The Dillon XL650 Utility Program is for owners of a Dillon XL650 Progressive Loader. The program has been tested, and runs on Windows 2000, Windows XP 32/64 bit, Windows Vista 32/64 bit, and Windows 7 - 64 bit.
[ Version 1.0 is still available for download if you are running Windows 9x, or ME ]The XL650 Reloading Utility resulted from my desire to enjoy the reloading aspect of my shooting hobby using the finest reloading equipment available. And at the same time minimize my reloading costs so I could maximize my shooting fun.
Warning, Computer Geek Info Section: The first version of the program was written in the mid 1990's using Borland C++. Version 1.0 of the program had been available on my web sight until recently when I decided the program could no longer handle the needs it was designed to fulfill. Unfortunately the original source code for version 1.0 was lost to a hard disk crash shortly after it was completed. Replacing the program meant starting from scratch. The new design resulted in a modern and advanced program that surpassed the original in features and the ability to meet the growing capabilities of the Dillon XL650 Reloading Press. This new design, version 2, was written using Microsoft Visual Studio 2008, as a managed C++ Winform application built on the tried and true .Net Framework v2.0. Also, the programs database is stored in a standard XML data file. This file can be modified outside the program using any standard XML editing program such as Microsoft's XML Notepad
Ok, enough of the geek stuff. Here's the background on the original program. While researching my XL650 manual I discovered that many of the parts used to reload different caliber cartridges are interchangeable. That's to say, they can be used to load more than a single caliber. For example, the Shell plate used to load the .45 ACP Pistol cartridge, is the same Shell plate used to load the .30-06 and .270 Rifle cartridges. With this in mind, I decided a computer program could maintain a database of Conversion Kits and the individual parts that make up the Kits, and make reloading simpler and less expensive. For example, I could ask the computer "what additional caliber's can I reload with the loose XL650 parts and Conversion Kits that I already have on-hand". Likewise, I could ask the computer to look at the loose XL650 parts and Conversion Kits that I already have on-hand, and give me a list of parts I must purchase to load a specific caliber that I don't currently load.
The Dillon XL650 Utility program does this and more. The program lets you alter the database so you can keep up as Dillon offers new Caliber Conversion Kits. You can control the display to show either Rifle, Pistol or both types of Conversion Kits. You can also have the program filter the display to show only those Caliber's that use a specific part number for a Shell plate, Arm Bushing, or whatever. The program also lets you call up context sensitive help that describes the programs features. All of these operations are easily performed using the Left and Right Mouse buttons. Right click the mouse when the cursor is over any of the program's controls to get a popup menu of options. The Right Mouse button is the key to most of the programs functionality.
Download the Software
The first step to running the Dillon XL650 Utility Program is to download the software. When asked where to save it, just use the default name and location. The location is not important for this step. Just make sure that you remember where you saved it. Or you could simply choose to Download and Run the program rather than save it to disk. Some web browsers such as Firefox contain a built-in Download Manager. If you're running Firefox, simply click the download link below, then click the Save button in the Download Manager window, and when the download finishes, click the Open button.
If Run (or Open) is selected, the program will be copied to your computer, and the Setup program will be run automatically. If you download and save the program to disk, just run the SetupDillonXL650v2.exe file to start the Setup.
DOWNLOAD <--Click here to download the program. The file is ~1788 K in its compressed form.
Install
While the Setup program runs, it may need to download and install some needed software components onto your computer. The program uses the Microsoft v2.0 .Net Framework, and the Microsoft Visual C++9.0 Runtime files. Since many other programs also use these same software components, you may already have them installed on your PC. If so, they do not need to be downloaded again. However, if you don't have them already present on your PC, they will have to be downloaded and installed. Don't worry. The Setup program will automatically do this for you. I chose to make the Setup program download the files, rather than include them as part of the Dillon XL650 installation because together these two components are about 24 MB. And rather than burden the download of my program with additional files you may not need, I designed the Setup program to check your computer and only get them if they are not already installed.
The Installation program will install the files on your computer, and provide an un-install feature should you later choose to remove it (although that's highly unlikely because it's such a great piece of software).
After the program has been installed, you can delete the SetupDillonXL650v2.exe program if you choose.
NOTE: Should you have any problems running the program after it's been installed, here's a work-around that will get you up and running.
If you download and installed the program, and you get error messages when you try to run the Dillon XL650 Utility Program, do the following:
1. Click on the following link, then download and run the Microsoft Visual C++ redistributable package.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=9B2DA534-3E03-4391-8A4D-074B9F2BC1BF&displaylang=en2. If this doesn't get you running, next Click on the following link and download and run the .Net Framework 2.0 Installer from Microsoft.
http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=0856eacb-4362-4b0d-8edd-aab15c5e04f5&displaylang=enPerforming one or both of these steps should get you up and running. I apologize for the inconvenience, but in today's world, a software engineer doesn't just write a program. First you write the program, then you write the documentation for the program, then you design and write the help file for the program, then you design the Installer program that will copy and install all the necessary stuff to the target PC. Then, when you're done with all that, you go back and test and re-test the program, proof-read the documentation and help files, check your Setup program on as many PCs as you can get you hands on, and then in my case you update the web site that hosts the program. All-in-all allot of work for something I've done totally as a part-time effort. But even then, sometimes things fall through the cracks.
One more NOTE: Should you experience a misalignment of the data in the main grid columns, this could be due to a change in the System Font DPI setting from the default value of 96 DPI. Any setting other than 96 DPI can cause problems with the size and position of controls in dialog boxes or display components. To check your settings do the following:
Windows XP:
Right click anywhere on your Desktop, select Properties, select the Settings Tab, click the Advanced button, then see what your DPI setting is.
Windows Vista:
Right click anywhere on your Desktop, select Personalize, in the column at the left of the dialog box click the Adjust font size (DPI) link. Make sure 96 DPI is selected.Windows 7:
Click the Start menu button on the lower left of your screen. Click on the Control Panel menu item in the popup Start menu. Click on the Display icon in the table of configuration setting icons. Verify that text size selected is the default value of 100%.
Operation
From the Table of Contents at the left, you can browse through the Programs Help to get a better understanding how the software works.
For additional information about Dillon Reloading presses and related products,
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[]Copyright © 1996-2010 Gary James
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This page last revised: August 07, 2010