EnjoyBirds Users Home Page.

EnjoyBirds User's Home Page

As you surely may know by now, the main purpose of the design and sale of EnjoyBirds is to promote easier travel planning for birding throughout Canada, the USA, Latin America, Hawaii and the Caribbean.

The range maps in EnjoyBirds are not fixed illustrations, but "live data" - polygon files with Latitude - Longitude nodes, which can be displayed by the program on the map or can be searched with any spot on the map where you might plan to identify birds - a biology GIS.

The field marks are also live data, rather than lines or captions on a plate or in a species text account. Habitat information and the choices for [Look Like] and [Sound Like] are also live data.

Why do we explain this data structure? Because it is the heart of the system; it means that these bird ID attributes actually lie in files on your hard disc, in the folder: C:\MIST, not in some graphic image. The sounds and pictures are on the CD-ROM, and cannot be changed, but the program and many of the searched files reside on the hard disc.

It means that any registered user* may choose to update the copy of EnjoyBirds from matching files provided on this web site, as long as the species accounts of the two lists match. Older systems, after all, have a different list of birds, so need a different list of field marks and range maps.

What version? How can you tell if these upgrades will work with your version of EnjoyBirds? Start the program. Look in the menu header, on lines 2 and 3 on the left side. The present upgrades are for the version that will say:

ROW :1/2166
DATA :NAVII43.DBF

In the row, it is the second number, 2166, that is diagnostic; the first will vary with your location. If you have any other version, we may still upgrade your present system to this newer one. Just email us your particulars, including file dates. Click on Email Upgrades, fill in the requested information and we will advise you of the best course of action.

As more versions are released, we plan new updated pages as appropriate.

The Program Upgrade

It is important that you let us know what are the most useful aspects of the programs features, so we can advise you of upgrades in the program file itself. Regrettably, Microsoft has made it necessary to have TWO different programs, one for all the previous Windows (95, 98, ME) and a new one for Windows XP and Windows 2000. Users also make suggestions for clearer or more useful functions, which we incorporate into the basic EXE file. And we all have found dysfunctional parts of the program - aka BUGS - and we have fixed them.

To upgrade your program for FREE, either BIRD.EXE or BIRDXP.EXE, please follow these simple steps:

DL the appropriate UPgrade file, UP98.ZIP or UPXP.ZIP to your computer folder C:\MIST. In Windows XP, you: right click the proper link, choose "save target as", and save it into the C:\MIST (or D:\MIST) folder.
Email us at the above address, and tell us the date on your EXE file (you can see this date by starting Explorer, click on VIEW -> DETAILS
We will email to you the password to use to unzip your new EXE file, and instructions for upgrading your program.
Date for this update version: June 26, 2003

The Bird Ranges Upgrade

NEW revised ranges in N.E. Mexico.

The bird species seasonal ranges are stored in a large file which is always undergoing editing. Every bit of range news, once verified, in used to efficiently include or exclude birding areas from the range maps. These changes do not wait for status votes by committees, but allow you to identify what inhabits each region, without regard for its "official" status.

To upgrade your RANGE FILE for FREE, please follow these simple steps:

DL the UPgrade file, UPRANGE.ZIP to your computer, and move it into the C:\MIST (or D:\MIST) folder.
Email us at the above address, your name and address to check against our registered user list.
We will email to you the password to use to unzip your new RANGE file, and instructions for installation.
Date for this update version: July 1, 2003

The Bird Field Marks Upgrade

The green captions on all the illustrations for each species are looked up in a large file with over 18,000 entries, and placed on the picture by the program. We receive frequent suggestions for improving the diagnostic lines to improve bird identification. We also obtain improved insights from the bird literature. These are all incorporated into this file at irregular intervals. To upgrade your DIAGNOSTIC LINES FILE for FREE, please follow these simple steps:

DL the UPgrade file, UPLINES.ZIP to your computer, and move it into the C:\MIST (or D:\MIST) folder.
Email us at the above address, your name, address and Operating System to check against our registered user list.
We will email to you the password to use to unzip your new RANGE file, and instructions for installation.
Date for this update version: June 26, 2003

Notice: This EnjoyBirds data system, including the program and data design system, is the subject of a patent application filed in the US Patent Office, status: Patent Pending. We went to the expense of a patent search and application in order to help apply this technology to other biological systems, through cooperative licensing to other biologists. Persons attempting to assemble such a system on their own are encouraged to contact MIST Software Associates, Inc. P.O. Box 269, Hollis, NH 03049 regarding a license agreement. Any persons producing such a system for purposes of sale or free distribution without first successfully negotiating a written agreement with MIST are hereby notified that, if the patent may be issued, they may be later found guilty of willful patent infringement. In addition, the structure and content of all files, as relates to bird illustrations, ranges both spatial and elevational, habitats and field mark captions, are all copyright 2003, MIST Software Associates, Inc.

*If you bought the program, you registered when we mailed you the disc. If you are a beta tester or reviewer and sent us helpful criticism or feedback, you also may qualify for an upgrade.