paint.net 4.2.16 is now available!

[Rick Brewster]

This updates fixes and optimizes palette generation when saving at 8-bit depth or less, and also fixes any remaining issues with using "Auto-detect" for bit-depth. A new effect, Quantize (in the Effects -> Color menu), has been added, some bugs have been fixed, and bundled file type plugins have been updated.

 

Here's a simple example of using Quantize to reduce the # of colors in an image. You can also apply dithering, just like you can when saving an image at 8-bit or lower bit-depth. You can also choose between the Octree (default) and Median Cut palette generator algorithms. Octree is generally the right choice, but Median Cut can occasionally be quite useful.

 

 

If you’re using the Windows Store release, you should get the update automatically within the next 24 hours. You can also force an update

check by following these instructions.

 

For the Classic release, you should be offered the update automatically within the next week or so. You can get the update sooner by going to ⚙ Settings → Updates → Check Now. You can also download and install it directly from the website.

 

List of changes since 4.2.15:

 

• New: Effect -> Color -> Quantize, which applies palette reduction to 256 colors or less, along with dithering. This is the same algorithm used when saving images at 8-bit color depth or lower.
• Fixed and improved palette generation when saving at 8-bit color depth or less
• Greatly optimized performance of palette generation and image quantization
• Added option to choose between Octree (default) and Median Cut algorithms for palette quantization when saving at 8-bit color depth or less
• Fixed a crash in Move tools when the selection was 0-width and/or 0-height
• Added tooltips w/ shortcut keys to the Tools dropdown in the toolbar
• Fixed IndirectUI ColorWheel rendering (thanks @toe_head2001!)
• Fixed a crash in the Text tool when using Ctrl+(Left,Right,Backspace,Delete) (thanks @Bruce Bowyer-Smyth!)
• Changed: New layers are now filled with #00000000 instead of #00FFFFFF
• Fixed a crash when working with selections (OutOfMemoryException)
• New: Effects can now access the Document's DPI via EffectEnvironmentParameters.DocumentResolution
• Fixed drawing of the color palette in the Colors window when using some non-standard DPI scaling settings (e.g. 1.15x)
• Fixed a crash when using @Ed Harvey's Threshold plugin
• Fixed the return value from PdnRegion.GetBoundsInt() so it's not anchored at (0,0) unless it should be
• Fixed premultiplied-to-straight color conversion on some code paths (thanks @null54!)
• Updated bundled AvifFileType plugin to v1.1.11.0, which includes performance optimizations and bug fixes. See its GitHub releases page (https://github.com/0xC0000054/pdn-avif/releases) for more info. (thanks @null54!)
• Updated bundled DDSFileTypePlus plugin to v1.10.9.0, which uses an updated version of DirectXTex (2021-04-06). (thanks @null54!)

 

Enjoy!

 

[null54]

On 4/21/2021 at 4:59 PM, Rick Brewster said:

Updated bundled DDSFileTypePlus plugin to v1.10.8.0

 

This should actually be v1.10.9.0, due to the hotfix I had to release for v1.10.8.0.

Also, new for FileType plugin developers, the TryParse method in the XmpPacket class now has overloads that take a Stream.

 

 

[Roger the Dodger]

Thank you for all your tireless hard work 😊👍

[Rick Brewster]

9 hours ago, null54 said:

This should actually be v1.10.9.0, due to the hotfix I had to release for v1.10.8.0.

 

fixed!

[IHaveNoName]

Odd: I updated from the previous version to the latest one on my primary PC without any problems. However I've just tried the same on this machine which is very similarly set up and after updating (via the PDN menu) I had an 'unhandled exception' when the new version tried to launch. Repeated and the same problem occurred.

 

Rebooted the PC and tried again, same thing. However after I ran the PdnRepair Utility and restarted all is well now.

 

I don't like odd behaviour like this, its never happened before with PDN but I think it might be related to my first ever Windows blue screen on the this particular PC which I had 10 days ago. My anti-virus took fright and quarantined something when I was updating other software and it crashed the OS. I had to use a restore point, again for the first time on this machine, and I've had a few other programs acting up since then.

 

Hope that is all it was.   

[BoltBait]

8 hours ago, IHaveNoName said:

My anti-virus took fright

 

Which anti-virus software are you using?

[IHaveNoName]

I know you'll scold me for using it so I'd prefer not to say.

 

What I will say is that it is quite annoying in the way it handles perceived problems - it automatically stops what is going on and you either have to quarantine or remove the alleged "Severe Threat" there and then. No easy way to add an exception.

 

Why the PDN update caused a problem I don't know because my existing version PDN install launched without any trouble. As said I used the update option from its menu to initiate the update. The AV didn't flag any problem with it during download or install so whether it was involved at all I have no idea.  

[Rick Brewster]

1 hour ago, IHaveNoName said:

I know you'll scold me for using it so I'd prefer not to say.

 

Well, it's useful for us to know what AV software is causing problems for folks, so we can help people when they invetable ask for help here, or send me e-mails about it. No scolding, you already know what our advice is we just need the data.

 

Avast, in particular, is known to be just downright hostile even when just saving images in Paint.NET 🤦🏼‍♂️

[IHaveNoName]

I understand but as said I can't be sure it was involved directly this time.

 

I may have had PDN open when the earlier blue-screen occurred, which was, I think, was caused by the AV quarantining a program update I was installing. PDN may have been damaged by the resulting forced shutdown but not enough to stop it booting.

 

It was not AVAST, I actually have that (not the latest version) on the other PC that updated PDN without issue.

 

This was good old MSE which I intended to replace ASAP after I first finished the PC and had it up and running. That's never happened mainly because I've had no problems except with the way it handles 'threats'. I do have other real time, compatible security protection too.    

Edited April 25, 2021 by IHaveNoName
typo

[IHaveNoName]

Just a footnote the problem I had with the initial update: the problem was almost certainly nothing to do with any other program it was most likely an early symptom of a series of problems which developed on that PC in the subsequent weeks. I had BSDs at random, browser tab crashes and SFC reporting multiple problems it couldn't fix.

 

After a lot of research and not a few cul-de-sacs in diagnosing where the trouble was I ran a Windows Memory Diagnostic test almost out of frustration and it reported a hardware issue. Long story but thanks to various IT forum advice I ran Memtest86 from disc. It confirmed, and,  with testing, identified the culprit: one bad RAM module.

 

Once removed all the symptoms and error reports disappeared entirely with the PC now running as smoothly, if slightly slower, as it was before.

 

So likely the PDN issue was entirely down to the bad RAM module.

[Red ochre]

I like the new Quantize effect and save options - many thanks!

 

And I've learnt that '#' (octothorpe?) is shorthand for 'number' in U.S. English.😲

#

[Rick Brewster]

Closing this thread because 4.3 is now available!