improvements to text ephemeris

New Features of Kepler 7.0:

Kepler 7.0 provides a tremendous number of new features that were not in earlier versions of Kepler. While adding all of these features, Kepler has not only become much more powerful, flexible, and versatile, but the program is also slightly easier to use than Kepler 6.0. As each new version of Kepler expands in power, we are also making sure that this increased power does not interfere with you ability to get directly to the features you want and not to be distracted by the new features. Our goal is to ensure that Kepler not only does not become more difficult to use but that we've taken steps to make improvements to the ease of use; we have acheived this goal with Kepler 7.0.

Below is a brief summary of most of the major new features that have been added to Kepler 7.0.

Medieval Wheels: You can now produce chart wheels with essential dignities, almuten, and conjunctions to fixed star tables, and you can also select a square chart wheel, if you wish, as well as many other features that are used in medieval and hellenistic astrology. You can also produce a Firdaria table as a separate listing.

Asteroid Wheels, Fixed Star Wheels, and Arabic Parts Wheels: These are 3 new wheel styles. These are wheels with 2 rings, with the desired planets in the inner wheel, and minor asteroids in the outer wheel. You can have up to 50 asteroids in the outer ring, and the asteroid glyphs are used, with a table that shows which asteroid has which glyph below the wheel. Of course, you can customize the wheel if you like. Kepler includes over 1,000 asteroids to choose from and if you own the optional 30,000 Asteroids CD's you can place virtually any asteroid desired in the wheel. The Fixed Star Wheel and Arabic Parts Wheel are similar in concept with the additional points being in the outer ring of the wheel.

Improved Astrological Glyphs: Kepler 6.0 had two different sets of astrological glyphs to choose from. We have added a third set, and we have also improved the shape of the glyphs so that they look crisp and clean even at a small size, such as 8 point or 10 point size.

3-D Appearance and New Color Schemes of Chart Wheels: If you select one of the larger chart wheel styles in Kepler 7.0, you will notice that the wheel looks more dramatic, with greater feeling of depth to it. You may find it difficult to pinpoint exactly what the difference is, but the wheels are more artistically rendered. The difference is that the glyphs have a 3-D look; they have a shadow behind them that gives them a more vibrant appearance. Also, we have changed the default colors to be a bit brighter and more interesting. The capability to make these changes to chart wheels was in earlier versions of Kepler, but we had only used some of these capabilities in the Art Wheels. Now we have implemented the shadowed planet glyphs and created some new color schemes, as well as improved the appearance of the astrological glyphs. If you prefer the look of Kepler 6.0, you can easily select the color scheme used in Kepler 6.0 with a few mouse clicks. Of course, the Art Wheels that were introduced in Kepler 6.0 are, in many ways, more beautiful than these traditionally produced wheels, but a traditionally produced wheel is more useful to most astrologers for actual consulting and analysis and being able to make these wheels more attractive as well is a helpful improvement in Kepler 7.0. For those of you who want the ultimate in artistic beauty, we have added a new optional CD of over 130 art wheels, which we call the Pastel Collection. We also added other wheel features, like a new BiWheel style which has two sets of house cusps, one for each chart, instead of extending the cusps in the inner wheel through the outer wheel ring.

Improved Wheel Customizing: In Kepler 6.0 we made dramatic improvements to the customizing of wheels. With Kepler 6.0 you can interactively place additional points in the wheel, change aspects sets, etc. In Kepler 7.0 we improved the process even further. The new Page Designer feature allows you to insert, delete, and move tables around interactively so that it is much easier to design your own layout for a wheel. The menus have been simplified, while at the same time adding many new features, and many conveniences, such as the ability a color scheme for planets while leaving the rest of the color scheme unchanged. Another wonderful new feature of Kelper 7.0 is that you can resize the entire page to fit on the screen with one mouse click so that you can see the entire page, and then click again to restore the original wheel size so that you can see how the wheel looks in the actual size in which you are viewing it. These conveniences make it more fun and much faster to make changes to a chart wheel, whether those changes are major or minor changes to the appearnce of the chart wheel. The chart wheel is the heart of the work of many astrologers so we continue to work intensively on chart wheel features in each new version of Kepler.

TriWheel and AstroClock Animation: After selecting a Progressed Chart, simply select the TriWheel animation in the menu of MultiWheels to see a TriWheel with the natal chart in the center, any progressed chart that you wish to see (day-for-a-year progressed, day-for-a-month progressed, etc.) in the middle ring, and transits in the outer wheel moving over time. There is a speed indicator that you can slide to the right to speed up the animation, and slide to the left to slow it down or move backwards in time! You can pause the animation, you can reset the date, and you can step through one day at a time as well! These features have been added to the AstroClock as well, so you can watch a chart change over time throughout any day as well!

Database of Famous People: The number of charts of famous people, businesses, earthquakes, etc. has been expanded from about 18,500 to 19,300. Also, we continue to receive updated information on

Vedic Astrology: In Kepler 6.0In Kepler 6.0 we introduced a great number of Vedic features and in Kepler 7.0 we have tremendously expanded and refined these features. Many Vedic astrologers may now find that Kepler provides all of the Vedic calculations that they need, and with a user interface that is elegant and convenient. One of the most important improvements for practicing Vedic astrologers is that Kepler 7.0 allows you to view up to 16 varga charts in one scrolling window. A Vedic astrologer may want to look at the rasi chart, navamsa chart, and also perhaps the saptamsa and dasamsa chart while analyzing particular areas of life. In Kepler 6.0 you had to constantly switch between these charts while in Kepler 7.0, you can select any group of charts and quickly resize them on the screen, and scroll them. As a convenience, when viewing many charts at once, you can put them in 2 columns. Kepler 7.0 also provides interactive Vedic interpretations; as you place the cursor on a planet, you can read the interpretation of that planet in relationship to the house that it rules. You can view these interpretations for any varga chart. In Kepler 6.0 we introduced the very detailed shad bala calculations and in Ver 7.0 we have continued to expand and improve on this capability by making it easy to adjust the rules according to Raman, Duggal, and DeLuce. In Ver 7.0 we also added Ashtottari and Narayana dasas in addition to the Vimsottari dasas. Another important addition to Kepler 7.0 is the ashtakavarga analysis. A graph of the ashtakavarga values, as well as tables of values, provide you with an easy-to-read way to see the changing ashtakavarga values each day. Also available in Kepler 7.0 is a Vedic interpretation of the birth chart based on Vedic yogas. We call this report The Vedic Astrology Insight Report, and it determines which of many hundreds of combinations of planetary influences using the ancient Vedic rules for interpretation occur in the birth chart. These planetary combinations are called yogas and the yoga rules are complex and intricate, and Kepler provides a thorough analysis of these patterns, and also allows you to adjust the method of calculating them according to different variations in the theory for determining strength of the planets and whether planets are benefic or malefic. Kepler 7.0 also provides the abilty to choose colors for each house in the Vedic chart wheels, and other enhancements. Combined with the many Vedic features that were added to Kepler Ver 6.0, Kepler has become a program for Vedic astrologers as well as western astrologers.

Sky Maps: A map of the sky for any chart can be displayed on the screen. You can view a circular representation of the sky that was above the horizon, and another circular representation of the sky below the horizon. These circular representations give a fairly accurate image of how the sky actually looked. Because the computer screen and a piece of paper are in 2 dimensions and the stars in the sky are placed like lights inside a sphere, any representation on the computer screen or on a piece of paper is not completely accurate, but viewing the sky in 2 circular halves gives a rough approximation. You can also view the sky in a rectangular coordinate graph as well. You can also view the planets from the perspective of the ecliptic plane or equatorial plane, as well as the horizon plane. The ecliptic, equatorial, and horizon planes are also drawn in these Sky Maps, giving you a picture of how planets and fixed star positions vary depending on the coordinate system you use. These Sky Maps give you a better idea of what the sky actually looked like at the time of someone's birth than a traditional astrological chart wheel does, and can give you a new perspective and appreciation of the appearance of the sky. The ability to easily choose a perspective based on the ecliptic, equator, or horizon and to choose either a circular or rectangular presentation makes the Sky Maps feature of Kepler very flexible and easy to use. Kepler 7.0 also includes a Star Catalogue feature that allows you to view a table of fixed star positions for anyone's chart. The Star Catalogue is also a valuable reference tool because you can sort over 10,000 fixed stars by the common astrological name, astronomical name, constellation, magnitude, longitude, latitude, right ascension, or declination.

New Forecast Lists: A number of handy and useful listings that some astrologers use, but were not available in earlier versions of Kepler have been added. A listing of dates when the secondary progressed planets enter a new zodiac sign or turn Rx or direct can be produced. Several customers have requested this in order to have a handy listing of these important changing points. A listing of dates when transiting planets enter zodiac signs and a list of void of course moon times can also be produced You can specify which aspects to use to determine a the time that the Moon is void of course. You can also produce a list of dates and times when planets turn Rx or direct.

AstroSignature Forecast: The AstroSignature Forecast Feature of Kepler is similar to the Time Line Profile feature that was introduced in earlier versions of Kepler, except for 4 major differences: (1) The AstroSignature Forecast allows you to combine various kinds of progressions and transits to produce the forecast, rather than base the forecast on only transits, (2) The resulting graph of the results is a line graph rather than a bar of varying intensity of color, (3) You can view all of the specific astrological influences that resulted in a score on a particular day, and (4) The AstroSignature Forecast allows you to use more kinds of astrological factors: In the Time Line Profile you can include only aspects and midpoint structures, and in the AstroSignature Forecast, you can also include planets in signs and houses, parallels and contraparallels of declination in either or both charts or between the charts or even in the composite chart formed between the progressed or transiting chart and natal chart. You can include transits to the progresssed chart as well as to the natal chart. The AstroSignature Forecast allows you to also use an "and" or "or" function to assign an astrological influence, for example, only if transiting Jupiter is in Sagittarius AND is transiting through a person's 9th house. The AstroSignature Forecast feature of Kepler 7.0 makes it possible to have extraordinarily sophisticated rules for predicting when athletic performance or accident proneness, for example, are very high. The AstroSignature Forecast feature gives the serious astrologer the tools to make forecasts with an accuracy that was not previously possible. With the sophisticated, and yet remarkably easy-to-use feature of the AstroSignature Forecast, it is our hope that astrologers will begin to validate astrological theory. As a tool for consulting, it is invaluable, and you can also give clients the AstroSignature Forecast printouts as well.

New Research Features: The research capabilities of Kepler have been dramatically improved in Kepler 7.0. The menus have been improved and the research is much more fun to use. Even more importantly, you can now do sophisticated research very, very easily. Described below are the new research features:

AstroSignature Research: A more limited variation of this feature was available in Kepler 6.0. In Kepler 7.0 you can see what astrological factors are used to produce the AstroSignature and you can easily change the astrological factors. For example, one of the AstroSignatures is "Logic, Technical Detail, Mental Concentration". There are dozens of astrological factors that contribute to this AstroSignature, such as Mercury-Saturn aspects, Mercury in Virgo, etc. In earlier versions of Kepler it was difficult to see what the astrological factors are and even more difficult to modify them. In Kepler 7.0, you simply click on the "Customize AstroSignature" button, and a very easy-to-use screen appears that shows you the astrological factors and allows you to change them. You can even use an "and" function (and other logical functions as well) to assign a weighting to astrological factors only if both influences occur. While viewing a sorted list of the scores, you can click a button to see which astrological factors occurred for a given person. For example, suppose you are viewing the scores for a list of potential employees, and one particular applicant has a very high score in the "Logic, Technical Detail, Mental Concentration" category. You can click a button to see what particular planets in signs and houses, aspects, or other astrological influences (midpoint structures, parallels of declination, etc.) contributed to the total score, and how many points each of these influences contributed. The AstroSignature Research feature of Kepler not only provides sophisticated features for research, but also provides superb features for consulting businesses or any other consulting where you want to compare people.

Match Making Research: This feature is identical to the AstroSignature Research feature described above, except it shows scores for pairs of people. You can, for example, compare a group of charts of single males with a group of charts of single females that you have collected, and obtain a sorted list of scores on "Romantic and Sexual Attraction" and several other categories. As wtih earlier versions of Kepler, of course you can categorize the people more specifically rather than just as male or female.

Pairs Research: Suppose you want to do research on accidents or on happily married couples. In this kind of research, you do not want to compare all people with all accidents. You want to compare Joe Smith's chart with his accident, and Sally Jones's chart with her accident. For each person there is a paired event, or possiblymore than one event if the person has had more than one accident. Similarly, for research on happily married couples, you want to research each couple, not all people who are in particular categories. In the Pairs Research feature of Kepler, you can form pairs of charts specifically for this kind of research.

Forecast Research: For any single date, you can produce a list of forecast scores for a group of charts. For example, suppose you have the birth charts of all basketball players on a particular basketball team, and you have assigned a specific research category to this group of charts. On the date that the team is playing, you can run the Forecast Research for this group of charts and obtain a list of scores for athletic performance for all of the basketball players. As with the other research features and also with the AstroSignature Forecast feature described above, you can also view the specific astrological influences that contribute to the total score, and you can select a variety of different progressed methods as well as transits.

In addition to all of these new forecast features, Kepler has the Assumptionless Research and other research features that were introduced in earlier versions of Kepler.

Compatibility Scores: In Kepler 7.0 you can produce a list of compatibility scores between two people. You can select Romantic Compatibilty or Friends Compatibilty. There are 8 compatibility scores in the Romantic Compatibility assessment and there are 7 compatibility scores in the Friendship Compatibility assessment. You can change the astrological factors and weighting values used to create the compatibility scores.

New Technical Calculations: Some of the new calculations available in Kepler 7.0 are: Planets and fixed stars on the horizon, zenith, and nadir; rotated parans; Firdaria (an ancient astrological system of planetary periods)

New Treasure Maps: In previous versions of Kepler there were 5 Treasure Maps: the Love and Romance, Vocation and Career, Friendship and Family, Imagination and Inspiration, and the Excitement and Instability Maps. We have added 5 additional ones: The Friendship and Family Detail, Education and Communication, Culture and Creativity, Optimism and Opportunity, and the Responsibility and Focus AstroMap.These new Treasure Maps expand the power and usefulness of the Treasure Maps feature. Many customers report that Treasure Maps provide extraordinarily helpful new insights and information that cannot be obtained in any other way, and we have had requests for more Treasure Maps so that other areas of life and other concerns and interest can be addressed. Here they are!

New Interpetative Report: There are two new interpretive reports included in Kepler 7.0. One Report is The Vedic Astrology Insight Report, which was mentioned above in the description of new Vedic astrology features. Another new interpretive report is the Harmonic Highlights Report. The Harmonic Highlights Report is a short report, about one to two pages in length. This report interpets 5th, 7th, 9th, 16th, 24th, and 32nd harmonic aspects in your chart. Many astrologers are interested in experimenting with the minor aspects that are used in harmonic astrology, but there are few tools to help you get started with this branch of astrology. The Harmonic Highlights Report will give you insight directly into what harmonics reveals about your charts. Written by David Cochrane, a leading authority on harmonic astrology and one of our computer programmers, these interpetations are direct, straightforward, brief descriptions of what these aspects in the chart mean. You may find that you agree with David and other harmonic astrologers: minor aspects are not really minor at all, but are very important, and need to become a part of your astrological analysis. The Harmonics Highlight Report will, at a minimum, be educational and interesting, and perhaps may even open a new door to astrological interpretation.

Ease of Use: Kepler Version 6 was a giant step forward in ease of use. However, we are not stopping there and as a software program develops more features, it is very easy for the software to become more difficult to use. While we added many dozens of new features to Kepler 7.0, we also made sure that the program has actually gotten slightly easier to use instead of more difficult to use.

Selection of many listings, such as listings of fixed stars, explanation of AstroMaps, etc. required several mouse clicks to get to, and a bit difficult to find. Some of the menus have been improved to make access to features even simpler. Some of these changes are very obvious, such as improvements to customizing wheels mentioned above, and some are very subtle and relatively minor.

All features of Kepler can now be selected from the main screen. In Kepler 6, you had to return to the opening screen for some features, such as installing report options or making backups. In Kepler 7, all features are accessible from one screen. This is much more convenient. There is now an option to bypass the opening screen entirely, although some people also like to view the opening screen first because it allows you to enter into the suite of Kepler features, such as

An example of a minor improvement is in the data entry screen, the selection of birth time accuracy and category of a person have been moved to a place that is more convenient and appropriate. Making subtle changes to appearance, the phrasing of messages, etc.continues throughout the entire program. We are perfectionists and there are always many minor improvements to make while also adding major new features.

Quick selection of current transits: In Kepler 6.0 to obtain a TriWheel with natal, progressed, and transits required several steps. You had to go into the data entry screen to get a chart of the current moment, and then select the Progressed Chart, and then select a TriWheel, and select these 3 charts. In Kepler 7.0, you can select a chart of the current moment with a mouse click and never needing to go to the data entry screen. You can also select a progressed chart and transit chart simultaneoulsy by simply checking the box to have a transit chart while you select progerssed charts.

Fixed Star Listings: In Kepler 7.0 you can obtain a list of fixed stars that are on the horizon, at the zenith, or at the nadir. Kepler 6.0 could produce lists of conjunctions to fixed stars in longitude and in both longitude and latitude (near occultations) with options to include thousands of fixed stars or just the named fixed stars. Kepler 7.0 adds the ability to also see which stars are on the horizon, at the zenith, and at the nadir. Note that the zenith is not the same as the MC. The MC is the point on the ecliptic plane that is directly south. The zenith is the point overhead, and the zenith has rarely been looked at in astrology before. Planets and fixed stars on the horizon were considered very important in much of ancient astrology but in modern times astrologers generally either do not use fixed stars or only use conjunctions to fixed stars in longitude to the planets. Kepler 7.0 revives some of the features of ancient astrology while also opening doors to new possibilties that have not been explored before, such as fixed stars at the zenith or nadir.

Parans and "rotated parans": Parans are another technique that was widely used in much of ancient astrology. A paran occurs when one planet or star is rising or setting and another one is on hte MC-IC line. A "rotated paran" is a paran that would occur if you rotated the sky to place the planet or fixed star on the horizon or MC-IC line, and then the other star or planet is also on the horizon or MC-IC line. Kepler 7.0 can produce a list of parans and rotated parans in the chart. You will find that each planet makes, on average, two or three dozen, rotated parans to fixed stars, using a 1 degree orb and 92 fixed stars. Because of the large number of rotated parans, it is possible that rotated parans add a great deal of information about the astrological influence of planets that has previously been ignored by astrologers.

Planetary Pitches (Music of the Spheres): Kepler can play the frequency of each planet based on a theory that the motion of a planet at any given time is similar to the motion of a vibrating string, and by transposing this frequency by octaves until it is in the audible range, one can hear the sound of the planet. Like virtually all astrological theory, this is a very speculative idea and is provided for you in case you find it interesting. Some customers have requested this feature.

Daylight saving time tables and Atlas: This past year there were not as many changes to laws regarding observance of daylight saving time as in many past years, but we have made some minor improvements from new research that has come in. Some new data on observance of daylight saving time in Hungary has been incorporated. The number of towns in Finland has been expanded from 421 to 1,298. Many thanks to you, our customers and colleagues, who have submitted updates to the daylight saving time tables and the expanded atlas for Finland.

More Training Resources: As Kepler expands and improves, the kinds of astrological analysis and astrological business applications of Kepler grows by leaps and bounds. There are so many creative and interesting ways to use Kepler effectively that no astrologer is familiar with all of them. Different astrologers utilize different features of Kepler in their own unique way. For those of you who want an introduction to the basics of Kepler, we have a new Kepler Demonstration at www.AstroSoftware.com. This demonstration is almost as good as having someone in front of you to walk you through the features of Kepler. To see the demonstration, go to www.AstroSoftware.com and click on "KEPLER DEMO" in the list of options on the left side of the screen. Also, if you haven't been to a Kepler Seminar, you are in for a treat. In fact, some people who have attended one, come again because each time the seminar is given there is more to learn. In 2004 we have 3 Kepler Seminars scheduled: February 28 in Chicago, May 1 in Cincinnatti, and November 6 in Gainesville, FL. A seminar is from about 8:30 AM to 5 PM on Saturday and costs $35. For more information, visit www.AstroSoftware.com and click on the Kepler Seminar link in the list of links on the left side of the screen.

How do we add so much to the program in one year? Some of you who are familiar with the incredible amount of work involved in software development may wonder how we are able to add so many features to Kepler in one year. Kepler 6.0 came out in March, 2003 and about 1 year later Kepler 7.0 comes out with dozens of major new features. First, we designed and built Kepler with future expansion and improvements in mind. We build solid software routines that we can use in the future. Perhaps more importantly, we have a staff of 4 excellent computer programmers (David, Vic, Vicki, and Thilaka) and excellent business operations people (Fei and Jorge) that allow us to be very productive. Also, some of us work more than a standard 40 hour work week. Another question we get asked is why we are packing so many features into Kepler rather than splitting off features, like the AstroMaps and new advanced research features, and Vedic features and many other features into separate programs? The answer is that we believe that Kepler can become the standard software resource for professional astrologers and students of astrology at any level, from beginners to the most expert professionals. So far we have found that our customers are enthusiastically responding to our "generosity" and our business continues to grow. Many of you have been telling your friends about Kepler, are becoming distributors, and contributing in other ways. Your support and enthusiasm is encouraging us to continue giving an extraordinary number of features in one software program. Thank you for your support! Your support is making it possible for us to perform this "miracle". It is a miracle that of course is not possible without the support that you, our customers, have given us through the years. Thank you! If you like what we are doing, then take a bow and pat yourself on the back as well because your enthusiastic support makes this fabulous progress possible. We are not resting on our laurels. There is much, much more to do, and some of you are still waiting for features that are important for your astrological practice, astrological business, studies, or research. We are not slowing down, and each year you should see dramatic new improvements to Kepler.

New options:

Pastel Collection Art Wheel CD: As you know, Kepler includes 30 Art Wheels. Graphics artist Paul Guess has created over 130 additional beautiful art wheels, which we have collected together in the Pastel Collection Art Wheel CD. If Art Wheels are an important feature for you, go to www.AstroSoftware.com and click on the link to the Pastel Collection Art Wheel CD to see the Art Wheels in this collection. I think you will agree that they are stunningly beautiful.

Optional MegaAtlas: Kepler contains over 260,000 cities and towns in its atlas. It is unlikely that you have ever encountered a town that is not in Kepler, but it is not impossible. We have developed an atlas of over 2 million towns and cities; this is the Kepler MegaAtlas. The Kepler MegaAtlas, frankly, contains so many towns and cities that often there are dozens of towns with the same name within a country, so with the MegaAtlas, you may still have difficulty tracking down a particular town. Recently we were entering data of historical figures into Kepler's database of famous people, and we were able to find a few towns in the MegaAtlas that were not in Kepler's atlas, so sometimes the MegaAtlas does prove to be helpful. As time permits, we will continue to make improvements to Kepler's atlas and MegaAtlas, just as we continue to improve and expand the database of famous people.

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Notes on upgrading from Kepler 6.0:

Kepler 7.0 operates very similarly to Kepler 6.0. If, on the other hand, you are upgarding from a version of Kepler earlier than Version 6.0, you will find that Ver 7.0 functions very differently from the version of Kepler that you had previously. The program has been dramatically reorganized. But do not worry! You will find that the new Kepler program is even easier, more flexible, and more powerful than the old version of Kepler. Most users report that within a half hour (usually less) they have become so accustomed to the new version of Kepler that they would never want to go back to the old version.

If you are upgrading from Kepler Version 6.0, the following notes on changes to screens in Version 7.0 may be useful to you. If you are upgarding from a version earlier than Version 6.0, then these notes are not that important because the entire program has hundreds of new features that goes far beyond the capabilities of the earlier version of Kepler and the appearance of the program is very different as well.

1: Appearance of Chart Wheels Chart wheels, by default, have a slightly different color scheme. Wheels are brighter and more colorful, and large chart wheels have the 3-D characters. The great majority of you will prefer the Version 7.0 look, but some of you may prefer the Ver 6.0 colors. To change to the color 6.0 colors, right-click on the wheel that you are viewing, or right-click on the chart wheel speed icon at the top of the screen, to bring up the screen for selecting chart wheel styles. Click on the Customize button, select the "Other tab", and in the list of color schemes selected, select either "Simple White (Kepler 6.0 Default)" or "Mellow Pastel (Kepler 6.0 Default)". These are the two default color schemes in Kepler 5.0 and 6.0.

4: Selecting and Customizing Chart Wheels: On the screen where you select chart wheels, the chart wheel styles are displayed in two tabs: "Standard" and "Special" wheels. Because there are more chart wheel styles in Ver 7 and than in Ver 6, putting the wheel styles in two tabs made it possible to display all of the wheel styles on this small form. Also, if you click the Customize button, you will find that customizing of wheels has been simplified, improved, and expanded with new features. In Ver 6.0, there were many tabs within tabs, and now there are just 4 tabs, and many of the tables can now be moved interactively and elegantly by selecting the "Page Designer" button, which is in the "Other" tab. There are many improvements and new features throughout this section of the program.

2: Selecting Transit Chart while Selecting Progressed Chart: After clicking the Progressions speed button icon, the screen for selecting a progressed chart is displayed. There is now a check box that allows you to select a Transit Chart simultaneously.

3: Minor Change to Data Entry Screen: A very minor change in the data entry screen is the selection of birth data accuracy and the category of the chart in Ver 6.0 was visible only if you extended the length of the screen by clicking on the "More" button. These two selections are now always visible because they are settings that many users need access to, while the other settings that appear below the "More" button are redundant with selections that can be made in the main screen, and the great majority of people prefer to make these selections in the main screen rather than the data entry screen.

4: The TriWheel Animation and AstroClock: The TriWheel Animation feature allows you to see a TriWheel with natal, progressed, and transit charts change over time. The AstroClock feature is much more useful and powerful in Ver 7.0 because you change the date, and speed up and slow down the AstroClock.

5. New Listings: Select the Listings speed button icon and you will discover some new listings not available in previous versions of Kepler, such as listings of fixed stars on the horizon, zenith, and nadir, and a list of parans and rotated parans in the chart. Another new listing is the Firdaria, which are planetary periods used in ancient western astrology and are similar in concept to the Vedic dasa system. Select the Listings speed button icon and then select "Ancient Western" to select a listing of the Firdaria planetary periods. A listing of dates when the secondary progressed planets enter a new zodiac sign or turn Rx or direct can be produced. Several customers have requested this in order to have a handy listing of these important changing points. Planetary Pitches (Music of the Spheres) are pitches for each planet calculated by taking the motion of the planet and imagining that motion to be the speed of a vibrating string, and raising the resulting sound by octaves into the audible range.

6: New Forecast Text Listing Options: A listing of dates when transiting planets enter zodiac signs and a list of void of course moon times can also be produced You can specify which aspects to use to determine a the time that the Moon is void of course. You can also produce a list of dates and times when planets turn Rx or direct.

7. AstroSignature Forecast: Select the Forecast speed button icon, select "Time Line Profile" and then select "AstroSignature Forecast". Now select the time period, categories, and forecast methods desired, and then click the "Begin Analysis" button and the results aer displayed. If you select a time duration of more than one day, a graph is displayed showing the change in each category over the time period. You can click on the "Score Details of All Charts" or the "Score Details of Selected Charts" buttons to see the specific astrological factors which contributed to the total score.

8. New Treasure Maps: In previous versions of Kepler there were 5 Treasure Maps: the Love and Romance, Vocation and Career, Friendship and Family, Imagination and Inspiration, and the Excitement and Instability Maps. We have added 5 additional ones: The Friendship and Family Detail, Education and Communication, Culture and Creativity, Optimism and Opportunity, and the Responsibility and Focus AstroMap.

9. Compatibility Scores: Select the Interpretations speed button icon, and then select Compatibilty Scores to obtain compatibility scores between any two charts.

10. Vedic Astrology: Select the Vedic speed button icon, and 2 new features appear in the popup menu: Vedic Natal Interpretation and Ashtakavarga. Also, when you select chakras and vargas, you can click on the kind of chart that is being displayed in the upper right corner and check as many varga charts as desired. These are listed in a scrolling window. You can also click on the icon to the right to place the chart wheels in 2 columns instead of 1 column. Also, if you move the mouse cursor over a planet, an interpretation of that planet will be given in the upper right corner. Other new features are the ability to select ashotottara and narayana dasa systems in the Dasas Preferences screen.

11. Sky Maps: Select the Ephemeris speed button icon, and then select Sky Map. You are viewing the placement of the planets and major fixed stars for this chart. The icons at the top of the screen allow you to select either a circular representation or rectangular representation of the sky, and you can select between a map using the ecliptic plane, equatorial plane, or horizon plane as a reference. If you select a circular representation of the sky and the Horizon, then the Northern Hemisphere image is the visible sky if the birth occurred in the northern hemisphere, and the Souther Hemisphere image is the visible sky if the birth occurred in the southern hemisphere. Also, you can select the Ephemeris speed button icon, and then select Star Catalogue to view a table of fixed star positions. While viewing this table, you can sort the fixed stars and other celestial objects by any of the categories shown on the screen, such as by astronomical name, magnitude, longitude, latitude, constellation, etc.

12. New Research Features: In the main screen of Kepler, select the Avalon/Encylopedia/AstroSearch speed button icon (the icon that is second from the extreme right). If you have used the research feature of earlier versions of Kepler, you will notice that the menu looks different. The first menu items in the list provide new features: AstroSignature, Match Making, Pairs (Relationships/Events) Research, Forecast Research, and Individual Forecast / Electional are all new research options. The "Individual Forecast / Electional" option is the AstroSignature Forecast feature that was describe in item # 7 above. A less powerful and less flexible variation of the AstroSignature Forecast feature was avialable in earlier versions of Kepler. in Kepler 7.0 you can easily view and change the details of the AstroSignature, and you can view the specific astrological influences that contribute to the total score. The Match Making feature allows you to research attraction and compatibilty between people. The Pairs Research allows you to research events (like accidents, for example) and relationships like marriage relationships, for example. The Forecast Research feature allows you to compare forecast AstroSignatures like atheletic performance or accident proneness of different people in a group of charts. These features provide extraordinarily sophisticated capbilities that are very easy-to-use and powerful. Combined with the advanced research features that were already in Kepler, such as the assumptionless research features, Kepler provides a very sophisticated set of tools for researching charts and comparing the category scores of a group of charts.

13. New Interpretive Reports: Click on the Interpretations speed button icon, select the first menu item "Natal", and then select "Various Specialized" in the menu that appears. You will see the menu item for the Harmonics Interpretive Report and the Numerology Report. The Numerology Report was in earlier versions of Kepler. The Harmonic Highlights Report is a new feature of Kepler 7.0. Click on the Vedic speed button icon and select "Vedic Natal Interpretations" to obtain The Vedic Astrology Insight Report. There are several variations of this reprot to select based on whether you prefer to use natural or functional benefics and malefics and what rules for planetary strength you prefer.

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Documentation of New Features in Kepler 7.0:

Quick Selection of Transits: Click on the "New" speed button icon. Select "Current Transit Chart (Quick Select)". That's it. Now you have a chart for the current moment.

What if this chart is not for the location that you want? Click on the "New" speed button icon. Select "Change Current Transit Chart Place". Type in the desired place. You will notice that the latitude and longitude fields are filled in with the positions for this place. Click the OK button to save your changes. The next time you select a Transit Chart using the Quick Select method described in the previous paragraph, this place will be used in the calculation of the Transit Chart.

You can also select an AstroClock to see current positions of planets.

Also, if you wish to have a TriWheel with natal, progressed, and transiting planets, it is not necessary to select a Transit Chart as described here. You can simply select the Progressed Chart and while selecting the Progressed Chart, check the option to calculate the transits for this time as well. For more information on this feature, click here.

Data Entry Screen: Update documentation to show the selection of category and accuracy above the line of buttons at the bottom of the screen. Also there is a new option for longer name and Japanese/Chinese name.

Selecting a Progressed Chart (new feature to add to documentation): If you wish to select a Transit Chart as well for this time, check the "Also Select Transit Chart" box. A Transit Chart is simply a chart for the same date and place that the progressed chart is calculated for. Selecting the Transit Chart, is useful, for example, if you wish to have a TriWheel with the natal chart on the inside, and the progressed chart, and a transit chart in the outer rings. In this case you want to select "Same Time and Place as Progressed Chart" so that the transit chart and progressed chart are calculated for precisely the same moment in time and for the same place. If you select "Current Time and Default Place for Transits", the place will not be the place shown on this screen, but instead will be the default place for transit charts, and the time will be the current instant in time rather than the time that the progressed chart is calculated for (typically the beginning of the day; this is a setting that you can set elsewhere in the program; the exact time of day that the progressed chart is calculated for is not generally regarded as significant because in one day the progressed planets move very, very little.

Selecting and Customizing a Wheel: There are lots of changes here and I think you will need to update most of the documentation. Some sections are still the same so not everything needs to be updated.

Selecting and Viewing a TriWheel Animation: You can view a TriWheel with the natal chart in the center, a progressed chart in the middle ring, and the transits in the outer ring, and you can watch the planets move over time. To do this, select the MultiWheel speed button icon, and then select "TriWheel Animation".

If you have not selected a Progressed Chart or if you are not viewing a natal chart, a message will be displayed informing you that you must be viewing a natal chart and have a progressed chart selected. In the upper right corner of the screen is displayed "Currently displayed entry"; the entry listed below this caption should be a natal chart. If it is and you have not selected a progressed chart yet, then click on the Progressed Chart speed button icon to select a progressed chart, and then return to viewing the natal chart and select the TriWheel Animation again.

After selecting a TriWheel Animation, a screen is displayed that allows you to select which Progressed Chart you want in the middle ring. If you have only one progressed chart, then only this chart is displayed. When you click the OK button, the animation begins. You can click the Pause button to stop the animation. You can also move the slider to the right to speed up the animation, and move the slider to the left to slow it down. The middle point of the slider causes no movement in the wheels; to the left, the animation moves backwards in time, and to the right it moves forward in time. While the animation is paused, you can enter a new date and click the "Apply Date" button to change the date. The current date is displayed with a yellow background and the arrows to the left and right of this date can be clicked while the animation is paused to view the TriWheel on the previous and following days. Click the Exit button next to the Pause button to exit the TriWheel Animation.

Selecting and Viewing an AstroClock: Click on the AstroClock speed button icon to view an AstroClock. A popup menu appears with 3 choices. You can view a TriWheel animation (click here for more information on TriWheel animations), you can select "AstroClock Settings" to change the location where the AstroClock is calculated, and you can click "AstroClock" to view the AstroClock.

While the AstroClock is being displayed, you can click the Pause button to stop the animation. You can also move the slider to the right to speed up the animation, and move the slider to the left to slow it down. The middle point of the slider causes no movement in the wheels; to the left, the animation moves backwards in time, and to the right it moves forward in time. While the animation is paused, you can enter a new date and click the "Apply Date" button to change the date. The current date is displayed with a yellow background and the arrows to the left and right of this date can be clicked while the animation is paused to view the TriWheel on the previous and following days. The time of the chart is shown in the chart wheel itself. Click the Exit button next to the Pause button to exit the AstroClock.

Click on Listing speed button icon: Select listings that before were not in this menu before (list them and go to explanation that is already in manual).

New listings that need explanation:

Fixed Stars Listings: In ancient astrology, the rising and setting of fixed stars was considered to be extremely important. Most modern astrology has focused on the Sun, Moon, and planets. Some astrologers do interpret conjunctions of fixed stars to planets, but other than this, fixed stars are rarely used. Kepler can now produce a list of which of 341 named fixed stars are rising and setting, and also if any of these fixed stars are at the zenith, nadir, or in near occultation with a planet. By default an orb of 2 degrees is used to determine if a planet is rising or setting or in near occultation to a planet, and an orb of 5 degrees is used for conjunctions to the zenith and nadir. Typically, there are about a dozen named fixed stars that are on the horizon (rising or setting) with these orbs, and perhaps one planet in near occultation or at the zenith or nadir. You can easily change the orbs by clicking the "Customize" button while selecting the listing of fixed stars, and then select "Orbs of Aspects" in the popup menu that is displayed. Note that the zenith is not the same as the MC. The MC, or 10th house cusp is the point where the ecliptic plane is directly south. The zenith is the point that is directly overhead. You can also produce a similar list with a list of 14,000 fixed star objects, but most astrologers will be most interested in the list to only the named 421 named fixed stars. "Near occultations" are conjunctions in both longitude and latitude, which means that the two points are physically very close in the sky, whereas astrologers usually analyze aspects in longitude only, and two points conjunct in longitude are not necessarily physically very close in the sky because the difference in latitude may be great; this is especially likely when looking at aspects to fixed stars because, unlike planets, not all fixed stars are near the ecliptic plane. Kepler 7.0, like Kepler 6.0, can produce listings of conjunctions to fixed stars in longitude and also produce lists of near occultations (conjunctions in longitude and latitude). The abilty to obtain listings of stars on the horizon, and at the zenith and nadir, is an additional new feature.

Firdaria: Firdaria is a predictive system used in ancient western astrology. It is a system of planetary periods. Each planet has an an influence in the person's life for a duration of time. This is similar to the Vedic dasa system. Select the Listings speed button icon, and then one of the 3 Firdaria menu items. There are some variations in how Firdaria are calculated, and this is why 3 different options are given.

A listing of dates when the secondary progressed planets enter a new zodiac sign or turn Rx or direct: Select the Listing speed button icon and then select "Day-for-a-Year Ingresses and Rx/Direct" in order to obtain this listing.

Planetary Pitches (Music of the Spheres): Select the Listing speed button icon, and then select "Music of the Spheres". Now select the option to either just view the values or to also hear them. If you select the option to hear them, then of course make sure that your speaker volume is not muted. The frequencies for these pitches is calculated by taking the motion of the planet and imagining that motion to be the speed of a vibrating string, and raising the resulting sound by octaves into the audible range. The number of octaves and resulting frequency is displayed. For example, the Sun moves at a motion of about 1 degree per day, which is 1 cycle per year. Raising this by octaves, which is done by halving the time to 6 months, 3 months, 1 1/2 months, etc. until the sound is in audible range. The calculations are based on the precise motion of the planets at the time of the chart calculation.

New Forecast Features: A listing of dates when transiting planets enter zodiac signs and a list of void of course moon times can also be produced You can specify which aspects to use to determine a the time that the Moon is void of course. You can also produce a list of dates and times when planets turn Rx or direct. To select these listings, select the Forecast speed button icon, and then select Text Listing Format, and then select Transit-to-Transit, and you will the menu options for these selections.

AstroSignature Forecast: Select the Forecast speed button icon, select "Time Line Profile" and then select "AstroSignature Forecast". Now select the time period, categories, and forecast methods desired, and then click the "Begin Analysis" button and the results aer displayed. If you select a time duration of more than one day, a graph is displayed showing the change in each category over the time period. You can click on the "Score Details of All Charts" or the "Score Details of Selected Charts" buttons to see the specific astrological factors which contributed to the total score.

New Treasure Maps: In previous versions of Kepler there were 5 Treasure Maps: the Love and Romance, Vocation and Career, Friendship and Family, Imagination and Inspiration, and the Excitement and Instability Maps. We have added 5 additional ones: The Friendship and Family Detail, Education and Communication, Culture and Creativity, Optimism and Opportunity, and the Responsibility and Focus AstroMap. According to the research study described in the book AstroLocality Magic, most people will be drawn to live in a place indicated by the Friendship and Family Map. However, sometimes a person will find a place to live that is very comfortable and yet is not indicated in the Friendship and Family Map. In our investigations into these charts, invariably there is a very strong influence of additional factors which are included in the Friendship and Family Detail Map. The Education and Communication Map shows places where Mercury, the planet of ideas and communication is highlighted. The Culture and Creativity Map shows places where there are quintiles and biquntiles in the relocated chart. These aspects enhance the creative dimension of a person's life. The optimism and opportunity map shows where Jupiterian influences are emphasized, and there is the opportunity to reach out, socialize, and be more expansive and outgoing, and to mix with more people. The Responsibility and Focus Map shows where Saturnian influences focus our energy on being serious, focused, disciplined, and meeting responsibilities. Some people are not afraid of Saturn's tendency to strip our lives down to a minimum and focus on essentials; sometimes this can help us shed excesses and make progress in what is really important.

Vedic Astrology: Select the Vedic speed button icon, and 2 new features appear in the popup menu: Vedic Natal Interpretation and Ashtakavarga. Also, when you select chakras and vargas, you can click on the kind of chart that is being displayed in the upper right corner and check as many varga charts as desired. These are listed in a scrolling window. You can also click on the icon to the right to place the chart wheels in 2 columns instead of 1 column. Also, if you move the mouse cursor over a planet, an interpretation of that planet will be given in the upper right corner. Other new features are the ability to select ashotottara and narayana dasa systems in the Dasas Preferences screen.

Sky Maps: Select the Ephemeris speed button icon, and then select Sky Map. You are viewing the placement of the planets and major fixed stars for this chart. The icons at the top of the screen allow you to select either a circular representation or rectangular representation of the sky, and you can select between a map using the ecliptic plane, equatorial plane, or horizon plane as a reference. If you select a circular representation of the sky and the Horizon, then the Northern Hemisphere image is the visible sky if the birth occurred in the northern hemisphere, and the Souther Hemisphere image is the visible sky if the birth occurred in the southern hemisphere.

Star Catalogue: Select the Ephemeris speed button icon, and then select Star Catalogue to view a table of fixed star positions. While viewing this table, you can sort the fixed stars and other celestial objects by any of the categories shown on the screen, such as by astronomical name, magnitude, longitude, latitude, constellation, etc.

New Research Features: In the main screen of Kepler, select the Avalon/Encylopedia/AstroSearch speed button icon (the icon that is second from the extreme right). If you have used the research feature of earlier versions of Kepler, you will notice that the menu looks different. The first menu items in the list provide new features: AstroSignature, Match Making, Pairs (Relationships/Events) Research, Forecast Research, and Individual Forecast / Electional are all new research options. The "Individual Forecast / Electional" option is the AstroSignature Forecast feature that was describe in item # 7 above. A less powerful and less flexible variation of the AstroSignature Forecast feature was avialable in earlier versions of Kepler. in Kepler 7.0 you can easily view and change the details of the AstroSignature, and you can view the specific astrological influences that contribute to the total score. The Match Making feature allows you to research attraction and compatibilty between people. The Pairs Research allows you to research events (like accidents, for example) and relationships like marriage relationships, for example. The Forecast Research feature allows you to compare forecast AstroSignatures like athletic performance or accident proneness of different people in a group of charts. These features provide extraordinarily sophisticated capabilities that are very easy-to-use and powerful. Combined with the advanced research features that were already in Kepler, such as the assumptionless research features, Kepler provides a very sophisticated set of tools for researching charts and comparing the category scores of a group of charts.

New Interpretive Reports: Click on the Interpretations speed button icon, select the first menu item "Natal", and then select "Various Specialized" in the menu that appears. You will see the menu item for the Harmonics Interpretive Report and the Numerology Report. The Numerology Report was in earlier versions of Kepler. The Harmonic Highlights Report is a new feature of Kepler 7.0. Click on the Vedic speed button icon and select "Vedic Natal Interpretations" to obtain The Vedic Astrology Insight Report. There are several variations of this reprot to select based on whether you prefer to use natural or functional benefics and malefics and what rules for planetary strength you prefer.