Hi all,
I am glad to announce a new version of the PixInsight core application: 1.8.8-4. This version is now available as an automatic update to version 1.8.8-3 for FreeBSD, Linux, macOS and Windows.
Main Bug Fixes and ImprovementsVersion 1.8.8-4 is a bugfix/maintenance release. It includes an update to the PixInsight core application, along with a set of updates to several mission critical modules and scripts.
* PixInsight core application / JavaScript Runtime: Fixed a data corruption bug in the implementation of the FileFormatInstance.readProperty() and FileFormatInstance.readImageProperty() methods. This bug was preventing correct propagation of image properties in some important scripts, including the BatchFormatConversion script.
* PixInsight core application / JavaScript Runtime: The ImageWindow.saveAs() method accepts now a sixth String argument to specify output format hints. This is a functionality enhancement available to scripts creating new image windows that have to be written to disk files, or scripts that rely on image windows to perform image file management operations.
* PixInsight core application: Minor performance, stability and security enhancements implemented on all platforms.
* Debayer module: Fixed a bug where XBAYROFF and YBAYROFF FITS keywords were not parsed correctly when keyword values are representations of floating point scalars, such as '1.'. This bugfix is distributed as a regular update to core version 1.8.8-4.
* All file format support modules: Fixed a bug where image property data types were reported incorrectly via core API function calls. This bug was preventing correct propagation of image properties in some important scripts, including the BatchFormatConversion script. This bugfix applies to the standard BMP, FITS, JPEG2000, JPEG, RAW, TIFF and XISF modules, and is distributed as a regular update to core version 1.8.8-4.
* BatchFormatConversion script version 1.4.0:- Added support for image properties, which are now correctly loaded and preserved for output formats able to store XISF properties. This means that conversion from digital camera raw formats to XISF is now fully functional.
- Improved error management.
- Improved tooltips.
- Source code has been entirely revised.
This new version is distributed as a regular update to core version 1.8.8-4.
Known IssuesFreeBSD and Linux* Recent versions of the KDE Plasma desktop environment include a morphing popups desktop effect that causes problems with recent PixInsight versions. If this effect is enabled, it slows down some dragging operations in the PixInsight core application, such as dragging icons and view selectors. You should disable this effect, which is very easy from KDE's System Settings panel. This problem is also present on Linux.
* On recent versions of the KDE Plasma desktop environment, a display tearing prevention option (v-sync) is enabled by default. This option can cause input lag problems (e.g., slow cursor movement over image windows). This option should be disabled for optimal PixInsight performance:
- System Settings > Display and Monitor > Tearing prevention: set to 'Never'
- Click Apply
Linux* PixInsight is not compatible with the open-source Nouveau graphics driver. If your distribution is using Nouveau, you must remove and replace it with the proprietary Nvidia driver in order to use PixInsight.
macOS* On Apple MacBook laptops with dual graphics cards, the integrated Intel HD graphics driver has been causing minor usability issues on macOS 10.14 Mojave. Apparently these problems have been fixed in macOS 10.15 Catalina. However, you may want to disable the
Automatic graphics switching option on System Preferences (Energy Saver section) before running the PixInsight core application for optimal performance and stability.
Windows* There are stability issues on laptops with integrated Intel HD graphics and touch screens. Most of these problems are being caused by outdated or invalid graphics drivers, and in some cases by conflicting third-party applications. These issues are beyond our control.
* On some laptops with nonstandard screen resolutions, such as the Microsoft Surface, PixInsight cannot find valid screen scaling factors automatically. On these machines, you may have to run the PixInsight core application with the --ui-scaling command line argument. For example, to apply a UI scaling factor of 2:
C:\Program Files\PixInsight\bin\PixInsight.exe --ui-scaling=2
You only have to do this once, since the scaling factor will be stored in application preferences automatically. Of course, if you already are using version 1.8.6 or later and the interface looks correct, then you don't need to do this; this is only required for new installations.
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Thank you for your attention.