A new version of the netCDF-Java library (4.3.16) is included in this release. This version of netCDF-Java includes major changes to the way GRIB 1 and 2 files are handled. See the netCDF-Java GRIB documentation for a more details on these changes.

One major outcome of this change is that GRIB variable names will now be generated in a very general way. This means that bundles that were generated with a previous version of the IDV might break. In order to aid users in the transition between netCDF-Java 4.2 and 4.3, the netCDF-Java library has provided a mapping of old variable names and new variable names for the datasets served on the Unidata THREDDS Data Server (TDS), and this mapping is being used 'under the hood' in the IDV to minimize the impact of these changes on users.

For users reading GRIB files from other locations (local files or other remote servers), the IDV now allows users to make custom variable name mappings. New variable mappings should be placed in the following file (found under the users home directory):

  .unidata/idv/DefaultIdv/varrenamer.xml

The structure of this file is quite simple:

<varrenamers>

  <varrenamer
    old="oldNameHere"
    new="newNameHere" />

  <varrenamer
    old="anotherOldNameHere"
    new="anotherNewNameHere" />

</varrenamers>

Changes to the way GRIB files are served via the Unidata TDS server have also been made. The impact of this change on IDV users is that the dataset URLs that point to GRIB resources will change, which will break bundles that point to the old Unidata TDS (motherlode.ucar.edu).

Again, in order to aid users in this transition, the netCDF-Java library has provided a mapping between the old and new dataset URL paths for all datasets served through the Unidata TDS. As with the variable name changes, the URL mapping for datasets on the Unidata TDS is being used 'under the hood' in the IDV to minimize the impact on users.

The latest version of TDS (4.3), where URL related impacts will be seen, is now running on the main Unidata TDS (thredds.ucar.edu). Starting with this release (4.0u1), the IDV will redirect all requests to the old Unidata TDS (motherlode.ucar.edu) to the new Unidata TDS (thredds.ucar.edu) automatically and update the appropriate data URLs. Unlike the previous release (4.0), users do not need to install any plugins related to the TDS upgrade. If you previously installed plugins related to the TDS upgrade, please remove them once you've upgraded to IDV 4.0u1 (or later).

As TDS servers in the community begin to upgrade to TDS 4.3, IDV users will likely need to use custom URL mappings. New URL mappings should be placed in the following file (found under the users home directory):

  .unidata/idv/DefaultIdv/urlmaps.xml

Again, the format of this file is quite simple:

<urlmaps>

  <urlmap
    type="opendap"
    old="oldthreddsserver1.edu/"
    new="newthreddsserver1.edu/" />

  <urlmap
    type="opendap"
    old="threddsserver2.edu/thredds/dodsC/old/path/"
    new="threddsserver2.edu/thredds/dodcC/new/path/" />

</urlmaps>

In the first example, a new THREDDS server has replaced an old server - all requests going to oldthreddsserver1.edu will be directed to newthreddsserver1.edu. The second example is where the URL path to a particular dataset has changed, either because the product has been replaced (for example, the RUC to the RAP transition) or the maintainer of the TDS server has changed the way data are cataloged. Note in both cases the type of URL is an opendap URL. In the future, this mechanism will be used to redirect other types of data requests, such as ADDE requests.

The latest and final version of Java 6 (6u41) is included in this version of the IDV.

The IDV now can plot 2D and 3D forward and backward gridded trajectory. The forward and backward 2D and 3D grid trajectory are derived data choices based on the horizontal velocity components and vertical velocity component. The trajectory is colored by a user selected parameter. There are three options in the Grid Trajectory Control to initialize the trajectory initial area.

Added a user interface to change the frequency of the contour labels. The density of the label can now be increased or decreased along the contours or horizontally across the display.

Fixed broken webcam links available in the IDV.

USGS Shaded Relief has been reinstated as "CONUS Shaded Relief" in the list of map background images.

An additional change in the netCDF-Java 4.3 library is support for non-standard calendars (e.g. 365 or 360 day years used in climate datasets). The IDV has been modified to support these calendars and display dates correctly from those datasets.

The IDV Scripting Language (ISL) has new capability to export data available in ObsListControl (e.g. a Point Data List display for METAR data).

The IDV Scripting Language (ISL) image tag has a new animation_index attribute to specify multiple images in the animation.

There is a new RAMADDA section in IDV training workshop.

For a list of outstanding known problems, see the Known Problems page.