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  • FlashPass 0.12 RC4 - PreRelease

    Posted on March 14th, 2009 admin 23 comments

    Big Release Today,

    We are very happy on how things are turning out. We think we are getting real close to the final release, and what first started as a thing for my own use its now evolving into a very robust and powerful application. we fixed all of the bugs known to date, and made several tests with actual eApis filings and its working like a charm. We had to make some changes since the last version to be 100% compliant with CBP requirements, but we have been in ample talk with them and i think we have most of the gremlin out. We also added a lot of features since our last release, this is in reality our first release candidate with feature freeze. What this means is that there will be no more features added to this version, only bug hunting. Once we are done squishing any remaining bugs, we will do our goldmaster release which will be version 1.0

    Feature wise this is the most significant release, not to mention this is the first release able to produce a 100% compliant eApis manifest that CBP approved. Due to popular demand we added a windows installer to the app, so its now self extracting and self installing. You should be able to also remove the app using the standard windows procedures. 

    Don’t forget to check out the new sharing menu, that gives you the power to share contacts or persons from your database with other FP users.

    We incorporated a new feedback feature within the app that will aid in getting more comments from you (we hope), i think most of you are shy to write in a stranger’s website, so with this feature i truly wish we can clean this app with all your comments, suggestions and bug reports. This will not be a substitute for you writing here in the comments section, so feel free to do so if you prefer that method.  

    A new tutorial video is coming soon so that you can squeeze all that extra juice from FlashPass.

    Please look bellow for all the changes and release notes.

    DOWNLOAD LINKS

     

    RELEASE NOTES (windows&mac)

    •  All known bugs reported to date have been removed. 
    •  FIX: Bug when printing multiple 178’s. Now the passengers don’t get mixed on multiple prints.
    •  FIX: Bug where the main menu will re-arrange when clicked. (Feedback: Leo)
    •  FIX: XML compliance and eApis submission is now 100% compliant (Feedback: CBP)
    •  FIX: XML file output, removing all blank spaces and using CRLF as line breaks.
    •  ADD: feature to save and restore a database backup file.
    •  FIX: Bug that causes database creation to render incomplete, requiring upgrade patch during the creation process.
    •  FIX: Deleting a contact that its used on a manifest will yield a warning allowing you to cancel the process before its too late.
    •  ADD: Default XML File name now includes the departure and arrival airports for easy identification. (Feedback: Arturo)
    •  ADD: Windows version now includes an installer. (Feedback: Arturo)
    •  ADD: An optional report window to see what’s going into your eApis manifest. (Feedback: Arturo)
    •  ADD: a setting option to turn on/off preview of eApis manifest before exporting.
    •  ADD: a built in comment/feedback form for direct bug, comments or suggestion reporting right from the app.
    •  ADD: the activation window in order to purchase and use licenses uppon final release.
    •  FIX: MiniCalendar popup now allows you to input a year directly and removed the double button that spoiled the layout.
    •  FIX: Date fields now allow you to input filtered valid dates directly without the use of the mini calendar.
    •  ADD: Ability to share contacts (one or all) among other FlashPass users. (Feedback: Arturo)
    •  ADD: Added a link under the state fields, that allows you to see the valid state abreviations. (Feedback: Arturo)
    •  ADD: Re-arreanged the menus and menu items to a more friendly layout.
    •  ADD: We now remember the item that was last selected on any particular list and highlight it again when you run the app again.
    •  ADD: Manifest window now has a new simpler interface to allow the use of smaller screen computers (Tablet PC’s?)
    •  ADD: We also incorporated a new Contact/Person detail window to accomplish the same task as  the new manifest UI.
    •  ADD: Mini Calendar now closes when pressing the escape key in case the window draws beyond the screen.
    •  ADD: Added support for ‘foreign airport’ in the manifests as required by CBP specs.
    •  ADD: Command+N (cntrl+N) now adds a new record while working on the main window.
    •  ADD: Pressing delete or backspace on the keyboard while working on the main window will delete the selected record.
    •  ADD: [MAC] We now support dragging manifests directly out from the list to anyplace on your computer to save the manifest file.
    •  ADD: [MAC] Sharing contacts its now also possible thru dragging the contact in and out of the person window (multiples allowed)
    •  ADD: Windows only supports drop of contacts. NOT drag from FlashPass. (OS Limitation)
    •  ADD: Arrival description field to each manifest based on the default value specified in Prefs.
    •  ADD: We added an option to show the list values in Loupe Mode (Large Text)

    KNOWN ISSUES

    • Mini Calendar does not closes on ESCAPE Key under windows. [Future Fix Coming] 

    ———
    .::KL::.

  • FlashPass First public beta release

    Posted on January 18th, 2009 admin No comments

    FlashPass is a software that will allow you to keep and store frequently used passenger, aircraft and manifest data, so that you will be able to make quickly and without re-entering a whole lot of data a new XML file for uploading and/or  a 178 customs form for printing.

    This development was started because of my frustration with new rule making that makes air travel closed to inconvenient, i decided to take steps to keep the process simple. At first i wasn’t sure if i wanted to share it or distribute it, but then i came to my senses and though “why not”. Because of this FlashPass will be a donation ware released software, which means its free, unless you think its worth something, if that happens you donate some money to continue the development further.

    Because CBP hasn’t released the XML business rules document and that there is not an exact example on how to create the XML file, i had decided to release the FlashPass software for public beta, while i can get a hold of this specification.

    This will allow me to keep the development going with your feedback and comments.

    Feel Free to download FlashPass and please make sure to add your comments here for debugging.

    This software is only available at this time for Mac OSX (universal binary). We are working on our first windows release, but we are using bootcamp for debugging and its a pain, so we are slowly but surely progressing to a release.

    Download version Beta 0.8 from here  : 

    FlashPass 0.8 beta (94)

    DON’T FORGET TO COMMENT FOR FEATURE SUGGESTIONS OR BUG REPORTS

    HAPPY TESTING!