dragging bug (IE), project links issue in IE

Fixed IE drag 'lock-up' bug: (thanks to Tom for reporting it) This bug was occurring in some projects when using Internet Explorer 11. When the project link was updating after using the drag controls, some bump values were incorrectly allowed to have decimal places. This was breaking things, including as the drag controls. So they would appear to lock up. The problem appears to be fixed now, but if you see anything odd, please let me know!

Project links in IE: Internet Explorer allows up to 2083 character in a URL. Everything after that is truncated. So, the end of a project link may be chopped off if it gets too long. Chart settings are affected first, since those are the last fields saved in the project link. The only easy solution is to recommend not using Internet Explorer. Other browsers all appear to work just fine and have much higher limits for URL length.

    Other solutions are:

• Using shorter field names or using numbers to represent each field. This would pretty easy to implement, but it could cause confusion and add complexity (potentially breaking some users' project links), and it doesn't get around the inevitable URL max length.
• Saving project links on the site. This is a much more involved solution, because it would probably require adding user accounts and forcing people to sign up if they want to save their project. Since VSusp is still a relatively simple tool, I'd really prefer the user interaction to stay as simple as possible: no downloading or signup required - just click and go

Project link version update: Putting in the fix for bump values required updating from project link version 0.7 to 0.8. Projects will be updated automatically to version 0.8.

• fixed ie11 drag bug (thanks Tom)
• updated to link version 0.8 (bump value precision change in hash, added conversion from 0.7)

various minor fixes

• updated control min and max to allow VSusp to be used for small cars, eg radio controlled cars
• adjusted various dimension highlighters so they look ok when working with small chasses (eg. RC cars)
• adjusted knuckle shape calculation to work better with small chasses
• fixed handling of disabled highlighters based on tire size mode
• added highlighters for explicit wheel and tire sizes
• fixed units on a few highlighters
• updated drag control triggers
• updated to dojo 1.3
• updated to jquery 2
• added canvas graphics option (still using SVG, though)
• fixed drag control positioning relative to zoom
• reposition drag controls after zoom change
• adjusted steering knuckle tab label
• improved IE warning box (IE8 and below are not supported)
• some template fixes

• fixed contact-patch-below-ground bug (thanks Cheapracer)
• added mac strut dimension highlighers: left/right spindle length
• moved to jquery 2.0, vsusp no longer supports IE8 and earlier
• made close window message simpler
• significant cleanup of code in draw functions
• updated mouseover text for strut axis inclination
• fixed handling of bad input values (eg. text in float field)
• improved noscript message alert box

Bug fix, dim highlighters, cleanup, etc

Just released a new version of VSusp

Contact patch below ground: this one has a fix for an occasional bug that caused the tire contact patch to end up below ground in some cases for double wishbone suspensions.

Mac Strut spindle length dimension highlighters: I also added two dimension highlighters for Macpherson strut suspensions: left spindle length and right spindle length. Hovering over the respective input boxes will show the highlighters on the diagram. I believe the only other two dimension highlighters that need to be added are left and right strut lengths.

No more support for IE8 and earlier: I updated to Jquery 2.0 hoping that there would be a decent speed improvement for Firefox. Looks like there's no perceptible change, but it's good to update once in a while anyway. The new version of jquery doesn't support IE 8 and earlier, so now neither does VSusp.

Close window message: I simplified the message that pops up when you're about to close the window. If this message is annoying, just let me know and I'll either get rid of it or make it possible to turn it off.

Better handling of text in integer/float fields: before, if the user would enter a letter into an input field which was expecting a number, this would mess up the diagram until the value was changed back to a number. Now the text value is just ignored and the input field reverts to the previous value

Minor things that aren't really noticeable: updated the noscript message alert box that shows up if scripts are disabled. Also cleaned up a decent portion of the code that handles drawing. Updated mouseover text for 'strut axis inclination' input

• adjusted tool header
• adjusted help page layout and header
• adjusted help page styling
• adjusted IE warning test at startup
• changed to HTML5 doctype

• fixed old version number bug (wasn't updating version number on load)
• tool now loads in IE8/9. Not supporting IE
• fixed noscript message styling in ie8/9
• fixed ie warning styling
• no longer disable "redraw on drag" for IE (IE9 runs the tool fast enough to use redraw-during-drag)

namespace fixes (in progress, but workable), fix for IE load bug, fixed initial bump units (thanks Olrowdy_01, Horizenjob), remove debug panel and print messages in debug console, slightly larger control panel tab font, fixed draw toggle (prefs panel), fixed chart redraw on changed settings (thanks Olrowdy_01)