PixInsight 1.8.8-6 Released

Problem PixInsight 1.8.8.6/StarNet/MacOS10.13.6

- LoadError StarNet

PixInsight API Error: Module: /Applications/PixInsight/bin/StarNet-pxm.dylib Cannot load library /Applications/PixInsight/bin/StarNet-pxm.dylib: (dlopen(/Applications/PixInsight/bin/StarNet-pxm.dylib, 6): Symbol not found: ____chkstk_darwin Referenced from: /Applications/PixInsight/bin/libtensorflow_framework.2.dylib (which was built for Mac OS X 10.15) Expected in: /usr/lib/libSystem.B.dylib in /Applications/PixInsight/bin/libtensorflow_framework.2.dylib): Module load error

Greedings Nico
 
it turns out that StarNet and libRAW are incompatible with 10.13 due to the missing ___chkstk_darwin routine.

solution would be to upgrade to 10.14; personally i don't like 10.15 for the loss of 32b application support.

rob
 
you can still use the command line version of starnet for OSX... much superior to straton.

rob
 
Unfortunately, version 1.8.8-6 of PixInsight is not compatible with macOS 10.13. The only macOS versions supported are 10.14 and 10.15.

I am very sorry for this, but please understand that this is not my choice. I have made efforts to preserve compatibility with older macOS versions, but PixInsight depends on third-party libraries which I cannot control. In this case, the RAW and StarNet modules cannot run on macOS 10.13 because of lacking dependencies required by the latest versions of LibRaw and TensorFlow, respectively. I cannot solve this problem because I cannot rewrite or modify these libraries. If you use macOS, you must realize that this is how Apple want things to be.
 
Possibly another Mac issue. Got PI version 1.8.8-6 on my Mac which runs OS 10.15.6, and it's got a weird display issue, all of the icons are now enormous and unworkable. I tried Edit --> Global Preferences --> Core UI resources --> (UNCHECK) Automatic UI Scaling and 4.00. This worked once only, but after an update yesterday, it now doesn't work!

Would be awesome to just have a selection somewhere saying "Font Size" or "Icon Size".
Screen Shot 2020-08-29 at 9.22.49 pm (2).png
 
This cannot be reproduced. This problem does not happen under normal working conditions, and has not been reported before.

I tried Edit --> Global Preferences --> Core UI resources --> (UNCHECK) Automatic UI Scaling and 4.00

This does not make any sense. The UI scaling factor must always be set to Automatic on macOS with Retina displays, since the ratio of physical to logical pixels is always managed internally and transparently by the operating system.

Please select Edit > Preferences, click the Reset button, then Apply Global (or F6). Exit PixInsight and run it again.

Do you have some custom display resolution settings selected in System Preferences?
 
This cannot be reproduced. This problem does not happen under normal working conditions, and has not been reported before.



This does not make any sense. The UI scaling factor must always be set to Automatic on macOS with Retina displays, since the ratio of physical to logical pixels is always managed internally and transparently by the operating system.

Please select Edit > Preferences, click the Reset button, then Apply Global (or F6). Exit PixInsight and run it again.

Do you have some custom display resolution settings selected in System Preferences?

Well, there was no problem with the previous version, and no I don't have custom display resolution on my Mac, it's dead standard. If nobody else has reported this issue I guess I'm the first, I'm not making this up. As I've said, if there was a simple and intuitive control such as "Icon Size" or "Font Size" like there is in most other pieces of software, the problem would have been solved in a few seconds and we both wouldn't be wasting our time. Having to access display scaling and Core Resources options is not simple, if I took a wrong turn in what I thought was a solution then it's due to this inherent complexity and the fact that I'm a regular user, not a developer or the holder of a Software Engineering degree.

I've rolled back to 1.8.8.5, all is well, I'll check back in with the new version in a week or two.
 
I’ve had a similar UI scaling issue. Specifically it’s when I run PI in Windows 10 on my 2016 13” MacBook Pro (OS 10.15) using boot camp. Windows 10 recognizes the MacBook Pro’s display resolution (2560 x 1600) but Windows in “change the size of text, apps and other items“ has “200% (Recommended)” selected which doesn’t seem to be recognized by PI. The Automatic UI scaling makes PI tiny but if I upscale the UI scaling factor to 1.5 PI looks like every other app.
 
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I’ve had a similar UI scaling issue. Specifically it’s when I run PI in Windows 10 on my 2016 13” MacBook Pro (OS 10.15) using boot camp. Windows 10 recognizes the MacBook Pro’s display resolution (2560 x 1600) but Windows in “change the size of text, apps and other items“ has “200% (Recommended)” selected which doesn’t seem to be recognized by PI. The Automatic UI scaling makes PI tiny but if I upscale the UI scaling factor to 1.5 PI looks like every other app.

Please read the official announcement post, that is, the first post in this thread. This is a known problem with nonstandard high-dpi resolutions on Windows laptops, and its solution is extremely simple. See the Known Problems section of the announcement.
 
Please read the official announcement post, that is, the first post in this thread. This is a known problem with nonstandard high-dpi resolutions on Windows laptops, and its solution is extremely simple. See the Known Problems section of the announcement.
Juan, I'm on Mac and it's exactly the same, and it is not extremely simple to fix, there is very clearly an issue with this release because previous releases had no issues at all. For the record, my Mac runs 10.15.6 Catalina, and does NOT have the feature you have told is in Known Problems will fix the issue. It seems the automatic graphics switching option can only happen on Macs with dual graphics card support.

Juan, this needs fixing, not you just telling us how easy it is to fix ourselves. I have paid a lot of money for this software, there is a problem, and the current version is unusable.
 

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The problem that you have with huge icons cannot be reproduced on any of our macOS machines, all of them currently running up-to-date macOS 10.15.6. This includes a number of desktop Mac machines with and without Retina displays, as well as several MacBook Pro laptops. The problem you are reporting has not been reported by other users on any platform. Note that the problem reported above on Windows is completely different from yours. I was referring to that specific problem on Windows when I wrote 'its solution is extremely simple', not to yours.

I cannot fix a problem that I cannot reproduce and understand. Despite what it may seem sometimes, I cannot do miracles. This includes solving nontrivial machine-specific issues that cannot be reproduced under normal working conditions.

I am sorry to say that I don't have a solution for the problem that you are experiencing with version 1.8.8-6. I'd really love to have a solution, but unfortunately I have no idea as to what may be causing it.

I have paid a lot of money for this software, there is a problem, and the current version is unusable.

Many thousands of users are working with the latest version of PixInsight without problems on three platforms, so I wouldn't say it is unusable. As for what you've paid for your license, I disagree with the idea that it is 'a lot of money', especially considering the amount of work behind this software and the way our license allows you to use it, but that's a different topic.
 
The problem that you have with huge icons cannot be reproduced on any of our macOS machines, all of them currently running up-to-date macOS 10.15.6. This includes a number of desktop Mac machines with and without Retina displays, as well as several MacBook Pro laptops. The problem you are reporting has not been reported by other users on any platform. Note that the problem reported above on Windows is completely different from yours. I was referring to that specific problem on Windows when I wrote 'its solution is extremely simple', not to yours.

I cannot fix a problem that I cannot reproduce and understand. Despite what it may seem sometimes, I cannot do miracles. This includes solving nontrivial machine-specific issues that cannot be reproduced under normal working conditions.

I am sorry to say that I don't have a solution for the problem that you are experiencing with version 1.8.8-6. I'd really love to have a solution, but unfortunately I have no idea as to what may be causing it.



Many thousands of users are working with the latest version of PixInsight without problems on three platforms, so I wouldn't say it is unusable. As for what you've paid for your license, I disagree with the idea that it is 'a lot of money', especially considering the amount of work behind this software and the way our license allows you to use it, but that's a different topic.
Juan, thankyou for your reply.

I am using Version 1.8.8-5 with no problems at all, and when I delete it from my system as instructed on the Resources page, and install 1.8.8-6, it has the huge icons. Somewhere in my system Version 6 has remembered the incorrect settings I tried to use to fix the issue (ie Scale Factor = 4.0); somehow it is porting across preferences I put in when I first tried Version 6. How can I delete all of my PI preferences to give a completely fresh install so I can re-attempt Version 6.
 
juan can correct me, but i think there are 3 preference plists for PI on OSX:

~/Library/Preferences/com.pleiades-astrophoto.PixInsight.plist
~/Library/Preferences/software.pleiades.PixInsight.plist
~/Library/PixInsight/PixInsight.plist

as far as i can tell it is the last one that has the scaling factor config. you can try moving all 3 of them out of the way and reinstalling PI to find out what happens.

of course, there might be another one hiding out somewhere that juan would have to point out.

rob
 
Simply remove the PixInsight.plist file. This will cause a reset of all PixInsight settings to factory default values. You can do this in several ways:

1. From a terminal:

rm ~/Library/PixInsight/PixInsight.plist

2. With Finder:
  • Select Go > Go to Folder...
  • Type ~/Library/PixInsight in the Go to the folder input field.
  • Click Go
  • Send the PixInsight.plist file to trash. Be careful not to touch the PixInsightLicense file, which is on the same folder.
3. Also from a terminal:

/Applications/PixInsight/PixInsight.app/Contents/MacOS/PixInsight --uninstall

then say yes to the confirmation dialog.

Obviously, all of these solutions require PixInsight to not be running.

I hope this will help you solve the strange issue you're having with the new version.
 
Simply remove the PixInsight.plist file. This will cause a reset of all PixInsight settings to factory default values. You can do this in several ways:

1. From a terminal:

rm ~/Library/PixInsight/PixInsight.plist

2. With Finder:
  • Select Go > Go to Folder...
  • Type ~/Library/PixInsight in the Go to the folder input field.
  • Click Go
  • Send the PixInsight.plist file to trash. Be careful not to touch the PixInsightLicense file, which is on the same folder.
3. Also from a terminal:

/Applications/PixInsight/PixInsight.app/Contents/MacOS/PixInsight --uninstall

then say yes to the confirmation dialog.

Obviously, all of these solutions require PixInsight to not be running.

I hope this will help you solve the strange issue you're having with the new version.
Thanks Juan.

Looks like this is a multi-screen issue. I have my MBPro and a much larger Samsung monitor I do most of my PI work on. If I launch my saved icons when I'm working on the large monitor, I get the chunky icons; if I launch them on the MBP then I get the normal ones. They stay normal sized even if I move the screen to the large monitor. It's clearly a change in the UI Scaling, I can live with it, and I have a working version of 1.8.8-6.
 
I am on Windows and experienced something similar where I got an oversize look of PixInsight screen as if it was under a magnifier. I first look at the Windows Display setting and found that the Display resolution has changed to a higher value. Normally the display value shown does not go higher than the monitor highest capability (Asus PB 278Q maximum resolution 2560x1440). It was set to 3840x2160. Turned out to be my 4K resolution laptop screen, I work with Multiple displays and the resolution value form the 4K laptop appeared on the Asus and changed it from 2460x1440 to 3840x1440 when the laptop screen is flip on. I choose the Asus as my main monitor. but I do not know change the resolution. I taught that Perhaps Pxinsight choose the highest possible resolution... I am not sure about that but it only happened when I updated PixInsight latest version :1.8.8-6 .
 
The problem with old machines without AVX2/FMA instruction support is extremely easy to fix: just remove the StarNet module.

Linux
Enter the following command from a terminal:
sudo rm /opt/PixInsight/bin/StarNet-pxm.so

macOS
Remove the following file:
/Applications/PixInsight/bin/StarNet-pxm.dylib

Windows
Remove the following file:
C:\Program Files\PixInsight\bin\StarNet-pxm.dll

In all cases you need administrative privileges to remove the required file, which you also need to install PixInsight.

After this simple action, PixInsight will run without problems on your machines.

Note: I have added this information to the announcement post.

I am still unable to startup my PI 1.8.8-6 after installation. 1.8.8-5 was able to be installed and run. I upgraded from 1.8.8-4. I tried deleting the StarNet-pxm.dll and still unable to start up. PI Program crashed. I attached my basic system information. Please advise.
 

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Having spent weeks making a start with PI using RBA's excellent new book (and still a long way to go) I've come to the part of intergrating RGB and HaOIII images, with what looked like the excellent NBRGBCombination script, only to find it's just been been removed!

I contacted RBA and he's sent me a link from GitLab to download but after downloading this fails with the message that it's Obsolete.

Looking at another old thread I note from JC's that the NBRGBCombination would be put back. Is there an update on this please?

Thanks, Graham
 
Having spent weeks making a start with PI using RBA's excellent new book (and still a long way to go) I've come to the part of intergrating RGB and HaOIII images, with what looked like the excellent NBRGBCombination script, only to find it's just been been removed!

I contacted RBA and he's sent me a link from GitLab to download but after downloading this fails with the message that it's Obsolete.

Looking at another old thread I note from JC's that the NBRGBCombination would be put back. Is there an update on this please?

Thanks, Graham
It’s been reinstated. See here https://pixinsight.com/forum/index.php?threads/pixinsight-1-8-8-6-new-installation-packages.15052/
 
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