Hi,
Several folks have asked about the charting/reporting app I use, so I have decided to write version 2, which will be publicly available to AAVSO members. Since I code in 32-bit Visual Basic (no way can I afford a newer version!) if users have 64-bit machines there may be compatibility issues, but addressing this can be included in what will be an essential readme.
So, if there are any features you would like that I haven't thought of please let me know. At present what it does is:
1) Display an AAVSO chart, red stars on black, from a dropdown box, ordered by constellation. The DD box is populated through a database (created when the app is first run). This database has an entry screen where users enter chart details such as chart date, star name and so on.
2) Above entry screen allows users to add, edit and delete chart information. There is also a second grid display showing all your previous observations from which you can query for individual stars (i.e., only show obs of SS Cyg for example). This is a read-only display.
3) As each observation is made, it is written to (a) a text file with a user-written AAVSO header with accepted delimiters included in the body and (b) the second DB table in (2) above. The text file also appears on-screen as an editable text box and can be uploaded to webobs.
4) The second table in (2) is used to find the last time you observed the star, so preventing over-observation.
I think that's it!