Desirable features for future Railmaster Software updates

[RDS]

Hi tibrahim

No you are not too late. Sorry I am running behind schedule. I have started on the consolidated list but not finished it yet.

I don't actually use the signal & point numbers myself, so are you saying that they are not visible when zooming

 

in at 50%?

Is there a zoom cut-off level where they are still visible?

 

[Tee1707818014]

Yes RDS that's right they are only visible at 100% but any smaller & they disappear I am constructing a bigger layout now so need to zoom to 50% to get a decent overview but keep having to zoom back if I want to see what point number or signal I'm working

 

with.

[Fishmanoz]

Knew I would like to see point numbers at 50% but hadn't occurred to me to say so. Getting a little slow?

[Graskie]

Not got round to that sort of thing yet on my layout, but I have to use the zoom feature on RM to show the whole of my diagram. I must admit, tibrahaim seems to have made a valuable suggestion.

[RDS]

I have just checked out the zoom feature on a trial version of RailMaster I have loaded on another computer and realised that it is not just at less than 100% that the numbers do not show up but also at 125% and 150%. In other words, the signal and points

 

numbers only show at normal scale (100%).

[RDS]

Another suggestion I have is that a folder is created within the overall RailMaster folder named 'User Programs'.

All programs written by the user would then be stored here and therefore kept together, rather than being potentially spread out alphabetically

 

throughout the RailMaster folder.

[Graskie]

How about Hornby showing various macro examples in their literature? They only show one and that is no longer necessary with long whistles because they now automatically cut off after a few seconds when using the current fully updated RM program.

[RDS]

From Fishmanoz (20130715 - on an e-link forum posting)

 

And for RDS while I think of it, how about Hornby register with MS so we can stop having to click run anyway when we open the program.

 

[DCCTinker]

I just disable UAC in Windows. It's easy enough to do. Just go into Control Panel and search for UAC then set it to it's lowest setting using the slider.

 

It has absolutely no detrimental affect on your PC. User Account Control (UAC) was put in by

 

Microsoft for pure money-making purposes and nothing more. There is also another angle and that is that Hollywood studios forced this to enable DRM (Digital Rights Management) for movies and audio played within Windows so Microsoft blames Hollywood for having

 

to put it in. The whole thing is a waste of space and most worthwhile I.T. professionals agree on that.

 

And the final irony, 75% of software developers do not register their products with Microsoft and pay them the ridiculous fees they want just to

 

be able to get rid of the yellow warning panel. It is, without doubt, one of the biggest cons in the I.T. industry. Just disable UAC and you'll find life so much easier, and not just with RailMaster.

 

I speak knowing just a tad about this whole area

 

of I.T.

 

[RDS]

@DCCTinker

Thanks. That is an interesting view.

 

I don't think I had never heard of UAC until a couple of days ago but would it not be possible for Hornby to change RailMaster so it does not need to be run as administrator. I am assuming this

 

is the same thing?

 

 

[Train_Man]

I was advised to turn off User Account Control by my IT guy years ago when Vista came out. It stops the pointless warning box appear when running some software. I can't actually figure out what use the User Account Control system is and nobody has been

 

able to tell me properly, other than it is a nuisance.

 

Do a search for UAC or User Account Control in Windows and the web is full of sites telling you how to turn it off. Some say disable it. Some say get used to it. Obviously ignore the Microsoft sites

 

(a bit like getting tax advice - forget the HMRC pages - they'll tell you what THEY want).

 

Any decent anti virus program will protect your machine against unwanted opening of nasty programs so there's no need for User Account Control. You can also set

 

the properties of the program to run as administrator but I'm not sure if that gets rid of the Windows warning asking if you really want to open the program.

 

Another thought occurs to me. If Windows is so smart, and it keeps track of the number of times

 

you open a program, surely if you have opened it ten times, say, and answered yes to the warning every time it shouldn't pester you with the warning again (especially if the file date and time are the same).

 

What do I know! Perhaps the $multi-billion

 

microsoft know better then we mere mortals, after all most of their software wants us to do what they want, no us ... Word, Excel anyone?

 

[LMSTim]

I've been using Windows since 1.0 back in the 80s and it just gets more and more complicated to use as each version is released. I mean complicated rather than complex. They could make it much easier to use but they insist on changing things, seemingly

 

for the sake of it, so that they can say "This is our new operating system". Windows 8 is a case in point. The cynic in me says Microsoft wants to earn more fees from the accreditation of courses and the like and if they don't change things radically (usually

 

for the worse) there are no more courses to sell.

 

I read somewhere that Microsoft questioned thousands of people and 90% of them said they don't use the Start button in Windows. Can you believe that? So what do they do ... they remove it - not make

 

it an option, just remove it. Of course, there was an outcry and now Microsoft have been forced into a reversal and add the Start button back in on Windows 8.1. They have also had to add back other things they took out for Windows 8.

 

With UAC I see

 

it as just another overhead of using the latest Microsoft operating system. I believe it was introduced in Windows Vista, so XP and previous users don't have this issue. I just tick and forget.

 

Half the software I use has Windows ask "Do you want to

 

open this blah, blah". Microsoft charge a hefty amount of money just to avoid having this message displayed for particular software. No wonder so many software companies don't bother with Microsoft registration.

 

 

[gilbo2]

For the Hand Held apps I would love to see the following two features added;

 

1) The ability to call up and run the programs that have been created on the PC

2) Blue indications of point position similar to the PC screen

[RB51]

Could we put forward for Hornby to add double slips, single slips and three way points to their track library? I know they dont manufacture them but it would make the work around neater (except SS for which I cannot work out) by using two points.

[Graskie]

For those who don't know the difference between single and double slips, scroll down and have a look under the appropriate heading on this link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Railroad_switch

 

I swapped all my P*co double for single switches (which

 

came out later) on Graskie Junction because doubles are not generally desirable on a main line, with more risk of derailment. Doubles are not always necessary in a lot of situations anyway.

 

 

[Fishmanoz]

Another feature RDS, from the delay in setting points thread - on start up with point setting specified, the sequence of firing be port 1 on each decoder in turn, followed by port 2 etc, with sufficient delay set in to ensure recharge of each decoder before

 

the subsequent ports are fired.

 

This will obviate setting a large delay as default, where such delay may not be needed for other operations like route setting, which may not need such a long delay in practice and so can be set for operational needs

 

only.

[Fishmanoz]

Thinking about this while answering the other thread, I realise what I asked for above is somewhat unrealistic. Instead, I think what might be practical would be to have a feature on startup where you can explicitly set the point firing order to rotate

 

around your decoders one port at a time, and be able to specify the firing delay while you do so. And do this separately to the firing delay at other times as, depending on the routes you may wish to set up later, these delays may be different.

[HornbyRailMasterSupport]

Please read our response under the "Railmaster Start Up - Point Setting Speed Vs Decoder Recharge Time" thread regarding points firing times within RailMaster.

 

[RDS]

To all who have made suggestions on this thread.

I had started a few weeks ago to combine our suggestions to send off to Hornby and then I realised that HornbyRailMasterSupport were reading this thread. I have exchanged emails with Mark Lodge the Hornby

 

Customer Care Manager and Mark has confirmed that there is no need to compile a combined list as the suggestions have been noted.

 

I would like to thank everyone who provided suggestions and HornbyRailMasterSupport for the help that is being provided

 

on this and other threads.

 

I look forward to seeing which of our suggestions are included in future RailMaster updates but I suggest that users continue to add to this thread as and when new ideas crop up.

Thanks again,

[HornbyRailMasterSupport]

We have been monitoring not just the Hornby forums, but others, since RailMaster was launched just over two years ago.

 

We take customer comments and suggestions very seriously, after all, RailMaster was built by talking to customers and working

 

out your needs. The key ingredient is ease of use and we strive to achieve this, notwithstanding the many additional sophisticated features added to the program.

 

Since launch at version 1.22 there have been 30 major updates (we are currently on 1.52)

 

and we estimate over 150 enhancements have been added during this time.

 

The next major update will incorporate over 100 further enhancements in a single update, covering almost everything discussed on these and other forums as well as useful additional

 

features we wanted to build in for customers through research and development. This will take the software to another level, whilst maintaining ease of use.

 

We cannot give a precise date for the release of the update however your RailMaster program

 

will inform you automatically when it is available. There may be one or two further minor updates in the mean time.

 

Ultimately, we want RailMaster and eLink to be the first choice for anybody considering Digital Command Control for their layout and

 

to achieve that we must listen, and indeed do.

 

Thank you for all of your suggestions. Keep them coming!

 

[Fishmanoz]

Well done HRMS and thanks for listening to us. I'm sure we all look forward to the new releases when ready.

[Fishmanoz]

And I think your response times when I have emailed you with problems has been excellent too. At least as good as or even better than on any other software I own.

 

I don't expect software to be perfect, I know that means I won't get to use it because

 

it will never get released. But when bugs are addressed the way you guys do it, that's good enough for me.

 

And unlike what we think about some others here, I have no connection with Hornby that drives what I am saying. Praise where praise is due!

[37lover]

Further to my separate posting, although I have very little experience of Railmaster, I asked if it was possible to have dual monitors so for example one could display the schematic layout on a wall mounted flat screen and use a second, or laptop monitor

 

to control locos, points etc?

[Fishmanoz]

Just to be clear what you are asking, RM doesn't decide how many monitors you can use, this is done by the graphics capability built into your hardware. And it is normal to be able to control at least 2 monitors. On your laptop, this will be the laptop

 

screen and an external monitor or data projector. Usually when you connect an external monitor, the default graphics option will be cloned, or both screens showing exactly the same. But you can change this to extended in your options so that they show different

 

things. With this option, you also specify which is the main monitor with all your desktop items on it.

 

So to do what you ask, which I agree would be a good feature, RM would need to be able to show 2 windows as part of its display, then show your

 

layout in one and your locos in the other. You would then be able to drag the layout window, or the loco window for that matter, onto your large external monitor.

[mastertrain22]

I would like to see an option for programming on the main instead of only the service track. I have a sound decoder which cannot be read or programmed on the service track with RailMaster. Have used the same decoder with a Bachmann Dynamis which can read

 

and program it on either the service track or on the main. Have contacted the supplier and he has suggested trying to program on the main but there does seem to be this option in RailMaster.

 

Also it would be nice if you track plan always appears in

 

the zoom level you have set rather than having to keep adjusting it each time RailMaster opens!