Bowties v0.1.7

See the assets below to download and install this release of Bowties.# Release Notes — v0.1.7

Bug Fixes

Configuration not loading on some nodes

When reading configuration from certain nodes — particularly Tower LCC and other nodes with limited memory — Bowties would sometimes display incomplete settings or fail silently with no indication that anything went wrong. This has been fixed. Configuration data now loads reliably from all tested node types.

Bowties disappears from other nodes' view after a hub restarts

If a hub or gateway was restarted, other nodes and tools on the layout would sometimes lose track of Bowties and it would appear to have gone offline. Bowties now responds correctly to all the ways other devices can ask "who's connected?", so it stays visible on the network at all times.

Improvements

Node information refreshes automatically after a reboot or factory reset

If you reboot a node or perform a factory reset from another tool, Bowties now detects that the node has restarted and automatically refreshes its name, description, and protocol information in the node list. Previously you had to disconnect and reconnect to see the updated state.

More reliable connections through hubs and gateways

Bowties was connecting too eagerly — it would start communicating before some hubs and bridges were fully ready, and it wasn't waiting long enough to settle in with the rest of the network. This occasionally caused nodes to appear missing right after connecting, especially when going through JMRI's LCC Hub or a Wi-Fi bridge. Bowties now pauses briefly after connecting and takes a moment to establish itself, which should make these "invisible node" problems much less common.

Dropped connections are now detected

If the device you're connected to (a hub, bridge, or computer running JMRI) loses power, drops off Wi-Fi, or otherwise goes silent, Bowties will now detect this and report the connection as lost. Previously, Bowties would wait indefinitely with no feedback, leaving you wondering whether it was still working.

Better compatibility with older and simpler nodes

Some older or simpler nodes respond to certain network queries with a "not supported" reply rather than just staying silent. Bowties now recognizes these replies and moves on immediately, instead of waiting for a timeout. This makes the node discovery process faster and less error-prone on layouts with mixed hardware.