What's New

See also:
Detailed list of updates from versions:  2012, 2011, 2008 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2000, 1995

2003

2003.053: 11/01/03

• Total Activity is now shown as an extra tab in the Analysis View for Demand activity level analyses.  Total Activity shows the result of multiplying down each of the Activity Level branch chains.  A simple example is shown below.  This has been added to make it easier to immediately see the implications of the data you enter for Activity Levels.

• Error Reporting Improved: Internet communication problems could sometimes cause the error reporting screen or other email features to lock-up the whole of LEAP.  This part of the code has been changed to work in the background so that control almost immediately returns to LEAP, even before the email is sent.

• Optimization: Links to excel spreadsheets are now cached on disk between LEAP sessions, so that Excel itself only has to be opened by LEAP if the spreadsheet has been edited.  This greatly reduces calculation times for Areas with many links to Excel spreadsheets. 

• Reporting of Environmental Loadings: Environmental reports in Results view now have an extra dimension: fuels.

• Data links to TED improved: in addition to copying data from TED for emission factors you can now establish links to the data in TED that will be updated whenever the data in TED is updated.

• Automating LEAP: The latest version of LEAP includes an experimental new feature that lets you automate LEAP from any standard Windows programming language such as Visual Basic or  Delphi (which LEAP itself is written in). LEAP can also be automated using most standard scripting languages such as Visual Basic for Applications, which is built into Word, Excel and other parts of Microsoft Office. The system is experimental and currently only supports a few commands, but if there is sufficient interest the number will be increased in the future.  For more information, please see the LEAP Help files under topic: Automating LEAP.

• Updating improved.  The built-in update system has been changed to use a passive rather than an active FTP protocol.  This make the system work for those using LEAP behind an Internet firewall. 

• Export to Excel improved.   Export now has a new configuration screen, which allows you to set all of the export options.  Two new options have been added. The first lets you either export all expressions, or not export inherited expressions. The second lets you export all branches for either the current scenario or for all scenarios.

• Import to Excel improved.  Blank expressions in Excel will now cause the corresponding LEAP expression to be cleared.  This is particularly useful if you wish to reset large numbers of expressions to their inherited expressions.

• Optimization: screen refresh speed improved when entering data and navigating the tree in the Analysis View.

• Email Connectivity:  Emailing no longer requires that you have an email client such as Outlook Express or Netscape installed and configured on your PC.  Sending emails is now handled by LEAP on its own.  It only requires that your computer has a live Internet connection.

• Error logging and reporting: Errors can now optionally be sent to SEI-Boston to help resolve them.  When an error occurs, if you have a live Internet connection, LEAP will give you the option of sending an email report to SEI-Boston along with your own message and a screen-capture showing what was happening in LEAP when the error occurred.

• Charts: added ability to show line charts with X axis cutting the Y axis at the minimum value (instead of only at zero).

• Excel Links: When linking to live Excel spreadsheets, LEAP now automatically refreshes Analysis view data if Excel has been edited, and also automatically recalculates LEAP before showing results, even if no expressions have been edited.

• Moved the "What's New" page out of the Help file to reduce need for downloading updated help files.

• Splash-screen updated to match new design for LEAP web site.
• Links to Technical Support Forum updated to point to new forum.
• Optimization to improve speed of rendering fuel economy reports.

2003.029: 05/15/03

• User Variables: In addition to the many variables defined by LEAP, you can now also create up to ten of your own User Variables. Once defined, each variable will appear as a new tab in the data entry screens of the Analysis View.
• Smart Help Added to Expression Builder: The expression builder will now automatically show the help topic associated with the function highlighted in the edit box in the bottom part of the builder screen. As you click on a word in the edit box or move the edit cursor, the help topic displayed in the top half of the screen will automatically update.
• New BaselineScenario & ParentScenario Functions: New functions have been added for use when constructing alternative policy scenarios in expressions. These let you refer to the value of a variable in the baseline or parent scenario, which is useful if you want to enter changes in values ("deltas") with respect to another scenario rather than having to enter absolute values.
• New ExpInterp Function: A new function has been added that performs an exponential interpolation between specified data points. This function is similar to the Interp function that performs a linear interpolation, and takes the same parameters as that function.
• Driver Variables category on the tree has been renamed. It is now called Key Variables. The old wording had caused some confusion to those doing transportation analyses!
• Calculation Progress Dialog now displays calculation time in seconds and disables clicking on main form during calculation.

• New Results Variable: Average fuel economy can now be reported when using LEAP for Transportation analyses.

• Calculations Improved: A new type of Transformation module has been added to deal with cases where you wish to have multiple independently dispatched processes, each of which has its own output fuel. To create this type of module, choose simple, un-dispatched module on the Transformation Module Properties screen. This type of module is useful when you want to represent transport losses in a number of different fuels. Previously, this had required a separate module for each fuel, which was cumbersome to create and made for quirky-looking energy balances. For this new type of module, the output fuels folder is not used. Instead, you pick the output fuel for each process on the efficiency or loss tab. The Transformation Module Properties screen has also been updated and redesigned to accommodate this change. For more information, see the new schematic diagrams of simple modules and standard modules.
• Export to Excel/Import From Excel Improved. In addition to importing and exporting data and expressions, these now also import and export the scaling factor and units associated with most variables. This can be useful if you wish to change the scale or units of many branches at the same time (e.g. if changing the currency unit for a whole study). All you need to do is (1) export a variable from LEAP to Excel, (2) change the units by copying and pasting ranges of cells in Excel, then (3) re-import the spreadsheet.
• Charts and Tables Enhanced. When branch names are displayed in charts and tables, they will now be shown in the same order as they are listed on the Tree. Previously, branches were ordered alphabetically. Tip: you can use the Up and Down buttons on the tree toolbar to set the order of branches. In addition charts now split long axis labels into two or more lines of text.
• Sort Branches: A new option has been added to the Tree menu and pop-up, which lets you automatically sort branches alphabetically.
• Technical Support Group: added a new menu option in LEAP to allow users to automatically register for the free LEAP Technical Support Group.

• Calculations: LEAP no longer forces you to recalculate results after all edits to data. It still tells you when results need to be recalculated to ensure that results are up-to-date, but it now gives you the option of avoiding calculations and seeing previously-calculated results instead. Use this feature with care: previously calculated results may not reflect the latest edits to data.

• Installation Software Changed. Recent changes to LEAP caused problems when installing on older Windows 98 PCs, which in turn have prompted us to adopt a newer version of the InstallShield installation program. The latest version uses the standard Windows Installer, which should make installations more reliable. It also checks the target PC to ensure it has the required operating system (Windows 98 or later) and RAM before installation begins, and can also be used to repair LEAP installations.
• New Result Variable: Transformation/Unmet Requirements. Shows any requirements that remain unmet after the dispatch of a module. Note that subsequently dispatched modules or, ultimately, imports may meet these unmet requirements.
• Energy Balance Improved to show any fuel requirements that remain unmet after dispatch of all Transformation modules and after resource dispatch. This information appears as an extra row at the bottom of the balance table.
• Handling of Unmet Requirements Improved: Previously any unmet requirements for secondary fuels after the dispatch of all modules could be simulated in only two ways: either (1) assuming that imports were available to meet those requirements, or (2) by adding those unmet requirements to demand and iterating the Transformation calculations to simulate systems with energy flow feedbacks. This has now been changed to allow for an additional case (3) in which the requirements are simply left unmet. Use the Resource Properties screen to set the properties of each resource to one of these three settings.
• Improvements to Summary Reports. Now handles reports in which all units are the same more elegantly and allows absolute as well as indexed charts.

• Useful Energy Analysis for Combined Heat and Power (CHP). When conducting a useful energy demand analysis, technologies can now optionally be set to produce a co-product. For example, a demand for heat in buildings could be met through a combination of conventional furnaces as well as combined heat and power units that consume natural gas at one efficiency, while producing electricity at another efficiency. Use the Demand Branch Properties screen to specify the co-product. Note that only technologies created under a useful aggregate energy branch can have co-products. Reporting has also been improved to let users examine both net final energy demand (consumption minus co-production), gross final energy demand (final consumption only), and co-production only.
• Internet Updates Improved: The Internet-based update feature has been completely revamped to improve its reliability and to reduce the size and time of downloads. Updates have been split into separate files that allow typical program update downloads to be reduced from about 5.3 MB to about 1.4 MB. In situations where only help files or data files need to be updated, the download size will be even smaller. Also, by splitting the update into separate files the new system should work better with frequently-dropped connections, all of which should make updating LEAP easier for those with slower modem-based Internet connections. In addition the updated files are now loaded on a faster server for improved speed. For those with an always-on Internet connection, LEAP will automatically check for and notify users of available updates periodically.
• Note: because of the changes in the Update system, when first updating to version 2003.016 the download will be approximately 8 MB in size. Subsequent updates will be as small as 1.4 MB. If you do not wish to download such a large file, you can order a copy of LEAP on CD-ROM from the LEAP web site for a nominal charge.
• Improved Interface: The interface has been updated to support Windows XP user interface conventions. This does not affect users of Windows 2000 and earlier operating systems. A new menu option (View: Themes) lets you switch between standard Windows XP and Office XP-style menus.

• Improved Environmental Modeling Capabilities: Emission factors can now be entered as expressions just like other variables. This has several key advantages:

• Emissions factors can now be dynamic (i.e. change over time and vary by scenario).
• You can directly add to, override or delete emission factors within LEAP, instead of simply linking en masse to the factors specified in TED. So for example, you might first link to the IPCC factors for greenhouse gases and then add your own country- or technology-specific factors for other air pollutants.

• New Transport Modeling Capabilities: In addition to the standard activity level x energy intensity methodology, the new version introduces a new demand-modeling methodology for those doing transportation analysis. With this new methodology, energy consumption is calculated as the product of the number of vehicles, the annual average mileage (i.e. distance traveled) and fuel economy (e.g. liters/100 km or the inverse of miles/gallon). Base year stocks of vehicles are either entered directly, or are calculated from vehicle sales and a lifecycle profile describing survival rates as vehicles age. In scenarios, you enter projections for future sales of vehicles, and for future levels of fuel economy, vehicle mileage and environmental loadings of newly added vehicles. Other lifecycle profiles are used to describe how mileage, fuel economy and environmental loadings change as vehicles age. LEAP then calculates the stock average values for fuel economy, mileage and environmental loadings across all vintages and hence the total level of energy consumption and environmental loadings. Unlike the other demand modeling methods, which only allow emission factors to be specified per unit of energy consumed or produced (e.g., kg/TJ), the transport analysis methodology also optionally allows you to specify emission factors per unit of distance traveled (e.g. grammes/vehicle-mile). Finally, the new transport methodology also optionally allows you to specify how government and business fleets of vehicles get "rolled over" into the private vehicle stock after a set number of years. Fuel economy data can be entered in any unit including miles/gallon (US and UK versions) and liters/100 km. LEAP automatically converts from one unit to the other.
• Supply Curve Modeling in Transformation: You can now use the Endogenous Capacity screen in conjunction with the new Maximum Built Capacity variable to specify a supply curve in which one process is built first (up to its maximum built capacity) and thereafter other processes are added. Typically, currently available and/or cheaper technologies will be built first. For example: you might have a number of different classes of wind resources each with ascending costs, and each with different amounts of resource available. You can specify each as a separate process in LEAP, then add them all to the endogenous capacity screen. All will have the same addition order, but will be arranged in ascending build order to reflect their increasing costs. Then in LEAP's calculations, the lowest cost resource will be built up to its maximum built capacity, followed later by the other increasingly costly technologies.
• Improved Modeling of Marginal vs Average data in Transformation: Transformation modeling has been improved to allow you to optionally specify technical data (efficiencies, emission factors, maximum capacity factors) for new additions rather than as average across the whole stock of installed plants.
• Stock-Turnover Modeling Capabilities: A third demand modeling methodology has also been added (superseding a similar approach in earlier versions of LEAP). In this Stock Analysis method, energy consumption is calculated by analyzing the current and projected future stocks of energy-using devices, and the annual energy intensity of each device, based on the equation: energy consumption = stock of devices x energy intensity per device. With this approach you specify the current stock of devices and the historical energy intensity and environmental loadings of newly added devices. In scenarios, you project future additions (sales) of devices and the energy intensity and environmental loadings associated with those newly added devices. LEAP then calculates the stock average energy intensity and environmental loadings across all vintages and hence, ultimately, the overall level of energy consumption and environmental loadings.
• Scenario Templates: You can now create a "scenario template" to give easy access to the key parameters used in your scenarios. This template is used by LEAP to let you quickly review the key parameters of existing scenarios of quickly specify a new set of parameters for a new scenario. You can specify any number of key parameters in a scenario template as well as constraints on the maximum and minimum value of each parameter.
• New Excel Import/Export Feature: Two new menu options allow you to import and export large amounts of data between LEAP and Excel. The export option exports all of the data describing a single variable for a given scenario across all branches of the tree into a standard format "template" spreadsheet in Excel . The expressions used in LEAP are converted into year by year values, each of which are placed into an Excel cell. The import option performs the reverse operation. It takes the data from an Excel "template" spreadsheet and generates interpolation or step expressions to match in a LEAP scenario.
• Downloading Areas From The Internet: An extended Open Area option now allows those with an Internet connection to automatically download and open additional example data sets stored on SEI's FTP server. To use this feature, first make sure you have a live Internet connection, then select Area: Open and choose Download from Internet. LEAP will contact the SEI web site and obtain a list of available Areas, from which you can choose one to download. Downloading each data set will take a few minutes. We are in the process of creating a range of different examples, so this feature will give access to an increasing number of Areas over time.
• Improved Reporting: In the Results view, charts and tables can now be displayed showing year-on-year differences in values, or indexed values normalized to Current Accounts values (base year=1). Percentage values can now be shown in both charts and tables. Results can also now be grouped to aggregate smaller value items. This can be useful when there are so many items that the chart legend would otherwise be too tall to fit on screen. Finally, multiple pollutants can now be displayed on screen simultaneously as indexed or growth rate values.
• Improved Expressions: In previous versions of LEAP, expressions could include logical tests using logical functions (lessthan, greaterthan, and, not, etc.). However the nomenclature of these functions made them difficult to write and understand. For example to test if one value was less than another you had to write: LessThan(VariableOne, VariableTwo). The new version of LEAP now supports these tests using standard mathematical operators "<, <=, = , <>, >, >=". So you can now write VariableOne < VariableTwo. LEAP also supports use of the keywords AND, OR and NOT as standard operators. In addition, two new functions True and False have been added which return values one and zero respectively. These changes are intended to help you write simpler and more readable expressions. The older format of logical functions has been retained for backwards compatibility, with the exception of the OR, AND and NOT functions which have been renamed fnOr, fnAnd and fnNOT. These functions will automatically be renamed when opening older data sets.
• Improved Printing of Tree and Expressions: the option to print expressions has been improved and merged with the option to print the tree structure. You can now print out the tree structure, including the branch icons and all expressions for either the current variable or for all variables for the current scenario. The new option will also display the units for each variable. The print preview gives the option of printing a report, exporting it to Excel or Word or the Windows clipboard or saving it to file in a variety of standard file formats (RTF, TXT, CSV, XLS).
• Improved Summary Reports: Summaries reports can now be displayed as charts. Previously they could only be viewed as tables.
• Improved Time-Series Wizard: The linear and exponential forecast methods now have the option to force the estimated regression through the known base year value. Two new corresponding functions have been introduced.
• Improved Links to Excel: When linking your LEAP data to Excel, the specified Excel ranges can now be specified as either 2 columns x many rows or 2 rows x many columns. Previously the data had to be arranged as columns of data (years and values).
• Branch Locking: The new lock button on the tree menu is used to lock or unlock a branch and optionally any branches below it. Once locked, a branch cannot be edited.
• Calculations Optimized: Calculations are roughly three times faster than the previous version in spite of the new and more complex calculations.
• Various User Interface Improvements:

• Menu Change: A new "Analysis" menu has been added to reflect the new Excel Import and Excel Export functions, and to give easier access to the important Expression Builder and Time-Series Wizard options. These two options are now also accessible as buttons on Analysis View toolbar.
• Demand Branch Properties screen has been reorganized to make it less confusing and to provide more guidance on the selection of different analysis methods.
• Automatic Calculation: To make data entry more responsive, it is now possible to switch-off the automatic updating of charts and tables in Analysis View. To do this, select menu option: Analysis: Automatic Calculation. When automatic calculation is switched-off, you can press the F9 key to manually update charts and tables, or select menu option Analysis: Calculate Now.
• Chart Legend Ordering: Charts showing branch names are now ordered in the same way as the branches in the tree. Previously, branches in charts were ordered alphabetically.
• Scenario Manager: Scenarios can now be selected within the scenario manager. When exiting the scenario manager, the scenario selection in the analysis view will also change.
• Data Entry Tables now use an indicator in the left hand column corresponding to the item on the tree that is highlighted, making it easier to understand the relationship between data shown in the grid and the tree.
• Smarter Help in Expression Builder: The Expression Builder now shows a page of help for the first function used in an expression.
• Reset to Inherited pop-up menu options makes it easier to reset an expression to the expression entered in the parent scenario (or Current Accounts).
• Easier Reordering of Branches: two new buttons let you reorder branches, moving them up and down one branch at a time. Previously, reordering required dragging and dropping of branches.
• Automatic Splitter Resizing: to maximize size of charts and tables in Analysis View.

Note: The above list has been edited to reduce its length, by removing older bug fixes and minor changes. All changes are cumulative. Not all versions were widely distributed.