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Ocean Data View 4

This is ODV4 for Windows systems. For installation download the file
"odv_<version>_w32.exe" and follow the instructions in the INSTALL.txt
file. Please also read this README.txt and KNOWN_ISSUES.txt files
before starting the installation.

If you have the previous ODV3 already installed on your computer,


please install ODV4 at the same location. Do not uninstall ODV3 and do
not change the installation directory suggested by the ODV4
installer. ODV3 will remain fully functional after the ODV4
installation. ODV3 and ODV4 actually use the same resources, such as
installed high-resolution coastlines or installed optional
packages. Optional packages already installed under ODV3 need not be
installed again for ODV4. All available optional packages on the ODV
website under "Version3.0" also work with ODV4.

Please note that the ODV user directory has been moved from
"odv_local" in the user's home directory in previous ODV versions to
sub-directory "ODV" in the user's document directory. Private palette,
macro, gazetteer, command or graphics objects files created by the
user have to be manually copied to the new user directory to make them
available to ODV4. The same applies to reference datasets saved with
previous ODV versions. The full user directory path as well as other
ODV settings can be obtained via Help>About ODV.

Windows platform: The ODV4 installer associates the .var and .odv file
extensions with the ODV4 executable, e.g., double-clicking on these
files will start the new ODV4. If you want to open an existing .var
collection with ODV3, you can do this by dragging the .var file on to
the ODV3 desktop icon, or by starting ODV3 and opening the .var file
via File>Open.

ODV4 is based on a completely new object oriented software code and


overcomes many limitations of previous ODV versions. To ensure
backward compatibility, ODV4 supports existing collections and
configuration files created under previous ODV versions.

All newly created collections now use a new file storage format and a
much more general data model. Collections created with ODV4 cannot be
opened with ODV3. As before, ODV4 data collections maintain platform
independence, and may be moved between all supported systems. Among
the new features of the new data model are more flexible metadata
schemes, an unlimited number of collection variables, user specified
data types, and custom quality flag schemes for meta- and collection
variables.

Please note that some import data formats supported in previous ODV
versions are not yet implemented in ODV4. If you need to import data
in these formats please use ODV3 for the import and export the data as
ODV Spreadshheets from ODV3. You can then import the sreadsheet files
into ODV4.

For more help on ODV4 press F1 from within the application. If you
find bugs please send detailed descriptions of the problem,
information about your system (operating system, etc.) as well as
useful additional material, such as screen shots or data files, that
may help to identify and correct the problem. General comments and
suggestions are welcome.
January 2010

Reiner Schlitzer,
Alfred Wegener Institute for Polar and Marine Research,
Bremerhaven, Germany
E-mail: Reiner.Schlitzer@awi.de

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