DX Central

We proudly present this second generation offer of the DX Central Desktop widget. New features and a new look are central to this version. It is designed to provide fast access to information from disparate sources in a compact and easy to use format. The v2.00 features a new interface with more graphical indicators on the summary page than version 1.xx. In addition to new indicators, the new NASA SDO images are now part of the project Courtesy of SDO (NASA) and the [AIA, EVE, and/or AIA] consortium. A basic help system has been provided from the menu or by pressing F1.

Your feedback is important for future development. If you find bugs, please report the bugs in the sourceforge.net Tracker so they can be fixed. If there is a feature you would like to see, post it in the Forums section. Please be specific and detailed. Otherwise contact the author directly.

Windows users should have XP SP3 minimum with IE7 or IE8. Testing is not complete on Windows 7. Linux has been tested successfully on Ubuntu 9.04, 9.10 and 10.04 with the latest updates as of May 18, 2010.

Your contributions thruough PayPal help to continue development of this project.

Recently awarded the Softpedia 100% free distinction for v2.00.2.
Recently named Editor's pick at Softsea.com
Recently named Editor's pick with 5 stars at Softoxi.com for v2.00.2

It is not intended to be affiliated with or associated by name to www.dxcentral.com.

DX Central general Windows and Linux Install Notes

The application has been tested on Windows XP, XP Professional, Vista, Ubuntu 9.04, 9.10 and 10.04 but may vary slightly in your Linux distro.

If the application refuses to run on your Linux system, download the source and compile the project in QtCreator on your system using the latest release from qt.nokia.com 4.5.2 minimum and gcc 4.

On Windows you must be up to date with all the latest Microsoft updates as of Nov. 15, 2009, including IE7 or IE8 (preferred). If the application does not work or partially works, this may be the problem. For the latest updates from Microsoft go to updates.microsoft.com. Failing that email the author.

On Linux there is a default setting for Qt 4 that selects font size and weight. Be sure you edit the settings to use the font name DejaVu Sans or Liberation Sans with size 10 as the default font. Also the alternate font for DejaVu Sans is BitStream Vera Sans. With these settings it is more likely to display like the Windows version. If not, you can play with these settings to get the right proportions for display. They can make quite a difference in appearance. It should also be noted that changing window style to Oxygen may not provide expected display results. It is not a recommended setting for this application.


If the desktop icon displays a caption of something like DXCentral.desktop and has a default text icon, the desktop icon properties should be edited:

1. First right click on the icon.
2. Select properties from the menu and a Properties window will appear.
3. Alter the Name Property on the Basic tab to be DXCentral.
4. If the Command Property pathname is not set to the installed DXCentral executable, it must also be altered.
5. Click on the Permissions Tab.
6. Click on the Execute Permission for user so that it has a check mark.

That is it. Now the desktop icon will start up the application.

Please feel free to email me with any problems, questions, or suggestions:
ad5xj@arrl.net

/** Revision History **
v2.00 - Released
v2.00.2 - Released fixes change in location of SDO image source after NASA web site change.

Known Bugs: Version 4.6.1+ on Linux may issue a error on some systems:
CRITICAL: atk_object_set_name: assertion `name != NULL' failed but application appears to work OK.