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ColorWasher Changelog

What's new in ColorWasher 3.13

Nov 14, 2022
  • Standalone:
  • Support for the raw files of 25 new cameras based on MetaRaw 3.12
  • Installation:
  • Installation support for Photoshop Elements 2023 and Affinity Photo 2
  • The installation now deletes the registry keps that keep Photoshop Elements 2022/2023 from loading plugins that crashed 3 times.
  • Support for the MS Store version of Photoshop Elements 2022. Does not try to install into the WindowsApps folder anymore.

New in ColorWasher 3.11b (Nov 16, 2018)

  • Affinity Photo:
  • Fixed control repositioning in Affinity Photo 1.6.4 when maximizing the window
  • Color dialogs are now displayed in Affinity Photo.
  • Bug Fix: ColorWasher previously froze sometimes when setting the Auto Contrast slider to zero.
  • Standalone:
  • Support for the raw files of 35 new cameras based on MetaRaw 3.03.
  • Support for saving grayscale 8-bit images as PSD files
  • No more crash when reading the EXIF data from DNG files taken by the Huawei P20 (Pro).
  • Plugin Installer:
  • Works again under Windows XP
  • Support for the Microsoft Store version of Photoshop Elements 15

New in ColorWasher 3.11 (Jul 18, 2018)

  • Right clicking on the preview now works correctly if the preview zoom is 200% or higher
  • Bug Fix: When using the Alpha Tool effects together with the blend slider or combo box, Plugin Galaxy previously crashed.

New in ColorWasher 3.10c (Oct 24, 2017)

  • Scrolling the preview with a maximized window on a 4K screen now works fluently. It also works faster on Full HD screens.
  • Plugin:
  • Affinity Photo Fixes:
  • Bug Fix: No more crash when applying the plugin a second time to a 16-bit/channel image.
  • Bug Fix: When opening the maximized plugin window for the second time, the controls do not vanish anymore.
  • Plugin Installer:
  • Support for Paint Shop Pro 2018
  • Support for Corel Draw & Photo-Paint 2017
  • Fixed support for Corel Draw & Photo-Paint X5 and older
  • The Add Folder button now asks if you want to install the 64-bit versions of the plugins in the new folder. Previously the 32-bit plugins were automatically installed in the new folder.
  • Standalone:
  • Support for the raw files of 200 new cameras based on MetaRaw 2.54.
  • Support for the 16-bit PSD files created by ON1 Photo Raw, ON1 Photo 10 and OnOne Perfect PhotoSuite 9. Previously these files were displayed distorted. Now you can pass images from ON1 to the standalone as 16-bit per channel PSD files.
  • Bug Fix: The standalones do not produce TIFF files with empty IPTC meta data anymore, which are not supported by Lightroom.
  • The manual now includes instructions on using it in ACDSee, AfterShot Pro, Capture One, DxO Optics, Exposure, ON1 Photo RAW and Raw Therapee.
  • External Editor Installer:
  • Support for Exposure X3

New in ColorWasher 3.10 (Sep 6, 2017)

  • Support for multiple cores, which increases rendering speed up to several times
  • The preview is rendered up to 12 times faster with modern CPUs or up to four times on old single core CPUs.
  • ColorWasher can be used as a smart filter and its settings can be recorded with actions
  • New Skin feature that imitates the user interface of Lightroom, Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, PaintShop Pro and Affinity. There are 17 skin options in total on the Prefs tab sheet. Changing the skin option in one product, automatically changes it in all others. Standalones, Lightroom versions and plugins can have different skins though.
  • Support for preview zooming up to 3200%
  • The default value of Exposure Fix is now "Normal" instead of "Autodetect", which avoids too extreme adjustments
  • The eyedropper tool is now the default tool and not the sample area tool.
  • You can now drag the eyedropper tool and make the preview automatically updates while dragging. This requires that the Instant Preview checkbox is activated.
  • New Reset arrow button, which replaced the On Reset combo on the Prefs tab sheet
  • The last selected tool is restored on startup now.
  • Cosmetic UI enhancements
  • Key Shortcuts:
  • New Ctrl + 0 and Ctrl + 1 key shortcuts for zooming the preview to Fit and 100%
  • You need to use Ctrl and the -/+ key for zooming the preview. Previously it worked with the -/+ keys only
  • You can now use the 0 key to set the slider, which currently has the input focus, to a zero value.
  • The space key shortcut for switching to the hand tool now only works if the cursor is over the preview.
  • The welcome message now displays after the main window appeared. It either asks if you want to use a dark skin or if you want to use an easier mode.
  • Bug Fix: The Boost check box sometimes produced an overexposed result with 16-bit images.
  • Bug Fix: The eyedropper tool now works correctly with 16-bit/channel images
  • Bug Fix: The Previous Settings option of the Reset button did not work previously.
  • Bug Fix: Clicking the Reset button with the Ctrl key pressed down restores the sample area reliably now.
  • Bug Fix: In Photoshop Elements under Windows 10: The background color of all controls on tab sheets are now pure white. Previously some were light grey.
  • Bug Fix: Under Windows 10 with a Wacom graphics tablet: Clicking on the preview with the hand tool to show the original image works now
  • Improved manual with table of contents
  • Bug Fix: No more flickering when starting up with a maximized window.
  • Bug Fix: Dragging the split view line does not reset the source color chosen with the eye dropper tool
  • Bug Fix: Shift clicking on a split area previously did not work with activated eye dropper tool

New in ColorWasher 2.09 (May 18, 2016)

  • Support for HiDPI
  • The Standalone/Lightroom versions do not show a scaled up UI by default anymore.
  • The UI-Scaling-Preview-Cutoff problem in Photoshop CC 2014/2015 and Photoshop Elements 13/14 was fixed. However, the Soft Proof effect is not visible in the preview anymore if UI Scaling is active.
  • Histogram display was fixed
  • The positions of some control were readjusted for high dpi settings.
  • Larger cursors and program icon
  • Standalone Bug Fix: When saving to a path, which contained a dot character, and the entered file name contained no extension, the file was previously saved to the wrong folder with a wrong file name.
  • Double clicking the hand tool activates Fit zoom.
  • Double clicking the split view tool deactivates the Split View feature.
  • Improved installation:
  • Three less clicks are necessary, because the language, start menu and ready pages are not displayed anymore.
  • There are no separate Start menu folders and desktop icons added for different versions anymore. So better uninstall previous and demo versions before installing new/full versions.
  • Under Windows 8 & 10 there are even less icons with better names installed on the All Apps section of the Start menu to avoid clutter.
  • Please uninstall from the Control Panel as the uninstall icon is not added to the Start menu anymore.
  • Plugin Installer supports HiDPI

New in ColorWasher 2.06 (Mar 22, 2012)

  • Plugin improvements:
  • Avoids artifacts when processing 16-bit/channel images in PSP X3 SP3.
  • The plugin now appear on "The Plugin Site" sub menu of the Filters menu (and not on the "PhotoWiz" sub menu anymore).
  • The window cannot be made smaller than 800x600 pixel.
  • No more black check box backgrounds in PSP X2 and X3.
  • UI improvements:
  • New standard tab controls instead of custom ones
  • New standard title bar instead of a graphical one. The last opened preset is displayed in the title bar.
  • The window width was reduced by a few pixels.
  • Smoother and faster window resizing
  • New Fit and 100% zoom buttons
  • The Neutral button was moved to the Info tab sheet and turned into a check box
  • In Easy Mode the Help/Histo/Info/Prefs tab control is displayed. Previously only the Help box was shown.
  • Press and hold flick under Vista/7 is deactivated
  • The arrow menus are now positioned correctly under Vista/7
  • Selected color boxes have a better visible frame
  • The Instant Slider check box is deactivated by default again.
  • When typing in the edit box of a slider the preview is updated after half a second.
  • Double clicking a slider label only updates the preview if the slider value was changed. Additionally the focus is set to the slider.
  • New label on Info tab sheet which displays image size and bit depth.
  • Help texts are now displayed when moving the mouse over labels and edit boxes of slider controls.
  • New image for the arrow down buttons.
  • Dutch localization was updated.
  • Bug Fixes:
  • The settings were previously saved when canceling the plugin without changing the Prefs controls.
  • Pressing the ESC key sometimes caused the plugin to not update the preview anymore.
  • Clicking Auto4 works more reliable.
  • No progress bar flashing anymore.
  • Activating the split view tool sometimes set the wrong cursor previously.
  • Choosing "Yes" on first time dialog now correctly displays Easy Mode.
  • The correct help text is displayed for the progress bar.
  • Installation:
  • One installation for the 32-bit and 64-bit plugins.
  • Plugin Installer now detects PSP X2 Ultimate, XnView, FixFoto, Imagelys Picture Styles as well as Photoline 32-bit on a 64-bit system.
  • The installation now creates a new folder, start menu group (and desktop icon) for each new version. This makes it easier to have multiple versions installed and allows you to remove older versions without problems after installing a newer one. Please manually remove older versions from the Start > All Programs > The Plugin Site menu.
  • The installation now supports 8 more languages and a total of 46 languages.

New in ColorWasher 2.05 (Sep 23, 2010)

  • Standalone and Lightroom versions of ColorWasher are now available. Both can open multiple images and support images with 8-bit and 16-bit/channel
  • The Lightroom version can be used as an external editor in Adobe Lightroom 1, 2 and 3
  • The Standalone version is a program that runs on its own. It offers a batch processing feature and opens the following image formats: Camera RAW (including DNG), JPEG, TIFF, PSD, PNG, BMP, TGA, PCD, PCX, WMF. It can save JPEG, TIFF, PSD and PNG files
  • Selections are shown in the preview. This means that the ef
  • The sample area is now drawn and moved faster. The split view line and focus point can be moved smoother and faster over the preview.
  • Please move your self-saved presets to the Presets sub folder at the following location to make them appear on the arrow-down menu:
  • 2000/XP: c:\Documents and Settings\\Application Data\ThePluginSite\ColorWasher\
  • Vista/7: c:\Users\\AppData\Roaming\ThePluginSite\ColorWasher\
  • To avoids write permission conflicts the .ini, preset and log files are now saved in this folder.
  • To unify the UI of all PhotoWiz plugins the following changes were made:
  • A new tool bar above the preview for choosing the following tools: hand, sample area, eyedropper and split view.
  • New maximize and exit buttons on the title bar. When maximizing the window the task bar is respected. When clicking the maximize button again the normal window size correctly is restored. Double clicking the titlebar logo does not maximize the window anymore.
  • New Instant Preview check box that makes the sliders react instantly. It is activated by default. No cursor flicker anymore when moving sliders with Instant Preview activated.
  • The B/W button below the preview was turned into a check box and moved to the Info tab sheet
  • Visual styles are now automatically used. The Prefs > Dialog Theme check box was removed.
  • New key shortcuts: H/Space for the hand tool, M for the sample area tool, I for the eyedropper and S for the split view tool, + and - for zooming, R for reset. If the input focus is on an edit or combo box, you need to additionally hold down the Alt key to make the shortcut work.
  • The key shortcuts now also work all the time and not only if the mouse is positioned over of the preview.
  • Double clicking the label of a slider resets it to its default value.
  • No cursor flicker anymore when moving sliders with Instant Preview activated.
  • On the Info tab sheet only 8-bit pixel values are shown (even for 16-bit images).
  • Under Vista and 7 the height of the sliders is slightly larger to avoid cuting off the arrows buttons.
  • A size grip was added in the bottom right corner.
  • A progress bar was added below the preview
  • The "Auto Preview" check box was renamed to "Preview".
  • The "Multiple" check box was renamed to "Multi"
  • When selected the color boxes on the Color tab sheet now have a beveled look (and not a frame around them).
  • If you change something on the Prefs tab sheet and press Cancel, all settings are saved. Previously you needed to press OK to save changes on the Prefs tab sheet, which meant that you would need to apply the effect to the image even if you did not want that.
  • When opening a preset the mode is now set to the mode setting of the preset. This was not the case in previous versions of ColorWasher.
  • BugFix: When using the eyedropper tool the color of the unselected color box is automatically adjusted if the balance button is activated.
  • Bug Fix: No error message anymore when pressing an Auto button.
  • Bug Fix: Control mess-up on mode selection
  • The rendering time is measured more accurately.
  • The demo version renders less opaque watermarks faster to the image.
  • Bug Fix: Deinstalling the demo version after the full version was already installed, causes no problems for the full version anymore.
  • All files are now installed in the "The Plugin Site" sub folder of the Program Files folder by default. Additionally "The Plugin Site" sub menu of the Start menu is now used for installation items.
  • Support for silent installation: If you run the installer with the /silent or /verysilent command line parameter, the installation will run automatically and require no click. Plugin Installer will then automatically install the plugin in every supported application that it can find.
  • Plugin Installer supports more applications, e.g. Sagelight and Fireworks CS2 to CS5, and displays less options during installation.

New in ColorWasher 2.04 (Jan 29, 2010)

  • A 64bit version of ColorWasher is now available. It can be used with the 64bit version of Photoshop CS4 under Windows Vista64. We did not test it under XP 64bit, but it will probably work too.
  • XP/Vista visual styles are now supported. To (de)activate it please use the new Dialog Theme checkbox on the Prefs tab sheet.
  • Double clicking the label of a slider or combo box resets it to its default value.
  • ColorWasher is now created with another development tool. As a result the plugin file size was reduced to less than 2/3 of the previous version. ColorWasher itself is now leaner and consumes less memory, although the memory consumption of the image processing algorithms remains the same.
  • Bug Fix: Pressing the Reset button now also activates the balance icon on the Color tab sheet again.
  • Bug Fix: In Version 2.03 it was not possible to select "Strong" from the Exposure Fix combo box.
  • Bug Fix: Clicking the Balance icon on the Color tab sheet now recalculates the color of the non-selected color box.
  • Bug Fix: Dragging the preview while the Info tab sheet is visible does not display an error message anymore.
  • Bug Fix: Prefs > On Reset > Own Default works now after restarting ColorWasher.
  • Bug Fix: Pressing Yes on the initial message box did not display Easy Mode.
  • The Output Drag check box on the Prefs tab sheet has been removed, because it was too slow and not really useful.
  • The installation now supports 38 languages.