Xoc Maya Calendar

Release Notes

XOC MAYA CALENDAR RELEASE NOTES

Version 5.0.7666 [2020-12-27]

Added support for Tun-Ajaw dating used during the terminal classic and post-classic periods. This shows up in the drop-down for all Long Count dates, and can be shown in the columns in the search results tab (right click to turn on columns).

Changed the alignment of text within controls. This issue became more apparent with the switch to the Arial font in the previous release.

Added more logging to debug problems with Excel integration.

Version 5.0.7379 [2020-03-15]

Added support to run on the Mac through using Crossover. The Excel connectivity does not work. Otherwise full support. See the web site for how to install.

Changed the trial period to be 14 days to match the trial period of Crossover.

Changed the font used throughout the program to use Arial.

Added the events that appear on the Tablet of 96 Glyphs to chronology on the sample Excel worksheet.

Added the 9.2.5 (3285 day) Tonina Solor Cycle to the factors. This is a period of nine solar years (9 x 365) that shows up in inscriptions at Tonina. https://mayadecipherment.com/2007/11/30/more-on-the-nine-year-solar-cycle-at-tonina/

Added "Uayeb" to the spellings of acceptable alternatives to Wayeb. This will be automatically added to the standard profiles, but any custom profiles created before this release will not automatically inherit this.

Changed the visual look of the buttons at the bottom of the Distance Number tab.

Changed reading of the profiles files to be more resiliant to errors such as permissions problems.

Fixed a bug with the numerals for 16 through 19 not appearing in almanacs.

Version 4.4.6906 [2018-11-28]

Changed the setup program to remember the install directory so that it will suggest the same directory again when installing updates.

Changed the expander button on Long Count and Distance Number controls to appear as a rectangle on the right of the control rather than a circle on the left.

Changed the Calendar Round - tab to show the closest ten Distance Numbers that could connect the two Calendar Rounds dates instead of just two.

Fixed the sample Excel worksheet to format correctly for Excel 2019.

Fixed a few minor bugs.

Version 4.3.6897 [2018-11-19]

Changed the Factors dialog so that factors can be added, deleted, or changed. These are saved between runs of the program.

Changed the month correlation of the Aztec Calendar profile so that dates around the fall of Tenochtitlan calculate correctly.

Fixed a bug in copying profiles where the month names did not copy from profile to profile, but instead came from the Standard profile.

Version 4.2.6800 [2018-08-14]

Fixed a bug in the saving of new profiles.

Added a dialog with factors that are displayed when showing the details for a distance number. This list is read-only in the current version, but a future version will allow changing the list. The ribbon was slightly rearranged to allow for this.

Added a profile for Martin & Skidmore's 584286 correlation to the default set of profiles. This profile is based on Stela 3 at Santa Elena Poco Uinic recording the date 9.17.19:13.16 5 K'ib' 14 Ch'en and has the glyph for a solar eclipse. A solar eclipse happened on July 16, 790 O.S. http://www.mesoweb.com/pari/publications/journal/1302/Correlation.pdf

Updated the help file.

Version 4.1.6746 [2018-06-21]

Fixed a bug in the calculations of the C and X Glyphs.

Version 4.1.6745 [2018-06-20]

Note: Due to the significant changes to how profiles work in this version, all user-created profiles created in previous versions of the program will need to be recreated.

Changed the presentation of the X Glyph to match the nine variations (designated in Roman numerals i through ix) in Nikolai Grube's (2018) article The Forms of the Glyph X of the Lunar Series (https://www.academia.edu/36290676/The_Forms_of_Glyph_X_of_the_Lunar_Series). This replaces the six variations from Roys (designated X1 through X6) that have been commonly used since 1934, and the 12 variations from Linden (1986, Glyph X of the Maya Lunar Series: An Eighteen-Month Lunar Synodic Calendar http://www.jstor.org/stable/280399) (designated X1 through X6 with variations such as X5b). The Linden designations from previous versions of the program are kept in parentheses after the Grube designations.

Note: It is not uncommon for the supplementary series calculated values of the C and X glyphs to not exactly match what the Maya recorded, so a calculated C glyph coefficient of 1 might be a 2 or a 6 on the monument (the range of the C glyph is 1 to 6), and similar differences in the X glyph.The calculated E/D glyphs have a variance of about three days from the recorded value. A more radical difference of the calculated values may make the reading of the Long Count date suspect.

Changed the types of the C Glyph to also match the Grube designations. "Human" is now the (tonsured) "Maize God", "Mythical" is now the "Jaguar God" (of the underworld), and "Skull" is now the "Death God". These are in the glyph above the hand in the C glyph block.

Changed how lunar information is specified in the profile. Previously all lunar information was specified by giving the values at noon on the Maya epoch. The new settings specify the values on a chosen Lunar Long Count. The Moon Age, C Glyph, and C Glyph Type is then given for noon on that day. The program then uses the Moon Age Synodic Period setting to calculate the Moon Age, C Glyph, C Glyph Type, and X Glyph for all other dates from that information. This makes it easier to do work with the E & D, C, C Type, and X Glyphs. A new section in the profile gives this information. The default is to use the date 9.10.11.17.0 from the Palace Tablet at Palenque, which has a Moon Age of 25 days, and Teeple's Palenque Formula for the Synodic Period for the Moon (2392 days is 81 lunations).

Changed the ED glyph to show the moon age with more precision, showing 26.1 instead of just 26, for example.

Added to the sample Excel worksheet uses of the MayaProfileName() and MayaCType() functions.

Fixed a bug where the currently selected profile was not being used in Excel. Always global recalc the Excel workbook (Ctrl+Alt+F9) after changing the selected profile to have it acquire the new values, particularly when the new profile changes the correlation constant or epoch Calendar Round. Changing the selected profile without a global recalc of the workbook may cause inconsistent results across the workbook as values that have not recalced will use the values from the previously selected profile.

Version 4.0.6669 [2018-04-05]

Fixed a bug displaying some icons in dialogs.

Fixed a bug connecting to Excel.

Version 4.0.6630 [2018-02-25]

Fixed a bug displaying negative Distance Numbers introduced in 4.0.6627.

Version 4.0.6627 [2018-02-22]

Added a feature to handle copy or printing text from some tabs so that it will format nicely using a fixed width font when pasted. This is now the default. It can be turned on and off from a menu item at the bottom of the Copy and Print split buttons on the ribbon. If the option is on (checked) when you copy, and you paste into a program such Microsoft Word, and format with a fixed width font such as Courier New or Lucida Console, it will show up like this:

9. 6.10:14.15 4 Men 3 Mak
+ 7.11: 2.19 (151 tuns, 59 days)
9.14. 1:17.14 5 Ix 17 K'ank'in
+ 15:15.17 (15 tuns, 317 days)
9.14.17:15.11 2 Chuwen 14 Mol

(The formatting of this example will not show properly in a web browser.)

If the option is off, it formats it like this:

9.6.10:14.15 4 Men 3 Mak
+ 7.11:2.19 (151 tuns, 59 days)
9.14.1:17.14 5 Ix 17 K'ank'in
+ 15:15.17 (15 tuns, 317 days)
9.14.17:15.11 2 Chuwen 14 Mol

The fixed width format adds extra spaces both at the beginning of the line and internally to make the units line up. The fixed width format is useful to show the date math. The non-fixed width format is used more often in body text, where the extra spaces are usually not wanted.

(Note: To have Microsoft Word to paste without removing leading spaces, turn off the Word checkbox at File > Options > Advanced > Use smart cut and paste.)

Fixed the image of Yaxk'in in the Haab on the Stela tab to come out white rather than gray.

Version 4.0.6604 [2018-01-30]

Fixed connection to Excel.

Added link to Xoc MayaCalendar web site to start menu.

Changed how log file is generated.

Version 4.0.6603 [2018-01-29]

Added Copy Basic on the Gears tab to copy just the current zoom level.

Changed the Almanac tab to reduce the font size used for very long day names, particularly with the Aztec profile.

Version 4.0.6590 [2018-01-16]

Fixed a bug in searching for dates.

Changed the order of the footsteps in the Madrid Codex tab so they progress inward.

Fixed a display issue in the Madrid Codex tab at the end 260 days.

Version 4.0.6583 [2018-01-09]

Changed the version of the .NET Framework the program uses from version 4.0 to version 4.5. The framework will be installed by the installer if necessary. Version 4.5 does not work on Windows XP.

Added a new tab showing pages 75 and 76 from the Madrid Codex with an animated representation of the Calendar Round as the Maya viewed it, as opposed to gears. The image of the Madrid Codex is slightly edited to remove a few dots to regularize to 11 the number between the endpoints of each trecena (the Maya artist got carried away with the dots, but the endpoint days are fixed, so the number must be 11). This tab is available in both the Light and Professional versions.

Changed the Copy and Print buttons on the ribbon to split buttons to allow selecting the amount of detail to copy or print.

Changed the Excel button to a split button to allow just executing Excel or creating the demonstration worksheet.

Added an indicator in the Calendar Round controls when an impossible combination of the Tzolk'in day name and the Haab day number occurs. An exclamation point will follow the controls. This occurs because for any day name, there are only four possible day numbers that can be used. Changing the selected profile to one with a different Calendar Round on the epoch will allow alternate combinations.

Changed the storage mechanism for custom profiles. All custom profiles will have to be re-created in this version.

Added a feature in profiles (Professional version only), where any property that has a value that is different than the one in the Standard profile will be shown in a bold typeface.

Added a new profile setting to allow the separator between tuns and winals to be a character besides a period. A colon will cause a Long Count of 9.17.3.5.2 to show as 9.17.3:5.2 instead. This emphasizes that the primary count is the tun, with the days within the tun being separate.

Changed the standard profile so the separator uses is a colon. The Light version always uses the standard profile.

Added a new profile option to show the Distance Number count as “tuns, days”, or just “days”.

Changed the Standard profile to show “tuns, days”, as this is how the Maya viewed it. The Light version always uses the Standard profile.

Added showing the Distance Numbers with the other display method (days, or tun, days) in the Distance Number control when it is expanded.

Added a new profile called “Compatibility v3.0” that has the settings used in the previous versions of the program. Activate this profile on the profiles tab (Professional version only) to revert to the v3.0 settings.

Added the ability to right click on a profile name and have a menu to perform actions.

Added the ability to double-clicking to activate a profile.

Changed the Gregorian and Julian years so that they don’t show leading zeros on years before 1000.

Fixed a bug which occurred when typing a Long Count. If the day number in the Haab was exactly 18, it caused the Calendar Round calculations to fail.

Fixed the Aztec/Mixtec month names in the Aztec profile, which weren't quite right, with correct spellings.

Fixed the Almanac distance numbers to reject invalid values such as excessively large numbers or negative numbers.

Fixed a bug in the search criteria for partial Long Counts where certain values, such as a blank textbox, caused an error to be reported.

Changed the box that around the current day in the Gears tab to resize depending on which gears are visible (which can be controlled by right-clicking a gear and selecting from the menu).

Changed the display of text in the gears so that long text (particularly Aztec month names) will reduce in size to fit.

Changed the look of some of the graphics in the Stela tab. This is part of an ongoing effort to provide better looking glyphs.

Changed the glyph for the patron of Wayeb' based on information in an excellent new drawing of Yaxchilan Stela 6 by Alexandre Tokovinine.

Changed the order of the Tzolk'in, G Glyph, and Haab in the Stela tab so that the G Glyph appears between the Tzolk'in and Haab. The G Glyph is part of the supplementary series, which appears between the Tzolk'in and Haab much more frequently than other arrangements. The most common order the Maya used when all glyphs appear is ISIG, Long Count, Tzolk'in, G, F, Z, Y, E, D, C, X, B, A, Haab. The order in previous versions having the G Glyph appear before the Tzolk'in and Haab does show up on some inscriptions, but not as frequently as the appearing between the Tzolk'in and Haab.

Changed the color of the selected search criteria to have more contrast.

Changed the order of the Y column in the Search Results to come between the G and ED columns.

Added the C Glyph Type be copied to the clipboard when visible. Added a column indicating whether the date is a tun ending.

Added to the Excel example worksheet another address on MesoWeb for information on the Tablet of the 96 Glyphs.

Changed the install program. It now uses the Wix Toolset instead of InstallShield Light. There are some minor changes in how the install program appears and works.

Added link to the release notes to the About dialog.

Version 3.0.5424 [2014-11-07]

Fixed a bug where entering the license key could give problems to some users. This is the last release that supports Windows XP.

Version 3.0.5419 [2014-11-02]

Added an Options dialog that allows resetting the interface language and turning off checks for updates.

Version 3.0.5411 [2014-10-25]

Fixed a bug with the short count, where dates on exactly the end of a k'atun showed the short count of the following k'atun.

Fixed a bug trying to connect to Excel 2007.

Changed several minor things behind the scenes that should have no impact on things visible in the interface.

Version 3.0.5281 [2014-06-17]

Added new properties to Profiles (Professional version only), allowing specifying the Moon's synodic period, C Glyph Type, X Glyph variations.

Changed the default moon age, C Glyph, and synodic period to match Teeple's 1930 numbers for Copan for period of uniformity.

Changed the Excel integration now uses the active profile at the time you start Excel.

Fixed the 819 Day Count to make colors and directions accurate.

Version 3.0.5277 [2014-06-13]

Added factoring to all Distance Numbers. The arrow button next to a Distance Number now shows important cycles that evenly divide into the distance number.

Version 3.0.5275 [2014-06-11]

Fixed a bug in the calculation of the moon age (the E and D glyphs).

Version 3.0.5272 [2014-06-08]

Added the Month tab, which allows you to see a desk calendar, with the Long Count and Calendar Round for each day. Suitable for printing, particularly on a large format printer. This tab is available on both the Light and Professional versions.

Version 3.0.5267 [2014-06-03]

Changed support for searching for partial dates. Works correctly for Previous Era dates. Limits range of all dates to only what was asked for.

Added the ability to right click on the search results and copy the list to the clipboard.

Added feature on the Gears tab to remove gears and reset to starting date by right clicking on the window.

Version 3.0.5253 [2014-05-20]

Fixed support for previous era dates.

Version 3.0.5245 [2014-05-12]

Fixed bug related to properly rendering dates like February 29, 300 CE in the Julian Calendar.

Changed support for profile tab.

Added support for printing.

Many miscellaneous other changes.

Version 3.0.5136 [2014-01-23]

This version is a major release that works on 64-bit Windows. It is a complete re-write from the ground up. It adds many new features needed for examining Maya dates, especially in Maya writing. It has a more extensive search for partial dates. It handles post-classic dates correctly. It shows Maya almanacs. It provides a set of functions for performing date calculations in Microsoft Excel. And much more.

Version 2.02 [1994]

This versions won an award from the Visual Basic Programmer's Journal for its user interface design.

Version 1.0 [1992]