What's New in Vesta
Keep up with the latest releases, improvements, and fixes to Vesta that streamline your workflow. Subscribe below to be notified when a new version is released.
July 2026
Every analysis, one guided path
Choose what you want to find out and Vesta takes it from there — twelve analysis methods, three levels of guidance, and a summary at the end that explains what the result actually means. Plus new space-time interaction tests, and imports that can join a map you already have.
Guided Analyze wizard for every method New
One wizard now runs all twelve analysis methods. Pick Automatic, Simple, or Expert guidance depending on how much control you want, and finish with a plain-language summary of what your result means.
See how outbreaks travel: space-time interaction tests New
Test whether cases cluster in space and time together — not just one or the other. Knox, Jacquez k-NN, and Direction tests now work end to end, reading event times directly from Vesta's own time structure.
Add data to a map you already have New
An import can now add its variables to an existing geography instead of always arriving as a separate dataset. Imports also explain what happened along the way: unmatched boundary joins, unavailable inputs, dropped records, adjustments made on your behalf, and any fallback to cached boundaries.
Coefficient surfaces for Geographically Weighted Regression New
Get a map per predictor, complete with local standard errors, t statistics, effective degrees of freedom, and a significance mask.
Subset a dataset New
Narrow a dataset by IDs, standard geography, bounding box, or layer — in place or into a new dataset, with undo.
More additions New
- Scan results now report a cluster's radius in meters, alongside the span.
- A variogram fit-summary result tile, with a control to reopen it in Variography.
- A redesigned in-app What's New page that leads with the biggest changes, keeps the full log below, and makes past releases searchable — and release notes now ship with Vesta, so they work offline.
Refinements & fixes Improved
The charting engine now warms up at startup, so the first chart no longer freezes the app; the correlation matrix fits, stays readable, and pans; new projects open with a clean workspace that explains what to do next. Twelve fixes land alongside, including space-time spreadsheet imports, basemap tiles that stayed blank until you zoomed, US state matching across FIPS code, abbreviation, and name, coordinate reference systems surviving save and reopen, and Census imports that now warn about unpublished years instead of failing the whole import.
July 2026
Describe the picture, get the picture
Answer a question about what you want to see and Vesta assembles the workspace for you — or build it yourself from a catalog, watching a live preview as you go.
Visualize hub New
Build a visualization by answering a guided question, or from a manual catalog with a live preview of what you'll get.
- Drag a variable straight onto the panel you want it in.
- Guided-question presets fill a whole workspace from a single question.
Searchable variable picker New
Choose variables, datasets, and results from one searchable dropdown — no more scrolling a long list to find the variable you want.
Visualization recommender New
Not sure what to plot? Vesta suggests the visualization that suits the shape of your data.
July 2026
All your data, one front door
Online sources and your own files now start in the same place. Pick where the data comes from, narrow to a category, and choose the dataset you want — and your projects, local or cloud, live side by side.
Add-Data hub New
One place to add data: choose Online or File, then a category, then the dataset you want. Ask the AI Advisor for data and the hub opens with your request already filled in.
Projects hub New
Recent projects on this PC sit alongside your cloud projects, in folders you control — with drag-to-folder organization.
Preprocess without importing New
Tidy up data on its own: reach preprocessing straight from the rail or the Data menu, and change which dataset it targets from inside it.
Refinements Improved
Escape now backs out one layer at a time — closing an open popup or configuration panel before it closes the hub itself.
June 2026
A shorter route to everything
The buttons down the left become a rail of hubs, so the thing you want is one click away instead of buried three menus deep. File import becomes a single guided pass, and broken geometry is found and repaired as your file loads.
Hub rail navigation Improved
Vesta's left-hand buttons are now a rail of hubs, with a flyout holding anything not yet moved across — a shorter route to everything you use.
Import a local file, step by step New
Pick the source, choose how to read it with a live preview, then set geography, time, variable types and flags, review, and preprocess — all in one guided wizard.
Geometry health check New
Know your shapes are sound: invalid outlines and duplicate points are found, reported, and repaired as the file comes in.
Override a file's coordinate system New
Reinterpret the source coordinate system at read time for any vector,
raster, or spreadsheet — including custom EPSG codes, or reading it from
a .prj file.
Refinements & fixes Improved
Preprocessing steps now chain together, each working on the output of the step before it. Six fixes land alongside, including large satellite imagery imports no longer running out of memory, anisotropy fitted and displayed consistently, and online import wizards no longer trapped behind the progress overlay.
June 2026
Your projects, off your hard drive
Save a project to the cloud, share it with whoever needs it, and keep every version — folders, descriptions, and history all come with it. Plus three more file formats and imports you can save and replay.
Cloud projects New
Save, share, and version projects in the cloud, with folders, descriptions, per-version authors, and a storage allowance.
GeoPackage, GeoJSON and KML import New
Read .gpkg files — including files with several layers,
each with its own geography and variables — plus .geojson,
.kml, and .kmz.
- Files holding several geometry types split automatically: points and polygons in one file become one dataset each.
Save an import and replay it New
Do that import again: reuse a finished import on next month's file. Columns are matched by name, then by similarity, then by asking you.
Prepare data as you import it New
Compute a rate, standardize, stabilize a rate, clip, downscale, join layers, and reproject — without leaving the wizard.
Refinements & fixes Improved
The File, Data, Help, and Visualize menus now match the rest of the app. Three fixes land alongside: files written in other regional formats now import correctly, opening a cloud project is reliable and shows the right name, and Vesta no longer closes when you dismiss the save prompt with Escape.
June 2026
Arrange your workspace three ways
Grid to see everything at once, Focus for one thing at a time, Compare for side by side — with a statistics panel that follows whichever moment in time you're looking at. Plus satellite imagery import, and variograms that notice direction.
Grid, Focus and Compare workspaces Improved
Three layout presets arrange your views instantly, with a shared statistics panel that follows the time step you're looking at.
MODIS satellite imagery import New
Choose an area, the variables, and the dates; Vesta stitches and reprojects the tiles into an image stack through time.
Anisotropy in variograms and kriging New
Direction matters: directional variograms, a fitter that detects direction on its own, an interactive ellipse, a variogram map, and kriging that honors what it finds.
Plot a raster pixel through time New
Click or drag on a raster to chart a single pixel or a whole region across your time steps.
More additions New
- Draw an import area on a map — drag a box instead of typing coordinates.
- Country boundaries work offline, so Clip to Area no longer needs a connection.
Fixes Improved
Four fixes, including outbreaks no longer placed in a neighbouring province, metro area imports respecting the states you selected, and very small variance values no longer shown as zero.
May 2026
Imports that walk you through it
Every online source now steps you through area, time, and measures the same way, with a detail page explaining what the data is and how to use it before you commit. Plus images that arrive already colored, and colors that follow the variable everywhere it appears.
Online imports become a wizard Improved
Online sources now walk you through the same steps as one another, with a year grid for picking time and a detail page covering what the dataset is, how to use it, and what's in it.
Raster color tables are honored New
Color information traveling alongside an image is read at import, so categorical bands arrive already labeled and colored.
Variable appearance New
A variable's color scheme, classification, and per-class colors now belong to the variable itself — edited in one place, applied everywhere it appears, and saved with the project.
More additions New
- A Correlation Coefficients Matrix added to the regression reports.
- Vesta now tells you when an update is ready.
Fixes Improved
Variograms over ten thousand points are no longer slow, classification and histograms now work on continuous rasters, and raster variables can be converted to categorical.
May 2026
Scan only the years you care about
Set the period a scan covers with a slider, and look for unusually high values, unusually low ones, or both — cases and population combine across the window you choose. Plus one-spreadsheet exports across every time step, and confidence measures for logistic models.
Study period and scan direction New
Set the period a scan covers with a slider, and scan for unusually high values, unusually low ones, or both. Cases and population are combined across the period you choose.
Export a table for every time step New
Write all your time steps to a single spreadsheet at once.
Standard errors and p-values for logistic models New
Confidence, not just coefficients: logistic models now report standard errors and p-values beside each coefficient, matching what R gives you.
Pick geography from a tree New
Searchable state and county lists that expand as you need them.
Team and site licenses New
Buy for a group, redeem a code, and manage the subscription from your account.
Fixes Improved
Saving a project containing images no longer uses too much memory, date axes respect how precise your dates actually are, and Vesta no longer closes itself after activating a license.
April 2026
The advisor does its homework
Before importing anything, the AI Advisor looks up what each source actually contains — asking for real measures by name instead of guessing, so imports stop failing for silly reasons. It checks things mid-conversation as it answers, too.
The advisor knows the data library New
The advisor searches every online source and reads a dataset's structure before importing, instead of guessing at names.
The advisor looks things up while it answers New
It fetches what it needs mid-conversation, and writes its reply as it goes.
Variable roles are set for you on import New
Rate, count, and population are read from each source's own description, and the icons in the data list follow them.
Geography and Climate data New
A new category of online sources.
Create Binary Variable, rebuilt Improved
Build a yes/no variable properly: combine several conditions with and/or, drag a slider to pick a range, and get a sensible name automatically.
Refinements & fixes Improved
Outbreaks are now placed by location rather than by name — with a name match as the fallback, and real per-outbreak counts. Three fixes land alongside: changing scale on a grid is no longer slow, starting up without a connection no longer fails instead of waiting, and overlapping outbreak date ranges are no longer double-counted.
April 2026
Ask for the whole job, not one step
The AI Advisor lays out a numbered plan and works through it, stopping at checkpoints so you stay in control — and when something is ambiguous, it asks you rather than guessing. Plus machine-learning classification and an advisor that can fetch the data itself.
The advisor runs multi-step plans New
It lays out a numbered plan, works through it with checkpoints you can stop at, and pauses to ask when something is unclear.
ML Classification New
Predict a yes or a no: eight classifiers for binary outcomes, with variable importance, coefficients, a ROC curve for every time step, and a model you can save and reuse.
The advisor can fetch data itself New
It can import from the CDC, the Census Bureau, Environmental Public Health Tracking, the World Bank, FAOSTAT, animal-health records, and your own files.
The advisor flags caveats New
Warnings about small samples, variables that overlap too much, categories treated as numbers, and spatial pattern left in the residuals.
More additions New
- Export a conversation to Word or PDF — with everything the advisor did, the caveats it raised, and the summaries it produced.
- Yes/no variables work everywhere: accepted as the outcome in machine learning, GWR, and interpolation, and recognized on import from Y/N, T/F, and Yes/No.
- Richer map symbols: per-value colors, fill patterns for polygons, and symbols for categories.
Refinements & fixes Improved
GWR and cluster analysis are much faster on large data, and signing in now uses a code sent to your email instead of a password. Three fixes land alongside: co-kriging no longer produces negative variances, logistic regression works when the outcome has gaps, and dialogs no longer open behind the main window.
March 2026
Nine looks, one click
Pick a theme in Settings and the whole window follows — title bar, panels, icons and all — so you can work in something easier on the eyes when you've been staring at it all afternoon. Plus GeoTIFF imagery as map layers, and interpolation roughly 180 times faster.
Nine color themes New
Pick a theme in Settings; the whole window follows, including the title bar and the icons.
Raster data New
Bring in imagery: import GeoTIFF images, draw them as map layers with gaps left transparent, query any pixel, and chart them quickly.
Interpolation, roughly 180 times faster Improved
Large datasets that used to take minutes now finish while you watch — and regression is no longer limited by dataset size either.
Machine learning settings you can tune New
A slider for how much data to hold back, options per algorithm, and an explanation of what each one does in the report.
More additions New
- Tooltips on every chart — one consistent tooltip across all chart types, carrying the object and the time.
- Choose which variables change scale, including categorical ones, on every path.
- Combine time steps into periods, with values weighted by how much of each period they cover.
Refinements & fixes Improved
Workspace tabs now look and behave like browser tabs. Five fixes land alongside: interpolation with standardized variograms no longer produces negative variances, shapefiles with repeated column names import correctly, changing spatial support no longer gives every location the same value, machine learning no longer stores failed predictions as real values, and the window no longer flashes black while starting up.
February 2026
The Analysis Advisor is here
Describe what you want to know. The Advisor runs the analysis, builds the visualization, and explains the result — caveats included. Vesta 3.0 also brings regression that varies by place, and interpolation without building a destination geography first.
The Analysis Advisor New
Ask questions in plain English or request actions across analysis, visualization, and exploration. Chat works without your own API key, and the Advisor remembers your conversation — kept when you save and reopen a project.
Geographically Weighted Regression New
A local regression at every location, so coefficients vary across space instead of collapsing into one global fit — a relationship can differ across your study area.
Create Grid from the Data menu New
Skip the destination geography: interpolate without building a separate geography first — define the cell size and go.
Interpolation through space and time New
A spatio-temporal variogram with a three-dimensional view, and a tab per indicator.
Check an interpolation against held-back data New
Validate across several time steps, including spatio-temporal models, with a ROC curve and confusion matrix for indicator methods.
More additions New
- Save a model and apply it elsewhere — for regression, logistic regression, and machine learning.
- Aggregate points to polygons as a spreadsheet imports.
- A revised multidimensional scaling report: four visualizations and a table of what each variable contributes, plus time-series and anchored variants.
- Plain-language method summaries for regression, joinpoint regression, logistic regression, and machine learning with variable importance.
- Filter a whole workspace at once.
- A redesigned Welcome screen, with a video library.
Refinements & fixes Improved
Analysis now runs over the workspace instead of a collapsible side panel, with Automatic, Simple, and Expert modes. The variogram, multidimensional scaling, and cluster analysis interfaces were rebuilt, reports were replaced by analysis summaries, and the main toolbar received new icons. Five fixes land alongside, including reopening a project with a variogram no longer crashing, auto-fitting a variogram working on time-varying data, and joinpoint regression giving consistent predictions for the same time.
January 2026
Meet the Advisor
A guide built into Vesta that suggests which method suits your question, and helps you make sense of what comes back. Plus ready-made workspaces for exploring variables together, and one-click enlarging of any visualization.
The Advisor New
An Advisor is now built into Vesta — suggesting which method suits your question, and helping you make sense of what comes back.
Data Exploration workspaces New
Ready-made workspaces for exploring one, two, and three variables together.
Pop out a single visualization New
Press the + icon in any visualization's corner to fill the workspace with it.
More additions New
- Auto-interpolations.
- A full workspace for Local Cluster Analysis.
Refinements & fixes Improved
The workspace was reworked, with time controls moved to the top, plus better metadata and better progress bars — alongside over a hundred interface fixes and corrections.
September 2025
Joinpoint looks ahead
Joinpoint regression now projects where a trend is heading, not only where it has been — so you can see what the current direction implies.
Joinpoint Regression predicts future values New
See what the current trend implies: joinpoint regression now projects future values, not only the trend to date.
More additions New
- Create a workspace from any visualization dialog.
- Vesta tells you when a variogram model is created.
Refinements & fixes Improved
Joinpoint and machine learning reports were improved, the data list now starts expanded, and time plots are sorted correctly.
April 2025
Machine learning comes to Vesta
Fit a model when the relationship in your data is not a straight line, and see which variables carry the most weight.
Machine Learning Regression New
Fit a model when the relationship in your data isn't a straight line, and see which variables carry the most weight.
Rename variables and datasets New
Give variables and datasets the names you actually use.
Refinements & fixes Improved
Local Moran is now called Local Cluster Analysis, and standard regression has a clearer report. Two fixes land alongside: converting a variable to categorical or to an id is now recorded in its metadata, and time animation updates when a dataset is removed.
January 2025
Joinpoint picks its own shape
Vesta tries zero, one, two, and three joinpoints and keeps the simplest fit your data supports — so you're not guessing at the number. Plus log-ratio results back in real units, and joinpoint plots that share your selection with every other view.
Joinpoint finds the most parsimonious fit New
The number of joinpoints is chosen automatically from zero, one, two, and three — keeping the simplest fit your data supports.
Back-transforms for log-ratio indicator interpolation New
Log-ratio results in real units: indicator interpolation on log-ratios is transformed back for you.
Joinpoint plots share your selection New
Click a joinpoint, highlight everywhere: selecting in one visualization highlights the same objects in the others — and joinpoint reports respond to selection from anywhere in Vesta.
More additions New
- Reorder workspace tabs by dragging them.
Refinements & fixes Improved
Time-varying data interpolates better, and histograms keep a steady axis as time changes. Three fixes land alongside: joinpoint regression works with only a few time steps, some projects that would not open now do, and area under the curve is reported for time-invariant indicator interpolation.
December 2024
Variograms understand categories
A categorical variable can go into a variogram now, which opens interpolation up to data that was never numeric to begin with — alongside additive log-ratios in variograms and an early look at joinpoint regression for compositional data.
Categorical variables in variograms New
Put a categorical variable into a variogram, opening interpolation up to data that was never numeric to begin with.
Additive log-ratios in variograms New
Additive log-ratios are now available in variograms.
Compositional joinpoint regression New
An early look at joinpoint regression for compositional data — centered log-ratio only, as a preview feature.
Metadata for anything in the data list New
Datasets, variables, and results — and you can now edit an existing variogram straight from the data list.
More additions New
- Legends on joinpoint and ROC curve plots, and joinpoint plots mark the chosen fit with a thicker line.
- Vesta warns when several objects share one location, because it affects some methods.
- Vesta asks whether to save when you close it.
Refinements & fixes Improved
Chart vertical axes are all on the left, point size can be changed on maps, Enter no longer saves in the variogram dialog, and canceling the save prompt returns to Vesta instead of closing it. Six fixes land alongside, including correct area under the curve for interpolation ROC curves, values no longer going missing when a variable becomes categorical, maps returning to where you left them when reopening a project, and correct variograms for log-ratio variables with standardized estimators.
October 2023
Watch a variable change
Time plots put a variable's whole history on one chart, so a trend, a spike, or a gap is obvious at a glance — plus categorical variables on maps, and variogram models you can fix after the fact.
Time plots New
A variable's whole history on one chart, making a trend, a spike, or a gap obvious at a glance.
Categorical variables can be mapped New
Map your categories: categorical variables can now be drawn on a map.
Edit and remove existing variogram models New
Fix a variogram after the fact — edit or remove a model you have already made.
Categorical variables in variograms New
For log-ratio indicator interpolation.
A note on older projects Changed
Variable storage changed substantially to make Vesta faster, so projects saved in earlier versions can no longer be opened. Import your data again and save a new project file.
May 2023
Five new ways to analyze
Multidimensional scaling, regression, joinpoint regression, variograms, and interpolation all arrive together — the backbone of what Vesta does today.
Five new analysis methods New
Multidimensional scaling, regression, joinpoint regression, variograms, and interpolation.
Log transforms New
Transform a variable by natural logarithm or base 10.
Logarithmic axes New
Available on scatter plots, three-dimensional scatter plots, joinpoint plots, and heatmaps.
A new launch screen New
With links to start a project, learn Vesta, and see what's new.
March 2023
Stack your maps
A map can hold several layers now. Bring in a variable from another dataset, move it up or down, and color each layer separately.
Maps hold several layers New
A variable from another dataset becomes a new layer you can move up or down. The legend follows the top layer, and each layer's colors can be set separately.
March 2023
Gaps in your data, handled
Vesta recognises missing values throughout — a dash in tables, grey on maps, and left out of the statistics rather than counted as zero.
Missing data handling New
Gaps in your data are recognised throughout Vesta.
Refinements Improved
Missing values are now visible — shown as a dash in tables and grey on maps — and descriptive statistics account for missing data.
November 2022
Ask the map a question
A new query tool lets you inspect any object on the map — including data that changes over time.
Map query tool New
Inspect an object's attributes, including data that changes over time.
June 2022
Color your data properly
Map Settings offers color schemes chosen to suit your data type, with up to nine classes, so a pattern reads clearly instead of washing out — with eleven basemaps to sit your data on.
Color schemes in Map Settings New
Chosen to suit your data type, with up to nine classes, so a pattern reads clearly instead of washing out.
Eleven basemaps New
Street maps, monochrome maps, and satellite imagery to sit your data on.
More additions New
- Transparency for the data layer.
- Release notes shown when Vesta starts.
- Scatter plot display controls: background color, gridlines, and minor tick marks.
Refinements & fixes Improved
Many icons were replaced, Vesta is now code-signed, plot settings have a clearer layout, and Data Transparency is now called Data Opacity. Four fixes land alongside: right-click actions in the data list, Change Scale when started from the data list, merging data when shapefile ids were stored as large integers, and adding more than four visualizations to a workspace.