PixInsight Forum (historical)
PixInsight => Announcements => Topic started by: Juan Conejero on 2017 August 03 10:06:47
-
I am happy to let you all know that PixInsight 1.8.5 has just been released. A lot of hard work has been put into it, making 1.8.5 the best version we have developed so far.
Installation packages are now available to all licensed users for Linux, macOS and Windows on our software distribution system:
https://pixinsight.com/dist/
New Features
With PixInsight 1.8.5 we have had a strong focus on performance and stability. This version also comes with new tools and features, and an enormous amount of work done with our C++ and JavaScript development platforms, to establish solid foundations for the numerous development projects that will start in September.
Here is a reduced, non-comprehensive list with some important changes in PixInsight 1.8.5:
* New installer packages for macOS and Windows. For macOS, now we have a custom Installer package (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Installer_(macOS)). For Windows, we have a completely redesigned installer application that registers PixInsight as the application to open .xisf, .xosm, .xpsm and .psm files. As has always been the case for Linux and Windows, installing PixInsight on macOS requires administrative privileges. All executable files in the PixInsight distribution, including the installer packages, have been digitally signed on macOS and Windows. On Windows, an Extended Validation (EV) certificate (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extended_Validation_Certificate) has been used.
* Core application developed and built with the latest Qt 5.9 version on all platforms. Latest versions of the LittleCMS engine, cURL, LibTIFF, JPEGLib, etc.
* New incremental project writing feature. Basically, when you save (rewrite) an existing project, only the block files corresponding to modified images and image states are written to disk. Unmodified blocks are left intact and just renamed for project security purposes. This makes saving big projects orders of magnitude faster than before. This has been a very necessary improvement for a long time, and is now implemented and working in version 1.8.5.
* New Recently Used and Most Used categories in Process Explorer. Both lists are generated and updated in a completely automatic fashion. There are specific items in Preferences to control this functionality.
* New drag and drop functionality implemented in all tools. For example, now you can drag a file selection to the list of input files in ImageIntegration, including images and .xdrz files. Or you can drag a folder and the tool will find all relevant files automatically. Do this with the Ctrl(Cmd) key pressed and all files will be searched recursively. You can also drag a file to StarAlignment's reference image field. And so on... Of course, this works nicely with File Explorer.
* New view drag and drop functionality. The same as above, but dragging a view selector anywhere a view is required throughout the entire platform. For example, drag a preview selector to the ROI section of ImageIntegration and its coordinates will be selected automatically. Ctrl(Cmd)-click and drag to select a view without making it the active view of its parent image window.
* FileExplorer has a new Reload button that reloads data from the relevant section of the file system, in case some files change in size (which cannot be always monitored automatically), or if you are exploring network drives, which usually don't refresh automatically. This, along with the new file drag/drop functionality and the possibility to filter file selections easily with wildcards, makes File Explorer the perfect choice to select files in PixInsight.
* FileExplorer uses the WebP image format to generate its cache of image thumbnails. This provides support for image transparencies through alpha channels and can save up to a 50% of disk space.
* Added support for the WebP image format (https://developers.google.com/speed/webp/) (read/write). This initial implementation of the WebP format is a relatively basic one. Color profiles are still not supported, but I plan on writing a separate, feature-rich WebP module later this year.
* The FormatExplorer window provides complete information on file format hints for all supported formats. Select a format on the left panel, then double-click the "implementation" item.
* New user-definable wallpapers, selectable for each workspace. There are specific options in Preferences to customize workspace wallpapers, including the possibility to define your own images. The default set of wallpapers consists of 10 SVG images with PixInsight's "pixelon" logo.
* Completely rewritten SVG support. This version of PixInsight has one of the best and most complete SVG rendering engines, based on Chromium's SVG implementation. This improvement is a fundamental building block of the graphics capabilities being implemented in the next generation of PixInsight tools. LocalNormalization (see below) is a good example.
* Gnuplot version 5.0.6 integrated in all standard distributions. It is on the bin installation directory and can be invoked from PCL and PJSR code to generate graphs in SVG format. Again, LocalNormalization makes an excellent use of this integration.
* New XML-based drizzle data format (.xdrz files) with LZ4 real-time compression, which replaces the old .drz format. ImageIntegration and DrizzleIntegration are still backwards-compatible with existing .drz files, but StarAlignment and ImageIntegration generate .xdrz exclusively.
* New XML-based local normalization data format (.xnml files) with LZ4 real-time compression. .xnml files are used by the LocalNormalization, ImageIntegration and DrizzleIntegration tools to implement local normalization for pixel rejection and integration output.
* DrizzleIntegration can now work with monochrome CFA frames directly. That is, Bayer drizzle is now supported directly without needing to create RGB Bayer images anymore. The BatchPreprocessing script has also been updated accordingly.
* New automatic Bayer pattern selection mode. For raw frames loaded from DSLR raw files (.cr2, .nef, etc.), Debayer always knows the Bayer pattern that has to be applied automatically. The same applies to DrizzleIntegration in CFA mode. Obviously, this does not work for FITS frames, since FITS has no standard way to store CFA pattern information.
* The Debayer tool can now work in batch mode with high level parallelization (https://pixinsight.com/forum/index.php?topic=10588.0). This fixes the last bottleneck that was remaining in our preprocessing pipeline. Debayer runs now much faster, and its performance scales almost linearly with the number of processor cores available. Naturally, the BatchPreprocessing script makes use of this feature.
* Added support for nonstandard CFA patterns. Besides the new "Auto" mode, the Debayer tool supports the following patterns: RGGB, BGGR, GBRG, GRBG, GRGB, GBGR, RGBG, BGRG.
* New PhotometricColorCalibration (https://pixinsight.com/forum/index.php?topic=11081.0) (PCC) tool. Simply put: you're gonna love it!
* New LocalNormalization (LN) tool. This tool implements a new multiscale local normalization algorithm of our own design. LN deserves a separate description with examples, which I'll publish over the coming days. LocalNormalization is tightly integrated with the ImageIntegration and DrizzleIntegration tools, both for pixel rejection and integration output normalization.
* New large-scale pixel rejection algorithm implemented in ImageIntegration. No more plane and satellite trails in your integrated images. No more star trails on your sky flats. Large-scale pixel rejection is also available for integration of sky flats in BatchPreprocessing.
* The DynamicCrop tool has a new 'preserve aspect ratio' feature to resize the cropping rectangle. Just press Ctrl(Cmd) while you drag from a corner or side of the cropping rectangle and its proportions will be preserved.
* All "Output extension" interface options have been removed. This is because some current and most future improvements and new features will depend on image properties that can only be serialized with the XISF format. As you know, the FITS format has been deprecated in PixInsight about two years ago. During the 1.8.5 cycle, all dependencies on FITS header keywords will be removed in all standard modules and scripts. The output extension parameters are still available but only by editing instance source code.
* The Matrix, Vector, ByteArray and Image core JavaScript objects can now be constructed from and transformed to JavaScript typed arrays, such as Float32Array, Float64Array, Uint32Array, etc. The Math core object also has extensive support for typed arrays. This allows for dramatic performance improvements in scripts because typed arrays allow for much faster access to container elements (for example, to individual pixels, or matrix elements) than native implementations.
* New script execution capabilities implemented in PCL. Basically, now you can execute and evaluate arbitrary JavaScript source code from C++ (subject to security constraints, obviously). This makes possible writing hybrid modules that can reuse and extend the functionality of existing scripts. A good example is the new PhotometricColorCalibration tool, which makes use of plate solving and photometric analysis scripts integrated in the standard PixInsight distribution.
* New WebView (http://pixinsight.com/developer/pcl/doc/html/classpcl_1_1WebView.html) PCL and core JavaScript objects. WebView is a specialized control with full HTML 5 support and an integrated V8 JavaScript engine. It can be used to add interactive graphics functionality to any PixInsight tool. You'll see it in action in PhotometricColorCalibration.
* New Compression core JavaScript object. This is the JS counterpart to the Compression (http://pixinsight.com/developer/pcl/doc/html/classpcl_1_1Compression.html) PCL class, along with ZLibCompression (http://pixinsight.com/developer/pcl/doc/html/classpcl_1_1ZLibCompression.html), LZ4Compression (http://pixinsight.com/developer/pcl/doc/html/classpcl_1_1LZ4Compression.html) and LZ4HCCompression (http://pixinsight.com/developer/pcl/doc/html/classpcl_1_1LZ4HCCompression.html).
* The Dygraphs (http://dygraphs.com/) JavaScript graphing library is now part of the standard PixInsight distribution (please see the demos (http://dygraphs.com/)). PCC uses this library along with WebView to generate interactive scatter plots. It is on the src/scripts/Dygraph distribution directory.
* Comprehensive set of Astrometry C++ classes (http://pixinsight.com/developer/pcl/doc/html/group__astrometry__support.html) integrated in PCL, contributed by PTeam member Andrés del Pozo.
* Support for generation and deployment of analytic telescope pointing models in the INDIClient module. This is a nice implementation written and contributed by PTeam member Klaus Kretzschmar.
* The ColorMask script (https://pixinsight.com/forum/index.php?topic=7751.0), written by PTeam member Rick Stevenson, is now part of the official PixInsight 1.8.5 distribution.
* Thousands (literally) of bug fixes and lots of performance and stability improvements accumulated during more than one year of development.
I would like to express my gratitude and appreciation to all the people who have helped me in testing and evaluating this new version, as well as to the developers who have contributed to make it possible with their excellent work and continued support. This includes a lot of users and members of this forum, but very especially the following members of our development and testing group: Alejandro Tombolini, Andrés del Pozo, Enzo de Bernardini, Georg Viehoever, Harry Page, Klaus Kretzschmar, Mike Schuster, Mike Smythers, Niall Saunders, Sander Pool, Rob Pfile, Rick Stevenson, Mark Shelley, and Vicent Peris.
Known Problems
* On macOS, a long-standing, unresolved Qt bug (https://bugreports.qt.io/browse/QTBUG-41696), which has become an important regression in Qt 5.9, has forced me to change the way drag items are moved on the workspace. You'll notice that icons, view selectors and other drag items are now moved to the right side of the mouse cursor while they are being dragged. This is ugly but you'll become accustomed. For now, it is what it is.
* On macOS with Retina displays, the History Explorer window may show some screen rendering issues. This is just a small cosmetic problem without further consequences.
* On Windows 10 with high-dpi 4K and 5K displays, the main menu does not work well when the main application window is shown in full screen mode. I'll fix this issue in the next version.
* On Windows, we have seen a very strange behavior on a small Dell laptop with a high-dpi 4K screen, when the Process Explorer window is extended to show the web browser component, and the main application window is maximized. When this happens on this laptop, the main menu disappears 'mysteriously'. The issue is consistently reproducible on the machine in question, but otherwise 1.8.5 works perfectly. In the unlikely event that this happens to you, just keep Process Explorer collapsed and read documentation on an external browser. I'll try to understand and fix this problem ASAP.
* The existing reference documentation is now largely obsolete for many tools, especially for the ImageIntegration and StarAlignment tools. I am conscious of this serious problem and will try to rewrite most of these documents as soon as possible, along with writing new documentation for more tools, as possible.
Future Development
Many exciting new development projects will start in September. Among many others great things, you can expect the following to happen in approximate chronological order:
* A rewritten StarAlignment tool, including a new, much more accurate and efficient distortion correction algorithm, and a redesigned user interface.
* An astrometry-based mosaic generation tool with integrated multiscale subband blending of mosaic frames (seamless mosaics, not only in terms of local brightness/contrast, but also in terms of texture).
* DynamicBackground, the successor to DBE. A completely redesigned background modeling tool, much more accurate, much more versatile, and easier to use.
* Exciting new features will be added to the PhotometricColorCalibration tool, which will change the way you think about color in astrophotography.
* More features, including new PSF modeling functions, will be added to the DynamicPSF tool.
* Significant improvements to the Script Editor component.
* New astrometry-based functionality implemented in the PixInsight core application.
* A new, faster and up-to-date JavaScript engine integrated in the core application.
* A C++ compiler integrated with the PixInsight core application.
* A new open-source software distribution model. As most of you know, we already have a significant amount of open-source image processing and development tools available at our official GitHub repositories (https://github.com/PixInsight). Our C++ and JavaScript development platforms are completely open-source under PCL license (http://pixinsight.com/license/PCL_PJSR_1.0.html) (a BSD-like license). My intention is to release all standard PixInsight tools as open-source products in the short-medium term, to include all of them in our GitHub repositories. I am firmly convinced that opening such a significant part of our code base is the best way to build up a dynamic software development community around PixInsight, which ultimately is the only way to ensure the brilliant and evolving future that the PixInsight project requires and deserves.
I hope you'll enjoy this release. Thank you for your attention and continued support.
-
Yay! Great work Juan and team!
-
Thank you!!!! Your efforts, and those of the team, are sincerely appreciated.
Mike
-
As usual Juan, a tremendous effort by you, to pull all of these improvements together. Thank-you, and well done!
-
A pleasant surprise in my Inbox this morning announcing this version. I'm excited to kick the tires. Thank you Juan for all of your hard work!
-
Big thanks for Juan and the whole PI team for their hard work keeping this software THE state of the art software we all rely on! Well done and big thumbs up for all!
A thankful user!
Lex.
-
Thank you so much guys!
Unfortunately, there are still a few issues with Windows 10 on high-dpi displays, mostly on laptops with 4K screens. I'll work harder to fix these problems as soon as possible.
-
Thanks for all the hard work, Juan! Really looking forward to PCC and the new pixel rejection/local normalization tools. Pretty awesome stuff.
As a quick side note, I am a heavy duty drag-and-dropper. I pretty much never use a file menu to open anything, I just drag and drop from Windows Explorer into the PI window. I just installed the new version, and I don't seem to be able to drag any file from Windows Explorer into the PI window to open it anymore. I also tried out the new drag and drop features for ImageIntegration and the like, dragged a set of .fits and a set of .xisf files to ImageIntegration from Windows Explorer, but I still got the not allowed cursor. I am currently on Windows 8.1, but I do have a 4k screen. Is this one of the issues with 4k screens you mentioned? It's not a laptop screen, it's a full ASUS ProArt 32" 4k desktop screen...
-
Hi Jon,
Thank you! Drag and drop works fine on all platforms as far as I can tell. On Windows 8.1, you may have to reboot your machine after installing the new version. I have just made a few tests on Windows 8.1 and Windows 10, and this functionality works without problems. This has nothing to do with high-dpi displays; PixInsight 1.8.5 should work fine on your 4K 32" screen.
-
Hi Jon,
Thank you! Drag and drop works fine on all platforms as far as I can tell. On Windows 8.1, you may have to reboot your machine after installing the new version. I have just made a few tests on Windows 8.1 and Windows 10, and this functionality works without problems. This has nothing to do with high-dpi displays; PixInsight 1.8.5 should work fine on your 4K 32" screen.
Just to make sure we are on the same page. I usually drag from within Windows Explorer (not the integrated File Explorer in PI) into PI to load files. I browse my file system with the standard windows file browser and drag in. I noticed that drag and drop does work ok entirely within PI itself and within the File Explorer. It's just the external Windows Explorer dragging files into PI that doesn't seem to work for me. I'll reboot shortly here and test again shortly here.
I have messed with the PCC tool a bit as well. I have to say, very exciting! I used eXcalibrator in the past, but I think PCC is quite superior. The wide range of white reference options is extremely nice! Still playing with it, not sure I'm getting optimal results yet. Should PCC still be used with SCNR to nuke green background noise?
-
The best just got better. Thanks to all in the dev team for bringing out another fine release! 8)
-
Yah!!! more buttons and sliders to fiddle with. A really great upgrade and for free, gratis and for nothing!!
Thanks and keep looking up!
John
-
Great news! Do the issues with Win 10 also apply to Win Server 2016?
Does this install over existing versions, or does it need V1.8 Ripley to be removed first?
Thanks!
-
I just ran the installer. I did consider removing the previous version as the download site says Core versions should be uninstalled first.
However after installing over the exisiting version it all appears to work okay.Hopefully this is the correct method...
-
Oh! yes... finally large-scale pixel rejection algorithm implemented in ImageIntegration... My observatory is right in an "air corridor" and I have to do a wrong job of correcting plane trails ::)
Great work!
Many thanks.
-
I just ran the installer. I did consider removing the previous version as the download site says Core versions should be uninstalled first.
However after installing over the exisiting version it all appears to work okay.Hopefully this is the correct method...
To ease the transition to 1.8.5, the new installer application removes a 1.8.4 version automatically if it is detected. So in practice uninstalling 1.8.4 is not necessary, strictly speaking, although it is recommended for sanity.
-
Hi Jon,
I noticed that drag and drop does work ok entirely within PI itself and within the File Explorer. It's just the external Windows Explorer dragging files into PI that doesn't seem to work for me.
That's weird. Dragging from desktop file browsers works without problems on all platforms, including of course Windows Explorer. We have tested this on Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.
-
Juan,
Thanks for the new release-it looks great.
So far, it is more stable on windows 10 and has many excellent improvements.
I'm looking forward to using the new tools.
I understand that you're still tweaking the layout for high resolution 4K screens. I am using a 24 inch 4K screen ...
Eric
PS the histogram box bug is fixed.
-
Hi Pixinsight-Team... ;)
Great work ... Congratulations to your new Pixinsight Version ...
I love the PCC tool already ...
Gruß Nico
-
Hi Jon,
I noticed that drag and drop does work ok entirely within PI itself and within the File Explorer. It's just the external Windows Explorer dragging files into PI that doesn't seem to work for me.
That's weird. Dragging from desktop file browsers works without problems on all platforms, including of course Windows Explorer. We have tested this on Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.
Ok, good to know. I haven't had a chance to reboot yet, I'll try this weekend.
-
As a newbie I'm hooked into PixInsight and deeply into Warren Keller's book.
Warren - do you plan to upgrade your book because I will place an order now please 8) ;)
David
-
Juan,
Thanks for this release and the hard work and improvements. This release seems quite a bit faster on my iMac 5K machine.
Jon
-
Warren - do you plan to upgrade your book because I will place an order now please 8) ;)
This is the perennial problem with 'books' that are printed to support fast-changing, constantly developing field such as PixInsight - they will 'neve' be up to date. In fact, as soon as they are 'put to print' they are almost immediately 'obsolete' (at least, in part).
Now - that isn't the fault of the author - other than their choice to publish information on whatever field is the subject matter of their book. Further, remember that these books are published, first and foremost, as a 'commercial product' for which the author hopes to gain sufficient financial returns to at least cover their production costs, if not to afford them an income from the project as well.
So, when a book has to be 'revised and republished' a whole new set of expenses are incurred, which must now be borne by a market where those who have already purchased an earlier version will not consider purchasing the new version as well.
Personally, I used to spend a lot of money on reference books and manuals for the many and various fields that I was interested in, but have (for quite some time now) decided that this is just not financially viable any more - not with the wealth of information already available - for free - on the internet. (Just in astronomy and astroimaging alone, I have a stack of books over 5 feet (1.5m) high, and my Software Development manuals would be closer to 8 feet (2.5m) high - enough to reach the roof!!!).
Perhaps Warren might publish an on-line addenedum to his physical book (I am not suggesting that he should - it will have to be his choice). Perhaps PixInsight users will read that (for free) and decide to actually invest in the 'missing' information. Who knows.
In the meantime, I do expect that there will be a reasonably detailed write-up made available here, on the PixInsight Forum, by those who were intimately involved in creating the new developments. And, no doubt, there will be Video Tutorials that get created as all of us start to learn how some of the new ttols work.
Hope this helps (and I hope that Warren is already bashing away at his word-processor!!!)
-
However, complete documentation on each new process is really the best way to go.
Geoff
-
I noticed the SHO-AIP script is missing; is this script no longer supported in 1.8.5?
-
Hi,
Please be patient. We are working on online articles describing some of the key new features included in version 1.8.5.
Best regards,
Vicent.
-
Hi,
I noticed the SHO-AIP script is missing; is this script no longer supported in 1.8.5?
I miss it as well - hopefully there is this tool again.
Regards!
Herbert, Austria
-
I had this same problem after the install, but I have now re-booted Windows 10 and drag and drop from Windows Explorer works again I also use FileBoss that is also fine.
Mike
Hi Jon,
I noticed that drag and drop does work ok entirely within PI itself and within the File Explorer. It's just the external Windows Explorer dragging files into PI that doesn't seem to work for me.
That's weird. Dragging from desktop file browsers works without problems on all platforms, including of course Windows Explorer. We have tested this on Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.
Ok, good to know. I haven't had a chance to reboot yet, I'll try this weekend.
-
I had this same problem after the install, but I have now re-booted Windows 10 and drag and drop from Windows Explorer works again I also use FileBoss that is also fine.
When you install PI in Windows it gives the option to launch it. Since the installation is done as an Administrator the instance of PixInsight is also launched with administrator privileges. Windows doesn't allow drag&drop between windows with different privileges so you can not drag a file from the windows explorer to PI. To "fix" this you only have to close PI and launch it again.
This problem only happens with the instance launched by the installer. After this, it should not happen again.
Andrés
-
Thank you again for your hard work. Just a question - is the future development for mosaic construction supposed to be as or more effective than APP's current implementation? I ask because admittedly, APP's mosaic construction capabilities are very impressive and succeeds 100% where PixInsight struggles quite a lot.
-
Thank you for your hard work!
-
However, complete documentation on each new process is really the best way to go.
Geoff
Unfortunately, the problem is always one of 'human resources'. Either the new tools can be developed, and released 'now' - without complete documentation, or, the new tools, and complete documentation are released in a couple of years.
Is it worthwhile starting a new Poll here to ask what the majority of users would prefer :) :-\ ?
Let's allow the dust to settle, see what Juan et al manage to put together, see what tutorial videos get released, and then look at what might still need to be done thereafter.
-
MORE stuff to learn sigh...
thanks for the updates!
-
Awesome work! Any update on SHO-AIP?
-
Sad to say after installing 1.8.5 over the previous version and even after rebooting, i am not able to get any of the top menus to pull down. The menu title highlights but there are no menus.
Running windows 10.
Unless there is something im missing i guess ill have to revert back to the previous version.
-
As always, try the 'last resort' solution:
Uninstall current version of PixInsight
Re-boot PC (preferably with a power-cycle included)
Ensure that you are logged in with Administrator privileges
Re-Install PixInsight v1.8.5 - but do not attempt to 'run now' at the end of the install process
Run PixInsight from an appropriate Desktop / Start Menu / Task Bar shortcut
Let us know if you are still having issues, but I hope this helps.
-
Are there new hardware-limitations with PI 1.8.5?
I installed 1.8.5 on two machines:
AMD Phenom II X4 925, 8 GiB RAM, 4 Cores, Win 7 Home Premium 64bit and
ThinkPad T500, Intel Core 2 Duo P8400, 8 GiB Ram, 2 Cores, Windows 7 Prof. 64bit.
On the newer AMD-machine PI seems to run without problems.
But when I try to start PI 1.8.5 on the older ThinkPad PI is always crashing during "creating workspaces".
PI 1.8.4 is running without problems on this machine.
-
Have you monitored your sustem's available resources as you load PixInsight? Could it just be that the older machine cannot handle the extra demands of v1.8.5?
You could try re-booting the PC from cold, and then running Windows PerfMon - using PerfMon to graph CPU Core usage and RAM allocation. Whilst that graph is running, boot into PixInsight and keep an eye on the PerfMon graph as it loads up.
What happens in PerfMon as PixInsight reaches its 'fall over' point?
-
I had this same problem after the install, but I have now re-booted Windows 10 and drag and drop from Windows Explorer works again I also use FileBoss that is also fine.
Mike
Hi Jon,
I noticed that drag and drop does work ok entirely within PI itself and within the File Explorer. It's just the external Windows Explorer dragging files into PI that doesn't seem to work for me.
That's weird. Dragging from desktop file browsers works without problems on all platforms, including of course Windows Explorer. We have tested this on Windows 7 SP1, Windows 8.1 and Windows 10.
Ok, good to know. I haven't had a chance to reboot yet, I'll try this weekend.
It looks like it was the instance that ran from the installer. Seems that runs under administrator, so different user contexts. I use PI so much I don't often close it, but once closing it then reopening it, it seemed to work fine.
-
Hi Kayron,
Thank you again for your hard work. Just a question - is the future development for mosaic construction supposed to be as or more effective than APP's current implementation? I ask because admittedly, APP's mosaic construction capabilities are very impressive and succeeds 100% where PixInsight struggles quite a lot.
As you surely know if you have been following my past behavior, with very few and very special exceptions, I never compare PixInsight to other applications, or make public comments about other applications. Elegance is very important for me, and I am always concerned about the possibility to lose it.
If you want to know if the new mosaic construction tools will work well and reliably, then the answer is that I hope so. The same applies to the new background modeling tool, etc. I can only guarantee one thing: I always put all the hard work I am capable of and all my best to humbly do my work. If that is not enough for somebody, then I am sorry but that's all I can offer. You will never read from me things like "I am better", "I know more", "I can do more", "my ideas are better", etc. If you expect to read something like that here, then you are on the wrong forum, and definitely I am the wrong person.
-
Sad to say after installing 1.8.5 over the previous version and even after rebooting, i am not able to get any of the top menus to pull down. The menu title highlights but there are no menus.
Running windows 10.
Unless there is something im missing i guess ill have to revert back to the previous version.
Similar issue on my old notebook, Acer M5 from 2013 - screen resolution 1366x768, All is OK until i switch to full screen. Menu stop to open.
-
Congratulations Juan! Now you can breathe some fresh air and play some music again. Congrats too, to Vicent, etc. I look forward to delving in as time permits! Just a quick response to a couple of comments- Springer won't even consider a 2nd edition to the book for another two years, but as Niall surmises, as I'm able, the improvements will be documented in tutorial form at www.ip4ap.com. Meantime, I think capable folks like the PTeam, Kayron, and perhaps Harry will shed some light on the new features. Lastly Juan, you are indeed "elegant" and a gentleman, and we appreciate you.
-
Hi Warren,
Thank you so much for your comment, I appreciate it a lot. Yes, it's been too much work for too many months. Sorry for being so unresponsive again, but I really have had no time for any kind of outside activities. As for playing guitar again, yeah, I'm restarting my musical activity right now after so many months working too much. I am very eager to meet my six (and twelve) strings again as soon as possible, and also want to set up a new online collection (I'll let you know). How about your sax and flute?
-
Sad to say after installing 1.8.5 over the previous version and even after rebooting, i am not able to get any of the top menus to pull down. The menu title highlights but there are no menus.
Running windows 10.
Unless there is something im missing i guess ill have to revert back to the previous version.
Similar issue on my old notebook, Acer M5 from 2013 - screen resolution 1366x768, All is OK until i switch to full screen. Menu stop to open.
Please note that this bug is now fixed. I am going to release a new version ASAP, hopefully tomorrow. See the original bug report:
https://pixinsight.com/forum/index.php?topic=11284.0
In the meanwhile, the workaround is simple: just don't use full screen mode.
-
What is the version number for 1.8.5 as listed in the PI "About" menu?
-
Thank you and congratulations to Juan and the PI team! I'm really looking forward to digging in to all the new tools. So far she runs great on my Windows 10 laptop!
-
Thank you very much for all your hard work in putting together this amazing ( free :D ) upgrade.
I am really very pleased with the results from the new Photometric ColorCalibration tool.
Having said that, I have found that Pixinsigt hangs when I run PCC on one of my images ( linear 64bit HDR image ) whilst it has no trouble with the same linear image after It has been stretched.
My system: IMac running Windows 7 ( via Boot Camp ). Pixinsight Ver 01.08.05.1353
Below is a screen shot of where it hangs...
-
And here is a screen shot of the PCC settings ...
-
you are a legend.
-
Greetings, Juan
I see there isn't a 1.8.5 release for FreeBSD. Is this to come out some time after the other targets? Thanks for all of your hard work.
-
Hi Conor,
Thank you so much! The problem with a FreeBSD version is, as always, Qt. PixInsight 1.8.5 uses Qt 5.9 and requires Qt WebEngine, which is based on the Chromium web browser. Qt 5.9, and especially QtWebEngine, were not available/compilable on FreeBSD when I released 1.8.5 at the beginning of August. I see on KDE's blog that it has been ported two days ago, so I'll give it a try.
-
The problem with a FreeBSD version is, as always, Qt.
I feel your pain; I use a bunch of other proprietary Qt based tools on FreeBSD, and can, as such, certainly appreciate your frustration. FreeBSD feels like the 'poor uncle' when it comes support from Qt! That said, there's no burning rush. Your hard work is always appreciated by us few BSD users!
I see on KDE's blog that it has been ported two days ago, so I'll give it a try.
If I can help out in any way, please do let me know, whether it be testing or hacking around with Qt ports or otherwise.
Thanks again, man.
-
I am new to PixInsight and have barely scratched the surface of what it can do but so far I am blown away by its capabilities. You have done a first rate job and are definitely to be commended. Thanks to all of you for your hard work.
-
Juan,
Addendum to my previous post about Qt on FreeBSD; the rather harsh mixed-ABI rules enforced Qt are a bit annoying; it's not possible to use (read mix with PixInsight) system Qt libraries, unfortunately, which is desirable;
The libQt5WebKit bundled with PixInsight 1.8.4 requires libwebp 0.4 and libicu 55; many FreeBSD users (myself included) have moved on to 0.6 and 58 respectively, given the security vulnerabilities in the previous versions; would it be possible for these dependencies to be bundled with PixInsight in future releases? I don't know for certain, but I suspect the dependency tree might get a bit out of control. What do you think?
-
Hi folks
Have downloaded the new updated version and just run LocalNormalisation and asked it to put files in a named folder. I can see the xnml files in the folder where they have been put, but when I open ImageIntegration and click Add files they are no where to be seen. Opening the file types list in ImageIntegration shows xisf file typebut no xnml.
Anyone offer advice? Thanks
-
I know I'm missing something obvious, but when I use the hotlink to download 1.8.5, I only find links to 1.8.05. Is that the same thing?
-
I know I'm missing something obvious, but when I use the hotlink to download 1.8.5, I only find links to 1.8.05. Is that the same thing?
Yes. I'm running the latest which identifies itself as 1.08.05.1353.
-
Hi folks,
Can I remove "Recently used" and "Most used" from Process Explorer tab?
Best regards,
Iñaki
-
Yes. In the Global preferences on the Main Window/Startup page you can turn them off.
Mike
-
Thank you Mike !!
-
I noticed the SHO-AIP script is missing; is this script no longer supported in 1.8.5?
What is the answer has it gone and never to return?
-
my install hangs - I Uninstalled previous version (but there were 2 files? the core too?) do I uninstall both? I'll try that now.
pixinsight core for windows (says unavailable) but is still in the list after a uninstall of PI.
uninstalling 1.8.5 to install again. saving - gonna reboot before installing a 2nd time.
-
seems to work now. thanks!
-
Sort of... it's it normal to see it (seem to hang) at "creating component windows...."
When I run the new version it SITS AND SITS AND SITS there.
seemingly like 2 minutes!? (I have a FAST machine).
-
Any updates on a FreeBSD release/fix? I'm PixInsight-less at the moment...