FIXED:

• Downloaded files sometimes started with a line of false data.
• Backscattering trace would sometimes appear even when it was unchecked in Channels panel.

ADDED:

• Support for "MuRho" parameters in calibration files. Used to track the value of reflectivity (rho) used during instrument calibration.
• "Show Header" command to File menu. Displays header information from the currently displayed data file, if any.
• "HOBI Recommended" option for pure water values in Backscattering Parameters dialog box.
• Advanced settings to Calibrate dialog box, for better control over laboratory calibrations.
• "Tile Graphs" command.
• Remind user of time since instrument was last calibrated.
• "Release Notes" item to Help menu.

FIXED:

• Difficulty saving calibration results to HydroScats.

• A bug introduced in version 2.50 prevented processing and display of raw decimal data from a-Beta's and c-Beta's.

FIXED:

• On systems where the user's computer was set up with non-USA number and date preferences, the time, date, and some other parameters would not be set correctly. HydroSoft now correctly interprets all numerical dialog box entries according to the user's preferences as set in Windows. However it still always records files with "." as decimal separator to ensure it can always read its own files.
• Previous versions could "forget" a connected instrument was asleep, and attempt to send it commands.
• Previous versions could not read some files created by very early HydroScat firmware versions.
• The Sample Options dialog sometimes set the sample period incorrectly.

MAJOR CHANGES:

• Added Calibrate command for complete calibration of backscattering sensors. Described in a separate Backscattering Calibration Manual.
• There is no longer a distinction between the "Main" data window and other data windows. Each data window can be connected to a different instrument for simultaneous data collection.
• Added Spectral Plot windows.

DATA/PLOT WINDOWS:

• The coordinates of the mouse pointer are displayed so you can determine the values of specific data points by pointing to them.
• The "channels" area has been made more compact
• The Start button and other controls are disabled when the connected instrument is asleep.
• A new file is no longer opened automatically when an instrument is first connected.
• Graphs support wider lines between points.
• Before disconnecting an instrument, asks if instrument should be put to sleep.
• If a window is receiving instrument data, asks user to confirm before closing.
• The Print dialog allows selecting any printers, and various optional information to be shown on the printout.

DATA PROCESSING:

• If the proper coefficients are available in the calibration file, uses an exponential rather than polynomial fit for sigma correction. The newly added calibration function generates the exponential coefficients. Polynomial coefficients are retained for backward compatibility.
• Added calibration coefficients for pressure-correction of a-Beta and c-Beta data.
• Improve sigma correction of fluorescence channels by using both excitation and emission channel backscattering data to estimate attenuation.

• About Instrument now includes firmware version.
• In Connect dialog box, offer option to connect without querying instrument.
• Sample Options dialog box expands to show fluorescence controls for HydroScat-6's, and shutter controls for HydroScat-2's or -4's equipped with antifouling shutters.

TERMINAL WINDOW:

• A separate terminal window is available for each data window.
• The Response area shows every character received immediately, instead of waiting for a carriage return.
• The Response and Data panels can be independently resized

OTHER:

• Temporary files (for example, data files that have not yet been named) are no longer stored in the Program Files directory, because Windows2000 and later does not permit this for users without administrator privileges. Instead they are stored in a temporary directory designated by the particular Windows version. This directory is shown in the "About HydroSoft" dialog box. Note that this directory may be hidden in Windows Explorer  unless your system is set to display hidden directories. 

CHANGED:

• Backscattering coefficient calculations have been changed to account for the difference between scattering by water and particles. This reduces the bb values by a small amount that depends on wavelength (in salt water, 0.00013/m @ 670 nm; 0.0006/m @ 440 nm).
• "Backscattering Parameters" command added for controlling options of bb calculation.
• .dat file header expanded to show backscattering calculation parameters.

• HydroSoft versions prior to 2.05 sometimes failed to update sigma correction parameters when retrieving calibration data from HydroScats. This was most likely to happen if the option "Automatcially recall last selected calibration file" in the Preferences window was turned off. This option is on by default, but the problem can also happen in some cases when it is on. The result is that the sigma-corrected scattering values will be much higher than the uncorrected values, typically by a factor of 2 or more even in water with low attenuation. This may affect some channels and not others, resulting in odd spectral relationships that appear in the sigma corrected data but not the uncorrected data. If you suspect your data may have been affected, you can test by loading an existing ".dat" file into HydroSoft, then loading the corresponding ".raw" file into another window in conjunction with the proper calibration (".cal") file. If the sigma-corrected values in the two differ significantly, your data have been affected. If necessary, you can easily recalibrate batches of raw data files with HydroSoft's "Process Raw Files" command, found on the File menu.
• Calibration time was not loaded from a-Beta or c-Beta
• Using one of the window-tiling commands would crash if a window was minimized or maximized.
• Print command could crash if no default printer was set up in Windows.
• If multiple instances of HydroSoft were started in order to communicate with several instruments simultaneously, they could overwrite each other's temporary data. HydroSoft now notes whether other instances are running, and appends the instance number to temporary file names.
• On some computers, loading of calibration data from a HydroScat could time out

CHANGED:

• The connect and reset dialog boxes only list serial ports that are actually implemented on the present computer. Com ports numbered up to 16 are supported.
• The serial number of a connected instrument is now displayed in its window title.

• Windows could open off screen if a computer's screen settings were changed between HydroSoft sessions.
• Multiple simultaneous instances of HydroSoft could overwrite each other's temporary files.
• When successively connecting to different instruments, some ID information could become scrambled.

CHANGED:

• Settings in Process Raw Files dialog box are saved between uses.

• If a .dat file was open from an instrument of different type from the currently selected calibration, the calibration data would be saved in the wrong format.
• Processing in the "Process Raw Files" would be cancelled prematurely if the cancel button had previously been pressed.
• The instrument type, serial number, and configuration ID cannot be edited in the View Calibration dialog box, but were highlighted as if they could be.

CHANGED:

• The uninstaller program now removes all information about HydroSoft from the Windows Registry. Previously it did not remove any information from the Registry.

• Some text in dialog boxes would not display properly depending on the setup of the current screen.
• The Sample Options dialog box did not display some HydroScat-specific parameters when a HydroScat was connected.
• Values of pure-water absorption read from the aw.csv file, used for HydroScat sigma correction, were not read correctly if they exceeded 1.0.

ADDED:

• Escape key will close the "Quick Start" window.
• HydroSoft checks whether the files specified by the sigma parameters are available, and warns the user to check the settings if it can't find thme.
• The current sigma parameters are now included in the header of .dat files.
• A calibration loaded from an instrument will now be recalled automatically in the same way as one loaded from a file.

• First released version of HydroSoft 2