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Pirform Release 2010.2

We are pleased to announce the release of a new update of Pirform Lite is now available from our download area. This version contains a lot of changes and fixes a number of issues in the previous version and I recommend you all update to the new version. In this release we have improved the overall performance of Pirform, introduced a spell checker and added a the new Pirform Start Page to keep you up to date with us when Pirform starts. We hope you like the new version, read on for more details of what’s changed.

Pirform is faster

We have made some good improvements in Pirform’s performance. We have removed some of the lags when you first opened a certificate and the print preview now appears a lot faster than before. Pirform still loads things up when it first starts and those of you with slower computers may be more aware of this start up delay than those with faster machines.

To help us make Pirform faster, we have updated it to use a more recent component that is installed with Windows. If this component is not already installed then the Pirform installer will install it for you. There’s more details in the section called Installer Changes below.

Spell Checker

To make your certificates even more accurate, we have added a spell checker. Pirform now checks the spelling for you as you type and indicates words that may be spelt wrong in the familiar manner with a squiggly red line:

If you right-click over a word that has one of these lines, the menu that appears will have quick-fix options for the particular word. You can also access other spell check options from this menu:

There is also a button on the ribbon that will perform a full spell check of the whole certificate.

Pirform Start Page

When you open Pirform, you will now see the Pirform Start Page. This is a page on the Home Screen that gives you easy access to the certificates that you have recently opened, lets you quickly access the Pirform website and shows you the latest news from our blog. It looks like this:

To open a recent certificate just click on it. To go open a link just click on it. To read the full news article - you guessed it - just click on it! To close the Start Page you can just click the arrow at the top left or press the Esc key on your keyboard.

New Copy Certificate Feature

You can now copy certificates to make another certificate with the same details as the one being copied. All the details of the previous certificate are copied with the exception of the test results. To copy a certificate first select it in the Home Screen and then click the Copy Certificate button in the ribbon. After you confirm the copy the new certificate will open for you to make changes. If you do not want to keep the copied certificate then just close it without saving changes.

Shorter Reports Option

We’ve added an option to not print the guidance notes with the printed certificate. You can access this option from Print section in Pirform Option:

We will be adding the option to print the guidance notes separately to the rest of the certificate in a later release.

Installer Changes

As mentioned above, the installer now updates a Windows component to it’s latest version before it installs. This component is called the Microsoft Dotnet Framework and Pirform now needs version 4.0 of that to be able to operate. If you do not have this installed already, then Pirform will download this from Microsoft and update your computer before it continues.

If this happens on Windows Vista or Windows 7 you will require administrator privileges to be able to install. The Pirform installer will detect that this is needed and will ask you for the appropriate privileges before it continues. If your computer is controlled by your IT Department then you may need to contact their service to install this component. If the component is already installed then Pirform just install normally.

While the Pirform Installer is downloading the Dotnet Framework 4.0 you will a screen similar to this:

Please note that the whole download and install of this component can take a long time, depending on the speed of your internet connection.

Intelligence Updates

When you change a value, Pirform waits for a short while before updating the certificate based on BS7671. This is slightly different to the previous version which waited until you moved to another field before doing any updates. We have also fixed a problem where you could manually set a value that had been previously set by intelligence and we have included 61008 RCD tripping time intelligence on circuits.

Report Updates

We have made some adjustments to the margin settings and general layout of the printed reports and corrected a couple of spelling mistakes. The margins are consistent now across all pages.

Other Changes

  • Added an associated RCD to the Minor Works.
  • Added RCD types to Minor Works.
  • Pirform no longer stays on top of other programs on your computer.
  • Database file size is now automatically reduced after each upgrades and periodically when used.
  • Updated internal components and the installer to the supplier’s latest versions.
  • Pirform now informs the user when an unrecognised file format is selected as a logo file.
Fixed Issues

Fix: suppressed statements was preventing value changes.

Fix: prevented modification of observation and limitation numbers.

Fix: prevented Pirform window from obscuring other windows when using the Windows Taskbar to select.

Fix: margin warning no longer appears when printing reports.

Fix: preventing changes to values that are set by the intelligence now works as in all circumstances.

Fix: resetting numeric field to zero dis not revert applied intelligence.

Fix: text/number controls now allow entries that start with a decimal point.

Fix: crash after selecting UNKNOWN or LIM in Main OPD on page 3.

Fix: board inspection date is now set by default.