Program History
Version 3.16 - Mar 10, 2023
- Improved detection of default web browser.
- Fixed several issues with address printouts.
- Added option to auto close Home Suite after period of inactivity.
- Eliminated obsolete range selection in vehicle printout settings.
- All new print functions with more available print layouts.
- Fixed bug with all record selection on vehicle screen.
Version 3.15 - Mar 30, 2022
- Added checks for corrupted vehicle data.
- Changed CSV format when exporting vehicle records.
- Fixed bug preventing a vehicle addition when all vehicles have
been deleted.
- vCard address export changed to version 3.0 for improved
compatibility with other applications.
- New sorting algorithm for vehicle screen to prevent data
corruption.
- New vehicle data repair option to remove corrupted records and
reassign ID numbers.
Version 3.14 - Jun 28, 2020
- Added check for email addresses when exporting email list.
- Fixed display bug in CSV import field mapping.
- Improved font management for faster operation.
- Improved window processing for smoother graphics.
- Fixed button alignment in alert box.
Version 3.13 - Mar 17, 2020
- Application completely rewritten.
- Updated interface, resizable window, selectable fonts, etc.
- New lower single pricing for new purchases and upgrades.
Version 2.12 - Dec 16, 2010
- Fixed crashing problem when no vehicles are in database.
- Fixed display mode when adding new vehicle records.
- Fixed crashing problem with out of range photo sizes.
- Fixed the broken "Copies" pull down when printing address
labels.
Version 2.11 - May 18, 2010
- New data entry dialogs with improved clipboard operations.
- Slightly increased window size with better management on a
variety of screen sizes.
- Fixed sizing problem that cut off text in selection lists.
- Improved graphics handling of several user interface
components.
- Improved address selection on the Address screen.
- Improved vehicles screen with better layout and larger
photo.
- Improved search feature for vehicle records.
- Added selectable view mode for Vehicles screen.
- Added exporting and printing to Vehicles screen.
- Minor improvements to password screen formatting.
- Default master password is handled more elegantly now.
- Fixed minor bug when opening local files with web browser.
Version 2009.10 - Dec 20, 2009:
- Fixed issue that occasionally prevented proper installation of
updates.
- Fixed URL encoding issues that caused problems with some web
browsers.
- Fixed minor formatting issues with mapping features on the
Address screen.
Version 2009.9 - Dec 10, 2009:
- First public release of Home Suite.
- Simplified version numbering based on the year of release and the
revision number.
Version 2009.8 - (Beta 09.11.13) - Nov 13,
2009:
- Implemented a new program versioning system based on the release
date.
- Redesigned the automatic update and registration verification to
run in a background thread. When a new version is released, a new
button will appear under the About/Help/Minimize/Quit buttons.
Clicking this button will allow you to access more details or install
the new version. If you do not have an internet connection the new
version button will simply remain hidden.
- The password screen now detects whether a password field is an
email address or web site. Right clicking an email address will open
your default email application, and right clicking a web address will
open your default web browser.
- The registration system has been cleaned up and is better
integrated into the online verification system.
- Fixed several bugs that caused crashing after adding a photo to a
vehicle.
- Fixed inaccurate conversions on vehicle fuel displays.
- Removed code sections from program that were no longer in use to
reduce program size.
Version 2009.7 - (Beta 1.g) - Oct 30, 2009:
- Added a new registration verification system to allow refunded or
pirated codes to be deactivated.
- Redesigned the automatic update system to be more efficient, and
coordinate with the registration verification to minimize network
activity (in case of slow connections).
- The upgrade check now lets you download and reinstall the
software, even if you are already using the current version. This can
be useful if you need to set folder securities or create a desktop
icon when restoring files manually from a backup, or transferring
files from one computer to another.
- Fixed display issues on the vehicle screen that allowed text to
extend out of the text area.
- The vehicle screen has been reorganized to show vehicle
statistics and make it easier to add and edit vehicles.
- The vehicles database has been redesigned from the ground up for
more efficient access and better expandability. If you have a data
file from an older beta version, it will be converted to the new
format automatically. There are no obvious changes from the users
point of view, but this required a major restructuring of all vehicle
operations.
- You can now attach a photo to each vehicle.
- The date display on the vehicles screen will now use the language
and format selected in Windows. However, you still must enter dates
in the YYYY/MM/DD format in the record editors.
- Vehicle distance and fuel measurements now support both
US/imperial and metric measurement systems. Home Suite will determine
the measurement system from Windows configuration, and will display
US measurements (miles, gallons, mpg) in the United States, or metric
measurements (km, liters, km/l) in countries that use the metric
system. When needed, you can override the default measures by adding
"km" or "mi" to the odometer readings, or "gal" or "liters" to the
fuel readings. For example, if you live in the US, Home Suite will
default to the standard US measurements. But if you take a road trip
to Canada, you can still record your odometer readings in miles, but
record the fuel readings in liters (as it is sold in Canada). Home
Suite will make whatever conversions are needed.
Version 2009.6 - (Beta 1.f) - Oct 17, 2009:
- Fixed a memory leak in the interface that would cause icons and
other graphics to disappear at random.
- Fixed the 'Change Master' function on the password screen so old
data from other features is not displayed.
- Fixed URL generation for Yahoo address mapping.
- Improved the subroutine that opens external programs (web
browser, installer, etc.) to work better with Windows 7 and
Vista.
- The password screen has been redesigned to better display the
contents of each password record.
- Password records have been improved. You can now define your own
names for each field, and there are more fields available for your
use.
- Added a new automatic update system. It should check for a new
version every seven days, or you can check for updates manually from
the "About" screen. When a new version is available, it will allow
you to download and install the update from within the program,
instead of having to visit my web site then download and install
manually (though you can still do it this way if needed).
Version 2009.5 - (Beta 1.e) - Released Oct 2, 2009:
- Window size enlarged slightly to allow more information to fit on
the screen.
- The Address screen has been redesigned to improve the current
address display. Buttons that only work with the current address have
been moved to the bottom of the screen to distinguish them from the
more generic buttons.
- Added a checkbox to select all displayed addresses (supplements
the existing Control/A method of selecting all addresses).
- Added a button to open the web site defined for the current
address.
- Improved parsing of numerical data when entering vehicle Gas and
Maintenance records.
- Shift/Tab now moves to previous line in multi-line edit
boxes.
- Minor change to preview display when selecting labels in the
address print manager. It should now be a little more clear whether a
label is selected or not.
- Blank pages should no longer be ejected when the number of labels
equals the sheet capacity.
Version 2009.4 - (Beta 1.d) - Sep 10, 2009:
- Fixed the problems that would occasionally cause crashing when
switching from one screen to another.
- The list of vehicles should no longer disappear at random.
- Added the ability to specify the desired screen from the program
command line. This is useful when you want to create a direct
shortcut to a specified screen. The installer will create some sample
desktop shortcuts to show how this works.
- Beta versions will now expire automatically 6 months from their
release date. This will simplify things on my end, and give testers
more time to work with the program in case I don't release a new
update promptly.
Version 2009.3 - (Beta 1.c) - Aug 12, 2009:
- The gas editor on the Vehicle screen can now accept fuel
measurements in gallons or liters. Just add the letter "L" or the
word "liter" after the measurement (i.e. 8.5 liters), and Home Suite
will automatically convert the liters into US gallons. This makes it
easy to compute the miles per gallon, even if you filled up in a
country that measures gas in liters (like our recent road trip to
Canada). Just be aware the US gallon is slightly different from the
UK gallon, so the conversion will not be accurate if you travel in
that area.
- I completely redesigned the CSV parser for the address import,
thanks to a complicated address file one of my testers sent me. I
haven't had much time for testing, but every file I have tried so far
has imported perfectly. If you discover an address file in CSV format
that fails to import correctly, please send me a copy by email and
I'll see if I can track down the cause.
Version 2009.2 - (Beta 1.b) - Jun 16, 2009:
- Fixed numerous problems discovered by beta testers.
- Fixed crashing problems on the Address screen.
- Fixed printing problems with addresses.
- Added CSV and tab delimited address importing, with new field
mapper.
Version 2009.1 - (Beta 1.a) - Jun 4, 2009:
- First Home Suite beta release.
