After downloading the Windows installer, execute it.  The installer will sit there with a splash screen from MindVision, who are kind enough to make it available gratis to freeware and shareware developers.  Click on the splash screen to continue installing.

The program currently implements two major systems of primary directions, and selection among several static keys for mapping primary arcs to time.

1.  Classical Ptolemaic directions.  In this system, called "zodiacal" in the program, the ecliptic projections of bodies and points are directed  to other ecliptic projections.

2.  Classical Placidian mundo directions.  In this system, the bodies themselves are directed to other bodies and points.  In other words, the directions are taken with radix latitude.

I currently have no plans for "under the pole" Regiomontanus, Placidus or Topocentric directions.  I do plan to implement Svarogich's " conform directions "  as soon as I can get to them.  Filtering of directions, so one can choose which s/he wishes to see, is also in the works.

The program has been designed for portability to multiple platforms.  In fact, I develop it on Linux.  It's been tested on several Linux distributions and on Solaris.  I see no reason it shouldn't work on any UNIX platform with an Ada compiler (basically GNAT, the GNU Ada compiler) and a port of GTKAda .  The source distribution with builder is at the bottom of this page.   For support issues, contact me at:  falis@verizon.net

The program is based on the Astrodienst Swiss Ephemeris, which you'll need to obtain if you are building the program.  The Windows binaries come with a current set of ephemeris files and all necessary ephemeris code.  Ephemeris files for other time ranges and for asteroids and minor planets may be obtained from the Swiss Ephemeris site.

My thanks to Alessandro Barone for the immediate impetus to get the Ptolemaic system of primary directions module done, and to Rumen Kolev for his comprehensive insights into the various systems of primary directions.  Rumen has a couple of booklets available that provide a very good introduction to primaries ( zenith@mbox.digsys.bg ).  The booklets are also available from AstroAmerica Books.

News:

17-Sep-06:  Modified calculated directions from aspects of promissors to aspects of significator.  This is consistent with other programs such as Solar Fire and Placidus. Mac OS X has not been updated.

19-Aug-06:   Added support for bodies that have 6 digit Swiss Ephemeris codes (such as UB313).  This is in AF_Update.exe and astroframes_src.tgz.  OS X version not yet updated.

08-May-06:   First cut at Mac OS X. Built for PPC; works fine on X86 using Rosetta. Requires X11. Unzip and see README for installation instructions.

25-Mar-06:   New source archive and Windows binary update extend names in directions list to 3 characters. Follow 21-Feb-05 instructions for Windows binary update.

14-Jan-06:   New source archive and Windows binary update correct problem with selecting default events directory. Follow 21-Feb-05 instructions for Windows binary update.

17-Dec-05:   New source archive and Windows binary update improve window layouts. Follow 21-Feb-05 instructions for Windows binary update.

22-Feb-05:   New source archive that supports easier builds on Windows.  This
version requires GNAT 5.02A or more recent.

21-Feb-05:  The Windows executable and required DLLs incorporating the last update is now available below.  The self-extracting zipfile will place them in a directory you designate.  Follow the instructions in Readme.txt.

13-Feb-05:  Updated GTK2 source release version to use Svarogich house calculations instead of Topocentric.  These sources can be built on Windows and UNIX-like OS's with GTK2 and Ada support.  Binary for windows pends on finding a new "free beer" installer program.

20-Feb-04:  Updated sources to use GTK2, GNAT 3.15+ and GNAT project files.

Last updated 07 December 2008