Download the latest version
At the moment, SearchWell will only run on a Windows computer ...... the IOS version is coming in the future.
The latest version
The latest version of SearchWell is Version 05-48-260421 which was uploaded on 2026-04-25.
You will find the version number of the file that you currently have in the bottom left hand corner of the main Menu Screen.
The changes that have been made
In the table below, the "Importance" column describes whether or not the change is a critical one:
•Critical - this indicates that there was a change to the way the system works that is very important and will affect all use of the system
•Moderate - this means the change is only relevant if you use a specific section of the system, or certain conditions
•Tweek - these changes will be more cosmetic and superficial
|
Date |
Version Number |
Importance |
Description |
|
2026-04-21 |
05-48-260421 |
Upgrade |
- Add the ability to create a GPX or a Google Maps location pin from within the Points section. |
|
2026-03-12 |
05-48-260312 |
Upgrade |
Allow the user to switch off the test to see if the particle or casualty is on land in both the Test Drift and the calculation that uses forecasts |
|
2025-03-03 |
05-47-260303 |
Critical |
BUG FIX: when using a test drift to calculate the Datum, the system shows all random points on land. |
|
2025-03-02 |
05-47-260302 |
Critical |
BUG FIX: if the casualty is not moving at all the DST tried to divide by zero |
|
2025-02-10 |
05-47-260210 |
Critical |
MOD: USA forecast download change |
|
2025-12-27 |
05-47-260115 |
Critical |
BUG FIX: in the forecast download when doing a reverse datum calculation |
|
2025-12-24 |
05-47-251224 |
Upgrade |
Force message boxes to appear on top of forms |
|
2025-11-17 |
05-47-251117 |
Upgrade |
In the Datum section the drift path will be yellow for the USA forecast and green for the EUR forecast |
|
2025-11-13 |
05-47-251113 |
Upgrade |
Create KML files as well as GPX files for Drift path and search areas, and also for search patterns |
|
2025-11-08 |
05-47-251108 |
Upgrade |
The KML file no longer has points along the track but is controlled using a time slider |
|
2025-10-29 |
05-47-251029 |
Critical |
BUG FIX: There was a problem with the labels of the test drift calculation in the GPX file. The time label for each point in the drift was 1 hour ahead of what it should have been. This has been corrected. |
|
2025-10-15 |
05-47-251015 |
Upgrade |
Include the ability to see if the casualty or random particle is on land or at sea, and indicate this in the KML file. THIS REQUIRES THAT A FILE GEBCO.nc IS DOWNLOADED AND STORED IN THE DATA SUBFOLDER so either download the ZIP file, or download SearchWell.exe and GEBCO.nc independantly |
|
2025-10-14 |
05-47-251015 |
Upgrade |
Create a 'compound' drift path when calculating a Datum position using a Test Drift, so that one can see the drift progress hour by hour. |
|
2025-09-29 |
05-46-250929 |
Critical |
BUG FIX: In the Datum section, when launching a vessel to calculate the Datum time, there was a problem, in certain circumstances, with downloading the forecasts. |
|
2025-09-17 |
05-46-250917 |
Tweek |
Add an info button to the Search Pattern section that displays the Sweep Width table when clicked |
|
2025-09-12 |
05-46-250912 |
Moderate |
Add the ability to create a GPX file from points collected from outside SearchWell eg a Search Area that is not directly related to a calculated Datum position |
|
2025-09-17 |
05-45-250907 |
Moderate |
Modify the Leeway Table with the latest research results from A Allen (2018) for Kayak, Surf Board, SUP and Canoe |
|
2025-09-06 |
05-45-250906 |
Tweek |
Improve the error message that is displayed if you try and open SearchWell, but the database cannot be found. |
|
2025-08-25 |
05-44-250825 |
Moderate |
In the Datum section, change the options available for the LKP Probability Confidence levels to be more informative - THIS REQUIRES THAT THE NEW DATABASE IS DOWNLOADED. |
|
2025-08-22 |
05-43-250820 |
Tweek |
In the Datum section, when calculating the Datum using OWN forecasts, the output file names will reflect OWN instead of EUR. |
|
2025-08-20 |
05-43-250820 |
Moderate |
In the Datum calculation, if a vessel launch is used to calculate the Datum time, we have included the ability to change the launch station instead of only displaying the launch coordinates for the default station |
|
2025-08-16 |
05-42-250816 |
Moderate |
Correct the fact that it was possible, in certain circumstances, that the lower definition forecasts did not download information if the drift time is only 1 hour. |
|
2025-08-10 |
05-42-250810 |
Tweek |
Change the way we see the folder and file name in the Datum output |
|
2025-08-04 |
05-41-250727 |
Tweek |
Remove the search box around the random points in the Datum KML |
|
2025-07-27 |
05-41-2507-27 |
Moderate |
In the LKP calculations - show the Station and MagneticVariation on the forms - this allows the user to change the station and therefore the default Magnetic Variation. At the same time it also allows the user to change the Magnetic Variation to a more updated one. |
|
2025-07-10 |
05-40-250710 |
Tweek |
CSVtoKML - remove the funny characters at the start of the first line Include the Date in the record for sorting purposes instead of just sorting on the time |
|
2025-07-01 |
05-39-250701 |
Tweek |
Display the DD and the DDM coordinates rather than just the DD |
The files required for SearchWell
•The program code is found in a file called SearchWell.exe. We have also created a SearchWell.bat file so that you can see the progress when you load SearchWell.exe (which, on some computers, can be quite slow)
•The information that is stored and used by SearchWell is saved on your computer in a sub-folder called Data in a file called SearchWell.db
These files can be saved anywhere on your computer, but I would strongly recommend that they are saved in their own folder eg C:\SearchWell\
It is important to understand that any information that you have added to SearchWell eg new Points, are stored in the file SearchWell.db in the sub-folder called Data. This means that you can upgrade the code and keep your data
It also means that if you download and extract the ZIP file or the Database file you will loose any data that you may have added.
If you need to recopy your SearchWell.db file for some reason, you can always recover the changes you have made to the Points table by importing the changes
Changes to the Points table
If you have made changes to the Points Table and you need to overwrite your SearchWell.db with a new file, there are one of two methods that can be followed so that you do not loose the changes you have made -
1.First option -
oUnder the Utilities menu you can export the Points table before you copy the new version of SearchWell.db onto your computer (see Export and Import the Points Table)
oThen copy the new version of SearchWell.db onto your computer
oGet back into SearchWell and import the points that you exported previously
2.Second option -
oSearchWell automatically creates a text file called "PointsTableChanges.csv" whenever the Points table information is changed (the information for a point is changed, a new point is added or a point is deleted) which is saved on your C: drive in the "SearchWell Output Files" folder in a sub-folder called Data. This file can be imported into the new Points Table using the Import section (see Export and Import the Points Table)
Unfortunately changes made to the Points Table in Version 4 of SearchWell cannot be carried into Version 5.
Download the file
We require that you complete a Google Form with your name, the station or organisation you belong to and your email address ..... this is required so that we can communicate with you when there are notices eg upgrades to the program.
Created with the Personal Edition of HelpNDoc: Streamline Your CHM Help File Creation with HelpNDoc