(Screen shots at the bottom, for introduction)
The new interface for the vPAR Transponder is very much like the previous version. There is an ident box where you put in a callsign, preferably your VatSim callsign if that's what your connected to the virutal world with. That way, the controller logged into VatSim's network sees the same thing on both programs. If you're not connected through VatSim, no problem. Choose a decent name and go. Since the programs run outside of VatSim, you don't have to be connected to their servers, or anybody else's, to use vPAR. This box is "grayed out" when connected with any one of the sockets since you can't change your callsign data while connected.
Below that are the three connection managers, if you want to call them that. The two most important parts are an edit box allowing you to specifiy an IP and the button used to tell the Transponder to connect or disconnect. In Version 2.0, there is an ability to save commonly used IP addresses in the new dropdown boxes to save time when entering addresses visited frequently. To the right of each connection button is another edit box which you can't type in that is meant to report the connection status and many errors associated with connection.
Across the top to the right of the ident box is the Edit IP Lists button, which opens the IP List Editor form the right hand side, the "Tool Tips" toggle button which is pretty self-explanatory, I feel, and the Approach Editor button. While not really an approach editor, since it doesn't allow you to edit existing approaches, it does allow you to visually confirm data that you are planning to add to the Approaches.ini file before doing it, and it allows direct addition without having to open Notepad or another text editor to cut and paste new approaches. This part of the Transponder has nothing to do with normal usage. It has only to do with setting up approaches. Normally, only controllers looking to prepare approaches for use at an airport will have reason to look here. This window does provide position information while connected, so it may be useful during troubleshooting.
And that's it for a description of the interface. It's meant to be quite simple for the pilots, since they have enough to do already. Have a look at shots of the new program below if you'd like, and then move on to learn the quirks of usage.
vPAR Transponder at start up. It saves the last used callsign,
in this case one including the number I just can't seem to avoid.
The Approach Editor window open.
The new addition, the IP List Editor. This allows you to store commonly
used IPs in the dropdown boxes where the IP address is normally entered.