Only new features are given here; bug fixes are described in the automatic update feature in Shadows. The number in parentheses at the end of the line indicates the build number in which the feature was introduced.
Version 5.0
- 23/11/2022: Added an animated rotation of the 3D view (9457)
- 23/11/2022: Added copy-paste of 3D views as images and their export to a file (9457)
- 23/11/2022: Added other image formats to the Export the view to an image file (9457)
- 23/11/2022: Added shadow animation on 3D multiple sundials (9457)
- 23/11/2022: Improved support of UTF-8 format in data files (9457)
- 23/11/2022: Updated language file in Brazilian Portuguese (9457)
- 23/11/2022: Added 140 locations in the database: France (+90), USA (+28)... (9457)
- 14/07/2022: Added the moon distance and apparent diameter in the lunar ephemeris (9325)
- 14/07/2022: Added displacement of light during shadow animation in 3D (9325)
- 14/07/2022: Added a preference to display new sundial in 3D or 2D (9325)
- 14/07/2022: Added locations in the database: Japan (+53), Spain (+50), Ukraine (+36), England (+27), France (+9)... (9325)
- 14/07/2022: Added stars and constellations in the sky map and astrolabe rete (9325)
- 14/05/2022: Added a list of feature for each Shadows level (9264)
- 14/05/2022: Improved the light control in the 3D view (9264)
- 27/04/2022: Added a setting for light intensity in the 3D view (9247)
- 27/04/2022: Replacement of sundial bitmaps in the home screen and creation wizards (9247)
- 27/04/2022: Added an option to extend hour lines only on one side (9247)
- 27/04/2022: Deselection of frames before printing or copy-paste in BMP and EMF (9247)
- 27/04/2022: Iterative selection of frames using the TAB key (9247)
- 30/03/2022: New multiple sundial in 3D: two-face equatorial sundial (9219)
- 30/03/2022: Displacement of the 3D gnomon on the date line of an analemmatic sundial during shadow animation (9219)
- 30/03/2022: Rotation of the shepherd's dial during shadow animation (9219)
- 17/03/2022: Update of the language file in Italian (9206)
- 14/03/2022: Update of the language file in German, Spanish and Dutch (9203)
- 03/03/2022: 3D view of sundials, with rotation and zoom (9192)
- 03/03/2022: 3D view of multiple sundials: diptych, cube, hexagonal or octogonal polar (9192)
- 03/03/2022: Export of 3D models in OBJ format for 3D printing (9192)
- 03/03/2022: Analysis of horizontal sundials from hour line angles (9192)
- 03/03/2022: Export of ephemeris table in HTML (9192)
- 03/03/2022: Added 113 locations in the database: Italy (+57), France (+41), Luxembourg (+13), Tanzania (+5), Monaco (+4), Paraguay (+3), ... (9192)
- 03/03/2022: New on-line information feed (9192)
History of versions 4.x
Version 4.5
- 07/10/2021: Added 303 locations in the location database : Poland (+86), Italy (+69), Canada (+44), Greece (+38), Russia (+19), Scotland (+16), Tunisia (+15), ... (9045)
- 07/10/2021: Detection of Windows 10 and Windows 11 21H2 (9045)
- 18/07/2021: Detection of Windows 10 updates 20H2 and 21H1 (8964)
- 18/07/2021: Possibility to use a language file located in a different folder (8964)
- 18/07/2021: Completed the Dutch translation, thanks to Franz Maes (8964)
- 02/08/2020: Improved the graph of sunrise and sunset (8614)
- 02/08/2020: Added curves of moonrise and moonset (8614)
- 02/08/2020: Improved twilight hours in the ephemeris (8614)
- 02/08/2020: Added duration of black night in the ephemeris (8614)
- 08/07/2020: Improved DXF exports (8589)
- 19/06/2020: New display options in the graphs of the equation of time (8570)
- 19/06/2020: Automatic download of the user manual, if available, when changing of language (8570)
- 19/06/2020: Translation of the updated user manual in German, thanks to Hermann Dellwing (8570)
- 19/06/2020: Translation of the updated user manual in Spanish, thanks to Vicente Javier Fernández Gallego (8570)
- 05/06/2020: New mode to animate the rotation of the rete of a planispheric astrolabe (8556)
- 05/06/2020: A planispheric astrolabe can now be create for a given location (8556)
- 05/06/2020: Easier switch between upper and lower face of an equatorial sundial (8556)
- 05/06/2020: New option to show/hide the content of an image frame (8556)
- 05/06/2020: The evaluation of Shadows Pro is now extended from 7 to 30 days (8556)
- 05/06/2020: Updated user manual with augmented sections, in English and French (8556)
- 05/06/2020: Translation of the updated user manual in Italian, thanks to Luigi Ghia (8556)
- 05/06/2020: Completed the Portuguese translation, thanks to Ana Correia (8556)
- 05/06/2020: Corrections in the Arabic translation, thanks to Hussein Morsy (8556)
Version 4.4
- 07/03/2020: Added 250 cities in the location database + Cyrillic translation of Russian cities (8466)
- 10/11/2019: New type of sundial drawn inside a vertical cylinder (8348)
- 13/09/2019: Update of the user manual in English and French (8290)
- 13/09/2019: Validation of background colors between declination arcs for bifilar and certain cylindrical sundials (8290)
- 18/08/2019: Selection of background colors between declination arcs (8264)
- 18/08/2019: New buttons to navigate to next/previous lunar month in the Lunar ephemeris (8264)
- 18/08/2019: Selection of scale and axis colors in graphs of the equation of time (8264)
- 18/08/2019: Updated user manual in English and French (8264)
Version 4.3
- 31/05/2019: New option in the roof shadow configuration dialog, for gable roofs (8185)
- 31/05/2019: Updated translations in Spanish and Czech (8185)
Version 4.2
- 29/04/2019: New facility to evaluate Shadows Pro for 7 days (8153)
- 29/04/2019: Added 543 cities in the location database; USA (+128), France (+165), Italy (+157), Germany (+93) (8153)
- 29/04/2019: Improved the rendering of icons (8153)
- 23/03/2019: Added 200 stars and new constellations, mainly in the southern hemisphere (8116)
- 23/03/2019: Position of Sun added on the curve of the equation of time (8116)
- 23/03/2019: Added the selection of colors on solar graphs (8116)
- 23/03/2019: Added the selection of colors on graphs of the equation of time (8116)
- 23/03/2019: Detection of the Windows 10 October update (8116)
- 18/11/2018: New language: Romanian, thanks to Radu Anghel and Dan-George Uza (7991)
- 18/11/2018: Added 52 new Romanian cities in the location database (7991)
- 18/11/2018: Improved home page with two icon sizess (7991)
- 20/10/2018: Download of the user manual if not available in the selected language (7962)
- 20/10/2018: Update of the Italian user manual to version 4.2 (by Luigi Massimo Ghia) (7962)
- 11/10/2018: Update of the German user manual to version 4.2 (by Hermann Dellwing) (7953)
- 11/10/2018: Update of the Spanish user manual to version 4.2 (by Vicente Javier Fernández Gallego) (7953)
- 17/09/2018: Detection at the first launch of the language selected in the installer (7929)
- 11/09/2018: Sundial background can be colored with a different color outside the solstice arcs (7923)
- 11/09/2018: Text frames can now be rotated (7923)
- 11/09/2018: Ability to set the sundial anchor in % or mm independently in X and Y (7923)
- 11/09/2018: Selection of the color of declination arcs of particular date (7923)
- 11/09/2018: Drawing of noon line for other cities (7923)
- 11/09/2018: Change in reclination angle can now exceed +/-90° (7923)
- 11/09/2018: Display of the sun position on astrolabe rete (7923)
- 11/09/2018: New preference to display either 0 or 24 on hour labels (7923)
- 11/09/2018: Longitude correction and equation of time can now be enabled for shepherd's sundials (7923)
- 11/09/2018: Selection of the color of the sundial frame border (7923)
- 11/09/2018: Improved and augmented user manual in English and French (7923)
Version 4.1
- 10/05/2017: Improved drawing of date line on an analemmatic sundial (7434)
- 12/03/2017: 359 new mottoes added in Italian, Latin, French and German - thanks to Claudio Abächerli (7375)
- 12/03/2017: New user manual in Brazilian Portuguese - thanks to Juarez Silveira Sant'Anna (7375)
- 12/03/2017: Possibility to draw a border on an analemmatic sundial (7375)
- 12/01/2017: User manual updated for version 4.1 (7316)
- 19/11/2016: New lunar ephemeris (7262)
- 19/11/2016: Larger icons available (7262)
- 19/11/2016: Improved configuration of sundial frame and layout (7262)
- 19/11/2016: Option to extend hour lines to a circle around point B (7262)
- 19/11/2016: Display of analemma ellipse foci (7262)
Version 4.0
- 30/04/2016: 1150 new locations (490 in USA, 300 in Brasil, 135 in Canada, ...) (7059)
- 01/01/2016: The color of lines can be changed for Italian, Babylonian and Unequals hours (6939)
- 31/08/2015: New user manual in Czech (6816)
- 29/06/2015: New user manual in Spanish (6753)
- 05/04/2015: Improved drawing of the planispheric and universal astrolabes (6668)
- 07/03/2015: Improved drawing of the mariner's astrolabe (6639)
- 07/03/2015: Improved drawing of the style schematics (6639)
- 24/01/2015: New user manual in French and English (6597)
- 25/11/2014: New translation in Catalan (6537)
- 25/05/2014: New Spider sundial (6353)
- 25/05/2014: Casted shadow of a circular eyepiece (6353)
- 25/05/2014: New Starfinder map (6353)
- 25/05/2014: Hexagonal plate on sundials (6353)
- 25/05/2014: DXF export is done with layers (6353)
- 25/05/2014: Export of coordinates of Italian and Babylonian hours to Excel (6353)
- 25/05/2014: Export of coordinates of Azimuth and Altitude lines to Excel (6353)
- 25/05/2014: Quick switch of page orientation between Portrait and Landscape (6353)
- 25/05/2014: Scales text on astrolabes is now exported in DXF (6353)
- 25/05/2014: Italian hours can be counted from the last sunset or to the next (6353)
- 25/05/2014: Enhanced Direction rose (6353)
- 25/05/2014: Text frames can have opaque background (6353)
- 25/05/2014: Toolbar icons have been redesigned (6353)
- 25/05/2014: Toolbar icons are available in two sizes: 32x32 and 48x48 (6353)
- 25/05/2014: Improved color selection (6353)
- 25/05/2014: Automatic reload of the last sundial (6353)
- 25/05/2014: New dialog for sundial properties (6353)
- 25/05/2014: Improved drawings with GDI+ (6353)
- 25/05/2014: Line thickness are now specified in millimeters (6353)
- 25/05/2014: Selection of the copy-paste resolution (6353)
- 25/05/2014: Improved document zoom (6353)
- 25/05/2014: Compatible with Windows 8.1 (6353)
- 25/05/2014: New translation in Arabic (6353)
History of versions 3.x
Version 3.5
- Brazilian translation updated, thanks to Juarez Silveira Sant'Anna (5792)
- Export in DXF of the solar graph and curves of the Equation of time (5743)
- Validation of the compatibility with Windows 8 (5713)
- New type of sundial: polar sundial around the polar axis (5706)
- New option to draw analemma curves with points only (5706)
- 700 new places in the location database, in Switzerland (+178), Portugal (+131), USA (+75), Brazil (+36), Australia (+34), Belgium (+31), Chile (+17), Venezuela (+16), Austria (+16), Morocco (+15) and 15 new countries (5706)
5792 = 10/11/2012 ; 5743 = 22/09/2012 ; 5713 = 23/08/2012 ; 5703 = 13/08/2012
Version 3.4
- New Home page screen based on icons that access directly to the main features (5371)
- Sundial table can be oval or octogonal in addition to rectangular (5371)
- The mariner's astrolabe is now available from Shadows Expert (5371)
- Tables of coordinates are now directly open in Excel or Notepad (5371)
- Coordinate export is now available from the free level of Shadows (5371)
- The table of daily values of the equation of time is now exported to Excel (5371)
- New configuration dialog for hour lines numbers (5371)
- Hour lines can be drawn for every minute (5371)
- Improved graph of duration of days (5371)
- Smoother drawing of the equation of time and of diurnal arcs (5371)
- Export of the coordinates of anniversary arcs (5371)
- Custom locations added by users in previous versions are now recovered automatically (5371)
5371 = 16/09/2011
Version 3.3
- Duration of true night added in the General Ephemeris (5287)
- Translation in Czech language added, thanks to Jaromir Ciesla (5190)
- Display of Azimuth in the direction rose (5185)
- Instant can be selected in Solar Time in the Ephemeris (5185)
- New mariner's astrolabe (5105)
- Improved drawing of the back of an astrolabe (5105)
- Drawing of the noon line of the reference time zone (5105)
- Drawing of the analemma curve shifted for the reference time zone (5105)
- Selection of the analemma curve color (5105)
- Ephemeris updated in real time are now available in freeware version (5105)
5287 = 24/06/2011 ; 5190 = 19/03/2011 ; 5185 = 14/03/2011 ; 5105 = 24/12/2010
Version 3.2.2
- New rotation mode on the astrolabe rete (5058)
- Improvement of the loading of GeoNet files (5043)
- New full screen mode by F11 (5043)
- New trial version for 30 days (on request) (5043)
- Improvement of the detection of a new version with a list of fixes and new features (4962)
- Configuration of the limit hours of the sundial (4962)
5058 = 01/11/2010 ; 5043 = 23/10/2010 ; 4962 = 03/08/2010
Version 3.2.1
- Cover images added in the French bibliography (4865)
- New option to switch North-South pole in the Direction rose (4865)
4865 = 28/04/2010
Version 3.2.0
- New view: Direction rose (4805)
- Rewritten Wizards for the creation of sundials and astrolabes (4805)
- New sundial type: on the external surface of a vertical cylinder (4805)
- Simplified selection of the sundial's dimension (4805)
- Support of the longitude correction on an analemmatic sundial (4805)
- Drawing of sights on the alidade of planispheric astrolabes (4805)
- New icon to configure the solar panel graph (4805)
- Resolution of the shadow animation is now 1 minute instead of 5 min (4805)
- New dialog to register the freeware version (4805)
- Export of numerals in DXF (4805)
- New duplication options for image frames (4820)
- Ability to move frames using keyboard arrows (4820)
- Improvement of the grid drawn on the page (4805)
4820 = 14/03/2010 ; 4805 = 27/02/2010
Version 3.1.1
- Selection of colours on astrolabes (4610)
4610 = 16/08/2010
Version 3.1.0
- New type of astrolabe: Universal astrolabe (4525)
- Drawing of the astrolabe's throne (4525)
- Precession taken into account on astrolabes (4581)
- Translation of the user interface into Greek, by Vangelis Skarmoutsos (4525)
- Translation of Help files into German, by Karl-Peter Emmelmann (4525)
- Drawing of unequal hours, italic and babylonic hours on the planispheric astrolabe (4525)
- New high resolution copy-paste (4525)
- Improved schematic of the style for a sundial (4525)
4581 = 18/07/2009 ; 4525 = 23/05/2009
Version 3.0.2
- Separation of the creation of sundials and astrolabes. (4377)
- Modification of the start-up dialog. (4377)
- New example sundials and astrolabes. (4377)
- Improved installation of the license by copy-paste of the code. (4377)
4377 = 26/12/2008
Version 3.0.1
- Update of the Polish translation (by Maciej Michalski). (4331)
- Update of the Russian translation (by Alexei Kroutjakov).
- DXF Export of astrolabe drawings. (4189)
4331 = 10/11/2008 ; 4219 = 21/07/2008 ; 4189 = 21/06/2008
Version 3.0.0 build 4148 of 2008-05-11
- New option in the selection of drawing types on a sundial
- New user interface: reorganized menus, icons in menus, new toolbars.
- Improved dialog boxes.
- New Preferences dialog box.
- Creation and animation of planispheric astrolabes.
- Drawing of temporary and sidereal hours on sundials.
- Interface with Google Maps to load a location.
- Importation of GeoNet location files.
- Multiple drawings at the same time on a sundial.
- Numbering of lines with font selection.
- Polar Solar graph.
- Graph of sunset and sunrise hours (with twilights).
- Graph of visibility of a meridian dial.
- Determination of a sundial's parameters from a photo.
- Exportation of the shadow's animation in a video file (AVI).
- Animation of the sundial in latitude, and exportation in AVI file.
- Animation of the sundial in orientation, and exportation in AVI file.
- Display of rulers around the view.
- Display and printing of a helper grid.
- Ephemeris: calculation of the date of Easter, and the Qibla.
- Replacement of the random draw by a try period during 2 hours every 7 days.
History of versions 2.x
Version 2.2.6
of September 9th, 2007
- Display of the build number in the About dialog box.
- Translation into Polish (user interface and help), by Maciej Michalski.
- Complete update of the Russian translation, by Alexei Kroutiakov.
- Display of coordinates of points A and B in tables of coordinates.
Version 2.2.4
of September 21st, 2006
- Translation of Shadows in Slovenian, new mottoes in slovenian and new Slovenian cities, by Stane Accetto.
- Selection of the day by left and right arrows, in the coordinates of meridian
Version 2.2.3
of June 30th, 2006
- Possibility to enter angles in the sundial declination/inclinaison dlg
Version 2.2.2
of June 24th, 2006
- It's now possible to enter arc-seconds in location coordinates (latitude/longitude).
- New button "Now" in the Date Selection dlg for the calculation of Ephemeris.
- New calculation in the Ephemeris: Date of Easter.
- Improvement in drawing the protractor and azimuth circle.
- New possibility to export any view of the Display menu into an EMF file.
Version 2.2.1
of February 17th, 2006
- Online help fully translated in Spanish (translation by Carlos Maria Sanchez Rodriguez)
- New Italian mottoes added by L. Bascialla.
- The license of a previous version (v2.0 or v2.1) is now automatically recovered.
Version 2.2.0
of January 3rd, 2006
- Visualisation of locations of Shadows' database in Google Earth.
- Importation of Google Earth placenames into the Shadows' database.
- New option to draw the flattened down style on plane sundials with polar style.
- New option to draw the construction layout (épure) of a plane sundial with polar style.
- New option to extend only plain hour lines
- New option to dynamically modify the declination/inclination of a sundial.
- New option in the shadow animation, to loop between sunrise and sunset, or on 24h.
- Simplified activation of the shadow casted by a roof.
- Dayligh savings can be used in the shadow animation.
- Possibility to draw the whole ellipse of an analemmatic sundial.
- Redesign of the Technical Data Sheet
- Possibility to choose the type of graduations on the style line of an analemmatic sundial.
- Possibility to modify the style height on an analemmatic sundial (for use in the shadow simulation)
- Selection of the character font and style of hour labels.
- 50 cities from Algeria have been added (list proposed by Elie Nicolas)
- Improvement of the Itallian user interface.
- Differentiation of European portuguese and Brasilian portuguese.
Version 2.1.2
of March 23rd, 2005
- It's now possible to change the reference location of an existing sundial.
- The Sun's azimuth is now also given in degrees (in the ephemeris).
Version 2.1.1
of February 22nd, 2005
Version 2.1.0
of January 26th, 2005
- Validation of the Shadows Pro level
- New Zoom factor on screen (between 10% and 500%)
- Bifilar sundials: horizontal and vertical declining
- Vertical declining analemmatic sundial
- Export in AutoCAD DXF format
- New redesigned ephemeris section
- Ephemeris generator
- Drawing of azimuth and altitude lines on a sundial
- Simulation of the shadow cast by a roof
- Annual graph of azimuth-altitude of the Sun, with horizon mask
- Drawing of a network of tangents for the measurement of wall declination
- Selection of the size of drawings (protractor and azimuth circles)
Version 2.0.1
of June 19th, 2004
- New: cutting marks and page limits can be traced on printouts
- New: other location files can be loaded; the location dialog has been reworked
- New: cities of Israel have been added
- Improvement: a frame resized by its corner retain its width/height ratio
- Improvement: information added in the Dimension dialog
- New: graduations have been added on declination arcs of a cylindrical sundial
- Declination arcs are drawn on half a year if analemma curves are drawn on half a year
- Style preferences added for declination arcs in date (16th day)
- New mottoes in Italian, German and Italian translations improved
- The choice of the type of vertical sundial is now with radio buttons instead of a list
Version 2.0.0
of March 21st, 2004
- New declining vertical analemmatic sundial available in Shadows Expert
- Windows XP theme used in the user interface
- Installation of cliparts for use with image frames
- Italian and German translations completed and improved
- New table of coordinates of analemma curves
- New General Preferences
- New texts and translations in the on-line help
- New mottoes in Italian
- The name of the license file is checked to prevent typo errors in the filename
- Drawing of declination arcs related to dates
- New help files have been translated in English
- New choices in the style of lines dialog box
- graduation in date on the style's centrale line of an analemmatic sundial
- Translation in Italian of the user interace and help files, by Marco Tomljanovich.
- Help files completed in French and English.
- Detection of the system language at the first launch.
Previous versions
- Version 1.6.4 of March 3rd, 2002 (build 1887)
- Version 1.6.4 of February 28th, 2002 (build 1884)
- Version 1.6.3 of December 30th, 2001 (build 1824)
- Version 1.6.2 of September 2nd, 2001 (build 1704)
- Version 1.6.1 of April 2nd, 2001 (build 1550)
- Version 1.6.0 of January 5th, 2001
- Version 1.5.4 of March 17th, 2000
- Version 1.5.3 of April 18th, 1999
- Version 1.5.2 of April 12th, 1999
- Version 1.5.1 of March 3rd, 1999
- Version 1.5.0 of February 22nd, 1999
- Version 1.0 of September 24th, 1997
- Version 0.96 of August 24th, 1997 (restricted diffusion)
- Version 0.95 of July 19th, 1997 (restricted diffusion)
- Version 0.85 of March 12th, 1997 (restricted diffusion)
- Version 0.81 of January 25th, 1997 (restricted diffusion)
- Version 0.80 of October 31st, 1996 (restricted diffusion)
- Version 0.70 of July 25th, 1996 (restricted diffusion)