TackTracker
TackTracker Player
Release Notes
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PC User Guide

TackTracker Release Notes for Windows

Release 9.4.2 / 9.4.3 - 6 Oct 2024
  • Fix crash seen when loading a race.
  • Republished as 9.4.3 to resolve a problem with installing over the top.
Release 9.4.1 - 14 Jul 2024
  • Improve accuracy of leaderboard display for a variable laps race.

Release 9.4.0 - 30 May 2024

  • Add support for importing CSV track files from Vakaros devices.
Release 9.3.7 - 27 May 2024
  • Fix leaderboard display when handicaps in use and a boat did not start correctly.
Release 9.3.6 - 20 May 2024
  • Fix problem in reports not displaying elapsed times (since 9.3.4).
Release 9.3.4/9.3.5 - 22 Mar 2024
  • Fix a rare crash in the lap times report.
  • Republished as 9.3.5 on 2 May 2024 as build 9.3.4 was not versioned correctly.
Release 9.3.3 - 22 Feb 2024 Nav Rally fixes relating to the optional scoring settings.
  • Fix loading a Nav Rally event from the library when an optional scoring setting such as XTD is by default on (in Nav Rally Settings). The race would incorrectly assume the XTD value from the default setting, but the correct behavior is to use the race's saved setting. With the fix applied, the race will have XTD off if not saved with it turned on. You can turn on XTD for a race in the Rally Rules dialog.
  • Fix the rally results report, which was adding the XTD value twice to the total score.
Release 9.3.2 - 7 Feb 2024
  • Fix an anomaly in the Distance to Finish calculation which could occur when a boat does not complete the course.
Release 9.3.1 - 5 Feb 2024
  • Fixed handicap placings reported in an edge case where a boat's first track point is at the start
  • Interpolate the reported Distance to First place and Distance to Finish between track points. This fixes an apparent anomaly where a visually closer boat may a larger distance to finish.

Release 9.3.0 - 27 Nov 2023

This release brings a range of usability enhancements to the race editor to make the process easier and faster:

  • The Track Loader now lets you select by Date without first unselecting the "Show Just Loaded" checkbox.
  • Show only tracks travelled so far in the "Create New Races" dialog. This makes it much easier to find the start.
  • With multiple races, when selecting the next start time, we show only the track tails from the previous start time. This makes it much easier to separate tracks for each race.
  • When copy/pasting race editor settings, the race is immediately re-analysed to avoid the need to save and re-open the race.

Fixes:

  • Remember the selection for Name or Details mode. Previously, the user selection would revert each time a race is loaded.
  • Selecting a landmark in the "list nearby" view displayed an unrelated landmark.
  • Upgrade the background map to use the latest (version 3) HERE raster maps tile service.
Release 9.2.2 - 11 Nov 2023
  • Fixed a crash seen when loading a corrupted CSV file
  • Fixed a missing column problem with the nav rally results report when penalties are used.

Release 9.2.0 - 20 Sept 2023

General enhancements

  • Improved the color assignment algorithm when creating a race from loaded tracks. Will now preference bright and contrasting colors and try to avoid duplicates.
  • Fixed the color list box drop down, which was displaying multiple copies of each color
  • The help guide is now packaged as a PDF file, as modern Windows versions do not support .chm any more

Navigation Rally enhancements

  • Added a new scoring option to compute the gate penalty in meters. This is acheived by multiplying the raw time penalty by the boat speed (in m/s).
  • If boats are assigned judged penalties, the nav rally results report now shows an extra column for the raw score excluding the judged penalties, as well as the total score column.
Release 9.1.4 - 21 Jul 2023
  • Fixed a problem in which magnetic bearings would sometimes not be displayed even when the magentic bearing setting is checked.
Release 9.1.3 - 16 Apr 2023
  • Fixed a problem with the BL-1000ST upload driver that could cause a track to be truncated when automatically resetting after upload.
Release 9.1.2 - 8 Apr 2023
  • Fixed the magnetic bearing calculation used for Nav Rally.
Release 9.1.1 - 27 Feb 2023
  • Fixed some teething issues with the rally simulation.

Release 9.1.0 - 24 Feb 2023

Introducing some cool Navigation Rally enhancements - including a pre-race simulation!

  • A new button lets you create simulated tracks for your rally event - so you can simulate the event before it is run to see where on the course boats will be scheduled to pass each other. Use this simulation to identify and avoid dangerous situations ahead of time to ensure a safe event for everyone. Simulated tracks are not saved, and won't be created if you have real tracks in the event.
  • Add a new option for rally scoring: you can now select "Use fractional scores", in which fractional seconds early or late are included in the score.
  • The start gate is now locked at the start position - as moving this gate will generate invalid scores.
Release 9.0.8 - 9 Feb 2023
  • Fixed the Landmark Add button when a previous landmark was not selected.
  • Update security settings when communicating with the TackTracker cloud.
Release 9.0.6 - 10 Jan 2023
  • Fixed right click Delete Track menu item.
Release 9.0.5 - 9 Dec 2022
  • Added support for loading SailMon CSV files.
Release 9.0.4 - 7 Dec 2022
  • Fixed the Error Reporting mechanism so that error reports may be sent to TackTracker if a problem occurs.
  • Fixed an error seen when Loading Tracks from a GPS.

Release 9.0.1 - 4 Dec 2022

A major new release adds built-in support for the QStarz BL-1000ST logger, which offers highly accurate GNSS tracking and ultra fast upload and reset times, and there is no need to install the USB serial driver.

  • Added full support for the QStarz BL-1000ST logger.
  • Re-developed the Settings / Landmarks dialogs which are now much easier to use. The process to create a new landmark now has its own dialog and many bugs have been addressed.
  • Across the board button styling updates give a more modern look and better highlight the call to action for a dialog.
  • Simplified the Create Races dialog - removing the live race schedule component, which is better done in the cloud.
  • Fixed the Geo location search in the Add Landmarks and Create Races dialogs.
  • Navigation Rally:Fixed a problem in which the "Show/Hide Results" button would get out of sync.
  • Navigation Rally: Fixed a rare issue preventing a gate being inserted after the initial Gate A-A.
Release 8.5.8 - 13 Oct 2022

Update map API credentials.

Release 8.5.7 - 12 Jul 2022

Fix for the feature introduced in R8.5.6 to allow the use of '|' to share mark tracks. An unwanted extra mark is no longer created when the race is loaded.

Release 8.5.6 - 10 May 2022

A single tracker may be used to share mark tracks for multiple marks using the '|' character, where one of the marks is a start or finish mark or pin. For example, if the Start and Finish boats are the same boat, you can use one live tracker named "StartBoat|FinishBoat" to service both marks. Or you can name a tracker "FinishPin|C" to use the same tracker for the Finish Pin and mark "C". Note, this complements the support for the '&' character added in release Release 7.05.0

Release 8.5.5 - 21 Mar 2022

Two fixes specific to Variable Laps races:

  • Save the start and finish mark tracks if present
  • Fix a rare corner case where a boat was not correctly finished
Release 8.5.4 - 16 Feb 2022

For variable laps races, correctly finish a boat even if it rounds the next mark after the finish is crossed.

Release 8.5.3 - 31 Dec 2021

For variable laps races, ensure that the boat completes the lap before finishing.

Release 8.5.2 - 21 Nov 2021

Prevent the "Mark Rounding" report from showing finish times for boats not yet finished.

Release 8.5.1 - 12 Nov 2021

Improve the smoothing of speed and VMG data.

Release 8.5.0 - 27 Oct 2021

Navigation Rally now lets you enter the course using magnetic bearings - and calculates true bearing using the magnetic declination for your date and location.

  • A new rally setting checkbox lets you choose whether to show bearings as magnetic or true.
  • Regardless of the setting, you can enter bearings as either magnetic or true.
  • The Rally Course report shows the magnetic bearing for each turn
  • Fixed a problem loading Rally rules saved with a specfic rally event.

Release 8.4.6 - 12 Sep 2021

Move map tile cache from "Documents\My Tracks" to "C:\Program Data\TackTracker\". When Windows stores the Documents folder on OneDrive, deleting the map cache may have generated annoying notifications that many files were deleted. So we've moved the map cache out of Documents.

Release 8.4.5 - 30 Jun 2021

Improve speed smoothing algorithm to give better speed charts and report more realistic minimum and maximum speeds.

Release 8.4.4 - 14 Jun 2021

Automatically select the winning boat when loading a race.

Release 8.4.3 - 18 Apr 2021
  • Fix a problem with detecting Nav Rally start for some competitors if a start gate is not used.
Release 8.4.2 - 20 Mar 2021
  • Fix a problem loading a race with a Hazard named like a gate mark (with a dash)
Release 8.4.1 - 2 Mar 2021
  • Race reports now interpolate the finish time, estimating the line crossing between recorded track points. This yields more accurate finish placements that are consistent with the player's leader board.

Release 8.4.0 - 13 Nov 2020

Our old code signing certificate has expired and we have installed a new one which will expire in 2023. The new 8.4.0 install program is signed "The Trustee for TackTracker Unit Trust".

  • Old installations of TackTracker are unaffected, but old versions of the install program will issue an error.
  • Windows takes several weeks to grant reputation - until that time, you will see an "Windows Protected your PC" dialog when installing TackTracker. You must proceed anyway to continue the installation.
Release 8.3.2 - 22 Oct 2020
  • Landmarks in race area are now included when publishing a race that doesn't yet have tracks.
Release 8.3.1 - 10 Oct 2020 Introducing support for automatic race results
  • New Race Editor option to Detect Start.
  • When Detect Start is selected, leg times reports show boats OCS and DNS.
  • Fix problem loading some Variable Laps races.
Release 8.2.1 - 9 Aug 2020 Race Reports tuning:
  • Scratch Leg Times report now reports cumulative times for each leg.
  • Changes under the hood to prepare for web based reports.
Release 8.2.0 - 20 Jul 2020
  • New "Lap Times" report for Variable laps racing.
Release 8.1.0 - 23 Jun 2020

Added keyboard shortcuts for common operations:

  • Press spacebar to toggle Play and Pause
  • Press "," and "." to move back and forward one point
  • Press "+" and "-" to zoom in and out

Navigation rally: added XTD score column to the rally results tab and the rally results report - if XTD penalty is enabled.

Release 8.0.0 - 12 Jun 2020

  • Add MPH option for speed units
  • Navigation Rally: Refine XTD rally penalty settings dialog.

Release 7.07.3 - 19 May 2020

  • Fixes to Free Start algorithm
  • Navigation Rally: Add experimental Cross-Track-Distance (XTD) penalty option
Release 7.06.19 - 13 Jan 2020

Restore the "Install License" link which had been pushed off the splash screen by the previous update.

Release 7.06.18 - 1 Dec 2019
  • Update splash screen styling and provide additional visual cues on how to proceed.
  • Race Editor Tracks Tab: Ensure "Get tracks matching this race" button is enabled even when no tracks are in the race.
Release 7.06.17 - 26 Nov 2019

Additional fix for the GPS Week Number Rollover Bug seen on some QStarz devices. The original fix was delivered in R7.06.8. This new fix resolves an additional case seen in the field.

With the fix, TackTracker automatically corrects dates reported by affected devices when uploading tracks.

Release 7.06.16 - 17 Nov 2019

Update startup logo

Release 7.06.15 - 12 Nov 2019

Track Loader: Default the "Auto-Save" checkbox to unchecked to avoid tracks being saved unintentionally to the wrong race.

Release 7.06.13 - 13 July 2019

Competitor Schedule enhancements (Club Regatta License)

  • Editor layout improved with row controls on the side
  • New button to delete a column
  • Fix bug loading a new schedule if it conflicts with an existing schedule
Release 7.06.12 - 6 July 2019
  • Race Editor: Allow start times to be entered as hh:mm and default the seconds component to zero.
  • Full screen mode: Adjust the margin to keep the control on screen. Also prevent the logo overlaying the race name.
Release 7.06.11 - 1 July 2019

Race Editor: Improve behavior when setting the start time. Race span will now be preserved.

Release 7.06.10 - 25 Jun 2019

Race Editor: Fix behavior of the race trim control in the Race Editor start tab. Previously the race would be trimmed at an offset to the specified time.

Release 7.06.9 - 9 May 2019

Update to a new online maps account so that maps will continue to be displayed.

Older versions of TackTracker will stop displaying maps when the old account is deacticated.

Release 7.06.8 - 7 Apr 2019
  • Automatically correct for the GPS Week Number Rollover Bug seen on some QStarz devices. TackTracker automatically corrects dates reported by affected devices when uploading tracks.
  • Provide additional options for TackTracker software installation in server environments.
Release 7.06.4 - 21 Feb 2019
  • Add support for open starts to Variable Lap races
  • Race Editor: Fix long wait needed sometimes when saving a race after a change to the start
Release 7.06.3 - 27 Jan 2019
  • Current Placings Report: Add a start time offset column. (The start offset will vary by boat when using Open Start)
  • RaceAPI: Add a getter and setter for Open Start.
  • Race Editor: Fix a hang seen when setting Finish On Station time earlier than the Start Time.
Release 7.06.2 - 21 Jan 2019
  • New "Open Start" feature allows informal handicap style races where competitors are free to start when they wish. To use, check "Free Start" in the Race Editor Start tab.
  • Timeline shows Start and Finish labels to help first time users
  • The Leg Times report correctly puts competitors who did not complete the course last
Release 7.06.1 - 13 Dec 2018
  • Fix track matching to a gatemark when track is already in use for another mark
  • Race API fix to allow StartBoat and StartPin location to be queried for a variable laps race

Release 7.06.0 - 2 Dec 2018

  • Improve Autoplay behavior - now smoother to watch and the leading boats always stay on the screen
  • Race editor: prevent extra spaces in the course creating a blank mark
  • It is now possible for a start or finish tracker to be shared with a course mark. For example, name a tracker "FinishPin&C" to use the same tracker for the Finish Pin and mark "C".
Release 7.05.9 - 26 Nov 2018
  • Fix error loading come variable laps races
Release 7.05.7 - 7 Nov 2018
  • Fix variable laps hang when loading some races.
Release 7.05.6 - 19 Sep 2018
  • Fix variable laps finish calculation when finish time on station is specified.
Release 7.05.5 - 4 Sept 2018
  • Fixed an anomaly with finish placings seen if track points are missing at the finish line
  • Added an API method to retrieve track data
Release 7.05.4 - 19 July 2018
  • Fixes to Mark Roundings Report: Omit finish times if boats not correctly finished. Fix errors in mark rounding counts.
Release 7.05.3 - 6 July 2018
  • Fix crash in Rally Schedule Elapsed Report
Release 7.05.2 - 11 May 2018
  • Guard against invalid race location specified when creating a race
  • Rename Close button to Continue on splash screen
Release 7.05.1 - 5 Apr 2018

Fix a problem with clearing the course in the Race Editor, Course & Marks tab.

Release 7.05.0 - 3 Apr 2018

  • You may now optionally specify a Finish "On Station" time on the Race Editor Start tab. Before the Finish On Station time, the finish line is not shown, and no finish will be recorded. This feature can save the day when you have boats passing through the finish area prior to the actual finish.
  • The mark drag feature has had a number of fixes, particularly when the mark has an associated track.
Release 7.04.5 - 28 Mar 2018
  • Update the manage races link in the Race Editor
  • Add more license error information.
Release 7.04.4 - 26 Mar 2018
  • Adjust license checking code to accommodate PC's experiencing network errors.
Release 7.04.3 - 11 Feb 2018
  • Ask Nav Rally users if they wish to create a Nav Rally event when clicking Create Races button.
  • Rename "Name 1" and "Name 2" in text dropdown to "Name" and "Details" for consistency of terms.
Release 7.04.2 - 2 Feb 2018
  • Offer "Name 1" and "Name 2" option for name display - drawing from Name and Details fields respectively.
Release 7.04.1 - 28 Jan 2018
  • Remove Publish Credits from race publishing process - now that publishing is free.
  • Record API race views separately from PC, Mac, iOS and Web

Release 7.04.0 - 9 Jan 2018

  • Race Editor: New Copy/Paste feature makes it easy to copy course and marks from one race to another
  • Get Tracks matching race wizard has been moved from Library right-click menu to Race Editor Tracks tab
  • Track Tools button has been moved into the Race Editor Tracks tab
  • Fixed a bug displaying empty races

Release 7.03.0 - 13 Nov 2017

  • New Create Races button makes it easier to create new races and to split a race session into multiple races
  • Create Races dialog is simplified and Edit Course/Marks button removed
  • Track Loader now shows a "Get Cloud" button alongside the other two track sources
  • Update the code-signing certificate (previous certificate had expired).
Release 7.02.8 - 5 July 2017
  • Fix calculation of distance to finish and place in the last leg of the race (for some races).
Release 7.02.6 - 13 June 2017
  • Fix a problem in the Track Loader in which a recently loaded track from a GPS does not automatically match a race as it should.
Release 7.02.5 - 12 June 2017

Several fixes for Variable Laps races:

  • Fix a crash when viewing a Variable Laps race containing a mark "StartBoat" or "StartPin"
  • Correctly locate the finish in a Variable Laps race if it is moved during the race.
  • Allow trackers to be used on start and finish lines for a variable laps race.
Release 7.02.2 - 21 May 2017
  • Use any tracks present to define the displayed course area when the course is not set. Also automatically set the default race location from the first track if it was not set when the race was created.
Release 7.02.1 - 25 April 2017
  • Improve detection of tacks and gybes - where the tacking angle is smaller.

Release 7.02.0 - 25 March 2017

  • Rename the "Training Session" event type to "Variable Laps Race". This mode now supports a type of handicap race where boats do one or more laps of a course, and the faster boats must complete more laps than the slower craft.
  • Navigation Rally replay now has a leader board. Display the "Select" tab to see the progressive scores as the boats navigate the course.
Update 7.01.8 - 18 March 2017
  • Fix problem with Close button on splash screen not being enabled - sometimes seen on first time installs.
  • Round estimated boat times to the nearest whole second in the Nav Rally Schedule dialog and reports.
Update 7.01.7 - 22 Jan 2017

Trim Lat/Lon coordinates in the Rally Course report to three decimal places.

Update 7.01.6 - 14 Nov 2016

Fix a rare issue occassionally causing tracks to not be trimmed properly when being saved to a race

Update 7.01.5 - 3 Nov 2016

Change wording "Login/Logout" to "Sign in/Sign out"

Update 7.01.4 - 16 Oct 2016
  • Adjust the size of the Sign In panel so that scroll bars are not needed
  • Update the web browser control to use the most recent browser.
Update 7.01.3 - 19 July 2016

Tune the background color to better match the new maps.

Update 7.01.2 - 16 July 2016

Remove the clear map cache button in Settings. The cache is now managed automatically.

Release 7.01.1 - 13 July 2016

Switch the map provider to HERE Maps. Maps are better looking, and satelite maps are now available in all countries.

Release 7.0.0 - 10 July 2016

Live Tracking is now accessible to everyone! The free license now includes the Race Editor for creating, editing and publishing races to the TackTracker cloud. With the free iPhone and Android apps, your smart phone becomes a live tracker. The only ongoing costs to you are tracker rights and publish credits.

Fixes:

  • Fix jerkiness in replay seen in certain rare circumstances.
Update 6.01.5 - 19 June 2016
  • Fix a problem with restoring hazard marks
Update 6.01.4 - 11 May 2016
  • Update the code-signing certificate to remove the Windows SmartScreen warning
Update 6.01.3 - 20 Mar 2016
  • Fix a crash reported when the PlayerSettings file could not be written to
  • Fix a crash reported when analysing a NavRally course
Update 6.01.2 - 6 Jan 2016
  • Enhance the Get tracks wizard with a location search tool to save typing in lat/lon coordinates
  • Fix a crash reported that occurred when closing the application
  • Fix a crash reported when uploading from a GPS
Update 6.01.1 - 24 Dec 2015
  • Fix a problem with the start time shown by the time splitter control
  • Fix a reported problem seen when viewing a particular Nav Rally event

Release 6.01.0 - 13 Dec 2015

Release 6.01

We've worked through every step to make creating races much simpler and faster - especially for races tracked live. All steps are now handled by the Race Editor wizard. Numerous other enhancements make the TackTracker experience easier and more responsive both for people creating races and those viewing.

General Enhancements:

  • General responsiveness and performance during playback is improved - especially noticiable with large races
  • The Leader Board (Sort Place) on the Select tab is re-written with an improved algorithm that provides accurate results even during live play.
  • Races may now be closed by clicking a close button next to the race name.
  • The race timer shows red before the start and omits hours if zero.

Race Editor Enhancements:

The Race Editor has had a major upgrade, making it easier and faster to use, especially for live racing.

  • The user is now guided all the way through the process for creating a live race, including publishing and scheduling trackers.
  • A location finder is provided for specifying the race location if Landmarks have not been pre-defined.
  • The previously used race location is remembered for next time
  • The process is simplified, with unnecessary choices removed.
  • The time splitter control is now much easier to use. For example, it is no longer necessary to manually type the time span, simply drag the race end markers to the right or left as far as you need.
  • The race duration may be entered in a text field as an alternative to using the time splitter control. Multi-day races are now much easier to create.
  • Live start tools have been enhanced, with a watch like clock and sync function to help the user nail the start under pressure conditions.
  • The Start tab now shows the race date
  • Landmarks are now sorted alphabetically

Nav Rally Enhancements:

  • A bar is now shown to indicate how far a boat was early or late for a rally gate

Fixes:

  • TackTracker now clears the publish data when copying a race to a new event.
  • Fixed an issue preventing rally gate scores being shown near the edge of the display.
  • Fixed an issue that caused a reported crash in the Track Loader
  • Fixed an issue that required a user to select a COM port to connect to a GPS
  • Correctly update the race number label on the start date in the Race Editor Start tab, when multiple starts are selected.
Update 5.15.9 - 17 Oct 2015
  • Fix an issue inserting a rally gate into the first leg after the start.
  • Don't show rally scores on the map if "no labels" is selected.
Update 5.15.8 - 19 Sep 2015
  • Fix an issue detecting mark roundings or gate crossings when distances are very large.
Update 5.15.7 - 21 July 2015
  • Increase the limit from 100 to 1000 of the regatta race sequence number in the publish wizard.
Update 5.15.6 - 20 July 2015

Improve the "Get Tracks Matching Race" feature for recovering live races:

  • Publish data is no longer cleared.
  • A link is provided for downloading the race's live schedule archive
  • The correct CSV columns are selected by default
Update 5.15.5 - 27 June 2015
  • Fix a crash when loading a race with offshore race handicap data defined. (Since 5.14.5)
Update 5.15.3 - 13 May 2015
  • Fix exporting a course or track to a GPX file (since 5.15.0)
  • Fix matching of races to events in the Track Loader (since 5.15.0)
  • Fix the list of regattas in the Publish wizard (since 5.15.0)

Release 5.15.0 - 9 May 2015

This release brings a raft of enhancements for Navigation Rally users. The ability to insert turns and gates makes it much easier to make changes to a Rally course.

Rally Editing Enhancments

  • You may now insert a turn after the selected turn.
  • You may now insert a gate after the selected gate.
  • Whenever a gate or turn is inserted or deleted, gates and turns are re-numbered so they always sequentially increase.
  • Gates may be placed at the beginning or end of a leg. When this is done, the gate end is aligned with the mark.
  • Up to two custom columns may be added to the Rally Schedule (e.g. "Email", "Phone") to make the Schedule a complete competitor reference. Define these columns in the Rally Settings dialog. Custom columns are included in the Rally Schedule reports.

Rally Replay Enhancements

  • The clock now shows the time from the scheduled start for the current boat - not the event start time.
  • The stats under the main map are further customized for Navigation Rally replay.
  • TackTracker warns the operator immediately if a track is loaded that mis-matches the Rally Schedule.

Fixes

  • The sail drawn on boats is no longer shown if the wind direction is not known
  • The Rally Course report now always shows the correct distance units in the report header.
Update 5.14.5 - 6 April 2015
  • Fix re-publishing an existing race to a regatta (a new race was being created)
  • For the "Get tracks matching race" function, allow the name mapping table to have duplicate entries.
Update 5.14.4 - 21 March 2015

Tune live race timing to stay within configured parameters.

Update 5.14.3 - 10 March 2015

Resolve a rare issue locating the start gate crossing in a Nav Rally.

Update 5.14.2 - 8 March 2015

Improve the algorithm for finding turning points - in particular, we better handle the case of boats cutting corners during a Navigation Rally.

Update 5.14.1 - 12 October 2014

Update the application icon (with a yellow disk in the background)

Release 5.14.0 - 21 September 2014

This is an important release, with coordinated enhancements and fixes across all platforms, Windows, Mac, iPhone and Web player.

General Enhancements:

  • The currently selected boat is now highlighted by a spotlight, making it easier to find.
  • Shows a postponement flag (answering pennant) and message when a live race is postponed.
  • Allow VMG relative to course or VMG relative to wind be shown against each boat

Club Regatta Enhancements:

  • A new Publish tab in the Race Editor significantly improves live race management:
    • Live race (1 click set and publish) tools are moved to the Publish tab with an improved layout
    • You can indefinitely postpone a race, and provide an explanatory message to viewers. All players support this new postpone mode. When a race is started after a postponement, players will automatically start playing the race.
    • You can now see your publish settings used to re-publish a race and clear those settings in case you wish to start over.
    • You can publish a race "hidden" so it is visible only to you. Hidden races do not require any publish credits until re-published.
  • Added Race API support for postponed races.

Fixes:

  • Fix Tracking mode for races with a course of just one leg.
  • Handle the case where two marks are very close, which previously caused the rounding of the second mark to be missed.
  • Allow races to be saved to the library when using the Hebrew locale.
  • Fixed a problem that occasionally caused live update to stop.
Update 5.13.1 - 11 August 2014
  • Tune the Navigation Rally scoring algorithm to correctly score gate crossings for a gate positioned at the very end of a leg.

Release 5.13.0 - 5 August 2014

This release brings requested features for people using TackTracker to run live regattas.

Race Editor Enhancements:

  • The "Get Tracks matching race" Library menu wizard can now filter and rename tracks using a supplied CSV spreadsheet to map between the source track name and the desired target name.
  • When publishing a race, you can now specify whether you wish to replace all existing tracks in the race. (The default is to merge the tracks.)
  • Added a replace option to the Publish API to allow the a publishing client to replace all existing tracks in a race
  • TackTracker saves race publishing parameters with the race, so it is no longer necessary to re-specify each time when using the RePublish button in the Race Editor.

Navigation Rally Enhancements:

  • Added a new report: Rally Schedule Elapsed Times - showing predicted elapsed times for each leg of the course.

Fixes:

  • An updated code-signing certificate verifies the integrity of the installation package.
  • Fixed a problem with marks not shown in the marks box if originally defined as part of a gate mark, then used as a rounding mark.
Update 5.12.2 - 19 July 2014
  • Fix a hang in the Race Editor when changing the start time (Since 5.12.1)
  • Fix custom stats import using NMEA data
  • Add optional parameters to the RaceAPI.Publish command to allow the Regatta to be specified.
Update 5.12.1 - 13 July 2014
  • Add Race Editor functions (creating a race, setting a course etc.) to the programming API.
  • Show Gate end selection buttons when selecting a Start or Finish Gate in a multi-purpose race

Release 5.12.0 - 6 July 2014

With Release 5.12, Tracker adds printing support! Now you can print the map area of the screen - by pressing Ctrl-P.

Race Editor New Features and Enhancements:

  • Setting a course when using fixed marks is now much easier. Course marks named the same as a nearby Landmark will automatically snap to the Landmark location.
  • The Race Editor's time splitter control is now more responsive making it easier to create and edit races.
  • A new Library menu option allows you to save the course to a GPX file. You can use this feature to import TackTracker course into other systems such as a chart plotter.
  • The Race Editor license now allows individual users to create a Navigation Rally course and save to a GPX file. (A Navigation Rally license is still required to run a Navigation Rally event.)

Fixes:

  • Fix a crash that was reported when reading a corrupted track CSV file.
Update 5.11.9 - 17 June 2014

For Nav Rally license holders:

  • Fix to export course to GPX to not plot Finish mark when using Finish at Start
Update 5.11.8 - 14 June 2014

For Race Reports license holders:

  • Re-designed the Reports API to be more robust and easier to use. (Contact TackTracker if you wish to learn more about the Reports API.)
Update 5.11.7 - 25 May 2014

For Club Regatta license holders:

  • Race reports now fully account for multiple start times in the same course. For races with staggered starts, the overall times respect the actual start time for each boat.

For Nav Rally license holders:

  • Added a menu option in the Library right-click menu to export the course to a GPX file (which may be loaded into most course plotters).
Update 5.11.6 - 6 May 2014

For Club Regatta license holders, improved the operation of multiple starts in the same course:

  • The interval between starts is no longer restricted to be greater than the trim minutes before the first start.
  • Corrected the algorithm that matches a boat to the closest start.
Update 5.11.4 - 21 April 2014

Add WGS84 ellipsoid model factors for SYC.

Update 5.11.3 - 12 April 2014

Include the cumulative distance to the Finish in the Show Rally Course report.

Update 5.11.2 - 31 March 2014

Added a new Rally setting to allow distances to be displayed to an increased number of decimal places.

Release 5.11.1 - 18 March 2014

This release brings together a range of Navigation Rally improvements:

  • Improved the precision of distance/bearing calculations for Nav Rallies (finally got it right!). This affects the expected time value computed by TackTracker.
  • Add a Rally Setting option to allow rounding up to the nearest second when calculating scores. The default rounding threshold is 1.0, but you may specify a smaller value, e.g. 0.90, which means that any time greater than or equal to 0.90 seconds will count as one penalty.
  • Rally penalties may be changed without changing the default values for your site.
  • The Rally schedule report shows expected times to millisecond resolution
  • Rally reports are available in the Reports tab even when no tracks are yet loaded.
  • Fix a crash when clicking "Show Results" when no rally event has been created
Update 5.10.9 - 14 March 2014

Nav Rally users should update to this release due to issues with other 5.10 versions.

  • Fix issues with the Rally schedule (boat speed column heading and not saving correctly)
  • Fix issues with laying gatemarks
  • Remove the 2 minute rally start warning (now not needed)
  • Improved the precision of distance/bearing calculations for Nav Rallies.
Update 5.10.7 - 12 March 2014
  • Reinstate the Reports tab for some Club Regatta license holders (since 5.10.1).
Update 5.10.6 - 11 March 2014
  • Added the ability to specify discretionary manual penalties for a Nav Rally event.
  • Improved the precision of distance/bearing calculations for Nav Rallies.
Update 5.10.4 - 3 March 2014
  • Fix error saving track to a GPX file (introduced in 5.09.5)
Update 5.10.3 - 2 March 2014
  • Add logic to help find the mark rounding when the leg is very short and boats don't pass close to the mark
  • Make it easier to switch between Nav Rally editor and results
  • Add a warning to the Nav Rally editor when a very short leg is added
Update 5.10.1 - 21 February 2014
  • Provide a Navigation Rally option to show race results with extra time precision
  • Show the Reports tab with Navigation Rally events so that reports can be generated to CSV as well as HTML

Release 5.10.0 - 9 February 2014

TackTracker now lets you see more of the action - you can now hide the left tabbed pane completely when not needed. Drag the vertical splitter to the far left. The left pane will disappear and be replaced by a "Show Pane" button in the lower left corner. Click "Show Pane" to restore the pane.

Other Enhancements:

  • The Settings, Landmarks dialog now has an Apply button, making it easier to adjust Landmark Lat/Lon values.
  • For Club Regatta License holders: The Competitor schedule may now be used to map a GPS name to a competitor name. Enter the GPS name in the schedule's NICKNAME column.

Navigation Rally Enhancements:

  • Navigation rally settings, are now all consolidated in the Settings dialog, Nav Rally tab.
  • Two new configurable settings have been added: Default Gate Offset, which specifies the default distance to a new gate and Default Gate Length, which specifies the default length of a new gate.
  • When switching to the Nav Rally tab, the tab pane width will automatically widen to a sufficient width needed to properly display the dialog.
  • A Print Course button has been added to the Nav Rally Event tab.
Update 5.09.6 - 3 February 2014
  • Fix a problem writing TTZ files introduced in the 5.09.5 update.
  • Improve structure and presentation of online help
Update 5.09.5 - 31 January 2014
  • GPX files created by TackTracker now declare the topografix namespace to improve portability.
Update 5.09.4 - 5 January 2014
  • Added a "Mark Roundings" report to count mark roundings - useful for scoring average lap races.
Update 5.09.3 - 5 January 2014
  • Send to Google Earth now works for Nav Rally courses, even when no tracks are present.
  • The leeway for matching Rally Tracks has been extended to 3 hours
  • Fixed the "Search for Location" service in Landmarks
  • Fixed a crash when adding the first landmark
  • Remove track records outside the event time during live replay: prevents problems with the timer display

Release 5.09.1 - 21 December 2013

  • Reports can now be output in CSV format for direct input into a spreadsheet
  • Show all tracks just loaded when using the Get button in the Track Loader
  • Allow the Get button to be used to get tracks older than 24 hours
  • Improve the usability of the Race Editor tools for copying tracks to the Track Loader
  • Fix a problem parsing the date and time when reading Velocitek VCC files
  • Speed up live race re-publishing from the race editor
Update 5.08.5 - 17 October 2013

This update brings three important usability improvements to the Race Editor:

  • Laying of gate marks has been fixed. Previously it was difficult to relay a gate mark after the first time it was laid.
  • It is now much easier to accurately select marks with the Mark Lay tool or the Mark Drag tool
  • You can now lay a mark that has a track associated - and automatically hide the track.
Update 5.08.4 - 7 October 2013
  • Read more types of NMEA files
  • Make the player robust to invalid track points in a live race
Update 5.08.3 - 29 August 2013
  • Fix a problem with Getting tracks in the Track Loader not finding all matching tracks
Update 5.08.2 - 28 August 2013
  • Reinstate trimming of tracks before start and after finish when saving the Race Editor
Update 5.08.1 - 27 July 2013
  • Prevent a boat that doesn't start the race from appearing at the top of the leader board
  • Automatically clip track points that fall too far outside the race boundary
  • Allow race times to be adjusted when republishing from the ReportAPI

Release 5.08.0 - 25 July 2013

This release brings some requested live replay and race editor enhancements.

Live Replay Enhancements

  • On loading a race, TackTracker automatically selects the first track available at the replay time.

Race Editor Enhancements

  • The Time Splitter control on the Start Time tab is now interactive and you can adjust the start times and the race span.
  • You can now change the split period before race start from the Start Time tab.

Report API

The Report API now provides a secure login facility.

Update 5.07.5 - 23 June 2013
  • Show Landmark paths even when map is displayed.
  • Fix usability bugs in Settings Landmarks dialog.
Update 5.07.4 - 15 June 2013
  • Ensure Navigation Rally start time has no seconds component when first creating a new rally.
Update 5.07.3 - 26 May 2013
  • Fix possible lockup when analysing a training race
  • Add ability to update start and re-publish from ReportAPI
Update 5.07.2 - 16 May 2013
  • Allow sub-minute start intervals in Nav Rally (via a new Nav Rally tab in Settings)
  • Support time formats such as "2013-05-05T09:32:09-04:00" encountered in a vcc file

Release 5.07.0 - 5 May 2013

Incorporates the new TackTracker Logo graphics for a fresh, lively look.

  • Introduce "Live Start Tools" for users managing a live regatta.
    Allows you to instantly set the start or postpone the race and re-publish with just one click. Live Start tools require a Club Regatta license and must be enabled in the Settings dialog.
  • Fix to allow adding and laying a landmark whilst a race is loaded
Update 5.06.4 - 28 April 2013
  • Fix recently introduced Navigation Rally error on create event
Update 5.06.3 - 27 April 2013
  • Fix "Auto" mode breaking live replay
  • ReportAPI enhancment to include regatta ID in race metadata
Update 5.06.2 - 22 April 2013

Minor fixes.

Update 5.06.1 - 15 April 2013

Fix to ReportAPI to allow regatta races to be listed.

Release 5.06.0 - 14 April 2013

A major release, with many enhancements to the race editor and live replay.

Race Editor Enhancements

  • A new "multi-purpose race" event type has been added for non-sailing events.
  • Courses Tab layout has been simplified, integrating sample courses drop-down into a single course entry control.
  • TackTracker remembers your 10 previous courses - so you don't need to type them each time!
  • A new Publish button on the Race Editor panel lets you make changes and immediately re-publish them with just one click.
  • A mark end from a gate mark now may be re-used on its own elsewhere in the course.

Live Tracking Enhancements

  • The displayed race is automatically updated when a course or start time change is made to the published race definition.
  • A new "CourseMark" craft type for live tracking is automatically displayed as a mark even when not present in the course definition.
  • The displayed elapsed time when in live tracking mode now reliably shows the live time regardless of which track is currently selected.

General Enhancements and Fixes

  • When playing the end of the race, the current boat no longer swaps between boats as they finish
  • Boats no longer rotate to zero bearing at end of track
  • Mark circle diameter is 500 feet when selected units are feet.
  • Marker craft type is drawn slightly smaller
  • Fix the handicap times gained and lost report

Release 5.05.0 - 24 March 2013

Navigation Rally

This release enhances the Nav Rally module by allowing rules to be defined for each leg. In this release, one rule has been defined - to specify a maximum speed for the leg. The Rally Course report now has an option to print the course without the gates - which allows the report to be distributed to competitors prior to the event without informing them of gate locations.

Fixes

  • Ensure Spectator craft listed in the Select Tab are not ranked higher than competing boats
  • Allow the Nav-Rally start time to be changed without changing custom times
  • Competitor schedule assigns a random color to each boat if a color is not specifically assigned.
Update 5.04.8 - 23 March 2013
  • New CurrentPlacings report - reports current position information during a race
  • Report API extensions
  • Prevent Gate-mark ends being specified on their own as normal marks of the course
Update 5.04.6 - 16 March 2013
  • Fix the upload schedule feature when used in non-english locales
Update 5.04.5 - 11 March 2013

In this update, the Library menu option to "Get Tracks matching Race" has been enhanced to ask whether you wish to replace all existing tracks with the tracks downloaded from the cloud, or whether you just wish to add new tracks.

Bug Fixes:

  • Fix a reported crash whilst playing a race
  • Fix reporting of incomplete races
  • Allow the Race Editor's time-splitter control to define a race that spans two days
Update 5.04.4 - 5 March 2013

Club Regatta Enhancements:

  • Support CSV files (competitor schedule) using non-comma separators, such as semi-colon, colon or dash

Report Enhancements

  • Don't include Spectator craft in reports
  • Move competitors who do not participate or finish to last place
  • Ensure leaderboard remains correct after finish
Update 5.04.3 - 25 February 2013

Club Regatta Enhancements:

  • Support multiple competitor schedules. You can now copy one competitor schedule to another, edit and upload a selected schedule

Race Reports Enhancements:

  • Report API has new ReportUpdateEvent
  • Fix Report API operation in non event loop context

General Fixes:

  • Dont display "0 knots" when wind strength not known
  • Wind direction fix: import all tracks to get averaged wind proir to analysing tracks.
  • Don't automatically select a detected USB driver - as some users were having SD cards and USB dongles mistakenly treated as a USB GPS.
Update 5.04.2 - 22 February 2013
  • Fix to Report API WaitingForRaceLoad property
  • Fix crash when selecting Competitor Schedule with a Navigation Rally license
Update 5.04.1 - 9 February 2013
  • Fix migration of BSF handicap data from earlier versions of TackTracker
  • Fix label overlap in race rename dialog

Release 5.04.0 - 3 February 2013

Race Editor

  • Moved the Track Tools from the Tracks tab to a separate dialog accessed by a button at the bottom of the Race Editor
  • Added a Track Tool to strip POI marks from a track or all tracks in the race
  • Added Race Metadata to the Options tab: Yacht Class, Wind Speed, Handicap Mode and Course Type.

Race Reports

All reports now display race metadata including race name and number, yacht class and wind speed. We've also added a bunch of new race reports to help you get more out of your TackTracker data:

  • Positions Gained and Lost
  • Leg Times Gained and Lost
  • Handicap Positions Gained and Lost
  • Handicap Leg Times Gained and Lost
  • ORC predicted speeds and times report

See Race Reports for details.

Club Regatta License Enhancements

Added support for two new handicap modes: Performance Line and Triple Number. TackTracker now supports all four ORC simple scoring systems:

  • Time on Time (or TCC)
  • Time on Distance (or BSF)
  • Performance Line
  • Triple Number
Other enhancements:
  • Added a Course Type setting (Inshore or Offshore). TackTracker can store different handicap data for each boat depending on course type.
  • Download and Import handicap data directly from the ORC database
  • Enhance the competitor schedule to pre-populate new rows with default values
  • Upload the competitor schedule to the TackTracker Cloud to update the Live Tracker data or race schedule.

Fixes

  • Fix crash when unchecking "Show Current Leg only" in Legs tab
  • Use a single consolidated wind estimate for all boats to give a consistent sail orientation across all boats.
  • Remove 20 track point filter in the Track Loader, which could lead to it not showing a downloaded track.
  • Get Tracks from cloud now splits tracks if needed.
  • Fixed an issue that could sometimes prevent TackTracker from communicating with the TackTracker Cloud.

Release 5.3.0 - 16 January 2013

A major release - TackTracker 5.3 brings you many refinements to the Race Editor and Landmarks.

Mapping and Landmarks Enhancements

The Settings "Fixed Marks and Landmarks" tab has been renamed to "Landmarks" and the dialog has been redesigned to make it much easier to add and edit your landmarks.

A new location search feature lets you search for a place name anywhere in the world to locate your race or landmark and TackTracker will show the place on the map. And you can now add a Landmark and lay it on the map with your mouse.

When you select each landmark (and a race is not currently loaded) you will see the landmark shown on the map

TackTracker now offers a satellite map view - though please note that the service does not at this time offer high resolution satellite images outside of the US.

General Usability Fixes

  • All dialogs have been re-worked to display correctly when a larger (125%) Windows font size is used.
  • A redesigned license install process can now install licenses directly from an Access Code without the need to manually install a license file.

Race Editor

  • The New Races dialog now shows the selected landmark on the map
  • Changing the boundary times on the TimeSplitter is now easier - as you don't need to move the markers out of the way first.

Track Loader

The Cloud Get dialog has been re-designed to make it much simpler to find your tracks on the TackTracker Cloud. You can now make queries like "get all my tracks recorded in past 6 hours" and if getting your own tracks, it is no longer necessary to specify a location.

Reports

We've added a new "Tacks Summary" report, which provides all the information available in the Tacks Table.

Update 5.02.4 - 5 December 2012

For Club Tools License holders, we add support for Time on Distance handicapping. The BSF rating is the number of seconds expected to take to travel 1 Nautical Mile. The adjusted time is calculated as:
AdjustedTime = Actual Time - BSF x Distance

The handicapping system is selected in Settings, under a new tab: "Club Tools".

Update 5.02.2 - 28 November 2012

  • Reinstate multiple start times feature for Club Tools license holders
  • Fix rare crash in Select tab page

Release 5.02.0 - 18 November 2012

Supports viewing live trackers on the trackers page. Also Nav Rally fixes:

  • Fix crash when changing speed units from a Nav Rally event
  • Correct mark names in Nav Rally timeline
  • Expose the Race Editor button (for track editing) for Nav Rally licenses

Update 5.01.6 - 24 October 2012

  • TrackLoader lists tracks newest first
  • Fix sending of TackTracker problem reports

Update 5.01.5 - 12 October 2012

  • Reinstate TrackLoader button for NavRally users
  • Reinstate NavRally scoring

Update 5.01.4 - 5 October 2012

  • Reinstate TrackLoader button for RaceEditor license holders
  • Fix Library issue with Japanese month names

Update 5.01.3 - 3 October 2012

  • Add a new TrackLoader license tier to expose Track Loader but not Race Editor features
  • Reinstate Library tab for Navigation Rally users

Release 5.01.2 - 24 September 2012

This release refines TackTracker's live replay capabilities as a result of extensive field trials:

  • Real-time distance to finish and distance to first stats - in the Select tab
  • Select tab has been redesigned to look better and make better use of space
  • During live play, the timeline becomes a "distance line" showing the progress to-date through the course.
  • User clicks "Go Live" to enter live play mode, or pauses play to return to normal replay mode.
  • Reports have been updated to give accurate progress scores during the race.
  • Add Spectator craft type - has no trail.
  • Improve mark visibility by drawing a circular outline around the mark.
  • Legs and Tacks tables show distances in selected length units (m or ft).

Fixes:

  • Fix missing checkboxes in Select Tab when larger Windows Font size is used
  • Prevent FinishBoat/Pin location affecting default zoom when Finish Through Start Line is checked
  • Fix crash when sending multiple tracks to the cloud at once

Update 5.00.9 - 19 August 2012

  • Fix loss of 'finish through start' setting when configuring course and marks in the Create Races dialog
  • Fix loss of mark drag positions when configuring course and marks in the Create Races dialog.
  • Fix problem where clicking on a race in the Track Library sometimes does not re-open the race.

Update 5.00.8 - 12 August 2012

  • Tune live replay behavior after live trial in Denmark
  • Fix Trial license validation

Release 5.00.5 - 5 August 2012:

Cloud

This is the TackTracker cloud release. Play and publish races to your personal home page on the cloud. You can also use the cloud to share tracks with others. TackTracker can now play live races and replay the action as it is happening. And there are many more features and bug fixes.

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