[Newsletter] Announcements from Alchemy Mindworks
alchemyreply1753
alchemyreply1753 at mindworkshop.com
Sat Oct 14 09:40:28 EDT 2023
***This is an automatic posting
from the Alchemy Mindworks
Update Mailing List *
Click here to UNSUBSCRIBE
<http://mindworkshop.com/mailman/options/newsletter>. (
http://mindworkshop.com/mailman/options/newsletter )
View this message in your web browser
<http://doc.mindworkshop.com/1134.html>.
Contents:
1. *Graphic Workshop Professional 15 Revision 2 * (second notification)
2. *Announcing e-Paint 15*
3. *Announcing PNG MNG Construction Set 15 * (additional notification)
4. *Replying to this Message, List Removal and Details*
*Halloween is coming!!!
Channel your inner witch and turn someone
into a frog. (You know you want to.)
**
Click on the book.
*
Click on this book <http://www.stevenwilliamrimmer.com/wyccad.html>
Graphic Workshop Professional 15 Revision 2
<http://www.mindworkshop.com/gwspro.html>
*Graphic Workshop Professional 15* has been updated.
*In this release:*
* *WebP:* The Graphic Workshop WebP library has been updated to
version 1.3.2 to address a security issue. We'd like to take this
opportunity to urge all users of Graphic Workshop to update to this
release, 'coz the universe has a lot of really bad people in it.
* *Supercompressor:* The Graphic Workshop supercompressor, which will
interactively create the smallest possible JPG and WebP documents
while avoiding turning your source art into sand paintings, has been
updated. It now manages its deliberations without the use of
temporary disk files, making it substantially quicker and imposing
less stress on your storage devices.
* *MOZ JPEG:* The MOZ JPEG
<https://www.mindworkshop.com/gwsplugins.html#MOZ> plugin for
Graphic Workshop, which creates way more compact JPG files than
conventional JPEG writers, has been updated. Among other things,
you'll need this if you use the new Supercompressor, as discussed
above, with the MOZ JPEG option. Please click on the foregoing link
to download it.
* *Matrix:* Addresses an issue with the image indexing logic.
* *Randomization: *The table randomization logic that appears
throughout Graphic Workshop and some of its ancillary applications
has been enhanced to create less predictable results for larger data
sets.
* *Up To Date: *Updates the Alchemy Mindworks notification agent. You
might see a prompt from Up To Date during installation as a result.
It's harmless.
* *Ahem...:* A number of first-release issues in the revision 1
software have been addressed.
*
*
*From the initial release:*
We've added new functionality to the known universe's most popular image
management application, improved its performance and generally refined
it to better get along with Windows 10 and 11. (We hasten to add that it
still performs admirably under earlier builds of Windows, all the way
back to Windows XP, if you're feeling retro.)
Among the new features and enhancements to Graphic Workshop Professional
15, you'll find:
* *Speed:* A quicker and more efficient architecture to make the most
of the latest releases of Windows.
* *Matrix:* Create picture matrices like the ones to your right with a
few clicks. The Graphic Workshop 15 Matrix window offers a rich
palette of matrix styles, at pretty much any resolution you need.
Select Matrix from the Graphic Workshop Image menu, select your
favorite photographs and Graphic Workshop will do all the complex
arithmetic for you.
Matrix graphics are an epic way to add multiple pictures to a web
page without having to devise the HTML to arrange them.
* *AXES:* Graphic Workshop 15 includes a downloadable no-cost plugin
that supports AXES, our encrypted graphic standard. With a suitably
robust pass phrase, an AXES graphic can resist attempts to crack its
encryption for approximately 26-trillion years.
* *JPEG XL:* The 64-bit edition of Graphic Workshop 15 supports JPEG
XL, a leading-edge enhancement of JPEG by the JPEG format's original
creators.
* *JPEG XR:* The 64-bit edition of Graphic Workshop 15 also supports
JPEG XR, Microsoft's putative replacement for JPEG.
* *JPEG 2000:* Graphic Workshop 15 includes full read and write
support for JPEG 2000 documents.
* *SVG: *The 64-bit edition of Graphic Workshop 15 includes SVG
support, to view and convert from scalable vector graphics.
* *ICNS: *Graphic Workshop 15 can read and create Macintosh ICNS icon
documents. If you like to collect icons, it opens up a huge library
of hitherto inaccessible pictures.
* *QR Codes:* Graphic Workshop 15 can create QR codes with any content
you need. Embed them in your graphics to include copyright
information or a link to your web page.
Print them as hard copy and affix them to walls — passers-by will
scan them to see what they're up to.
The 64-bit edition of Graphic Workshop can locate QR codes in your
pictures and tell you what they say. It will also provide you with
clickable links to any web page addresses it finds therein.
* *QOI:* Graphic Workshop 15 supports the Quite OK Image format, a
shockingly quick way to store pictures.
* *EXR: *The 64-bit edition of Graphic Workshop 15 includes support
for Industrial Light & Magic's EXR graphics.*
*
* *PBM, PGM and PPM:* Graphic Workshop 15 supports the standard Linux
graphic formats.
* *XCF:* Graphic Workshop 15 will read and write GIMP XCF graphic
documents.
* *<http://gra.mindworkshop.com/1122-001.jpg>Mosaic:* Graphic Workshop
15's Mosaic window will build photographic mosaics - graphics
created from tiles derived from your library of pictures.
Click on the example to your right to see what it's really up to.
Zoom in to see how it was constructed.
We hasten to add that while mosaic graphics look cool on screen,
they're amazing printed as hard copy.
* *Photoshop Plugins: *The 64-bit edition of Graphic Workshop 15 can
import most third-party Photoshop-compatible plugins, and
subsequently apply the effects contained therein to your graphics.
Be sure to read the discussion of Photoshop plugins in the Reference
section of Graphic Workshop's documentation.
* *Status Bar:* The Graphic Workshop 15 status bar has been updated to
display the aggregate file size for selected objects... a hitherto
implemented feature that vanished some time ago when an unnoticed
bug crept into it.
* ***Smart Thumbnails:* Graphic Workshop 15 includes a new smart
thumbnail mode that fetches its thumbnail images from the Windows
thumbnail cache. If you'll be looking at graphics in common formats,
such as JPG, PNG, WebP and GIF, smart thumbnails are quick,
uncomplicated and they don't require the creation of THN files. See
the discussion of Smart Thumbnail in the Thumbnails section of
Graphic Workshop's Reference document.
* *Favorites:* The Graphic Workshop Favorites window will now fetch
its thumbnails from the Windows thumbnail cache by default, making
it substantially quicker for common file formats.
* ***View:* Graphic Workshop 15's View window now includes jump
buttons to move to the previous or next graphic in a browser. Hover
your mouse cursor over the left or right edge of the View window to
summon a jump button.
Jump buttons can be disabled in the View mode Configuration window
if you aren't in a jumping mood.
The un-maximize button the title bar of Graphic Workshop's View
window is now disabled by default. It can be restored in Setup.
Users who found the View window being resized by other applications
can stop wondering what caused this phenomenon. We don't know
either, but it's history.
* *Plugin SDK:* If you'd like to see Graphic Workshop support formats
it currently doesn't, we invite you to download the Graphic Workshop
Plugin SDK, everything you'll need to create your own format
plugins... as long as you have a suitable language compiler and you
know how to use it.
* *WebP:* The WebP Override window has been updated to correctly apply
its parameters to animations.
* *Animation Workshop UltraLight: *Several issues in the application's
user interface have been addressed.
* *Themes:* An issue in the theme interface common to most Alchemy
Mindworks software that could leak resources and occasionally crash
the applications in question has been mercilessly stomped.
The *Graphic Workshop*Click on this book
<http://www.mindworkshop.com/gwsprint.html>*Printed Reference* has been
revised for the version 15 software, and it includes sections for all
the new functionality. It's available through Amazon — there's a link to
it at the Graphic Workshop web page, and you can access it through the
Get The Graphic Workshop Printed Reference item of Graphic Workshop's
Help menu. Alternately, just click on the book to your right.
All the *Graphic Workshop plugins* have been upgraded to install in
version 15. Note that if you're currently using an earlier version of
Graphic Workshop and its attendant plugins:
* Be sure to uninstall the version 14 plugins before you install
Graphic Workshop Professional 15. Failing this, Graphic Workshop
Professional 15 should prompt you to do so automatically the first
time you run it.
* You'll need to download and install the new plugin installers to run
under Graphic Workshop Professional 15.
* The plugin installers will install plugins for both the 32- and
64-bit editions of Graphic Workshop as applicable — you don't have
to download separate 32- and 64-bit plugins.
If you're using a registered installation of the Graphic Workshop RAW
Digital Camera and Smartphone plugin for an earlier release of Graphic
Workshop, note that your existing registration key will work with the
version 15 plugin — you won't have to buy it again.
As in years past, when you run Graphic Workshop Professional 15 for the
first time, it will look for a previous installation of Graphic Workshop
Professional 14 and optionally *copy your existing configuration*, so
you won't have to set everything up by hand. Even your open browser
windows will be preserved.
Note that if you installed both the 32- and 64-bit editions of Graphic
Workshop Professional 14 on the same computer, the automatic uninstall
will only remove one of them. You'll need to uninstall its sibling by hand.
Click on the blue button to download Graphic Workshop Professional 15.
If you haven't done so previously, we recommend that you install the
Alchemy Mindworks trusted certificate
<https://blog.mindworkshop.com/alchemy-mindworks/installing-the-alchemy-mindworks-certificate/>
and disable the Smart Screen blue window of doom
<https://blog.mindworkshop.com/windows/disabling-windows-smart-screen-for-downloads/>
prior to downloading Alchemy Mindworks software.
Download <http://www.mindworkshop.com/gwspro.html#download>
Upgrades
If you have registered or upgraded a registration for Graphic Workshop
Professional 14 on or after May 1, 2023, you're welcome to a *no-cost
upgrade* to Graphic Workshop Professional 15.
If you have registered or upgraded a registration for Graphic Workshop
Professional 14 prior to May 1, 2023, we invite you to upgrade to
Graphic Workshop Professional 15 for *half the current new-user price*.
The first time you run Graphic Workshop Professional 15, it will
determine which upgrade option applies to your license.
Click on the blue button below to visit the upgrade page.
Upgrade <http://www.mindworkshop.com/upgrade.html>
You can access the no-cost upgrade page
<http://www.mindworkshop.com/gwskey.html> directly by clicking on the
foregoing link.
The graphic of the woman with a digital camera is by Kurhan and is used
under license from StockFresh. The people in the example graphics in
this section don't exist — their pictures were created by an AI at
This-Person-Does-not-Exist.com. Photoshop is a trademark of Adobe
Systems Incorporated. Alchemy Mindworks has no business relationship
with Adobe Systems Incorporated, and the name Photoshop is used herein
for descriptive purposes only.
Announcing e-Paint 15
<http://www.mindworkshop.com/paint.html>
*e-Paint 15* has been released.*
*
We've added new functionality to e-Paint, improved its performance and
generally refined it to better get along with Windows 10 and 11. (We
hasten to add that it still performs admirably under earlier builds of
Windows, all the way back to Windows XP, if you're feeling retro.)
Among the new features and enhancements to e-Paint 15, you'll find...
* *WebP:* The e-Paint WebP library has been updated to version 1.3.2
to address a security issue. We'd like to take this opportunity to
urge all users of Graphic Workshop to update to this release, 'coz
the universe has a lot of really bad people in it.
* *Speed:* A quicker and more efficient architecture to make the most
of the latest releases of Windows.*
*
* *Themes:* An issue in the theme interface common to most Alchemy
Mindworks software that could leak resources and occasionally crash
the applications in question has been mercilessly stomped.
* *Drawing Engine:* Improves the performance of e-Paint's drawing engine.
* *Performance: *Addresses a number of GDI and performance issues that
software developers never really stop meddling with.
* *Documentation:* Updates the documentation.
Click on the blue button to download e-Paint 15.
Download now <http://www.mindworkshop.com/paint.html>
Upgrades
If you have registered or upgraded a registration for e-Paint 14 on or
after May 1, 2023, you're welcome to a *no-cost upgrade* to e-Paint 15.
If you have registered or upgraded a registration for e-Paint 14 prior
to May 1, 2023, we invite you to upgrade to e-Paint 15 for *half the
current new-user price*.
The first time you run e-Paint 15, it will determine which upgrade
option applies to your license.
Click on the blue button below to visit the upgrade page.
Upgrade <http://www.mindworkshop.com/upgrade.html>
You can access the no-cost upgrade page
<http://www.mindworkshop.com/pntkey.html> directly by clicking on the
foregoing link.
The banner graphic above, a detail from Girl with Tattoos, is by Sarah
Wissink, and is used under license from freeimages.com.
Announcing PNG MNG Construction Set 15
<http://www.mindworkshop.com/pngpro.html>
*PNG MNG Construction Set 15* has been released.
We've added new functionality to PNG MNG Construction Set, improved its
performance and generally refined it to better get along with Windows 10
and 11. (We hasten to add that it still performs admirably under earlier
builds of Windows, all the way back to Windows XP, if you're feeling retro.)
If you need to build leading-edge animations, this is the application to
make it happen.
Among the new features and enhancements to PNG MNG Construction Set 15,
you'll find...
* *Speed:* A quicker and more efficient architecture to make the most
of the latest releases of Windows.*
*
* *MatrixGraphic Matrix:* Create animated matrices like the one to
your right with a few clicks. Featuring the epic matrix library of
the The Graphic Workshop 15 Matrix window, illustrated earlier in
this posting, PNG MNG Construction Set offers a rich palette of
matrix styles, at pretty much any resolution you need... with
dynamic transitions, as shown here.
Select Graphic Matrix from the PNG MNG Construction Set Chunk menu,
add your pictures and PNG MNG Construction Set will do all the
complex arithmetic for you.
Matrix animations are a cool way to add multiple pictures to a web
page or your social media posts.
*
* * *Multiple-level Undo:* PNG MNG Construction Set's document windows
now feature multiple undo levels. Step back through each change you
make to an animation if things go sideways. Avoid inflicting dents
shaped like your head upon nearby walls.
* *Supercompressor: *A bug in the PNG MNG Construction Set
Supercompressor has been addressed to squeeze your animations into
even smaller quarters.
* *Plugins: *The PNG MNG Construction Set animation plugins have been
updated and a number of performance and quality issues have been
addressed.
* *Shadow: *An issue with the Shadow window that caused it to
misbehave when it was asked to apply shadows to WebP animations
under some configurations of Windows has been addressed.
* *Manage:* The Manage window has been updated to correctly apply
absolute offsets to WebP animations correctly.
* *WebP: *The WebP writer has been updated to correctly handle Source
content with no alpha transparency.
* *Performance: *Addresses a number of GDI and performance issues that
software developers never really stop meddling with.
* *Documentation:* Updates the documentation.
Click on the blue button to download PNG MNG Construction Set 15.
Download <http://www.mindworkshop.com/pngpro.html>
Upgrades
If you have registered or upgraded a registration for PNG MNG
Construction Set 14 on or after May 1, 2023, you're welcome to a
*no-cost upgrade* to PNG MNG Construction Set 15.
If you have registered or upgraded a registration for PNG MNG
Construction Set 14 prior to May 1, 2023, we invite you to upgrade to
PNG MNG Construction Set 14 for *half the current new-user price*.
The first time you run PNG MNG Construction Set 14, it will determine
which upgrade option applies to your license.
If you haven't done so previously, we recommend that you install the
Alchemy Mindworks trusted certificate
<https://blog.mindworkshop.com/alchemy-mindworks/installing-the-alchemy-mindworks-certificate/>
and disable the Smart Screen blue window of doom
<https://blog.mindworkshop.com/windows/disabling-windows-smart-screen-for-downloads/>
prior to downloading Alchemy Mindworks software.
Click on the blue button below to visit the upgrade page.
Upgrade <http://www.mindworkshop.com/upgrade.html>
You can access the no-cost upgrade page
<http://www.mindworkshop.com/pngkey.html> directly by clicking on the
foregoing link.
Plugins
All the animation plugins for PNG MNG Construction Set have been
upgraded to run with PNG MNG Construction Set 15.
If you have registered one or more plugins for a previous release of PNG
MNG Construction Set, your existing registration keys are still valid.
You'll just need to download the version 15 installers for your plugins.
All the animation plugins are at:
Plugins <http://www.mindworkshop.com/animplugins.html>
*
*
*
IMPORTANT:* If you have plugins installed under GIF Construction Set 14
or PNG MNG Construction Set 14 and you plan to uninstall GIF
Construction Set 15 or PNG MNG Construction Set 15 to replace them with
the new version 15 software, please be sure uninstall all your version
14 plugins, and then uninstall GIF Construction Set 14 and PNG MNG
Construction Set 14.
PNG MNG Construction Set 15 will offer to automatically remove your old
plugins for you the first time it runs — go for it, as this will save
you lots of clicking later on.
We've also created a quick way to reinstall your plugins once you've
downloaded the version 15 installers. Please see the the plugin help
page <http://www.mindworkshop.com/animplugins-qa.html#0032> for assistance.
The background of the banner graphic above, a detail from a picture by
Jimi Backhouse, is used under license from freeimages.com. The ink well
icon for PNG MNG Construction Set was created by Eugen Buzuk of
icondrawer.com, and is used under license. The people in the example
graphics in this section don't exist — their pictures were created by an
AI at This-Person-Does-not-Exist.com.
Replying to this Message, List Removal and Details
<http://www.mindworkshop.com/email-alchemy.html>
This message has been sent from an unmonitored address — please do not
reply to it.
To remove your address from this mailing list or to change your address,
please visit our newsletter management page or click on the Unsubscribe
button:
Unsubscribe <http://mindworkshop.com/mailman/options/newsletter>
Removal requests will be processed instantly.
If you have questions about this list or any Alchemy Mindworks products,
please contact us or click on the button below:
Contact Us <http://www.mindworkshop.com/email-alchemy.html>
You can also contact us by telephone at (705) 789-5238, and by
snail-mail at Alchemy Mindworks, L10 C8 Brunel Box 3-11, Huntsville, ON
P1H 2J3, CANADA.
*IMPORTANT:* Prior to downloading Alchemy Mindworks software, we
strongly recommend that you install the Alchemy Mindworks trusted
certificate
<https://blog.mindworkshop.com/alchemy-mindworks/installing-the-alchemy-mindworks-certificate/>,
and forego several of Windows' scarier pseudo-warnings. While you're
busy ridding your computer of nettlesome popups, we'd like to suggest
you disable its Smart Screen blue window of doom
<https://blog.mindworkshop.com/windows/disabling-windows-smart-screen-for-downloads/>
as well.
If you don't see any graphics in this message, your mail reader is
probably blocking them. Please visit our blog for assistance with
resolving this issue.
The archive <http://www.mindworkshop.com/newsarchive.html> for this
newsletter includes access to earlier postings.
Follow us on:
<https://twitter.com/AlchemyMindwork>
Copyright © 1998 - 2023 Alchemy Mindworks. All rights reserved. Use no
hooks.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mindworkshop.com/pipermail/newsletter/attachments/20231014/618f416e/attachment.html>
More information about the Newsletter
mailing list