Changelog

Version History

This page contains the detailed changelog for all EM Tools releases. For the latest changes, see the CHANGELOG.md file.

Unreleased (in development)

Added — US creation workflow unification (2026-04)

  • Unified “Add Stratigraphic Unit” dialog (strat.add_us): single floating form used by the Stratigraphy Manager (new + Add US button under the list), the Proxy Box Creator (+ next to the Active US picker), and Surface Areas (+ next to the Existing US picker). Fields: Type, Name + gap-aware suggest-next, Description, Shared-numbering toggle (default ON), Epoch (mandatory, drives the Activity filter), Activity (optional, writes is_in_activity), optional stratigraphic link. OK optionally saves the graphml and pins the new unit as active.

  • ``us_helpers.create_us_node(…)`` factory: one entry point for US creation; writes has_first_epoch, optional is_in_activity (mirrored on the PD nodegroup when created), optional stratigraphic relation, and populates the Stratigraphy Manager list in one pass.

  • ``us_types.py`` facade: JSON-driven US type registry derived from s3Dgraphy’s datamodel v1.5.2 (patch) and its classification API (is_real / is_virtual / is_series + US_PROPER_TYPES / ALL_US_TYPES).

  • Activity picker filtered by epoch: scene.activity_manager.filtered_activities + ACTIVITY_OT_filter_by_epoch + draw_activity_picker widget. Shows only activities matching the US’s epoch; inline refresh icon re-runs the filter.

  • ParadataNodeGroup per US (<US>_PD): Proxy Box Creator wraps every new paradata chain (Document instance clone → Extractors → Combiner → PropertyNode) inside a per-US container. Inherits is_in_activity from the US so both sit in the same yEd group.

  • Document instance cloning: Proxy Box Creator duplicates the Step-1 anchor Document into a fresh instance per run so extractors never attach to a Document already in another PD group.

  • Chain summary box in the Proxy Box Creator (collapsible).

  • Save-after-create toggle (persist_after_create, default ON) on both the Add-US dialog and the Proxy Box Creator.

  • Custom Add-US icon (proxies_rows_add) — visually distinct from the dialog-internal + suggest-next.

  • Next-number gap-aware from 1: fills the first unused number starting at 1 (was scanning only [min(used), max(used)]).

  • Shared-pool numbering: counts trailing digits across every US type; SU001 ≡ US.1 in the pool. Opt-in via a toggle in the dialog; default ON.

  • Legacy prefix aliases: Italian SU… treated as alias of English US… (and USNEG / US_NEG as alias of USN).

  • Negative Stratigraphic Unit (USN): new canonical type in every US picker (dashed border in yEd). Replaces the ad-hoc US_NEG UI placeholder.

Changed — US creation workflow unification (2026-04)

  • US creation consolidated to one form; the inline create_new_us toggles in Proxy Box Creator and Surface Areas are gone.

  • Proxy Box Creator edge direction/types corrected: extractors → Document is extracted_from (dashed) instead of non-canonical has_extractor (solid); Combiner → Extractors is combines instead of is_combined_in.

  • Proxy Box Creator PropertyNode named after the canonical qualia (“Proxy Geometry”, property_type="proxy_geometry", new entry in em_qualia_types_additions.json).

  • Centralised hardcoded US-type lists across 10 files (15 occurrences); three were incomplete — fixed incidentally.

Removed — US creation workflow unification (2026-04)

  • PROXYBOX_OT_suggest_next_us, EMTOOLS_OT_suggest_next_us operators.

  • Inline create_new_us branch fields on ProxyBoxSettings and SurfaceArealeSettings.

  • GENERIC placeholder from the Surface Areas US type picker.

Fixed — US creation workflow unification (2026-04)

  • Paradata chain edges rendered as solid lines (canonical edge types now used — extracted_from / combines / has_data_provenance / has_property).

  • Extractor / Combiner NodeLabel positioned as Corner-NorthWest; previously modelName=Internal, modelPosition=Center.

  • ParadataNodeGroup positioning anchored to the host US’s epoch Y (was (0,0) outside any swimlane row); children nested in the PD’s <graph>.

  • ActivityNodeGroup containment: children with is_in_activity nested inside the Activity’s <graph>.

  • Document instance collisions: Proxy Box Creator resolves the Step-1 anchor by UUID and clones it locally instead of sharing with other PD groups.

  • Activity filter silent-fail: the epoch-change update callback used bpy.ops.activity.filter_by_epoch which Blender rejects silently inside update callbacks. Direct populator call now.

  • “Add-US dialog not on operator stack” warning when clicking the + next number button — resolved via shared scene-level sentinel.

Added

  • Landscape mode (multi-graph): manage 2+ archaeological graphs simultaneously in a single Blender scene

  • CronoFilter: chronological horizons manager for landscape mode

  • Horizon-based filtering: Stratigraphy Manager filters nodes by temporal overlap with CronoFilter horizons

  • Horizon-based coloring: Visual Manager “Horizons” display mode applies CronoFilter colors to 3D proxies

  • RM visibility sync with horizons: Representation Models shown/hidden based on epoch overlap with active horizon

  • Graph badges in Stratigraphy list: colored icons differentiate nodes from different graphs

  • Active graph indicator: Anastylosis Manager and RM Manager show active graph code

  • Landscape-aware graph reload: reloading GraphML in landscape mode correctly repopulates lists

  • Proxy detection in landscape: uses GRAPH_CODE.NODE_NAME naming convention (e.g., GT16.USM100)

  • Support for detecting placeholder dates (XX) in epochs

  • Warnings for incomplete or malformed GraphML files in EM Data Tree

  • Flag system for experimental features

  • Improved UI synchronization controls in the Paradata Manager panel

Changed

  • Epoch Manager becomes “Horizons” label in Visual Manager when in landscape mode

  • Stratigraphy Manager filter shows “By Horizon” with horizon name in landscape mode

  • CronoFilter simplified: removed filter/reset buttons, now purely a chronology/horizon editor

  • Renamed panel from “US/USV Manager” to “Stratigraphy Manager”

  • Improved robustness of the GraphML import system

  • Reorganized the Stratigraphy Manager panel

  • Separated filter and synchronization controls in the Stratigraphy Manager

Removed

  • EMviq exporter from the main UI (moved to experimental features)

  • Proxy inflation tool from the main UI (moved to experimental features)

  • 3D GIS mode from 1.5.0 (moved to 1.6.0)

  • Soloing functionality, toggle reconstruction, and toggle selectable from the Epoch Manager

Fixed

  • RuntimeError: Object cannot be hidden wrapped in try/except

  • IndexError when disabling horizon filter with stale list index

  • GraphML import bug with “XX” date format

  • Memory Error during UI updates

  • Infinite UI update loops in the Paradata Manager

v1.5.0-dev.71 (2025-01-20)

Added

  • Conversion from Blender add-on to Blender Extension

  • Automatic dependency management via wheels

  • GitHub Actions workflow for automated releases

  • Heriverse export functionality with texture optimization

  • GPU instancing support for improved performance

  • Advanced export options (Draco compression, separate textures)

  • Export of ParaData objects (Documents, Extractors, Combiners)

  • Special Finds model export capability

  • Development scripts for contributors

Changed

  • Configuration migrated to blender_manifest.toml format

  • Simplified installation process

  • Minimum Blender version updated to 4.0

  • Updated Python dependencies (pandas 2.x, numpy 1.26.x)

Removed

  • Manual dependency installation UI

  • Legacy external modules installer

Fixed

  • Compatibility issues with Blender 4.x series

  • Dependency conflicts with system Python installations

  • Export errors with large archaeological datasets

v1.4.0 (2024-05-20)

Added

  • XLSX import for stratigraphic data

  • Batch export capabilities

  • Volume calculation tools

Changed

  • Improved performance of GraphML parser

  • Better memory handling for large projects

  • Updated CIDOC-CRM mapping

Fixed

  • Synchronization issues in period manager

  • Label creation in orthographic views

  • Visibility toggle for proxy models

v1.3.2 (2024-02-15)

Fixed

  • Critical bug in epoch handling

  • GraphML import for complex hierarchies

  • Memory leak in paradata streaming

v1.3.1 (2024-01-10)

Added

  • Paradata streaming mode

  • Real-time graph synchronization

  • Improved error reporting

Changed

  • Optimized 3D view updates

  • Improved collection management

v1.3.0 (2023-11-30)

Added

  • EMviq web export functionality

  • ATON framework integration

  • Reconstruction uncertainty visualization

  • Multi-graph support (experimental)

Changed

  • Redesigned export manager interface

  • Improved period visualization system

v1.2.0 (2023-07-15)

Added

  • Support for negative stratigraphic units

  • DosCo folder integration

  • Custom material system for Epochs

  • Soloing mode for epochs

Changed

  • Visual manager refactored

  • Updated for Blender 3.6 support

v1.1.0 (2023-03-20)

Added

  • Basic GraphML import/export

  • US/USV manager

  • Period manager

  • Basic visualization tools

v1.0.0 (2022-12-01)

Added

  • Initial release

  • Core Extended Matrix functionality

  • Basic 3D visualization

  • Simple export capabilities

Semantic Versioning

EM Tools follows Semantic Versioning:

  • MAJOR version for incompatible API changes

  • MINOR version for new functionality (backwards compatible)

  • PATCH version for backwards compatible bug fixes

Version Support

Table 2 Version Support Matrix

EM Tools Version

Blender Versions

Python Version

Support Status

1.5.x (dev)

4.4+

3.13

Active Development

1.4.x

3.6 - 4.1

3.10 - 3.11

Maintenance

1.3.x

3.3 - 3.6

3.10

End of Life

1.2.x

3.0 - 3.3

3.9

End of Life