Aeon Timeline Version 0.9.0 (Final Beta Series)

Aeon Timeline version 0.9 is now available for download.

This is feature-complete for what I intend to be the first official release. Other 0.9.x betas may be released to fix any final bugs that are found in the software, but new additions to functionality will not be made until after the commercial release.

There are a number of very good suggestions that have been pushed to the post-1.0 list, and I intend to implement many of them after the commercial release, but after more than three years of work, I need to draw the beta period to a close and actually get some return on all of the time  I have invested.

This version improves a few key areas of Aeon Timeline that were still lacking in the last version, as well as adding some finishing polish to the remaining application.

Here is a summary of changes for this version:

IMPROVED SCRIVENER SYNCHRONIZATION

Synchronizing with Scrivener has been improved in a number of ways, including: Synchronize more Aeon Timeline data, including start date, end date, label, arc, title, notes and relationships. Ability to synchronise data in both directions at once. Mouse over an existing link to find what information has been updated. Scrivener documents show full binder path, and presented in binder order. Change the action for all selected links at once. I will post more on this in a separate post, as I feel it is an important update in this regard.

ADDITIONS TO EVENT MANIPULATION

Manipulating events is now easier, with the following: All day checkbox (like iCal), that hides the time component of the date picker and sets an event to last the whole day. Ability to lock events to a fixed date so that they cannot be accidentally moved by mouse or keyboard actions. Context menu additions to bulk add or remove a tag from all selected events. Ability to cut, copy, paste and duplicate events within a file or across Aeon files. Ability to rename and delete saved filters.

IMPROVED CALENDAR CREATION/SELECTION

Some usability quirks have been fixed, including: Access to Calendar Setup etc. now available directly from File menu, not just through New menu. Ability to load a calendar from an existing timeline file (for portability). Ability to re-order months, days, eras by drag and drop in the table view. Ability to rename calendar components via Timeline Settings after a timeline is created.

MORE GENERAL PREFERENCES

General Preferences has been updated to include: Ability to re-open files when starting Aeon Timeline (Snow Leopard/Leopard only). Option to have Day/Month versus Month/Day setting to follow system default. Two options for how events are vertically arranged on the screen. Option to have a bold line for selected events. Option to mark events that have notes with a dot in the Timeline View

BUG FIXES

Version 0.9.0 also fixes the following bugs: Current zoom and scroll position correctly reloaded when opening a file. Display HUD remembers its position each launch. Fixed bug that could lose entity notes. Zoom using toolbar or shortcuts does not lose current position. Fixed potential crash when converting very old Timeline files to new format Fixed potential crash when creating a new calendar.

Follow the link for upgrade information.

Aeon Timeline supports automatic updates, which means you will be notified whenever an update is available, and able to download it directly within the program. If the program does not alert you automatically, you can choose ‘Check for Updates…’ from the Aeon Timeline menu.

Alternatively, you can download the latest version of the application by clicking on the Latest Version link at the top of the Blog page. The last beta was downloaded more than 500 times, and I hope even more users will test out this latest version. If you know other users who may be interested in the program and the direction the program is taking, please encourage them to take a look.