What are dotPLOT and HotPlot?

If you don't know what dotPLOT is or what it can do, click here to go to the main dotPLOT page.

If you don't know where HotPlot fits in, click here to go to the HotPlot page.

From time to time dotPLOT and HotPlot are revised to add enhancements and fix bugs.  The list of recent dotPLOT revisions is directly below, in reverse order (latest at the top).  Below that is What's New in dotPLOT 7000 for 64-bit PCs and further down, the list of HotPlot revisions.

What's New in dotPLOT 6000 for 32-bit PCs?

Version 6008 – 14 September 2011

07/09/2011 Trap added for "Linearized PDF file not supported - please change the Logo."  Message is hardwired.

Version 6007 – 25 May 2011

dot6007 of 23 May 2011 had a bug: If you ask for a Legend, it displayed every line of the legend on the screen and you had to press any key on the keyboard for each line in order to proceed.

New smaller, faster, slicker and more functional Setup package runs directly from the Internet and installs both dotPLOT and HotPlot at the same time in one operation.  Sample text files moved to a separate sub-folder, "C:\dot6000\Examples".

Version 6007 – 23 May 2011

JetSetup was giving Error 7 (out of Memory) when revising fonts. It was necessary to remove mouse support.  Use up and down arrow keys to select items.

Allowable range of user scales increased (there was a safety cut-off at 1:4). One can now go down to 1:1, or even lower if you are mad enough.

GSO complained that they are using 5000, no wiggles or strophes, plus [soil name] in brackets and get the message "not licensed for 6000, going DEMO" and feel they should be allowed to print without penalty. Program changed.

Version 6006 – 30 March 2011

Files in DOT6006.NEW tidied up.  Removed LASTFILE, TEMPWJ, FONTLIB.CUS, SCREEN.CUS, PROPASS.CUS, .AFR and .ENG, and empty FONTS sub-directory. MEMOFILE (a list of previous files run) was updated to a more helpful list for dot6000.  Added back Key positions file: KEYFILE1.DAT.

Note on Bug-232: Error no 75 at line 907 combine.bas dot6005. Explanation: Error(75) PATH/FILENAME ERROR - inappropriate path
Reason: SET File referred to fonts on C:\dot5000. Always check that old SET file does not have nonexistent fonts path.

Note on Bug-249: Error no 6 at line 20952 proforma dot6006. Explanation: Error(6) NUMERIC OVERFLOW. Press any key to continue. -- dotPLOT then crashes.
Reason: SET file had Compress borelog = 1100 (values above 859 may cause a Numeric Overflow error because the space left over is too narrow for the layer text. Values 1200 and above will probably be ignored).  On dot7001, it never gives the error. With Compress from 1102 and up it does a PDF with no Compress.  With Compress borelog = about 902 up to 1192, depending on the Text file, dot7001 may go into a suspended state. Pressing various keys does nothing. If one closes the DOS window, then the PDF appears.

Versions 6006 & 7001 Beta – 26 March 2011

PROLOG.BAS: Left hand closure line to attributes on A4 page modified.

SEEKUSB.BAS: Previously, if one crashed dotPLOT or exited by closing the window, the licence would be lost. This was because the multi-user scheme required the token files to be returned after use. Changed seekusb.bas so that if the SAME USER (i.e. same C: drive) re-applies for a token after a crash, then the time limit is waived.

If a description appears to be dot6000 type (i.e. no tilde present) and a licence for dot6000 is not found, then it will go demo, but not if a valid square bracket soil type has been called. e.g. wording such as CONCRETE [SA xx] does not require a dot6000 licence.

PROPRINT: Footer: if name of text file was too long, program would hang. Code changed to keep rightmost 24 meaningful alphanumeric characters.

Version 6005 – 19 August 2010

Fixed a problem that happened on Windows 7 PCs if the user closed the DOS window in the middle of a run (this caused the licence to be lost permanently, instead of it being recovered after 8 hours). We now support all the Afrikaans accented characters (Windows as well as, previously, DOS). Daar is nou 'n Afrikaanse voorbeeld grondprofiel.

ROWCENTR.BAS: Fixed bug that caused Error(5) ILLEGAL FUNCTION CALL for Prompts>72 chars.
PROCONV.BAS: Debug$ Error Message Opening Setup File Setupfile$. If block structures not matched then (cmd%=cmd% OR 4096) is required to stop endless loop in HotPLOT.

Version 6004 – 14 July 2010

Revised the program so that if dot6000 text is encountered (i.e. no wiggle or apostrophe) and there is no dot6 licence, and NO symbols are present, then it does not drop to demo.   If symbols are present it drops to demo for that page only and a warning is displayed giving the hole and layer number.

Version 6003 – 13 May 2010

Error-reporting has been improved and only the last error is shown (the full error list is still saved on C:\dot6000\ERROR.LOG).  The dotPLOT version is now shown in the error message and the date format is yyyy-mm-dd.

The Alt+L Licensing procedure now allows for a family (“tally”) of interchangeable dongles.  An increase in the number of dongles in a family propagates from dongle to dongle, so only one new dongle license is needed.  To increase the number on the other dongles, use the new dongle first, then use the other dongles in the same PC.

To avoid confusion with MAILFORM.OUT by users who have file extensions turned off in Windows, the files MAILFORM.STD and MAILFORM.MSG used by the program have been renamed to MAILTEXT.STD and MAILTEXT.MSG respectively.

Fixed dotPLOT Error: Repeating “Block Structures Not Matched”.  When run from HotPlot with a file containing a wrong slash structure, dotPLOT goes into an endless loop.  It displays the error message “Block Structures Not Matched”.  When one presses any key, it very briefly goes back to the main menu, and then redisplays the error message.  The only way to stop it was to close the DOS Window (which does not lose the license anymore).

Version 6002 – 3 April 2010

There was an error when running GRIDTEST.TXT in PDF mode, caused by trying to import a PCL graphic.   That is not supported –one can import a raster graphic only in PCL mode.  The program has been revised so that importation of raster graphics will be ignored if PCL is not the current selection.

The program has been revised to handle fatal errors more elegantly.  When there was a fatal error the routine displayed an interpretation on the screen and, in previous versions, lay down and stopped.   The Licence files were never returned to stock.   In this new version the command code from HotPlot is incremented and chains to the Menu, where the licence codes are returned to stock.   HotPlot treats it as a return from completion of the run.  This will deal with most frustrations in respect of fatal crashes and swallowed licences.

A PDF Logo written by Excel 2007 produced error no 9 at line 111916 proprint (9) SUBSCRIPT OUT OF RANGE.  It had been made according to PDF1.5 whereas dotPLOT was written for PDF1.2.   As a quick fix we have put in a trap for double Xrefs, which are not supported.

Version 6001 – 20 March 2010

The manual includes a new chapter (9), Revision List.  The setup package includes previously-missing files MAILFORM.STD, MAILFORM.MSG and PROMAIL.TBC.

Printouts have changed so that the job number box will expand as necessary to fit the title plus job number.  This allows longer job numbers (over 8 characters).  The new job box is backwards compatible.  Hole numbers are unaffected and should preferably be limited to eight characters.

Version 6001 – 15 March 2010

This revision is all to do with passwords, security and existing valid passwords.

The new scheme will honour an existing valid password (with its corresponding set of permissions). However if a dongle is present it will over-ride. If the dongle is subsequently removed - say after Startup - the previous password permissions become active again. The loophole through TEST-SYMBOLS has been closed.

Licence permissions have been added to the display and a few other little tweaks.

Various improvements have been made to the User Manual.  The Index has been greatly expanded.

Version 6000 – February 2010

The licensed dot6000 version contains a ground-breaking enhancement: "Tilde-less" descriptions! Existing dotPLOT users know that key words for soil symbols have to be marked with a tilde (~) for the program to recognise them –no more! dot6000 automatically recognises all soil symbols in any description that does not contain tildes or the back apostrophe (`). To ignore unwanted symbols, use the vertical bar ( | ) to "bar" them. This makes dotPLOT even easier to use. Existing dotPLOT users can upgrade to dot6000 for a fee; recent purchasers get it as part of the package.

The dot6000 series contains several new licensing options:

• A licensing option for HotPlot, the Windows front-end.
• Licensing by e-mail: You e-mail us a file, we e-mail back a license!  No more waiting for a dongle to arrive by courier!
• Licensing can use your own flash drive as a "dongle" (security device): This can be transferred between different PCs (but can be stolen or lost).
• Server Licensing: The license can be stored on a server and accessed by any number of PCs up to the licensed number of concurrent users.  The license is valid for the life of the server.
• From dot6001, the new dot6000 features are available in DEMO mode if the program is not licensed for dot6000 features .

Afrikaans: dot5010 en sy opvolgers het 'n volledige stel Afrikaanse porboodskapppe ("prompts").

What's New in dotPLOT 7000 for 64-bit PCs?

Listed in chronological order to agree with ModLog.

dot7000 Beta:

20/01/2011 PROLOG.BAS: Left hand closure line to attributes on A4 page modified.

21/01/2011 SEEKUSB.BAS: Previously, if one crashed dotPLOT or exited by closing the window, the licence would be lost. This was becasue the multi-user scheme required the token files to be returned after use. Today I changed seekusb.bas so that if the SAME USER ( ie same C:drive)
re-applies for a token after a crash, then the time limit is waived.

If a description appears to be dot6000 type (ie no wiggle present) and a licence for dot6000 is not found, then it will go demo, but not if a valid square bracket soil type has been called. eg wording such as CONCRETE [SA xx] does not require a dot6000 licence.

24/01/2011 PROPRINT Footer: if name of text file was too long we would hang. Code changed to keep rightmost 24 meaningful alphanum chars.

01/03/2011 UPDATE01.ZIP prepared and sent to RICK containing four files
profile.exe executable for dot7001
promenu.bas revised to show expiry of beta version dot7001
endbeta.bas routine to calculate expiry of dot7001 01/08/2011
profils.inc list of include files for compiler.

27/03/2011 UPDATE02.ZIP
profile.exe
dotsecur.bas
Rick had found that stationage% had fallen off the cart. This is now calculated in dotsecur.bas

06/04/2011 procodez.zip (dot6000) GSO complained that they are using 5000, no wiggles or strophes, plus [soil name] in brackets and get the message "not licenced for 6000, going DEMO" and feel they should be allowed to print without penalty. Procode.bas changed.

20/04/2011 Rick sent thru a crop of bugs for attention: escape char not working, substitution of special chars, underline, legend line length, line-wrap. now fixed in various modules and UPDATE03.ZIP issued.

17/05/2011 Rick asked for smaller scales to be available. SCALE.MET or SCALE.IMP must still be edited by the user, but down to 1:1 now ok.

20/05/2011 Vertical line on A3 pdf printout and shooterlines on A3 A-page, these were pointed out by D E Mouton and Rick, UPDATE05.zip issued.

25/05/2011 Picking files in PROSELEC uses routines PICKFTCH and PICKPUT1.BAS
These two files were re-written due to very bad handling.
Version 7000.6 issued with UPDATE06.

26/05/11 wj killed file missing message for "mailform.out" in PROMAIL.BAS

26/05/11 wj bug at drive specification for VOLIDGET in PROMAIL.BAS - drive C was rejected incorrectly. UCASE of users options in mailform corrected.
UPDATE07 issued.

31/05/11 wj bug in ENDBETA.BAS - expiry failed on fractional version numbers.

31/05/11 wj endbeta% additional test at start of profile in PROMENU.BAS.
UPDATE08 issued.

31/05/11 wj endbeta function modified slightly. Warning message and pause to press any key when beta version expired.
UPDATE09 issued.

04/06/11 wj BIG CHANGES.
Error trapping added to all modules. Each function now has the first line as "module$=ffffffff.bas" where ffffffff.bas is the name of the source file. The next line is "#INCLUDE perror.bas". which on error, directs the program counter to the general error trapping routine contained in PERROR.BAS. Each subsequent line is followed by a statement "moline$=nnnn" where nnnn is the LINE NUMBER counting from zero at the top of the source file. An error is now logged in the form DATE-TIME-MODULE-LINENUMBER-Error-ERRN-ERRM$ where the last two params are the PowerBasic ErrorNumber and ErrorMessage. A similar report appears on the console screen, without time and date.

The short program NUMERALL.BAS which uses function NUMERON.BAS was used to generate the program changes. The line numbering can be removed with the short program NUMEROFF.BAS. If it is necessary to re-do the error trapping line numbers - due to revised code - the program NUMERON can be used, old linenumbers will be scrubbed out and new ones inserted. The source and compiled version of the NUMER* programs is included. Error trapping has bloated PROFILE.EXE from 491kB to 1027kB (210%).

The vertical line at the seam of the A3 page has been removed in the source file PROLOG.BAS - not too sure if this is kosher.

The DIM for parsevars VARS$(*) has been normalised at 250 throughout.

The backslash for the drive C:\ in PROMAIL has been restored.
UPDATE10 issued.

24/06/11 PERROR.BAS module name format requires 8.3 = 12 chars. wj

25/06/11 wj. HOTSPOTS.BAS Molines were missing, now inserted.
25/06/11 wj. HOTSPOTS Block text adjusted to support very long folder paths.
UPDATE11 issued.

25/06/11 wj GETSETUP procedure CALL statement moved. HOTSPOTS "No File" message if mainmenu keyboard entry is invalid, and
friendlier backout if no change required.
UPDATE12 issued.

26/06/11 PROPRINT BigBox: was still incorrect. Bug 292

26/06/11 DEMOMARK.BAS position x0& passed from calling routine. Bug 293 & 294.
UPDATE13 issued.

29/06/11 PROREPLY.BAS revised to allow partial licence for Windows 7. This change required MAILREPL.STD to be revised for the extra variable.
The new variable on screen named "VERSION" is entered as "7000" - this will cause the permit$ display string to read e.g. PBpH6W, the W denoting Windows7 permission. The Main Menu screen in PROMENU.BAS also changed to report absence of a Win7 licence, and to drop down to DEMO in the case of a station installing dot7002+ and running without a valid partial licence. So dot7001.14+ will still be subject to the Beta testing environment, as before. The code of the Win7 licence uses [ppn& AND 64] for this purpose.
UPDATE14 issued.

08/07/11 BUG in PROREPLY.BAS – mask for the volume ID and date codes is now hard-wired. Bug in CHECKSUM.BAS which did not match the routine in dot6000. This had effects in PROREPLY.EXE. All of this is now fixed.

Problem in PROMENU.BAS where users of version 7001.nn up to 7001.99 should be subject to Beta Expiry, and users of dot7002 upwards are subject to licence. There was a variable which caused the fractional part of 7001.nn to be miscalculated, so Beta users were told that the version was running in DEMO.

There are one or two small presentation bugs which are relics from the integer world of dot3000 and earlier, these we would like to leave until later, or if more people complain. UPDATE15 issued.

20/07/11 wj 'PDFBLOCK.BAS pre-january logic restored .
20/07/11 wj 'MSDOT.BAS - bug at OPEN FOR BINARY BASE=0. UPDATE16 issued.

20/07//11 wj RICK pointed out that there was still a bug in that the first font switch was not detected. Turbo and PB pass parameters in different ways to FUNCTIONs and what were DEF FN/END FN. In this case FNDLEN.BAS - previously DEF FN - is now a FUNCTION, and the ffont& variable was being modified inside the function. Must check for any PB calls like CALL FN......... checked and there is only one - CALL FNunderline - and here we want the string to be modified in the function so no problem. UPDATE16 re-issued.

23/07/11 RIR requested a new parameter in @RUNFILE as "/9 debug=YES". OK but the slot for /9 on my version of @runfile is already occupied by "9/ PDF combine = C:\gdotplot\tempwj.PDF", so I have changed it to the next slot ie " 10/ debug = YES". AND @runfile.dat has been added into the list of files for the UPDATEnn zipfile.

The "splash" screen in PROMENU has been revised to move the cursor to line 18 before pausing to wait-for-keypress. UPDATE17 issued.

24/07/11 COMBINE and PROSTOP.BAS are perhaps concerned in Bugs 282/276. The targetfilename may have been accidentally named wrongly in the @RUNFILE and CMDLINE.BAS reads it. So I have added a validity check for the targetfilename with suitable reporting - but not tested.
UPDATE17 re-issued.

25/07/11 COMBINE and PROSTOP, the last update would call for NOFILE if the targetfilename was not present, ie would insist that it is present.
So NOFILE has been remmed out and the absence of the file will just cause the copy action to be by-passed. CMDLINE.BAS edited to suit - (/8 = targetfile)(/9 = debugYesflag). UPDATE17 re-issued.

25/07/11 PROSTOP.BAS now includes a trick to verify the targetfile path. PROMENU.BAS at kyll: the CLS instruction has been moved, maybe more exist which will have to be grubbed out. UPDATE17 re-issued.

29/07/11 DOTSECUR.BAS wj if device&>3 then device&=1, added trap for invalid value. PERMIT.BAS if ((ppn& AND 64)= 64) then permit$=permit$+"7" was W and also in PROREPLY.BAS. version revved up to dot7002. UP7002-0.zip issued.

PROMENU.BAS 29/07/11 wj IF expiry&<enddate(0) THEN pwd&=0 UP7002-0.zip re-issued. 13:30pm
29/07/11 PROMENU.BAS wj test revised. for all pwd&..IF ((product& AND 64)<>64) UP7002-0.zip re-issued. 14:20pm
PROMENU.BAS had a bug where a term licence expired still showed ACTIVE. Procedure moved. UP7002-0.zip re-issued. 15:20pm

30/07/11 PROMENU.BAS wj ver#=VAL(MID$(version$,p%)) ' needed as version is now written as DOTnnnn. UP7002-0.zip re-issued. 16:35pm

31/07/11 PROMENU VERSION$="7002" reset as before due to unwanted side effects. Warning "Not licensed for dot7000" = wording of message revised.

dot7002 – 31 July 2011

dot7002 released to the public.

02/08/11 PROREPLY.BAS wj new test for seeklastrow: added to allow any number of CR/LF pairs in the tail of the client's MAILFORM.OUT

06/08/11 PERROR.BAS remmed out CLS and color changes to match dot6000 GERROR.
UPD7002-3.zip issued.

06/08/11 CMDLINE.BAS trap for spaces in @runfile added, then routine revised to support spaces in filenames, and trap removed.
UPD7002-4.zip issued.

16/08/11 PROCONV.BAS Bug 320 - pirandom.bas error 0005 out of memory - this very unusual situation was caused by a slash for the header block
placed above the hole number. So there was NO HOLE NUMBER (no problem there was a trap for that), LAYER DEPTH ERROR (no problem, trap was in
place for that), and NO DESCRIPTION after the absent depth. The program now deals with No Layer Description !!!. For the silent types.
UPD7002-5.zip issued.

19/08/11 PROSETUP.BAS Bug 325 - Limgroup& should have been declared GLOBAL.

21/08/11 HOTSPOTS.BAS for TEST-SYMBOLS in hotPLOT key1: if cmd& AND 1=1 then.. This revision allows Test Symbols to be accessed from @runfile.
UPD7002-6.zip issued.

07/09/2011 PDFLOGO trap added for "Linearized PDF file not supported - please change the Logo." Function PDFLOGO is in PDFBLOCK.BAS. Message is hardwired. UPD7002-7.zip sent.

08/09/2011 UPD7003-1.zip issued for dot7003.

13/09/2011 CHECKSUM.BAS had a case where the value for the checksum had exceeded 255, so that PROREPLY could not cope with the ASCI value.
PROREPLY.BAS revised to ASC(value AND 255). LINEIN.BAS failed to deal with the code sent in by Lesotho, namely.. Last line read B8 0A 20 77 C8 EA 21 78 BB 0D 0A. LINEIN.BAS picked up the B8 0A as a valid line and the LastLine was therefore incomplete. The last line carries the volID and Cdate. The change to LINEIN.BAS may breed into the program. NB NB NB.
UP7003-2.zip issued.

dot7003 – 14 September 2011

Public Release of dot7003.  When run via HotPlot, spaces in file names and paths are now supported.  HotPlot's Activity = TEST-SYMB is now supported in the same way as for dot6000.  Explicit message: "Linearized PDF file not supported - please change the Logo.".

29/11/11 PROPRINT.BAS at line 0565 runoff symbol was allowed only if it occurred on the last page - I don't know why. Condition removed.
UP7003-3.zip issued.

30/11/11 CMDLINE.BAS Runfile (from HotPlot) scale given same status as keyboard scale: Overrides SCALE parameter in text file.
UP7003-3.zip re-issued.

04/12/11 SEEKUSB.BAS had no warning if GREP.COM was missing.
UP7004-1.zip issued, with GREP.COM included.

dot7004 Released 5 December 2011

What's New in HotPlot?

HotPlot allows access to all the main features of dotPLOT, including editing SET files (improved in version 2.2.0).  It also includes a HTML Help file (improved in version 2.0.1) containing information to get productive on dotPLOT.  HotPlot is supplied in a combined package with dotPLOT and will install dotPLOT for you. Listed in reverse chronological order (newest at the top).

Version 3.4.2 – 5 December 2011

Release for dot6008 (unchanged) and dot7004 (new).

SET Editor: On Saving, check all paths (complain if path or file not found) and silently fix Path to Font files.

Version 3.4.1 – 19 October 2011

Repair vbLf-only mailform.out files from site. If the file is vbLf-only on site, re-write file with vbCrLf.

Version 3.4.0 – 16 September 2011

First Release for dot6008 and dot7003.

Licensing can now be done via HotPlot, using the Licence button on the main screen.  Read more.

TEST-SYMB no longer overwrites the PDF file belonging to the selected Text file. Instead, the output files are named Symbols01.PDF, Symbols02.PDF, etc. and placed on the output path or, if it is blank, on C:\dot6000\Examples (dot6000) or C:\dot7000\Examples (dot7000).

The User Manual now includes dot6000 and dot7000, and has been renamed from dot6000_User_Manual.pdf to dotPLOT_User_Manual.  Manual button changed to look for the correct file.

First Release for dot7002. Use long file names for dot7000 (NTFS & Non-NTFS Network support). 

Version 3.2.6 – 26 Jul 2011

Non-NTFS Network support: Closer approximation to the text file name.

New item on Settings menu (only for dot7002 and later): "Pause before Exiting dotPLOT".  This causes dot7002 to pause before ending and display the message "Press any key to Exit dotPLOT", so that you can see any warning messages that have not caused the program to pause.

Version 3.2.4 – 18 Jul 2011

Bug-304 on Install reported 18 Jul 2011 by Elmari Mouton, fixed by Rick on 18 Jul 2011:
The "Install" button in HotPlot is obsolete - replaced with "Check" button to find versions of dotPLOT installed on the PC.

Bug-301 on About reported 7 Jul 2011 by Rick, fixed by Rick on 7 Jul 2011:
"WARNING: THIS 32-bit dotPLOT WILL NOT RUN ON YOUR 64-bit WINDOWS!" the warning message is a bug - it comes up even on dot7000.

Version 3.2.3 – 4 Jul 2011

Bug-295 on Go to dotPLOT reported 4 Jul 2011 by Marie Convery, fixed by Rick on 4 Jul 2011:
"Invalid Procedure call or argument on Sub cmdRun_Click" when trying to start dot6007 on a 64-bit PC. Wrong sub name – fixed.
Added code to warn user if running dot6000 on 64-bit.

Bug-231 on Network reported 18 Jan 2011 by Rick, fixed by Vivian on 24 Jun 2011:
Can't run text files with a long file name anywhere in the path on Transnet's Network (Server File System: RAW. Ours is NTFS and works).
There is now a new menu, Settings, in the Text File Editor, with one on/off setting: Non-NTFS Network Support.  When this is on (ticked) HotPlot will copy files locally for dotPLOT to use, and then put the output PDF file on the network if required.

Another niggle fixed at the same time is that HotPlot now renames short (DOS 8.3-type) output PDF files to long filenames matching the input file name.  This an have unexpected side-effects if one renames the text file and re-runs it, since the short filename (and hence dotPLOT's output) remain the same, and hence overwrites the old PDF.

Version 3.2.2 – 6 Jun 2011

Bug-290 on Text File Editor reported 6 Jun 2011 by Rick, fixed by Rick on 6 Jun 2011: Title bar Caption displaying file name and path with no backslashes. Bug in Function StripData if txtOutputPath="". Replaced with Function UseEllipsis$ to shorten data path if too long by inserting ellipsis ("...") for display purposes.

7001.10 is Latest dotPLOT 64-bit Version.

Version 3.2.1 – 1 Jun 2011

Minor Bug-286 on Program reported 1 Jun 2011 by Rick, fixed by Rick on 1 Jun 2011: Program did not pick up sub-version of dot7001.8

Bug-285 on Program reported 31 May 2011 by Rick, fixed by Rick on 1 Jun 2011: The "Open" button's code looks on the input path for the PDF file instead of the output path. Consequently does not find it unless they are the same.  Clarified ToolTip on output path.

Added defaults for Input File (C:\dot6000\Examples\Examples.TXT), Output Path (C:\dotFiles) and Summary Required (= True).

Version 3.2.0 – 23 May 2011

Added Spelling Checker with English and Afrikaans geotechnical dictionaries to Text Editor.  Made Spelling Checker, and Find & Replace windows non-modal "on top" instead of modal.  Added Find, Spelling, and Check to Text Editor toolbar. Rearranged Edit menu, putting Find (Ctrl+F), Replace (Ctrl+H), and Spelling (F7) near the top.

Fixed Bug-270: File > numbered list did not remember the file name in the File dialog.

Added "Support" button on Main form, and a new menu item on the Help menu of the Text Editor, to create a simple Support Request e-mail in your default "mailto" program.

Version 3.1.0 – 12 April 2011

Made program more robust on installing dotPLOT, and ready for dot7001.  Eliminated the "Error in Function CheckAndInstall6000 in frmMain: Path/File access error" that occurred when there was more than one ".NEW" file in C:\dotSetup\dot6000.

Made program more robust on running dotPLOT, with more error-reporting.  You may only create new output folders one level at a time.

Version 3.0.1 – 29 March 2011

Fixed Bug-250 on SET File Editor: dot6004 and earlier store "PROMPTS .ENG" (one space before ".ENG"). dot6005 and dot7001 store and expect no space before ENG. HotPlot now accepts both, saves without the space.

New Feature (Develop-252) in SET File Editor: Compress Borelog Warning: Values above 859 (yellow background) may cause a Numeric Overflow error (because the space left over is too narrow for the layer text). Values 1200 and above (red background) will probably be ignored.  Message text appears on the Help button and the Compress Borelog dialog.

Version 3.0.0 – 26 March 2011

New Feature in Set File Editor, bottom of first (Files & Setup) Tab: Compute Compress Borelog Option and Borelog Suppress Options Code.

New Feature in Set File Editor: Second (Layout) Tab measurements are now shown (and can be entered) in millimetres as well as dots.

New Feature in Text File Editor: A list of previously-opened files appears in the file menu, mirroring the list on the Main Window, and including the previous file opened in the Text File Editor.

New Feature in Text File Editor: Replace function (Ctrl+H) on the Edit menu.

New Feature: Delete temporary files on exit: LOGOLIST.DAT, TRXFILES, WORK-ATT.*, WORK-LAY.*, *.TRX, *.TMP, *.STK, @runfile.dat, DIRDUM, FILESB, FILESR.

Problem reported 25 Jan 2011 by David, fixed by Rick on 25 Jan 2011: HotPlot runs, visible on Taskbar, but not on screen.
(It appears to have been parked off screen. Activate from taskbar, Alt+space, M, move mouse, and it reappears.)

Version 2.5.0 – 19 August 2010

The Text Editor has a new feature to translate Afrikaans accented characters from DOS to Windows and back.  Edit menu: DOS --> Windows and Windows --> DOS.  An option has been added to the Text Editor's File > New to add a skeleton file structure.

If you click Run Now with a blank input file name, HotPlot will offer to start a new input file in the Text Editor, and let you add the outline block structure.

Expect dot6005 as the latest version.

Version 2.4.0 – 24 June 2010

• Look for dot6004 as latest version.
• Added new menu "Check!" to Text File editor to check Block Structure and Plaintext (dot6000) Option.

Version 2.3.0 – 26 May 2010

• Look for dot6003 as latest version.
• Better Error Message if dotPLOT did not create the PDF File.
• "About" always refreshes dotPLOT version, and displays Path used.
• Stretch text boxes on Resizing main window.

Version 2.2.0 – 13 April 2010

• Better dotPLOT Version checking on start-up. On exiting, ask to save new choices.
• Fixed Bug in SET Editor: If it fixed dot5000 file, did not save last END.
• Added a Minimize button to the Main window (the main form has to be sizeable or it does not show).

Version 2.1.0 – 17 March 2010

The Manual button was looking for file dotPLOT_Manual.pdf instead of dot6000_User_Manual.pdf on C:\dot6000\manual.  It now looks for the correct file.

The Manual and Tutorial buttons now allow the user to do his own hard drive search for the file, as well as the previous option to go to web downloads.  The choice will be saved for the future.  The user's choice will be queried if the word "Manual" or "Tutor" does not occur in the file name.

Version 2.0.1 – 15 March 2010

• Buttons on the main window have been rearranged somewhat.
• The [...] button did nothing if the SET file box was blank: Now it works.
• The SET File Editor edits STANDARD.SET if the SET file name is blank.
• The SET File Editor's Title Bar displays the name of the file being edited, plus the path if it is not on the dotPLOT program folder.
• The Text File Editor's Title Bar displays the name of the file being edited, plus the path if it is not on the Output Folder.
• The dotPLOT Install that is packaged with HotPlot is expected on the C:\dotSetup folder only.
• The dotPLOT install finishes more cleanly: Once dotPLOT is installed, PROFILE.EXE is found automatically.
• You can View your Logo file directly from the SET File Editor.
• This Help file now includes a page for the SET File Editor.

Version 2.0.0 – 15 February 2010

• dotPLOT Installer: The full package includes dotPLOT and HotPlot together.  Once HotPlot is installed it will offer to install dotPLOT.
• Settings Editor: Now, SET files –language, margins, item positioning, Logo name, etc.– can be edited directly and easily in HotPlot.
• If you changed the special characters in the SET file, the new ones appear in HotPlot's Insert menu.
• Help, particularly detailed Help on the Licensing process, has now been included with HotPlot.
• Updated and enhanced the Manual for dotPLOT, now including references to HotPlot, opened directly from HotPlot.

---

What's New in dotPLOT 6000 for 32-bit PCs ~ What's New in dotPLOT 7000 for 64-bit PCs ~ List of HotPlot revisions.

Press Ctrl+F to search this page for keywords. Search this site: using Custom Search Do you want to remember this page?