Release Notes UnicView AD Software

New firmware selection

The old firmware selection dialog has been removed from System Configuration, and replaced with display a simple selection box for Family and Class options:

The "New Project" dialog has been updated too, with a new part number identification picture to help you identify your LCM:

Family J Class L LCM support

UnicView AD can now be used to create projects for the recently-released Class L LCMs.

UnicView Terminal 2.0.0

UnicView Terminal has been updated! A few minor bugs have been fixed, but the really great news our new plugin:

Now you can download your project into the LCM using UnicView Terminal! This is very useful to layout the objects in your project and quickly see them in action, without using flash drives or SD cards.

This plugin is still in experimental stage, so please let us know if you find any bugs!

Project backup options

Automatic project backup has been improved, to help prevent data loss:

• Automatic backup is now enabled by default (this is a global option, not per-project).

• Backup files are now saved to the "AppData" folder (no longer to the project folder), and there's a button to open that folder.

Screenshot location

Screenshots are now also saved to the "AppData" folder.

"Save on build" option

The "Save Project on Successful Build" option is now also enabled by default (this is a global option, not per-project).

Resource compilation results

Now there's more available information about the compilation of the project Resources. This is particularly useful for low-memory LCMs, like the Class L ones.

"Fill with zeros" and "JPEG Image Compilation" settings removed

The compilation process is now more efficient, and you no longer need to worry about these settings, so, they were removed.

New licensing system

UnicView AD is now using a more robust licensing system. It is less error-prone, and fixes a problem that prevented Windows 7 users to validate their licenses.

You can continue using your existing licensing, but previous UnicView AD versions are no longer supported as of September 2020.

.NET Framework version

UnicView AD now uses .NET Framework 4.7.2. The old .NET Framework 4.0 is no longer a dependency.

Canvas panel bugs

We fixed a bug that caused the Properties panel to not work properly when the Canvas was zoomed-in or out.

This fix also reduced the maximum CPU usage by 80%!

"Proculus_2" drive removed from drive selection

This drive caused confusion and sometimes would brick your LCM, so it was removed.

Custom font import

This was a highly requested feature! Now you can import custom fonts created in other projects, right in the Font Resources panel.

Attention: Only fonts created on UnicView AD V1.11.0 or newer can be imported.

JPEG background images for Family J LCMs

Now can select the output image format for Family J LCMs as either BMP or JPEG.

Simply check "Settings/Compile to JPEG when available" to enable JPEG images for Family J. Family V is still JPEG-only.

Cut, copy, paste

Sometimes you may forget how to copy and paste objects using the Windows hotkeys, so we've added a few things to the Canvas panel context menu (the mouse right-click menu):

Cut, Copy, Paste and Select All

The classic tools, now at the tip of your mouse!

Select all objects of the same type

Now you can select all objects of a specific type (or types).

Preview for Numeric Display (custom font)

While Text Display already shows a nice preview when using custom fonts, it's time for Numeric Display to join the party!

Object selection using TAB key

Sometimes it's hard to select a specific object when there's a lot of them at the same place. To make this easier, now you can use the TAB key to select specific objects.

"Font Type" and "Select Font" swapped around to better relay the correct order of operations.

"Software Control"-enabled controls now have a different color on the Canvas.

Better quality for compiled JPEG images.

Firmware incompatibility message shown when opening the Modbus Settings window was removed.

All Properties of base types Coordinates or Area are now auto-scaled on resolution changes.

Font generation algorithm changed: Characters are no longer aligned to the left of the character box, and control characters are no longer drawn, reducing the overall character box size.

Image resource selection for many screens (different) now ordering the Screens by PicId, not by creation sequence.

"Auto-Send Data" Property from "Touch Status" control removed.

Modbus addressing is not restricted to 0x6FFF anymore, enabling curve writing.

An uncommon error that could freeze the software when sending objects back or forward on the Canvas panel is fixed.

UnicView Terminal released!

UnicView Terminal is the new communication terminal embedded in UnicView AD that replaces the older "Serial Terminal".

Features:

• Plugin-based: Every panel is a modular plugin that can be separately updated. We will release new plugins and updates regularly, adding new features and enhancing productivity.
• Modern look: UnicView Terminal is the first step towards the updated technology we're developing for future releases in the UnicView platform, more flexible and modern-looking.

• Fully compatible with PAB_02: UnicView Terminal is fully compatible with our new USB tool PAB_02. It's also compatible with standard COM devices.

• Multiple windows: You can open multiple UnicView Terminal instances by clicking the "Open New Window" dropdown menu:

Project download to LCM will be unavailable for a few UnicView AD releases.

Display model selection at project creation

Now you have to select the LCM (Display) model when creating new projects:

This provides automatic firmware and resolution selection.

You can also select generic LCMs based on the Family (V or J).

New installer technology

The new installer technology enables much more features to be included during installation. Among them:

• More stable and cleaner installation/uninstallation.
• Better Windows shortcuts.
• Automatic path to the current installation path.
• Additional products bundled with UnicView AD (like UnicView Terminal).
• Better setup customization.
• Dependencies included (Visual C++, for example).

The new installer will uninstall UnicView AD older versions before installing.

News and Resources

UnicView AD has a new face!

Now you can access Documentation, Demonstration Projects, Firmware Files, Release Notes, and more, directly from UnicView AD.

We'll publish news and future resources in this page, so you can get the latest information about AD LCM products and services as soon as they are released.

You can quickly switch between the current project and the "News and Resources" view clicking the blue button at the top of the application:

License expiration warnings

When your license is about to expire, the software will display a warning message:

And when your license is expired, the software will display this message:

Project Compression

In older versions, if you tried to compress a project with images containing special characters, those images would be broken.

Now you can compress any project, even with special characters.

Initial Values and Compilation

In older versions, using initial values in Display Variables would sometimes prevent successful project compilation, showing these errors:

This problem is now corrected.

PicId References

When you move Screens up and down in the "Screens" panel, changing its PicId, the FxId and JumpId Properties of all Objects change to keep their references updated.

The following Object Properties now also keep updated when moving PicIds:

Cursor Origin Description

The description of "Cursor Origin" Property of RTC Input corrected (top-left changed to top-right).

Several Object Properties that didn't accept negative numbers now accept both positive and negative numbers.

Please notice that projects with negative numbers can't be opened on UnicView AD versions lower than 1.8.1.

Affected Object Properties:

References no longer get corrupt when deleting or moving Icon and Font Libraries.

You can re-open the Release Notes in the "Help" menu.