Last improvements (for the cooperative version) - January 2003

a) < Previous image : When you had changed from one image to another, in particular in a diagonal way, it was not evident to return to the previous one without error. The name of this previous image is henceforth listed in the menu (preceded by the sign "<"). So you can toggle easily between the current image and the previous one. Furthermore, you can go back to the penultimate one because it is also displayed next to the this name. These two names are placed on the right of the menus. These two wordings are added to the right of the menus ; if for example, you displayed) successively the images BX2, BX4, and BX7, the menu will look like that :


b) Simplified moving of the image : the scrollbars did not allow to move diagonally the portion of the image displayed in one step. Such a feature, similar to the "Hand" tool used in different programs, as the Adobe browser "Acrobat Reader" (*.PDF files), has been implemented : if you hold the button down, you can move the image directly and quickly, and this in any zoom factor , except of course in Zoom mode since the full image is already displayed. The other functions will stay available, except in Selection of Zone mode (Copy menu).

c) A secondary window - as the 'Map' view of Flight Simulator - to show by a plan the position of the current image relative to the centre, to the Garonne, to the Boulevards / the Bypass. The display time (default is 1,5 sec.) of this outline can be modified by the right click, and it can be registered. With a left click, the display becomes permanent until the next click. This image can be moved as indicated for the main image. Finally, the view menu used to toggle this sight of situation was added to the right of the 'Global' menu.

Click on the image for more details and downloading.

d) "Mémo", a notepad always under the hand, at last ! The one that you dreamed about : It loads/saves automatically the file of the last/current session, and allows to make calculations and advanced sorting and replacement operations. You can run it from BxZoom (menu Copy) or with the launcher "MemoIni" who allows to reach directly the directories of your choice as "C:\My Documents\Doc" (in Word, you can also run it by menu linked to a macro of the type : << Shell "C:\My Documents\Doc\ Memo.exe,1">>).

Foreseen Developments

1° A search by places of interest : administrative buildings (Post-offices, Schools,..), localities ( "the Lark" ), housing estates / blocks of luxury flats, monuments (museums), with further links to images (e.g. to visit of the "Grand-Théâtre").

2° Maps at a 1/3 scale of the one of the 'detailed' plans, displaying the surrounding images of every 'detailed' picture. These sectors, intermediate between global and 'detailed' views, will be useful notably in order to get a broader outlook of the main roads and to map out a route (see the Route Menu)

3° Maps from one Town centre to another (Bx-Suburbs and between Suburbs).

4° Memo fields to assign them information on roads and\or buildings. So, by clicking on a building, it will be possible to get its matching data. Links could be made towards a help file (hypertext of course).

5° Overwriting of bus routes (the global map of the lines is now implemented, see the Route Menu).

6° More settings in the 'Bx.ini' file : launching options (see Global Menu), loading registered routes files,etc.

7° The choice of an English or Spanish interface.

About the cooperative mode

These foreseen developments require a pretty good load of work. If you add to it the necessity of updating some data, it becomes logical to work in collaboration. To the directly downloadable version, I suggest to add an improved version with the help of the users. One can even envisage a plan with variable geometry according to the importance of the supplied collaboration, for example :
* Up to the Boulevards for those who will have helped to list the public places (see 1°) : culture, leisure, education, health, transport (bus, taxis), justice, police, civil & religious monuments, gardens, post offices, banks...
* Up to the Ring Road for those who will have improved existing images (a simple drawing software is enough), or have created new images (that is beyond the Ring Road, or the images indicated in 2° and 3°).
* The supply of the source code ( see the text on « Open Source ») for the developers whishing to extend the functions of this software.

Consequently, I invite those who are interested in a better plan of Bordeaux to send me an email (see home page ) and to make proposals. According to their participation, they will be able to download an improved version of the program, with a wider plan.
Along with this development, the basic version available to the general public will also be improved.