Shadows Changelog

What's new in Shadows 5.1 Build 9857

Dec 29, 2023
  • 28/12/2023 : Added realistic shadows in 3D view, directly generated by OpenGL (9857)
  • 28/12/2023 : Added 5 new realistic styles in 3D view of sundials (9857)
  • 28/12/2023 : Added a new star map in horizontal coordinates (9857)
  • 28/12/2023 : Added constellation and star names in the star maps (9857)
  • 28/12/2023 : Updated English and French translations, user interface and user manual in v5.1 (by the author) (9857)
  • 28/12/2023 : Updated Spanish translations, user interface and user manual in v5.1 (thanks to Vicente J. Fernández Gallego) (9857)
  • 28/12/2023 : Updated Italian translations, user interface and user manual in v5.1 (thanks to Luigi Ghia) (9857)
  • 28/12/2023 : Updated German translations, user interface (thanks to Hermann Dellwing) (9857)
  • 28/12/2023 : New links to video tutorials (9857)
  • 28/12/2023 : New information in the Technical data sheet (9857)
  • 28/12/2023 : Added information about Easter date in the Ephemeris (9857)
  • 28/12/2023 : Styles are automatically truncated when point B is outside the frame (9857)
  • 28/12/2023 : Improved rendering of specular light (9857)
  • 28/12/2023 : Added an import in the database dialog (in addition to the loading of a database) (9857)
  • 28/12/2023 : Added information about the maintenance plan (9857)
  • 28/12/2023 : Added 160 new locations in the database, 6317 in total (9857)
  • 28/12/2023 : New validity check on the license association (9857)
  • 28/12/2023 : Support of Windows 11 23H2 (9857)

New in Shadows 5.1 Beta 7 (Nov 11, 2023)

  • Added realistic shadows in 3D view, directly generated by OpenGL
  • Added 4 new realistic styles in 3D view of sundials
  • Improved rendering of specular light
  • Added a new star map, in horizontal coordinates
  • Added constellation and star names in the star maps
  • New links to video tutorials in the help menu
  • New information in the Technical data sheet
  • Added information about Easter date in the Ephemeris
  • Styles are automatically truncated when point B is outside the frame
  • Added an import button in the database dialog (in addition to the load button)
  • Added informations on the maintenance plan
  • Added 160 new locations in the database (6317 in total)
  • Support of Windows 11 23H2

New in Shadows 5.0 Build 9264 (Jul 15, 2022)

  • Added a list of feature for each Shadows level (9264)
  • Improved the light control in the 3D view (9264)

New in Shadows 4.5 Build 8589 (Jul 8, 2020)

  • 19/06/2020: New display options in the graphs of the equation of time (8570)
  • 19/06/2020: Automatic download of the user manual, if available, when changing of language (8570)
  • 19/06/2020: Translation of the updated user manual in German, thanks to Hermann Dellwing (8570)
  • 19/06/2020: Translation of the updated user manual in Spanish, thanks to Vicente Javier Fernández Gallego (8570)

New in Shadows 4.5 Build 8556 (Jun 5, 2020)

  • 05/06/2020: New mode to animate the rotation of the rete of a planispheric astrolabe (8556)
  • 05/06/2020: A planispheric astrolabe can now be create for a given location (8556)
  • 05/06/2020: Easier switch between upper and lower face of an equatorial sundial (8556)
  • 05/06/2020: New option to show/hide the content of an image frame (8556)
  • 05/06/2020: The evaluation of Shadows Pro is now extended from 7 to 30 days (8556)
  • 05/06/2020: Updated user manual with augmented sections, in English and French (8556)
  • 05/06/2020: Translation of the updated user manual in Italian, thanks to Luigi Ghia (8556)
  • 05/06/2020: Completed the Portuguese translation, thanks to Ana Correia (8556)
  • 05/06/2020: Corrections in the Arabic translation, thanks to Hussein Morsy (8556)

New in Shadows 4.4 Build 8264 (Aug 19, 2019)

  • Selection of background colors between declination arcs (8264)
  • New buttons to navigate to next/previous lunar month in the Lunar ephemeris (8264)
  • Selection of scale and axis colors in graphs of the equation of time (8264)
  • Updated user manual in English and French (8264)

New in Shadows 4.2 Build 7956 (Oct 15, 2018)

  • Sundial background can be colored with a different color outside the solstice arcs (7923)
  • Text frames can now be rotated (7923)
  • Ability to set the sundial anchor in % or mm independently in X and Y (7923)
  • Selection of the color of declination arcs of particular date (7923)
  • Drawing of noon line for other cities (7923)
  • Change in reclination angle can now exceed +/-90° (7923)
  • Display of the sun position on astrolabe rete (7923)
  • New preference to display either 0 or 24 on hour labels (7923)
  • Longitude correction and equation of time can now be enabled for shepherd's sundials (7923)
  • Selection of the color of the sundial frame border (7923)
  • Improved and augmented user manual in English and French (7923)

New in Shadows 4.2 Build 7929 Beta 6 (Sep 18, 2018)

  • Sundial background can be colored with a different color outside the solstice arcs (7923)
  • Text frames can now be rotated (7923)
  • Ability to set the sundial anchor in % or mm independently in X and Y (7923)
  • Selection of the color of declination arcs of particular date (7923)
  • Drawing of noon line for other cities (7923)
  • Change in reclination angle can now exceed +/-90° (7923)
  • Display of the sun position on astrolabe rete (7923)
  • New preference to display either 0 or 24 on hour labels (7923)
  • Longitude correction and equation of time can now be enabled for shepherd's sundials (7923)
  • Selection of the color of the sundial frame border (7923)
  • Improved and augmented user manual in English and French (7923)

New in Shadows 4.2 Build 7923 Beta 5 (Sep 11, 2018)

  • Sundial background can be colored with a different color outside the solstice arcs
  • Text frames can now be rotated
  • Ability to set the sundial anchor in % or mm independently in X and Y
  • Selection of the color of declination arcs of particular date
  • Drawing of noon line for other cities
  • Change in reclination angle can now exceed +/-90°
  • Display of the sun position on astrolabe rete
  • New preference to display either 0 or 24 on hour labels
  • Longitude correction and equation of time can now be enabled for shepherd's sundials
  • Selection of the color of the sundial frame border
  • Improved and augmented user manual in English and French

New in Shadows 4.1 Build 7375 (Apr 3, 2017)

  • 359 new mottoes added in Italian, Latin, French and German - thanks to Claudio Abächerli
  • New user manual in Brazilian Portuguese - thanks to Juarez Silveira Sant'Anna
  • Possibility to draw a border on an analemmatic sundial

New in Shadows 4.1 Build 7316 (Mar 13, 2017)

  • New lunar ephemeris
  • Larger icons available
  • Improved configuration of sundial frame and layout
  • Option to extend hour lines to a circle around point B
  • Display of analemma ellipse foci

New in Shadows 4.1 Build 7262 (Nov 24, 2016)

  • Display of analemma ellipse foci
  • New lunar ephemeris
  • Larger icons available
  • Improved configuration of sundial frame and layout
  • Option to extend hour lines to a circle around point B
  • Display of analemma ellipse foci

New in Shadows 4.1 Build 7059 (Nov 24, 2016)

  • 1150 new locations (490 in USA, 300 in Brasil, 135 in Canada, ...)

New in Shadows 4.0 Build 6939 (Nov 24, 2016)

  • The color of lines can be changed for Italian, Babylonian and Unequals hours

New in Shadows 4.0 Build 6816 (Sep 1, 2015)

  • New user manual in Czech

New in Shadows 4.0 Build 6753 (Jun 30, 2015)

  • New user manual in Spanish
  • Fix in the direction rose when changing the character font

New in Shadows 4.0 Build 6668 (Jun 30, 2015)

  • Improved drawing of the planispheric and universal astrolabes

New in Shadows 4.0 Build 6639 (Jun 30, 2015)

  • Improved drawing of the mariner's astrolabe
  • Improved drawing of the style schematics

New in Shadows 4.0 Build 6597 Beta 21 (Jan 25, 2015)

  • New translation in Catalan

New in Shadows 4.0 Build 6353 Beta 12 (Jun 9, 2014)

  • New Spider sundial
  • Casted shadow of a circular eyepiece
  • New Starfinder map
  • Hexagonal plate on sundials
  • DXF export is done with layers
  • Export of coordinates of Italian and Babylonian hours to Excel
  • Export of coordinates of Azimuth and Altitude lines to Excel
  • Quick switch of page orientation between Portrait and Landscape
  • Scales text on astrolabes is now exported in DXF
  • Italian hours can be counted from the last sunset or to the next
  • Enhanced Direction rose
  • Text frames can have opaque background
  • Toolbar icons have been redesigned
  • Toolbar icons are available in two sizes: 32x32 and 48x48
  • Improved color selection
  • Automatic reload of the last sundial
  • New dialog for sundial properties
  • Improved drawings with GDI+
  • Line thickness are now specified in millimeters
  • Selection of the copy-paste resolution
  • Improved document zoom
  • Compatible with Windows 8.1
  • New translation in Arabic

New in Shadows 3.5 Build 5836 (Dec 24, 2012)

  • Fix of the DXF export for AutoCAD 2005 and later
  • Fix of azimuth lines on the Solar Graph

New in Shadows 3.5 Build 5792 (Dec 24, 2012)

  • Fix of the AVI video export
  • Fix on changing gnomon height in the Tangent Network, on laptops
  • Brazilian translation updated, thanks to Juarez Silveira Sant'Anna

New in Shadows 3.5 Build 5743 (Dec 24, 2012)

  • Fix of the latitude on a saved planisheric astrolabe
  • Export in DXF of the solar graph and curves of the Equation of time

New in Shadows 3.5 Build 5713 (Sep 3, 2012)

  • Validation of the compatibility with Windows 8

New in Shadows 3.5 Build 5706 (Aug 17, 2012)

  • New type of sundial: polar sundial around the polar axis (5706)
  • New option to draw analemma curves with points only (5706)
  • 700 new places in the location database, in Switzerland (+178), Portugal (+131), USA (+75), Brazil (+36), Australia (+34), Belgium (+31), Chile (+17), Venezuela (+16), Austria (+16), Morocco (+15) and 15 new countries (5706)
  • Fix of the solar graph for southern hemisphere (5706)
  • Fix of hour lines at the edge of the plate (5706)
  • Fix of the horizontal (and vertical H-V) bifilar sundial in southern hemisphere (5706)
  • Fix of sunset/sunrise hours above polar circle (5706)
  • Fix of declination arcs for a sundial above the polar circle (5706)
  • Fix of hour lines on an equatorial if hours span is limited (5706)
  • Fix of spurious lines on half analemma curves (5706)
  • Fix of pointer displacement from keyboard on an universal astrolabe (5706)
  • Fix of URL copy-paste from Google Maps (5706)
  • Update of file name to avoid overwritting previous sundial file after creation of a new one (5706)

New in Shadows 3.4 Build 5409 (Oct 26, 2011)

  • Fix of the shadow view when daylight savings in ON
  • Fix of the Lines numbering dialog
  • Fix of italian and babylonian hour when hour limits are fixed
  • Fix of declination arcs when longitude correction is ON

New in Shadows 3.4 Build 5370 (Sep 15, 2011)

  • New Home page screen based on icons that access directly to the main features
  • Sundial table can be oval or octogonal in addition to rectangular
  • The mariner's astrolabe is now available from Shadows Expert
  • Tables of coordinates are now directly open in Excel or Notepad
  • Coordinate export is now available from the free level of Shadows
  • The table of daily values of the equation of time is now exported to Excel
  • New configuration dialog for hour lines numbers
  • Hour lines can be drawn for every minute
  • Improved graph of duration of days
  • Smoother drawing of the equation of time and of diurnal arcs
  • Export of the coordinates of anniversary arcs
  • Custom locations added by users in previous versions are now recovered automatically
  • Fix of the drawing of the equatorial ruler

New in Shadows 3.3 Build 5287 (Sep 5, 2011)

  • Correction of the DST in the Instant Ephemeris
  • Correction of hour lines extension

New in Shadows 3.3 Build 5232 (Sep 5, 2011)

  • Correction of spurious lines in vertical highly declining sundials
  • Correction of the keyword search in the online help, under Windows 7
  • Removal of a spurious image in the welcome dlg, under Windows 7
  • Correction of the displayed value of point B* in the schematics of the style

New in Shadows 3.3 Build 5185 (Sep 5, 2011)

  • Correction of the ephemeris generator under Windows 7

New in Shadows 3.3 build 5120 (Feb 7, 2011)

  • New mariner's astrolabe (5105)
  • Improved drawing of the back of an astrolabe (5105)
  • Drawing of the noon line of the reference time zone (5105)
  • Drawing of the analemma curve shifted for the reference time zone (5105)
  • Selection of the analemma curve color (5105)
  • Ephemeris updated in real time are now available in freeware version (5105)
  • Correction of an error when loading a sundial file; regression introduced in 5105 (5120)
  • Correction of the DXF export of universal astrolabes (5120)
  • Correction of the database list display (5105)
  • Correction of the DXF export of planispheric astrolabes (5105)

New in Shadows 3.3 build 5105 (Dec 29, 2010)

  • New mariner's astrolabe
  • Improved drawing of the back of an astrolabe
  • Drawing of the noon line of the reference time zone
  • Drawing of the analemma curve shifted for the reference time zone
  • Selection of the analemma curve color
  • Ephemeris updated in real time are now available in freeware version
  • Correction of the database list display
  • Correction of the DXF export of astrolabes

New in Shadows 3.2.2 build 5062 (Dec 13, 2010)

  • New rotation mode on the astrolabe rete (5058)
  • Improvement of the loading of GeoNet files (5043)
  • New full screen mode by F11 (5043)
  • New trial version for 30 days (on request) (5043)
  • Improvement of the detection of a new version with a list of fixes and new features (4962)
  • Configuration of the limit hours of the sundial (4962)
  • Correction of star pointers on an astrolabe for southern hemisphere (5062)
  • Correction of the 24h format on the astrolabe limb (5062)
  • Correction of a shift in the star map on a planispheric astrolabe (bug introduced in build 5048) (5058)
  • Correction of the recovery of licenses installed with old versions (5048)
  • Correction of a crash on some Windows XP versions not supporting SSE2 (5048)
  • Correction of the display of the style shadow on a shepherd's dial (5043)
  • Correction of the sub-style line on an inclined-reclining sundial in southern hemisphere (4962)
  • Correction of an incorrect offset in the table of hour line, when longitude correction is active (4962)

New in Shadows 3.2.1 build 4865 (Dec 13, 2010)

  • Cover images added in the French bibliography (4865)
  • New option to switch North-South pole in the Direction rose (4865)
  • Correction of the shadow casted by a roof (4865)
  • Correction of the date line on an analemmatic (4865)
  • Correction of an error message when loading a sundial (4879)

New in Shadows 3.2.0 build 4844 (Dec 13, 2010)

  • New view: Direction rose (4805)
  • Rewritten Wizards for the creation of sundials and astrolabes (4805)
  • New sundial type: on the external surface of a vertical cylinder (4805)
  • Simplified selection of the sundial's dimension (4805)
  • Support of the longitude correction on an analemmatic sundial (4805)
  • Drawing of sights on the alidade of planispheric astrolabes (4805)
  • New icon to configure the solar panel graph (4805)
  • Resolution of the shadow animation is now 1 minute instead of 5 min (4805)
  • New dialog to register the freeware version (4805)
  • Export of numerals in DXF (4805)
  • New duplication options for image frames (4820)
  • Ability to move frames using keyboard arrows (4820)
  • Improvement of the grid drawn on the page (4805)
  • Correction of the style anchor in distance from upper left corner (4805)
  • Correction of analemma curves on a cylindrical sundial (4805)
  • Correction of the y coordinate sign in the table of hour points on an analemmatic sundial (4805)
  • Correction of the free try period of Shadows Pro (4805)
  • Correction of the frame anchor management (4820)
  • Correction of the loading of lower side of equatorial sundials (4820)
  • Correction of the min hight indication for the style of analemmatic sundials (4820)
  • Correction of the Graph of efficiency of a Solar Panel (4844)

New in Shadows 3.1.1 build 4638 (Dec 13, 2010)

  • Selection of colours on astrolabes (4610)
  • Correction of the equatorial sundial in southern hemisphere (4610)
  • Correction of the edition of colours (4610)
  • Correction of the edition of line thickness (4638)
  • Correction of importation of locations from Google Earth (4624)

New in Shadows 3.1.0 build 4581 (Dec 13, 2010)

  • New type of astrolabe: Universal astrolabe (4525)
  • Drawing of the astrolabe's throne (4525)
  • Precession taken into account on astrolabes (4581)
  • Translation of the user interface into Greek, by Vangelis Skarmoutsos (4525)
  • Translation of Help files into German, by Karl-Peter Emmelmann (4525)
  • Drawing of unequal hours, italic and babylonic hours on the planispheric astrolabe (4525)
  • New high resolution copy-paste (4525)
  • Improved schematic of the style for a sundial (4525)
  • Correction of UT in the instant ephemeris (4525)

New in Shadows 3.0.2 build 4337 (Dec 13, 2010)

  • Separation of the creation of sundials and astrolabes. (4377)
  • Modification of the start-up dialog. (4377)
  • New example sundials and astrolabes. (4377)
  • Improved installation of the license by copy-paste of the code. (4377)
  • Correction of the DXF export of the flatten down style. (4377)
  • Correction of the change in the location of an astrolabe. (4377)

New in Shadows 3.0.1 build 4331 (Dec 13, 2010)

  • Update of the Polish translation (by Maciej Michalski). (4331)
  • Update of the Russian translation (by Alexei Kroutjakov).
  • DXF Export of astrolabe drawings. (4189)
  • Correction of a crash when moving up or down a point in the horizon mask. (4331)
  • Correction of the hour of meridian crossing in the ephemeris table. (4331)
  • Correction of the printing of the back of an astrolabe. (4248)
  • Correction of the shadow drawn on a horizontal analemmatic. (4219)
  • Correction of the date line on an analemmatic (when scaled in date). (4219)
  • Correction of hour labels on an analemmatic. (4219)
  • Correction of a crash when drawing the upper side of an equatorial sundial. (4219)
  • Correction of a crash when drawing a declining vertical dial made in southern hemisphere. (4219)
  • Correction of the Qibla azimut, for some latitudes. (4219)
  • Correction of values in the Equinoxial table that where in cm instead of mm. (4219)
  • Improvement of the detection of a corrupted license file. (4219)
  • Correction of a crash on the animation of the shadow, under Windows Vista. (4219)
  • Correction of a spurious line when drawing an anniversary line. (4219)
  • Correction of hours in the table of declination arcs, if longitude correction is active. (4219)
  • Correction of the sub-style angle given in the Technical datasheet, for East and West vertical dials. (4219)
  • Correction of a shift in zodiacal signs on a sheppherd's dial. (4219)
  • Improvement of DXF export on sundials. (4189)
  • Correction of a spurious line in the drawing of an anniversary arc. (4196)
  • Correction of the sub-style angle of vertical East or West sundial, in the Technical Datasheet. (4196)
  • Correction of the time displayed in the coordinate table of declination lines, when using the longitude correction. (4196)

New in Shadows 3.0.0 build 4168 (Dec 13, 2010)

  • New option in the selection of drawing types on a sundial
  • Improvement of the resolution when copying or exporting in EMF format
  • Correction of a graphical bug in the drawing of the astrolabe's rete. (4167)
  • Correction of values divided by 10 in the table of hour points on an analemmatic sundial.(4162)
  • Correction of values divided by 10 in the table of analemma curves. (4162)
  • Correction of the selection of font size. (4162)
  • Correction of spurious lines in the analemma curves. (4162)
  • Correction of the drawing of solstices when drawing date or declination arcs. (4162)
  • Update of the Polish translation. (4162)

New in Shadows 3.0.0 build 4148 (Dec 13, 2010)

  • New user interface: reorganized menus, icons in menus, new toolbars.
  • Improved dialog boxes.
  • New Preferences dialog box.
  • Creation and animation of planispheric astrolabes.
  • Drawing of temporary and sidereal hours on sundials.
  • Interface with Google Maps to load a location.
  • Importation of GeoNet location files.
  • Multiple drawings at the same time on a sundial.
  • Numbering of lines with font selection.
  • Polar Solar graph.
  • Graph of sunset and sunrise hours (with twilights).
  • Graph of visibility of a meridian dial.
  • Determination of a sundial's parameters from a photo.
  • Exportation of the shadow's animation in a video file (AVI).
  • Animation of the sundial in latitude, and exportation in AVI file.
  • Animation of the sundial in orientation, and exportation in AVI file.
  • Display of rulers around the view.
  • Display and printing of a helper grid.
  • Ephemeris: calculation of the date of Easter, and the Qibla.
  • Replacement of the random draw by a try period during 2 hours every 7 days.