What are Service Packs?

Service packs are the results of user participation and continuous development efforts. Thanks to everyone, especially to the active members of the ATLAS-TI forum, for the discussions, bug reports, and suggestions for further improvements.

The ATLAS.ti CD-ROM Release 4.1 you purchased before September 2000 is already a well-crafted product which effectively supports your work, even without the improvements that come with service packs.

However, since the release of the first CD-ROM many useful suggestions and new ideas have found their way into the program which you might not want to miss. It is also an open secret that a software as complex as ATLAS.ti can never be absolutely "bug" free, and we continue to place great effort in identifying and removing any occurring problems.

You might never stumble onto such problematic areas, but to answer the question "do I need it?": if you've come so far as to read this section, you probably do not want to miss the benefits of the service pack.

Which package do I need?

There are three different modules available for download: one larger pack (ptch5158.exe, ~2 MB) and one smaller upgrade (ptch5458.zip, ~0.5 MB) to build 58. In addition, there is a most recent update to build 61 (ptch5861.zip, ~150 KB), which can be installed after you have updated ATLAS.ti to build 58 or higher.

Which one you need (you only need ONE of them) or if you do not need any of those add-ons at all depends on the release level of your software identified by three numbers: the version major, the version minor, and the maintenance level, also called the "build" number.

All ATLAS.ti CDs purchased until September 2000 are on release 4.1.51. (4 = major, 1 = minor, 51 = build). Many of you have already upgraded to build 4.2.57.

CDs sold since then are on release 4.2.58 and there is no need to download anything but ptch5861.

The complete release (including the "build" number) can be found after starting ATLAS.ti in the following places

• the main screen of ATLAS.ti following the version number
• the output generated with File/Info from the main menu
• the output generated with Extras/Generate System Report
• No you can check and determine the pack you need:
• If your current release is 4.1.51 you need to download and install file ptch5158.exe and ptch5861.zip.
• If your current release is 4.2.54-57 you need to download and install the smaller file ptch5458.zip (yes, a different file extension) and ptch5861.zip.
• If your current release is 4.2.58-60 you should download ptch5861.zip.

Some Highlights of applying the updates

Note: The listing below includes (a selection of) the changes since the first released CD (4.1).

• Multimedia Coding: Fine grained segmentation (down to 1 ms) of arbitrary length Audio files (incl. MP3!).
• Coding of Video (AVI, Mpeg and QuickTime) on a frame by frame basis!
• WYSIWYG print of textual primary documents.
• Smart Primary Document Mapper. (build 58)
• Support of MP3 compressed Audio files. (build 58)
• XML: Codes ex- and import. (build 57)
• XML samples directory. (build 57)
• XML: Memos ex- and import.
• High printing quality for networks.
• Network export to CorelDraw®, Word® etc.
• Added report features (e.g. codes with comments).
• "WordCruncher" with pattern based stop lists!
• Memos can be used as Primary Documents.
• Improved Object Explorer and ListViews.
• Families in networks.
• Query Editor.
• Shortcut file processing. (build 57)
• Import and export of document-attribute (family) tables (59)
• Resolving some problems under Windows 2000 (59)
• Remembering script settings (Czech, Hebrew, etc) for fonts (59)
• Improved Multimedia handling (60)
• SPSS handling of code families corrected (60)
• Some bugs removed ... (60)
• Some more bugs removed including the nasty CONTINUE bug ... (61)

Miscellaneous

IMPORTANT: While ATLAS.ti release 4.1 worked with Windows 3.x with Win32s, it is strongly recommended to install the service pack only if running Windows 9x, Me, Windows NT, Windows 2000 or Windows XP.

The enclosed file manadd.pdf is a "manual" for the new and modified features. You should download this file (or display it in your browser with the Acrobat plug-in) and print it prior to installing the service pack.