Webware updates: Presenting, GraphGear, PressBox

We have a number of updates to some of the software we work on, specifically presenting, graphgear, and pressbox.

Presenting, a tool for people who present blogs, is now up to version 0.9.

Release Notes:

• Numerous Bug fixes, sidebar fixes, and ease of installation improvements.
• A “Dark” theme is now available (it’s what we use on this site) - see style.css for more information.
• Presenting now supports Google’s recently available chart api QR codes (it places a QR code at the top of each page - the code is a link to that page). In theory anyone with a macbook cam / cellphone cam set up for QR can take a picture and jump to the link.

Graph Gear has a major upgrade to version 1.4:

Release Notes:

• Vastly Expanded Javascript API - Almost all properties for a graph can be changed over javascript. Nodes can also be added (though not deleted) during a user session. Also good, nodes now notify javascript when you interact with them, allowing significantly richer applications to be built.
• Code Compilation for Non Flashers - Almost all of the code (accept for one or two dangling bits) has been moved to the class files. That means that non flashers can compile by the command line using a free software compiler like mtasc. It’s so easy, its just one line of compile!
• Graphs can now be directed (add type=”directed” to the graph tag, defaults to “undirected”), currently the marker is just a simple arrowhead in the color of the line.
• Support for different, multiple node types (currently supporting: SquareNode, CircleNode, CircleTextNode, OpenNode) - CircleNode is the previous style. A SquareNode is (surprise) a square, a CircleTextNode is a CircleNode with a simpler text display style, an OpenNode is intended to be used with a transparent png (it doesn’t mask to a shape).
• Basic Support for Clustering - The toolkit was intended to draw a single graph, meaning all of the nodes are connected. Still, sometimes you have a few unconnected graphs that need to be displayed. Clusters (cluster=”clustername”) allow you to create groups of nodes that don’t interact with other groups. Nodes default to the aptly named “default” cluster. If you wanted a second minigraph of two nodes connected only to each other, for example, you could assign them to the cluster “secondcluster”. This is still very basic.
• Added support for alternative node interactions (on a graph wide basis). The included example is action=”center”, this interaction centers nodes on click, rather than allowing the user to drag them around.
• Added preliminary support for line locking (if you want to use the force directed layout in a single dimension, by locking to the x or y axis (lock=”x”, lock=”y”). Pretty buggy at the moment, bound and adjust need to be turned way down)
• Added ability to hide labels explicitly (hideLabel=true) (labels are always hidden if they have no content)
• Rotation has been fixed (no weird jumping)
• Added animation library. animation=”true” will enable some basic animations (like node selection effects.)
• Edge bounce - stupid nonfeature, nodes now repel when they hit the edge, making them look extra cool.
• Added additional information in docs/ for javascriptapi, compilation and new xml property descriptions.
• Bug fixes all around (and fast blast kudos)

Press Box is upgraded to version 1.3 with bugfixes and usability improvements.

Release Notes:

• Comments are now supported on the indices, with pretty bubble style format.
• Not a multiauthor? - no problem. Author names will now be omitted from single user blogs.
• Significantly improved SEO Support in terms of heading structuring, etc.
• General Bugfixes and Usability improvments

We’re also very interested in comments on the future direction of the things we’re working on, so let us know!