Alma, you're better than the tooth fairy, who, reputation notwithstanding, doesn't always grant wishes. The latest version does just about everything one needs for making useful route diagrams.

One remaining feature I'd like to see is the automatic saving of the data layer whenever a diagram is saved. I guess some folks might not like this because of the proliferation of files. So perhaps the best solution would be for the save command to bring up a dialog box asking whether or not to save the data layer (with the default being "yes," in my opinion).

If the data layer is going to be saved, the program should automatically name it and then display the standard save dialog box, giving the user the opportunity to change the name of the data layer in case, for example, they want to create a history of edits, or perhaps want one data layer optimized for color rendition and another data layer optimized for black and white rendition.

By the way, I think you could also drop a feature---namely, the basic photo editing functions. I would think that anyone doing this already has access to photo-editing software, which would typically be used to prepare the photo before using BetaCreator.

Not to raise a possibly very touchy subject, but I for one think it is entirely appropriate for you to be paid at least a modest shareware fee for all your efforts...

Since you're asking for feedback on this one, sometimes I'd rather save different data files than overwrite the old ones.
I use your program for drawing route guides, but also for planning trad projects, and very often the actual climbed route might look different than the project, so I'd like to have different data files for comparison.

Thank you again for this program, which as rgold said "does just about everything one needs for making useful route diagrams"

This is such an awesome tool. Thanks for all of your work setting it up, and also for posting all the topos in Rock Canyon. I will definitely be using this to post up topos of Am Fork and LCC. I hope you get lots of good karma for all this.

Alma, I think it is a bad idea to automatically overwrite the data layer without giving the user the choice to intervene.

My suggestion: upon saving, bring up a dialog box that says,

"Route diagram saved. Replace previous data layer with current one?"

This would have a yes/no option---I'd prefer "no" to be the default, but either works.

If the user selects "no," then they get the standard save dialog box with the option to change the data layer name. If they select "yes," then the previous data layer is overwritten. The comment about the route diagram being saved is meant to allay user fears that appropriate saving may not have happened.

There is a small problem with this (which I think users of free software will have no problem overlooking). The dialog really shouldn't refer to a "previous" data layer the first time the file is saved. Ideally, for the first save, there should be no dialog; after that a dialog like the one above would appear.

I finally downloaded your app after reading about it all this time; it's really quite nifty and easy to use. Thanks for sharing!

JL

I just downloaded the newest version after not having done so since the original release. Man. This thing is cool!

One thing that would be nice but not at all necessary: using ctrl + the scroll wheel on the mouse to zoom in and out and/or an option where you can choose what percent of zoom to view the image (ex: 25%, 100%, 200%, etc).

Again, great job.

Just some ideas for further development(or some wishes for the Betamaster Fairy) :o)

- a background color for the belay tool (the same option as for the text)?

- some line editing tools like "explode" (for breaking the line into separate segments that can be than modified independently (color, pattern), or a tool for moving around the bending points of a line instead of moving the whole line. Of course, these tools would be active only if the line was not converted to curves. (Maybe some kind of Bezier tool for editing curves ?!)

I'm pretty satisfied at this point with what you've got (of course one can always add features that will be useful). I do like the idea of being able to fill the belay symbols.

Here is a very minor tweak that will, I think, be very helpful. When saving, the first save dialog box is for the .jpg, which is as it should be. When the second dialog box for the data layer comes up, it would be very nice if the default file name that is displayed would be the name for the .jpg with, instead, .bcd appended.

What happens now is that the dialog box displays the .jpg file name in the data layer save dialog, which means that if you accidentally just accept the file name, the data layer overwrites the .jpg and you have no picture, just a data layer labeled as a .jpg.

If you didn't sensibly have the original .jpg saved under some other name, you could permanently lose your picture this way.

Win Xp SP3 here, no such problem.
When I save the picture for the first time there's no default name or extension for it (the field is blank). The same for the data file.
When I save it again, the program "remembers" the name of the file and displays it by default.

Windows XP. It happened to me once, but I haven't been able to replicate the problem---everything has worked as advertised since. The one time occurred while editing an old file (created with one of the earlier versions).

Version 1.4.2 (8/25/09)
- Added mouse wheel zooming (use alt/option key)
- Modified zoom stops
- Optimized rendering performance while zooming
- Added What's New window on first run

Having just used it, real quick, as a test, it's freakin' awesome. Thanks, Alma!

Thank you!

Version 1.5.0 (8/27/09)
- Added undo and redo under edit menu
- Added keyboard shortcuts for line size
- Fixed bug with saving data files

That's right...

UNDO AND REDO!!!!

So this program is AWESOME!

on a side note, does anyone else find it hilarious that a program designed for route marking has Delicate Arch for an icon? Is this a subtle hint that dean was just ahead of the curve?

Undo/redo is a really great additon. Betacreator is getting close to perfection for the job.
The only feature I'm still missing is a color background for the belay tool (the same option as for the text would be quite useful)
Thank you

Version 1.5.1 (8/28/09)
- Fixed undo and redo bugs
- Added new help menu

Sorry to those who had trouble with the undo/redo functions. Hope it's all better now.

Version 1.6.0 (8/31/09)
- Added line point editing (double click)
- Undo last segment while drawing a line
- Improvements to file saving process
- Scroll wheel zooming uses control/command key
(This was required to fix an annoying bug with the alt key.)

AWESOME !
And the line point editing works on curves too...
Thank you

Version 1.6.1 (9/2/09)
- Added translucent background for rappel/belay
- Added help documentation under help menu
- Fixed bugs with Match All to Selected Color
- Fixed bugs with Change All to Selected Size
- Fixed bug with line point editing

Hopefully the background on the rappel/belay tool makes it stand out better for you all. It was my best effort of doing something similar to the text box backgrounds.

Hi Alma,
Your "best effort of doing something similar to the text box backgrounds" on the rappel/belay tool is more than enough. Great job!

I might be just splitting hairs, but for a few colors (shades of green: #00ff00 to #00ff66, #33ff00 and #33ff33, #66ffoo) the background for the belay tool should be the dark one for better contrast.

Thank you for your work.

Version 1.6.2 (9/8/09)
- Fixed bug with panning after saving
- Fixed bug with moving objects
- Improved algorithm for text/belay background

The contrast should be much better for text background colors and the belay/rappel tool.