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Altus Changelog

What's new in Altus 5.1.0

Apr 3, 2024
  • Commits:
  • added icon badge for unread chats + count next to tab title (Aman Harwara)

New in Altus 5.0.2 (Mar 5, 2024)

  • Add context menu (Aman Harwara)
  • Add zooming in/out and resetting zoom by Ctrl + +/-/= (Aman Harwara)
  • Fix first tab not being selected on initialization (Aman Harwara)
  • Select first tab if no tab is selected (Aman Harwara)
  • Change default setting for exit prompt to false (Aman Harwara)
  • Automatically add new tab if last tab is removed (Aman Harwara)
  • Bump version (Aman Harwara)

New in Altus 5.0.1 (Feb 21, 2024)

  • Fix: Quit not working when exit prompt setting is on (Aman Harwara)

New in Altus 5.0.0 (Jan 28, 2024)

  • v5.0 is tech refactor, so most changes are not user-facing.
  • All your existing tabs, themes and settings will continue to work without requiring any action from you
  • Changes:
  • UI elements in the app can now also be translated. Previously, only the menus were translated but now almost everything in the app UI can be translated.
  • The UI has been updated slightly.
  • Themes are now generated using colors you've specified instead of depending on external CSS.
  • Custom CSS can still be used to create your own themes.
  • Added new "Coffee" theme preset

New in Altus 4.8.6 (Mar 27, 2023)

  • Theme selection (Aman Harwara)

New in Altus 4.8.5 (Mar 1, 2023)

  • Added "Start New Chat" option in File menu (Aman Harwara)

New in Altus 4.8.3 (Jan 24, 2023)

  • Add German language option (#220) (@xzillen) #220

New in Altus 4.8.1 (Nov 3, 2022)

  • Bug Fixes:
  • use better fix for "Update Google Chrome" issue (Aman Harwara)
  • Chores:
  • bump version number (Aman Harwara)
  • update dependencies (Aman Harwara)

New in Altus 4.8.0 (Sep 26, 2022)

  • Bug Fixes:
  • stuck on "update google chrome" error (Aman Harwara)
  • Chores:
  • update deps (Aman Harwara)
  • Commits:
  • 6245ae5: Update README.md (Aman Harwara)
  • c77063f: Delete FUNDING.yml (Aman Harwara)
  • remove donate menu (Aman Harwara)
  • dc1c2fd: feat!: remove utility bar (Aman Harwara)

New in Altus 4.7.4 (Aug 22, 2022)

  • Features:
  • remove unused addChatID and fix preload startup detection (#204) #204 (Fauzan Haq)
  • Bug Fixes:
  • remove unused import (Aman Harwara)
  • Chores:
  • update deps (Aman Harwara)

New in Altus 4.7.3 (Jul 29, 2022)

  • update dependencies (Aman Harwara)

New in Altus 4.7.2 (Jun 30, 2022)

  • Update continuous build.
  • Update dependencies.

New in Altus 4.7.1 (Apr 15, 2022)

  • Auto-reload on update chrome page

New in Altus 4.6.0 (Mar 15, 2022)

  • Features:
  • Add portuguese translation attribution in readme (#186) #186 (Hugo Rocha de Moura)
  • Portuguese translation (#187) #187 (Hugo Rocha de Moura)
  • Bug Fixes:
  • Node-fetch issue when checking for updates (Aman Harwara)

New in Altus 4.5.6 (Jan 21, 2022)

  • Add Portuguese(pt) translation (#185) #185 (Hugo Rocha de Moura)

New in Altus 4.5.5 (Jan 20, 2022)

  • Update dependencies (Aman Harwara)

New in Altus 4.5.4 (Dec 8, 2021)

  • Flush session data only if "Update Chrome" issue occurs (Aman Harwara)

New in Altus 4.5.3 (Nov 28, 2021)

  • Bug Fixes:
  • Possible fix for WhatsApp Multi-device beta not working

New in Altus 4.5.2 (Nov 15, 2021)

  • Bug Fixes:
  • Check first whether Partitions dir exists (Aman Harwara):
  • fixes: #174

New in Altus 4.5.1 (Nov 7, 2021)

  • Center title in custom titlebar (Aman Harwara)

New in Altus 4.5.0 (Nov 2, 2021)

  • Delete unused partitions on app start to free up space (Aman Harwara)
  • Add "Clear All Cache" button to Settings (Aman Harwara)
  • Add "Clear Cache" button to tab config modal (Aman Harwara)

New in Altus 4.4.4 (Oct 16, 2021)

  • Add "Open Settings" option in tray context menu (Aman Harwara)

New in Altus 4.4.3 (Oct 6, 2021)

  • Added Spanish (es) translation by @ngmoviedo in #163

New in Altus 4.4.2 (Aug 21, 2021)

  • Bugfixes:
  • Fixed issue #155. Ctrl+Enter should now work correctly when the Prevent sending with Enter setting is turned on.
  • Commits:
  • [8974d11]: Add missing translations (Aman Harwara)
  • [81da469]: Bump version (Aman Harwara)
  • [e9a3b18]: Fix Ctrl+Enter issue (Aman Harwara)

New in Altus 4.4.1 (Aug 8, 2021)

  • Features:
  • Added Italian translation (thanks to @maicol07)
  • Commits:
  • Created italian translation (Maicol Battistini) #153
  • Added italian language (Maicol Battistini) #153
  • Create translation.missing.json (Maicol Battistini) #153
  • Bump version (Aman Harwara)

New in Altus 4.4.0 (Aug 7, 2021)

  • Change Tab Bar position:
  • You can align it to either the top or the bottom.
  • Basic Multi-Language Support:
  • Basic because so-far it only supports translating the menus.
  • Currently supported languages: English, Hindi
  • See #152 on how to add new translations
  • Commits:
  • [bd74d9e]: Add setting to change Tab Bar position (Aman Harwara)
  • [e503553]: Bump version (Aman Harwara)
  • [2e13ca8]: Add basic multi-language support (Aman Harwara)

New in Altus 4.3.1 (Aug 2, 2021)

  • Update Electron (Aman Harwara)

New in Altus 4.3.0 (Jul 19, 2021)

  • Yarn stuff... (Aman Harwara)
  • Update dependencies (Aman Harwara)
  • Add settings to remember window state (Aman Harwara)
  • Escape key closes settings manager (Aman Harwara)
  • Update tab config modal (Aman Harwara)
  • Escape key closes theme manager (Aman Harwara)
  • Remove "Update available" message (Aman Harwara)
  • Minor fixes to utility bar (Aman Harwara)
  • Fix yarn stuff (Aman Harwara)
  • Fix more yarn stuff (Aman Harwara)

New in Altus 4.2.0 (Apr 1, 2021)

  • Features:
  • Add a WIP custom titlebar. Custom titlebar is turned off by default. You have to go into the settings to enable it.
  • Commits:
  • [5514318]: Update dependencies (Aman Harwara)
  • [0aeaed2]: Update yarn.lock (Aman Harwara)
  • [e1c537f]: Add icons for custom titlebar (Aman Harwara)
  • [ffe2d00]: Add IDs to menu items (Aman Harwara)
  • [142ccaa]: Utility function to clone MenuItem through IPC (Aman Harwara)
  • [3dc5ded]: Add CloneableMenuItem type (Aman Harwara)
  • [8ae7fc4]: Add setting for "Custom Titlebar" (Aman Harwara)
  • [7133160]: Fix tab close icon (Aman Harwara)
  • [c9d8b6c]: Custom Titlebar MVP using IPC instead of remote (Aman Harwara)
  • [38a51de]: Custom Titlebar MVP (Aman Harwara)
  • [c20d1d4]: Bump version (Aman Harwara)

New in Altus 4.1.0 (Mar 20, 2021)

  • Features / Changes:
  • Update Electron to v11.3.0
  • DevTools are now available even in packaged versions. (#129):
  • Ctrl+Shift+I opens the DevTools for Altus.
  • Ctrl+Shift+D opens the DevTools for the active WhatsApp instance.
  • Alternatively, you can go to the settings for a specific instance and click "Open DevTools".
  • Theme Manager now supports using your own CSS for a theme. (#129):
  • To use this, when creating or editing a theme, choose "Custom" as the preset.
  • Reduced minimum width & height for Altus' window.
  • Added setting to auto-hide menu bar. When enabled, the menu bar gets hidden by default and only shows when you press the Alt key.
  • Added hotkeys for text formatting:
  • Ctrl+B for Bold, Ctrl+I for Italic, Ctrl+S for Strikethrough and Ctrl+M for Monospace.
  • Added search box to Settings Manager.
  • Added setting to enable/disable the "Save" dialog when downloading a file.
  • Added setting to change the default download directory. (#128)
  • Added mnemonics to the menu bar.
  • Bug fixes:
  • "Check for updates" should now correctly show message when no new update is available. (#126)
  • Fix utility bar when replying or using emoji panel. (#103)

New in Altus 4.0.0 (Mar 19, 2021)

  • Features / Changes:
  • Revamped UI written using Svelte.
  • Theme Manager & Settings show up as modals rather than separate windows.
  • Removed custom titlebar.
  • "Dark Plus" theme now has to be manually download from the Theme Manager.
  • Update Electron to v11.
  • Bug fixes:
  • Fixed Big Sur issues (#111, #112)

New in Altus 4.0.0 Beta 3 (Jan 25, 2021)

  • Features / Changes:
  • Implement re-arranging tabs by dragging & dropping.
  • Bug fixes:
  • Copying version info should work correctly now. (#121)

New in Altus 4.0.0 Beta 2 (Jan 21, 2021)

  • Features / Changes:
  • Added feature to allow restoring the last closed tab.
  • Added zoom functionality.
  • Implemented correct notification behaviour.
  • Open clicked links in external browser.
  • Added context menus on right-click.
  • Added text formatting.
  • Added support for whatsapp:// links
  • Bug fixes:
  • Fixed macOS icon & DMG sizing.
  • Settings Manager correctly updates now when importing settings.
  • Fixed error when "Prevent submitting on Enter" setting is turned on.

New in Altus 4.0.0 Beta 1 (Jan 18, 2021)

  • Features / Changes:
  • Revamped UI.
  • Theme Manager & Settings show up as modals rather than separate windows.
  • Removed custom titlebar.
  • "Dark Plus" theme now has to be manually download from the Theme Manager.
  • Front-end is now made using Svelte w/ Typescript. This allows for a reactive UI and also improves the developer experience.
  • Bugfixes:
  • Fix toggle bar setting not applying correctly. (#110)

New in Altus 3.24.0 (Dec 11, 2020)

  • Features/Changes:
  • Add setting to launch Altus on system startup. (#108)
  • Add setting to always start Altus minimized.

New in Altus 3.23.0 (Dec 10, 2020)

  • Features / Changes:
  • You can now drag & drop tabs and Altus will remember that order. (#107)

New in Altus 3.22.0 (Nov 26, 2020)

  • Features / Changes:
  • Update Electron to v10.
  • Bug fixes:
  • Auto-scroll to bottom of chat when utility bar is enabled.

New in Altus 3.21.0 (Nov 20, 2020)

  • Features / Changes:
  • Unified the theme creator and theme manager for a revamped theme manager.
  • Theme manager now auto-updates when themes are added or removed.
  • You can now edit custom themes you've created.
  • Theme creator now has color presets you can use. Currently, there are 3 presets: Dark, Dark Mint and Purple-ish.
  • Main window doesn't completely reload when themes are added or removed.
  • Bug fixes:
  • Fix #94: Utility bar will show above the selected reply.
  • Fix #103: Utility bar will show/hide correctly.

New in Altus 3.20.1 (Nov 19, 2020)

  • Features / Changes:
  • About window is now replaced by a native dialog which allows you to copy version info.
  • "Check for Updates" window is also replaced by a native dialog where you can open the changelog or directly download a new release.
  • Chat window will be full width in the Dark Plus theme and any custom theme.
  • Bug fixes:
  • Fixed custom themes not updating when updating base themes.

New in Altus 3.20.0 (Nov 13, 2020)

  • Fix custom themes not working.
  • Opening WhatsApp links will maximize the window correctly now

New in Altus 3.19.0 (Nov 5, 2020)

  • Features / Changes:
  • You can now open WhatsApp links (from chat.whatsapp.com or whatsapp:// links) directly in Altus (#88)
  • Clicking on a notification will now open the corresponding chat (#87)

New in Altus 3.18.1 (Nov 4, 2020)

  • Bug fixes:
  • Fixed issue #101. Altus will now correctly show notification badge on the taskbar icon.

New in Altus 3.18.0 (Oct 22, 2020)

  • Features / Changes:
  • Altus will now show message counts on every individual tab (#101)
  • Clicking on notification will now maximize the window and activate that tab (#87)

New in Altus 3.17.0 (Oct 7, 2020)

  • Update Electron from v9.2.1 to v9.3.2
  • Support badge on tray icon on Linux (#95 - Thanks @MarceloZapatta)
  • Add setting to toggle notification badge on tray icon (#95 - Thanks @MarceloZapatta)

New in Altus 3.16.0 (Oct 4, 2020)

  • Features/Changes:
  • Setting to prevent Enter sending a message by default. (#75, #93 - Thanks to @MarceloZapatta)
  • Prompt when closing tab with Ctrl+W (#92 - Thanks to @MarceloZapatta)

New in Altus 3.15.1 (Sep 16, 2020)

  • Bug fixes:
  • Fix tray icon error on Windows (#86)

New in Altus 3.15.0 (Sep 12, 2020)

  • Features/Changes:
  • Shortcut to toggle the tab bar: Ctrl+Shift+B
  • Shortcut to toggle full screen mode: F11 (#83)
  • On Windows, Altus now shows notification/message count on the tray icon. This can disabled in the settings. (#81)
  • Bugfixes:
  • Utility bar hides properly when mentioning someone. (Fixes #82)

New in Altus 3.14.0 (Aug 22, 2020)

  • Features/Changes:
  • If you have multiple tabs, Altus will now remember which tab was last active. You need to turn this on in the settings.
  • Bugfixes:
  • Fix #23 by merging PR #77. Tray icon should work on Linux now. (thanks @MarceloZapatta)

New in Altus 3.13.0 (Aug 22, 2020)

  • New Features:
  • Utility bar for formatting and quick replies. Based off of the WhatsBuddy extension by @rafaismyname
  • Context menu options to format text, i.e. bold, italic, strike-through, monospace. #57
  • Upgrade electron to v9.2.0
  • Bug Fixes:
  • Altus should correctly start with the dark theme if it has been selected. #74
  • Other Changes:
  • Removed experimental features as they are too much hassle to maintain and break too often.

New in Altus 3.12.1 (Jul 14, 2020)

  • Fix error while generating & applying theme. This should fix issues #70 & #71.

New in Altus 3.12.0 (Jun 11, 2020)

  • Color-coded Tabs:
  • You can now assign a color to your tabs.
  • You can pick any color from the color picker and Altus will automatically select the text color to suit it.
  • Re-vamped Custom Themes:
  • The Theme Creator is now very simplified. You only have to choose a background color, a foreground color and an accent color to make a theme.
  • In case any of your custom themes break, you can try to fix them by going to the Theme Manager and clicking Update Base Themes.
  • Enabled simple spell-checker:
  • Enabled in-built spell-checker as requested by #66.
  • Fixed Downloads:
  • Fixed downloads on Windows 10

New in Altus 3.11.0 (Jun 1, 2020)

  • Current available experimental features include: Online Indicator, Quick Replies:
  • The Online Indicator feature displays a small green indicator near the photos of any chat in the sidebar that is currently online.
  • The Quick Replies feature allows you to set up quick replies above the message box so you don't have to manually type common replies.
  • To use these experimental features, turn on the Experimental Features toggle in your current tab settings or when adding a new tab, and select which features you want.

New in Altus 3.10.0 (May 5, 2020)

  • Settings:
  • You can now reset settings to default.
  • You can now import settings from a JSON file.
  • You can now export settings to a JSON file.
  • Accessibility:
  • Use Ctrl+Tab or Cmd+Tab to switch to the next tab.
  • Use Ctrl+Shift+Tab or Cmd+Shift+Tab to switch to the previous tab.
  • Use Ctrl+W or Cmd+W to close the active/current tab.
  • Use Ctrl+E or Ctrl+E to edit the active/current tab.
  • UI is more keyboard-friendly now. You can use Tab to traverse through almost all of the UI.
  • UI:
  • A lot of the UI has been revamped to make it more look modern.
  • Settings use toggles instead of ugly buttons.
  • Others:
  • Fixed issue where app would only close to tray even when option was disabled.

New in Altus 3.9.0 (Apr 22, 2020)

  • Add "Close to Tray" setting as suggested by #54. (Not available on the Linux version as it does not support tray icons)
  • Altus validates if all settings are present & adds new ones if they're not already available. This should make it easier to add new settings in future.
  • Remove online indicator & custom notifications as they have higher chances of breaking in future.

New in Altus 3.8.0 (Apr 7, 2020)

  • Fix notifications & themes. (Issue #56) (commit 5987204)

New in Altus 3.7.0 (Apr 1, 2020)

  • FIX:
  • Error Messages #55
  • avaScript Error in main process when launching Altus

New in Altus 3.6.0 (Feb 23, 2020)

  • CHANGELOG:
  • Added setting to toggle the tab bar.
  • Fixed issue #50

New in Altus 3.5.0 (Feb 16, 2020)

  • Improved the themes functionality a bit. The dark theme is now loaded directly from the maker vednoc's repository. Also, fixed custom themes not working.
  • Changed some URLs that relied on my github repository.

New in Altus 3.4.1 (Jan 20, 2020)

  • The chat online indicator should work in the light/default theme now.
  • Notifications should work correctly now.

New in Altus 3.4.0 (Jan 18, 2020)

  • Clicking on a notification now opens the specific chat.
  • Chats that are online at the moment have an indicator on the bottom-left of their profile picture.

New in Altus 3.3.0 (Jan 14, 2020)

  • Persists window state, i.e., Altus will remember the size and position of the main window when you close it and open it the next time.

New in Altus 3.2.0 (Jan 14, 2020)

  • Escape strings in textboxes to prevent possible XSS attacks.

New in Altus 3.1.0 (Nov 8, 2019)

  • Added zoom functionality.
  • You can use the Ctrl key in junction with your mouse scroll wheel to zoom in or out.
  • You can press Ctrl++ to zoom in.
  • You can press Ctrl+- to zoom out.
  • You can press Ctrl+0 to reset the zoom.
  • Links inside WhatsApp should properly open in an external browser now.

New in Altus 3.0.0 (Nov 1, 2019)

  • Rewrote all the base code. Should be more optimized than before.
  • Fixed issue #29.
  • Removed performance-heavy libraries like jQuery and Semantic-UI. (I think one of either jQuery or Semantic-UI were causing the issue #29)
  • Fixed issues #26 and #33. Sound and notifications work as intended now.
  • Creating a new tab instance has it's own tab instead of opening a pop-up. See this screenshot.
  • You can now search themes when creating or editing an instance, in case you have a lot of themes.
  • Using a new tabs system implemented using Tabby.
  • Using SweetAlert2 for pop-ups.
  • Theme Manager will ask for confirmation before deleting a theme.
  • You will be asked for confirmation before closing a tab. This can be disabled in the settings.
  • Added a new window to check for updates. It shows you the new version, the changelog/release notes for it and also allows you to download any of the three executables available.
  • Got rid of the "Launch on system start" setting. Most probably won't implement it again.
  • Combined the Theme Customizer and Custom CSS windows into one. Also, completely revamped the theme customizer:
  • Using pickr to implement the color pickers. It provides a very good UI for color picking.
  • Right-clicking for a context menu now works:
  • Right-clicking a link will allow you to copy it.
  • Selecting and right-clicking regular text will allow you to copy it or search that specific text on Google.
  • Right-clicking an image will allow you to download that image.
  • Clicking "Save Image" will directly download that image to your "Downloads" folder.
  • Clicking "Save Image As" will allow you to select where to save the image.
  • Right-clicking a textbox will allow you to cut/copy/paste text.
  • Roadmap:
  • Implement zoom functionality.
  • Ability to reset settings to default.
  • Manage themes without reloading the main window.

New in Altus 2.4.0 (Aug 12, 2019)

  • Added feature to toggle the tab bar (as suggested here - #32)

New in Altus 2.3.3 (Jul 25, 2019)

  • Fixed issue #31
  • Fixed zoom functionality by re-adding Mousetrap library

New in Altus 2.3.2 (Jul 5, 2019)

  • Fixed issue #28
  • Added "Edit" menu with Undo, Redo, Cut, Copy, Paste and Select All functions.
  • Removed Mousetrap library.

New in Altus 2.3.1 (May 6, 2019)

  • Update jQuery due to possible security vulnerability.

New in Altus 2.3.0 (Apr 20, 2019)

  • ADD feature to quickly add theme from theme customizer using "Add Theme" button.
  • ADD feature that the app remembers the size & position of window when it gets closed and uses the same size and position on next launch.

New in Altus 2.2.0 (Apr 10, 2019)

  • ADD System Startup Launch option. (commits e375526, 189d9f7) (Suggested by issue #18)
  • PATCH The "Chrome 36+" fix as it wasn't working anymore (commit 1c33d11)
  • FIX The issue where users weren't able to select theme for a tab on the first start (commit 5e2f353)

New in Altus 2.1.0 (Apr 8, 2019)

  • ADD Message Indicator Badges. Whenever WhatsApp detects unread chats, it will be displayed in a badge in the dock on macOS or in the taskbar on Windows. The number of unread chats will be added to the tab itself. (commits b6ca89d, 9e5c361, f9fca3a, 4994e13)
  • ADD Zoom Functionality. You can use Ctrl++ to zoom in or Ctrl+- to zoom out and click the Reset button in the toast notification to reset the zoom. (commits 8c81e18, c155b65)
  • FIX issue where the window reload constantly when themes weren't loaded. It now shows a toast notification with more information instead. (commit 0d999ff)

New in Altus 2.0.5 (Mar 30, 2019)

  • Update Electron version to 4.1.1 (commit c92db90)
  • Add 'Update Dark Theme' button to Theme Manager window to update the inbuilt dark theme when and if the user wants to. (commit bc5227e)
  • Fixed WhatsApp Useragent i.e. now it should show proper operating system when checking WhatsApp Web login on your phone (commits ae7f28e, 7e9fbd7)
  • Remove Instagram link from About menu (commit 4497ea9)
  • MacOS versions don't use custom titlebar as it causes issues (commits ffb127b, 058852e, 5f2850a)

New in Altus 2.0.4 (Mar 26, 2019)

  • You can now check for updates from the app itself. Click the "Check For Updates" item in the "About" menu. (commits ab77ed1, 1be6743, b783e68, a56344a, fe02f89)
  • Made "Custom CSS" and "Theme Customizer" windows resizable. (commit 37f978b)
  • Made heights of all main elements in all of the windows dynamic using flex so they look proper on any resolution. (commits 8ad91b4, 5f576ba, e7f5482, 54be52f, caedc4f, 97e06b9)