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Paint.NET v3.07 Preview


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( Cross posted from my blog: http://blogs.msdn.com/rickbrew/ )

Another month, and another Paint.NET update is on the way! By now you may have noticed this trend. We have decided that monthly updates are going to be the best way for us to deliver some of the small features we've been wanting to ship for a long time, but just haven't had (or taken) the time to do so. Monthly updates of the "0.01" scale involve a lot less work than a full scale 0.1 or 1.0 update. This will allow us to focus on these smaller features while designing and planning for v4.00.

So, what's coming in v3.07? I'll tell you!

    * The Help / Documentation is being moved online. It will no longer be part of what you download. Doing this reduces the size of the download from 4.5MB all the way down to 1.2 MB. This will enable you to download Paint.NET about 3.7 times faster! Dial-up users will no doubt appreciate this.
    When you click the Help -> Help Contents menu item, it will launch a web page that will have the same content as before. This will also enable us to add a simple Search box to the help file, which is something that has been requested a few times.
    * We will not be releasing the "Full" installer anymore. This is the installer that bundles the .NET Framework with the installer, resulting in a 50+ MB download. Yugh. I think enough people have .NET 2.0 installed by now that this isn't really an issue. If there is enough demand to bring this back though, we will of course consider it. An upcoming release will bump the requirement up to .NET 3.0, and at that point we will make available a "full" installer via the auto-updater. But even then we will only be packaging the "bootstrapper" for .NET 3.0 which is only 2.8mb. Its job is to download and then install the necessary installation files for you. If we included the full .NET 3.0 packages, both 32- and 64-bit, it would add 100 MB to the download.
    * The Line/Curve tool is being enhanced to allow you to draw arrow heads. You can also set the line to be drawn with a few different dashed and dotted styles. You can set these options in the toolbar, and there are also keyboard shortcuts to cycle them (comma, period, and forward-slash).
    pdn307_arrowToolStrip.png
    pdn307_arrowPreview.png
    * When an image has unsaved changes, its thumbnail in the upper right corner of the Paint.NET window will have a little orange asterisk. This is something I really wanted for the big v3.0 release, but time and energy ran out and it just had to be punted. But it's here now! Not exactly something to write an epic poem about, but it's another nice touch. It will allow you to see at a glance which images still need to be saved.
    pdn307_asterisk.png
    * The Save Configuration dialog will now allow you to maximize it, and it will also remember its location and size. I personally have considered this to be a nuisance in the past, where everytime I went to save a JPG or GIF, I would have to reposition and re-size the darn window. Well, now it's a bit smarter about it, and it's about time!
    * There are some bug fixes, as usual. One thing that people have reported is that actions like Crop or Rotate Image reset the layer selection to the bottom layer. This is being fixed. There are also some issues that have come up regarding the new Open/Save dialogs in Vista, and I will be fixing those as well. The dialogs in Vista aren't buggy, but our use of them was incomplete and you couldn't open files from certain sources, for instance.

Paint.NET v3.07 is currently scheduled to be released at the end of this month, or in early May.

The Paint.NET Blog: https://blog.getpaint.net/

Donations are always appreciated! https://www.getpaint.net/donate.html

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Will this also be applied to the Open dialogue?

It's just the JPEG one, with a preview.

edit @Rick: I'm not fond of the white "border" of the star. My 2 cents.

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* The Help / Documentation is being moved online. It will no longer be part of what you download. Doing this reduces the size of the download from 4.5MB all the way down to 1.2 MB. This will enable you to download Paint.NET about 3.7 times faster! Dial-up users will no doubt appreciate this.

Rick, I feel that the Help/Documentation should remain as part of the download. Some of us can't be online every time we want to use Paint! Or else, have it online and have a downloadable Documentation pack that can be installed and linked to the Help menu in the application.

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Some of us can't be online every time we want to use Paint!

Right, but you aren't going to be using the help file every time you want to use Paint.NET. However, your vote has been tallied, so to speak.

The Paint.NET Blog: https://blog.getpaint.net/

Donations are always appreciated! https://www.getpaint.net/donate.html

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Will this also be applied to the Open dialogue? I know it just says Save but it could be useful for the Open dialogue too.

There are 3 dialogs:

1) Open -- this is where you choose which files to open

2) Save -- this is where you choose the file name and location to save with

3) Save Configuration -- this is where you configure the options for the file type

(1) and (2) behave as per whatever Windows feels like doing. (3) is all Paint.NET code and is what I am referring to above.

The Paint.NET Blog: https://blog.getpaint.net/

Donations are always appreciated! https://www.getpaint.net/donate.html

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The idea of not downloading the help file with the installer is pretty cool. Having a fully online help system, allows for updates and changes to arrata.

I do however see an issue with that (on my end). I do a lot of traveling, and a lot of work outside of my home. I do not always have access to the net, but, I do use the help system whenever I need it.

Would there be a possibility of creating, perhaps a pdf, or chm version of the help system? This way we could choose to download it or to simply connect to the net?

This would be helpful.

All the advancements look great.

Thanks

When in doubt, Try it out.

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If you really, really want your own copy.

There are programs around that can download and save a copy of an entire website. It must be possible to make such a program download, and save a copy of the help file.

http://www.httrack.com/

But be careful. If used wrong, this program will try to fill your hard drive with the entire internet. (Why I seldom use it.) :shock:

And you will sooner or later have an outdated version of the help files on your computer.

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Like I said, if there is enough demand than I see no problem with releasing the help file as a separate download. I just don't want everyone rushing in to download it going, "Yay I have the full version!", because that's just not the point.

The Paint.NET Blog: https://blog.getpaint.net/

Donations are always appreciated! https://www.getpaint.net/donate.html

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Awesome! I'm excited!

Hey, I ment to ask you about this...

Is there any way to (through your coding, not my money) to make the program run faster under HUGE images? (1500+)? not saying its needed, just saying it'd be nice to have some optimization.

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"1500+" ? You mean 1500 KB JPEG, or 1500 pixels, or ... ?

I'm looking at many things for version 4.00*, and am hoping to solve many long standing architectural, and thus performance, limitations of Paint.NET.

* Also remember that 4.00 is currently only in the preliminary stages. No code has been written for it, everything is subject to change, and please do not pester me about it ...

The Paint.NET Blog: https://blog.getpaint.net/

Donations are always appreciated! https://www.getpaint.net/donate.html

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But be careful. If used wrong, this program will try to fill your hard drive with the entire internet. (Why I seldom use it.) :shock:

That reminds me of something....

Ah, yes! Download the internet here!

Back on topic, thanks Rick, especially for the JPG save dialog update.

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"For infinite happiness," said the Spirit. "You can step out into it at any moment..."

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