Dips > Getting Started

# What's New in Dips Version 6.0

The following is a listing of the major additions, changes and enhancements which have been made in the upgrade of Dips from version 5 to version 6.

Note: for a list of changes and bug fixes since the initial release of Dips version 6, see the Dips version 6 Update History page.

Kinematic Analysis

- Comprehensive kinematic analysis toolkit

- Planar Sliding

- Wedge Sliding

- Flexural Toppling

- Direct Toppling

- Info Viewer summary of results

- Export to excel

Dip Vector Plotting

- dip vector or pole vector plotting mode

- integrated with kinematic analysis

- contour dip vectors

- symbolic plot with dip vectors or pole vectors

Intersection Plotting

- comprehensive intersection plotting options

- intersect all planes

- intersect sets

- intersect user planes

- contour intersections

- integrated with kinematic analysis

Sets

- easier to add set windows (clockwise or counterclockwise)

- graphical editing of set windows

- new freehand set window option

- compute sets from fuzzy cluster analysis

Save View State

- complete view state of all open views saved with file

- when file is opened all views restored to last saved state

- multiple plot views saved

- all display options and customization saved per view

Sidebar

- new Sidebar control panel

- context sensitive plotting and display options for each view

- easily plot overlays of different data types

- interactive analysis options

- interactive editing options for objects and drawing tools

New program interface

- great improvements to functionality and usability

- new look interface with sidebar control panel

- new and improved legends

- new toolbar buttons

- new right-click functionality

- new zoom and pan functionality

- new data tips functionality

Interactive graphical editing

- click on objects to select

- graphical editing of stereonet tools (e.g. set windows, planes)

- graphical editing of drawing tools

Undo / Redo

- powerful new global undo / redo functionality

- undo/redo virtually all changes to spreadsheet, view state, display options

Legend

- new and improved plot legends

- symbol, contour, kinematic, major planes legends

- display multiple legends on one view

- easily toggle legends on / off in sidebar or right-click

Symbol Editor

- can now specify different symbols for different types of data (e.g. poles, dip vectors, intersections)

- more customization of symbols is now possible

- symbol size, scale all symbols or individual symbols

- new scatter plot symbol style

Scatter Plot

- Improved scatter plot

- New symbol options, size of symbol indicates number of poles

- easily customized

New Analysis Tools

- new fold analysis option, determine best fit plane through selected poles

- best fit statistics, global best fit of all data

- add cone option improved, choose location with variable angle or angle with variable location

- graphical editing of cones

- plot lineations on planes

New Drawing Tools

- ellipse, rectangle, polyline, polygon drawing tools

- improved add text option with dynamic text

- graphical editing of drawing tools

- edit tool properties in sidebar

Report Generation

- improved Info Viewer with customizable output for report generation

- improved printing output – position and scale can now be adjusted directly in Print preview

- customizable title blocks with company name, logo, file name, date, etc. can be added to printouts

- export kinematic analysis results to excel

File Format

- New version 6.0 file format

- all display options and view state saved with file

- version 6.0 reads and writes version 5.0 files

- File now saves everything in grid, even if there are invalid rows (only plots up to last valid row)

Updated Documentation

- new and improved help system

- easier to navigate

- new tutorials

- verification example

Miscellaneous

- Reporting convention now allows all four orientation formats (previously was either pole vector or plane vector)

- Query allows search for blank entries (no data)

- error messages for invalid file data (e.g. blank rows)

- add degree labels around stereonet perimeter (stereonet options > labels)

Options removed or changed in version 6.0

- Menus and menu options have been re-named and re-arranged

- Compute / Autocompute is gone (auto compute is always in effect)

- Auto Options is gone (all view and display options automatically saved)

- Stereonet Options dialog - gone (options now in sidebar)

- Plot buttons now act as pre-sets rather than plot types, sidebar allows full customization of overlays

- Cannot show weighted and unweighted planes together in the same view (Terzaghi weighting option is now global)

- Last row marker (asterisk) is gone