Panning and scrolling over charts worked very well, with smooth chart quilting. VNS provides two different modes to move over charts: hand panning and cursor mode. The hand panning Toolbar button is a traditional interface, letting you pan a chart by dragging a hand icon. Information about an object is displayed by hovering, which opens a small pop-up window of information. Cursor mode also pans over a chart, but it accesses a wide range of additional features and tools, including lassoing to zoom, interrogating objects, displaying object data in the NavBar, and pan-scrolling in eight compass directions by pointing to the edge of the chart.

Autoscroll Mode is a particularly handy feature when underway. VNS uses the position of your vessel to automatically keep the boat in the chart window. You can choose from one of three Autoscroll Modes, depending on your viewing preferences. Look-Ahead keeps the vessel image at the edge of the chart window, opposite the side where you are traveling. Following the Predictor keeps the predictor centered in the chart window, allowing a user-defined forward projection to be your navigational emphasis. Follow the Boat keeps the vessel centered in the chart window.

We found that VNS did get bogged down with certain chart display tasks. Most noticeably, charts lagged and were sluggish when the Tides and Currents option was turned on. Similarly, the search engine is a bit slow, particularly during a new search. An alternate approach is to use the "Locate This" feature within the Chart Table, which lets you shortcut directly to a particular known location or object.

If you need to return to a particular chart, scale, or chart location, the Bookmark feature is handy. Typing the function key "F10" flips the display back to your "bookmarked" chart location. We liked this feature so much we wondered why VNS only included a single bookmark capability.

The SplitScreen option lets you display a 3D Navigator window and a vector chart window simultaneously. VNS allows you to navigate in full 3D mode using its 3D Navigator feature. Charts can be rotated and displayed course up.

For viewing raster charts, Nobeltec integrates a software feature called CrystalView (see photos). Unlike Macintosh OS X computers, which have built-in Quartz technology to sharpen screen images, PCs must have these enhanced rendering capabilities added into each software application. VNS includes this technology, with a right-click option or a Toolbar button turning CrystalView on or off for all charts.

JEPPESEN MARINEUnlike the built-in Macintosh OS X Quartz technology, PC programs must improve screen rendering in software. Nobeltec's solution is called CrystalView: on (top) and off (bottom).