DeepSkyStacker 5.1.5 is now available

[perdrix]

https://github.com/deepskystacker/DSS/releases/tag/5.1.5

Here's the gory details:

Welcome to DeepSkyStacker 5.1.5

This release supersedes DeepSkyStacker 5.1.4

Only 64 bit versions of Windows 10 and later are supported in this release.

If you need a version of DeepSkyStacker that will run on older versions of Windows or on 32 bit versions, you should use DeepSkyStacker 4.2.6:

https://github.com/deepskystacker/DSS/releases/tag/4.2.6

To run the downloaded executable:

RIght-click on DSS-Setup.exe after you have downloaded it and select Properties. At the bottom of the first tab you will see a message saying:

Select "Unblock", and click on OK. You should then be able to run the installer.

Known problems:

1. When the image exposure is less than 1ms and double-click to edit is used, if the user clicks away from the editor, then the exposure is set to zero.
   This requires too much work to fix in this release, as we will need to implement our own edit control.

Changes since DeepSkyStacker 5.1.4

1. Write Intermediate TIFF format files with COMPRESSION_NONE. Final output files will still be compressed.

2. Remove any .stackinfo.txt files that already exist when re-registering images.
   This prevents incorrect registration of images when changing stacking settings and de-Bayer settings.

3. Change Raw/FITS DDP settings so that the Bayer transformation (Bilinear/AHD/Drizzle/SuperPixel) on the two tabs “mirror one another”.
   That’s to say if you change those settings on the FITS tab, then the RAW tab is also changed and vice-versa.
   There are no longer separate settings for the Bayer transformation for RAW and FITS (which has caused problems in the past).

4. Bug fix: Revert change to create masters as float - it caused incompatibility problems.

Changes for DeepSkyStacker 5.1.4

1. Upgrade CFITSIO library to 4.2.0

2. Always create a trace file in the DeepSkyStacker sub-folder of the user's Documents folder. The file will be called e.g.

   DSSTrace_yyyy-mm-ddThh-hh-ssZ.log where the timestamp is GMT (UTC) time.

   The trace file will be deleted on normal application exit, but retained in the event of an exception.
   An option is provided to keep the file.

3. Add both Main Group and Group 1 at startup.

4. Initial code changes for Qt 6.5.1 Dark/Light Theme support

5. Add an option to turn off beeps on completion of registering/stacking.

6. Toolbar display improved (no square boxes round active/hovered buttons).

7. Upgrade libtiff to 4.5.0

8. Add code to handle TIFF tags TIFFTAG_CFAREPEATPATTERNDIM and TIFFTAG_CFAPATTERN when processing TIFF files in CFA format. These tags are defined in the TIFF/EP standard.
   Add code to handle EXIF tag EXIFTAG_CFAPATTERN which is defined in the EXIF standard.
   This allows automatic detection of the CFA pattern needed to decode the file.
   The only files that DSS writes as TIFF in CFA format are some of the master files.
   All other TIFF output files will remain RGB.

9. Change compression of TIFF format master files to use PKZIP Deflate instead of no compression.

10. Change default compression for saving images to PKZIP Deflate (was NONE).

11. Convert DeepSkyStackerLive to Qt.

12. Use floating point instead of 16-bit fixed point for master files. Old master files will still work.

13. Prevent undocked sidebar and image list windows from being closed (never to be seen again).

14. Suppress warning message "ZIPEncode: Encoder error: buffer error." when writing TIFF files.

15. Remove Microsoft CGI+ dependency for loading jpeg and png images.

16. FITS output files didn't contain the number of images in the stack. Save this using FITS keyword NCOMBINE, also report the number of images when loading FITS images.

17. Bug fix: Correct code for reading floating point FITS files (the value was incorrectly normalised - e.g.: 256.0 was read back as 259.996).

18. Bug fix: Value of FITS SOFTWARE keyword in output file truncated after first character.

19. Bug fix: Unable to stack images with no stars when using Alignment set to "No Alignment".

20. Improve handling for FITS DATE-OBS keyword. DATE-OBS in the output file will now be set to the value of DATE-OBS from the first input file or, failing that, the creation timestamp or last modification timestamp of the file whichever is earlier.

21. Processing/Save picture to file... did not preserve FITS keywords when the final autosave file was written as a FITS file.

22. Bug fix: Delete key to delete images from the list didn't update the information lines.

23. Bug fix: Clear list didn't reset the status bar message.

24. Work around for Qt bug (QTBUG-46620) with restoring application position and size when re-opening the application after it was closed when maximised.

25. Mouse wheel zooming worked the opposite way from most other applications, now changed to be compatible.

26. Extend exposure time edit control to 4 decimal places instead of 3.

27. Check lights when loaded using either "Open picture files" or using Drag/Drop.

28. Correct Intermediate Files tab of Stacking parameters. "Create a calibrated file ..." and "Create a registered/calibrated file ..." were inadvertently switched when porting the code for version 5.

29. Bug fix: Saving the intermediate calibrated image in de-Bayered format resulted in a corrupt file.

30. The comet position interpolation code has been re-written by Martin Toeltsch (thank you Martin). Now you need only to:

    o Mark the position of the centre of the comet in 2 light frames with a large temporal distance (ideally the first and the last light frame in chronological order).

    o Marking the comet centre in additional light frames can potentially improve the results.

31. Change some of the colours used when the Windows Dark Theme is in use so that they are easier to read.

32. Revert change made for number 26 - QTimeEdit doesn't work right with 4 decimals.

33. Bug fix: Magnifying glass over image area was still displayed when mouse was moved directly to another window.

34. Bug fix: Selecting/Deselecting "Create a calibrated file for each light frame" should also Enable/Disable "Save a debayered image..."

35. Bug fix: Unable to cancel Registering or Stacking because the ProgressDlg was disabled (it had the wrong parent).

36. Bug fix: Save/Restore of docked window sizes (Explorer Bar, Picture List) wasn't working.

37. Update zlib to 1.3 (from 1.2.11).

38. Bug fix: Switching away from Settings/Output tab and then switching back reset the values to status quo ante.

39. Bug fix: Output file name when using file list name as the output name was incorrectly set to (e.g.) Batch1.tif when using a file list with a name Batch1.xxx.dssfilelist

40. Clear image list at end of batch stacking.

41. Upgrade CFITSIO library to 4.3.0

42. Bug fix: If a recommended setting is clicked to activate it the revised recommendations are appended to the browser when it should be cleared before they are displayed.

43. Bug fix: DSS-CL: If an output file is named specifically with the /O: parameter, this output file is always used. If it is omitted, it will generate a unique output file instead.

44. Bug fix: DSS-CL: If the compression level for a TIFF file is set via the /OCx parameter, this is now honoured.

45. Bug fix: When registering a set of images with different exposure times, the progress dialogue restarted counting at 1 and the progress bar was reset to 0 for each different exposure. The estimated time for completion got completely confused, and the progress bar reached 100% a number of times.

46. Bug fix: Prevent TIFF code issuing TIFFSetField: D:/dss.tif: Unknown pseudo-tag 65557, by only setting TIFFTAG_ZIPQUALITY if compression is set to COMPRESSION_DEFLATE.

47. Change the minimum update interval for the progress dialog to 0.1s (was 1s).

48. Bug fix: Units on the Processing pane's Luminance tab were displayed incorrectly as Å° instead of °.

49. Bug fix: Deadlock in DSSLive when stacking FITS files because CFITSReader::Read() didn't issue an End2() call to match the Start2() call.

50. Bug fix: Null pointer passed to XYSeries::append() by ChartTab.cpp. Some code tidyups as well.

51. Add "How To" information to the help for the image editor built into DeepSkyStacker. This includes a short screen capture movie.

52. Resolve problem of clipped controls on processing page when the native language is set to Japanese.

[SlimPaling]

Hi ...

I have just uploaded the new version ( I think that I was using v 4.1.1 before uploading the new version !) and I get a very plain screen when I open v5.1.5 up.

I can't seem to get a "normal looking screen" that I had seen before. See my attached screen shot

Am I missing something?????

Mike

[Seelive]

Is that the DSS Live version?  Perhaps you've opened the wrong DSS.exe?

[SlimPaling]

Just now, Seelive said:

Is that the DSS Live version?  Perhaps you've opened the wrong DSS.exe?

It certainly looks like it !!!!

It looks like I have really messed up DSS up on my computer now. I have just spent half an hour deleting v5.1.5. (LIVE?) a then trying to get my original version back up and I keep getting the very same screen 😞

I can't spot the "non-live" version of DSS on the web site.

How on earth do I get back to a full working version that can cope with my Solar imaging runs????

I am totally lost now 😞

[Seelive]

All the older versions of DSS are still available. When you download them ensure you select a directory of your choosing rather than the default one then you can run multiple versions on the same PC rather than overwriting the last version.

[Seelive]

The last V4 version can be found at:

https://github.com/deepskystacker/DSS/releases/tag/4.2.6

I have also downloaded the even earlier V4.1.1 (which was the last version that used DCRAW so I could reprocess some of my old legacy data) whilst also still retaining V4.2.6...and I won't be going for V5 until I upgrade from my current Win 7 PC (and only then when it is stable).

[perdrix]

When DeepSkyStacker 5.1.5 is installed it places TWO ICONS on your desktop.   One for DeepSkyStacker, the other for DeepSkyStackerLive (different applications).

Try opening DeepSkyStacker rather than DeepSkyStackerLive.  Why would you struggle to uninstall - just go to the Control Panel/Programs and Features.

[bosun21]

I click on properties on my windows 10 computer to unblock the file and no such window appears. i can't find a way to unblock it.

 

[SlimPaling]

1 hour ago, perdrix said:

When DeepSkyStacker 5.1.5 is installed it places TWO ICONS on your desktop.   One for DeepSkyStacker, the other for DeepSkyStackerLive (different applications).

Try opening DeepSkyStacker rather than DeepSkyStackerLive.  Why would you struggle to uninstall - just go to the Control Panel/Programs and Features.

It now makes sense 🙂

In my rush to get a newer version of DSS I hadn't spotted that "Two Icons" had been placed on my desktop!!! I had been clicking on the "Live2 version". I think that I have now got it all sorted.

Thanks for your suggestion.

[bosun21]

3 minutes ago, SlimPaling said:

It now makes sense 🙂

In my rush to get a newer version of DSS I hadn't spotted that "Two Icons" had been placed on my desktop!!! I had been clicking on the "Live2 version". I think that I have now got it all sorted.

Thanks for your suggestion.

Was it windows 10 or 11 you installed it on? I can't get the unblock box up when I click on properties. Pretty miffed as I've already deleted 5.1.3. I have windows 10.

Edited November 18, 2023 by bosun21

[SlimPaling]

5 minutes ago, bosun21 said:

Was it windows 10 or 11 you installed it on? I can't get the unblock box up when I click on properties. Pretty miffed as I've already deleted 5.1.3. I have windows 10.

My computer is a Win10 (64bit) .... I have had no probs installing files

[bosun21]

1 hour ago, SlimPaling said:

My computer is a Win10 (64bit) .... I have had no probs installing files

Got it. I had to turn developer mode on to run the installer. PHEW!

[perdrix]

14 hours ago, bosun21 said:

I click on properties on my windows 10 computer to unblock the file and no such window appears. i can't find a way to unblock it.

 

My bad - I thought that applied to W10 as well. Developer mode should allow the install if you can't install otherwise.

[Gfamily]

18 hours ago, bosun21 said:

I click on properties on my windows 10 computer to unblock the file and no such window appears. i can't find a way to unblock it.

 

When I tried to Run the exe (Win 10 machine), I got the 'woah, this might be dodgy' pop up warning, but there is a 'more information' link, and that gives you the 'run it anyway' option to install the programme.

[bosun21]

5 hours ago, Gfamily said:

When I tried to Run the exe (Win 10 machine), I got the 'woah, this might be dodgy' pop up warning, but there is a 'more information' link, and that gives you the 'run it anyway' option to install the programme.

No I just got a "This is unsafe and blocked it totally". Developer mode allowed me to open and install it. Once installed I switched developer mode off again.

[perdrix]

I'll do some digging on the exact requirements for W10 and update the instructions - the ones I gave were for W11.