Lighting up industrial automation software!

The newest version of GENESIS64 builds on several new features in Windows 7 to deliver a richer user experience. “When we first got our hands on Windows 7, we examined the operating system closely to see what was new and how we could best take advantage of it, quickly zeroing in on features such as multitouch and the Windows Taskbar,” says Ross Agrusa. “Because we were already on Windows Vista, getting the most out of Windows 7 was easy—a natural progression of the work we had already done.”

Perhaps the most useful new Windows 7 feature that ICONICS built on is support for multi-touch gestures, which enables users to control what happens on a touchscreen by using their fingers. For example, users can zoom in on part of the screen by moving two fingers apart, or zoom out by moving two fingers closer together. Similarly, users can rotate an image on the screen by moving one finger around another, or can right-click by holding one finger on the target and tapping the screen with a second finger.

“With single-touch, where people could only use one finger, it took several more steps to accomplish a simple task,” says Tim Donaldson, Director of Marketing at ICONICS. “For example, to zoom in on an area on the screen, users had to click on the toolbar, select zoom mode, drag to select a rectangular area, and then turn zoom mode off—essentially mimicking what they would do with a mouse using one finger. With multi-touch, users can accomplish the same goals much faster—often with a single, intuitive gesture. For example, if a user needs to rotate the view of a holding tank to see a valve on the back, he or she can just rotate one finger around the other to spin the tank around on the screen.”