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Well, that must be the longest run-up to a main release in the history of LSS. We have been working on version 9.70 for over a year and never thought we would make it before the year end. However, LSS v9.70 is now launched and over the next few days (longer for overseas users) you should be receiving a Newsletter and 2 CDs through the post. The Newsletter explains most of the new functionality, but we thought we would repeat them here just in case you don't receive the Newsletter.

Before we continue we would like to thank everyone who installed and tested the Beta version of the software. Without your help we would never have got to this point.

If you can't wait to install version 9.70 then you can do so from our website. Simply go to www.dtmsoftware.com and follow the download links.

Once you have installed v9.70 you should never have to wait for another CD or visit the website to download an update ever again (assuming, of course that you have an Internet connection) because LSS now keeps itself up to date.

Also, previously when a licence fee had been paid an LSS user had to phone us for an update code, or else we would email the code. This all took time. Now, it is possible to check for licence updates online with a single button press. If you think there should be a licence update available just go to 'Configure Licence' and select 'Update by Internet'.

If you encunter any problems with program or licence updates then please let us know. There may be certain settings on your computer or network which prevent this from happening, but are not trapped by the LSS program.

You may have remembered a couple of years ago that we were thinking about recruiting a part-time trainer. Well, we did fiind an experienced user who was able to split his time between his normal type of work and a few days of training for us each month. Many of you will have met him if you have attended training in the last 18 months.

Well, as the number of LSS users and the demand for training grew, it became clear that we couldn't cope with the staff we had. Therefore, we decided to create the post of Support and Training Officer and we are pleased to announce that on Monday 1st December we will be joined by David Manley who will work alongside Duane Phillips to provide front-line trechnical support and training courses.

Quite a lot has happened in this area in the past few months, so it's best just to list the main improvements.

1) Adjustment for earth curvature in 3-D view
2) Batch capture of large bitmaps (such as panoramic views) from named viewpoints - this will allow the user to set the capture going and leave the computer until it has finished visiting all named viewpoints
3) Point features are currently drawn as two planes in a cross. It is now possible to define the number of planes in 'Configure / Legend / Point Feature Amend' from 1 (always face the camera in 3-D view), or 2 to 8 - great for showing trees which appear more bushy when drawn with more planes.

November saw us move into our new plush training suite at our offices here in Birdlip. We have invested in state of the art widescreen laptops and a widescreen projector. Those who have already attended courses have commented on the facilities and we look forward to welcoming new and existing users over the coming months and years.

Click HERE for a booking form.

Those of you who use Leica System 1200 or Trimble equipment will be pleased to know that we have improved the survey download capabilities for both of these types of instrument. And what's more, once you have configured one of these loggers you will be prompted to install the latest supporting files which themselves will be kept up to date using the same technology as the program automatic updates.

Trimble: Updated to support direct conversion from a Trimble Job file to an LSS load file. This process is seamless for both EDM and GPS data either separate or combined and does not require Trimble Link. This now allows the use of an XML feature library format which includes attributes etc. Also the download process has been much simplified. SC Job file now includes user input of GPS tolerance checks and will include autoupdate support with v9.70.

Leica: Leica 1200 has been improved to allow a) support for more recent naming conventions of Geoid GEM files for GB, and also the Geoid files for Ireland (South and North) are now both supported b) an option to download a non-QA coordinates only data set c) several other minor improvements have been added.

300/400/700/800 series - Improved support for the set-up data for the 300 to 800 series of instruments. There is a new format file supplied on the LSS CD to implement this and also available via the LSS forum at lssforum.com (go to support files / Leica / TPS 300/400/700/800 Series).

Just a quick review of the new CAD-Pro commands for those who haven't discovered them yet.

The commands are as follows

1) Distance and offset (tape and offset command)
2) Intersect
3) Offset point and line
4) Distance (extend or shorten a line)
5) Move Obs. perpendicular
6) Square link (used for squaring-off features)
7) Division - this will insert points at a regular interval or divide a link into equal parts. It's also useful for automating the addition of tadpoles between a top and bottom of bank
8) Best fit from a baseline (straighten links and points)
9) Best fit offset from a baseline (as above, but maintaining a fixed offset from the baseline)

Then, not technically a CAD-Pro command, but nevertheless useful, we have 'Edit / Mean Obs' which will allow you to select observations and mean their position. Great for joining together links which should meet at a single point but don't and getting the average position for repeated readings to the same point.

We have always felt that the best way of communicating what LSS is all about is to show people. We've never been big on Powerpoint presentations. The software should do the talking and that's what we have done with version 9.70. You will be receiving a separate CD in the post which is jam packed full of movie-style tutorials which play within your Internet browser. We have started off with two sections...

1) Getting started - everything needed to get up and running with LSS and with no prior knowledge of the system
2) Command-by-Command - where we go through every command in turn explaining how it is meant to be used

Then, in the next couple of weeks we will be producing ' How-to' tutorials - we will go through commonly performed tasks and scenarios. This is the area we will build upon through time as we add more specialist tasks to the list. These new tutorials won't be on the CD, but will be available on-line. You can access them from LSS by selecting 'Help / Tutorials' or straight from our website at lssforum.com.

Let us know what 'How-to' tutorial topics you would like to see.

Richard has been busy improving on the screen resize functionality for v9.70. So much so, it now handles multiple monitors and remembers where LSS was the last time it was run, how large the program window was and also where to put the dialogues! Also, he has managed to do away with the 'Screen Width and Height' settings in 'Configure Hardware & System' which used to cause headaches for users switching between different format screens. And, an added benefit of this work is that there is now a user-defined setting in the same place that will even allow you to correct the LSS plan display if you are not using your screen in its native ratio.