11/17/2016
OrchidWiz Releases Encyclopedia X3.0
We are happy to happy to announce the release of Encyclopedia X3.0. The latest version contains the following new data:
The Honolulu Orchid Society (HOS) decided to include information and photographs of its prestigious award system in OrchidWiz. Starting with version X3.0, HOS awards spanning from 2005 to 2015 are included. In total, OrchidWiz now contains data and photographs from 15 judging systems worldwide! Thank you all who are working so hard to make this happen.
More than 15,000 new photos from dozens of contributors. The total number of photos in OrchidWiz has now grown to 154,329. Wow! Thank you all.
Over 6,000 new awards from AOC, AOS, CAOB, DOG, NZOS, OCNZ, OSCOV, NSW, QOS, SAOC, and SCO. Thank you to the many volunteers who compiled and sent us the award data.
About 700 new orchid-hybrid registrations, bringing the total to 162,026 hybrids listed.
OrchidWiz was brought in line with the latest Kew List of Monocots with regard to new species. As a result, we added another almost 2,000 species. The number of species listed in OrchidWiz grew from 30,255 to 32,192. Once you add all subspecies, varieties and forms, both taxonomic and horticultural, the number of species-related entries grows to 78,463. And this figure does not even include the tens of thousands of cultivars awarded and/or depicted in OrchidWiz!
Many data and photo corrections. Not a week goes by that we do not receive an email from one of our volunteers correcting something they found in OrchidWiz. Because of you, the program gets more accurate and informative every year that goes by. Many thanks!
New Features in X3.0
The main change is that almost all image collections are now viewed using the "Gallery-like" functionality, that is, 60 images at a time. For example, if you search for Cattleya purpurata and select "Images," the program brings up only the first 60 photographs out of a total of 461 purpurata photos in OrchidWiz. To view the next batch of 60 photos scroll to the end and click the button "Next 60." This change was needed because the number of photos for certain species (C. purpurata, Den. speciosum, C. walkeriana, C. trianae, L. anceps, etc.) grew so large that a single Microsoft "PanelPictureStrip" could no longer handle them.
Different horticultural forms of a species can now be viewed separately. Continuing with the C. purpurata example, once you find that entry, click the button "Names." For each variety or forma, it will list the number of photos in OrchidWiz. You can select that forma and click "Images" to view. To illustrate, OrchidWiz contains 63 C. purpurata f. carnea photos; 31 C. purpurata f. striata photos; 25 C. purpurata f. flammea photos; etc.
For judges only, especially AOS judges, the analyses "Sizes" and "Photos," accessible from the Awards tab, are now context driven. For example, select "Awards" for C. purpurata. Next, click the button "AOS" on the top left corner to specify AOS awards only. Next, click the button "FQ" at the top to specify flower-quality awards only. Then, if you click "Sizes," the program will only lists sizes for AOS flower-quality awards. Similarly, if you click the button "Photos" at the top of the Awards tab, the programs will list only award photos for AOS flower-quality awards. You can do the same with any other judging system awards. Thank you Lois Dauelsberg for suggesting this change.
Many of the improvements to OrchidWiz come from suggestions from our users. If you have a suggestion, please make sure to email it to us.
