FastStats release notes 2024

Our FastStats development team works using quarterly releases. Scroll down to see the FastStats quarterly releases from this year.

Note: Since the Q2 2023 release, all tiers of Apteco software now require a minimum of the .NET Framework 4.7.2 or later to be installed.

Note: Please see Notes for administrators for steps to be completed before applying a quarterly upgrade to your Apteco software.

FastStats Q1 2024 software release

New features and improvements

Analysis

New and more powerful selection capability for selector variables

The options for making selections using selector type variables have been extended and, in addition to working with the traditional variable picklist, you can now search for categories in the same way as when working with text variables. For example, for a selector comprising thousands of product categories, you could select based on a code or description that begins with, ends with, or contains particular characters.

Selection Capability for Selector Variables

Selecting using this freeform mechanism brings the additional benefit of ensuring that, if new categories meeting the defined criteria are subsequently added to the underlying data, they will also be picked up when the selection is re-run.

See Using variables in selections: Selector variables.

Banded date/datetime expression columns in data grids

You can now create and add a banded date expression as a column in a data grid. Simply right drag your date expression onto a data grid and select from the list of possible date/datetime bandings, specifying the start and end year for the expression being calculated.

Banded Date/Datetime Expression Columns in Data Grids

This development forms part of ongoing work which allows you to use a banded date or date time expression without first needing to create a virtual variable.

See How do I use expressions in a data grid?

Drive times and drive distances extended to allow partial minutes or miles

In interactive maps and the Drive Zone wizard, drive times now support seconds and drive distances support part-miles.

Drive Times and Drive Distances

Penetration maps - mapping options

Penetration maps offer the ability to use an external file to display a column of results against which to compare records in your FastStats system. You can now apply mapping to postal sector and district to convert the external information into standard FastStats formats.

See Expressions: Mapping options for List and File functions.

Expressions

TextListMapping - this new function takes the elements of a text list and allows you, for example, to apply a postcode mapping, or upper, lower, or proper case mapping.
TextListFromFile - this function has been extended to include optional mapping when reading a text list from a column in a file.

See Expressions: Mapping options for List and File functions.

Bug fixes

Area	Description
Variables	Fixed an issue in Custom Date Rules where the date was hardcoded to start at 21/11/2012. Now set to today’s date.
Wizards	Fixed an issue in the Drive Zone and Point to Point wizards where the description override did not work.
	Fixed an issue to disallow [centrepoint] in the description of a single flag array drive zone variable, or a single variable created via the Point to Point wizard.
	Fixed an issue where latitude and longitude geoformats should be set in the Location Geocoder wizard.
Virtual Variables	Fixed an issue where a virtual variable created via the expression wizard could have descriptions but not references in it after editing but making no changes.