MicroSurvey STAR*NET V7 Release Notes

Release History

MicroSurvey STAR*NET 7 (v7.0.0) - July 8, 2011

MicroSurvey STAR*NET 7 SP1 (v7.1.0) - September 9, 2011

MicroSurvey STAR*NET 7 SP2 (v7.2.0) - May 31, 2012

MicroSurvey STAR*NET 7 SP2.1 (v7.2.1) - September 18, 2012

MicroSurvey STAR*NET 7 SP2.2 (v7.2.2) - December 21, 2012

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Important Notes

Activating or Updating your USB License Key

If you are licensing MicroSurvey STAR*NET for the first time, you will need to activate your new USB License Key using the USB License Manager program on a computer with internet access.

If you are upgrading from Starplus STAR*NET, you will need to activate your new USB License Key using the USB License Manager program on a computer with internet access.

If you are upgrading from MicroSurvey STAR*NET 6, you will need to update your existing USB License Key using the USB License Manager program on a computer with internet access.

If you are upgrading from MicroSurvey STAR*NET 7.0 or 7.1, you will need to update your existing USB License Key using the USB License Manager program on a computer with internet access.

A copy of the USB License Manager program is automatically installed with MicroSurvey STAR*NET, or it can be downloaded from our online Helpdesk system and installed separately onto another computer which has internet access.

Please refer to the following topic for detailed instructions about activating or updating your key.

You might not be required to update your USB key to run certain MicroSurvey STAR*NET Service Pack updates. For a detailed explanation of MicroSurvey's Maintenance Subscription Support Plan (MSSP) program, and how we use product version numbers and USB keys, you can can refer to the following online article.

If your Maintenance Subscription has not yet expired, you can use the USB License Manager to update your key to work with the most current version. You can confirm the expiry date for the MSSP by going to the About screen found in the Help menu. Each USB License Key has its own maintenance subscription plan, so if you have multiple keys it is possible that they may each have a different expiry date.

If your MSSP has expired, you can phone us at 1-800-668-3312 to renew it. Without a current maintenance subscription plan, you will not be able to update your key to work with the new version.

System Requirements

MicroSurvey STAR*NET 7 is compatible with 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Microsoft Windows XP SP3/SP2, Windows Vista SP2, and Windows 7 SP1.

Full Administrator Privileges are required to install MicroSurvey STAR*NET 7, but it can be run by limited user accounts.

A free USB port is required for connecting the USB License Key (to either the local workstation or the license server, as appropriate)

MicroSurvey STAR*NET 7 does not have any other hardware requirements above and beyond what is required by your version of Microsoft Windows.

MicroSurvey License Server for Network License Users

Users who have purchased a network license will need to install a copy of the MicroSurvey Network License software. The MicroSurvey Network License Server program has not changed since the release of MicroSurvey CAD 2008 8.0.0. This installation is only necessary for users who are setting up a MicroSurvey network license for the first time.

If you have purchased a Network License and are setting it up for the first time, you can download the Network License Server application from our online Helpdesk system.

Note: You will be required to enter a password in order to install the Network License Server.

 

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Online Resources

Release Notes

For a current version of this document, please visit the MicroSurvey STAR*NET V7 Release Notes topic in our online helpdesk.

Upgrade Notes

For information on upgrading from a previous version of Starplus STAR*NET or MicroSurvey STAR*NET, please visit the MicroSurvey STAR*NET V7 Upgrade Notes topic in our online helpdesk.

Known Issues

For a list of known issues, please visit the MicroSurvey STAR*NET V7 Known Issues topic in our online helpdesk.

Training Movies

For over 16 hours of training movies that you can watch online or download for offline viewing, please visit the Training Movies topic in our online helpdesk.

Technical Support

MicroSurvey provides free 24x7 self-support to all users via our online helpdesk at http://helpdesk.microsurvey.com/ where you can find knowledgebase articles, downloads, and a troubleshooter. This is a good starting point for any problems that are now answered in your Help file and Manuals.

For technical support, please visit our helpdesk at http://helpdesk.microsurvey.com/ to submit a helpdesk ticket to our technical support staff. If you do not have internet access you can phone our office at 1-800-668-3312 or 1-250-707-0000 and a ticket can be entered for you.

Technical Support is provided free of charge for 90-days following the purchase of your MicroSurvey product. Following this introductory period, additional technical support is available via your Maintenance Subscription Support Plan (MSSP).

To purchase or renew your MSSP, please phone MicroSurvey Software at 1-800-668-3312 or 1-250-707-0000 or visit our online store at store.microsurveysales.com.

 

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MicroSurvey STAR*NET 7 (v7.0.0) Notes

New Features

Integrated Data Editor

STAR*NET 7 has a fully integrated data editor, which offers customizable syntax highlighting (colors/fonts), bookmarking and jumping to bookmarked lines, and no more need for an external text editor like notepad (although that’s still an available option)

Customizable Interface

STAR*NET 7 has a brand-new interface which is highly customizable to suit your specific workflow or preferences - move and resize panels, collapse and expand panels, stack panels into a tabbed interface, dock panels into the main interface or leave them floating, customize the toolbars and menus, use small or large toolbar icons, and more!

Find Point

An advanced Find Point tool allows you to quickly locate and jump to any references of a specific point ID in any of your input data files, by double-clicking a point name in any of the output files (Listing, Coordinates, Ground, Lat/Long, Error Log, Dump, etc). No more pouring through thousands of lines of data codes looking for references to a specific point, a simple double-click now does all of this eye-straining work for you!

Differential Levelling Loop Closure Check

Quickly detect loop closure errors in your level networks using the new Level Loop Check command found in the Run menu. This is a powerful blunder detection tool for leveling data!

GPS Vector Loop Closure Check

Quickly detect loop closure errors in your GPS vector networks using the new GPS Loop Check command found in the Run menu. This is a powerful blunder detection tool for GPS data!

Point Aliasing

A new ".ALIAS" inline option is available which you can use to define point aliases by explicitly naming the aliases, or by specifying a prefix, suffix, or additive number to define an aliasing scheme that corresponds with your field procedures. A point can then be aliased by one or more points with non-unique point names that get translated to another point name. Note, aliased points are not currently identified by the new Find Point tool.

Lost Stations

A new ".LOSTSTATIONS" inline option is available to identify points which are obliterated or no longer physically available. Lost stations will be included in the network processing but can be left off of the resulting plot if desired.

GPS Sideshots

Two new ".GPS NETWORK" and ".GPS SIDESHOT" inline options can be inserted prior to any G1 vector records to define the following vectors either as part of the network or as sideshot type records that are processed after the network has been adjusted so they do not affect the network solution.

GPS Antenna Height Corrections

A new ".GPS AddHiHt [HI] [HT]" inline option is available to specify or correct GPS base and rover antenna height blunders.

Project Manager

A new Project Manager is now available for quickly opening and creating projects.

Template Data File

A new template mechanism allows you to customize a template data file that is automatically added to new projects. For example you can now automatically include coordinate records for your local control network, etc.

2D GPS Adjustments

2D Adjustments of GPS Data is now possible.

EGM2008 Geoid support

The STAR*Geoid extraction utility can now extract data from the EGM2008 geoid for creating STAR*NET-compatible geoid and vertical deflection model files.

NGS OPUS Report support

An importer for reading station data (adjusted coordinates with full covariance matices) from NGS OPUS reports into STAR*NET .gps data files is now available in the GPS Importer.

MicroSurvey FieldGenius support

A conversion utility for MicroSurvey FieldGenius data collection software .raw files. (See the "STAR*FieldGenius Conversion Utility" topic in the help file for more details)

MicroSurvey FieldGenius support

A GPS Vector importer for MicroSurvey FieldGenius data collection software .raw files. (See the "Importing from Selected Baseline File Formats" topic in the help file for more details)

Long Point Name support

A new "Full Point Names" option in the Listing File Options screen prevents long point names from being cut off at 10-characters. This replaces the previously undocumented .LNAMES inline option.

Quick File References

A new "Quick File References" option in the Listing File Options screen allows you to display references to the first occurrence of a file and line number referencing each point. This replaces the previously undocumented .QFILEREF inline option.

Redefinable Fixed StdErr Constants

A new "Fixed Std Err" options group in the General Options screen allows you to redefine the StdErr used when something is defined as "Fixed", previously it was hard coded to 1E-7m or 1.0001E-3 seconds but in rare occasions this had to be loosened to allow certain networks to process. This replaces the previously undocumented .QFIX inline option.

 

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MicroSurvey STAR*NET 7 SP1 (v7.1.0) Notes

New Features

NGS OPUS-RS Report Support

The OPUS report importer now also works with OPUS-RS (Rapid Static) reports.

Trimble JobXML Vector Importer

GPS Vectors can now be imported from Trimble JobXML (*.jxl) data files, via the Vector Importer command directly within STAR*NET-PRO.

Trimble JobXML Conversion Utility

A new standalone STAR*JobXML conversion utility (licensed separately) is now available for importing both conventional and/or GPS data from Trimble JobXML (*.jxl) data files.

Defects Fixed

• [D4737] Listing - Listing file can contain incorrect "Elev Diff" values in the "Summary of Unadjusted Input Observations" and "Adjusted Observations and Residuals" sections, and incorrect "Unadjusted Elev Diff" values in the "Traverse Closures of Unadjusted Observations" section. (Please note, all Elevation values in the listing file are correct.)
• [D4150] Adjustment - An "Input Data File Does Not Exist" error message can occur if data file has a T attribute.
• [D4642] Data Files – when adding data files to a project, you could not select multiple files within the Browse dialog.
• [D4768] DXF Export - Point Elevations can be exported incorrectly in Grid projects, due to geoid separation being applied in the wrong direction.
• [D4756] DXF Export - The default path and filename can be incorrect after opening a .prj project file.
• [D4766] DXF Export - Network Station Connections may not be exported if the Relative Ellipses option is disabled, if they are both a Network Station Connection and a Relative Ellipse Connection.
• [D4767] DXF Export - Description and Elevation labels can stack above eachother in some situations.
• [D4722] DXF Export - The Layers dialog contains an unused, blank column.
• [D4723] DXF Export - The "Reset to StarNet V6" button would incorrectly place spaces into the layer names.
• [D4723] DXF Export - The "Reset to StarNet V6" button has been relabeled "Reset to Factory Defaults."
• [T0906] DXF Export - Improved Layer Defaults are now provided on a clean install. (Note, if you have an existing DXF_Layers.def file it will not be overwritten on install.)
• [D4481] DXF Export – When exporting a DXF file from a Lev project without horizontal coordinates, a dialog now appears showing a list of which coordinates are missing.
• [D4720] GPS Import - When importing vectors from a Leica .asc file, "Incomplete Vector Data" error messages would occur and the import would fail.
• [D4727] GPS Import - When importing vectors from a FieldGenius .raw file, stake shots not stored in the points database would result in "Missing Value Error in Field: point name" errors and the import would fail.
• [D4777] GPS Import - When importing vectors from a Topcon .tvf file, the "Import Descriptors When Present" option may not import descriptions for base receiver points.
• [D4369] GPS Import - When importing vectors, it was possible to overwrite an input file by selecting it as the output file.
• [D4544] GPS Import – The Error Log needs a horizontal scrollbar in order to view long error messages.
• [D4668] GPS Import – The Input Files list needs a horizontal scrollbar in order to view long paths and filenames.
• [D4755] GPS Sideshots - The Special Project Options to produce Error/Warning messages for any Sideshots to a non-unique Point ID were not being honoured for GPS Sideshots.
• [T0781] Network Plot - The "Pan" and "Center on Point" toolbar buttons in the Network Plot have been improved by removing the magnifying glass from their icons.
• [D4080] Points Reformatter - When changing the file extension in the points reformatter tool, the Cancel button acts as a Reset button rather than a typical Cancel button.

 

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MicroSurvey STAR*NET 7 SP2 (v7.2.0) Notes

New Features

Network Plot Imagery

Enhance your network plot with georeferenced raster images and other data files, using local files or online sources.

Over 150 supported file formats including Raster Images, DWG/DXF Drawings, Shapefiles, MrSID, LiDAR, GeoPDF, GeoTIFF, Microstation DGN, ASCII Coordinates, ESRI, ERDAS, Garmin, KML, COLLADA, Sketchup, and many many many more...

Stream online imagery from any WMS (Web Map Service), WCS (Web Coverage Service), OSM (OpenStreetMap Tiles), Google Maps Tiles, or TMS (Tile Map Service) source.

Multilanguage Translations

STAR*NET can now be translated into any language, and STAR*NET dealers and users across the globe are already hard at work translating the program. Please contact MicroSurvey Software Inc for information on specific languages, or to help translate STAR*NET into your language.

STAR*NET and all of the conversion utilities are now Unicode compatible to support non-latin character sets. An option to encode all input and output files as either ANSI or Unicode is available in the new Language Selection dialog.

Defects Fixed

• [D4815] Adjust Network - If a project is adjusted using the default Fixed StdErr constants (linear=1.00000e-007, angular=1.00010e-003) the Station Coordinate Error Ellipses section in the Listing may inappropriately indicate that fixed points have a non-zero error ellipse size, such as a length of 0.000001 on each axis.
• [D4819] Adjust Network - If a project contains both orthometric and ellipsoidal observations to the same point, the error factor of that point may be computed incorrectly.
• [D4817] Adjust Network - If a project filename contains a dot (ie, "my.project.snproj") then that project could not be adjusted.
• [D5084] GPS Sideshots - In a grid project containing GPS sideshots, if geoid modeling is enabled the computed elevations of the GPS sideshots did not have a geoid separation height applied.
• [D5083] GPS Sideshots - In a grid project containing GPS sideshots, the Find and Inverse tools in the network plot did not display the ID of any GPS Sideshots.
• [D4670] GPS Importer - When changing an output filename, a default .gps extension is now added.
• [D4882] GPS Importer - When changing an output filename, the *.dat and *.gps filename filters did not show the matching files.
• [D4883] GPS Importer - When changing an output filename, a crash may occur if you select a reserved filetype.
• [D4811] GPS Importer - When importing Trimble JobXML .jxl files, potential error messages did not include the offending filename.
• [D4901] GPS Importer - When importing Trimble TSC .dc files, a position or vector record that is marked invalid could cause a crash.
• [D4825] OPUS Stations - Blunder detection was not applied.
• [D4826] OPUS Stations - OPUS Centering inline option (.OPUS CENTER value) could not accept a centering factor of zero.
• [D4838] OPUS Stations - OPUS Factor and Centering controls on the GPS Options dialog were not disabled when appropriate.
• [D4888] TDS-Level Converter - If the input level file contains a peg test, it may not convert.
• [T1190] License Manager - Improved error messages have been added to the License Manager utility for easier troubleshooting.

 

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MicroSurvey STAR*NET 7 SP2.1 (v7.2.1) Notes

New Features

Multilanguage Translations

Includes Spanish, Russian, and Chinese Traditional translations. Multilanguage installation package required.

 

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MicroSurvey STAR*NET 7 SP2.2 (v7.2.2) Notes

New Features

Fully Functional Demo

A fully-functional 10-day demo period has been added, during which you can run the fully-featured STAR*NET-PRO edition plus all of the STAR*NET data conversion utilities.

After 10 days, you can continue to run the feature-limited STAR*NET-DEMO edition, which has all the capabilities of STAR*NET-PRO but is limited to an adjustment of 10 stations, 100 observations, and 15 GPS vectors.

Leica DBX Conversion Utility

A new standalone Leica DBX conversion utility (licensed separately) is now available for importing both conventional and/or GPS data from Leica DBX databases.

Several fixes have been implemented since STAR*LeicaDBX v7.2.0.12 which was previously available as a zip download from our website, see details below.

Defects Fixed

• [D5582] Adjustment - A crash could occur while adjusting a network during Cholesky Factorization, this has been fixed.
• [D5845] General - When setting/changing an output filename in the GPS Importer, Point Reformatter, DXF Exporter, or the Conversion Utilities, the default filename may be scrolled to the side making it only partially visible.
• [D5836] GPS Importer - FieldGenius baseline importer can now read the Reference ID and position data which was recently added to the raw raw file as " GNSS Statistics RT: ..." comment records, and it will parse these if the raw file does not contain a BP record to define the base point prior to the rover measurements (ie, when using an NTRIP or GPRS connection, connecting to a permanent base, etc).
• [D5788] Listing - The Listing Index Tree may not jump to the correct line if the "Copy of Input Data File(s)" project listing option is enabled and the input data file(s) are Unicode.
• [D5795] Listing - The "95%" column header in "Adjusted Elevations and Error Propagation" section in the listing file may not appear.
• [D5780] Network License - When using a network USB license, on exiting from the conversion utilities the license was not immediately released.
• [D5036] STAR*FieldGenius - Angles-only Multiset records cause "ERROR: Slope Distance (SD) field missing", this is now accepted as valid input data and the distance is exported as "?".
• [D5420] STAR*FieldGenius - Multiset records may cause "ERROR: Rod Height (HR) field does not match value in previous LineOfSight (LS) record" when using the "Output as 2D Data" option, this has been corrected.
• [D5420] STAR*FieldGenius - Multiset records with varying target heights cause "ERROR: Rod Height (HR) field does not match value in previous LineOfSight (LS) record", this has been changed from an Error to a Warning.
• [D5547] STAR*FieldGenius - Projects in Bearings cause "ERROR: Invalid Field Value (AD)", this is now accepted as valid input data.
• [D5843] STAR*FieldGenius - When using the "Output as 2D Data" option, the 2D coordinate C records occur after a .3D inline command.
• [D5749] STAR*JobXML - Prism Offset values were not applied to EDM distance measurements.
• [D5790] STAR*JobXML - Atmospheric Correction values were not applied to EDM distance measurements.
• [D5584] STAR*JobXML - Distances are always stored internally in the JobXML file as Meters, but they are now automatically scaled and output as Meters/FeetInt/FeetUS depending on project settings.
• [D5583] STAR*JobXML - Conventional stakeout records are not exported. All terrestrial observations with valid Circle or MTA elements are now accepted.
• [D5486] STAR*JobXML - Line Staking records are not eported. All terrestrial observations with valid Circle or MTA elements are now accepted.
• [D5487] STAR*JobXML - Some GPS vectors (with Method=GpsRTKControlPoint and Classification=Normal) are not exported to the data file. All vectors with valid ECEFDeltas elements are now accepted.
• [D5543] STAR*JobXML - Some GPS vectors (with Method=GpsRTKQuickMark) are not exported to the data file. All vectors with valid ECEFDeltas elements are now accepted.
• [D5544] STAR*JobXML - Negative PPM values cause "ERROR: PPM element has invalid value", this is now accepted as valid input data.
• [D5806] STAR*JobXML - Dialog options are not be saved when the utility is closed via the X button in the top-right corner.
• [D5585] STAR*Leica DBX - Points without a defined elevation were exported without a z-coordinate value, causing "ERROR: Unrecognized Input" during adjustment. 2D points are now exported with a "?" z-coordinate value.
• [D5831] STAR*Leica DBX - Averaged GPS measurements were being converted to a fixed coordinate (C record) and commented vectors (G0/G1/G2/G3 records). This has been reversed such that the vectors are no longer commented, but the coordinate is. Additionally, a comment has been added to the end of the C records to indicate their Class, which is useful when reviewing data that contains multiple observations of a point plus its averaged coordinate.
• [D5832] STAR*Leica DBX - GPS antenna height measurements were being output to the G1 records in the selected unit. Like all values in the G1 record, they are now always output in meters.
• [D5835] STAR*Leica DBX - GPS vector covariances were not computed correctly, results now match the same data imported as Leica SKI ASCII format.
• [D5837] STAR*Leica DBX - Browse button doesn't start in the expected folder, it now starts in the same location as the current database folder.
• [D5844] STAR*Leica DBX - If a required Geoid (*.gem) and/or CSCS (*.csc) file is not found when importing a database, the selected Output data file becomes locked until the utility is restarted.
• [D5548] STAR*TSC - Pressing the "Convert" button can cause an "Unable to Open Log File, Conversion not performed!" message.
• [D5567] STAR*TSC - Pressing the "View Log" button can cause the program to stop responding.