Changes from Version 4.x to Version 5

Following is a list of the major and most notable changes that have been made for v5 of Solar Fire. A large number of smaller changes
have also been made, but have been excluded from this list for the sake of clarity and brevity.

32 Bit - Solar Fire v5 is now a fully compiled 32bit Windows program, running on Windows 32 bit platforms such as Windows 95, 98

NT4 and later releases - It is now able to access the full power of the 32 bit computer chips (such as Pentium processors), and take
advantage of powerful operating system features, such as long file names.

State of the Art Calculation Accuracy – Planetary calculations now use the Swiss Ephemeris&trade, based on JPL (Jet Propulsion
Laboratory) data, providing state of the art accuracy across more than 10,000 years. The full set of Swiss Ephemeris asteroid files may
now also be used with Solar Fire (available for free via web download or at low cost on CD).

Astro-Locality Mapping – A new mapping module is included to allow planetary, eclipse path and local space lines to be viewed on a
selection of world maps. This module is compatible with (and may be upgraded to) Solar Maps as a fully comprehensive mapping
package.

Astrologer's Assistant – a new and very powerful task automation feature which allows you to record various tasks and then save
them for replay at any time. For example, you could record a task to print a chart, calculate a progressed chart and transits chart for the
current date, display them together in a triwheel and print them, run a dynamic report with a years transits and progressions and then
print that out. This set of tasks can then be replayed for any other starting chart at the click of a button.

Animated Charts and Pages – any chart or viewable page can now be run as a real-time astrological clock, or animated backwards or
forwards in time using customizable time steps.

New Chart File Structure – a new chart file storage structure allows users to save almost all kind of charts generated within Solar Fire, including progressed, directed and composite charts, for example. Solar Fire v5 is backwards compatible with all earlier version chart files, and can optionally be saved to earlier chart file formats if required. Comments may now also be saved with subsidiary charts, and enhanced chart comment editing features make it possible to access and edit chart comments while casting a chart, as well as at any stage prior to saving it. Chart files may now be accessed from (or saved to) any location on your computer or network.

Toolbar Buttons – a fully customizable toolbar contains graphical buttons for all frequently used option in Solar Fire, allowing quicker
access to commonly used features.

Screen Customization – the user may now easily select background colors and graphics for the main screen and all data viewing
screens (such as chart viewing pages), and save these preferences along with other color selections in named Color Schemes. These
allow different colors to be selected for use with a printer, thus obviating the need to change color selections when printing.

Synastry Reports – full text for synastry reports has been included as part of the standard interpretations text base, and is easily
accessible via a new menu item.

Eclipse Data – 5000 years of accurate solar and lunar eclipse data has been included, plus a module to allow flexible searching based on
chart contacts, eclipse types, Saros numbers etc.

Page topic index – displayed chart pages may now be selected via a customizable topic index, where pages can be grouped into
categories such as Beginner, Classical, Cosmobiology, Esoteric, Vedic etc. Many new page objects have been added such as square
(traditional and vedic) charts, dasas and bhuktis, flexible listings of asteroids, arabic parts, fixed stars and other bodies, etc.

Email Support – Chart data and graphical data (such as chart page displays) may now be saved into JPG file format for easy attachment
to emails, and (for MAPI compliant email programs like MS Outlook and Eudora) the email program is automatically launched with the
data files already attached or listed in the body of the message.

ASCII Data Export – a powerful and highly flexible method of exporting chart details and/or positions of planets, midpoints, asteroids, stars, Arabic parts etc., which can be read in by other programs such as spreadsheets or other astrology programs.

Enhanced Dynamic Reports – it is now possible to view dynamic events of one person's chart in relation to another person's radix
planets, to merge multiple reports into a single listing, and to include a greater range of extra dynamic points, such as fixed stars and
asteroids.

Enhanced Graphic Ephemeris – you can now see an ephemeris of declination or latitude, and also include extra dynamic points such as
planetary midpoints.

Enhanced Atlas – greatly expanded with more time zone information, and more forgiving automatic lookup facilities. Default place may now have an automatic timezone lookup on startup, thus allowing automatic adjustment for daylight savings periods. Also, the user may select a list of favorite places for quick and easy default location changes.

Enhanced Wheel Designs – Chart wheels may now have multiple house and zodiac rings, so that both the tropical and sidereal zodiac can be displayed on the same chart, for example. Different chart rings in a wheel may retain their own house cusps instead of always anchoring on the inner chart's house cusps. A ring of user-defined additional points may also be displayed with a planets ring, including points such as asteroids, stars, arabic parts etc.

Enhanced Reports – new Planetary Differences report, new Midpoint Weighting Analysis (MWA) report, Adjusted Calculation Date (ACD), Chart Hylegs, star parans displayed in local times, etc.

Changes from Version 4.x to Version 5

Following is a list of the major and most notable changes that have been made for v5 of Solar Fire. A large number of smaller changes have also been made, but have been excluded from this list for the sake of clarity and brevity.

32 bit – Solar Fire v5 is now a fully compiled 32bit Windows program, running on Windows 32 bit platforms such as Windows 95, 98, NT4 and later releases. It is now able to access the full power of the 32 bit computer chips (such as Pentium processors), and take advantage of powerful operating system features, such as long file names.

State of the Art Calculation Accuracy – Planetary calculations now use the Swiss Ephemeris(tm), based on JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory) data, providing state of the art accuracy across more than 10,000 years. The full set of Swiss Ephemeris asteroid files may now also be used with Solar Fire (available for free via web download or at low cost on CD).

Astro-Locality Mapping – A new mapping module is included to allow planetary, eclipse path and local space lines to be viewed on a selection of world maps. This module is compatible with (and may be upgraded to) Solar Maps as a fully comprehensive mapping package.

Astrologer's Assistant – a new and very powerful task automation feature which allows you to record various tasks and then save them for replay at any time. For example, you could record a task to print a chart, calculate a progressed chart and transits chart for the current date, display them together in a triwheel and print them, run a dynamic report with a year's transits and progressions and then print that out. This set of tasks can then be replayed for any other starting chart at the click of a button.

Animated Charts and Pages – any chart or viewable page can now be run as a real-time astrological clock, or animated backwards or forwards in time using customizable time steps.

New Chart File Structure – a new chart file storage structure allows users to save almost all kind of charts generated within Solar Fire, including progressed, directed and composite charts, for example. Solar Fire v5 is backwards compatible with all earlier version chart files, and can optionally save to earlier chart file formats if required. Comments may now also be saved with subsidiary charts, and enhanced chart comment editing features make it possible to access and edit chart comments while casting a chart, as well as at any stage prior to saving it. Chart files may now be accessed from (or saved to) any location on your computer or network.

Toolbar Buttons – a fully customizable toolbar contains graphical buttons for all frequently used options in Solar Fire, allowing quicker access to commonly used features.

Screen Customization – the user may now easily select background colors and graphics for the main screen and all data viewing screens (such as chart viewing pages), and save these preferences along with other color selections in named Color Schemes. These allow different colors to be selected for use with a printer, thus obviating the need to change color selections when printing.

Synastry Reports – full text for synastry reports has been included as part of the standard interpretations text base, and is easily accessible via a new menu item.

Eclipse Data – 5000 years of accurate solar and lunar eclipse data has been included, plus a module to allow flexible searching based on chart contacts, eclipse types, Saros numbers etc...
Page topic index – displayed chart pages may now be selected via a customizable topic index, where pages can be grouped into categories such as Beginner, Classical, Cosmobiology, Esoteric, Vedic, etc. Many new page objects have been added such as square (traditional and vedic) charts, dasas and bhuktis, flexible listings of asteroids, arabic parts, fixed stars and other bodies, etc...

Email Support – Chart data and graphical data (such as chart page displays) may now be saved into JPG file format for easy attachment to emails, and (for MAPI compliant email programs like MS Outlook and Eudora) the email program is automatically launched with the data files already attached or listed in the body of the message.

ASCII Data Export – a powerful and highly flexible method of exporting chart details and/or positions of planets, midpoints, asteroids, stars, Arabic parts etc., which can be read in by other programs such as spreadsheets or other astrology programs.

Enhanced Dynamic Reports – it is now possible to view dynamic events of one person's chart in relation to another person's radix planets, to merge multiple reports into a single listing, and to include a greater range of extra dynamic points, such as fixed stars and asteroids.

Enhanced Graphic Ephemeris – you can now see an ephemeris of declination or latitude, and also include extra dynamic points such as planetary midpoints.

Enhanced Atlas – greatly expanded with more time zone information, and more forgiving automatic lookup facilities. Default place may now have an automatic timezone lookup on startup, thus allowing automatic adjustment for daylight savings periods. Also the user may select a list of favorite places for quick and easy default location changes.

Enhanced Wheel Designs – Chart wheels may now have multiple house and zodiac rings, so that both the tropical and sidereal zodiac can be displayed on the same chart, for example. Different chart rings in a wheel may retain their own house cusps instead of always anchoring on the inner chart's house cusps. A ring of user-defined additional points may also be displayed with a planets ring, including points such as asteroids, stars, arabic parts etc.

Enhanced Reports – new Planetary Differences report, new Midpoint Weighting Analysis (MWA) report, Adjusted Calculation Date (ACD), Chart Hylegs, star parans displayed in local times, etc.



Changes from 3.x to Version 4

Following are the main changes which have been made for v4 of Solar Fire. A number of smaller changes have also been made, but have been excluded from this list for the sake of brevity.

New Chart Types: True Tertiary Progressed, Arc Transform, Relocated, Johndro, Geodetic, Progressed Solar Return, Wynn-Key Return, Lunar Phase Return

Page Designer: The user may design page layouts including items such as wheels, grids, points lists, house cusp lists, dignity tabulations, midpoint trees, modulus sort strips, balance of element and mode. There are about 50 different types of objects which may be placed onto a page design, moved and resized at will. A variety of useful pre-designed pages are also supplied.

Graphic Ephemeris: A flexible and elegant graphic ephemeris may be viewed and printed, either with or without radix planetary positions. A novel feature is the ability to display aspect symbols wherever dynamic points cross radix positions.

User Definable Aspects: There are a variety of new aspecting options, including moieties, unidirectional aspects, and the ability to add any number of user-defined aspects.

Dial Pointers: Dials now have moveable pointers, showing midpoints and aspects as the dial is rotated.

Enhanced Rectify Assist: The ascendant may now be adjusted directly, and the user has a choice of step increments when adjusting times or angles.

Dignity/Almuten Editor: The manner in which essential dignities are calculated may be specified by the user. Also, you can define complex almuten calculations whose results are displayed in a tabulation.

Extra House Systems: Several extra house systems have been added, including Alcabitius.

Interpretations In-place Editor: Interpretations may now be edited in-place, without the need to compile them, which greatly simplifies the editing process.

256, Hi-color and True-color Screen Support: Colors of signs, planets and aspects may now be chosen from the full range of possible colors.

Additional Asteroids: 38 additional asteroids are now available in reports and certain page objects. It is also possible to install further asteroids.

Dynamic Report - Extra Points: Dynamic reports may now include transiting, progressing or directed midpoints for any combination of chart points. Also, the radix chart may also include midpoints, fixed stars, Arabic Parts and asteroids.

Dynamic Report - Primary Directions: Dynamic reports may now use a method of Primary Mundane directions.

Planet Search Facility: You can search any chart file for planets in signs, houses, or in aspect to other planets or positions, and to combine search criteria to perform a complex search.

Chart Details Comments May Be Printed: You can print summaries of chats or chart files, including chart details and optionally also any chart comments included with the charts.

TimeZone Tables for Solar Fire Place Database: The Solar Fire place database now allows the use of user editable timezone tables. These tables have been populated for several countries.

Changes from Version 2.x to Version 3

Following are the main changes which have been made for v3 of Solar Fire. A number of smaller changes have also been made, but have been excluded from this list for the sake of brevity.

Context Sensitive Help: Help may be invoked by using the F1 key anywhere in Solar Fire.

New Chart Points: 8 TransNeptunians, TransPluto, Black Moon Lilith (mean)

New Chart Types: Tertiary, Minor and User Rate Progressed; Ascendant Arc and Vertex Arc and User Arc Directed; Coalescent; Prenatal (18 types, including conception and quickening); Rising/Setting using either visual or true altitude; Transiting and Progressed Lunar Phases.

Savable Charts: Return, Ingress, Prenatal and Relationship charts may also now be saved to a chart file.

Retainable Charts: Any selection of calculated charts may be retained for an indefinite number of future Solar Fire sessions. Retained charts appear immediately in the list of calculated charts when Solar Fire starts up. Any type of chart may be retained, including composite and progressed charts, for example.

Opening Charts: You can search for a chart through all your chart files at once. Chart names may be displayed in a variety of orders to help find the charts you want. Charts may be opened from Nova type chart files transparently.

Chart Comments: Virtually unlimited comments or text may be added to any saved chart, and this text may be easily browsed or edited while opening the chart.

Deleting Charts: Any number of calculated charts may be selected for deletion all at once.

Rectifying Charts: The date of a chart may now be altered in addition to the time and the midheaven. This makes it possible to cross date boundaries when attempting to rectify charts whose times are close to midnight.

Displayed Points: It is now possible to select a set of displayed points to apply to a single chart instead of to all charts. This makes it possible, for example, to view only the outer planets in a transits chart outside all the planets in a natal chart.

DTP: Any chart or grid displayed in Solar Fire may now optionally be copied to the clipboard or to a file in Windows Metafile format. This allows scalable Desk-Top-Publishing quality charts to be viewed and printed in many other programs.

Draconic Zodiac: The Draconic zodiac may be selected for the calculation of any new chart, in addition to the existing zodiac types. Draconic charts may be mixed with other types of charts in biwheels and reports, for example.

Angle Progression Methods: Solar arc in longitude and right ascension; Naibod in longitude and right ascension, mean quotidian (also known as daily houses). These may be used both in progressed charts and in dynamic progressions.

Progressions Day Type: May be either Standard or Bija.

Lunar Parallax: The moon's position may optionally be adjusted to take account of the location on the earth's surface. This correction may be used in any chart or dynamic report.

Vulcan Calculation: The position of Vulcan may be calculated using either the orbital parameters proposed by L.H. Weston, or the theory of D. Baker.

Dials: Any displayed wheel may easily be viewed as a 90 degree dial. The wheel designer may be used to design dials of any modulus for viewing in Solar Fire.

Wheel Designer: All of the supplied wheel and dial display styles are editable with a supplied utility program. You can also create your own designs from scratch if you prefer. Editable features include zodiac glyph style, house cusp style and arrows, color fills, planet and degree positions, and much more.

New Dynamic Reports Features: Dynamic reports may use any progression or direction method. From a dynamic report you can: View interpretations of a dynamic event (e.g. Transiting Uranus Square Natal Sun); export all the interpretations for the report to a file for editing or printing in a word processor; view a list of similar events, including the number of exact hits before and after the report; view a list of aspects made to the radix chart by an eclipse or stationary point; view a chart for the time of the dynamic event; view a graphical Time Map for all the items in the report.

New Reports: Horary - planetary day and hour, almutens of houses, ancient dignities, point count per planet; Sensitive points - zodiacal positions at which aspects are made to chart's planets; Midpoint Modal Sort - zodiacal midpoints sorted by mode; Arabic Parts - zodiacal positions and aspects to chart's planets; Star Aspects - zodiacal positions and aspects to chart's planets plus keywords for each star; Star Parans - list of stars in paran to chart's planets plus keywords for each star; Planetary Nodes - zodiacal positions of each planet's nodes and aspects to chart's planets

Planetarium: Any chart may be displayed on the celestial sphere with fixed stars in the background. Special features are: Click on a planet to find the nearest star; Double click on any star to get full information, including an interpretations (where available); view the sphere in equatorial, ecliptical or local coordinates, from the side or towards either pole; rotate the celestial sphere by clicking on a scroll-bar; highlight any constellation by selecting it from a list.

Time Map: Any dynamic report may be displayed graphically with bar lines indicating entering and leaving orbs along a time scale. This is scrollable and printable to allow all events in the report to be viewed.

Interpretations: Solar Fire is supplied with 2 sets of interpretations - one for natal charts and one for transits to a natal chart. It is also possible to specify a different default interpretations file for up to 7 different types of charts or dynamic events, if you create or acquire other interpretations sets. For example, you can use one set of interpretations for a natal chart, and another set for a solar return chart.

Interpretations Compiler: This now keeps track of all the text files related to a set of interpretations, and allows them to be edited directly from the compiler using Windows Notepad, Windows Write or any other word processor of your choice.

Fixed Star Editor: Technical data and interpretations text my be entered for any fixed stars or other astronomical objects for use in the planetarium and fixed star reports.

Arabic Parts Editor: Any combinations of A+B-C may be entered for use in the Arabic Parts report.

Ephemeris Generator: You can browse or print an ephemeris for any combination of planets and asteroids for virtually any time period and using any time interval.

Utilities Menu Editor: Any program may be added to the utilities menu so that it may be called up directly from Solar Fire.

Changes from Version 1.x to Version 2

Windows 3.1: Due to use of Truetype fonts, v2 requires Windows 3.1 - it will no longer run on Windows 3.0.

Improved Accuracy: Planets are now accurate to within several seconds of arc in most cases, with the Sun accurate to one second of arc.

Use of Glyphs: Through the use of specially created fonts, all reports may now be viewed on the screen or printed with either word abbreviations or the graphical glyphs of signs, planets and aspects, according to your choice.

Status Bars: Status bars have been added to the top and bottom of the main menu screen. These shows the current date, time, location and a continually updated ascendant, midheaven and planetary positions. Retrograde planets are shown in red.

Additional Menu Help: While the menu is being browsed the bottom status bar gives a fuller description of whichever menu item is being browsed.

Chart Edit: Any calculated natal chart may now be copied and edited (for example to alter the house system) by a simple menu selection.

Chart Delete: Any calculated chart may be deleted from the list of calculated charts by a simple menu selection.

Coordinate Systems: You can create charts in heliocentric coordinates. Heliocentric charts may be used alongside geocentric charts in synastry grids and reports, biwheels, triwheels etc.

Zodiacs: You can select either Tropical or any of 7 different Sidereal zodiacs, plus the ability to define your own sidereal ayanamsa.

House Systems: There are two new house systems - Whole Signs and Hindu Bhava.

Precession and Converse Charts: It is now possible to use precession or converse timing with any progressed or return charts.

Return Charts: Planetary and asteroid return charts have been included.

Improved Place Database: It is now possible to easily edit, copy or delete places on and between place database files (without having to "mark" records first). It is also possible to type in a place name (or part of a place name) on any screen requiring a place, and the details of that place will be retrieved automatically from the current place database file if a match is found.

Dual Wheel Display: You can view or print two separate wheels on a single page.

Rectify Assist: You can alter the time, or Midheaven angle of a natal chart via a simple dialog screen, after which the chart is automatically redrawn.

Faster Chart Display: Due to use of special Truetype fonts, chart displays are faster than in version 1.2x.

LMT Support: Typing "LMT" in any timezone box will cause the LMT to be calculated automatically from the longitude.

Chart Compliments: Up to six lines of text may be entered to appear on printed charts as compliments text (e.g. your name and address).

Pop-Up Menu: Clicking the right hand mouse button in the Chart View screen causes a pop-up menu with all the display options to appear. It is therefore possible to alter colors, displayed points, aspects etc., all without leaving the chart viewing screen.

Charts without Aspects: You can select options to prevent aspect lines being printed in the center of any single wheels, or to prevent aspect symbols being printed in the center of each aspect line.

Enhanced Copy Ability: You can copy any report (including dynamic reports) to the clipboard, with an option of either clearing the clipboard first, or simply appending the report to the current contents of the clipboard. In this manner, almost any number of reports can be "stacked up" in the clipboard for later pasting into a word processor document, for example.

3-D Aspects: (Also known as True Body Aspects) You can select an option so that all reported aspects will be 3-D aspects instead of aspects of longitude and latitude or declination. (This option does not apply in dynamic reports).

Applying/Separating Aspects: All reports and grids giving aspects have been modified to show applying/separating. The calculation of these is based on the actual rate of movement of each point involved in the aspect. A separate orb angle may now be specified for applying and separating aspects.

Editable Rulerships and Weightings: Modern, Old, Esoteric and Hierarchical rulerships are supplied with the program. You can edit and alter these, or add your own definitions of rulerships of signs and decanates, exaltations and falls. You may also alter the weightings applied to planets, asteroids and other chart points for reports containing assessments of the balance of modes, elements and rays.

Midpoint Reports: Four new reports have been added - 1) Chart point sort (any modulus), for one or two charts combined; 2) Midpoint listing in planetary order or by zodiacal position (any modulus), for one chart, or for one chart combined with the primary positions of a second chart. This may be used to examine transiting positions relative to the midpoints of a natal chart, for example; 3) Midpoint axes (any modulus or orb); 4) Midpoint trees (any modulus or orb). Also, the existing Aspect Analysis report has been amended to include a list of aspect patterns found in the chart (Unaspected planets, stelliums, Grand Crosses, T-Squares, Kites, Grand Trines, Mystic Rectangles, Yods, Focused Yods).

Dynamic Reports: You can define a set of "radix points" to be used in any dynamic reports, instead of the use of the "displayed points". All dynamic options have been incorporated into a single comprehensive module with the following capabilities: Transits to Radix, Transits to Transits, Transits to Progressions, Transits to Solar Arc Directed, Progressions to Radix, Progressions to Progressions, Solar Arc to Radix, House Ingress, Sign Ingress, Parallels of Declination or Latitude, Stationary Points, Solar and Lunar Eclipses, Entering and Leaving Orb, Precessed, Converse. You can view reports using either graphical glyphs or name abbreviations, both on the screen and printer. It is also possible to view or print reports using the user-defined colors for each glyph.

On-line Interpretations: A major new feature is the ability to browse through natal chart interpretations, plus basic definitions of a large variety of items in a charts. By simply clicking on a particular part of any natal chart which you have displayed in the chart viewing screen, you can instantly browse through an interpretation. For example, if you click on a planet, you will see an interpretation of that planet in its house and sign. If you click on a house cusp, you will see an interpretation of what the sign on the cusp of that house means. If you click on the degree of a planet or house cusp, you will see information about that degree of the zodiac. If you click on a second planet (within 3 seconds of clicking on a first planet) you will see an interpretation of the aspect between those two planets.

The following types of information are available in relation to a natal chart: Balance of modes, elements, quadrants, hemispheres, rays, lunar phase, chart point in house and sign, chart points rulerships and dispositor, list of aspects to a point, interpretation of an aspect between two chart points. The following general types of information are available (without referring to a natal chart): Degrees, decanates, signs, modes, elements, houses, quadrants, hemispheres, rays, aspects, chart points, houses, signs on cusps, chart points in signs, chart points in houses, chart point aspecting another chart point.