Fotocx Change Log
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fotocx-24.11
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BUGFIX: correct file permissions to allow access by all users
(problem if fotocx installed in debian fashion with root file ownership).

fotocx-24.10   2024.02.01 
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 • NAME CHANGE: from 'fotoxx' to 'fotocx'. A google search for 'fotoxx' 
   includes pornography in the search results (google thinks "foto xx"). 
   I finally fixed this after years of living with it. 
 • The fotocx home folder is renamed from '.fotoxx' to '.fotocx'.
 • Suppress useless output from 'which' command in startup code.
 • Warp > Stretch: renamed to Warp Radial (fix barrel/pincushion distortion).
 • Warp > Linear: improved algorithm for better control and flexibility. 
 • Meta > Edit: improved interface for editing long descriptions.
 • Edit > Crop: more reliable capture of crop rectangle side or corner.
 • Slide Show: 
   • Correct random transition preference calculation.
   • Add file preference values for random file sequence.
   • New transition "implode" = explode running backwards.

fotoxx-23.82   2023.12.16
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 • Bugfix: crash for locales using a 'comma' for decimal point.
   (GTK initialization forces system LC_NUMERIC environment) 

fotoxx-23.81   2023.12.10
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 • Bugfix: possible crash if location metadata is present but incomplete.

fotoxx-23.80   2023.12.01
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 • New: Effects > Blobs: pixels attract each-other and condense into blobs
                  around local centers of mass (mass == pixel brightness).
 • "exiftool -n orientation=1" replaced "exiftool orientation=horizontal"
   (only for consistency - should make no difference in functionality).
 • User Guide: format revised to better handle text line wrapping.
 • Bugfix: Copy/Move: menus not working if current file moved elsewhere
           (but recover OK when new file is opened).

fotoxx-23.74   2023.11.01
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 • New: Edit > Upright: one-button image upright function (±90 or 180 degrees).
   EXIF orientation parameter is used to determine the direction required.
 • Bugfix: Rotate: if rotate angle is exactly ±90 or 180 degrees, do not
   perform a small sharpening of the rotated image. It is already perfect.
 • Bugfix: When an image is rotated or uprighted, set exif orientation=1
   instead of deleting it.
 • Bugfix: Edit Meta: delete location/country did not delete geocoordinates.
 • Bugfix: Stop "not replaced" log messages during startup (harmless bug).

fotoxx-23.72   2023.10.20
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 • HDR, HDF: Improved alignment: compensate greater camera motion between photos.
 • Flatten Distribution: small improvement in user interface.
 • Bugfix: HDR: Restore ability to align images with large exposure difference.
 • Bugfix: do not show top panel if fullscreen view mode.

fotoxx-23.70   2023.10.01
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 • Settings: A picklist was added for RAW file conversion tools/parameters.
   Options can be tailored for different cameras, ISO settings, etc.
 • Select Area: Selection of complex features (hair, foliage) is faster and
   easier (special Copy Complex function is no longer needed and was removed).
 • Startup file on command line: embedded blanks will work without quotes.
 • Copy/Move: Made easier to copy and rename multiple files with less typing.
 • Blending area edits is now a separate function with greater flexibility.
   Area edits can be blended with any prior edit step. All edges can be blended
   over a specified width (as before), or the mouse can be used to blend any
   part of an area edit with the chosen prior edit step.
 • Panorama: auto brightness matching was discarded in favor of user control.
   (Slower but often better. Occasional color cast problem is avoided.)
 • User Guide: embedded images were updated and made a little larger.
 • User Guide: new topic: make an image from a color slide or color negative.
 • User Guide: new topic: upscale an image with optimum sharpness and detail.
 • Bugfix: Edit Any Metadata: using the full keyname picklist was not working.
 • Bugfix: Retouch: possible crash if [OK] is pressed when in gallery view.
 • Bugfix: Margins: possible crash if margins are increased very rapidly.
 • Bugfix: possible false warning about unsaved edits when opening a new file.
 • Bugfix: Fix Motion Blur: some image edge regions were not being processed.
 • Bugfix: Rotate > Mirror and > Auto Upright: image may get reduced in size.
 • Bugfix: Workaround: parallel exiftool threads limited to 20K files each (?).
 • Bugfix: 'Combine' functions did not block attempted parallel edits: crash.

fotoxx-23.60   2023.08.01
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 • Repair > JPEG Artifacts: improved algorithm works significantly better.
 • Multi-image functions like HDR and Panorama now contain a list of input
   image files in the metadata edit history.
 • Internal sort functions now use 4 threads for a small performance gain.
 • Mashup: image size limits were made 2x greater, and interactive
   responsiveness for large projects was improved.
 • World Map file increased to 547m pixels - marker separations are 2x greater.
 • Effects > Painting: additional input control and improved algorithm.
 • New: Effects > Engrave: convert an image into black and white lines.
 • New: Effects > Tiles2: irregular image tiling to match image features.
 • Gallery > Select Files: reworked for more flexibility and UI improvements.
 • Search: new capability: exclude files with specified metadata missing.
 • Additional edit functions which can now be used with Select Area:
     Plugins [all], Fix Motion Blur, Chromatic Aberration, Match Colors, Mosaic.
 • Bugfix: crash when saving edited image with huge 'description' metadata.
 • Bugfix: Voodoo2 used after Flatten Dist could reduce the image size.

fotoxx-23.50   2023.05.15
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 • New: Repair > JPEG Artifacts - suppress jpeg artifacts in highly compressed
   images, esp. where dark areas were brightened, making artifacts more visible.
   This tool is helpful but does not completely remove the artifacts.
 • Refine > Edit Distribution can now be used together with Paint Edits.
 • Repair > Graduated Blur can now be used together with Paint Edits.
 • UI improvement: edits made before starting Paint Edits in the current edit
   function are preserved - no need to [apply] and restart the same function.
 • Custom User Menu: entries can specify optional file or album name to open.
 • Bugfix: Paint Edits had a tendency to paint an unintended area if pointer
   was left sitting within the image while dialog controls were changed.
 • Bugfix: Flatten Distribution was not working with Paint Edits (from 23.4).

fotoxx-23.4   2023.05.01
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 • Refine > Flatten Distribution: improved functionality and user interface.
 • Refine > Edit Distribution: improved functionality and user interface.
 • Edit > Rotate: Upright and Mirror functions are now included in the
   Rotate function, and these two specialized funcions were removed.
 • Repair > Blur: Normal Blur can now work with Paint Edits. The specialized
   function Paint Blur was removed. The user interface was also improved.
 • Mashup: project image files are now copied into a project folder. This keeps
   a project valid even if member files have been moved or deleted. Existing
   projects are converted, with "-x" added to the project name.
 • Refine > Voodoo1: now usable with Select Area (Voodoo2 already worked).
 • In menus and user guide, "rescale" has replaced "resize" when used for
   image pixel dimensions. This seems to be the normal convention.
 • New: Help > Uninstall: uninstall Fotoxx (delete all application files).
   This works for both the source package and the binary package.
 • New slide show transition: current image breaks apart into hundreds of
   pieces which fly outwards and off the screen to reveal the next image.
 • Custom Menu: custom notes or tips can now be added to the custom menu.
 • A custom folder icon 'folder.png' can be added to the Fotoxx home folder.
   This helps Fotoxx to follow the user's theme or style preference.
 • If Fotoxx crashes, the activity log file and backtrace file are combined
   and copied to the user $HOME folder. The file name is fotoxx-nn.n.log.
 • Bugfix: Batch Overlay: overlay image was being placed on the right side
   of the host image instead of the position set by the user.
 • Bugfix: fix failures from embedded quotes (") in file names or metadata.

fotoxx-23.32  2023.04.05
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 • Bugfix: prevent malformed jpeg file from crashing Fotoxx.
 • Bugfix: shell 'cp' command status changed (!) if no files are copied.
   (prevented Fotoxx from starting after a successful initial install).

fotoxx-23.31  2023.04.03
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 • Bugfix: fix lost recognition of file types: .webp .heic .jp2 .avif

fotoxx-23.3  2023.04.01
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 • Image size limit was increased to 50K pixels width/height and 1024 megapixels
   total image size. Exceeding this limit will cause sudden exit with apology.
 • Denoise: new option: work selectively on more uniform image areas where noise
   is most visible. This is adjustable and applies to all denoise methods.
   The point is not to wash out subtle small details interpreted as noise.
 • New: Repair > Anti-Alias: suppress jaggies along high-contrast feature edges.
   Most usefull to improve scaled-up images. Normal photos are slightly affected.
 • New: Edit > Margins: add margins to an image, with any color or transparency.
 • Edit > Upright: all 8 categories of orientation are now recognized and used
   for image correction (rotate 90/180/270 and mirror horizontal/vertical).
   Batch Upright was similarly expanded.
 • Edit Distribution: a capability was added to improve details in areas that
   were darkened with "low cutoff" to remove unwanted background light.
 • Support was added for .avif image files (libheif-examples must be installed).
 • Rawtherapee and MPO-extract were revised to become plugin menu entries.
 • Settings: allow the SMP thread count to be set below the hardware default
   (2 per P-core + 1 per E-core). This can make some functions run faster.
 • Bugfix: parallel use of different releases caused crash or lost edits.

fotoxx-23.2  2023.03.01
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 • Improved user interface and minor function improvements: Edit Metadata,
   View Metadata, Search Metadata, Flatten Distribution, Local Retinex.
 • Effects > Emboss: illumination angle can now be input, 0-360 degrees.
   Response to input changes is real time instead of [apply] button.
 • New binary package format: executable program + libraries in one tarball.

fotoxx-23.1  2023.02.01
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 • Search speed for non-indexed metadata is about 2x faster.
 • Indexing speed (index metadata + make thumbnails) is about 1.3x faster.
 • Disallow changes to reserved KB shortcuts - falsifies the user guide.
 • Bugfix: Mashup: add line/arrow was not working.
 • Bugfix: Minor memory leaks in image search function.
 • Bugfix: poss. crash in location lookup if input text had >20 matches.
 • Bugfix: Mozaic: crash if dialog controls are operated in the wrong sequence.

fotoxx-23.0  2023.01.01
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 • Edit Metadata and Batch Geotags: The MapQuest query for geocoordinates no
   longer works and was replaced with a location data table from the internet.
 • Error reporting for metadata edit functions was improved.
 • New: Meta > Fix Meta: remove malformed file metadata blocking new edits.
 • Removed: Tools > Monitor Gamma, which no longer works with Wayland.
 • File > New Session is faster (superfluous index refresh was removed).
 • Initial default menu icon size was reduced so menu fits within 1024x768.
 • Bugfix: Meta > Search Images: metadata criteria is now recalled in search
   dialog and included in search criteria [load] and [save] functions.
 • Bugfix: Fix newest GCC compiler warning.
