Home Inspector Pro 2.5.7 Released!

[Dominic J. Maricic]

Hi Everyone,

The official version of 2.5.7 has been released. I'd like the thank the beta testers over the past month who have provided lots of feedback to make sure any problems in the windows and mac versions were worked out . If you are a beta tester and installed the version a few days ago, this version is the same, so you won't need to update. The rest of you can get the new version by logging into http://www.HomeInspectorPro.com and clicking on Software Updates on the left side. Simply install the new version over the old. NEVER perform an uninstall when doing an update.

A few notes:
1. We are in the final stages of setting up our new website hosting service for home inspectors. The price will be $19.99 per month for all current Home Inspector Pro users and NACHI members ONLY. Everyone else will be paying $24.99. Eventually this will be tied into the report upload service and other upcoming features. There will be no contract and no startup fees. Non HIP (Home Inspector Pro) inspectors will be able to use the service as well.

2. Check out the new Message Boards (Forums) by clicking on Message Boards on the left side of the site. You can talk about the program, suggest new features or see what's going on with the latest beta, ask home inspection questions, computers and website design here. Check often here for the latest HIP news.

3. Make sure you are listing in the Find A Home Inspector Directory. We are coming up high on the rankings now for quite a few cities. Log into the website, click Find A Home Inspector on the left side of the site, and click Add Entry. If you have a website, make sure to add a link to our site as well.

4. If you want a 6 gig yourname@HomeInspectorPro.com email address free, let me know.

5. I filmed 4 episodes with NACHI.TV last weekend in Colorado. Stay tuned!

New Features for 2.5.7 are below:

New Feature: Can type in url's into a comment and it will become a clickable link in the report.

New Feature: Additional options for what is contained in the header/footer of each page have been added. They can be changed in the Report Settings->Option.

New Feature: In Edit Template you can now move and copy items from the right side (tabs) to any other section. Just click the Move/Copy button after selecting the section.

New Feature: Under Company Information there is a date format selection box so that you can choose the way you want dates to be displayed. The formatting is no longer linked to the country you are in.

New Feature: When you are in the Edit Comments mode and select a comment it will now stay selected when you move it up/down. You can also move more than one items up/down at a time and they will all stay selected.

New Feature: The open and save template have been completely rewritten to allow for easier selection of templates and to prevent accidentaly overwriting a template. When saving a template you can type in a name for the template (i.e. Condo Inspection Template) and a description of the template as well as a description of the template (i.e. This template is designed for condos downtown in tall buildings where the roof and exterior are not important and have been removed). It is ok to make the file name the same as the template name. If you try to save a template over a template with a different name you will be presented with a warning message. Please let us know what you think of this new feature.

New Feature: When saving a template the name of the last opened template populates the file name field.

New Feature: When saving an inspection the file name will automatically be populated with the current inspection file name if there is one (you had to reselect it before), or the pdf name if you have already saved the pdf.

New Feature: When saving a pdf the file name will automatically be populated with the name of the inspection file if you have saved the inspection already.

New Feature: You can now make any template the template that opens when the program starts. Check the designated box when saving the template.

New Feature: Enter Key responds the same as clicking add button when typing in the add comment box.

New Feature: Updated for Mac OS Leopard Compatibility

New Feature: Added Age of Home to Client Info and cover page.

New Feature: Added Size of House to Clienfo Info and cover page.

New Feature: Added a Clear All Photos option to the Photos menu. This will clear all the photos currently added to the report (useful if you batch add the wrong folder).

New Feature: Inspection file name or template name will show at the top of the site. Once you save or open an inspection file the name will appear at the top of the program even if you save a template as it's assumed you are updating your current template, but the inspection job is the primary focus. If you open the program and click Open Template, then the template name will appear unless you open or save a client inspection.

New Feature: You can now change the line thickness used to draw arrows, rectangles, etc in the photo editor. Set this in Report Settings->Options->Photo Editing.

New Feature: You can now change the default color used to draw arrows, rectangles, etc in the photo editor. Set this in Report Settings->Options->Photo Editing.

New Feature: Added a new separator between comments: Bullets

New Feature: Added a new separator between comments: Bullets & New Line

New Feature: Added a new separator between comments: New line and extra line (double spaced)

New Feature: When performing a bulk photo import you can choose to skip the cover page slot, allowing you to easily add a cover photo afterwards without removing what's in the slot first.

New Feature: When performing a bulk photo import you can choose to add the photos to every other slot. This leaves a blank place for another photo to go next to each photo. This is very useful for adding infrared photos.

Design Change: The gray bar that splits 2 panels (runs horizontally) can now be moved farther up/down so that all of the Edit Comments section can be seen when running in 800x600.

Design Change: Photos are now printed on the report in the order the appear in the Add Photos section, not in the order they are added. Before if you had left a space open on the first page, but it was the last photo added, it would appear last in whatever section you added it to.

Design Change: If you are using 800x600 resolution the checkboxes on the add photo page are moved to their own line so they are visible.

Design Change: Huge improvements in batch photo addings. Can now run using much less ram than before and will run faster and smoother.

Design Change: Improvements made to PDF rendering. The total time to create the pdf should decrease a bit.

Design Change: When adding new areas to a template the damage panel and selection panel names are now checked to make sure that the names are not already used on the same page. Names must be unique.

Design Change: If you use Batch add photos multiple times the previous batch will not be cleared. We added a Clear All Photos option instead. The reason for the change is to make the process simpler for multiple inspector teams. Now you can batch add the photos from one camera card, then batch add the photos from the next.

Design Change: Description text now takes affect immediately, before you had to save template then reopen the template.

Design Change: If there is no description text there will not be a space printed out in it's place.

Design Change: When you click open template the current client info will be cleared.

Design Change: When you click print preview only pdf files will be shown in the file chooser.

Design Change: The Report Settings menu was updated to use Edit Comments rather than Edit Tables.

Design Change: Added more color options to Item Description.

[Russell Spriggs]

Dominic, I'm happy to have been part of your guin - er, ah, Beta Testing Crew!

Some great upgrades in this version, and much appreciated. Clients and agents alike are really enjoying the presentation HIP makes!

[Robert E. Elliott]

Same here as I have been told it looks great.
I am just happy to be back on line as I have been having a stroke over the last six hours over a bug in my accounts and web service.
I was not able to get on line to any of the forums or my e-mail even at another computer.
Strangest glich I ever had, and think it may have been linked to my Xdrive loop back adaptor.It has its own ip and some how sucked part of my CPU's life, while it tampered with all my personal accounts.
I had just downloaded a super search engine on steroids software and thought that was the problem.
Anyway I was also glad to be a guin--p-g-beta tester.

[Dominic J. Maricic]

Thanks guys, I'm glad you're happy to be HIP Gerbils , and even happier that your clients are liking the reports!

[Stephen W. Stanczyk]

Originally Posted by relliott

Same here as I have been told it looks great.
I am just happy to be back on line as I have been having a stroke over the last six hours over a bug in my accounts and web service.
I was not able to get on line to any of the forums or my e-mail even at another computer.
Strangest glich I ever had, and think it may have been linked to my Xdrive loop back adaptor.It has its own ip and some how sucked part of my CPU's life, while it tampered with all my personal accounts.
I had just downloaded a super search engine on steroids software and thought that was the problem.
Anyway I was also glad to be a guin--p-g-beta tester.

Bob,

Don't worry about the bugs. The xDrive counter loop will reset if you download the latest ferd to your desktop. The nanotech sub-routine will sync with the plexometer to automatically upgrade your flow restrictor to the full open position allowing the interchange of data to greatly increase the flux capacitor..........never mind. Just call Dom....

[Dominic J. Maricic]

The flux capactitor!! What year are we going to go visit?

[Robert E. Elliott]

Thats the problem .
I could not access any of my mail or password sites.
Believe me I would have been knocking at Doms door if I could have.
It was a terrible feeling to not be able to access even from another computer.

[Ben D. Kelly]

Dominic, I have used my own template and inspection report since starting in business 8 yrs ago and have looked at all softwares and never changed. I studied yours for about a week , sampled, then bought it. I am more than pleased and am in the process of going to it completely. I never throught I would change. You have a great product, great support, and very affordable. This was half the price of the "popular" name reports. Thanks so much, I am looking forward to responses from my clientel in the near future.

[Russell Spriggs]

Originally Posted by sstanczyk

Bob,

Don't worry about the bugs. The xDrive counter loop will reset if you download the latest ferd to your desktop. The nanotech sub-routine will sync with the plexometer to automatically upgrade your flow restrictor to the full open position allowing the interchange of data to greatly increase the flux capacitor..........never mind. Just call Dom....

Kepten, this iz Skottie-
Iy'm givfing herr fool powr, she kenna taik enna morre . . .

[Russell Spriggs]

dang, Dom, you're into the BIG green boxes already -
Some kind of InterNACHI record, I'll bet!!!

[Dominic J. Maricic]

Originally Posted by rspriggs

Kepten, this iz Skottie-
Iy'm givfing herr fool powr, she kenna taik enna morre . . .

I hope that's an interpretation of Scottie from Star Trek and not just how hooked on phonics worked for you!