Paint.NET v3.5.5 Beta released

[Rick Brewster]

This update fixes one small bug, improves layer blending and Gaussian Blur performance, and is now updated to work with the new .NET Framework v4.0.

This is the "official" Beta release. The other versions that were posted here on the forum, in the Preview Center, were targeted at a smaller audience. This one is meant for everyone!

You must install this manually from the website, http://www.getpaint.net/. There is no need to uninstall the old version -- that will be taken care of automatically.

There are three ways to get it:

• Manual: Download directly from the website, http://www.getpaint.net/ . There is no need to uninstall the old version -- that will be taken care of automatically.
  
• Semi-automatic: Use the built-in updater, by going to the Utilities menu and clicking on Check for Updates. You must opt-in to Beta downloads. You can do this by going to the Utilities menu, then Check for Updates, then click on the Options button, and then make sure that "Also check for pre-release (beta) versions". Then click Save, of course.
  
• Fully automatic: Use the built-in updater; just wait for the update prompt to show up within the next week. You must have opted-in to Beta downloads. (See the previous bullet for how to enable this.)
  

NOTE: I have removed this from the built-in updater for now.

Please note that XP SP2 and Vista pre-SP1 ("RTM") are no longer supported. Here are download links to install the service packs if you need them:

• Windows XP SP3 -- http://www.microsoft...08-1E1555D4F3D4
  
• Windows Vista SP2 -- http://www.microsoft...12-a5c3199ea2b3

Just to clarify, XP is still supported! However, you must have Service Pack 3 ("SP3") installed. For Vista, you must have SP1 or SP2 installed.

Also, if you don't have .NET 4.0 installed then don't worry. It will be automatically downloaded and installed for you!

Changes:

• Fixed the bug where saving as 8-bit PNG/GIF/BMP wasn't always working, usually with larger images.
• Improved the performance of the Gaussian Blur effect by 30-40%.
• Improved the performance of all the layer blending modes by 15-30%.
• Improved the performance of zooming with the mouse wheel on dual-core Intel Atom systems.
• Updated to use (and require) the .NET Framework v4.0. This will be automatically downloaded and installed if necessary.
• Fixed a small error in the Chinese translation.

[Frontcannon]

Are there any special benefits from migrating to .NET 4.0?

[Leif]

Just a heads up.

After .NET 4.0 is downloaded and installed, you have to manually restart the process of installing Paint.NET.

[Rick Brewster]

Leif, that should not be necessary. It always picks up with Paint.NET on every system I've been working with.

[Leif]

For some reason it didn't.

I started update from Paint.NET, and it started upating NET 4.0

NET 4.0 just closed, and nothing more happened.

I opened Paint.NET and asked it to look for updates, and it found V3.5.5

OS is Windows 7

Edited April 14, 2010 by Leif

[Sozo]

I believe i can second Leif's report. I'm using Windows Vista 64-bit. .NET 4.0 installation concluded, but the Paint.NET installer did not finish.

[Rick Brewster]

As in, it didn't start? Even if you gave it a minute or so? (sometimes the hard drive can get busy so it delays the next installer for a bit)

[Urnemanden]

I can confirm that this doesn't happen on my Windows Vista 64bit. Everything seems to run just fine - it does take some time for the P.NET installer to show up again, tho.

Edited April 14, 2010 by Urnemanden

[Sozo]

As in, it didn't start? Even if you gave it a minute or so? (sometimes the hard drive can get busy so it delays the next installer for a bit)

I ran the installer, it unpacked the .NET installer which after a short delay (which I though might be what Leif was referring to) ran and downloaded and installed .NET 4.0. I let this run in the background while browsing the web after watching the .NET installer for a bit to make sure it was working. About 10 or 15 minutes later I checked back and while .NET had finished installing, Paint.NET had not (I started up PdN and checked the version number to be sure).

[jerry533482]

I think I'm having the same problem. I installed .net 4.0 outside of the PDN installer, but when I try to run the PDN installer itself, it just exits after extracting files.

[Rick Brewster]

What version of Windows are you all using?

[jerry533482]

I'm running Windows 7 home premium x86.

Edited April 14, 2010 by jerry533482

[Rick Brewster]

So the first time, it installed .NET 4 ... but that's as far as it went.

When you run it a second time it does install Paint.NET v3.5.5.

Is that correct?

I think I'm having the same problem. I installed .net 4.0 outside of the PDN installer, but when I try to run the PDN installer itself, it just exits after extracting files.

If you restart and then run the installer, does it all work?

[Rick Brewster]

Ok I've reproduced this. The crux of the issue is that .NET v4 (usually?) requires a reboot after installation.

So for now, reboot and try again.

[Rick Brewster]

Oh, also, if you have a pending reboot -- which is quite possible since yesterday was Windows Update's "Patch Tuesday" -- you will need to reboot before installing.

[Leif]

Correct, i later discoverd i had a pending reboot.

[Rick Brewster]

I'm hoping to find a way out of reboots, but I can't promise anything. I want the experience to be the same as it was with PDN 3.5 + .NET 3.5 SP1. That is, you could install the whole thing and only have to reboot at the very end (if necessary).

[Rick Brewster]

Looks like the .NET v4 deployment story is worse than I thought. I may have to hold off on using .NET 4 for awhile. Stay tuned.

[tigerhawkvok]

Also, if you try to install but have a pending restart, the installer exits silently with no notice.

DOH didn't refresh the thread before posting, you figured this out.

Edited April 15, 2010 by tigerhawkvok

[jerry533482]

All right. I rebooted, & ran the installer a couple times. The first time, the installer took too long to show up, so I ran it again. It started, but showed a bunch of error messages like paint.net.msi not found in C:\Program Files\Paint.NET; I'm assuming there was a problem with the extraction. But the third tim I ran it, it worked.

So Rick, will there be more betas for v3.5.5? There obviously appears to be a number of issues that should be fixed.

But still, thanks for the beta!

[csm725]

Mine works perfectly fine. Thanks Rick.

[chrisco97]

It works fine for me, but what happened to all of my plugins?

[Leif]

It works fine for me, but what happened to all of my plugins?

??? I haven't encountered any plugin problems yet.

[chrisco97]

None of my plugins can be used. My "Effects" folder is still there, but none of my plugins are in the program.

[Urnemanden]

Kinda the same for me. Most of my plugins has disappeared, even when I don't get any plugin erros. We are among others talking about Align Object and most of all "Object ->" Plugins.