Release Notes for JMRI 3.7.4 release

Date: April 20, 2014

From: Bob Jacobsen

Subject: Test version 3.7.4 of JMRI/DecoderPro is available for download.

Notes:

This is a test release. Please post a note if you encounter any new or old bugs! And please back up your JMRI files before installing this, in case you want to go back to an earlier version.

This is the next in a series of test versions. We expect this series to end in a JMRI 3.8 production release around the middle of 2014.

Some of the changes involved are quite extensive. They may require a certain amount of experience before they are working well. Therefore, this test version should be considered experimental.

JMRI is now only available under the GNU General Public License. For more information, please see our copyright and licensing page.

New warnings for this version:

The XmlIO web service has been deprecated and is scheduled to be removed in JMRI 3.11. All users who are relying on direct access to the XmlIO API are recommended to begin using the JSON API. inControl web throttle users are recommended to begin using webThrottle instead, or to plan on investing in devices that can support webThrottle, the iOS WiThrottle, or the Android Engine Driver.

We are starting to update the format of the decoder definition files starting with this version. There will be additional changes in 3.7.5. Please, if you want to contribute decoder file updates, start with the files in this version or (ideally) straight from SVN. Older versions will be hard to merge.

Older warnings

This release has some changes to the application-initialization structure, particularly in the apps.Apps class. If you have written code of your own that runs applications based on JMRI, please check for use of deprecated methods.

The internals for handling CV read and write addressing have been extensively reworked. The change should be transparent (invisible) to users. If you do notice anything problems involving CV reading, writing, storage or anything else, please let us know.

The configuration structure for JMRI is changing to use Configuration Profiles. Configuration Profiles allow a single JMRI application to have multiple, user selectable, configurations that can be changed as application startup. For some users, this change will have no impact; other users will be visibly impacted by this change. See http://jmri.org/help/en/html/profiles.shtml for more information.

The JMRI SRCP implementation is undergoing extensive revision, in part due to testing with 3rd party SRCP clients and servers. If you are using the SRCP support, you will need to upgrade both the client(s) and the server to the same JMRI version.

The JMRI Web Server is being extensively rewritten. Some functionality has been temporarily lost while this rewrite continues.

This release, and all other releases in this cycle, require Java 1.6 or newer.

Known problems with this release

There is a known problem with certain TCS and perhaps ESU decoders that will be fixing in JMRI 3.7.5.

Do not use this release for programming any ESU Select or V4.0 decoder. Instead, please use test release 3.7.7 or later.

Download links:

Please use these links for downloading:

Changes since test release 3.7.3:

You can now open a PanelPro- or Decoderpro-style main window from the DecoderPro3 files menu, complete with the full menus you'd find if you were running PanelPro or DecoderPro from scratch. Please let us know if anything isn't working as you'd expect.

Lou DeHayes provided a fix for the Digitrax DS54 decoder definition.

Dave Heap made the following changes:

• Informative tooltips on the ESU Function Map pane.
• Corrections and other improvements to existing ESU decoder definitions.
• Fixed a problem with printing CVs for some decoders.
• Restored the ability to specify a fnmapping element by either output number OR name.
• Added an optional "(alt)" suffix to a fnmapping element.
• Added a live Function Group Exchange feature on the Function Map pane for two sample Tsunami decoders (Diesel Genesis OEM and Steam Genesis OEM).
• Added the facility to define "soundlabels" (like "functionlabels") in the decoder definition files.
• Can now add "functionlabels" and "soundlabels" to individual models in the decoder definition files. These override corresponding labels at the family level.
• Added a "soundlabel" element to the pane programmer, allowing sound labels to be displayed on panes.
• (A "functionlabel" pane element and user-editable sound labels are planned for the next release.)

Added a "Power Button" item that you can configure to directly include a button. This is in addition to the existing "Open Power Controller" option.

Dispatcher - The delay trigger when running automatically is now correctly obeyed when using SignalMast Logics - KD

Layout Editor - Added a scroll bar to the top edit panel

Some improvements to the tooltips on the decoder selection window suggested by Alan Le Marchand.

Enzo Fortuna improved the Italian translation

Daniel Boudreau made the following improvements to Operations:

• Better routing out of staging for cars with custom loads or final destinations. The latest changes should reduce the chances of a build failure for cars in staging that used the Return When Empty feature.
• You can now specify a custom load when using the Return When Empty (RWE) feature for a car.
• Fixed an issue with Classification / Interchange tracks that have destination restrictions. Now if a car without a final destination is placed on a C/I track with destination restrictions, the program will only forward cars to that destination.
• Made some improvements to the train build report.
• Added three more manifest color options; orange, yellow, and gray.
• Improved the tabular format with regards to rolling stock locations and track names.
• Fixed a problem where non lead cars in a kernel didn't have the correct final destination shown in the Cars window.

Ken Cameron has provided:

• Added support for NMRA signal decoders on NCE-USB connected systems.
• Improved error message for not supported packets.
• Fixed NCE-USB version identification handling.
• Posted update for Team Digital SHD2 board.

Pete Cressman added the following

• Fixed bug in acquiring LearnMode throttle.
• Added error messages and fixed bugs for editing Portals in CircuitBuilder
• Improved user interface and fixed bugs in Shape editor popup
• Added more options for creating NXWarrants

Dick Bronson updated the Tower Controller Mark II decoder definition.

Peter Ulvestad updated the Bachmann "EZ Command 3 function decoder (36-553)" definition

Intellibox support received a communications update (patch 978) to improve reliability of sensor readout.

Alain Le Marchand provided multiple updates to the Digitrax decoder definitions (patch 979).