Home Suite Information Manager

Upgrades are Free for the first two years after your purchase date

Home Suite features an automatic update system, and most users should be able to upgrade directly from the program itself. When a new version is available, an upgrade button will appear under the Quit button in the title bar. You can also check for updates manually by clicking the About button in the title bar, then clicking the Check For Updates link.

If you are unable to utilize the automatic system (on computers without internet access, for instance), you can download the latest version from the Download Page and install the program manually.

Version 2.12 - Released Dec 16, 2010

• Fixed crashing problem when no vehicles are in database.
• Fixed display mode when adding new vehicle records.
• Fixed crashing problem with out of range photo sizes.
• Fixed the broken "Copies" pull down when printing address labels.

Version 2.11 - Released May 18, 2010

• New data entry dialogs with improved clipboard operations.
• Slightly increased window size with better management on a variety of screen sizes.
• Fixed sizing problem that cut off text in selection lists.
• Improved graphics handling of several user interface components.
• Improved address selection on the Address screen.
• Improved vehicles screen with better layout and larger photo.
• Improved search feature for vehicle records.
• Added selectable view mode for Vehicles screen.
• Added exporting and printing to Vehicles screen.
• Minor improvements to password screen formatting.
• Default master password is handled more elegantly now.
• Fixed minor bug when opening local files with web browser.

Version 2009.10 - Released Dec 20, 2009:

• Fixed issue that occasionally prevented proper installation of updates.
• Fixed URL encoding issues that caused problems with some web browsers.
• Fixed minor formatting issues with mapping features on the Address screen.

Version 2009.9 - Released Dec 10, 2009:

• First public release of Home Suite.
• Simplified version numbering based on the year of release and the revision number.

Version 2009.8 - (Beta 09.11.13) - Released Nov 13, 2009:

• Implemented a new program versioning system based on the release date.
• Redesigned the automatic update and registration verification to run in a background thread. When a new version is released, a new button will appear under the About/Help/Minimize/Quit buttons. Clicking this button will allow you to access more details or install the new version. If you do not have an internet connection the new version button will simply remain hidden.
• The password screen now detects whether a password field is an email address or web site. Right clicking an email address will open your default email application, and right clicking a web address will open your default web browser.
• The registration system has been cleaned up and is better integrated into the online verification system.
• Fixed several bugs that caused crashing after adding a photo to a vehicle.
• Fixed inaccurate conversions on vehicle fuel displays.
• Removed code sections from program that were no longer in use to reduce program size.

Version 2009.7 - (Beta 1.g) - Released Oct 30, 2009:

• Added a new registration verification system to allow refunded or pirated codes to be deactivated.
• Redesigned the automatic update system to be more efficient, and coordinate with the registration verification to minimize network activity (in case of slow connections).
• The upgrade check now lets you download and reinstall the software, even if you are already using the current version. This can be useful if you need to set folder securities or create a desktop icon when restoring files manually from a backup, or transferring files from one computer to another.
• Fixed display issues on the vehicle screen that allowed text to extend out of the text area.
• The vehicle screen has been reorganized to show vehicle statistics and make it easier to add and edit vehicles.
• The vehicles database has been redesigned from the ground up for more efficient access and better expandability. If you have a data file from an older beta version, it will be converted to the new format automatically. There are no obvious changes from the users point of view, but this required a major restructuring of all vehicle operations.
• You can now attach a photo to each vehicle.
• The date display on the vehicles screen will now use the language and format selected in Windows. However, you still must enter dates in the YYYY/MM/DD format in the record editors.
• Vehicle distance and fuel measurements now support both US/imperial and metric measurement systems. Home Suite will determine the measurement system from Windows configuration, and will display US measurements (miles, gallons, mpg) in the United States, or metric measurements (km, liters, km/l) in countries that use the metric system. When needed, you can override the default measures by adding "km" or "mi" to the odometer readings, or "gal" or "liters" to the fuel readings. For example, if you live in the US, Home Suite will default to the standard US measurements. But if you take a road trip to Canada, you can still record your odometer readings in miles, but record the fuel readings in liters (as it is sold in Canada). Home Suite will make whatever conversions are needed.

Version 2009.6 - (Beta 1.f) - Released Oct 17, 2009:

• Fixed a memory leak in the interface that would cause icons and other graphics to disappear at random.
• Fixed the 'Change Master' function on the password screen so old data from other features is not displayed.
• Fixed URL generation for Yahoo address mapping.
• Improved the subroutine that opens external programs (web browser, installer, etc.) to work better with Windows 7 and Vista.
• The password screen has been redesigned to better display the contents of each password record.
• Password records have been improved. You can now define your own names for each field, and there are more fields available for your use.
• Added a new automatic update system. It should check for a new version every seven days, or you can check for updates manually from the "About" screen. When a new version is available, it will allow you to download and install the update from within the program, instead of having to visit my web site then download and install manually (though you can still do it this way if needed).

Version 2009.5 - (Beta 1.e) - Released Oct 2, 2009:

• Window size enlarged slightly to allow more information to fit on the screen.
• The Address screen has been redesigned to improve the current address display. Buttons that only work with the current address have been moved to the bottom of the screen to distinguish them from the more generic buttons.
• Added a checkbox to select all displayed addresses (supplements the existing Control/A method of selecting all addresses).
• Added a button to open the web site defined for the current address.
• Improved parsing of numerical data when entering vehicle Gas and Maintenance records.
• Shift/Tab now moves to previous line in multi-line edit boxes.
• Minor change to preview display when selecting labels in the address print manager. It should now be a little more clear whether a label is selected or not.
• Blank pages should no longer be ejected when the number of labels equals the sheet capacity.

Version 2009.4 - (Beta 1.d) - Released Sep 10, 2009:

• Fixed the problems that would occasionally cause crashing when switching from one screen to another.
• The list of vehicles should no longer disappear at random.
• Added the ability to specify the desired screen from the program command line. This is useful when you want to create a direct shortcut to a specified screen. The installer will create some sample desktop shortcuts to show how this works.
• Beta versions will now expire automatically 6 months from their release date. This will simplify things on my end, and give testers more time to work with the program in case I don't release a new update promptly.

Version 2009.3 - (Beta 1.c) - Released Aug 12, 2009:

• The gas editor on the Vehicle screen can now accept fuel measurements in gallons or liters. Just add the letter "L" or the word "liter" after the measurement (i.e. 8.5 liters), and Home Suite will automatically convert the liters into US gallons. This makes it easy to compute the miles per gallon, even if you filled up in a country that measures gas in liters (like our recent road trip to Canada). Just be aware the US gallon is slightly different from the UK gallon, so the conversion will not be accurate if you travel in that area.
• I completely redesigned the CSV parser for the address import, thanks to a complicated address file one of my testers sent me. I haven't had much time for testing, but every file I have tried so far has imported perfectly. If you discover an address file in CSV format that fails to import correctly, please send me a copy by email and I'll see if I can track down the cause.

Version 2009.2 - (Beta 1.b) - Released Jun 16, 2009:

• Fixed numerous problems discovered by beta testers.
• Fixed crashing problems on the Address screen.
• Fixed printing problems with addresses.
• Added CSV and tab delimited address importing, with new field mapper.