OxMetrics new features and fixes

OxMetrics 10 is a complete rewrite of the program, and there are too many new features to list.

A few changes to Batch and Algebra could be relevant when running older code:

• (Batch) new app command (optionally) replaces module and package commands
• (Batch) currently unsupported: appenddata, appresults, closedrawwindow, command, draw, drawf, drawptext, drawtext, drawtitle, drawx, drawz, loadfile, loadgraph, setdraw, setdrawwindow, show
• (Algebra) _sortallby no longer available
• (Algebra) _sortby is replaced by sortby, which returns the sorted variable
• (Algebra) acf,pacf,periodogram,smooth_hp,smooth_np,smooth_sp have fewer arguments

Maximization control and the tail probabliities dialog are currently unavailable.

Data aggregation is not yet available.

Fixed and improved

• (9.30) Undo with Ctrl-Z in unchanged database causes crash.
• (9.30) Two minor changes to macOS start-up code
• (9.30) Saturation indicators can have a negative year

Fixed and improved

• (9.10) Alt+F4 was not working (Windows only).
• (9.10) New short cuts:
  1. Ctrl+/ Toggle Comment
  2. Ctrl+L Go To Line
  3. Ctrl+U Upper Case
  4. Ctrl+Shift+U Lower Case
• (9.06) Persistent settings were not saved (macOS and Linux only).
• (9.06) Licence check in the installer did not work correctly (Windows only).
• (9.06) Error in writing choice set to .oxdata/.in7 data files would lead to crash.

Improved in 9.0

• Support for dark mode. This is detected automatically under macOS, but can be set in Model/Preferences/Options. Under Windows and Linux not all dialogs will be dark. Graphics windows are never dark.
• New default data format: *.oxdata (this is the .in7/.bn7 files together in a zip file).
• Improved csv reading and writing, and support for zipped csv files.
• Dropped support for obsolete spreadsheet files (.xlsx, .wks), and .dht data files.
• Improved support for high resolution screens (HiDPI) and improved dialogs.
• Native support for Apple silicon (M1).
• Dropped support for 32-bit versions.
• New full precision double point to string conversion avoids printing (e.g.) 0.46000000000000002.
• Graphs can be saved in the SVG vector format which can be incorporated in an html document. SVG files can also be inserted into recent versions of Microsoft Word and Excel.
• The Ox code to regenerate the graph can be created by right-clicking on a graph in the document listing and selecting Save Ox code. This can be useful if, after manual adjustments, the graph is to be used as a template for other graphs.
• DataFetch to download data from Fred, Quandle, and other data providers.
• The Ox code to regenerate the graph can be created by right-clicking on a graph in the document listing and selecting Save Ox code. This can be useful if, after manual adjustments, the graph is to be used as a template for other graphs.
• PcGive and others: made Test menu into popup menu with shortcuts
• PcGive,STAMP,G@RCH dialogs now centred on OxMetrics Model Class dialog
• New Algebra functions: seasonal(LAG), cseasonal(LAG), DI(YEAR, PERIOD), II(YEAR, PERIOD), SI(YEAR, PERIOD), TI(YEAR, PERIOD), lag0
• New Batch functions: drawtext, drawptext, drawtitle.
• Special variables (Seasonal, CSeasonal, II#1980(1), SI#1980(1), TI#1980(1), etc.) can be used on the right-hand side in Algebra expressions.
• More concise way to write system Batch command (old way still works), e.g.:

      system
      {
          Y = "log(LY)" 0:3;
          Z = Constant, "log(X)" 1:2 4:5 3, LC 0:5;
      }
  

Improved in 8.0

• Windows: support for high resolution screens (HiDPI).
• Windows: tabbed user interface.
• All: interface refresh.
• macOS: OxMetrics is now a 64-bit program, so client programs are now 64-bit as well.
• maxOS: Find replace dialog can remain open while working elsewhere.
• Graphs can be saved as SVG. SVG is a vector format that can be inserted into Word and Excel.

Fixed in 8.01

• $\uparrow$ doesn't show in graph under Windows, but it does in saved PDF. Unclear why, but created a work around: it shows now, but sits a little bit lower on screen than in saved pdf.
• Calculator erases edit field when writing expression using Function button or lag, diff (etc.). Now inserting in edit field as expected.
• Added /Encoding /WinAnsiEncoding to pdf fonts, so that letters with diacritics and Scandinavian letters come out correctly. The default StandardEncoding is missing these (and euro). Euro symbol now shows in saved PDF.
• Couldn't load xlsx files with foreign characters in filename.
• Inline edit in database does not work.

Improved and Fixed in 7.1

• Fixed: HP filter (Algebra function smooth_hp), omitted last observation in sample (unless there was a missing value at the end).
• OS X: removed `Deleted stale lock' msg
• Fixed: OS X: Installation scripts weren't running (missed an incompatible change in PackageMaker)
• Fixed: OS X: AppNap is causing trouble with OxModel, because it is hidden while waiting for an activation command from OxMetrics. This will take a long time (8-10 seconds) when napping.
• Fixed: Linux: Incompatibility in newer libpng caused OxMetrics to crash at startup on newer distros (causing a segmentation fault in longjmp_chk upon opening the program on a system using libpng16).
• Improved: OxEdit/OxMetrics saving: if upper ascii or unicode characters are present in the document: save as UTF-8 with BOM (previously only if unicode characters > 0xFF=255 were found).
  Problem with println("S\xF8ren"); and println("Søren");
  • On the Windows console: depends on the active code page (chcp).
  • in OxEdit: skips quite a bit of output after that.
  When making the file UTF-8 (by adding some unicode in comment), the output appears properly in OxEdit/OxMetrics (but not on the Windows console, because that cannot handle UTF-8).

  Can make the Windows console UTF-8 by using chcp 65001 and the Lucinda Console font, then correct in both. So best solution is for OxEdit/OxMetrics to treat all files with upper ASCII as UTF-8, not just files with characters > 0xFF.

  OxEdit/OxMetrics needs to distinguish:

  1. ASCII (<=0x7F)
  2. ANSI (<=0xFF)
  3. UTF-8 with BOM, default to ASCII if no chars >0x7F found
  4. UTF-8 without BOM, need to autodetect upon load
  5. others only with BOM

Improved and Fixed in 7.0

• Improved: Double click on help item in popupdlg: dismiss dialog
• Improved: Improved batch graphics file handling (can now do load eps, save pdf, close).
• Fixed: OS X: Shortcut handling in comboboxes/find-replace and text editor in dialog did not work well.
• Fixed: function/arrow keys generate character in graph.
• Fixed: grid drawing of log-scale axes would sometimes skip grid.
• Fixed: output in batch from module command may appear after next command (println or saveresults).
• Changed: the arrow keys can now be used to rotate a 3D area when it is selected.

Improved and Fixed in 6.3

• Improved: client-server handling under Linux and OSX.
• Improved: When a running Ox program generates continuous output: the text window only keeps scrolls to the bottom if it has the focus (avoids unnecessary actions).
• Fixed: SaveDrawWindow could crash under Linux and OSX
• Fixed: Context menu on Data/Graphics/Code/Text, selecting Close All and then Cancel to abort: leads to crash.

Improved and Fixed in 6.2

• Improved: xlsx: allow reading of strings created through a formula
• Improved: xlsm can be read as xlsx
• Improved: default browser detection under Windows; Chrome/Safari jumping to help item.
• Fixed: Save graph as PDF: hats on symbols showed next to the symbol; large ellipses were squeezed in the middle.
• Fixed: xlsx: column labelling error when > 26 columns. Reading file written by OxMetrics worked, but there were gaps. Reading file written in Excel resulted in skipped columns.
• Fixed: Chrome/Safari/Opera frame loading fixed (was entering infinite reload loop).

Improved and Fixed in 6.1

• New: Added option to `Always ask to save text and graphics windows from modules' which can be set from Model/preferences/Options.
• New: Added read and write support for Excel xlsx files. Added read (113,114) and write (114) support for Stata 11 .dta files.
• New: Added PDF as new save format for graphics.
• New: Added command to insert date and time (short-cut is F5). printdate is the new a batch command for a date/time stamp.
• New: Now using the default Windows 7 fonts for dialogs and workspace. Using the selected fixed-width font as the default fixed-width font throughout. Added ability to change the default font in Preferences.
• New: Added coding_eol property for .def files, and using it to color preprocessor lines in Ox and C/C++.
• New: Added ability to wrap a selection, and to select wrapping at the document level (Edit/Text Properties)
• New: Added yellow Information panel for certain load messages.
• New: Now automatically growing variable width in database if the label is long (up to a certain point)
• New: Inline editing of database value: using light yellow background to differentiate visually.
• Changed: On screen graphics font are too small relative to PostScript output and to GiveWin.
• Changed: The default font under Windows 7 is now Consolas. This looks better on LCD screens and is not quite as small as Courier New at 9 pt. The default font is one point smaller than before, to follow the display settings more closely. The font size can be adjusted from the View menu.
• Changed: The default for PDF/PostScript mode (i.e. the color settings when saving in this format) is now color instead of black/white/gray. The global default can be changed using Model/Preferences.
• Changed: Create database: change Days per weeks to Observations per week.
• Changed: documents in the workspace are now sorted alphabetically.
• Changed: Now using thinner symbols on very thick lines in plots.
• Changed: Created separate Format menu for text files (was previously submenu of Edit menu).
• Changed: No syntax coloring of incomplete string.
• Changed: Show white space didn't show tab in string.
• Fixed: Fixed crash when exiting or closing a modified database while the inline editor is displayed.
• Fixed: This wouldn't work from OxRun (from draw4.ox): ShowDrawWindow(); // show this concoction SaveDrawWindow("draw4.gwg"); SaveDrawWindow("draw4.eps"); The second graph would not be created, and would create an empty draw4 window.
• Fixed: right-click in workspace to close inactive menu: would not have correct menu items highlighted afterwards. - When starting maximized, sometimes focus window doesn't have min/max/close buttons on menu bar. Work around: always set focus to Results window at start up. - tooltip in workspace flickers
• Fixed: Two 64-bit installation issues: install_64bit didn't find executables (because of autorun open), and it couldn't run the installers because itself didn't have elevated privileges (64-bit Vista, 64-bit Windows 7).
• Fixed: PostScript BWG did not obey BWG line types
• Fixed: CCF label is truncated: CCF of CONS and INC should read CCF-CONS x INC and CCF-INC x CONS
• Fixed: When `Use tabs when there is no file type definition' is unchecked, it can happen that a file is only partially read when several tabs are converted to spaces.
• Fixed: Deleting long column: too much repainting makes it slow, now doing it at the end.
• Fixed: Could have repaint issue when using C-style to remove line breaks with the caret at the bottom.
• Fixed: Workspace tooltips flicker.

Fixed and improved in 6.0

• New: Output handling is faster under Linux, and very much faster under OS X.
• New: Normal QQ plots can now include pointwise asymptotic 95% standard error bands.
• New: A variable can be used to add Shading to a graph: shading is switched on when the variable has value 1. This allows for recession shading, and is used in particular for the output from regime-switching models.
• New: Legends can be transparent or not. Transparent legends are not transparent to shading or separate symbols. Opaque legends are drawn on top of everything else.
• New: context menu (graph, sort, ...) when right-clicking on variable name in database.
• New: Introduced automatic switching between ASCII and UTF8 when saving and when entering text. Fixed typing in text file after adding diacritic. Diacritic at start of line (which is an error, because it must follow a character) now shown in red.
• Changed: Small change in handling `lagged variables' (i.e. variables ending in underscore followed by number, e.g. XYZ_2):
  • cross-section regression now shows all, and treats them as normal variables
  • time-series and other modules that allow formulation of lags:
    • if XYZ is in the database, then all XYZ_# are removed from the list in the model dialog
    • if XYZ is NOT in the database, then all XYZ_# are kept, but not treated as lagged variables.
• Changed: Ctrl+B for batch didn't work anymore. Reinstated Ctrl+B for Batch, use Ctrl+N for column paste on OS X.
• Changed: Run Batch file: focusses to Results window after successful run.
• Changed: In the "Find" dialog, if you select "All documents" and then "Count All" or "Mark All": now skipping query "Do you wish to replace this in all open documents?"
• Changed: Rename variable: sets focus to variable name
• Changed: triangle in .eps was otherway round from on-screen triangle.
• Changed: Plot by third: write value uses line colour in eps, but not on screen: also want it on screen.
• Changed: Plotting symbols only: only showing one symbol in legend (instead of two).
• Fixed: Saving in UTF16 did not work.
• Fixed: Generated Ox code: can now handle non-english characters in database path.
• Fixed: Undo for some Algebra functions didn't work (sort, _sortby, smooth, acf, emwa).
• Fixed: Repeatedly running an Ox file that saves a graph could result in multiple instances of the same graphics files being open (asking for a reload every time it changes).
• Fixed: Draw rectangle, circle etc outside an area: always drawn as line.
• Fixed: Setting an area color required a non-white paper color.
• Fixed: Multiple dated vectors in graph: would add X-axis for each.
• Fixed: Use value as symbol size (cross-plot of two variables by a third) if the value is zero, the generated .eps file will not work.
• Fixed: Plots with thick dashed/dotted lines would sometimes draw in the wrong linetype.
• Fixed: Deleting lines from graph would not be entered into undo buffer properly, so cannot be undone.
• Fixed: Plot multiple series using Start=100 did not work for dated series.
• Fixed: Cannot change World Z coordinates when editing 3d graph.
• Linux: Successive reload dialogs (for outside modification of a file) are displayed on top of each other, but can only click on the bottom one (if that happens to be the check order).
• Linux: Paste button flickers on mouse move, but only when other program puts something on clipboard (can take up to 10% CPU).
• Linux: title doesn't show document name: difficult to see which doc it is.
• OS X: Formulate a model, then rename a variable in the database: client would hang instead of showing error message.
• OS X: Ctrl+Tab: gets handled by database window instead of switching to next document.
• OS X: Press Done button in graph editing: looses active edit field
• OS X: Select object in graph, then switch to other window: selection still shown.
• OS X: Delete from Graph would sometimes not delete all selected items.

Fixed and improved in 5.1

• Added Goto Location and Open Location on (right-click) context menu. These are added when a line consists of filename (number) as used in Find In Files. Then Goto Location is the same as double clicking on the filename: it opens the file with the caret at the specified line. Open Location is the same as opening the file in the shell (e.g. a html file is opened in the default browser).
• Added shownumbers option to def file. Using shownumbers=1 in ox.def.
• Support for Mac OS X and Linux (32 and 64-bit).
• Added sample size indicator in Change Sample dialog
• Ability to read csv file written by Excel on Mac. Save As csv: no warning about maximum rows/columns.
• Trying to save as .dta: now gives error message (is unsupported)
• Daily data: sub sample plotting picked an upper bound for the x-axis that was too low when using annual major ticks.
• Increased limits in Sample dlg for adding/removing observations.
• Graph edit: treat backspace as delete
• Firefox help problem when it is not already open: opens two instances
• Database grid window: Shift+Click on row (column) label did not extend row (column) selection; drag-select on row (column) label did not scroll window.
• Givewin had Ctrl+scroll wheel for Page Up/Down scrolling. Restored this feature.
• When there are no axes in a graph: the onscreen graphics font could change after editing the graph.
• Tooltips could appear when OxMetrics is not on top
• When save fails (write-protected) offer Save As dialog
• OxMetrics Preferences: Added ability to switch automatic reloading of files on, as well as choice of backup style.
• Improved registration dialog
• Sub sample selection edit field for dated date (such as daily data) doesn't work in plot selection/calculator.
• Algebra function lead produces missing values; Calculator uses lead function instead of lag.
• .emf files cannot be read by other programs (size is zero)
• PcNaive: ability to use PcGive and Autometrics (but not yet impulse saturation).
• OxPack cannot run modelling package that depends on files outside the implied package folder: need option to specify additional run options. Redesigned the Add/Remove Package dialog.
• OxEdit (AUI): Ctrl+Tab to go to next Tab, Shift+Ctrl+Tab to go to previous Tab.

Fixed and improved in 5.0

• Support for reading Office 2007 xls files.
• Allow leads in lag function of calculator. Generated code uses new Algebra lead function to emphasize this.
• Improved keyboard support.
• Improved support for Internet Explorer 7 and Firefox 2
• Improved context switching when starting help link
• Improved icons.
• Created file association for .alg and .bn7.
  Clicking on .bn7 now opens .in7.
  Opening .eps.gwg (e.g.) now same as opening .eps.
  
• Added loadfile to batch.
• Rename .in7 file: also need to rename .bn7! Rename data file: keep extension fixed (cannot change data format this way).
• Re-instate Correlogram as a running-moments version of ACF (option in plot dialog)
• Graphics undo/redo did not take moved areas into account(undo would move all areas to the default location).
• Improved exit sequence. Previously, closing OxMetrics stopped OxModel without allowing it to call SaveSettings.
• Now showing batch commands of active module.
• Improve the delete dialog, e.g. if selection starts from beginning or end.
• Load previous session: failure to load (file doesn't exist anymore) now prints message in the results window, instead of a pop-up message.
• Any key in algebra or calculator listbox would be treated as deletion.
• Axis scaling could get in infinite loop.
• Running Algebra file, or batch file with algebra wouldn't refresh data document properly (i.e., not all changes would show, until e.g. calculator is started).
• Fixed crash from syntax error in module batch commands
• Seasonal subplot wrong if first observation not in first seasonal. Also now computing mean only over valid observations.
• Batch: Break and Exit do not work.
• Find in Files: search for t (one letter as word) didn't work.
• Mixing PcGive and G@RCH in batch file causes crash. Now automatically switching to a model class that has entries when selecting a module.
• Extended dated database backward got wrong dates for weekly and 5days/week data.
• Ctrl+F4 for File/Close.
• Reload maintains position in document.

Fixed and improved in 4.1

• Creating a new Ox file, and then running it from OxMetrics before saving: if the file is saved under a different name, the old name is used for running Ox, resulting in an error message that the file does not exist.
• Added option to set graphics view size (default=100, which creates the graph as large as possible).
• Solved tooltip flicker in toolbar/combobox with large cursor
• Print: did not pick up default page size or duplex mode.
• Print Preview: Esc key now closes window; View % is sticky; fixed page back/jump to last page; Change in zoom %/no columns did not update page count in preview.
• Fixed several problems with loading CSV files.
• Tooltip management in workspace/doctabs took CPU usage up high.
• Runing batch files from the command line when OxMetrics was not yet running failed if they required a client module (PcGive etc.)
• reading xls file with embedded chart data (possibly without actually containing a chart) could go wrong.
• Had lost increased time-out option for DDE (relevant when storing residuals etc. in a database from a client module).
• Datastream uses #NA as missing: add this.
• On Windows XP x64 (the 64-bit version), deleting files in the File Open dialog and then loading another file can cause a crash. This seems to be unrelated to OxMetrics, but a work-around has been found.
• Data aggregation: shows wrong sample for dated database. Conversion 4-weekly -> monthly switched off. Conversion 4-weekly/monthly -> biannual didn't set frequently properly.
• Fixed Windows 2000 problem: all drop downs on comboboxes are only one entry high.

Fixed in 4.04

• Seasonal subplots: not done separately if so requested.
• Edit/Change Sample/Delete observations at start leads to crash.
• Up/down and left/right arrows didn't change value/move caret in many spin button controls.
• Graphics text: isolated $ now displayed.
• saveresults batch command leaves window entirely grayed: cannot manually add text.
• Help/Support web links did not work with Internet Explorer.
• Running modified Batch/Algebra file: should save file first.
• Batch didn't change folder to that of running file.
• Loading Excel files:
  Problem: if the first column looks like it defines a fixed frequency sample and has no label, it is not loaded. This has been fixed: the first column is maintained if it has a label or if it has numeric data. (same as GiveWin and Ox 3, OxMetrics 4.00/4.02 would drop it).
  Enhancements:
  • A dot or any text starting with #N/A is treated as a missing value (previously it was only #N/A exactly).
  • Now dropping columns which have no entries at all (as happened in Ox 3/GiveWin)
• Copy formatted didn't work.

Fixed in 4.02

• Options now works when the module hasn't started yet.
• Alt+B should open Batch editor
• Dialogs not properly centred on parent (particularly inconvenient on widescreen display)
• Pressing Esc when an inline edit control is active should cancel the edit action, not the whole dialog
• Ox code using SaveDrawWindow which involves a rename (i.e. different name from SetDrawWindow) could cause a crash of OxMetrics.
• Did not accept Ox-4 licenses.
• Can now drop files on text windows. Reinstated right-button drag and drop with choice of move/copy/cancel.
• Searching from toolbar, followed by selection of Show Find when nothing found caused a focus `hang' (i.e. no part of the program would get the focus).
• Right-click in the workspace when a tooltip is shown brings up the layout context menu instead of the document context menu.
• Customizing a toolbar with find/replace combobox. The next use of the combobox will result in a crash. To prevent the crash in version 4.00: exit and restart OxEdit after customizing the toolbar.