Vectoraster for Mac

What's new in this version:

Vectoraster 8.4.10
Fixed:
- Fixes a bundle validation bug that caused issues on some systems in v8.4.9
- Fixes some blocking network calls during license activation


Vectoraster 8.4.9
Changes and improvements:
- Improved SVG image mode imports/rendering (Upgrade to IJSVG 3.0 framework)
- Added an option to re-center centered source layers on document size change, making it easier to resize a document to a new source image
- Added link to user Discord channel in Help menu

Fixed:
- Fixed being able to select the source measurement channel parent item in the parameter sources menu and not just the items
- Removed a tooltip in the sources menu that was interfering with selecting items in submenus


Vectoraster 8.4.8
Changes and improvements:
- Optimized Randomization distortion
- Improved generation and rendering progress updates for long processes
- Updated manual and bundled sample files
- Improved conversion of legacy source measurement exponent parameters when importing Vectoraster 7 files

Fixed:
- a bug with dynamic distortion strength parameters in rasters with raster offset
- initial loading preview image incorrect aspect for zoomed in rasters
- source color/light filterers not being applied when the document legacy blur setting was enabled
- an issue with converting some dynamic distrortion strength settings from legacy Vectoraster 7 files
- an issue with importing legacy Vectoraster 7 files with invalid incremental step parameters
- an issue with importing use source color mix parameters from legacy Vectoraster 7 files
- an issue with converting separate Y spacing in alternating grid legacy Vectoraster 7 files


Vectoraster 8.4.7
Fixed:
- missing Print permission in sandbox entitlements
- drag highlight outline being shown on file areas even if the dragged file was not in a supported format
- incorrect disk write protection warning in the technical log


Vectoraster 8.4.6
- Change log not available for this version


Vectoraster 8.4.5
Added:
- three new dithering raster patterns: Burkes, Atkinson and Bayer 4x4
- support for exporting animations as animated GIFs
- new preferences setting for default in/out easing type of new added keyframes

- Fixed using trackpad pinch gestures to zoom in the preview
- Fixed some issues with the export progress bar during repeated animation exports
- Character point shape baseline pivot option is no longer turned on by default


Vectoraster 8.4.2
- Fixes an issue where exporting large rasters to SVG or CSV format failed


Vectoraster 8.4.1
- Changed preferences interface so changes are applied immediately
- Fixed an issue with exporting animations to numbered PNG or JPEG files
- Interface performance improvements
- Changed the default video export codec to H264
- Added some improved error messages for export issues


Vectoraster 8.4.0
- Video source layers allowing you to apply raster effect to video and export the animated result
- Greatly improved video export rendering performance
- The YouTube videos links now correctly lead to the Vectoraster 8 videos playlist
- Fixes the display raster / source slider opacity not updating the preview
- Fixes an issue with the export progress panel hiding when the application was inactive
- Smoother handling of remotely deployed license unlocking, not showing the trial mode notice while the license is verified


Vectoraster 8.3.3
- New macOS 11-style application icon
- Improvements to SVG custom point shape parsing
- Fixes some issues with UI panel animations
- Fixes to some dark mode UI issues
- Fixes holes still appearing in exports if exporting immediately after unlocking the full version
- Updated to Sparkle 2.0 version checking and updating library


Vectoraster 8.3.2
- New Unsharp mask sharpening filter available for all source layers
- Fixes an issue where the Export dialogue could become unresponsive on macOS 12.1 when opening it a second time
- Handle loading or setting invalid animation duration or framerate better


Vectoraster 8.3.1
- Added support for drag and drop importing new source image layers
- Updated sample files

Fixed:
- preview drag editing of position for distortions in rotated and offset rasters
- the animation keyframe value field not updating the raster after changes
- undo/redo of editing animation duration, framerate and loop settings
- animation framerate setting not loading correctly from saved files
- bug where raster would stop drawing after turning both point fill and storke off, even if they were turned on again


Vectoraster 8.3.0
- New source-based text modes. Pick point text characters dynamically based on source layers. Paint by numbers or ASCII-art!
- New word text modes. Use a set of words instead of just characters as point shapes. Make word clouds or generate data-driven labels!
- Some changes for more consistent handling of fonts for text raster points and text source layers
- Fix a bug where changing the document random seed wouldn't update the seed for all random properties
- Fix a bug where the document random seed wouldn't be properly loaded from saved files
- Performance improvements


Vectoraster 8.2.5
- You can now edit animation keyframes while the animation is running
- You can now quickly revert values being edited by pressing Esc
- Disabling a parameter that has an active animation track now also disables the animation track and adds a warning icon to it
- Removing a source layer or pattern distortion that has animated parameters now also properly removes these animation tracks
- Fixed a bug where removing the last source layer could leave an orphaned source settings panel
- Fixed couple of issues in v8.2.3 and 8.2.4 with using source layer color for point stroke or fill
- Changes to visibility toggle buttons for source layers and animation tracks to reduce interface clutter


Vectoraster 8.2.4
Fixed:
- an issue with opening files with raster distortions in v 8.2.3
- some interface button alignments on macOS 11


Vectoraster 8.2.3
- Adding a new source image layer now opens a browse dialogue right away
- Added a new Import source image menu item to quickly create a new source image layer
- Improvemed handling of imported source image sizes when replacing a layer image
- Added a new separate scale source layers option when changing the document artboard size
- Improvements to tabbing between value fields and opening/closing interface panels
- Document window size and position is now saved in VRaster files
- Improved labels and tooltips to help make isometric raster patterns using the same spacing toggle
- Improved interface panel animation performace


Vectoraster 8.2.2
- Improved performance and stability during animation exports
- Better previews of the animation during the animation export process
- Better raster pattern panel previews when using large artboard sizes
- Source layer actions button now show on hover as well as selection of the layer
- Fix missing VRaster document icons on older versions of macOS (again)


Vectoraster 8.2.1
- Fixed source invert filter not working after the 8.2.0 update
- Fix preview not updating correctly when a source layer is removed
- Better raster pattern preview for varied density rasters
- Fix text source layers not updating on the first click when changing font in the font panel
- Fix missing VRaster document icons on older versions of macOS
- Adjustment of some dark mode text label colors


Vectoraster 8.2.0
- New dithering raster patterns. Dynamic source based Floyd-Steinberg, Stucki and Sierra error diffusion dithering patterns and new Bayer 8x8 ordered dithering pattern.
- Improved support for imported SVG and EPS of custom point shapes exported from Affinity software
- Added support for even-odd fill mode in imported of custom point shapes
- Fixes an issue with document icons for some macOS 11 users
- Fixed live raster updates while dragging sliders for some source parameters
- Better handling of problems when importing custom vector point shapes from EPS/PDF/SVG files
- Removed some redundant screen printing export settings
- Some interface optimization


Vectoraster 8.1.3
- Added button to re-center offset source layers
- The artboard size dialogue now has added presets for current image source sizes as well as original sizes
- Performance improvements for raster distortions and gradient source layers
- Clarified and corrected a number of tooltips and help messages
- Updates to the manual
- Some small macOS 11 interface adjustments
- Updated Sparkle version checking library


Vectoraster 8.1.2
- Improved calculation progress updates for long regeneration processes
- Improved handling of warnings when incompatible raster settings are selected so no raster can be rendered
- Fixed some number formatting issues with export size fields when using comma as a thousands separator
- Value fields should now correctly show comma as the decimal separator based on your system settings
- Fixes a double regeneration bug after changing the artboard size
- Removed a redundant search field from the Help menu


Vectoraster 8.1.1
- Optimized file loading
- Fixes a bug with changing sizes in the export dialogue when using points or inches as the length units
- Fixes a bug with auto-resampling of large source images causing them to be used at the wrong size in v8.1.0
- Fixed a bug where images sources wouldn't properly update when toggling auto-resampling on/off


Vectoraster 8.1.0
- SVG vector graphics export
- New Simple line point shape, simple short line with just stroke and no fill useful for stippling, plotting and etching applications
- Improved CSV-export that now includes point fill color RGBA components in the exported data
- New export option to use preview raster opacity when exporting, to let you export the raster semi-transparent on top of the sources
- Improved appearance of composited source layer previews while live editing source parameters
- Fix preview rendering when raster preview opacity was lower than source preview opacity
- Interface adjustments for macOS 11 (Big Sur)
- Update to Finder preview quick look component for VRaster files


Vectoraster 8.0.5
- Apple Silicon native support
- Improved performance when updating and compositing source layers
- Improved SVG path importing, with support for matrix() group transforms often used by Affinity Designer
- New presets menu in the artboard size change dialogue to quickly change to a preset or source image size
- Fixes some interface panel animation glitches when enabling/disabling the Use source color fill/stroke settings
- Exporting without changing any document export settings no longer marks the document as needing to be saved
- Update to Sparkle updating library


Vectoraster 8.0.4
- Fixes a bug where trying to add a new Bulge pattern distortion would instead add a Randomize distortion
- Some layout changes to the raster spacing controls when using separate X/Y spacing
- Added item in Help menu for the new system for feedback and voting on future development
- More helpful error messages when entering incorrect license information
- New method for logging technical warnings without relying on system log


Vectoraster 8.0.3
- Added new 'Paste replace source image' Edit menu item to quickly replace the selected source layer image
- Added keyboard shortcuts for the paste source image menu items
- Fixed an issue with JPEG exports sometimes failing and causing problems with other exports after this
- Made the raster-sources display slider more responsive to quick changes


Vectoraster 8.0.2
- Improved editing animation keyframe values when using drag editing in the preview
- Fixes an issue where enabling disabled animation tracks would not refresh the preview in some cases
- Optimized rendering of composited source layer preview
- Tweaks to preview zoom adjustments when opening/closing the animation panel
- Fixes a 1px preview edge alignment issue at some zoom levels


Vectoraster 8.0.1
- Setting a Gradient or Image source layer size height or width to a negative value now mirrors it
- The progress bar for longer generation processes is now more prominent with a point counter along with rendering percent
- Better handling when entering invalid math expressions in value fields
- Adjustments to rendering of some interface elements
- Correctly (don't) render Text source layers with zero size


Vectoraster 8.0.0
Main changes and new features:
- Animation support. Animate raster and source parameters and export the result to video or a sequence of frame files
- New source layers model. Sources are now more like layers in other graphics software and can be moved, scaled and rotated individually and blended together
- Apply file raster settings. You can now quickly apply all raster settings from a different VRaster file, while retaining the sources in the current file
- Improved preview drag editing. Edit source layers, gradients, distortions or raster pattern parameters by dragging graphical handles in the preview
- Advanced noise sources. New dynamic noise layers generating perlin or billowing noise you can then apply to any parameter across the raster
- Secondary point transformations. You can now apply two separate dynamic scaling or rotations to raster points, for example adding randomization to a source-based value
- Dark Mode interface support. Interface now adapts to system interface mode, and lets you switch between dark mode and light mode

Additional changes and improvements:
- Many improvements and changes to the interface to make it more compact and responsive
- Measure mode (Darkness, Alpha or RGB/CMYK channels) is now set per parameter instead of per source, so different parameters can measure different channels from the same source
- New shortcut in the parameter function menu to quickly swap min/max values, inverting any dynamic parameter
- New simplified way of quickly setting point fill or stroke color based on sources
- Sources - Raster display slider. Easily change preview display to show your sources, raster or both depending on what you're working with
- New settings for default new document size and source layer
- Improved source layer filtering, with blur, brightness, contrast and saturation adjustment for each source
- New helpful warning messages explaining why certain combinations of parameter settings result in nothing being drawn
- Moved and clarified settings for removing raster points based on size and/or variable chance
- You can now use middle mouse button to drag and pan when zoomed in, including when drag editing other parameters
- Export settings are now saved per file, so you can quickly reuse the settings you used last in a file
- Separate vertical spacing is now more consistently used in different raster patterns
- Offset and rotation of the random raster pattern is now consistent with offset and rotation of the other raster patterns
- Variable raster pattern distortions can now be point index based as well as source based
- Smoother new document handling, and a new setting not to open a new document at startup
- CSV export now includes point rotation data and uses the user set length units
- Improved memory management