2026-10-09 APP 2.0.0-beta48 has been released !
This is mainly a bug fix release for the reported bugs in beta47. In addition it has a significant User Interface performance improvement noticable when you need to process 1000s of images in APP.
2026-10-03 APP 2.0.0-beta47 has been released !
This is a very big release... many code optimizations/rewrites, many parts of APP are much faster and more precise, especially star analysis and registration are much faster ! Big mosaics will go much faster 🙂
And we introduce a new preview filter, which includes the new Adaptive Deep Sky Stretch and a General Levels Stretch, this has been long over due. The old preview filter (the panel on the right side to stretch and preview your data) has not been updated for a couple of years and it is a critical part of any APP session.
Adaptive Deep Sky Stretch or ADSS is a much more intuitive stretch algorithm. It is also color preserving (which is a great new addition in itself ! ) which means that the highlights are no longer bleached, color is maintained from the linear data while stretching. You can simply stretch your data using the sky background level and signal width sliders which work much easier and more intuitive. You no longer need to fiddle with the old complicated sliders with zoom buttons. All the zoom buttons for the sliders are made redundant. And you can enter slider values in the slider value fields yourself. I will make a youtube video in the coming days to explain and fully introduce ADSS. Once the video is ready, it will be highlighted on the forum.
RGB Combine upgrade !. The RGB Combine Tool has been rewritten mostly. The tool is faster and easier to use and most importantly, the Luminance slider to inject a luminance channel or channels into the RGB composite is now working correctly. It no longer bleaches the RGB colors. Combined with the new ADSS preview, you will get much better and easier great composites with great color! I will also explain this in a new youtube video.
can I select more the 1 file at a time during the load step?. having about 120 lights there must be a way to select more then 1 and load them all. example with DDS I could highlight the files and add them.
edit - I meant deep sky stacker DSS
Hi Keithit,
Certainly, in the window where you can select the files, you can use ctrl-a for instance to select all files matching the file filter (for instance all CR2s or FITS), or the ctrl and/or shift key (windows) to select certain files.
Let me know if this helps 😉
Mabula
If you hold down 'shift' and the arrow keys you can highlight as many as required 🙂 Then they will load into the lower console
I've been doing the same as I did in DSS. That is, highlight all the files (subs) that I want and add them all at once. It should work the same way as DSS for adding subs (lights).
It would be useful to allow mouse drag select though. I only have one arm so I use mouse and its always clear when developers dont consider anyone using their software the same way they do and should always allow for maximum flexibility and accessibility by their users.
Also since APP "saves" user choices so next run they are used, eg in the left tabs, that the file loader should do the same so when we chooseour preferred input format it reuses that next time the loader is opened our preferred format is already filter. A little consistency in user experience wouldn't go amiss.
Hi Keithit,
Were you able to select multiple files at once now?
Mabula
It would be useful to allow mouse drag select though. I only have one arm so I use mouse and its always clear when developers dont consider anyone using their software the same way they do and should always allow for maximum flexibility and accessibility by their users.
Also since APP "saves" user choices so next run they are used, eg in the left tabs, that the file loader should do the same so when we chooseour preferred input format it reuses that next time the loader is opened our preferred format is already filter. A little consistency in user experience wouldn't go amiss.
That is a good suggestion, so APP would need to memorize the image filter as well if you open the file chooser the next time. I'll add this to my TODO list.
Mabula
