AviSys Release History

AviSys Development Never Sleeps ~ And You Always Benefit

AviSys 4.x had 23 version updates since the release of Version 4.00 in November, 1996.

Updates to AviSys 4.x/5.x are always available on our web site for download free of charge. By visiting our web site periodically, AviSys users can always stay up to date. Another AviSys Exclusive!

These releases typically provide increased and improved feature and function, enhanced interface, operational enhancements, and problem fixes.

The following is a history of the releases. Only the most important program enhancements for Version 4.x only are noted with each of the releases - since November 1996 there have been over 71 significant enhancements to AviSys 4.x. See the Version 5 page for history of that version.

Release	Date	Important Enhancements
4.00	November 1996	Initial Release (prior versions were 3.x, etc.)
4.01	January 1997	Z-List (aggregate reports for multiple locations)
4.02	February 1997	Interface/operation enhancements; Tip-of-the-Day
4.03	August 1997	Context sensitive help; trivia quiz
4.05	November 1997	Backup in PKZIP format; high-speed data initialize
4.06	March 1998	Backup to all drive types; BBS mode data entry
4.07	May 1998	5,099 Attributes; 5100 Key Words
4.08	June 1998	"No collision" Band Code Search
4.09	August 1998	Enhanced record export
4.10	September 1998	Butterfly support (other "critters" followed)
4.50	December 1998	Shawneen Finnegan Nation Checklist support
4.51	January 1999	Reduce list to checklist; World Band Codes
4.52	February 1999	Startup in checklist mode; backup checklists
4.53	August 1999	Nunavut support; 7/99 nation checklist support
4.54	October 1999	Support for Birds of North America CD-ROM
4.55	December 1999	Place linkage display; minor updates
4.56	February 2000	Clements Fifth Edition support; Large Font support
4.57	November 2000	Palm PDA support
4.57a	December 2000	Expanded Keyword Support
4.57b	January 2001	Birding Partners Comparative Reporting
4.58	July 2001	Worldwide (20,000) Subspecies Support
4.58C	August 2001	Maintenance
4.58D	September 2001	Thayer BNA 3 Support

AviSys Version 5.0 was released in July of 2002. Since then, there have been three four updates, including nine enhancements and several interface enhancements, Adobe Acrobat PDF support, and RTF support. See update5.htm

Here is a more detailed list of enhancements since the release of Version 4.0 in November 1996:

• A new entertaining feature has been added, the Trivia Question of the Day, a random trivia question selected from a sample of 300 taken from the book, "10,001 Tantalizing Tidbits of Avian Trivia." (The answer is instantly available)
• Z-LIST - You can now run reports and listings for multiple Places. For example, you could run a Species Seen report for the Northwest Region, by combining the states of Oregon, Washington, Idaho and British Columbia.
• "Pelagic" nations have been added to the "oceanic" continents, such as "Pacific Ocean", to record sightings more than 200 miles off the coast of any nation. Such "nations" are named, for example, "Pacific Ocn Plagc".
• Place linkage process guidance messages (Wizards) pop up as you are doing a linkage. If you don't do linkages very often, they will be helpful. If you are very familiar with linking, just ignore them -- all you have to do is click your mouse button.
• The Attributes and Key Words tables can now be reached via the File menu.
• There is now an "Alpha Jump" facility in the Places tables.
• In North America screen mode, birds seen in the ABA Area are marked '' (double quote). Birds seen anywhere else are marked ' (single quote).
• Your North America (ABA) Species Seen count is displayed at the bottom of the screen in North America mode.
• You can now print to printer directly from Print Preview via a Print button.
• You can now print to printer directly from high speed report viewers via a Print button.
• A print to ASCII file for a spreadsheet (Census Report) now actually results in a comma-delimited data exchange format file that can be poured into other programs such as Excel, 123, Quattro, dBase, Access, etc.
• You can now list all records for the highlighted species with one keystroke -- press the "?" key --be sure to shift-- or click the special "listing" button.
• Optional _____, [ ][ ], or no checkoff blocks are now available in printed checklists. A dialog lets you select the kind of blocks, or let's you eliminate them.
• The same dialog let's you choose to have ' and '' sighted markers printed.
• Record listings to printer or print preview can be run without comments, doubling the number of records printed per page. There is now a check-off box, "No Comments," in the Print Options dialog.
• Odd/Even page printing --- for two-sided report printing with laser or ink-jet printers
• Spreadsheets now print species count totals for each column and for the total report.
• First Sightings and First Sightings Chronology listings, if any date range or Place is specified, now offer, with a prompt, to list only lifers for the defined trip. In other words, "Which of the sightings on that Texas trip last week were lifers?"
• When "lifers" are listed, as described above, you can eliminate records that were multiple sightings of the same life bird seen on the same day.
• At sighting record confirmation, the Date, Place and Comment can be edited, with the option of also changing the affected "fixed" item, thus changing the "trip.".
• Columnar reports can be run with from one to as many columns as your printer and eyes can handle.
• You can select any integer font size.
• Numbers can be substituted for months in spreadsheet reports.
• Guidance messages are now provided when you are sent to the Master Checklist from List Recs/Species or Checklist/Mark.
• The Date Entry dialog can have the OK button as the default, with any "Enter" accepting the currently displayed date.
• When entering a comment, the Ctrl+P keystroke will insert the entire comment from the prior record.
• When running Utils/Find Duplicate Records, you can now have Comments participate in the duplicate check.
• You can now auto-create United States, Canada, and Lower 48 checklists in the Checklist menu.
• You can now have the Latin bird names displayed in the Master Checklist by pressing F-12.
• There is now a Tip-of-the-Day facility.
• The Delete key (Del) can now be used to delete species from the Master Checklist.
• Sighting Record Streaming, a powerful new feature, can transfer sighting entries into another data set, or even into a data set on another computer. (Enter your spouse's records into his/her data set automatically - enter joint birding data only once!)
• When you do an Export, you now have the choice of a standard comma-delimited data exchange export or a Sighting Record Stream File export.
• The five second delay when leaving AviSys has been eliminated -- just power off with care.
• Initialize - Rapid initial record entry for state and nation lists.
• AviSys now has fully illustrated Windows help and most windows and dialogs have context sensitive help by pressing F1.
• You can store the current condition of the Print Options dialog, including: Font; Font Size; Use - Italics, Bold, Latin Names, Family Names; Include Field Notes; No Comments; Column Count; Portrait/Landscape.
• Home and End keys now take you to the first and last birds on the current page. Remember that Ctrl+Home and Ctrl+End take you to the first and last pages.
• The Comment entry edit now shows exactly how much comment space you have left.
• The headers and footers of reports are now set off with horizontal rules.
• There are now confirmation prompts when deleting Attributes and Key Words.
• New emergency recovery procedures in case a hardware or power failure has corrupted your data set and AviSys won't start.
• Backup is now industry-standard PKZIP 2.04G compatible, and you can back up any data set to any floppy, hard, or ZIP-type drive.
• There is now a stand-alone Data Restore program.
• Special Breeding Bird Survey data entry process.
• Record listing comment line color option to accommodate unusual Windows screen color schemes.
• There is now a "ditto" button in the comment dialog. Clicking it inserts the prior comment into the current comment edit.
• When printing checklist-style reports, family names are now shorter, allowing more columns per page.
• You can now have up to 5,099 formal Attributes.
• You can now have up to 5,100 formal Key Words.
• Enhanced, fail-proof, Band Code search facility.
• Report and Listing criteria labels are "hot" -- also allowing change of individual dates in a date range.
• Added capability for automatic update to Master Checklist via an update file.
• Added capability to renumber the Master Checklist.
• Added support for the Official Shawneen Finnegan World-Wide Nation Checklist Add-On.
• Added World Band Code facility.
• Reduced List - Checklist Screen Mode - deal with only the birds in a checklist.
• Backup and restore for custom (user marked) checklists.
• Creation (marking) of custom checklists from Species Seen report or from external text file.
• Startup in Checklist Screen Mode with the checklist of your choice invoked.
• Nunavut support.
• Support for Birds of North America CD-ROM.
• Clements Fifth Edition taxonomy
• Windows Large Font support
• Palm PDA support
• Birding Partners support
• Expanded Keyword support
• Clements Fifth Edition 2001 support
• Support for 20,000 worldwide subspecies
• Support for Birds of North America CD-ROM Version 3.0
• Clements Fifth Edition 2002 support

AviSys Version 5.0 was released in July of 2002. Since then, there have been four free updates, including nine enhancements and several interface enhancements, Adobe Acrobat PDF support, and RTF support. See update5.htm