Hi all--
You may be aware that Willmann-Bell, Inc. is no longer accepting orders. The closure occurred unexpectedly without advance notification to W-B authors. Willmann-Bell books are still stored in a warehouse, and will eventually become available to buyers again, possibly through a different publisher or sale entity.
The Handbook of Astronomical Image Processing is among the books left high and dry. My software, Astronomical Image Processing for Windows, known as AIP4Win, The software was distributed via CD-ROM in the back of the book and updates were available from W-B's website. Book buyers could install the program, but were required to register the software within 30 days of the first installation. Registration added your name to a master list on W-B's server. With the closure of the business, the server will not be available, so it will be impossible to the register.
Accordingly, I crerated a new version of the program and a new setup/installation package that does not require registration. The means that anyone can install and run the program for free. I will provide support for users through AIP4Win@Groups.io. If you are using AIP4Win, please join that group. The program is posted in the Files section of the Groups.io listshare.
The new version is called AIPv2.4.10.NonReg.exe. It is functionally nearly identical to v2.4.8 beta, the version recommended in CHOICE courses for photometry. The two versions are fully compatible.
Historically, Willmann-Bell handled the setup/installation program through their website. The setup/installation program I ginned up on my own appears to work reliably, but has not been extensively tested. I recommend checking the setup/install package on a non-critical computer before installing it on your astronomy computer. Also, remember to back up any MMT* and *.STAR files you may have created before doing a new installation.
To install the new version, download the setup/installation ZIP file. Place it on your computer desktop. Extract the single setup file to your desktop. Run it using "run as administrator." Please note that I cannot guarantee it will work properly, but I can say that so far no one has reported any problems. When installed correctly, AIP4Win runs on nicely on Windows 10. I suspect that most installation problems reported in the past were linked to the code that supported registration, and that code was not included in the new build.
If you download the program but did not buy the book, please note that I do not have time or energy to teach you the concepts that are covered in the book. The book and software are intended to be together. The reason authors write books is to reach many people by writing once, not by writing to many individuals one at a time. I will handle all the inquiries as best I can on the AIP4Win@Groups.io site, and I trust others on that group will chime in with their own insights.
For the future, with W-B gone from the picture, I will be able to release new bug-fixes, betas, and updates more freely. This release is v.2.4.10; my working version is v2.4.48.
--Richard
This software offers an incredible suite of options offering profesional and rewarding photometry solutions. While I am no longer an active observer, I used this software for probably close to 15 years and while I owned other photomety software packages I ignored them all in favor of AIP4WIN.
Kudo's to Richard for making such a generous offer.
Tim Crawford
Hi Richard,
Sorry but for me it still doesn't work. I copied the exe.file to my desktop and open it as administator but still I get a message 'AIP4Win requires Administrator priveledges on the local machine for succesful installation'...
What is wrong?
Thanks,
Eddy
Hi Eddy--
I am not an expert on the setup/install process. W-B had a consultant who wrote the installation script and server-side registration software, and I modified the installation-side script slightly to create the new install program. If you have already installed and registered AIP4Win from the CD-ROM that comes with the book, there's no need to install the new non-register version. Just keep using the version you already have.
In Windows, installation involves checking and changing things in the Windows directory, so you're required to assert that the computer owner (i.e., the Administrator) approves of making the necessary operating system settings and changes. That's my understanding of "Run as Administrator." I do not know if this is absolutely necessary or not, but I do know that when you do it that way, it does work.
The reason I moved support to the aip4win@groups.io is to leverage the knowledge and expertise of many users.
--Richard
You right click on the executable and select run as Administrator. This should be there, unless you are using a work computer set up to prevent Administrator operations from other than It.
https://groups.io/g/AIP4Win
Ed
Please where to download it?
Thanks
Join aip4win@groups.io. The installation files are in the Files section.
--Richard
Thank you very much.
Where do you download this version of AIPv2.4.10.NonReg.exe from???
You need to join the AIP4Win@Groups.io. Once a member you will find it in the files section there.
There are some specific instructions on how to install. I didn't have any trouble installing and using on Windows 10 and Windows 11 machines.
Before you start using AIP4Win look closely in the group posts for information on the existing bugs. One important one, if you intend to use it for image calibration, is in USING master calibration frames in the calibration routine. Caveat emptor: there is a small price to pay for this otherwise excellent program.