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.
Suggestion: a big green "fully automatic" mode button that chains together Calibrate/Analyse Stars/Register/Normalize/Integrate - using all default settings.
Optional: make this configurable so that it pauses for user interaction at one of the steps per user choice before hitting the big green button.
Rationale: APP works so well I can basically run it on all defaults once I've loaded my images and calibration frames, and just leave it to cosmetic adjustments after Integration has finished. Currently I have to "babysit" through the steps in the workflow, but since I'm just using all defaults, this is inconvenient when it could just be automatically going on to the next step itself.
Presently my workflow is to load images, and then sit at the computer while I hit Calibrate, Analyse Stars, Register, Normalize, in sequence, looking to see when each finishes in the Console -- or if I have the sound on, the "bell" chime. I pause at Integrate because I know that takes the longest, so when I hit that next, I step away from the computer and finally go and do something else for a while. Would be nice to do that at the beginning of Calibrate.
Did I miss this feature existing somewhere? Sorry if so!
I don't think you need to sit through each step. You can simply load your images and press the integrate button.
APP will go through each step in sequence with the settings that you set (or defaults) and finishes the integration.
We can try to make this more clear in the UI yes, but if you load in the data and go to the integrate tab, you can click on integrate and all is done automatically. Of course you may want to add some options still for even better results.
Life-changing! Many thanks, Dong & Vincent -- I'll give that a try! I wonder if others have missed this?
its easy to miss. i think i picked up on it ina tutorial video Mabula did.
One thing ot note,. as I learned this the other day
I accidentally added the wrong flats to my stack, and processed. Saw there were artifact and realized my mistake. I shot new flats, and added them to the list of files after removing the old ones. However, when i re-integrated i saw the same artifacts
I actually had to go to calibrate, re create the calibration files, and then hirt the "re-assign masters to lights" button to get this to work. I think the flow assumes top use the already assigned calibration files. Eve n if i un-checked them it still somehow used them.
Hope that helps!
Mike
