Installation packages for a new version of PixInsight are now available to all users: 1.8.6.1457 for Linux, macOS and Windows. This is a bugfix/update release. It solves all confirmed bugs discovered since the initial 1.8.6 release and provides important new features, which I'll describe succinctly in this document.
InstallationAs most new versions of the PixInsight core application, this one is not available as an automatic update. You have to uninstall the previous version, be it 1.8.6 or an older one, then
download and install the new version manually. Of course, if you have already activated version 1.8.6 on your computer, no additional license activation will be required.
Bug FixesVersion 1.8.6.1457 solves the following problems detected since the initial 1.8.6 version:
All platforms: All bug fixes in the
previous 1.8.6.1448 version are included.
All platforms: Fixed a regression in core screen rendering routines that was causing sporadic segmentation faults, especially with relatively large images (16 Mpx and larger).
All platforms: Fixed a regression in core screen rendering routines that was causing sporadic segmentation faults with masked images.
All platforms: A rare race condition in the core event loop was causing sporadic segmentation faults when changing the current workspace by clicking on a workspace selector (the small square gray icons on the bottom tool bar). This has been fixed.
All platforms: When the
on profile mismatch policy is
convert to the default profile (as defined in global color management preferences), images with mismatched ICC profiles were not being converted to the default profile, that is, the policy was not being applied. This is actually an old bug that was introduced as a regression in one of the latest 1.8.5 versions, and had passed unnoticed. See the
original bug report.
All platforms: Loading CFA raw frames with the new RAW module was leading to excessive memory consumption (2-4 times more memory than what is strictly necessary, depending on RAW settings). This is now fixed.
All platforms: White balance settings were not being applied to raw CFA frames loaded with the new RAW module. This works now as expected for all raw frames, included Bayer and XTrans CFA patterns. See the
original bug report.
All platforms: The HistogramTransformation tool was causing a segmentation fault under very special conditions (the HT tool is open with track view enabled on a hidden workspace with an active grayscale image, then the workspace in question is activated, a different color image is selected by the user, and this causes HT to segfault). This obscure bug has not been reported by users. We have discovered and fixed it during the intensive stress tests we have applied to version 1.8.6.
All platforms: Project files opened from the File Explorer window, or with the open command from the console, were not being added to the list of recently opened project files (File > Open Recent > Project Files). This is now fixed.
Windows: The SubframeSelector tool was crashing the WebView control included in its Measurements window quite frequently on Windows (more or less frequently depending on graphics drivers). As a result, no more graphics could be generated after the crash unless the core application was restarted. Actually, the same potential problem was present on all platforms, but its incidence was very small on Linux and macOS. This bug has been reported in multiple occasions. With the changes I have implemented in this version, this problem should not happen anymore under normal working conditions.
macOS: Script windows and other dialog windows were not resizable when they should. This is now fixed. See the
original bug report.
macOS: Top-level tool windows were being maximized spontaneously by the Cocoa window manager (NSWindow class), especially when changing the current workspace, and when windows were minimized and then restored immediately. This should not happen anymore with the changes I have implemented in this version.
New FeaturesBundled projects. Projects can now be generated packed into single folders with the .pxiproject suffix. This integrates naturally with macOS (where document packages are supported natively), and also integrates well on Windows and Linux with the KDE desktop environment. This is a very important new feature requiring a thorough description, which I'll post on the release information forum board.
Screen rendering routines are now faster, especially for representation of reduced images (zoom ratios 1:2 and smaller). This is an initial improvement that will be followed by additional, more significant ones in the next version. These improvements are necessary to support the new mosaic generation tool, where we'll have to work fluently with very large images (for example, mosaics of several Giga pixels in 32-bit floating point format).
Screen rendering performance measurements, which I need to evaluate the changes described in the preceding paragraph. You'll find them on the View Explorer window, in the render-rates section (read the tooltips for more information). Again, this requires a separate description on the release information board.
New functionality implemented in the RAW module. Improved memory management. White balancing and wavelet denoising options are now fully functional for raw CFA data.
New command-line arguments. These new arguments facilitate installation on machines with nonstandard screen resolutions (mainly laptops and virtual machines) where automatic UI scaling factors cannot be calculated reliably. Excerpted from the command line help text:
--ui-scaling=<n>|auto
Set the core UI scaling factor to <n> in the range [1,4], or allow the
core application to calculate a suitable scaling factor automatically.
The specified value or setting will persist in application preferences.
--ui-font-resolution=<n>
Set the core font resolution to <n> in the range [10,1000] dpi. The
specified value will persist in application preferences. The default
font resolution is 100 dpi.
Command-line arguments enhanced to control the integrated web browser. In particular, the following command-line arguments provide more control on GPU usage for the Chromium-based browser component (Process Explorer, graphs on SubframeSelector and PhotometricColortCalibration, etc):
--opengl=<impl>
Forces the use of a particular OpenGL implementation. This option can be
useful to troubleshoot OpenGL problems, especially on Windows platforms.
The <impl> argument value must be one of:
raster Use pure raster surfaces on all top-level windows. This
option effectively disables the use of OpenGL hardware
acceleration in the entire PixInsight platform. GPU
acceleration will be also disabled in the integrated
Chromium browser component.
software Use a platform-dependent, software-based OpenGL 2.1 or
higher implementation. GPU acceleration will be also
disabled in the integrated Chromium browser component.
ES Use an OpenGL ES 2.0 or higher implementation distributed
with the core application on Windows. This option has no
effect on other platforms.
desktop Force the use of desktop OpenGL hardware acceleration,
even if the host graphics driver/adapter has been
blacklisted, even if the host graphics hardware is known
to be buggy or crash-prone.
Hopefully, the --opengl=raster option will now solve most issues caused by bad graphics drivers on Windows, although
really bad drivers may continue causing some problems. Problems caused by misbehaving 'utility' applications, poor virus protection programs and wrong/buggy Windows updates cannot be solved this way, though.
Improved X11 installer program, which generates now much better MIME descriptions for file type associations and installs scalable application and file type icons (SVG format). The installer also inserts the PixInsight application in the Astronomy, Science/Math and Graphics standard application categories (previously only in Graphics).
Improved multiplatform directory selection dialogs. The non-native directory selection dialog can now remember its window size and side bar selections, just as regular file selection dialogs.
Delta T database updated with the latest data available from IERS Rapid Service/Prediction Center online files, as of 2019 January 19. Delta T is the difference in seconds between the TT (Terrestrial Time) and UT1 timescales for a given date. It is an essential observational quantity for ephemeris calculations and reduction of astronomical positions.
CIP-ITRS database updated with the latest data available from IERS Rapid Service/Prediction Center online files, as of 2019 January 19. This database provides the coordinates of the Celestial Intermediate Pole (CIP) referred to the International Terrestrial Reference System (ITRS). These coordinates are necessary to account for polar motion in calculation of topocentric coordinates of solar system objects. These corrections are only relevant for objects very close to Earth, including calculation of high-precision topocentric coordinates of the Moon (to milliarcsecond accuracy).
Breaking ChangesAll Linux and macOS versions of PixInsight require now support for SSE4.1 instructions. SSE4.1 is supported on Intel Core 2 (Penryn), Intel Core i7 (Nehalem), Intel Atom (Silvermont core), AMD Bulldozer, AMD Jaguar, and later processors. Some 2007 or 2008 machines could have processors without SSE4.1 support. 2006 and earlier CPUs won't support PixInsight 1.8.6. This mainly affects vintage AMD-based machines on Linux. This should have no repercussion on macOS.
Asynchronous exceptions on Windows are now reported exclusively on the console window, just as happens on Linux and macOS. This should make sporadic system exceptions less intrusive on Windows.
Script Editor: The Home and End keys behave now as a developer expects on macOS. The default behavior of these keys on macOS platforms, that is, move the cursor to the beginning and end of the document, respectively, is simply useless. Home and End work now just the same on macOS as on Linux and Windows, that is, move to the beginning and end of the current line, including
smart Home functionality.
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As always, thank you for your support and patience while I work to solve problems, some of them critical. Enjoy!
