PixInsight 1.8.5.1353 for Windows Released

[Juan Conejero]

Hi all,

I have just uploaded installation packages for a new version of PixInsight: 1.8.5.1353 for Windows, released August 9, 2017. The new version is now available to all licensed users on the Software Distribution System:

https://pixinsight.com/dist/

Build 1353 is a bugfix release. It fixes a bug where the main menu and some dialog windows were not shown correctly when the main application window was in full screen mode (Ctrl+Alt+U). This bug was caused by a limitation of the OpenGL implementation in the Desktop Window Manager (DWM) of Windows, and was causing problems mostly on high-dpi screens. This is now fixed in build 1353. This bug does not happen in the Linux and macOS versions of PixInsight.

This new version also includes all bug fixes and updates published since the initial 1.8.5 release.


Known Issues

We have detected a serious issue on machines running the Intel HD Graphics driver on Windows 10. The issue has been detected on a Dell Precision laptop with a 4K high-dpi touch screen and an Intel Xeon E3 1505M v5 processor. The graphics driver is the latest version 21.20.16.4664 (April 21 2017) of Intel HD Graphics P350. When this driver is active, PixInsight 1.8.5 (including the just-released build 1353) has serious problems when a web browser component is shown, including the browser sections of Process Explorer and Object Explorer, WebView controls, and the JavaScript documentation browser. The problem is caused by a deficient OpenGL implementation. Fortunately, the tested laptop has an nVidia Quadro M1000M graphics card. Once the proprietary nVidia graphics driver has been enabled, all problems have disappeared and PixInsight 1.8.5 runs perfectly.

If you face a similar problem on Windows with Intel HD Graphics drivers, you have two options:

- Use a different graphics driver. If necessary, you'll have to install a new graphics card. Proprietary nVidia and AMD graphics drivers work without problems on Window AFAWK.

- Use PixInsight 1.8.5 taking the precaution to avoid opening any web browser component. If you have to read documentation, read it online or open the corresponding HTML files on an external browser.

This is a Windows-only issue; none of these problems happen on Linux and macOS.


I hope you'll enjoy this release. Thank you for your attention and continued support.

[sreilly]

Should the older versions be un-installed first or just execute the installer and overwrite the existing program?

[Juan Conejero]

Hi Steve,

Yes, with the new installers, you always have to uninstall previous versions. The installer does not allow you to install a new one otherwise. Use Control Panel in the usual way.

[Alterra]

Strange behaviour here:

Everything works fine after installation, but as soon as I quit the software and put the machine to sleep, next time I open it up it freezes when I try any file operations, like openning files or projects.

Uninstalled it, installed again, same results after the first successfull launch.

Dell laptop here... remembers me of the same problem, when the first Ripley version was released, something to do with the video drivers on Win10 or Dell... sigh... will need to fall back to the last stable version on my system...

[Alterra]

Thanks... 1195 reappeared at the distribution site
Now I can go back to work...

[kukulin]

Just installed new version and confirm that issue with menu in full screen on low res screen dissapeared.
All seems to work well.
Thank you

[mherbik]

Always scared to remove software that costs hundreds of dollars for a license. To be clear I remove PI from my PC then install new version. I have 2 PI programs on my PC the core and then the version 1.8.5.1352 Hate making any assumptions but I was going to remove the version then reinstall. Correct?

[DonMatu]

Hi Juan and PITeam
thanks a lot for this big update!

But, as other wrotes: i can't drag'n'drop files to process from an external file manager to a Workspace (a forbidden Symbol as Cursor is shown)
So please update / fix this bug.

Thanks
Chris

[Juan Conejero]

Hi Chris,

Thank you!

But, as other wrotes: i can't drag'n'drop files to process from an external file manager to a Workspace (a forbidden Symbol as Cursor is shown)
So please update / fix this bug.

There is no bug with this. File drag and drop operations work perfectly on all platforms. Please exit PixInsight and reboot your computer. Let me know if this helps.

[DonMatu]

Ok, thank you Juan.
After restart and reinstalling the new Version drag'n'drop works as expected.

CS
Christ

[jeffweiss9]

Following the update announcement I saw when I started 1.8.5.1352, I downloaded and tried to install 1353.  The installer gave the message that it wouldn't install because of another PI version, so I tried to remove 1352 using the Control Panel,  but that did not work and 1352 is still installed.  Rebooted the machine and tried again to remove it using the Control Panel gave the same result.   Any suggestions?   I didn't see much reason to install 1353 but now I'm worried about integrity of my installation.  I am using Win7 64b Pro.
Thanks.
CS/Jeff

[Juan Conejero]

Hi Jeff,

I tried to remove 1352 using the Control Panel,  but that did not work and 1352 is still installed.

That's weird. The Windows installers include also an uninstaller program, so simply run the installer for 1.8.5.1352 to remove that version. If you have deleted the previous installer file, please let me know and I'll upload it for you.

[iwhiteley]

Hello  Juan,

This is my first contribution to the discussions on this forum, and as my comment refers to version 1.8.5 i hope this is the correct location.

I have always downloaded and installed the updates as they have appeared, and I am pleased to say that I have never had any problem (Windows 8.1 and Intel i3 processor). With regard to this latest version I find  that under the "File" tab all  reference to printing seems to have been suppressed. I hope this was not intentional, as I have used this functionality on a frequent basis. Now I have to export the image file in some other format, e.g. .bmp and then use a third party utility to carry out the printing. Whilst this works, it is less convenient, and one has to deal with the associated warnings concerning loss of precision at the time of conversion.

Could I ask that a near-term update restores this functionality to version 1.8.5, please?

I really enjoy using Pixinsight with my modest astro images, and I thnak you for all your work on this suit of programs.

With kindest regards,

Ian.

[msmythers]

Ian

See this posting. https://pixinsight.com/forum/index.php?topic=7838.msg51874#msg51874


Mike

[iwhiteley]

Hello Mike,

Very many thanks for pointing me to an earlier posting that dealt with my query. I can confirm that invoking Pixinsight from a command window using the extension described restores the options that I was looking for, and that the printer setup and print work as expected.

With kind regards,

Ian.