New in Echoview 4.60 for all users

Welcome to Echoview 4.60!

Echoview Software is very pleased to announce the release of Echoview 4.60. This version contains many new enhancements across a broad range of program features. We are excited to bring it to you in the knowledge that it is almost guaranteed to improve the depth and efficiency of your acoustic data post-processing, regardless of your processing methodology.

New features are presented in these categories:

New features for all users
New features for users of sonars
New features for users of specific echosounders and sonars

New features for all users

Feature

How it works

Benefit

User interface enhancements

New single target export variable

The Ping_number of a single target is exported with single target data, single target analysis and target length data exports. Ping_number can be useful in correlating single targets with original single beam data or multibeam data.

A useful variable for in-depth analysis of single target data.

Variable and Geometry window enhancement

You can now view and change the variable properties of unavailable variables. This change facilitates work with templates and work with EV files where variables or data files have been removed.

New access to variable properties improves template and EV file workflow.

Auto-synchronized group enhancement

Single beam echograms in an auto-synchronized group now identify the current ping by a dashed line. This line can be dragged with the mouse pointer to control the current ping in other synchronized echograms and cruise tracks.

The feature is also available to single beam echograms associated with Looped multibeam replay.

For more information refer to Auto-synchronization of echograms and cruise tracks.

Better display usability means you can concentrate on analysis.

Create region enhancement

The Vertical band tool is now available for use with the cruise track window for creating (marker) region creation on echograms.

For more information refer to Using cruise tracks - Define a region.

Flexible region creation can improve your echogram scrutinization workflow.

Line edit enhancement

Line editing is now even easier. Use any selection tool together with Recalculate Line or Repick Line on the Shortcut menu to quickly change sections of your editable line.

The Line source setting on the Source page (formerly the Extension page) of the Line Properties dialog box specifies how the selection is recalculated. The Source page is also used to specify line settings to extend the line during live viewing.

For more information refer to:

A flexible line edit technique that can improve your line edit workflow.

User-defined shortcut key assignment

You can now assign your own key combinations to selected Echoview shortcuts. Select Edit under the Keyboard section on the Preferences page of the Echoview configuration dialog box.

For more information refer to User-defined keyboard shortcuts.

Better keyboard shortcut usability can improve your workflow.

Fish track detection enhancement and Fish track edit design change

Improvements to the Fish track detection algorithm mean that you are less likely to create invalid fish tracks.

For the cases where invalid fish tracks are created or where they were created in previous versions of Echoview, edit invalid tracks by selecting Remove Target on the Shortcut menu.

Better techniques to deal with invalid fish tracks.

Additional variable for database exports

The (species).csv file for an analysis export in database format now contains the Process_ID column. Process_ID is a unique identifier for the export.

Refer to the Export page of the EV File Properties dialog box for information about the database format.

This change makes in-depth analysis easier.

Display enhancements

These changes to the echogram display bring consistency and better usability of features.

  • The code for the Echoview status bar and windows that dock is upgraded. These changes introduce:
  • A new button for Messages on the Windows and dialog box toolbar.

  • Click access on the Echoview status bar to Messages and the Live Viewing box.

    Smarter window and title bar behavior while docking windows.
  •  
  • The Color legend dialog box displays the name of the legend, for the active window, in its title.

  • The Layout feature for views on the Variables and Geometry window comes with a progress indicator and now allows you to do other things in Echoview while the layout is changed.
  • You can optionally choose to display bad data or analysis or marker regions with subtle shading when the regions are not active selected. The shading settings are on the Echogram page of the EV File Properties dialog box.
  • Displayed grid labels no longer overlap.
  • F10 is the new shortcut to display the Filesets window. For other handy shortcut keys refer to About keyboard shortcuts.
  • Single beam echograms in an Auto-synchronized group identify the current ping by a dashed line. This line can be dragged with the mouse pointer to control the current ping in other synchronized echograms and cruise tracks.
  • A transparent scale bar for the Cruise track window that does not obscure the cruise track.
  • The color scheme name now appears on the title bar of the Color legend dialog box.
  • The display of echograms is optimized to update only the visible parts of the echogram - this will speed up redraw times.

Better display usability means you can concentrate on analysis.

New Operators and Operator enhancements

Enhancement to the Analysis export module

The Analysis export module now allows the use of the TS to Sv and Sv to TS operators. This change enables you to create a suitable variable for single target detection.

Equitable access to Echoview's single target detection operators for all supported data formats.

Formula operator enhancements

Echoview is pleased to offer significant improvements to the performance and usability of the Formula operator and Formula editor window.

The Element toolbar (formerly the Operator toolbar) can now be moved and the selection tool displays the icon of the current element. The toolbar supports these new elements:

vpbs

Multibeam data element

b

Beam element

Angular Position

Minor-axis angle

Major-axis angle

,

Constants

sin(), asin()
cos(), acos()
tan
(), atan(), atan2()

Basic trigonometric elements that allow you to work with angular position data.

In addition, the Edit menu offers multiple action Undo and Redo.

Better display usability and operator performance means that it is easier to create formula expressions.

TS substitution operator enhancement

This operator now offers TS uncomp as value that you can substitute for TS.

A wider choice of substitution values gives you more ways to analyze your data.

New Echocheck file support

 

We are pleased to announce Echocheck support for the following file formats:

  • .ddf files for DIDSON file format version DDF_04
  • .eve files for Echoview data export (to Eonfusion)

Scripting and COM object enhancements

We continue to develop support for scripting using COM object automation. The key advantage of this automation model is that Echoview can pass information back to the script. It is now possible for scripts to make informed decisions, request decisions from the user, and pass information from Echoview to the user.

 

It is important to note that COM automation is in a developmental state and that we cannot guarantee backwards compatibility in future versions.

For more information about the COM objects in Echoview 4.60 refer to Scripting with COM objects.

If you are interested to know more about COM automation, please contact us for further information.

COM object enhancements

View the additions to the COM object navigation tree and updated COM object listing on the Scripting with COM objects page for information on how these new COM objects, methods and properties enhance Echoview's support for COM scripting.

Clear information about Echoview COM objects makes writing COM scripts easier.

Performance improvements and other changes

Fish track detection algorithm bug fix

A bug in the auction process of the fish track detection algorithm is fixed.

The bug lead to a less than optimal fish track detection when the Exclusion distance setting on the Algorithm page of the Track Detection Properties dialog box was not the same order of magnitude as the expected changes in position.

Export task scripting design change

The script command: Variable.Calibration.ApplyTVGRangeCorrection has been removed from the scripting code and the help file documentation.

Further documentation

  • Additional text describing the clear specification of dates in ASCII files, when the files are used to add data in Echoview.
  • Additional text about effect of the platform's position variable and along-track display. Refer to Using cruise tracks - Along track notes section for more information.
  • Additional information about Floating point overflow exception messages and crashes. Refer to Solutions to common problems for more information.
  • Revised information on the Computer requirements page including support (with caveats) for Microsoft Vista 32 bit Edition and Microsoft Vista 64 bit Edition operating systems.
  • Screenshots of Eonfusion visualization of data exported in the EVE format from Echoview. Refer to Exporting to Eonfusion for more information.
  • New entries on the References page for the following topics: Background noise removal, Horizontal beaming and Virtual echograms.
  • Updated entries for the Echoview beta features page.

New features for Multibeam, Imaging and Scanning sonar users

Feature

How it works

Benefit

User interface enhancements

Display enhancements

These changes to the echogram display bring consistency and better usability of features.

  • The multibeam replay rate can now be specified as a Pings per second value on the Echogram page of the EV File Properties dialog box. Replay performance is improved for DIDSON files that applied Cluster Size Over Thresholding (CSOT) or for files that are unsatisfactory at other replay settings.
  • Assign your own shortcut keys to replay controls or to increment or decrement the multibeam replay rate. For more information refer to User-defined keyboard shortcuts.

Better display usability means you can concentrate on analysis

 

New Operators and Operator enhancements

Operator performance enhancements

  • Enhancements to selected data manipulation and multibeam operators has improved the display performance for multibeam target detection data up to the current ping. The improvement will be most noticeable when the current ping is far from the last ping.
  • Multibeam target detection and analysis is faster as a result of performance improvements for the Beam median filter 3x3, Beam dilation filter 3x3, Beam erosion filter 3x3 operators.
  • For a dual-core processor the generation and display of multibeam target detection and target conversion echograms is up to twice as fast.

Improvements in display time saves you analysis time.

Enhancements to the Multibeam target detection operator

You can now specify how the TS of the detected target is calculated. The setting Target strength source on the Multibeam Target Detection page of the Variable Properties dialog box offers Mean Sv method or the new Maximum Sv method.

Other changes to the Multibeam target detection operator include:

  • Two very useful target properties (to calculate):

    Target length across beams - this property is faster to calculate than the Target_length property and it can be more accurate for situations where fish are swimming perpendicular to the central beam.

Target range extent - this property can be correlated to target swim-shape and "tail beat" rate.

  • A new Target page on the Variable properties dialog box to select which target properties to calculate.

Following on, new target properties offered by the Target property threshold operator and included with single target exports include:

  • Angle minor axis
  • Angle major axis
  • Target_length_across_beams
  • Target_range_extent

For more information refer to Target properties from multibeam data.

These new features enhance multibeam target detection workflow and the analysis of multibeam targets.

New Multibeam target overlay operator

The new Multibeam target overlay operator allows you to display multibeam data under specified multibeam targets. This makes it easier for to compare the detected targets with the original raw data.

This new feature enhances the analysis of multibeam targets.

Performance improvements and other changes

Help file amendments

New features for users of specific echosounders and sonars

There may be specific 4.60 features for your echosounder or sonar, please take a minute to check what's new!

See also

 Echoview Release History