Beta 0.2.0.0

Happy CTP Day!

Sorry this update has been so long coming, but I'm happy to announce some positive changes that should make life easier!

CHANGELOG

• EasyCPDLC is now STANDALONE! That means no installer is required. Simply unzip the compressed file to a folder of your choice and run.
• EasyCPDLC now supports oceanic clearances! Though they are unlikely to be used this year for CTP, there's a good chance they will in the near future.
• EasyCPDLC has been updated to use .NET 6.0, which brings memory and performance improvements, so you may be prompted to update your .NET runtime when you run the program. This is normal, and shouldn't take long.
• FIXED: Black window on first run if fonts do not install correctly.

KNOWN ISSUES

• DPI adjusted screens and/or odd resolutions might cause UI elements to overlap. I am aware of this and looking into it, but you shouldn't lose any functionality because of it.
• Windows 7 or greater is now required to run EasyCPDLC, since it relies on newer Microsoft technology that is not supported by XP.

Thanks all of you who put up with the awkward hotfix, hopefully you'll agree this is much, MUCH cleaner now!

Beta 0.1.5.6 HOTFIX

Hi everyone!

Sorry it's last minute, but a super small, but very important hotfix.

INSTALL INSTRUCTIONS:
Replace the EasyCPDLC.exe in your EasyCPDLC root folder with this version.

CHANGELOG:

• Adjusted error notifications to make them clearer to the user.
• Increased accessibility for blind and visually impaired pilots by making messages and controls accessible by keyboard controls. This will continue to be improved in coming updates. Big thankyou to @robin24 for his help getting the ball rolling with this.
• Removed requirement to update EasyCPDLC starting with this version

Everyone enjoy CTP tomorrow!

Beta 0.1.5.0

IMPORTANT: This release requires a complete reinstall of EasyCPDLC (I think). Please make sure you uninstall v0.1.3 before installing this version.

Hello everyone!

I'm sorry this update has been such a long time coming, I've been extraordinarily busy and had some PC troubles to boot, but just in time for CTP v0.1.5.0 is here! So what's changed?

CHANGELOG:

• Cleaned up the home page. Messages now display as a short "summary" on the home page that can be expanded by clicking on them. This prevents those awkward and clumsy window growing and shrinking issues but does mean you'll need to click more stuff. I like the change, I hope you will too!
• Changed the logic for handling logons, so you'll now get a message notifying you whether a logon has been accepted or not! I know this was frustrating for some people, as depending on the ATSU some sent a message and some did not. This should now be much more consistent.
• If FSUIPC is in use, EasyCPDLC will try and intelligently pre-fill METAR and ATIS requests so you don't need to manually type them out. There isn't a very clean or elegant way to do this so it might get a bit confused, but it's trying. I'll work on refining the logic for this.
• Unfortunately, no real progress has been made on expanding the functionality, but for CTP EasyCPDLC should now (fingers crossed) be stable enough and feature-complete enough for people to use. I'll be controlling, so feel free to message me and try it out! Unfortunately we haven't had time to build CPDLC into the controller clients for CTP this time, but that is in the pipeline! Exciting times!

BUGFIXES:

• FIXED: REPORT page generates crashes without Simbrief connection
• FIXED: The wiki. Lol.
• FIXED: There's now a nice button to donate on the wiki if you feel like it :)

KNOWN ISSUES:

• Potential issue with foreign-language keyboards generating some weird layout issues. If this happens, please file a bug report. I'm looking into it but with no success so far.
• VATSIM: ERROR. - this can be generated if a flight plan isn't filed. That's on me for not making it clear, I'm looking to release a hotfix that should make it clearer. Sorry!

Let me know what you think about the change, enjoy CTP and I'll see you on the other side!

Beta 0.1.3.0

IMPORTANT: This release requires a complete reinstall of EasyCPDLC. Please make sure you uninstall v0.1.2 before installing this version.

Hello again all!

Some fairly major UI changes in this update, explained below.

CHANGELOG:

• The REPLY UI has been entirely revamped. Instead of right-clicking on a message, users will now see two arrows on the right hand side of messages. Clicking on the arrows changes the menu into the REPLY mode, which should hopefully be more intuitive. Additionally, messages that require a reply will flash orange and white until the message is acknowledged.
• All windows except the options window will now remember their previous positions and open in those positions by default.
• DCL clearance reply options have been updated to "ACCEPT" or "REJECT". At the moment there is no possibility to specify a reason for rejection, this is due to limitations with the Hoppie network.
• The WIKI now has some stuff in it! I need to update it to the UI change, but most of it should be correct!
• The alert sound is now customisable! To change it, simply replace the "notification.wav" file in the "Sounds" folder with your own "notification.wav" file!

BUGFIXES:

• Fixed a bug where new messages would not format correctly above a certain length.

COMING NEXT:

• Further refinement of already-implemented features. Hoping to sit down with Jeroem some time soon to get some extra functionality introduced to the network.

KNOWN ISSUES:

• "REJECT" might not work with PDCs/DCLs received in the UK, due to the way VATUK formats the clearances.

That's all for this one! I hope you like the UI change. As always, keep the suggestions coming, and thanks for sticking with EasyCPDLC!

Much love,

Josh

Beta 0.1.2.0

Hello again!

Lots of new stuff this build, with most of the "core" elements now implemented! I'll go into what this means below, but I'm very excited to bring you all this update :)

CHANGELOG:

• EasyCPDLC now has SIMBRIEF integration! In the settings page you'll find a field to enter your Simbrief Pilot ID (Note: this is not your username. It can be found under My Account -> Simbrief Data). This is used to generate a list of waypoints that you could conceivably make a position report at, and autofills the REPORT page as much as practicable.
• EasyCPDLC now has the option to connect to your flight simulator. It does require FSUIPC/XPUIPC but is compatible with all simulators capable of connecting to VATSIM. At the moment this is just a proof of concept, it prefills the REPORT page and fills in ADS-C reports. By their very nature simulators are unstable so I've tried my best to mitigate that, but it might make EasyCPDLC more prone to crashes. The purpose of this integration at the moment is for ADS-C reporting, but may be expanded in future. Speaking of which...
• EasyCPDLC now supports ADS-C Contracts! This allows ATC and Company to send periodic requests for information from your aircraft. At the moment only PERIODIC requests are permitted, I'll be looking to expand this in the future.
• METAR and ATIS requests are now implemented. The buttons to request them can be found on the TELEX page.

BUGFIXES:

• FIXED: ATC Handovers not updating "current atc unit" field (thanks JANXOL!)
• FIXED: ADS-C Contract requests being shown to user and not being handled (Thanks liessdow!)
• MAYBE FIXED?: I've had a couple of reports of HANDOVER messages causing exceptions when you try and acknowledge the "CONTACT" message. I think I've fixed it but have been unable to reproduce the problem so can't be sure. IF this happens to you, please send me the log and, if you can, a screenshot or copy of the error message you get. Thankyou!

COMING NEXT:

• Assuming all goes well with ADS-C and such (I'm hoping to sit down with interested parties and work out a syntax for expanding ADS-C) then that will be expanded to fit
• Simulator integration may be expanded as required. If you have any suggestions about what could/might be included in this, please don't hesitate to raise an issue or comment on the existing thread with your ideas!
• More bugfixes as and when they rear their heads!

Thankyou all for still supporting the project! I'm getting to the point now where the more people able to use the system, the better as I think I've eliminated most of the major bugs. If you have friends you think would find EasyCPDLC useful, feel free to spread the word! I'm also using what influence I have at VATSIM to get better CPDLC/ADS-C support in the North Atlantic etc, so hopefully big things coming soon!

Much Love

Beta 0.1.1.0

Hello all!

Sorry for the delay in getting this build out, I've been busy with work this week and have struggled to find the time to code. That said, v0.1.1.0 is here with some new features and bugfixes!

CHANGELOG:

• Added REPORT functionality to the ATC menu for position reporting. This is fairly bare-bones at the moment but will be refined and improved in coming updates
• Added OPTIONS wheel with ability to toggle sound alerts and stay-on-top mode to keep EasyCPDLC visible. This will be expanded as required.
• Adjusted alert sound for more ping and less honk.

BUGFIXES:

• FIXED: When receiving a logoff message, EasyCPDLC didn't actually close the connection. (thanks Adrian2k!)
• HOPEFULLY FIXED: Text formatting issues with Disconnect and Request buttons. If this is still an issue let me know.
• FIXED: Text formatting issues in the message display panel, which hopefully will reduce the instances of messages running off-screen.

COMING NEXT:

• Expect refined REPORT functionality in the next build, with automatic pre-filling of more fields. POSSIBLE inclusion of automatic position reporting, but that's not guaranteed.
• Expect the option to customise the sound alert soon.
• Actively looking into METAR and/or ATIS retrieval at the moment.. Expect these soon.

Thankyou all for your patience, please keep the reports and suggestions coming!

Much love

Beta 0.1.0.5

Hello all,

Thanks very much for your patience this week with me getting a new build out, I've been really busy and had very limited time to work on it. That said, some important updates and bugfixes in this build.

-BUGFIXES

• Fixed a bug where if a callsign was included twice in a CPDLC clearance then the wrong part of the clearance would be displayed (Thanks laurenzooz!)
• Fixed a bug where a network issue would cause the program to stop polling for new messages entirely (Thanks jakobeng1303!)
• Fixed a previously undiscovered memory leak with message writing

-FEATURE CHANGES

• I wasn't happy with the updater, I want to keep EasyCPDLC as small and simple as possible, so the updater.exe is no more. On first startup, EasyCPDLC will now check if a new update is available and notify you if it is.
• Logging slightly expanded to catch more errors, again no identifiable information included

-COMING (VERY) SOON

• Reporting functionality is in the final stages of development, I will be posting a couple of associated issues regarding this, any and all input is very welcome!
• I've had one or two suggestions by e-mail regarding format or setup improvements for EasyCPDLC, again there will be an issue for this. Please feel free to make comments or suggestions!

Again, thanks all for your patience, and keep the reports and feedback coming!

Much love

Beta 0.1.0.4

General:
A relatively small update featuring some requests and some additional functionality in order to help me find and fix the more niggling bugs.

-BUGFIXES:

• FIXED: User-sent logoff commands not updating the "Current ATC Unit" field (thanks Flurus!)
• FIXED: CPDLC Messages occasionally getting duplicated if message contained 2 identical fields.

-NEW FEATURES:

• BASIC LOGGING: EasyCPDLC now keeps a basic log of what it's doing at any given time to help with bugfixing. Because of this, from v0.1.0.4 onwards the program must be run as administrator. The log file is called EasyCPDLCLog.txt and can be uploaded to an issue or sent directly to me at joshseagrave@googlemail.com. The log file contains no personally identifiable information outside of the callsign that is used to connect to and the contents of CPDLC messages.
• RESIZE: All windows (except the initial login window) can now be resized by clicking and dragging the bottom-right corner of the screen. They can not be made smaller than their original size for scaling and layout reasons but can, in theory, be made as large as they like.
• UPDATER: EasyCPDLC now ships with an updater that should check for updates on program start, so you know if you're running an outdated version. I have, of course, not really had opportunity to test this, if it doesn't work I'll come up with something else.

-KNOWN ISSUES:

• If a window is shrunk rapidly there are occasionally some formatting issues with CPDLC messages and scrollbars. This is something I am aware of but haven't worked out how to optimise yet, expect this to be refined and improved in future updates.
• Some users have reported that they stop receiving CPDLC messages after a short while of being connected. This doesn't appear to be consistent across anyone and I am yet to discover the root cause. Issue #4 is the place to go if you encounter this.

Thankyou all again for your patience and keep the suggestions and bug reports coming! Development is accelerating now as I continue to clean up the codebase towards release standards and further optimise routines and such, every bugfix helps!

Josh

Beta 0.1.0.3

Several changes in this build!

• Implemented xTiMm's excellent suggestions in Issue #1:

  • Added "Delete All" option
  • Added "Current ATC Unit" Display in main window
  • Added taskbar flash when new message received

• Bugfixes:

  • FIXED: CPDLC Level Change Requests not sending requested level. (Thanks HWR-Micha!)
  • FIXED: CPDLC Direct-To Requests incorrectly formatted to not include optional parameters. (Thanks HWR-Micha!)
  • General optimisations and moving-bits around.
  • EDIT: FIXED: Hoppie Logon Code maxsize erroneously set to 10 characters.

• In Development/Coming Soon:

  • REPORT Functionality.
  • General Prettyfication and moving around of things
  • Full Wiki
  • Beta 1.1!

Thanks everyone! Please keep the issues coming, I can't fix things I don't know about!
Much love

Beta 0.1.0.2

FIXED: Button Formatting
FIXED: Notify field not properly populating
FIXED: Level requests always including "DUE TO WX"
FIXED: Adjusted message parsing logic
OTHER CHANGES: Added license agreement, made installer pretty, made initial text box pretty