software . lter.limnology.wisc.edu

With the transition to a completely new system, the NTL LTER information managers will start giving more attention to the software website. Content updates will happen more frequently as we upgrade various applications. Stay tuned!

MobileFish 5.1 has been released. This new version is the new baseline stable version for MobileFish. Changes include new species in the Statics database, Vista support, and selected UI enhancements. Full notes follow.

Changes in MobileFish 5.1 Release:

• BLACKSTRPTOPMINNOW, GRASSPICKEREL, and SLIMYSCULPIN have been added to the statics database.
• Adding a fish with code NF will no longer prompt for a length.
• Select/Close on the Select Data Set window have been changed to OK/Cancel to clarify their functions.

The latest release of Z3, v3.6.0.25, has been released. This version includes a default report generator, so you no longer need to know any SQL to make your own report types. Now when you create your own schema in the schema editor, Z3 will automatically create the proper queries to export your data.

There are now two Export options on the File menu in Z3.
File -> Export Measurements... is the new option. This will dump all your data in a format similar to the sample schema's default report type.

The Z3 Schema Editor has been released. Please read the list of notes and find the URL at http://software.lter.limnology.wisc.edu/Z3/Schema

With the hotkey and mouse hook support in Z3, it's important to watch and make sure you are not adding any stray data points, especially counts or egg counts. Here are some tips to keep your data safe.

The biggest points here are: Watch your Data Points Display, and click Stop Counting if you're not actively counting!

As you may have heard, Z3 3.5.0.10 is the latest version of Z3 which encompasses all the work Montz and Strommen did this past weekend. Please note that a new Zooplankton Schema is also available, which fixes some issues with the last one. Please take a chance to download the Schema... it doesn't update itself. But the application does!

If you have data in workspaces based on the old schema, please make sure you have the right Export Format (available on this site) so that you can get your data out. The version of the schema is not as important as the ability to process your data!

The Export Format is now INCLUDED IN THE SCHEMA. The old one is provided below for reference, if you are still using the old version of the schema that doesn't provide a default report type.

If you previously downloaded the Sample Schema, please delete it and download the new one.

A Schema (*.z3s) defines how your data should be grouped and stored. It defines what kinds of Data Sets you use and what information is stored about each kind of data set. It defines meaningful taxonomies for identification and what kinds of information is stored about each kind of entity. It restricts things like "You can identify at the Species or Species/Sex/Stage level, but not the Genus level." Now, it can also contain Report Types and Species Lists.
-> A Schema is a template for Workspaces.

I am preparing to release the new version of Z3, version 3.5. As I explained in an email to the users, the Z3 code has been completely restructured--not "rewritten" for the most part, but regrouped. Once it was clear which unit of code performed which task, and what task each unit should limit itself to doing, the errors present in Z3 3.4 largely went away.

However, this process brought new issues to light, and you may notice that Z3 3.5 interacts with you slightly differently. This document gives an overview of all the issues with Z3 3.4 and the changes introduced to fix them. Once you begin counting, you should review the updated Counting Interactions.