On The Mark / News: Recent posts

You may have noticed that it's been awhile since the last project update. Since the last release, I've graduated from the program where I had worked on it, and the programming language in which it was written--JavaFX--has also graduated. At the latest JavaOne conference, JavaFX graduated from version 1.3 to 2.0 and left behind its old roots in the JavaFX Script language to adopt a new language, FXML.... read more

If you couldn't read the On The Mark website from Internet Explorer, it should now be fixed. The latest versions of Internet Explorer normally default to Compatibility View for SourceForge.net websites, which turned out to be incompatible with our website. With the fix in place, the view should be clearer now!

On The Mark development has been plugging along in the new year with a couple new features and bug fixes. The two major new features in this pre-release are the ability to load a list of images specified in a file and a customizable incrementer.

If you are scoring a select group of images rather than an entire folder, you can list those images in a file, one image file path per line, and then load that file into On The Mark. These images can even come from different folders.... read more

On The Mark 1.1 sports a few new goodies aimed at making score tracking and upload faster. Video and images can be fast-forwarded/rewound in 10 second or 10 image increments, respectively, for quicker navigation. Video viewing performance has also been improved on machines with lower-powered graphics. Once you've marked your media, you can upload them through a much more responsive data import/export interface--no more lock-down during long operations over the web.... read more

I've posted a keyboard shortcuts reference page for On The Mark. Some of these shortcuts (eg the faster fast-forward) won't apply until the next version is released, so keep on the lookout for a new download!

http://sourceforge.net/apps/trac/onthemark/wiki/shortcuts

On The Mark is now a video *and image* scoring system for making up both motion videos and static pictures. If you have many images that you need to categorize, you can open them in On The Mark and score them using the same category marking system as for videos. The video controls double as image file browsing controls, and the score units can be single-clicked to mark each image.

Usability improvements include faster video scrolling, batch processing for faster event export, and multiple event removal. Shortcuts can now be virtually any character, and the backspace key removes the highlighted event. And if you're a Mac user, playback has been fixed!

In an effort to make pre-releases better and more informative, I've started posting release notes to the pre-releases. Also, if you've had trouble with the link I gave in a previous news post, please check out the homepage (http://onthemark.sourceforge.net/) for the correct link. You'll also find the link to "notes" there so that you can see what's been happening between pre-releases.... read more

In case you've been looking for new features or fixes for some annoying bug, check out the improved pre-releases system for On The Mark. Before, it was difficult to download the very latest update, and the desktop shortcuts for the current release and the pre-release looked the same. Now when you download the pre-release, it will create a "snapshot" desktop link. Each time we post a new pre-release, you'll be notified when you next launch the desktop link, and you'll have the choice of hedging your bets on the latest posting or sticking with the tried-and-true. And of course you can always go back to the current, non-pre-release.... read more

On The Mark has a new look! It's website, that is. It's fairly simple but hopefully has places for all the most critical information on downloading the program and keeping up to date with the latest releases. I'll still need to fill in the Features page and provide some introductory material (the old one-image-documentation is too out-of-date for re-posting).

If you have any comments or feedback on the website, I'd be happy to hear it!

On The Mark 0.9 brings many usability improvements to the video scoring software. Units become completely brighter when marked "on" for higher visibility when tracking multiple events simultaneously. The events table scrolls to newly added events automatically and resets between video sessions. Data import/export sports a new scrollbar and bug fixes for improved reliability. Shortcuts have been fixed to work after pressing forward/rewind.

On The Mark 0.8 brings improved compatibility with the recently released JavaFX 1.2 as well as Java 6u14. With the new controls included as part of JavaFX 1.2, On The Mark has a more seamless look and feel across platforms. The underlying Google Data API libraries have also been updated to 1.32.1.

On The Mark is a video scoring system for making up videos with event data for later analysis and review. This releases adds new media controls and polish.

With fast-moving events, recording start and end times with accuracy can be a stressful experience. Although life can't be slowed down, videos can, and we've taken advantage of that by incorporating a rate control*. A volume control has also been thrown into the mix.... read more

On The Mark lets you mark and score events on a video, whether for documentation, to share video clips with your friends, or for behavioral research. To make life easier, this release features import/export of data to Google Docs accounts.

Using your Google account, you can export configuration and event data into a Google Docs spreadsheet. You can select your spreadsheet, type a name for a new worksheet, and export your data. Along with your events data, your configuration data gets exported. This way, during your next session you can import configuration data to set up event names and hotkeys quickly.... read more

I've posted a separate file for accessing snapshot builds of On The Mark: http://onthemark.sourceforge.net/downloads/snapshots/OnTheMark_pre.jnlp . This will make it easier to test the latest features/fixes, especially when it takes awhile to get out the next release.

For the next release, I'm focusing on exporting configurations and event data to a Google spreadsheet. Currently you can log into your Google account (via the Google Data API), select a spreadsheet, and upload your score unit configuration and events table data into a new worksheet. The next step will be to import configurations so that you won't have to manually re-enter score units.... read more

On The Mark video scoring system just got easier with the addition of keyboard shortcuts, event viewing, and improved launching from Java Web Start.

Keyboard shortcuts allow one to mark the start and end of an event by typing the number of its score unit (hover to discover; be sure to press Enter if the cursor is in a text box). The marker button will glow each time an event has started. After you've entered a few events, you can go back to an old event by selecting it and pressing the Go to Event button. Add notes through the new Note column.... read more

One of my favorite features of On The Mark is an old one--Java Web Start. I've written several Java applications, but this is the first one that I've successfully got off the ground using the Java Web Start deployment method.

What this means for the user is that installation is as simple as clicking on a link, and updating to the latest version is automatic. Every time you launch On The Mark, it checks whether a newer version is online. If a newer version is available, it picks it up immediately, delivering to you all the latest features.... read more

On The Mark 0.4 brings significant performance improvements to reduce video choppiness and CPU load. Video playback and program responsiveness should be much smoother.

Java Web Start will now automatically update On The Mark to the latest version. Ensure that your browser cache is cleared before launching from the homepage (http://onthemark.sourceforge.net/), or use the JNLP file included in the downloads area--essentially the same as the one linked on the homepage--to take advantage of auto-updates. The JNLP file is included to encourage users to launch On The Mark through Java Web Start rather than through the more complex JavaFX SDK method.... read more

A new subversion repository has been setup to facilitate collaboration. You can import it directly into NetBeans (tested on version 6.5 with JavaFX SDK 1.1). To import into NetBeans, use the repository URL https://onthemark.svn.sourceforge.net/svnroot/onthemark/trunk and checkout the OnTheMark folder.

On The Mark 0.3 for video scoring adds a crucial design feature--the ability to remove control units so that the table doesn't get pushed off the screen. Units can be added and removed at will, without touching the event records. The slider has been fixed for accurate time reporting and navigation. On The Mark also sports a new theme with visual effects thanks to JavaFX. Click on the (new) logo to get basic "About" information, including website and version information.... read more

There's a new mailing list for On The Mark. It's onthemark-users@lists.sourceforge.net, and it's open for all discussion. Eventually I'll create a separate developers list, but I wanted to get a general list up and running for now.

I've posted the initial releases for On The Mark video scoring system. It lets you open videos and score them for events and durations. 0.1 only has inline video viewing mode (ie everything in one compact column), while 0.2 uses a side-by-side layout by default.

Comments/suggestions are always welcome!