PRETSPPD has been superseded by and incorporated into the new TEAPAC Complete product which is described in detail at the main page of www.StrongConcepts.com.  Upgrades from PRETSPPD to TEAPAC Complete are available.  Contact Strong Concepts for details.

:PRETSPPD Ver 1.81 27MAY08

Build 11 - 27MAY08

>Default file type for Import is .DGT to match TS/PP-DRAFT.

The default file type for the Import dialog has been changed to .DGT so it is consistent with the TS/PP-DRAFT program. This is also the default file type of the file selection dialog which pops up when the Browse button is used.

>Import Browse button shows all possible file types.

The file selection dialog which pops up when the Browse button is used for Import now defines the TS/PP-DRAFT file type which is supported, using a better description of the file type.

>Better initialization for Import to avoid crash for null Import.

Certain variables are now initialized before an Import so that if the process encounters no importable conditions the program will not crash.

>Only include RT phase module when overlap actually exists, not just allowed.

A right turn overlap phase module had the potential of being included in an Export when such a condition was allowed by the inputs but didn't actually exist. Now a right turn overlap phase module is only included when a right turn overlap actually exists.

>Dialogs identify need for consistency between Yellowtimes & ReqClearances.

The dialogs for GreenTimes and YellowTimes have been updated with additional text to clarify the importance of maintaining a consistency between the YellowTimes and ReqClearances entries. This consistency is especially important when the entry format is Converted from By-Phase to By-Movement and when Exporting to ring-based software.

>Correct offsets displayed in time-space diagram for exclusive pedestrian phase.

When an intersection included an exclusive pedestrian phase, as defined by the PedTime entry, it was possible that the offsets and/or phases displayed in the time-space diagram of a Plot would not be correct. This possibility has been eliminated.

>No attempt to Export, Plot or Timings if no real nodes have been selected.

Any attempt by the program to perform an Export, Plot or Timings directive will now be aborted in the event that no real nodes have been selected for the desired action, thus avoiding a potential crash due to lack of adequate data to perform the selected action.

>Error message for improperly connected node has detailed help text.

Error #15 which is issued when a node is detected that is not properly connected to the rest of the network now includes a reference to the Help text for the message which gives details about potential causes and resolutions. In particular, diagonal connections between nodes which have not been created properly are described in detail.

>Include manual distance status for dummy nodes in View-Summary (SUMMARISE).

The status of a link's Network distance entry is now displayed properly for dummy nodes, eliminating the garbage that could potentially be displayed in its place in the View-Summary or Summarise output report.

>Plot & Timings only check for valid data of intersections to be plotted/listed.

The Plot and Timings actions will now only check that data entries appear valid for nodes to be plotted or timings listed, rather than all nodes in the defined network. This allows portions of a large network to be plotted or timings listed before data for the entire network has been entered.

>Widen timing field in TIMINGS report to allow intervals over 99.9 seconds long.

The display fields for the TIMINGS output report have been increased so that timing intervals with values larger than 99.9 seconds can be displayed properly.

>Generic changes made to all Ver 7.81 TEAPAC programs.

Allow negative percentage on ASSIGNMENT for Passbys and Diverted trips.
Use Shift while dragging mouse to define development area on network display.
Dialogs identify need for consistency between Yellowtimes & ReqClearances.
Display dummy node dot and node number if it is current node or in Subsystem.
Note in CrdSysMgmt dialog that NewLinkDist button assumes coords are in feet.
Able to save from OpenIntoEdit if it was first file opened into program.
NOTE shows 'Issue X Not Selected' when case selection does not select an Issue.
File-OpenMerge does not allow existing Network data to be overwritten by zeros.
File-SaveAs to an existing file name with Scenario conditions doesn't hang.
File-SaveAs shows file type of current file & better file type descriptions.

:PRETSPPD Ver 1.80 25APR07

Build 00 - 08JUN07

>TS/PP-Draft Version 7 Format Is Supported Automatically for Export and Import.
 

The most recent version of TS/PP-Draft installed on the user system is now determined automatically by PRETSPPD from the contents of the License.txt file in the installed folder, and the file formats used for both Export and Import from/to PRETSPPD are adjusted accordingly. This now includes a formal list of component file names used (for both Versions 6 and 7), as well as the passing of the background bitmap file and scaling information for Version 7.

>Problems Importing Changed Timings from TS/PP-Draft Have Been Fixed.

Problems which have been encountered importing timings which have been changed and saved from within TS/PP-Draft have been resolved, now allowing these changed timings to be imported into PRETSPPD so they can be subsequently passed to other programs such as TRANSYT-7F (via PRETRANSYT) or CORSIM (via PRENETSIM) for further evaluation.

>Intersection and Street Name Labels Are Exported for Ver 6 & 7.

The file formats now used by PRETSPPD for Export to TS/PP-Draft Versions 6 and 7 permit the inclusion of street names and intersection descriptions, so these descriptions are now included for all Exports from PRETSPPD when these versions of TS/PP-Draft are involved. When Exporting from PRETSPPD, use the normal TEAPAC orientation convention when describing the intersection via the Intersection dialog (put the north-south street name first and the east-west street name last, separated by an ampersand '&') and these descriptions will be properly transferred to TS/PP-Draft (no intersection or street names are exported when this convention is not followed). Commas must be omitted from any intersection or street name description.

>Long File Names and Longer Path Names Implemented, Plus New File Format.

All aspects of TEAPAC data file storage, including SCENARIO condition files, have been extended so that file names can have as many as 70 characters in their names, and file path names can have as many as 180 characters, both including upper or lower case characters and spaces. Since SCENARIO condition files and certain file switch options can add as many as 6 characters to file names, it is best if user-entered names are no more than 64 characters.

A new, higher capacity data file format with a new file extension (.tpc) has been introduced which will be used by default for all new files created by all TEAPAC programs. This format is text-based like the old .for format so it is still easy to see what is in a file, as well as write such files from other programs, but with a look to the future this format has line length maximums of 256 characters per line (254 useable) instead of the more limiting maximums of the .for format which had maximums of 128 characters per line (80 useable). The old format can still be read and written simply by continuing to use the .for extension, but users are encouraged to convert files to the new format simply by saving .for file with the new .tpc extension (then archive the .for files so they are not used by mistake). The long file names and paths mentioned above are valid for either extension.

>New User Discussion Forum Is Accessible Directly from the Help Menu.

The new User Discussion Forum which has been implemented for TEAPAC users and is available 24/7 for posting questions and searching through answers to previous questions can now be accessed directly from the Help menu of the program. The Forum can also be accessed directly using any internet browser at www.StrongConcepts.com/Forum.

:PRETSPPD Ver 1.71 08SEP06

Build 07 - 25JAN07

Scroll down to 'Ver 1.70 07NOV05, Build 07 - 11NOV05' below for the major changes which were implemented for the original Visual TEAPAC release of this program.

>SCENARIO Program Makes its Debut.

SCENARIO is a new Visual TEAPAC program that can create multi-scenario data files either from scratch or from data files of earlier versions of TEAPAC. Users can 1) select from pre-defined typical scenario structures like multiple volume conditions or multiple timing plans, 2) create completely unique scenario conditions for their analyses, or 3) customize a pre-defined scenario structure to meet their specific needs. The primary advantage of using SCENARIO is that all the scenario data is saved without dangers of duplicated data which often occur when scenarios are managed by the typical use of File-SaveAs.
 

The SCENARIO program also functions as an automatic plugin for all other Visual TEAPAC programs so that each program automatically understands the SCENARIO file structure which has been created, and at no additional cost (see below).

SCENARIO can easily define both single-issue and multi-issue conditions, and any data dialog can be assigned or re-assigned to any defined issue for as many as five independent, mutually-exclusive Issues. 25 Conditions can be defined for each Issue. For example, a very common and simple single-issue scenario would be having multiple volume conditions for one or more intersections for which capacity analysis, intersection design and/or signal timing optimization would be needed. Other examples of a single-issue analysis could be multiple years of traffic count data for TURNS or WARRANTS, or multiple years or zones of land use for SITE's projected traffic estimation.

Multi-issue scenarios could be combinations of any of these, where the variation of one variable is independent of the others. Another example of a multi-issue scenario could be where one Issue is changing volumes based on the time-of-day and/or day-of-week while the other Issue is independently changing intersection geometrics which depend on differing funding possibilities.

>SCENARIO Support in All Visual TEAPAC Programs.

All Visual TEAPAC programs have been updated so that support for multi-issue data files created by SCENARIO is automatic and seamless. The SCENARIO program serves as a plugin to the other Visual TEAPAC programs so that they automatically support the SCENARIO-structured files for both File-Open and File-Save. A new File menu option labeled Get-Scenario-Case allows the user to select any of the Conditions for all of the Issues which have been created, and any subsequent changes to data which are made are automatically saved in the correct Condition files which have been defined. SCENARIO has also been added to all LinkTo menus so that SCENARIO is immediately available to modify the defined scenario structure, as necessitated by changing project assumptions.

>Generic Enhancements Made to All Visual TEAPAC Programs.

A number of additional generic enhancements and fixes have been made to the original Ver 7.00 releases of Visual TEAPAC and are collectively included as Ver 7.01 Build 07. These are documented below. Ver 7.01 Build 07 changes are free updates for Ver 7.00 licenses.

Data entry dialogs that don't apply to dummy nodes have been modified so that if they are inadvertently displayed while pointing to a dummy node they will not display unpredictable values or cause the program to crash.

The LinkTo menu has been adjusted so that if no data file path has been defined it will attempt to use the program's file path, but will not crash if neither of these is defined. The file menu options for Open, SaveAs and IntoEdit have been adjusted similarly for the condition when no data path has been defined.

A bug has been fixed that could cause a crash when clicking within an output being displayed at a zoomed-out scale on some low-resolution monitors.

:PRETSPPD Ver 1.70 07NOV05

Build 28 - 28AUG06

Scroll down to 'Ver 1.70 07NOV05, Build 07 - 11NOV05' below for the major changes which were implemented for the original Visual TEAPAC release of this program.

>V7.00.28: Generic Enhancements Made to All Visual TEAPAC Programs.

A number of generic enhancements and fixes have been made to the original Ver 7.00 releases of Visual TEAPAC and are collectively included as Ver 7.00 Build 28. These are documented below and use heading lines that begin with V7.00.28:. In addition, minor program-specific changes have been made, as summarized here and detailed in the program's own specific list of updates and changes. Ver 7.00 Build 28 changes are free updates for Ver 7.00 licenses.

>V7.00.28: Number of Access Drives Increased From 5 to 10 for SITE Computations.

The permitted number of driveways which provide access to a development area for SITE computations has been increased from 5 to 10 in all TEAPAC programs, allowing greater flexibility in modeling all driveways which may exist or be proposed for a development. Along with this change comes a quicker way of entering driveway locations by combining the intersection leg direction (N/E/S/W) with the node number of the drive, such as 1N or 132E.

>V7.00.28: Input Limit for VOLFACTORS Adjusted for Consistency with Save.

The largest VOLFACTOR which can be saved in a TEAPAC data file has always been 9.99, but it's been recently noticed that the input dialog error checking permitted factors as large as 20.0 without an error, resulting in subsequent problems if an attempt was made to save such an entry. The input error checking has been modified to match the save limitation to resolve this problem. At the same time, the discussion in the documentation has been modified to reflect the same precision of save accuracy to avoid any further confusion.

>V7.00.28: Multiple Copies of a Program Can Be Open Simultaneously Again.

The source of a problem which has recently prevented multiple copies of any given program from being open at the same time, such as when comparing alternatives side-by-side. This problem has been resolved and the ability to have multiple copies open simultaneously has been re-enabled.

>V7.00.28: Minor Fixes to Drag-and-Drop Network Interface.

An occasional problem connecting T-intersections properly when bend nodes were present in the network has been resolved. Build 21 versions of the programs would notify the user of the problem immediately upon creation of a link under these circumstances. If an earlier version was used to create the network, the problem is easily detected (if it exists) with the Analyze function in the new Coordinate System section of the Setup button dialog in the main window. the problem would manifest itself with upstream connections to the wrong node and/or incorrect distances. Creation of most T-intersections were not affected by this problem.

If an old TEAPAC data file saved from a program prior to Visual TEAPAC was opened using a LinkTo, drag-to or from a command line, a crash could result when an attempt was made by the program to update the Nodelist format to the new save format. This problem has been resolved.

Build 21 - 27JUL06

Scroll down to 'Ver 1.70 07NOV05, Build 07 - 11NOV05' below for the major changes which were implemented for the original Visual TEAPAC release of this program.

>Imported Offsets Are Rounded to Maintain Consistent Units.

Imported offsets which lie in the range between 0.0 and 1.0 are rounded to the nearest whole second so that their implicit units remain as seconds instead of changing to seconds/second.

>Check for Problematic Offset Entries When Producing Time-Space Diagram.

Problematic offset entries that might crash a time-space diagram plot are detected before they cause a crash.

>V7.00.21: Generic Enhancements Made to All Visual TEAPAC Programs.

A number of generic enhancements and fixes have been made to the original Ver 7.00 releases of Visual TEAPAC and are collectively included as Ver 7.00 Build 21. These are documented below and use heading lines that begin with V7.00.21:. In addition, minor program-specific changes have been made, as summarized here and detailed in the program's own specific list of updates and changes. Ver 7.00 Build 21 changes are free updates for Ver 7.00 licenses.

>V7.00.21: New Coordinate System Management Features.

A new set of options to help manage the network coordinate system for any given data file has been added to all programs that use the Visual TEAPAC drag-and-drop network editing and display (all TEAPAC programs except NOSTOP, TED and TUTOR). The options appear in a new dialog which is displayed when the Coord Sys button is pressed in the network Setup dialog.

The Coordinate System Management dialog offers three main function - 1) to Analyze the current network for possible coding errors such as improperly-connected nodes and scaling issues, 2) to create a New Coordinate System by shifting and/or scaling the current coordinate system, and 3) to compute New Link Distances based on the current coordinate system. For the Analyze function, a percentage error can be input to define the threshold which identifies potential scaling problems between the coordinate system scale and each link's entered distance, and an option can be selected to check the approach angle of each intersection leg.

One of the motivations for this new option is to be able to identify and adjust network coordinate systems from older TEAPAC programs which exercised the option to specify the units of the coordinate system in something other than feet. Although this is still possible, it can be problematic with the new drag-and-drop Visual TEAPAC interface, and is not recommended. In combination with the new Manual Distance option described below and the functions of this new dialog, old coordinate systems can be easily converted for more predictable use under the new Visual TEAPAC methods.

>V7.00.21: New Manual Distance Option Added to NETWORK Dialog Entry.

A new option can be selected in the NETWORK dialog individually for any given link of the network that indicates that the distance entered for that link is intentionally inconsistent with the network coordinate system and apparent network scale. Links which have this option selected are specifically excluded from the computation of the average coordinate system scale used and reported in the network Analysis function described above. Although not recommended, selecting this option allows a link's distance to be inconsistent with the coordinate system without adversely affecting the management and checking of the rest of the network.

In addition to this option, the NETWORK dialog also shows the calculated link distance based on the coordinate system (and the average coordinate system scale, if not equal to 1.0), and if this calculated distance is outside of the allowed error specified in the Coordinate System Management dialog, it is displayed in red. The Manual Distance option status is also shown in all data summaries which include NETWORK data, and new distances which are required due to any network editing are now always based on the coordinate distance, unless a link is previously marked for Manual Distance.

>V7.00.21: Automatic Network Relationship Checks Made.

The new Analyze function of the Coordinate System Management dialog mentioned above is invoked automatically any time a data file is Opened or Saved, or any time NETWORK or NODELOCATION information is changed (either via drag-and-drop actions or direct keyboard entry), thereby giving immediate feedback when a network definition problem could be corrupting an analysis. The Analyze function is also invoked prior to other program functions which make significant use of the spatial arrangement of the network, such as Exporting in PRENETSIM, PRESYNCHRO and PRETSPPD and FindPaths in SITE.

>V7.00.21: Frequency of Automatic Update Check Can Be Set By User.

A new user entry can now be made which controls the number of days between automatic checks for program updates. The entry can be found in the Help-Check_For_Newer_Updates menu dialog. With this new feature, the maximum frequency of automatic checks is once per day, not every time the program is run. Automatic checks can be disabled by entering a frequency of 0 days, but this is not recommended (checking for updates every 10-30 days is recommended).

>V7.00.21: Improved Initial Zoom-All View for Large Coordinate Range.

The initial Zoom-All display for a network when a file is opened has been improved for all networks, especially those with a wide range of coordinates, such that the zoom level used is more appropriate for all combinations of networks and display resolutions.

>V7.00.21: Improved Network Editing Features.

A number of enhancements have been made to network editing functions to improve the response to various user actions, as follows. If a new link connection will over-write an existing leg of a node, the user is warned and given the option to select another leg or abort. If a new link creation is aborted for any reason, any new dummy nodes created as part of that process are deleted (including clicking on the network without dragging, now deleting the single node which was previously created). If a third leg is added to a bend node as part of a new link creation, the bend node is converted to a real node (and re-numbered accordingly). If deleting a node removes one leg of a bend node, the bend is converted to an external node. Default source movements for a new link which connects existing nodes with a diagonal are determined more reliably. Left-click can be used while in the Create New Link mode to select the current node.

>V7.00.21: Fixes to SIMULATION Dialog.

The 'Use TRANSYT or PASSER Actuated Model' option of the SIMULATION dialog is now both properly selectable without any error messages, and displayed properly in the dialog, and a random glitch which garbled part of the main window Network display when the SIMULATION dialog opened has been fixed.

>V7.00.21: Make Help File Useable When a Data File is Double-clicked.

A problem locating the .HLP file when a user data file was double-clicked in Windows Explorer to open it has been fixed.

Build 14 - 20APR06

Scroll down to 'Ver 1.70 07NOV05, Build 07 - 11NOV05' below for the major changes which were implemented for the original Visual TEAPAC release of this program.

>Fix Default PLOT Function When Dummy Nodes are Present.

A problem with the PLOT function using the default list of nodes has been fixed. This only occurred when dummy nodes existed in the network.

>V7.00.14: Generic Enhancements Made to All Visual TEAPAC Programs.

A number of generic enhancements and fixes have been made to the original Ver 7.00 release of Visual TEAPAC and are collectively included as Ver 7.00 Build 14. These are documented below and use heading lines that begin with V7.00.14:. Ver 7.00 Build 14 changes are free updates for Ver 7.00 licenses.

>V7.00.14: Color Selection Added to Options Menu.

The Options menu now provides a Colors option for selecting colors which are used when generating formatted output reports and the main window network display. Any selections made are retained and used during future program sessions. Most of the default colors for formatted output reports are taken from the user's desktop color scheme (DisplayProperties-Appearance), so changing the color scheme will automatically change the output colors used when the defaults are selected. All colors selected, including actual selections and defaults, are displayed in the Color management dialog produced by the Options-colors menu selection.

>V7.00.14: Browse Button Added to Select a Bitmap File.

A browse button has been added to the Network Display and Edit Management dialog which is displayed when the Setup button of the main window is pressed. This can be used to select a bitmap background file in the data file folder as an alternative to simply typing the file name in the entry field.

>V7.00.14: INTERSECTION Dialog Options Added.

The INTERSECTION dialog which is used to select the 'current' node has been significantly enhanced with several new features, as follows. A check box enables the inclusion of dummy nodes in the drop-down list so dummy nodes can be selected from the dialog; and nodes in the drop-down list can be ordered in any of three arrangements - the order they appear in the NODELIST, numeric order by node number, or alphabetic order by intersection description.

On a related note, the network display is now updated any time a new current intersection is selected, including when it is entered from the Manual Mode, when it is entered from file input, etc. Also, when a dummy node is selected as the current node, it is always highlighted in the network display, even when the zoom level is such that other dummy nodes are not displayed.

>V7.00.14: Option Added to Delete All References to Deleted Node.

When a node is deleted or cut from the network, either from the main window network display or from the NODELIST dialog, a prompt to verify the deletion is now always issued, and the prompt now includes a new option to include the deletion of all other references to the deleted node elsewhere in the network. The option to delete all references is pre-selected by default on each deletion, but can be de-selected in the prompt dialog box.

On a related note, the manipulation of nodes in the NODELIST dialog has been extended to include dummy nodes as well as real nodes, offering greater flexibility in managing the entire node list from this dialog. A problem with the Copy and Paste functions (to and from the clipboard) has also been fixed.

>V7.00.14: Improved Support for PDF Creation.

Difficulties producing PDF files for formatted output reports with certain PDF writers have been resolved.

>V7.00.14: Improved Constraint In Use of SUBSYSTEM Function.

The use of the drag function in the main window network display to create or edit a SUBSYSTEM has been constrained for better consistency with the allowed use of the SUBSYSTEM feature based on the program's licensed Usage Level. This prevents inadvertent setting of the SUBSYSTEM which then causes an error when opening a file which has this feature saved.

>V7.00.14: Maximum Link Length Increased from 9999 to 32000.

The maximum link length allowed by all TEAPAC programs has been increased from 9,999 feet (<2 miles) to 32,000 feet (> 6 miles), and a warning message is now issued if a link is created in the main window network display that exceeds this limit.

>V7.00.14: File-OpenMerge Function Enhanced.

The File-OpenMerge function has been enhanced in several ways, as follows. First, if a file being merged contains information about a bitmap file and its scaling, this information is ignored in deference to the bitmap/scaling information currently in effect in the program. The help strings for this function have also been updated, and the function is initialized more completely each time it is used to avoid overlap with responses to previous error situations.

>V7.00.14: Help File Formatting Restored to Previous Style.

The numbering of the indented paragraphs in the Notes section of Appendix B of the Help file has been restored, as appeared previously.

>V7.00.14: Minor Cleanups and Fixes Implemented.

A number of (mostly internal) cleanups and fixes have been implemented for more reliable operation of Visual TEAPAC programs. Most of these will not be noticeable to users, but a couple will resolve certain problems a few users have experienced. For example, opening an old TEAPAC data file which does not contain valid NODELOCATION entries for each intersection will not crash, and moving a bend node under certain conditions will not cause the program to close prematurely.

Build 07 - 11NOV05

>Visual TEAPAC - A Whole New Way of Seeing TEAPAC.

All 13 modules of the TEAPAC suite of programs have been upgraded to the Visual TEAPAC (Version 7) interface. Primarily, this means each program sports a much more visual input and output system to make entering and viewing data for the analysis network much easier and to make the resulting output reports clearer and easier to read. The general aspects of the two major enhancement areas, visual input and visual output, are described below, followed by the many other supporting enhancements that go along with the Visual TEAPAC upgrade.

When combined with the unparalleled 1-file, 1-click, 500-intersection, completely seamless data sharing introduced with each of the 13 TEAPAC2004 (Version 6) programs, Visual TEAPAC provides an unmatched experience of fully-integrated visual traffic engineering and traffic planning software. Read on for the details.

>Visual TEAPAC - Graphical Input and Display of Analysis Network.

All TEAPAC programs (except NOSTOP and TUTOR) now provide a drag-and-drop user interface as a way to create and/or display the study network in the main window of the program. The network can be drawn schematically or to precise scale with the aid of an underlying grid, or a bitmap can be displayed under the network to make drawing easy and/or display of the network more meaningful. The bitmap file can be an aerial photograph, a street map, as-built drawings, or any other such display which would be helpful, and this bitmap is exported to third-party program such as CORSIM and TRANSYT as permitted.

Streets can be drawn by clicking on the grid or scaled bitmap and dragging across the extent of the street section, creating analysis intersections where the new street segment crosses existing street segments. The Setup button can be used to identify the bitmap, scale the bitmap and establish an axis origin, either before the network is drawn or afterwards for pre-existing data files. Special display adjustment modes allow quick re-orientation to new bitmaps, such as when using higher-resolution bitmaps for a zoomed-in study area versus a regional area bitmap.

Dummy nodes are automatically created to orient external legs of intersections around the periphery of the study network, and internal dummy bend nodes are easily created for better network representation between analysis intersections. Proper treatment of all dummy nodes (externals and bends) are fully integrated into all of the TEAPAC application programs, as well as the eleven+ third-party programs to which TEAPAC analyses can be exported. Dummy nodes do not count against the maximum number of intersections allowed by each Usage Level.

Intersections and dummy nodes are easily moved within the network by simply dragging them across the grid or bitmap, with the option to freeze the associated link distances, or have them adjust automatically as they are moved.

The network view is easily adjusted with buttons for panning in eight directions, zoom in, zoom out, zoom all to show the entire network, and a rubber-band selection to outline the desired zoom-in area. The display of either the bitmap or the network is easily toggled on or off, as required, and the current intersection for subsequent dialog data entry or analysis is made by simply clicking the intersection. Intersections can also be selected by a right-click which opens a popup menu with all the data entry and data analysis dialogs immediately available, either in Normal View or Tabular View (use F3 to toggle the view). The popup menu also allows the renumbering or deletion of the selected node. Dragging a rubber-band selection box around a set of intersections can be used to define or add to (with Ctrl key) a subsystem of intersections for subsequent analysis.

The on-screen shortest-path FindPath assignment function of the SITE program is now performed in color directly on the main-window graphics network display, including the bitmap background, providing helpful visual cues while performing the assignment process.

The on-screen Startup Help? button provides immediate assistance for all of the functions described above. Visit www.StrongConcepts.com for examples of the new graphical input front-end now found in Visual TEAPAC.

>Visual TEAPAC - Enhanced Graphical Output Reporting.

All TEAPAC programs now feature enhanced, graphical output reporting for all results produced. Output reports now make full use of color and graphics drawing for arrows, phasing diagrams, permitted movements, time-space diagrams, intersection diagrams, cycle optimization graphs, daily count variation graphs, etc. All reports are printable on any color or black & white printer supported by Windows, including PDF writers. Any graphics output page can be copied to the clipboard as a bitmap so it can be pasted into other applications. The prior version's text-only results are still viewable alone or in parallel with the graphical results, and selected text can be copied to the clipboard or saved to a text file for subsequent use, as before. In Visual TEAPAC, you are no longer limited to the old, archaic, hard-to-read character graphics which was used when TEAPAC was originally created (what did your computer look like 30 years ago?).

All output reports use shades of color from the desktop theme/style setting to highlight the results, including report titles, report sub-sections, column headings and alternating output lines. The proportionally-spaced, sans-serif Tahoma font is used for easier readability, including right-justified numeric results in columns.

Viewing options include zoom in, zoom out, zoom all to see an entire page, rubber-band selection to zoom in, drag the page to scroll and click to re-center. Text strings can be searched for within one or many pages of results and multi-page results can be quickly scanned with controls to advance to the next or previous page, the next or previous report, or the beginning or end of all results.

Visit www.StrongConcepts.com for examples of the new graphical output back-end now found in Visual TEAPAC.

>Other Generic Enhancements Found in All Visual TEAPAC Programs.

Many other generic enhancements have been made to the Visual TEAPAC user interface which is now included in every TEAPAC program. These include:

-- Windows XP style buttons, drop-down lists, scroll windows, etc.
-- all Edit and Results menus can be accessed by right-click.
-- all demos allow at least 4 intersections to be entered and analyzed.
-- license keys are valid for any older version of the same program;
license info displays in Help-About, including site license address.
-- leading W removed from all program file names for easy recognition;
LinkTo and Menu looks for new name first, then old name with W, for
backward compatibility with older versions of other TEAPAC programs.
-- default node to renumber is the current node, not 0.
-- Startup Help button is located in main window and now in Help menu;
StartUp.txt can be modified by user with virtually unlimited size.
-- View-Network and Options-Graphics menu options have been removed.

>Program-Specific Enhancements Included in Visual TEAPAC Upgrade.

The new Permissives options for SIGNAL2000 are displayed and exported properly to all host programs. Dummy nodes are ignored for any PLOT or TIMINGS result, and bend nodes or unsignalized locations are ignored for any time-space PLOT. Node number entries for PLOT and TIMINGS are allowed up to the more recent upper bound of 999 instead of the older limit of 327. Various input error checks are skipped for dummy nodes, and dummy node conditions are reported in abbreviated form at the end of a Summary of Parameter Values produced for all intersections.

When dummy external nodes are created for the TS/PP-DRAFT network, a comprehensive check for prior use of the new node number is made before being used, and the default external link length for created buffer nodes is now 500 feet instead of 1,320 feet.

PRETSPPD output reports which are significantly enhanced by the new color-graphics results produced by Visual TEAPAC include: all phasing displays, clearly showing permitted movements, either in HCM 'by-phase' style or ring-based 'by-movement' style; and the full-color time-space diagram which shows all phases and clearance intervals, directional offsets and band widths.

:PRETSPPD Ver 1.61 23MAY05

Scroll down to 'Ver 1.60 08SEP04, Build 06 - 22SEP04' below for the major changes which were implemented for the original TEAPAC2004 release of this program.

Build 12 - 30SEP05

>Field Width Error Detection Modified for More Useful Performance.

A new error check was recently introduced to warn a user that too many characters for an input field had been entered and that the entry would be truncated. The aggressive response to this condition (ignoring the entry entirely) has been toned back, now accepting the truncated input with a similar warning. This reduces the potential for the need to re-type an entry which may be perfectly fine in its truncated form, or require only minor editing to correct instead of complete re-entry. The new error check has also been eliminated for any entries of the GROUPTYPES dialog, most of whose possible entry values can typically exceed the actual allocated input field width.

Another effect of the overly-aggressive error check was that certain drop-down list values in a number of dialog boxes had pre-programmed entries which exceeded the input field width, thus preventing them from executing properly. These included drop-down lists in the OUTPUT, CONDITIONS, GENERATION and PATHDISTRIBUTION dialogs. The field widths of all of these entries have been modified to accept the full drop-down list pre-programmed entries.

>Extra Warning Message Eliminated When Opening New Files.

If a user is warned about unsaved data or results values when a new file is about to be opened, with an option to first save the values, certain circumstances could cause the same message to be re-displayed a second time, regardless of the user response to the first message. This duplicate warning message has been eliminated.

>Debug Value Removed from Display for Text Search Function.

A spurious debug value was inadvertently left in the production version of the program, displaying each time a text string is searched for in any output window or edit window. The debug display has been removed.

>Key Files Are Now Valid for All Prior Versions of Program.

The key file processing logic has been enhanced to allow a given key file to be used not only for various builds and minor updates for the licensed version, but also for any version of the program prior to the licensed version. This minimizes the hassle of multiple key file management when multiple versions of a program are being used, for example, to maintain consistency in results throughout the course of a project which was begun with an older version of a given program that has been updated.

Build 11 - 22AUG05

>Optimized Timings Can be Imported When Entry Style is Defined 'By-Movement'.

Optimized timings can now be Imported when the timing entry style is 'By-Movement'. Previously, this was not possible.

Build 10 - 04AUG05

>Right Turn Overlaps Handled by Import and Export.

Right turn overlaps which were previously not covered by Import and Export are now handled completely by both functions.

>Unused Volume File Deleted During Export AUTO.

If a TMPTSP_Volume.dat file exists prior to when Export AUTO is used, this file is deleted as part of the Export AUTO process so its data is not inadvertantly mixed with the data currently being Exported. This situation can easily arise if data from one run of TSPPD is saved upon exit, in which case the TMPTSP_Volume.dat file will be created automatically. The automatic deletion of this file prevents any such potential error.

>Print Problem Resolved from Tabular View.

Difficulties experienced by some users attempting to print results when using the Tabular View have been resolved.

>Improved Phasing Display in Dialog Boxes.

The currently-selected signal phasing for an intersection which is displayed in some dialog boxes has been improved so that improperly-coded permitted left turns display differently than expected to indicate the error in coding.

Build 00 - 23MAY05

>Enhancements Made to Time-Space Diagram.

The default scale for PLOTting a time-space diagram has been changed from 100 feet/line to 0, the new default of 0 being a code that instructs PRETSPPD to determine a scale automatically which will include the entire time-space diagram on a single page.

>New Message Warns User That Calculated and/or Imported Values Have Not Been Saved.

A new message has been created which warns a user when calculated and/or imported values will be lost when the program is closed or File-New is used. This provides a check against inadvertently losing data results which could otherwise be saved in a file for future use or use by another program. The existence of unsaved calculated and/or imported values is indicated in the window caption with an asterisk (*) in the same fashion as changed user entry values. In the case of PRETSPPD, the protected values are any imported CYCLES, GREENTIMES, YELLOWTIMES and/or OFFSETS. A similar message is now issued when File-Open or Reset [Parameters] is used when edited, calculated and/or imported values have not been saved.

>Edit Window Contents Can Be Printed, Including Line Numbers.

The contents of the TED Edit window, either within TED or the built-in edit window in any TEAPAC program, can now be printed using the normal print menu or toolbar buttons, including line numbers.

>Global Entry of Additional Sequence Codes Now Includes All Extra Codes.

The entry of additional sequence codes for intersection 0 (to be assigned to all intersections) has been expanded so that all extra sequence codes will be assigned to all intersections, not just the first extra sequence code. This allows added flexibility when using this global entry feature for SEQUENCES.

>VOLADDITIONALS Values Now Allowed to be Negative.

The entry or computed values for VOLADDITIONALS is now allowed to have negative values, with a complete input range permitted from -9999 to 9999. This is primarily to afford the possibility of re-assignments of traffic to result in a net reduction of volume for individual movements, either by manual entry or computations from SITE. In the case of SITE, this also means that ROUNDing of results can create small negative VOLADDITIONALS in locations that receive little or no new traffic and where final volumes are rounded down (this is appropriate and to be expected).

>LinkTo followed by Another LinkTo Performs Properly.

Multiple LinkTo operations can now be performed smoothly under all conditions without limitation. Previously it was observed that under certain conditions, one LinkTo followed by another LinkTo could cause certain problems successfully connecting to the next desired program.

>Better Graphics for Phasing Display and Bitmap Buttons.

The arrows used to represent phasing in various dialogs have been improved in quality and appearance, and if timings for phasings are defined by-movement instead of by-phase, the by-movement phasing diagrams are now shown in every relevant dialog. In addition, the pan and zoom button bitmaps within the View-Network display have been improved for better clarity.

>Option to Select Pages to Print; Page 0 for Current Page.

An option has been added to the Print-Setup dialog which allows the selection of specific pages to be printed instead of always printing all pages in the output window. Selection of page 0 will print only the current output page (the page which contains the insertion point cursor).

>View-Network Works Without Defined Network Distances.

Previously it was not possible to perform the View-Network function unless all NETWORK distances had been entered. This was due to the function's attempt to establish a scale factor between the network distances entered and the potentially arbitrary coordinate system used. Now, if distances are not entered, View-Network simply assumes the scale factor is 1.

>Warnings Issued If Too Many Characters Entered or Number Too Large in an Input Field.

If a user enters more characters in a dialog's input field than the dialog expects or can process, a warning is now issued and the entire entry is ignored, rather than just ignoring the extra characters. This allows for better understanding by the user that the entry may not have been processed correctly. The F5 Refresh button should be used in all cases to see the current dialog values after the warning. On a similar note, if an entry has a numeric value too large for the intended internal variable, this condition is also noted with a message rather than allowing the possibility of a more catastrophic reaction by the program at a later point.

:PRETSPPD Ver 1.60 08SEP04

Scroll down to 'Build 06 - 22SEP04' below for the major changes which were implemented for the original TEAPAC2004 release of this program.

Build 07 - 07DEC04

>Separator Lines Inserted In Data File.

Blank lines are now inserted between intersections and site generation data in TEAPAC2004 data files to aid in distinguishing the parts of the data file when being viewed as a text file.

>Last Output Window Contents Saved in Text File Upon Program Closure.

The contents of the last Output Window display are now always saved in a temporary file (TMPxxx.OUT, where xxx is the program's abbreviated name) when a TEAPAC2004 program exits, thus leaving the last output produced in a text file for review and post-processing, if desired. The file is located in the folder which contains the authoring program (usually C:\TEAPAC) and is over-written the next time the same program exits. This feature also allows viewing of results created by a scripted control file which contains the Stop command, as well as multiple, linked control files which link to each other or are run from a batch command file. Also, a change has been made to make sure that all output generated by launching a control file from a command line is captured in the Output Window and/or the TMPxxx.OUT file. Lastly, if an Output Window is open when a Stop command is encountered in a control file, that Output Window is now always closed automatically.

>Automatic Closure of Save Message.

The message which is displayed when File-Save is used is now closed automatically in all cases after a brief display to confirm that the save has occurred as desired. Only Advanced file save messages are displayed until closed manually (unless the automatic closure checkbox is selected). Any save action directed from a control file is also closed automatically after a brief display in order to allow unattended operation.

>View-Network Shows Exiting External Legs.

The schematic network diagram created by the View-Network menu will now show external intersection legs for one-way street segments departing from an intersection.

>Longer Window Caption File Path Display.

The number of characters used to display the current file name(s), path and save status has been increased so that more of the file path is visible in the top caption line of the main window.

>Tabular View Caption Overflow Fixed to Prevent Corruption of Node# Display.

A problem in the caption display of the Tabular View window has been fixed so it no longer corrupts the display of the Current Node in the main window.

>File Functions Restored in TEAPAC Menu.

The 'Use this file:' function has been restored to the TEAPAC Menu so a file can be found by browsing, dragging to the Menu window, or double-clicking in Explorer. Then use of that file can be transferred to any TEAPAC program in the Menu. This function was inadvertantly disabled in the initial TEAPAC2004 release.

Build 06 - 22SEP04

>Summary of TEAPAC2004 Release of PRETSPPD.

After 2 years in development, the TEAPAC2004 version of PRETSPPD has been released as Ver 1.60. The highlights of the changes since its prior release include the following:

Completely seamless, one-click, one-file exchange of all input and results with SIGNAL2000, all other PRE-processors, SITE, TURNS and WARRANTS, including calculations of HCM satflows, optimized timings, peak-period turn counts and estimated site traffic.

New volume adjustment inputs to allow factoring volumes and adding additional volumes on a movement-by-movement basis.

New sensitivity controls for global testing of factored volumes, additive volumes, factored satflows, minimums, clearances, etc.

Complete implementation of the enhanced TEAPAC2004 (Ver 6) user interface, as described below.

>New Volume Adjustment Inputs Provide Sensitivity Analysis Flexibility.

A new input called VOLFACTORS has been added that allows a volume adjustment factor to be provided for each individual movement of each intersection. Each volume entry is multiplied by this factor, with the option of further providing a number of years the factor should first be compounded. This feature provides the ability to easily test various traffic growth factor scenarios, as well as sensitivity analysis for the base volume entry.

Another new input called VOLADDITIONALS has been added that allows a volume adjustment value to be provided for each individual movement of each intersection. Each volume entry is adjusted by adding this additional volume, with the option of further providing a single factor for each intersection which is first multiplied by the additional volume before the it is added to the base volume. This feature provides the ability to test additive growth scenarios, in addition to the factored growth scenarios allowed by VOLFACTORS above, such as when evaluating site traffic development scenarios. The VOLADDITIONALS factor can also be used to easily 'turn off' the additional volume by using a factor of zero, and 'turn back on' the additional volumes. VOLADDITIONALS are computed directly by SITE for site traffic impact scenarios and saved in data files for immediate analysis and optimization by other TEAPAC programs.

>Browse Button Added to Import Dialog.

A Browse button has been added to the Import dialog to permit easier identification of the TSPPD results file which is to be used for Import, especially when the default AUTO option is not selected. This button opens a normal file-select dialog, and when a file is selected it is placed in the Import dialog entry field without the need for the user to type the actual file name.

>T2004v6: TEAPAC2004 Interface Enhancements Found In All Programs.

TEAPAC2004 (Ver 6) includes a multitude of enhancements which are part of the generic user interface found in all TEAPAC programs (some do not apply to NOSTOP, TED or TUTOR, for readily-apparent reasons). All of the generic enhancements are listed below with heading lines that begin with T2004v6:.

>T2004v6: One Common Data File Supports All TEAPAC Programs.

The most significant and obvious change made to each TEAPAC program in Version 6 is that all programs now share a single, common data file structure that contains all of the data entries used by all TEAPAC programs. This means that any TEAPAC program (except NOSTOP and TUTOR) can open any file from any other TEAPAC program, make changes to any of the data values it contains, and re-Save the file with complete retention of all data values for future use by any other TEAPAC program.

The first implication of this major fundamental change is that the concept of File-OpenShare of earlier TEAPAC programs is no longer needed since the sharing of TEAPAC files among TEAPAC programs is now fundamental and automatic. File-OpenShare has been re-named to File-OpenMerge/Share to better reflect its current function, to merge the content of multiple files, and can still be used to read and merge the content of files from older versions of SIGNAL97, SIGNAL2000 (Ver 1), SITE, TURNS and WARRANTS -- OpenMerge is automatic when reading these files. Also, the warning message when saving to a file created by one of these other programs has been removed, again because this function is now standard procedure and has no risk of loss of data.

The second implication of this change is that any values computed by one program and to be used by another (such as peak-period volumes from TURNS, HCM satflows from SIGNAL2000, optimized signal timings and phasings from SIGNAL2000, projected traffic from SITE, etc.) need only be saved into the data file with File-Save, then the next program launched with the same file using the LinkTo menu. A single click positions the user in the next program ready to do the analysis of that program.

Lastly, all programs (except NOSTOP and TUTOR) now have the ability to store all of this data for up to 500 intersections in a single file.

>T2004v6: LinkTo Menu In All TEAPAC Programs Includes All TEAPAC Programs.

All TEAPAC programs (except NOSTOP and TUTOR) now contain the LinkTo menu which now provides immediate access to all other TEAPAC programs with a single click which causes the current data file to be re-opened in that program.

>T2004v6: LinkTo Function Now Allows Direct Link to Host Programs.

A new function of the LinkTo menu has been added which allows direct linkage to the six host programs which are supported by the six TEAPAC preprocessors. These are PRETRANSYT for TRANSYT, PREPASSR for PASSER, PRENETSIM for CORSIM, PRESYNCHRO for Synchro/SimTraffic, PRETSPPD for TS-PP/Draft, and now PRENOSTOP for NOSTOP. Since all programs have access to the control directives for all the preprocessors, this means, for example, that a TRANSYT run can be made directly from SIGNAL2000 with a LinkTo-TRANSYT (assuming a licensed copy of PRETRANSYT is installed on the system).

>T2004v6: Global Input Option for Most Intersection Inputs.

A powerful new feature has been added to all TEAPAC programs that allows the value of a single data entry to be made to all intersections in the NODELIST (or the SUBSYSTEM, if one is defined). This is done when Intersection 0 is selected, and the user is first warned of the pending global entry action and followed by an audible beep when the global entry is made. The warning message can be omitted for future such actions, if desired.

Examples of uses for this new feature include the following: Enter a common cycle length or cycle range for SIGNAL2000 optimization of all signals; designate a full SIGNAL2000 phasing optimization for all signals; set the new volume adjustment factor or number of years for compounding a growth factor for all intersections for sensitivity analysis; enable or disable the new additional volumes entry for all intersections; designate a common peak hour factor for specific movements or all movements of all intersections; set the minimum or required clearance values for optimization at all signals; set the satflow adjustment factor for all signals to perform sensitivity analysis; etc. The possibilities of this new feature are virtually endless.

>T2004v6: View-Network Function Improved with Easier Pan & New Zoom.

The View-Network function has been added to all programs (except NOSTOP and TUTOR), and has been greatly improved in functionality regarding the ability to pan up/down and left/right, as well as new functions for zoom in/out and selecting a view area of the network connections and underlying bitmap with the mouse.

>T2004v6: Output/Edit Window Major Enhancements.

The Output and Edit Windows have been enhanced with menus and toolbar buttons which provide the ability to Find a user-entered text string, find the next output report and find the next page of results. A button also allows moving backwards thru the output to the previous output page. In the Edit Window, an additional Find & Replace function has also been provided. Also, the current line number of the cursor is displayed in the status line of the window, and the ^A function now performs the standard 'SelectAll' function instead of copying the entire window to the clipboard.

>T2004v6: Toolbar Button Provided for Intersection Selection.

A toolbar button has been provided in the main window next to the +/- buttons which provides direct access to the Intersection dialog to select the 'current' intersection, allowing quick access to this common function without the need to use the menus.

>T2004v6: Intersection/Type Description Listed in Dialog Caption.

If an intersection description has been provided for the current intersection (via the Intersection dialog), this description is displayed in the caption of any intersection data dialog in addition to the intersection number. For traffic impact studies with SITE, the same function is true for the current distribution type. These number and description displays are now also included in the caption of the Tabular View window.

>T2004v6: Check For Internet Update Function Provided.

A new function has been provided in the Help menu of every TEAPAC program that allows the user to have the program check the internet for any available downloadable updates. This function can be set to automatically check for updates every time the program is launched. If updates are found, this fact is displayed along with the status of the update (free or if a fee is involved and what that fee is), as well as a link to a complete description of what functionality changes the update includes, the ability to launch an email requesting a new key for a paid update or a quote for an upgrade. Options to view a complete price list online, to launch an email requesting technical support, and to go to the Strong Concepts main web page are also provided. This feature was partially implemented in the most recent downloads of several TEAPAC programs and accepted with great enthusiasm.

>T2004v6: INTERSECTION Dialog Includes Option to Renumber a Node and All Refs.

The INTERSECTION dialog now contains a feature to renumber any intersection in the NODELIST to any value not currently in the NODELIST. When selected, all references to the old node number anywhere else in the network are also updated, making renumbering a snap.

>T2004v6: Save Remembers Selected Intersection/Type for Subsequent Open.

When data files are saved, a directive is placed at the end of the file which remembers the 'current' intersection and current distribution type so that these positions can be reset when the file is subsequently re-opened by either the same program or any other TEAPAC program.

>T2004v6: Error Message Help Leaves Dialogs Open so Errant Entries Can Be Seen.

When Help for an error or warning message is displayed, the dialog entry which caused the error or warning is now left open so the entered values can be inspected in relation to the help advise given. Also, a note is provided in the message to use the Refresh button to see the dialog with the actual current values which are likely to not reflect the entry attempted (which caused the error or warning).

>T2004v6: Errors Contain Cancel Button to Abort File-Open or Control File.

When errors or warnings are issued as a result of reading a data file, a Cancel button is now provided which allows the user to abort continued attempts to read the file. This is now a convenient way to halt attempted processing of a file which is clearly not what was intended, or for power users, a way to kill a control file which has gone off the deep end.

>T2004v6: OUTPUT Dialog Contains Entries for All Programs.

The OUTPUT dialog is a common dialog name which has had different content for most TEAPAC programs. This conflict and impediment for combining all the TEAPAC data into a single file for TEAPAC2004 has been resolved by having a common OUTPUT dialog for all programs which contains the OUTPUT parameters for all TEAPAC programs. In the manual mode and control files, this involves the addition of a new parameter #1 which is the name of the program for which the following values apply, and thus all OUTPUT parameters for all programs are stored in the file and displayed in the dialog.

>T2004v6: Wording on Dialogs Used by Multiple Programs Improved.

The wording on dialogs which are used by multiple programs in TEAPAC2004 have been clarified so that it is more apparent what the relevance is to the current program in which the dialog is found.

>T2004v6: NODELIST Entry Protected from Change in Tabular View.

The only safe place to change the NODELIST after it has been entered is in the Normal View NODELIST dialog, so the NODELIST entry in the Tabular View has been greyed and protected from change to avoid unintended changes and possible disastrous results.

>T2004v6: Options-Setup Uses Browse for Folder, not Browse for File.

The Browse button in the Options-Setup dialog now produces a Browse-for-Folder dialog instead of the File-Open dialog so it is more clear what the function will return.

>T2004v6: Dialog Actions Re. ROUTEs with 9+ Nodes Fixed, Including Save.

Certain problems with ROUTES which contained more than 8 nodes have been fixed, including saving these route definitions.

>T2004v6: Recent File Menu Option Works Under All Windows Platforms.

Display of recently used files in the File menu has presented problems under certain Windows platforms, and thus an option has been provided to turn this display off so recent files are accessed only thru the File-RecentFiles dialog. This problem has been fixed so recent files can be displayed in the File menu on any Windows platform, and thus the default condition for this feature has been changed from No to Yes.

>T2004v6: Command-Line Control File Enhancements.

When a user has set a TEAPAC program to start in the Tabular View, ASK commands in command-line control files could not be used. This limitation has been eliminated so this feature can be used, if desired.

The output window for output generated by a command-line control file now appears in front of the main window so it is immediately visible without the need to click it to bring it to the front.

A new /x option has been added at the end of a command-line file name which instructs the program to open the command-line file as File #x (the default is File #1, as before). This allows the data file which a control file #2-5 opens to be designated as File #1 so that it is the file which will be open for subsequent File-Save operations from the File menu. Opening command-line control files as #2-5 instead of #1 is now the recommended practice.

>T2004v6: -X Entry for INTERSECTION Number Allowed As Positional Input.

The intersection number on an INTERSECTION command line or dialog is now allowed to be a negative number between -1 and -N where N is the number of intersections in the NODELIST. When this is the case, the intersection selected is the i-th node of the NODELIST when -i is used. The expected use of this feature is to allow REPEAT loops in control files to easily sequence through all the nodes of the NODELIST when the NODELIST is not in numerical order and/or not a sequential list of nodes from 1 to N.

>T2004v6: TEAPAC Menu Enhancements.

A new File menu in the TEAPAC Menu shows recent files which have been used by the program; a new Options menu allows program folder setup for all of the third-party programs supported by the Menu; a new Help menu can list recently installed changes and check the internet for updates; default support for VISSIM 4 and TRANSYT-7F Release 10 is provided.

TEAPAC files which are double-clicked to be launched thru the TEAPAC Menu now open into the menu only without launching the program that created the file (since any file can now be used by any program, this old action is no longer appropriate).

>T2004v6: Printable On-screen Manuals Available as PDF Downloads.

The full documentation for each TEAPAC program has always been directly available as the on-screen manual which also serves as the context-sensitive Help document. Options for obtaining printed/bound copies of this document have also been available at an additional cost. Now, in addition, this document is available as a downloadable PDF file which provides the ability to print a copy locally, as well as search the entire document for user-defined strings.

:PRETSPPD Ver 1.02 22NOV03

Build 16 - 16JUL04

>Fix for >100 Nodes in NODELIST and SUBSYSTEM Dialogs of 500 Node Version.

A problem has been fixed which could cause difficulties displaying a node list with more than 100 nodes in the NODELIST and SUBSYSTEM dialogs of the 500-node version of the program.

>Automatic Check for Updates Added When Connected to Internet.

A new feature has been added which allows an automatic check for updates via the internet any time the program is started when an internet connection is present. The automatic check can be disabled from the Help menu using the CheckForUpdates option. The same menu selectiion can be used to manually check for updates, to review details about any available updates, to download updates, to see update prices (if they are not free), to request a quote for updates and to order certain updates.

>Accelerator Key Definitions Added to Tooltip Help for Dialog Buttons.

Tooltip help strings for certain dialog box buttons have been updated to include the accelerator keys which can be used in lieu of the buttons.

Build 14 - 29MAR04

>Installation Setup Modified for Proper Creation of Shortcuts.

A change has been made to the configuration of the new MSI installation setup now used by most TEAPAC programs. Now when shortcuts are created in the start menu or the desktop during installation, they are configured properly with the installation folder set as the 'Start In' folder (Working Directory) for the shortcut. In recent TEAPAC releases which use the new MSI installation system, this configuration option was not selected, resulting in a possible problem when running the program in locating the Help file (on-screen manual, Help-Contents menu, Help buttons and F1 key) and/or the Recent Changes file (Help-RecentChanges menu).

Build 12 - 03MAR04

>New PPD Options Implemented.

TS/PP-Draft Ver 6.0.0.13 implements a number of significant enhancements to its display of platoon progression diagrams which have been implemented in PRETSPPD. These include: 1) ability to define an alternate-2, 4-cycle PPD which makes following platoon flows easier on a long diagram, 2) ability to show the platoon densities based on a common scale for all link on an artery, 3) display of a 'traditional' clipped band diagram overlayed on the PPD so comparison of the two is made easy.

>Sum of Phase Times Checked Against Cycle Length.

Timings are exported to TSPPD in tenths of seconds, and these times (which may be rounded from their SIGNAL2000-optimized values) are now checked and adjusted to make sure they add up to exactly the cycle length to avoid an errant determination by TSPPD that the cycle lengths are different between intersections when they are not intended to be.

>Better Export of Phasing and Timings for T and 1-way Ints.

A more consistent Export of both the phasing and timing data for special conditions such as T-intersections and 1-way streets has been implemented. Primarily this has to do with approaches which contain left turns without an adjacent thru movement, or shared left/thru movements which are 'unopposed' according to HCM terminology. This provides a more reliable export of such conditions from TEAPAC to TSPPD.

>Better Default System Cycle Length Used.

The 'system cycle length' for a TSPPD analysis is determined by the cycle information provided for the intersection which is designated as the MASTERNODE intersection. In the event that the MASTERNODE is not defined, or if it points to an intersection not in the current SUBSYSTEM, the program now uses the first intersection of the SUBSYSTEM rather than the first intersection of the NODELIST to define the default 'system cycle length'.

>Better Scale Factor Determined Between User Coordinates and Ground Coordinates.

TEAPAC programs allow the use of an arbitrary, scaled coordinate system to be used when entering NODELOCATION values. When this is the case and ground coordinates are needed, the program deduces an appropriate scale factor between the user coordinates and ground coordinates based on link lengths provided, while recognizing the possibility of certain tolerable errors in locating each node and the impact of curved links on this process. An improved method to eliminate outliers from this scale determination has been implemented for higher probability of a better result in cases which include NODELOCATION input errors.

>Further Enhancements to Ver 5.12 Interface.

The Ver 5.12 TEAPAC interface found in most TEAPAC programs has been further refined with additional features to aid in the analysis process. These include: 1) saving the current intersection in the data file so that when the file is re-opened, the same current intersection is re-established (rather than always being pointed to the last intersection in the Nodelist), 2) providing the ability to scale a bitmap background for a single intersection analysis by right-clicking on a point 100 feet from the intersection, and 3) providing a Clear button on the Subsytem and Route dialogs so that the lists displayed can be removed with a single click.

Build 10 - 31DEC03

>Timings Input as Decimal Percentages (sec/sec) are Exported Correctly.

Timings which are entered as decimal percentages (sec/sec) are now exported correctly to TS/PP-Draft. Previously such entries were not exported correctly and generated obviously wrong visual results in the TS/PP-Draft displays.

>Pending New PRENOSTOP Program Added to LinkTo Menu.

A pending new TEAPAC program call PRENOSTOP which interfaces the NOSTOP program to the data of other TEAPAC programs such as this program and SIGNAL2000 has been added to the LinkTo menu.

>Further Enhancements to Ver 5.1x Interface.

If a NODELIST entry is read from a Shared file, the new NODELIST is appended to the current NODELIST instead of replacing it. This effectively allows the merging of separate data files to create a larger system. Caution must be used when one file is already open in a program and another file is opened that was not created by the current program, since this file will automatically be Open-Shared, and thus appended if it has a different NODELIST.

If an INTERSECTION entry is read from a Shared file and is not in the current NODELIST, it is automatically appended to the end of the NODELIST. As with NODELIST above, this makes the Shared function effectively an automatic Merge function.

Duplicate nodes encountered in a NODELIST entry or an appended NODELIST are ignored.

The File-OpenShared menu item has been changed to File-OpenMerge/Shared to better indicate the fuction which this type of Open normally performs.

When a LinkTo function prompts the user to save changed data before the LinkTo is performed and a new path/file name is given, this path/file name is used by the LinkTo function. If no file has been provided, the LinkTo function performs properly with a linkage to the next rpogram, but without any data transfer.

:PRETSPPD Ver 1.00 02FEB03

Build 54 - 05JUN03

>New Build for Consistency with New SIGNAL2000 and PRESYNCHRO.

Build 54 has been created for consistent numbering with new builds of SIGNAL2000 and PRESYNCHRO. No other changes have been made to the program in this build.

Build 52 - 04JUN03

>Convert ByPhase to ByMov Uses Reqclearances to Maintain Individual Y+AR.

The Convert button on the GREENTIMES and YELLOWTIMES dialogs has been modified so that when ByPhase timings are converted to ByMovement, the REQCLEARANCES values for each movement are used to define the ByMovement clearances rather than using the ByPhase phase clearances. This permits individual movements to maintain distinctly different clearance times, regardless of how many timnes the Convert button is used. To this end, entries of ByMovement clearance times in the YELLOWTIMES dialog are always transferred directly to the REQCLEARANCES dialog, and REQCLEARANCES entries are transferred directly to the YELLOWTIMES dialog if timings are ByMovement.

>Dummy Nodes Are Ignored by TIMINGS Report.

Any intersection identified as a 'Dummy node' in the INTERSECTION description field will be omitted from the TIMINGS results, along with unsignalized intersections which are already omitted.

Build 50 - 08MAY03

>Initial Release of PRETSPPD Connects TEAPAC to TS/PP-DRAFT.

PRETSPPD provides the first-ever connection between TEAPAC and the powerful Time-space/Platoon-progression-diagram program TS/PP-Draft. The connection is provided to Ver 5.5 of TS/PP-Draft.

TS/PP-Draft provides an elegant way of viewing a realistic time-space diagram or platoon-progression diagram which models the way traffic is likely to behave on one or more arterial street sections. This view of an arterial section is much more realistic than the traditional band-width diagrams which frequently do not realistically model the effects of such things as side-street turns onto the arterial, platoon dispersion and platoon depletion on real arterial performance. The resulting diagrams are displayed in color-enhanced windows which are easily printed on any monochrome or color printer supported by Windows.

Since PRETSPPD seamlessly shares its data files with SIGNAL2000, PREPASSR, PRETRANSYT, PRENETSIM and PRESYNCHRO, this means that users of these programs and their host programs (PASSER-II, TRANSYT-7F, CORSIM and SYNCHRO/SIMTRAFFIC) can now have immediate access to TS/PP-DRAFT to realistically assess the performance of an arterial as a result of input to or results from all of these programs.

TS/PP-DRAFT also has the ability to easily change offsets in the displayed diagram by dragging the offset up or down in the actual window, with the effect on the time-space or platoon-progression diagram being immediately displayed. In the event that it is desired to transfer these altered offsets to other programs such as TRANSYT or CORSIM for further evaluation, the adjusted offsets can be Imported back into PRETSPPD and sent directly to any of the other programs mentioned above with only a couple of clicks of the mouse.

As a result, PRETSPPD fully-integrates the powerful and useful TS/PP-DRAFT program into the complete world of traffic operations software.

this page last updated September 07, 2008