VisiWave Blog

Version 3.0.8 Released

nospam@example.com (Administrator) — Thu, 03 May 2012 11:42:41 -0400

A maintenance release of VisiWave (v3.0.8 ) is now available for download. If you already own v3.0 of VisiWave, just download the eval version and install it over-top of your current version. Your existing license will continue to work. If you would like to evaluate VisiWave, just download the eval version and try it out.

New features in v3.0.8:

Heatmap Color Gradient Can Now Be Flipped

A heatmap is made up of three base colors and each base
color can include many different shades of that color.
The range from strong to weak signals used to be a
gradient that only went from light shades to dark shades.
This can now be flipped so that the gradient goes from
dark shades to light shades. To do this, right-click on
any heatmap legend (in the Report View) and select either
"Light Shades are Strongest" or "Dark Shades are
Strongest".
(Added in v3.0.8 )
Survey Trail Color

The color of the trail and the data point markers used to
be based on only the signal strength of the associated
access point. Now the color is based on the average
signal strength of the set of access points selected. If
no APs are selected, then the color goes back to being
based on the associated AP.
(Added in v3.0.8 )
Export Report View Images

Using the File -> Export -> Image feature now allows you
to export a Report View map as an image file instead of
just allowing you to export a Survey View map.
(Added in v3.0.8 )
Invalid Extra Toolbar

Selecting the View -> Toolbar menu item while in the
Survey View would cause the Report View toolbar to also
appear.
(Fixed in v3.0.8 )

Version 3.0.7 Released

nospam@example.com (Administrator) — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 19:42:40 -0400

A maintenance release of VisiWave (v3.0.7) is now available for download. If you already own v3.0 of VisiWave, just download the eval version and install it over-top of your current version. Your existing license will continue to work. If you would like to evaluate VisiWave, just download the eval version and try it out.

New features in v3.0.7:

Point-by-Point Capture Issue

A race condition introduced in v3.0.6 could prevent
point-by-point capture mode from working.
(Fixed in v3.0.7)
Interference Heatmaps Didn't Display in v3.0.5

A bug introduced in v3.0.5 made it so interference
heatmaps were not displaying. This has been fixed.
(Fixed in v3.0.6)
Accommodate Occasional Scans that Terminate Early

When collecting survey data under Windows Vista/7 in
continuous mode, occasionally a data point would be
collected much faster than all the rest. This was due
to Windows telling VisiWave that scan results were
available when, in fact, they weren't quite ready yet.
This situation is now detected and handled properly.
(Fixed in v3.0.6)
Prompt to Save Changed File

If the only change you made to a survey file is collecting
survey data using continuous mode and you double clicked
to start collecting, then you weren't prompted to save
your changes.
(Fixed in v3.0.6)

Version 3.0.6 Released

nospam@example.com (Administrator) — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 16:43:42 -0400

A maintenance release of VisiWave (v3.0.6) is now available for download. If you already own v3.0 of VisiWave, just download the eval version and install it over-top of your current version. Your existing license will continue to work. If you would like to evaluate VisiWave, just download the eval version and try it out.

New features in v3.0.6:

Interference Heatmaps Didn't Display in v3.0.5

A bug introduced in v3.0.5 made it so interference
heatmaps were not displaying. This has been fixed.
(Fixed in v3.0.6)
Accommodate Occasional Scans that Terminate Early

When collecting survey data under Windows Vista/7 in
continuous mode, occasionally a data point would be
collected much faster than all the rest. This was due
to Windows telling VisiWave that scan results were
available when, in fact, they weren't quite ready yet.
This situation is now detected and handled properly.
(Fixed in v3.0.6)
Prompt to Save Changed File

If the only change you made to a survey file is collecting
survey data using continuous mode and you double clicked
to start collecting, then you weren't prompted to save
your changes.
(Fixed in v3.0.6)

Version 3.0.5 Released

nospam@example.com (Administrator) — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 17:02:14 -0500

A maintenance release of VisiWave (v3.0.5) is now available for download. If you already own v3.0 of VisiWave, just download the eval version and install it over-top of your current version. Your existing license will continue to work. If you would like to evaluate VisiWave, just download the eval version and try it out.

New features in v3.0.5:

Improved Heatmaps with Merged Survey Files

The algorithm used to create heatmaps when dealing with
survey files that were merged together was improved. The
heatmaps now better represent the real signal values.
(Fixed in v3.0.5)
Improved use of Confidence Radius in Merged Survey Files

The confidence area in merged survey files now only
includes areas around data points that were actually used
to create the heatmap. In previous versions, all data
points were used to show the confidence area even when
they didn't contribute to the heatmap.
(Fixed in v3.0.5)

Version 3.0.4 Released

nospam@example.com (Administrator) — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:58:04 -0500

A maintenance release of VisiWave (v3.0.4) is now available for download. If you already own v3.0 of VisiWave, just download the eval version and install it over-top of your current version. Your existing license will continue to work. If you would like to evaluate VisiWave, just download the eval version and try it out.

New features in v3.0.4:

New Value Chart Options

You can now include the Average Noise level in each cell
in a Value Chart. And you can include the average signal
strength of each selected AP.
(Added in v3.0.4)
Resizeable Windows in Report View

You can now resize the width of the left panel in the
Report View as well as the height of the list of Report
Items, Report Properties, and AP Filter.
(Added in v3.0.4)
Difference Heatmaps

A new report type was added: Difference Heatmaps. This
gives you the ability to compare two heatmaps. The
resulting heatmap shows the areas where the two heatmaps
are different (positive/stronger areas are blue,
negative/weaker areas are red, and nearly the same areas
are gray). You can compare two heatmaps from the same
survey or one heatmap from the current survey and one
heatmap from a different survey. For example, you can
compare a recent survey heatmap to one collected a year
ago.
(Added in v3.0.4)
Clear All Issue

Selecting menu item Survey->Clear->All after adding survey
data and then immediately adding more survey data would
cause VisiWave to crash. This has been fixed.
(Fixed in v3.0.4)

Version 3.0.3 Released

nospam@example.com (Administrator) — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 11:40:00 -0400

A maintenance release of VisiWave (v3.0.3) is now available for download. If you already own v3.0 of VisiWave, just download the eval version and install it over-top of your current version. Your existing license will continue to work. If you would like to evaluate VisiWave, just download the eval version and try it out.

New features in v3.0.3:

Show AP Markers with Labels Option

Setting "Show AP Markers" to "Yes, with labels" was not
working. It would label each AP Marker with the same
value. This now works.
(Fixed in v3.0.3)
Survey File Corruption

Fixed an issue where the report portion of the survey file
would become corrupt. This happened in some cases when
you saved the survey file and then immediately changed a
report item property (without clicking anywhere else
first).
(Fixed in v3.0.3)
Improved Results on Quiet Pre-Deployment Surveys

The first dozen or so data points were sometimes skipped
in very quiet survey areas such as pre-deployment
surveys. This skipping of data is no longer necessary.
(Fixed in v3.0.3)
Stretched Graphs When Origin Not on Survey Map

If the map origin--position (0, 0)--is not located
somewhere on the survey map, then contour graphs were
stretched. Normally the origin is always located
somewhere on the survey map so this isn't an issue. Now
the origin can be located anywhere without issue.
(Fixed in v3.0.3)
Crash in Google Earth Reports

Fixed a crash when exporting a Google Earth report file
that happens when two SSIDs are exactly the same except
for the case of one or more characters.
(Fixed in v3.0.3)

Version 2.1.10 Released

nospam@example.com (Administrator) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:29:26 -0400

A new release of VisiWave Site Survey is now available.

Those that hold a license to versions before 2.1 can upgrade to version 2.1 for a small fee. See the bottom of the Purchase page on our website for details. To try out the new version, download the eval version and install it over-top of your current version. You can then either purchase upgrade codes or re-install your previous version.

New features in v2.1.10:

Serial GPS Devices

An issue existed when using serial GPS devices and a
wireless adapter that took many seconds to capture data.
The position information could end up being very far
behind your current location.
(Fixed in v2.1.10)

Version 3.0.1 Released

nospam@example.com (Administrator) — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 14:24:45 -0400

A maintenance release of VisiWave (v3.0.1) is now available for download. If you already own v3.0 of VisiWave, just download the eval version and install it over-top of your current version. Your existing license will continue to work. If you would like to evaluate VisiWave, just download the eval version and try it out.

New features in v3.0.1:

Drag and Drop Issue

If you re-ordered report items quickly using your mouse,
you could cause VisiWave to stop responding.
(Fixed in v3.0.1)
Re-Emphasize the Need for an Accurate Scale

The user documentation was updated to further emphasize
the importance of setting an accurate scale for your
survey map image. In previous versions, this could be
estimated if you weren't using GPS to collect data and
you weren't creating Google Earth reports. Now with the
new concept of a Confidence Radius, ALL surveys need to
have an accurate scale set.
(Fixed in v3.0.1)
Minor PDF Report Formatting Issues

Image report pages were ignoring the Maximize property and
always maximizing the image even when this wasn't
requested. Also, if the caption property for a report
item was blank but the figure number was still included
then the figure number wasn't formatted correctly.
(Fixed in v3.0.1)
Licensing Issue on Windows 7 64bit

Licensing VisiWave in Report Only mode on Windows 7 64bit
computers wasn't working. It would ask if you wanted to
be in report only mode, but would stay in evaluation
mode.
(Fixed in v3.0.1)

Version 3.0 Released

nospam@example.com (Administrator) — Thu, 28 Jul 2011 16:07:53 -0400

We are excited to report that VisiWave Site Survey v3.0 is now available. Download the evaluation version and start trying out this major new release. If you already own a license to VisiWave, go to the Purchase page on our website and "Upgrade to Version 3.0". If you purchased VisiWave in 2011 or upgraded your VisiWave license in 2011, you are eligible for a free upgrade (if you haven't already received your new license code, then email support@visiwave.com).

New features in v3.0:

Survey Reports Now Integrated Within the Main Application

You now perform data collection and reporting within the
same application. The entire reporting interface was
redesigned to be easier to use and to provide more
effective views of your wireless network.
Report Files (.VWR) are No Longer Created

Your reports are now saved as part of your survey files
(.VWS) as one integrated storage solution. You can
migrate your existing report files using the "Migrate Old
Report Files" menu option found under the Report menu.
Application Menu Items have been Restructured

To accommodate combining both data collection and
reporting into one program, some menu items have moved to
new locations.
Keyboard Shortcuts

Many new keyboard shortcuts were added. See the key
assignments listed next to the menu items.

Thanks for your interest in VisiWave and let us know what you think. Drop a comment to support@visiwave.com.

Version 2.1.9 Released

nospam@example.com (Administrator) — Fri, 20 May 2011 14:23:07 -0400

Out-of-Date GPS Locations

In cases where the quality of the GPS signal was
steadily decreasing, VisiWave might use a very out-of-
date GPS position.
(Fixed in v2.1.9)
Support for Intel 5300 Internal Wireless Adapter

The Intel 5300 wireless adapter--and possibly some other
adapters--can take up to 6.5 seconds to complete a scan.
VisiWave now allows for these much longer scans to
complete under Windows Vista and 7. It is not
recommended to use this adapter under Windows XP.
(Fixed in v2.1.9)
Report File Vulnerability

Survey report files (.VWR) could be crafted in a way that
could crash VisiWave Report and open the possibility of
arbitrary code execution. Thanks go to StratSec
(http://www.stratsec.net/) for pointing out this issue.
(Fixed in v2.1.9)
Support for Version 3.0 Survey Files

This version allows you to read in survey files edited
under version 3.0 of VisiWave.
(Added in v2.1.9)

Version 3.0 Beta Released

nospam@example.com (Administrator) — Tue, 19 Apr 2011 12:52:00 -0400

A new release of VisiWave Site Survey is now available.

Try out the new beta version of VisiWave 3.0. If you already have a license to version 2.1, you can install this beta version over-top of your current version and continue to use it fully licensed. Otherwise, you can still try out the product by installing the eval version.

Those that purchase a license to VisiWave or upgrade to v2.1 at any time during 2011 can upgrade to version 3.0 for free. So buy your license now and upgrade for free when the product is released.

New features in v3.0 Beta:

Survey Reports Now Integrated Within the Main Application

You now perform data collection and reporting within the
same application. The entire reporting interface was
redesigned to be easier to use and to provide more
effective views of your wireless network.
Report Files (.VWR) are No Longer Created

Your reports are now saved as part of your survey files
(.VWS) as one integrated storage solution. You can
migrate your existing report files using the "Migrate Old
Report Files" menu option found under the Report menu.
Creating Reports on a Second Computer

You can still work with reports on a computer different
from the one you use to perform a survey. Just install
VisiWave on the computer that already has version 2.1's
reporting tool registered. If version 3.0 sees a
valid report code, but not a valid survey code, then
you can still use the reporting features on that
computer. You just can't collect survey data on that
computer. This is indicated by all three of the
Capture Modes always being grayed out.
Application Menu Items have been Restructured

To accommodate combining both data collection and
reporting into one program, some menu items have moved to
new locations.
Keyboard Shortcuts

Many new keyboard shortcuts were added. See the key
assignments listed next to the menu items.

Features Not Ready for Beta:

PDF Reports

With this beta version of VisiWave, you can only generate
HTML reports. PDF report generation is de-activated for
now.
Report Templates

Pressing the Templates button in the beta version has no
effect. Templates will allow you to create standard
reports that can be loaded into new surveys so you can
re-use the report templates you've previously created.
Default Legend

The "Set As Legend Default" menu item found when right-
clicking on the legend at the bottom of a heatmap graph
is not yet implemented.
Documentation

The Users Guide provided with this version has not been
updated from version 2.1. Also, the built-in help isn't
provided for reporting.
Other Features

The behavior of any feature found in the beta may be
modified (or even removed) in the final release.
Provide Feedback

This beta version is fairly stable, but you may still
encounter issues. Please provide feedback by emailing
support@visiwave.com with issues or comments. The more
detail you provide, the more likely we will be able to
assist you.

Version 2.1.8 Released

nospam@example.com (Administrator) — Fri, 04 Feb 2011 08:36:00 -0500

Wi-Spy DBx + 2.4x Firmware Update Support

Support was added for the new firmware update provided
by MetaGeek for the Wi-Spy DBx and Wi-Spy 2.4x devices.
Without this update, Wi-Spy devices running the updated
firmware will not be recognized by VisiWave.
(Added in v2.1.8 )
Selecting Many APs in the AP List

If you selected hundreds of APs in the AP List that is
shown on the right side of the data collection window and
saved that survey file, you couldn't re-load that survey
file again.
(Fixed in v2.1.8 )
Collecting Data with Duplicate APs or New Channel Numbers

In rare cases, VisiWave would report that the same AP was
heard multiple times at the same data point. Or it would
list a channel number different from the channel listed
for that AP in the master list of APs.
(Fixed in v2.1.8 )
Wi-Spy Noise Level Readings Improved

The way in which noise levels are obtained from an
installed Wi-Spy device was improved to minimize possible
interference from Wi-Fi traffic generated by the survey
laptop.
(Fixed in v2.1.8 )

Where to start with VisiWave?

nospam@example.com (Administrator) — Mon, 17 Mar 2008 16:59:00 -0400

If you are just starting out with VisiWave Site Survey, the best place to look for help is to view one of our online tutorials. Each lasts just a few minutes, but they show you the most important features of the product.

You probably want to start with the "Collecting Survey Data" tutorial. It goes over loading a survey map, setting the scale, collecting survey data using two common methods, and exporting graph data to Google Earth.

You will also want to look through our Quick Start Guide. This short guide goes over collecting survey data and creating reports.

You can also always read the manual. It is installed as part of the product (even with the eval version). Just go to the Start menu, click on All Programs and then on VisiWave Site Survey. You'll see a link labeled User's Guide. This brings up the guide in your PDF viewer.

VisiWave also has a lot of help built into the application. Just press F1 or select help from the Help menu. Most every feature, button, and field in the program is explained in the built-in help system.

Of course, you can always email us for help as well. We do our best to give you thorough and timely answers to all support emails.