) has become more and more messy with each incremental version. I have added things wherever it seemed to like a good idea at the time and that been at the expense of the overall coherency of the program. So version 10 includes a complete overhaul of how the program is organized which I am convinced people will find easier and more intuitive.
The main new features are as follows:
* Subsets - e.g. you can define a set of cards to use from a particular deck and load it up just like any other deck in your collection, so you can have say a Majors only deck and a full deck using the same cards without duplicating any files on your hard drive.
* Spreads and Readings with Multiple Decks, and also proper ordering of the cards so for example when two cards overlap the program will remember correctly which one was on top of which.
* Two kinds of collections. As well as the previous kind of collection which let you navigate your way through a set of decks, there is a new kind where a single click launches all the decks in the collection at the same time.
* Better emails, using default client. It was a big problem with the email feature in previous versions that when you sent an email you had no record of it your outbox. The program now creates a new email in your default mail client and adds the appropriate text and attachments, allowing the user to edit the message as much as they like before hitting send.
* Deck parking for multiple decks.
* Card Names - useful anywhere you need to select cards from the deck.
* Enhanced zoom function.
* Title bar data for current deck.
* New sort options in Deck Exchange that sort the whole set of results, not just the current page. Faster results.
* Maximized background image. This is a new option along with Tile, Stretch and Center. The program will make your image as big as it can while not stretching it out of shape.
* Enhanced caption bar graphics (optional).
Special thanks to Linda (Purple Scorp) for her part in this new version. At the end of last year she emailed me and offered to assist me with updating the Help file. One thing led to another and that grew into the dedicated Orphalese Help website which we can all now benefit from. During this process she also came up with a whole load of great suggestions, and many of the new features listed above were her ideas, the details of which were worked out with a great toing and froing of emails that didn't seem to suffer too much from us being on different sides of the planet. Also thanks to the other users such as Greg who have been asking for some of these features for at least a couple of years now. Thanks for the suggestions and also for your patience in waiting for them!
