What's new in Tracker 6.1.6
Jan 16, 2024
- added preferred pointmass footprint to preferences dialog
- increased the number of default names available for pointmass
- fixed bug when displaying multiple text columns in data table
- added auto-deletion of invalid pointmass positions
- added a warning if a filename contains the invalid character "&"
- centered the origin on new videos by default
- added Russian and Ukrainian translations, updated others
New in Tracker 6.1.5 (Oct 5, 2023)
- Fixed bug preventing export of selected data names in Export Data dialog
New in Tracker 6.1.4 (Oct 2, 2023)
- Added text columns to exportable data
- Enabled exporting data with or without headers
- Improved control and display of PDF and other support documents
- Removed external models from reference frame choices
- Fixed bug not updating derivatives when changing reference frame
- Fixed bug preventing radial distortion filter from loading into Tracker
- Fixed bug preventing full exit when closing with empty tabs
- Updated translations for several locales
New in Tracker 6.1.2 (Feb 23, 2023)
- Switched to H.264 encoding when exporting MP4 and MOV videos for Tracker online compatibility
- Added trail length to preferences dialog
- Simplified initial marking of calibration tools, line profiles, RGB regions
- Expanded zoom range for video and world views
- Added accelerator keys to Right & Bottom view items
- Updated translations for several locales
- Fixed frame renumbering bug when saving video clip in Save Project dialog
- Fixed bug causing notes to fail to display when changing tabs
- Fixed bug causing freeze when opening a TRZ file using drag-n-drop
- Added Innovative Uses of Video Analysis collection to Tracker Home Library in library browser
New in Tracker 6.1.1 (Dec 28, 2022)
- Enable exporting videos of zoomed world view
- Improved library browser html display and refresh
- Improved toolbar overflow button for narrow layouts
- Fixed bug when importing video/coordinate system/tracks from TRK or TRZ file
- Fixed bug causing library browser to stall when internet unavailable
- Fixed numerous other bugs: pencil drawings, video properties, undo/redo, printing
New in Tracker 6.1.0 (Dec 14, 2022)
- Improved world view with zoomable window
- Improved auto-pasting external model tracks
- Added more complete help for world view
- Added ability to attach measuring tools to RGB regions
- Added File|Reload tab menu item
- Improved handling, control and display of decimal separator
- Improved drawing and selecting tape measures and protractors
- Improved refresh of plots and tables
- Improved refresh of fits in DataTool
- Improved popup scale setters in all plots
- Improved handling and display of image videos with multiple image sizes
- Fixed bug when parsing external model data strings
- Fixed bug saving and loading some image videos
- Fixed bug preventing right pane (plot, table) from remaining closed
- Fixed bug preventing custom fit creation with FitBuilder in DataTool
- Fixed bug preventing onlineTracker from saving valid TRZ files
New in Tracker 6.0.10 (Aug 23, 2022)
- Added overflow button to provide functionality for buttons that overflow available toolbar space
- Simplify toolbar and empty tab GUI
- Added maximize button to toolbar in Tracker Online
- Added Help item to open Tracker Online from Java Tracker and Tracker Home from Tracker Online
- Fixed bug causing duplicate TRK files in multi-tab TRZ projects
- Fixed occasional bug setting scale with calibration stick after previous calibration
New in Tracker 6.0.9 (Jul 8, 2022)
- changed external model so data elements map to video clip steps, not video frames
- improved line profile multi-frame datatable view
- fixed bug causing incorrect frame durations when loading image videos
- fixed bugs when parsing delimited text data with spaces in titles or comma delimiters in integer data
- fixed bug refreshing the gaps button in datatable views of point masses
- fixed bug updating data when stepping through particle models
New in Tracker 6.0.8 (Apr 5, 2022)
- Improved File|Export|Data to export multiple track data to a single text file
- Fixed resizing/maximizing bugs in the main Tracker frame and world views
- Fixed external model bug preventing full data updates for multi-point models
- Fixed bug showing incorrect highlights in some plots with comparisons
New in Tracker 6.0.7 (Mar 4, 2022)
- Fixed several bugs including AVI black image bug
New in Tracker 6.0.5 (Jan 5, 2022)
- added uncertainties to autofit parameters in DataTool's curve fitter
- fixed bugs: table column ordering in DataTool, model builder parser, area shading in DataTool, others
New in Tracker 6.0.4 (Dec 21, 2021)
- Added highlight/shadow video filter to enhance highlights or shadows using a logarithmic conversion
- Expanded shape choices for RGB regions: ellipses, rectangles, freeform polygons
- Added datatable time view for line profile RGB/luma data that varies with time
- Improved display of parameter uncertainties in curve fits including plotted fit lines with width showing uncertainty
- Fixed bug saving image paths in TRK files
- Fixed bug loading Tracker projects with ZIP extension
New in Tracker 6.0.3 (Oct 29, 2021)
- Fixed bugs in kinematic model and model builder
New in Tracker 6.0.2 (Oct 18, 2021)
- Added ability to load, save and export zip files containing numbered jpg or png images
- Improved CircleFitter can now calibrate the scale to its radius and set the origin to its center
- Fixed handling of angular variables in Model Builder
- Numerous GUI improvements
- Numerous bug fixes
New in Tracker 6.0.1 (Oct 12, 2021)
- Added progress bar with cancel option for video- and tab-loading operations
- Improved memory management and garbage collection to keep memory requirements low
- Optimized more code for even faster operation
- Improved coordination with Library Browser collection "Recent Local Files"
- Numerous bug fixes
New in Tracker 6.0.0 (Jun 3, 2021)
- faster loading and playback: streamlined and optimized code, improved video stepper
- Java and JavaScript versions co-compiled so same Tracker runs on the desktop and in a browser
- developed HTML5 video engine for JS Tracker
- updated Xuggle video engine to version 5.7 for Java Tracker, so now runs in a 64-bit VM on all platforms
- redesigned toobar with new track visibility button, measuring tools button, font size button and memory button
- added zoomable ruled scales to tape measures and protractors
- added New button to create new tracks directly from the TrackControl
- added to AutoTracker: keyframe tethering for less drift and autoskip to continue searching when possible matches are found
- added portrait and landscape layouts for different screen orientations
- added arrows and ellipses to pencil drawings for better annotation
- added rotational velocity and acceleration data to protractor
- added standard deviations to R, G and B data in RGBRegion
- added download and search target buttons to LibraryBrowser
- enabled copying fit parameters to clipboard (DataTool)
- enabled copying data with either full precision or as formatted (DataTool)
New in Tracker 5.1.5 (May 14, 2020)
- fixed bugs causing intermittent freeze on launch, freeze in Library Browser
- fixed bugs causing right-click failure in Library Browser, parse failure in model builder, deletion failure for non-visible tracks
New in Tracker 5.1.4 (Apr 10, 2020)
- signed and notarized installers for OSX (required for Catalina)
- changed default save operation so TRZ tabs are saved as TRZ files
- improved naming of saved TRZ files to avoid overwriting existing files
- fixed bug causing failure to save TRZ with no video
- set correct chooser directory when first installed on OSX
- added popup menu to delete items from the Recent Local Files collection in Library Browser
New in Tracker 5.1.3 (Nov 14, 2019)
- Packaged Mac OS X installers as dmg files
- Removed 32-bit code preventing installers from running on OS X Catalina
- Fixed apple event handlers and dock icon on OS X
- Improved future upgrading on OS X
New in Tracker 5.1.2 (Aug 13, 2019)
- fixed bug causing loss of menubar when changing languages
- added auto-update to cached Tracker library collections containing urls with http protocols
- fixed bug preventing correct termination of image sequence loading
- improve testing for web connection
New in Tracker 5.1.1 (Jul 12, 2019)
- Changed all web address protocols from http to secure https (will be required by Tracker server starting fall 2019)
New in Tracker 5.1.0 (Jun 6, 2019)
- Greatly simplified building, saving and using tracker project files (TRZ)
- Enabled adding multiple tabs to a tracker project file (TRZ)
- Added "recent files" collection to the Library Browser with html information about tracker projects (TRZ) recently opened in Tracker
- Reordered the toolbar to group open buttons and save buttons
- Added Online Help and Online Forum to Help menu
- Added automatic translation of Online Help usng Google translation
- Added Quick Start Video Tutorial to Help menu
- Added popup notification when new versions released
- Fixed bug causing occasional failure when exporting TRZ files
- Fixed bug causing error loading corrupted TRK files
New in Tracker 5.0.7 (Mar 10, 2019)
- improved number entry to accept both comma and period as decimal separator in all locales
- fixed error producing artifacts when using perspective filters
- improved image quality in radial distortion filters
- greatly accelerated loading of array strings in TRK files
- fixed incorrect decimal separator displayed in PT locale
New in Tracker 5.0.6 (Aug 16, 2018)
- Added path length L to point mass data--displayable in tables and plots
- Improved "Compare With" dialog to easily compare data from multiple tracks (right-click plot, choose "Compare With")
- Fixed bug preventing second point of a calibration point pair to load correctly from TRK files
New in Tracker 5.0.5 (May 13, 2018)
- fixed minus sign bug (in some locales) when copying data from tables
- refreshed data when dragging or nudging points
New in Tracker 5.0.4 (Apr 30, 2018)
- enabled selecting steps by right-dragging rectangle in plot view
- added highlights to show selected steps in plot view
- added check for upgrades item to help menu
- enabled toggling autofill on/off with A key
- fixed bug preventing period decimal separator in some locales
New in Tracker 5.0.3 (Apr 22, 2018)
- added autofill option to Gaps button to automatically fill data gaps using linear interpolation
- added preferences to set default point mass footprint and trail length, enable autofill, and show data gaps in tables
- improved acquisition of RGB data by RGB regions
- fixed bug preventing renaming parameters in some locales
- fixed bug causing spurious decimal separator in some locales
New in Tracker 5.0.2 (Apr 5, 2018)
- added Gaps button to table views to fill data gaps (skipped steps) using linear interpolation
- added keystrokes and an option in the preferences dialog to scrub rather than zooming with the mousewheel
- added an option in the preferences dialog to auto-mark calibration sticks (centered in the view) rather than marking the ends with the mouse
- fixed bug preventing marking calibration sticks on frames other than the first
- eliminated support for Java 6
New in Tracker 5.0.1 (Mar 16, 2018)
- bundled Java JRE so Tracker runs as a stand-alone application on all supported platforms
- improved instant upgrade process--most new tracker version upgrades will be instantly downloaded and launched
- added search capability to Tracker Help--results are shown with both context and links to help
- added physical units (length, mass, time) that are displayable in fields, tables and plots. Length and mass units are user-settable
- improved annotation drawings with labels and Drawing Control
- improved number formatting with settable decimal separators
- streamlined calibration process when using calibration stick or tape: click, click, enter
- enabled copy/paste for video filters--copy filter from one video, paste into another
- added red skip lines to datatables to identify skipped steps in point mass tracks
- added point count data and no-circle footprint to Circle Fitter
- simplified setting new memory size with toolbar memory button
- improved the search algorithm for installed Java JREs including the bundled JRE
- eliminated Apple requirement for "legacy Java 6" on OS X
- eliminated QuickTime support
- eliminated support for Xuggle 5.4
- fixed numerous bugs and improved datatable sorting and display
New in Tracker 4.11.0 (Sep 17, 2017)
- added start and end frames to pencil drawings
- improved upgrade process so most new tracker versions are instantly downloaded and launched--no installer needed
- added user preference to auto-reset video to step 0 when creating new tracks
- improved mouse coordinate display in Data Tool--now shares user-set datatable number format including units
New in Tracker 4.10.0 (Sep 1, 2017)
- added a Pencil tool button to the toolbar to hand-draw colored pencil lines on videos
- improved the resizing behavior of the Digital Library Browser
- improved the ease of comparing multiple tracks in a single plot
New in Tracker 4.9.8 (Jun 19, 2017)
- changed to semantic version numbering
New in Tracker 4.97 (May 4, 2017)
- added a Stamp action to particle models--creates a stamped point mass that clones the positions of the model
- increased the maximum dataset length to 64K for very long videos
- improved resizing behavior of fonts, buttons and other GUI elements
- added autoscroll to datatables to keep current frame row visible
- fixed bug to correctly read data containing comma decimal separators
- added and updated languages
New in Tracker 4.96 (Feb 9, 2017)
- added menu item to Circle Fitter "data points" button popup to copy data point positions to clipboard
- added "search fixed area" and "copy match data" options to the Autotracker
- fixed bugs associated with custom cursors
- added and updated several languages
- improved Xuggle deployment to enable Xuggle video engine in non-standard installations
New in Tracker 4.95 (Sep 22, 2016)
- added buttons to increase and decrease font/icon sizes with a single click
- fixed bugs in perspective filter inspector behavior
New in Tracker 4.94 (Aug 3, 2016)
- added a Go To dialog to jump directly to a desired frame, step or time
- enabled setting number formats for individual tracks, all tracks of a given type or all variables with given dimensions
- fixed bug preventing Tracker files opening with a double-click on OSX
- modified TRZ loading so all file types associated with a default desktop application are supported
- changed name "data track" to "external model"
- improved management of extra blank frames for external models after the video end
- improved auto-paste action and parsing of external model data with no headers
New in Tracker 4.93 (May 23, 2016)
- created number format setter to set number formats for fields and tables
- added auto-paste option to automatically update data tracks when new data is copied to the clipboard
- improved text data parsing
- improved protractor hints and footprints to distinguish base line from angle arm
- improved garbage collection recaptures memory when videos, video filters and tracks are removed
- enabled larger RGB regions
- made several minor improvements to the GUI
- fixed bugs in autotracker, TRZ, stretched vectors, others
New in Tracker 4.92 (Jan 25, 2016)
- greatly improved circle fitter tool--now attach to steps or tracks
- improved data tracks--now with multiple points and connecting lines
- improved perspective filter--better tracking of dynamic perspectives
- improved undo/redo--better descriptions and functionality
- added new strobe filter
- added rotation angle to protractor data
- fixed numerous bugs
New in Tracker 4.91 (Jan 25, 2016)
- changed Tracker Help web site urls to point to physlets.org server
- fixed several bugs: hiding notes, displaying Circle Fitter inspector, setting VM preference
New in Tracker 4.90 (Jan 25, 2016)
- added data tracks with positions determined by an external data source (file, clipboard or EjsS simulation)
- added circle fitter tool that fits a circle to a set of points
- improved user control of font, icon and footprint sizes
- improved data function autoloading with autoload manager
- added fit function autoloading with autoload manager in Data Tool
- enabled data shifting in Data Tool
- added green highlights to the working data points in Data Tool
- added option to measure fit function rather than data in Data Tool
- added user-settable descriptions of parameters and functions in data builder, model builder and fit builder
- added TRZ descriptions to Tracker notes when loading TRZ files
- added "Save Video As" menu item to file menu
- restored and improved "export TRK" file menu item
- raised default memory size to 256MB when launching Tracker
- added desktop icon option to installer
- fixed bug causing dynamic models to be drawn incorrectly in non-default reference frames
- fixed datatable header rendering bug on OSX
- fixed bug preventing Tracker from launching when tracker.prefs file is missing
- eliminated obsolete tracker_starter.prefs
New in Tracker 4.87 (Nov 11, 2014)
- improved launch mechanism so all environment variables are set at runtime--no more global TRACKER_HOME and XUGGLE_HOME
- changed Xuggle installation directory to child (Windows, Linux) or sibling (OSX) of Tracker directory
- eliminated requirement for xuggle jars in Java extensions
- added QTJava.zip to installer for OSX 10.10 to enable QuickTime engine
- improved "About QuickTime" and "About Xuggle" dialogs
- fixed bugs causing Tracker Preferences dialog to show incorrect settings
- added Preferences File menu item to Help|Diagnostics
- changed Autotracker so it automatically selects tracks only when they are newly created
New in Tracker 4.86 (Jul 29, 2014)
- added full paths of TRK and video files to tab tooltips
- added independent x-/y-axis look-ahead algorithms when autotracking
- improved desktop display control for associated HTML and PDF documents (Documents button)
- added ability to display page view HTML files on the desktop
- improved "Save As" action: TRK files now saved with corresponding video by default
- fixed autotracker perspective filter bug
- fixed thumbnail bug in Export Tracker Zip dialog
- added Java Finder option to installer--uncheck if installer freezes (rarely).
New in Tracker 4.85 (Apr 7, 2014)
- added grid overlay to coordinate axes
- enabled "booster" point masses to set initial values of dynamic particle models
- set up mechanism to resize fonts, added font level to preferences and Edit menu
- added ability to control numerical values in model/data/fit builders by dragging mouse
- save/load datatable column order and width in TRK files
- run Tracker from USB drive just by downloading and unzipping Tracker-USB.zip
- write start log and preferences to code base directory to facilitate USB drive operation
New in Tracker 4.84 (Jan 29, 2014)
- fixed bug causing tracker-starting process to fail in some network installations
- added diagnostic alerts when unable to copy video engine files in some network installations
New in Tracker 4.83 (Jan 3, 2014)
- added editable text columns to data tables--suitable for comments or entered data
- added "Show zero" menu to plot views--useful when all plotted values have the same sign
- added ability to set PointMass velocity and acceleration colors independently
- improved comparison of multiple tracks in plots
- improved tracker-starting process and added a Start Log item to the Help menu
- improved VM search process during installation
New in Tracker 4.82 (Dec 4, 2013)
- added ability to select, move and/or delete multiple points
- added "browse cache" button for easier cached file searches
- fixed undo/redo bugs and expanded the number of undoable actions
- fixed tape measure and calibration stick bugs, eliminated calibration stick "fixed length" menu item
- fixed Tracker ZIP bugs related to web videos and filenames with disallowed characters
- eliminated video frame count limits
- added finnish translations and separated portuguese BR and PT translations
- updated help files
New in Tracker 4.81 (Dec 4, 2013)
- enabled setting measuring tool lengths and angles directly from the toolbar
- enabled setting coordinate system origin directly from the toolbar
- added arabic and czech translations
- improved handling of locale changes
- added OGG video to accepted video formats
- changed fit parameters to display in scientific notation
- improved documentation of acceleration (second derivative) and autotracking algorithms
- fixed bugs in tape measure, plot labels
New in Tracker 4.80 (Dec 4, 2013)
- added "Auto-refresh" checkbox to refresh button so auto-refresh can be turned off for faster performance when marking long tracks
- added radial distortion filter to correct distortion associated with fisheye and other lens types
- created new trk/trz document icons for all platforms
- added non-default reference frames to saved properties in trk files
- added "Autoload" button to Data Builder to automatically load data functions into Tracker at start-up
- expanded range of play rates to 1% - 1000%
- added key shortcuts to video player: HOME=start step, END=end step, Shift-PageUp=back 5 steps, Shift-PageDown=forward 5 steps
- added "Set time to zero" item to video player readout and slider popup menu
- changed "Copy Image" item in main video view popup menu--right-dragging a zoom box before copying now copies only the boxed image
- added "Deinterlaced video" to content options in video export dialog--converts 30 fps interlaced video to 60 fps deinterlaced
- added pixel coordinates to point mass data
- added full- and half-size image sizes to thumbnail dialog
- fixed bugs in autotracker match image, importing data on OSX, mat resizing when applying rotate/resize filter, DL browser resource file not found
New in Tracker 4.751 (Dec 4, 2013)
- fixed bug when attaching ends of tape measure or protractor
- fixed bug copying image videos to Tracker ZIP files
- fixed Windows installer bug assigning trz extension to MIME type "application/zip"
- added Greek translations
New in Tracker 4.75 (Dec 4, 2013)
- export self-contained Tracker ZIP experiments (trk/video/html/images/pdf) in single step
- browse self-documenting Tracker ZIP experiments with Digital Library Browser
- added button to reopen PDF/HTML documentation associated with Tracker ZIP experiments
- created "trz" file and mime type for Tracker ZIPs, associated "trz" with Tracker on all supported platforms
- warn and exclude particle models from Tracker ZIPs when startframe not in clip
- added search capability to Digital Library Browser
- added searchable metadata to Digital Library resources
- Digital Library Browser automatically catalogs local directories and resources
- PHP script automatically catalogs server directories for Digital Library Browser
- Digital Library Browser caches collection data for efficient searches
- Digital Library Browser caches video thumbnails and HTML pages for faster response
- added Open Recent menu, Close Tab item, Close All item to Digital Library Browser File menu
- added search and cache tabs to Library Manager in Digital Library Browser
- add fourier analysis to Data Tool
- Data Tool data now saved in tracker files (trk)
- Data Tool updates automatically when data changes in Tracker
- reverted to Xuggle 3.4 but Tracker still supports Xuggle 5.4 with warnings
- added .MOD and .MPG extensions to recognized video types
- added image video "read-only" mode that uses less memory by loading only current image
- improved and simplified setting of Java VM bitness and video engine
- improved diagnostics, including help for Windows users without 32-bit Java VM
- fixed bug causing very long tracks to hang when loading
- use capital letters A, B, etc for fit parameters in DataTool
- added "Delete selected step" to track menus
- added warnVariableDurations to preferences so warnings can be turned off
- updated Tracker icons with sizes from 16x16 to 1024x1024