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.
I find it sometimes beneficial to move project files back and forth between APP and PixInsight. In order to do this I must save files to .tiff or .fits. It would be helpful if APP could read and write PixInsight's .xisf files.
Yes that may be handy, but our fits format is more standard in general and compatible with more programs. It's not that xifs stores more data for instance.
@vincent-mod One potential advantage of .XISF for me is NINA now can write compressed .XISF saving about 1/2 the space. Â I take short exposures so that is nice. Â Alternatively, I wish .FITS had a fast basic lossless compression option.
even in Kstars/Indi it is now possible to save in XISF. Perhaps it would be usefull for the guys with full frame cameras to use the XISF due to less file size...
The file compression is a good argument, only thing I can say for now is that support may be added but it's not a priority for us at the moment.
I want to revive this thread, because I just have read, that Siril will have the ability to read (not write) XISF-Files in the near future. Since this file format seems to be supported by even more AP programms it would still be very nice, if APP can read this format too. For me it would be sufficiant to read this format, since Kstars can save and read this format. And the reduction of file size is significantly in Kstars (its about 1:3). I also use PI for using BXT and NXT, but APP is still my favourite AP programm for stacking (for me its is far beyond PI in case of stacking) and final procedures, so from my side it would be very nice if APP support XISF too!
hi @juergenn,
This is on our todo list for sure, we need to finish work on other priorities first 😉
APP uses FITS and can also read compressed fits, we will soon offer saving of compressed fits as well in addition. Lossless fits compression has been around for a long time. It is more a problem that capture software does not produce it for an unknown reason. Images Plus used to capture in lossless compressed fits and APP can read and process data like that.
Mabula
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