MicroSurvey STAR*NET 13

STAR*NET has been trusted to deliver high-quality adjustments since 1986. It has become the industry standard in many regions and is globally recognized among land surveyors today. MicroSurvey STAR*NET provides efficient data management, editing, analysis tools, thorough reports, and the flexibility to integrate data from multiple hardware sources and manufacturers easily. STAR*NET 13 introduces a method of identifying repeated point IDs with an inconsistent description. For example, a field crew codes point 10 as Nail, then a few months later, that point is coded as Drillhole. When resolving an adjustment, this is a potentially important piece of information we now bring to attention. To accommodate this, the maximum description length has also been extended to avoid truncating longer descriptions. We accompany this exciting feature with many bug fixes to ensure a smooth experience.

What’s New in Version 13

What’s New

• Inconsistent Description checking and handling feature. This feature will go through all input *.dat files and compare the descriptions for repeated point ID’s of non-SS records. When there are differences in those descriptions, they can be appended using a user-customizable delimiter of up to 10 characters. This appended description is shown everywhere descriptions appear. This is enabled by default, on the Special tab of the Project/Company Options. The legacy behaviour option is First Description.
• Inconsistent Description Summary option on the Project/Company Options Listing tab. This summary in the listing will list each occurrence of a point ID with its description and a link to the file line to inspect and make edits where desired. The point ID’s will only be included if they are flagged as having an inconsistent description. For your convenience, repeated sideshots are also listed after the network stations.
• You can now change the font used for the network plot window. The default is set to Arial.
• We increased the maximum length of a description from 48 to 128 characters. Descriptions longer than this will be truncated.
• When creating a custom coordinate system, we added a prompt indicating that a colon (:) is required in the system name.
• On the licensing dialogue, the network license Activate and Deactivate buttons are greyed out when they cannot be used, such as when a license is checked out for offline use.
• Leica DBX Converter: Sets of angles now combine face 1 and face 2 3D observations into one direction set for each set.
• Leica DBX Converter: Sets of angles includes a total number of observations measured when displaying the Average of the shots.
• Updated the driver to communicate with USB licenses.

Bug Fixes 

• The import GPS vector count was incremented by two (rather than one) for each vector imported.
• Descriptors for Leica GPS data are now imported with the option “Import Descriptors when Present”.
• Degree Minute Second symbols in a FieldGenius for Windows raw file would not import into StarNet.
• Some FieldGenius for Android raw files would fail to import due to a change in file encoding.
• Find Point could not find observations when a *.dat file was larger than 4 MB.
• StarNet 12 could not be installed on a Virtual Machine.
• When double-clicking on a point number in a *.dat file before running an adjustment, StarNet would crash.
• A floating network license could not be checked out for offline use.
• Some options in the Company Options were not being saved to apply to new projects.
• Selecting multiple *.dat files in the Input Files section using Shift + Click would cause some *.dat files to be excluded from the adjustment.
• The listing toolbar would sometimes not be displayed.
• Leica DBX Converter: When a set of angles is disabled, the DB and DE lines are not commented out, causing an error message.

Important Notes

Activating or Updating your USB License Key

Software licenses are stored on the USB key.  These must be activated after a new purchase, and usually require manual updates when new versions of MicroSurvey STAR*NET are released.

The process is the same for both; click here for detailed instructions.

The USB License Manager program is automatically installed with MicroSurvey STAR*NET; it can be found in the STAR*NET folder in your start menu.  Open it with your USB key inserted and click the “Update Key with New Information” button.

You must have an internet connection to use the USB License Manager.  You may download the program and install it on another computer to update keys when corporate policy and firewalls prevent access from your work network.

Annual Maintenance Subscription (AMS) Program

If your AMS has expired, you may not be able to update your key to the current version of MicroSurvey STAR*NET.

For a detailed explanation of the AMS program and how we use product numbers and USB keys to license our software, please review the following article.

Each key has a different AMS plan, so multiple keys may not have the same expiry date.

You can confirm your AMS expiry date by reviewing the About screen found in the Help menu.

If your AMS has expired, you can phone us at 1-800-668-3312 or 1-250-707-0000 to renew it. Without a current maintenance subscription plan, you may not be able to update your key to work with the new version.

MicroSurvey License Portal for Floating License Users

If you have purchased a floating license, you may visit microsurvey.com/license to review usage statistics on your license.

After purchase, you will be asked to create a login for the portal.

Log in to the portal, click "Licenses & Activations", then the desired license to review its details.

MicroSurvey License Server for Network License Users

If you have purchased a network license, you must download and install a copy of the MicroSurvey Network License software on your intended license server computer.

A password is required to install the License Server.

System Requirements

MicroSurvey STAR*NET 13 is compatible with 64-bit versions of Windows 10 and Windows 11.

A free USB port is required for the USB License Key (local workstation or network server)

Full administrator rights are required to install MicroSurvey STAR*NET 13, but it can be run by limited user accounts.

For detailed system requirements and recommendations, please review this online article.

Run as Administrator

You must run the program at least once elevated with "Run as administrator" access.

Clicking “Run” from the installation package does this automatically.

If this step is skipped, you may run as administrator by doing the following:

Right click on the MicroSurvey STAR*NET 13 icon.

Choose "Run as administrator".

Select "Yes" on the "User Account Control" dialog when prompted to allow the program to make changes to your computer.

After this step is complete, you may run the program from any user account on the computer, even if they do not have administrative privileges.