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.
Hi,
I use APP for my stacking and my initial processing. However, I'm using one tool that is only available in PixInsight (The plugin BlurXterminator) and it needs to work on the raw linear unstreatched stack. So my workflow is:
1) Stack in APP into a 32-bit FITS
2) Open in PI and run BlurXterminator and save as 32-bit (either FITS or TIFF)
3) Open in APP and do light pollution removal, star calibration, basic stretch, save as 16-bit TIFF
4) Open in Affinity photo for final touchup.
The problem is any 32-bit format I save in PI seems to usually load as a corrupted image in APP. Sometimes, it's all green where I didn't crop around the pure black/undefined boarder and then almost pure white where the image is. If I crop in PI to a smaller image, sometimes it loads correctly in APP... I don't know why it's often messed up.
What format should I save in PI that APP can load? Have you worked with 32-bit float file compatibility between the two programs?
With the popular and very effective BlurXterminator only available on PI, this may become a growing trend.
- Steven
Hi Steven @readyjetty,
The 32bits float data from Pixinsight should be fully compatible with APP, it has been like that for many years. But, maybe Pixinsight changed something recently in how they store 32bits float data in FITS and TIFF and this is now creating issues? I am not aware of this myself.
"The problem is any 32-bit format I save in PI seems to usually load as a corrupted image in APP. Sometimes, it's all green where I didn't crop around the pure black/undefined boarder and then almost pure white where the image is. If I crop in PI to a smaller image, sometimes it loads correctly in APP... I don't know why it's often messed up."
This sounds a bit like a problem then of BlurXterminator in what it is doing to your data in the raw borders that you did not crop of I think, it might mess up APP's automatic stretch filter perhaps?
Maybe you can send me a 32bits FITS and TIFF from PI so I can have a look in what happens when you try to load them in APP ?
Please upload them here:
https://upload.astropixelprocessor.com/
@mabula-admin File has been uploaded into folder "Import from PI Corrupted or Strange".
Note, often when I crop it first in PI, it then works to save and load into APP.
I dont have any problem with that workflow at all. Looks great bringing it back to APP.
But perhaps do the lightpollution removal in APP first? I think Russel Croman says to do background extraction first and then BXT, so that is what I do, but in APP.
Then I go back to APP for the rest before moving on to PS.
/Stefan
Thanks for the tips, I’ll try that. I’m embarrassed to say I haven’t read much of the BXT documentation yet, so I missed that tip, because I had just downloaded both as a trial and at the same time I had to learn the fundamentals of Pixinsight just to use it. So I’m just starting out on this part of the journey.
“Read The Documentation, Silly!” - some wise person
Just FYI, I think it is possible to use the plugin without PI, but that likely requires terminal work. Not 100% sure though.
