DS9 Reference Manual
Table of Contents

Version 1.8 Release Notes

    Version 1.8.7.8

    1. Dialog windows now use the same colormap as the parent window.
    2. Fixed a problem with the tile xpa point.

    Version 1.8.7.7

    1. Fixed a problem with updating the Contour dialog box.
    2. Fixed another problem with .gz, .Z, and .z
    3. Coordinate Grids now support WCS of projection TNX.
    4. Improved the appearance of Grids while in Internal Mode.

    Version 1.8.7.6

    1. Fixed a problem with running under linux and displaying on Solaris.
    2. Fixed a problem with Truecolor 8 support.
    3. Added Coordinate Grids!
    4. Mouse coordinates may be printed by pressing the 'C' key. Which coordinates are printed may be specified via the 'Edit:Preferences:Print Coordinates' menu.
    5. Default Region Parameters now can be specified via the Preferences menu.
    6. Contour Dialog has been redesigned and Contour scales and limits added.
    7. Fixed a problem with Contour scales log, squared, and sqrt.
    8. The user can save and load contours via the Contour Parameter Dialog Box. The contours may be any supported coordinate system.
    9. The user can save and load contour levels via the Contour Parameter Dialog Box.
    10. Fixed a problem with file names that contain .z, .Z, .gz

    Version 1.8.7.5

    1. Fixed a problem with Truecolor 24 bit visuals under Solaris 7
    2. Fixed a problem with selecting Ruler Regions that are horizontal or vertical.

    Version 1.8.7.4

    1. Fixed a major bug with mosaics with an amplifier that reads out in reverse and the data has been flipped before writing.

    Version 1.8.7.3

    1. New wcssubs: Fixed a problem with wcs of RA--NCP and DEC--NCP
    2. Fixed a problem with 'Scale:User Limits'
    3. Removed a warning message if xpa is not available
    4. The coordinate info box is updated while editing regions
    5. Fixed a problem with the window manager closing region dialog boxes, regions list dialog box, and analysis result dialog box
    6. List Regions, Display Header, and the Analysis Dialog box now have options for printing, saving, and searching the contents.
    7. Display Header now supports multiple dialogs, one for each frame.
    8. Fixed a problem with parsing region files and the LINE region.
    9. Fixed a problem with polygon regions and PROS region file formats.
    10. All regions are deleted when 'Clear Frame' or 'Open' action taken.
    11. When creating Text regions, the 'Cancel' button now works.
    12. 'Clear Frame' has been moved from 'File menu to 'Frame' menu.
    13. shell variable DS9_ARRAY may be used to define default array parameters. Example: $export DS9_ARRAY='[dim=512,bitpix=-32]'
    14. shell variable DS9_BINKEY may be used to define default FITS bin table cols. Example: $export DS9_BINKEY='[bin=rawx,rawy]'
    15. new 'Open Array...' menu item has been added to the 'File' menu.
    16. Changes to following ommand line options:

      17. -array, -mosaicimage, -mosaicimages, -mosaicsegment, -shared

    Version 1.8.7.2

    1. Add the -iconify command line option.
    2. FITS Region Binary Table Region file format is supported for input.

    Version 1.8.7.1

    1. Now using BLT 2.4l
    2. Now using X11R6
    3. Fixed a problem with selecting blink frames multiple times.
    4. Fixed a problem with Line Regions always printing with arrows.
    5. Fixed a problem when a printing error occurs.
    6. External File support is now available.
    7. External Analysis support is now available.
    8. Added Frame refresh menu item.
    9. Fixed a problem with shared memory size.
    10. XPA frame has changed. The argument is now only a number, not a name. This clears up some problems with syntax. If the frame does not exists, the frame is created. The option 'frameno' is provided for backward compatiblity.

      11. Example: xpaset -p ds9 frame 2 # goto frame name 'frame2'
               xpaset -p ds9 frame frameno 4 # goto frame name 'frame4'

    Version 1.8.7

    1. Scale type 'Ln' has been removed.
    2. Contour scales Log, Sqrt, and Squared have been fixed.
    3. Contour Dialog box is now non-modal.
    4. Fixed a problem with the FITS Header Dialog box.
    5. Support for > 256 colors in truecolor mode.
    6. New PS level 2 drivers that support more than 256 colors.
    7. Crosshairs will now appear in the magnifier if graphics enabled.
    8. Improved on the gui in terms of tile and blink. Now ds9 is in one of 3 display modes: single frame, tile frames, and blink frames.
    9. You can now Show or Hide frames, via the Frame:Show/Hide menu. When a frame is 'Hidden', it does not appear in Single, Tile, or Blink mode, and can not be selected via the Frames menu.
    10. Added a new mode: Examine. While in examine mode, if you click, a new frame is created, loaded with the same data, and scaled about the point you clicked. If the base frame is a FITS image, it is zoomed, if the base frame is a FITS binary table, it is blocked. The file is not loaded again, but shared between frames, requiring little additional memory. When you clear or delete a base frame, all examine frames are deleted. Options as to how many frames are created and the scale factor may be specified via the preferences menu.

    Version 1.8.6.9

    1. Support for FITS Bin Table Type 'U' (unsigned short) and Type 'V' (unsigned long). Note these are not supported by the FITS standard.
    2. Added new default colormap 'Cool'
    3. SAOtng and PROS Regions file support: if wcs coords are used, yet no wcs system has been specified, the native wcs of the file is used.
    4. Regions now are available in the magnifier (user prerference)
    5. Fixed a problem with working with line regions at high zoom factors
    6. Fixed a problem with working with polygon regions at high zoom factors

    Version 1.8.6.8

    1. Fixed again problems with FITS Tables, Binning, Physical Coords, and WCS

    Version 1.8.6.7

    1. Binning on a third column is now supported
    2. Fixed a problem with FITS Tables and bit fields

    Version 1.8.6.6

    1. Added new 'Zoom to Fit Window' function
    2. Added new 'Block to Fit Window' function
    3. Added 'Block to...' function
    4. 'Mode' menu has been moved to under 'Edit' menu.
    5. Show/Hide Panner and Magnifier via the prefs, command line, and xpa
    6. Tear-Off menus now have window titles
    7. minor changes to xpa options syntax (no more -options), see XPA for more info.
    8. xpa colormap is no longer case sensitive
    9. fixed a problem with tables and physical coordinates
    10. fixed a problem with interactive pan/zoom/rotate and coordinates

    Version 1.8.6.5

    1. Fixed a problem with reading IRAF Pros regions files

    Version 1.8.6.4

    1. Fixed a problem with Little Endian Machines and doubles in FITS bin tables

    Version 1.8.6.3

    1. Now supports SAOtng regions files in physical coordinates.

    Version 1.8.6.2

    1. Improved Region clipping
    2. Fixed a problem with finding the Preferences File

    Version 1.8.6.1

    1. Fixed a rather nasty bug with rendering Circle Regions. This bug would sometimes cause the X Server to hang.
    2. Now does a better job of creating the default size regions.
    3. Frame buttons Prev and Next now will cycle thru all frames.

    Version 1.8.6

    1. Automatic Tile Mode with multiple files on command line
    2. Fixed problems with HTTP and FTP access
    3. Fixed another problem with FITS Bin tables and regions
    4. There are now 2 modes for interactive panning-- default click to center
    5. New frames use the current user scale limits and colorscale.
    6. Added frameno option to FRAME xpa point
    7. REGION SAVE FORMAT menu now reflects coords available

    Version 1.8.5

    1. New GUI Buttons Bar
    2. Rearranged Menus, smaller desktop footprint
    3. New Tiling algorithms
    4. Truecolor 8bit support

      5. $ds9 -visual truecolor8
    5. Truecolor 16bit support

      6. $ds9 -visual truecolor16
    6. Truecolor 24bit enhancements

      7. $ds9 -visual truecolor24
    7. Pseudocolor 8bit enhancements

      8. $ds9 -visual pseudocolor8
    8. Regions Modes now intergrated into Pointer Mode
    9. New colormaps have been added
    10. Fixed a problem with FITS ext names
    11. Editing RECTANGLE regions resizes about the opposite node, not the center
    12. Polished the GUI for creating regions
    13. list/save regions in saoimage format now outputs points
    14. Fixed a problem with existing regions and blocking

    Version 1.8.4.1

    1. Fixed problem with rotate mode and updating menus

    Version 1.8.4

    1. 24 bit color support
    2. New Postscript drivers
    3. Online Documentation!
    4. Fixed a problem with Physical Coordinates and FITS Bin Tables
    5. Sticky file names have been implemented
    6. Fixed a problem with standard dialogs and double/triple clicks
    7. If Header window is open, load will display the new header
    8. Delete Frame now asks for confirmation
    9. Fixed a problem with arrays and xpa
    10. Fixed a problem with FITS keyword inheritance
    11. for FITS bin tables, the keywords BIN, BINKEY, and KEY are equivalent
    12. Fixed a problem with regions and tiled frames
    13. Keystroke shortcuts have been added to the GUI
    14. Added WCS menu items to preferences saved
    15. Added 'Clear Preferences' to preferences menu
    16. Mouse button 2 is now bound to 'Pan' function
    17. Minor changes to layout of Small and Large Infomation Panel
    18. Fixed problem with pseudocolor 8 and private colormaps

    Version 1.8.3

    1. Fixed a problem with arrays and xpa
    2. xpaget regions: you now can specify coord/coordformat/format
    3. $ xpaget ds9 regions -format pros -coord fk4 -coordformat hms
    4. Interactive rotation is now works!
    5. PanZoom Dialog and Rotate Dialog now have 'Apply' buttons
    6. Preferences have been implemented. 'Save Preferences' will save the current values of the 'Preferences' and 'View' menus in $HOME/.ds9.prefs. On startup, this values will be used.
    7. Source user tcl file has been implemented. If $HOME/.ds9 exists, it will be sourced on start up.
    8. New Standard Dialog box has been implemented. User now has a choice of motif, windows, or 'blue plate special' dialog boxes.
    9. '$ xpaget ds9 file' now returns full file name
    10. More tolerant of non-existent or bad files.
    11. More robust checking of mosaic files
    12. FITS keyword inheritance is now supported.
    13. Mosaic Multiple Extension Fits files are now supported.
    14. Coordinate name 'CCD' has been changed to 'Physical'

    Version 1.8.2

    1. Support for raw data arrays

      2. $ ds9 "foo.arr[xdim=512,ydim=512,bitpix=-32]"
      $ ds9 "foo.arr[xdim=512,ydim=512,bitpix=16,skip=100]"
      $ ds9 "foo.arr[dim=1024,bitpix=8,bigendian]"
      $ ds9 "foo.arr[dim=1024,bitpix=8,arch=littleendian]"
    2. xpa support for raw data arrays

      3. $ cat foo.arr | xpaset ds9 array "[dim=512,bitpix=16]"

    Version 1.8.1.2

    1. fixed problem with printing

    Version 1.8.1.1

    1. fix problem with change of xpa api

    Version 1.8.1

    1. fix blockfactor,blockbuffersize, and blockfunction command line options.
    2. fixed problem with Marker type Line Dialog box.
    3. Added new marker type: Ruler.
    4. fixed major problem with regions files and loading via xpa.
    5. Added arrows to line marker.
    6. more robust error handling.
    7. bin table extension names and column names are no longer case sensitive.
    8. fixed problem with printing to different page sizes

    Version 1.8

    1. Fixed a major memory leak
    2. Fixed a XPA printing problem
    3. Fixed problem with LOG scale
    4. the xpa application name is now "ds9".
    5. the xpa class name is now "DS9"

      6. example:
      $ xpaget ds9 version # get version number from just ds9
      $ xpaget DS9:ds9 version # get version number from just ds9
    6. $ xpaget DS9: version # get version number for all DS9 apps
    7. Markers!