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)

• tweaked drag controls a bit to make them easier to use
• code cleanup
• packed more js into min file
• fixed dimension highlighter font size relative to zoom
• adjusted drag control repositioning and styling
• updated steering knuckle tab label

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

• updated min/max values for input controls (thanks MV8)
• fix handling of disabled dimension highlighters due to tire sizing mode
• add dimension highlighters for explicit wheel and tire sizes
• fix units on a few highlighters
• adjust various dimension highlighters so they look ok when working with small chasses
• minor code cleanup
• adjust knuckle shape calculation to look a little better when using very small knuckles (RC cars)

• some fixes for working with very small chasses (RC cars) (thanks Jyva)

• increased max control values for explicit wheel and tire diameters and control arm lengths (thanks Jyva)

fixed bug with string controls

Just fixed a bug affecting string controls such as 'project name' and 'chart y axis'. The user wasn't able to change the values for these fields due to a check for isNaN (is not-a-number) which I put in a couple weeks ago.
   Checking for isNaN was supposed to apply only to integer and float fields and ignore letters entered in those controls. Unfortunately, I didn't test well enough, the test was ignoring letters in string controls as well.
   Anyway, sorry for the inconvenience! And please me know if you see any other problems

• 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

Updates

Just added a couple updates which I've been wanting to put in for a while. These were both suggested by Cheapracer on the Locost Builder forum.

Added type-in support for roll and bump controls

    Now, it's possible to just type in values in the bump/droop and roll angle inputs. Before, the only way to change the values was to drag the arrow controls on the graph. 

Added control for adjusting roll and bump together

    There's now a free-drag control on the graph. Left/right movement adjusts roll angle, and up-down movement adjusts bump/droop. This may make it easier to see how the vehicle rolls around a particular point, such as the roll center.

Macpherson strut added

Yesterday I uploaded a new version of VSusp which supports Macpherson strut as a suspension type.

Here's a example project link

Took a while! 
Getting the implementation done took a while - longer than I had hoped. I had to modify and clean up a decent portion of the base code in order to support both suspension types. Lots of little things cropped up here and there. For example, in double wishbone, the left and right KPI values are equal and stay constant with suspension movement, so I had only one value to output and could calculate KPI during the early knuckle calculation. But in Mac strut, KPI varies as the strut changes length, so I needed two outputs (left/right) and had to calculate KPI at the end of the suspension calculations.


Changes to the project controls:

Frame tab:

• "suspension type" - obviously Macpherson strut is now an option. In the project link, double wishbone is 0 and Mac strut is 1.

Control arm tab:

• No upper control arm length input for Mac strut. 
• Added outputs "left strut length" and "right strut length"

Knuckles tab:

• No upper ball joint input for Mac strut.
• Added input "X distance between hub and strut axis". If knuckle's hub surface is vertical (Y), this value is the distance along X (perpendicular to the center of the hub) to the center of the strut. This value determines how far inboard/outboard the strut sits in relation to the hub. It's easier to visualize by looking at the dimension highlighter as you mouse over the control.
• Added input "strut inclination angle". A strut axis which is parallel to the hub surface has a 90 degree inclination angle. 
• Added output "X loc of strut axis relative to lower ball joint". This works like "X distance between hub and strut axis", except that this is calculated at the lower lower ball joint.  A positive value means the bottom of the strut axis is inboard relative to the lower ball joint.
• Added outputs for left and right KPI
• Added outputs for left and right spindle lengths. I still need to set up the dimension highlighters for these outputs for Mac strut. The spindle length dimension highlighter works for double wishbone, so that can give you an idea in the meantime

Up next:

• Finish dimension highlighters for strut length and spindle lengths
• Add type-in support for bump/droop and roll
• Add control for adjusting roll and bump at the same time

Found problems?
If you find a bug which isn't mentioned in the known problems, feel free to mention it in the comments or send a message to admin@vsusp.com. Suggestions are always welcome, and they help me to make VSusp more useful.

Thank you!
Finally, a big thank you to everyone for the nice words and the suggestions in general!

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

• feature: added MacPherson Strut (thanks Oli):
• add some mac strut dimension highlighters (in prog)
• add mouse position indicator to graph
• update calc window for mac strut
• fix controls display/hide on toggle front/rear susp view
• disable double wishbone dim highlighters when in mac strut mode
• mac strut scrub radii routine
• fix bug: kpi lines not disappearing on reset trim
• add mac strut secondary calc routines: instant centers, roll center, kpi left/right, spindle length left/right
• improve handling of unused output controls
• fix ground_y bearing angle problem
• update tooltips in template
• add some trig utility functions
• mac strut geometry functions and robustness
• remove some unused functions, cleanup
• add mac strut steering knuckle polygon points
• copy wishbone calc routine to be modified for mac strut
• update controls displayed for mac strut vs double wishbone
• added controls and vars for mac strut
• added Macpherson Strut to suspension types
• updated help page

• added IC inclination angles to chart

first post, macpherson strut

I just added this blog, mainly to make it easy to give updates about VSusp. I've been working on adding the Macpherson strut configuration, and it's almost done. I'm expecting to finish it in a week or so. Here's a quick dev preview:

• 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)

• added autofix for bad tire size convention value from old project links (thanks Jeff)
•  removed unused init step call