| NEW FEATURES OF KEPLER VERSION 6 NEW LOOK: The most obvious new feature of Kepler 6 is that it looks different. We re-designed much of the look of the program. There are still similarities with older versions of Kepler, but there are also significant differences. The differences in the user interface are: The main screen for viewing reports and selecting printouts has been redesigned. It is now simpler, more elegant, and more powerful. There are 4 main sections to the screen: (1) The printout (chart wheel, interpretive report, etc.) that you are viewing occupies most of the screen, (2) Printouts and other features are selected from pull down menus or icons at the top of the screen, (3) Other entries are listed in the upper right corner, and (4) A list of previously selected printouts is displayed in the lower right corner of the screen, so you can quickly re-display previously selected printouts. INTERACTIVITY AND EASE OF USE: Kepler 6.0 is much more interactive. For example, changing chart wheel features is much more fun and exciting than in previous versions of Kepler. When you change a chart wheel style in Ver 6.0, you see the actual new wheel, not just a preview, of the wheel that is selected. Customizing a Chart Wheel is fun: If you customize a wheel by adding or removing asteroids, changing the aspect set, or customizing the aspect set, etc., you see the changes immediately on the screen as you make the changes. For example, as you change aspect sets, you see the new aspect lines drawn in immediately. You can also watch asteroids, Lilith, and other points appear and disappear from the wheel as you select them and un-select them. Many of the customizing selections, such as moving or changing the size of a chart wheel, have been made more elegant and easier to use. This highly interactive approach is much more fun, exciting, and easier to use. Selecting Printouts is a Snap: In Kepler 5 there were check boxes in the data entry screen to "pre-select" a printout. These have been removed. It is easier to simply select printouts interactively and then see them. One of the advantages of the reasons for having the check boxes in the data entry screen in earlier versions of Kepler was for batch processing printing of many charts for a class or for a chart service, for example. In Kepler 6 you still have the batch printout feature by simply selecting "File" and then "Print ALL Printouts" in the pull-down menus. You can easily remove printouts from the list of previously selected printouts as well (by right-clicking on the list of printouts previously selected in the lower right corner). Cute Icons for Easy Navigation: Kepler 6.0 has pull-down menus and little icons at the top of the screen (known as speed buttons in computer lingo) for selecting printouts, customizing, etc. In Kepler 5 the printouts are selected from a list on the right side. The pull-down menus and speed buttons are more convenient and intuitive. You can also access the Avalon lessons and many other features while viewing printouts in Kepler 6. In short, Kepler 6 has simplified the program to have one main screen for viewing printouts, rather than spreading functions and features throughout the data entry screen, main data entry screen, and the viewing of the printouts. While adding many more features, we have actually made the program easier to use. Saving Printouts to file is a lot more easier: In Kepler 6.0 you can save a printout to file very easily by clicking on the speed button icon to save it. In previous versions of Kepler saving to file required returning to the data entry screen or main menu first. You can left-click on the icon to save the report to file, or you can right-click on the icon to bring up the settings like file size, file format, etc. This gives you the ability to quickly get things done without first viewing the options, or to view and change the options when desired with ease. Printout Screens: Printout selections now appear in up to 3 sizeable windows. Graphic printouts like wheels are in one window, AstroMaps in a different window, and interpretations in another window. These windows, or frames, overlap and can be brought to the foreground by simply clicking on them. The multiple windows is handy, because you can view more than one selection at a time on the screen, but even more important is the ability to quickly bring up any previously selected printout, as mentioned above. The Kepler Workshop features, as in earlier versions of Kepler, also appear in a separate program module. These features allow you to jump between different items you want to see quickly and easily. In short, Kepler 6 is more interactive, more streamlined and elegant than previous versions of Kepler! DATA ENTRY: The data entry screen has been simplified and improved! It is now easier to change the category of charts being viewed, such as viewing only famous people, or only your own chart, or to choose more specific categories like baseball players, scientists, etc. At the Data Entry screen, you can now easily select the house system, enter the birth data accuracy rating, select the coordinate system, ayammsaha, etc. NEW CHART WHEELS: We added 3 chart wheel styles that are used in the Huber system of astrology: a Huber style wheel, a Huber house wheel, and a Huber Mondknoten wheel. We also added a large wheel with a very large inner circle that is used by some harmonic astrologers; this wheel style could be customized in previous versions, but now it is a pre-set wheel style. We also added a new wheel style that has all tables removed, as a convenience because several customers told us that they were customizing a wheel style to be this way. It is also much easier to add or remove planets from the wheel, and the results are seen immediately in the new interactive style of Version 6, as mentioned above. Adding additional aspect sets, and the customizing of aspect sets is more flexible and easier to use. There are also new features like varying thickness aspect lines depending on the strength of the aspect, and also "toothpick style" varying width aspect lines. Toothpick style lines are thicker in the center and narrow to a point at the ends (like a toothpick) and look elegant and are easier to see than lines that are simply thicker. Toothpick style varying width lines have been used in the Huber system for decades and can be used in any style chart wheel. LILITH, COASCENDANT, & POLAR ASCENDANT IN CHART WHEELS: You can now put the CoAscendant, Polar Ascendant, mean black moon Lilith, and true black moon Lilith in the chart wheel. ASTROMAPS: You can now produce local space maps, geodetic maps, and zodiac sign maps. Zodiac sign maps are AstroMaps that show where the zodiac sign of the Ascendant and MC change. Another new feature is the ability to print an AstroMap in larger sizes, with the information at the top and bottom in smaller type. Ability to select the color of the water and land has been added. We also added a feature to selecting AstroMaps: if you select a geographic region with a town at the center, that town can be placed in the map; this is a minor improvement but is helpful when picking a very small town that otherwise may not appear in the map. View distances between any two points and the relocated Asc and MC can be displayed while moving the mouse over the AstroMap. RELOCATION REPORT: Kepler Ver 6.0 includes a relocation interpretive report, and you can pop up this interpretation on the screen for any spot by clicking on the AstroMap. This is an excellent interpretive report that includes interpretations of minor aspects and midpoints structurs as well as major aspects. Frankly, Kepler 4.7 and 5 went way beyond what is available in any AstroMap software, and in Kepler 6 we continue to make even more improvements. No other program allows you to see the orbs of AstroMap lines and combine meaningful information so nicely as Kepler. NEW BOOKS FOR UNDERSTANDING ASTROMAPS: David Cochrane wrote a small book called AstroLocality Magic, which explains the theory and research that we have done specifically on the Friendship and Family Treasure Map, and this helps explain the breakthrough that Treasure Maps bring to AstroMaps. He also wrote a second book: "Astrology for the 21st Century". INGRESSES AND ECLIPSES: In the data entry screen you can now select ingresses of planets into zodiac signs (the time that a planet enters a zodiac sign) and eclipses and/or lunations. This allows you to easily bring up a chart wheel of the Sun entering Capricorn, for example, or of the upcoming new and full moons. HOUSE SYSTEMS: Campanus, Porphyry, Placidus, Equal, Regiomontanus, Planet-on-Asc., Koch, Sun-on-Ascendant, Whole Sign, Meridian, Topocentric, Morinus, Zero Aries. TIME LINE FORMAT: Improvements to Time Line Format Transits: We made a few improvements, like the ability to display a thin red strip to indicate retrograde and/or a green strip to indicate direct motion of the transit or progressed planet along the bottom of each time line bar. You can also include the house position and/or zodiac sign or exact position of a the transiting and natal planets along the left side, next to the aspect that occurs. COORDINATE SYSTEM: You can now select a Mundoscope, Dwadasamsa Chart, Antiscia Chart, Contra-Antiscia chart, Declination Longitude Equivalent Chart, as well as combining some of these concepts in the Declination Longitude Equivalent Antiscia Chart, and Declination Longitude Equivalent ContraAntiscia Chart. You may not be familiar with these concepts, but there are some astrologers who have asked for these techniques so we added them. DEGREE MEANINGS ACCORDING TO 11 AUTHORS: Another new feature is Interpretations of planets in degrees according to 11 different authors. In Kepler 5 we added the Sabian Symbols, but there are also other symbolic interpretations of degree meanings by other astrologers. This report provides you the degree meanings of each planet according to 11 different authors. You can also obtain a Harmonic Degree Meanings report; this report gives degree meanings and the harmonic sign influences that are presented in the book Astrology for the 21st Century by David Cochrane. ASTEROIDS: The positions of Varuna, Ixion, Quaoar, Rhadamanthus, and Chaos can be displayed. These are 5 newly discovered asteroids known as Centaur objects, and have created a lot of excitement among both astronomers and astrologers. MUNKASEY'S MIDPOINT WEIGHTING ANALYSIS: The Munkasey Midpoint Weighting analysis can be produced. A listing of planetary hours throughout the day a person is born, and the ancient western essential dignities table can be produced. NUMEROLOGY REPORT: A Numerology Report can be produced. This report analyzes the vowels, consonants, and total score of the person's name and/or birth date. This report was the Athena Numerology Report that is now included with Kepler. NEW PLANET LISTINGS: A listing of planets conjunct antiscia and ContraAntiscia points can be produced, and also a listing of planets conjunct antiscia and ContraAntiscia points in another person's chart (synastry) can be produced. IMPROVED ARABIC PARTS: Arabic Parts can now be sorted by Zodiac Position, Arabic Part Name, or by Planets in the Arabic Part Formula. AUTO-ADJUSTMENT OF CHART WHEELS FOR PUBLSHING: If you produce newsletters, write books, or other printed materials on astrology, this feature will interest you. When saving a chart wheel to file for the purpose of printing that chart wheel in a book, article, or other publication, there are several adjustments to the wheel that can make the wheel more attractive. If, for example, you print the wheel at a fairly small size of 3 to 5 inches in diameter, you are likely to find that simply shrinking the wheel in the manner that a photocopy machine or most graphic programs shrink the wheel is inadequate. The planet positions shrink so much that they may be unreadable, so the planet sizes may need to be increased, and other subtle adjustments such as allowing increased space between the planets to allow for their greater size, etc. is needed. What seems like a simple project of saving a chart wheel to print in a publication actually can involve complex operations to make the wheel as readable and attractive as possible. We have added an auto-adjust for publishing feature which makes adjustments, and you can also customize, the adjustments, thereby improving the quality of the publication with less effort. E-MAILING REPORTS IS A SNAP: In late 2002 we added some new features to Kepler 5 to provide additional options when e-mailing a printout to someone. These features make it unnecessary to enter the Internet settings that were previously required in order to e-mail from within Kepler. If you purchased Kepler 5 before September 1, 2002 and do not plan to upgrade to Kepler 6 and you want these new e-mail features, you can download the update to Kepler 5 from our website (www.AstroSoftware.com). AOL and MSN however are not compatible with this feature. ADVANCED KEPLER TRAINING SEMINARS: Like the online automated chart service feature of Kepler, this is a feature of Kepler that does not appear on your screen while running the program, but it is very powerful and very important. We have started giving one-day seminars on the Kepler program, and the response from customers has been incredible. To spend an entire day learning all the new features and advanced features of Kepler is wonderful. In addition you meet other users of Kepler and discuss ways in which they use the software in their astrological practices, businesses, studies, and research. The Kepler program is so rich with features and tools and allows you to creatively develop your own ideas that the possibilities are almost limitless. Perhaps best of all, the Advanced Kepler Training Seminars are very inexpensive or free to owners of the Kepler program. Why are they free or very inexpensive? Because the excitement and enthusiasm that they generate draws new customers and purchases of additional products. We don't need to charge fees to cover the entire cost of these seminars. Also, it's our way to say "Thank You" for your support and give you the training and networking that will enhance your work in astrology. We plan to offer Advanced Kepler Training Seminars about 3 or 4 times a year. For a list of currently scheduled seminars, click here. The above list is only new features of Kepler Ver 6.0; there are, of course, the huge number of features that are already included in Kepler. We have not described every new feature of Kepler Ver 6.0 but these are most of the major new features. NEW REPORT OPTIONS: In the past 2 years several new interpretive report options have been made available. One of these reports, the AstroLocality Report, is included with Kepler Ver 6.0. The AstroLocality Report provides about 1 page of analysis of any location. Major and minor aspects, as well as midpoint structures, are interpreted. The most powerful influences appear at the top of the report, and the less powerful influences appear later in the report. In addition to producing reports for any town or city, you can also click on AstroMaps to pop up this interpretation on the screen for any point on the AstroMap. The Canine Report by Linda Frano is an excellent report for dog lovers. The Canine Report isn't just a cute little report about your dog. It is an in-depth look at the issues and concerns that dog owners have, written by an exerienced astrologer who also has been involved in caring for dogs and other animals. The Compatibility and Conflict Report by Dorothy Oja has been very popular since its introduction about 2 years ago, and we have had requests for a version that applies to non-romantic relationships; the Compatibility and Conflict Report for Business or Friends is now available to meet this need. Dorothy, as usual, has very carefully crafted the words to address specific issues that can arise, and this report, like the original Compatibility and Conflict Report (now called the Compatibility and Conflict Report for Marriage and Romance), is a refreshingly new and revealing look at business relationships and friendships. The Centaur Report by Philip Sedgwick has been expanded and improved and renamed as the Galactic Report. Philip Sedgwick is widely recognized as an authority and pioneer in the area of deep space astrology. The Galactic Report is a serious and detailed look at the influence of centaur objects and black holes in the birth chart. Gina Ronco has long been recognized as one of our most exceptional and prolific authors; she has done it again with her new forecast report: the Starlight Solutions Forecast Report. Gina wanted a forecast report that would clearly state the positive and negative potentials of a transit-to-natal aspect,and present the reader with clear and direct advice on ways to maximize the positive potential. The Starlight Solutions Forecast is the result, and it is an empowering and revealing report that provides guidance and direction as well as analysis and information about upcoming astrological influences in your life. The Elie Natal Report is a new natal report which currently is available only in French. This report by astrologer Benedict Elie is detailed, insightful, and thorough, and is about 60 pages long. THE AVALON SCHOOL OF ASTROLOGY: The Avalon lessons feature of Kepler is also the basis for the curriculum in The Avalon School of Astrology. The Avalon School of Astrology is located in Gainesville, Florida. A two-year program is offered. Classes will begin in August. Enrollments are now being accepted. Thanks also to our translators, authors, graphic artists, and distributors for your valuable contributions, as well as to you, our customers, who make all this possible through your support, encouragement and suggestions. REGULAR UPGRADE PRICE: The upgrade prices to Kepler Ver 6.0 are the same as they were to Version 5.0. The upgrade price for owners of Kepler Ver 4.5 or later is still $75, and the upgrade price for owners of earlier versions of Kepler and Pegasus are also unchanged. For details, click on the link below to the order form in PDF format. SHIPPING COST INCREASE: Federal Express shipping cost went up in January of 2003. We did not pass this increase until Kepler 6 was released. To view this pricing increase, view the order form below in PDF format. USPS shipping costs remains the same. USPS shipping prices are likely to increase around June, 2003. Click here to order online with a credit card from our secure order page, or view the order form in PDF format. |
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