1.5.8
2024-01-25
Maintenance update to prevent some views and controls from not displaying clearly when device is set to dark mode.
Previous update:
In this maintenance update internal links to internet resources, which may be displayed in the users default web browser, were changed from using protocol "http" to "https". The main difference between "http" and "https" lies in the level of security they provide when transmitting data over the internet. This ensures the security and privacy of data, protecting users from potential security threats. Additionally, many modern browsers display a padlock icon or "Secure" label for HTTPS connections, instilling trust in users.
1.5.6
2023-05-03
New solid background colors available in the 'Size' pane. Be sure to select 'Include In Spectra' if desired, otherwise the selected background only applies to the editor view.
1.5.5
2022-08-06
Multiple audio channel support added. Previously only the first audio channel was used.
Previous Updates:
Added HDR video support by converting HDR to SDR to improve colors; presents a reminder that you can set a background color for spectra videos from the Size view.
13 new presets have been added to the built-in settings library. Settings are available in the Presets tab. The Presets tab has two tables named Built-In and My Settings. These new presets appear in the Built-in settings, at the bottom. Your own settings are saved to My Settings.
126 new presets have been added to the built-in settings library. These were previously available from 'More Settings' and required individual downloads. This makes a large variety of presets readily available with ease.
NEW - Shadow option in the 'Lines' pane. This option will draw shadows for every line.
FIXED - After app relaunch the 'Play Waveform Audio' may sometimes play the wrong audio file.
New - When saving a spectra as a video you now have the option of including the audio, if available. The video duration will then match the audio duration. This can create a fun visualization of the audio.
New - Audio menu has new menu item named 'Share Waveform Audio' enabling you to send the waveform audio, if there is one, to an email, message, etc.
Fixed - Issue with audio processing that could prevent a settings file that uses audio from being restored to the correct look. It was due to a slight variation in audio modulation values. This issue was caused by changes in the last version.
• IMPROVED: Video color generation faster.
• NEW: Apply audio or set background image from Settings. ‘Apply Audio’ for audio, 'Set Background' for background.
• NEW: Playing audio shows its progress in the waveform graphic.
• NEW: When switching to settings without a background from one that does an option to remove the current background is offered.
• NEW: ‘Use Opened Audio’ menu item in the Audio menu: sets the current audio to the last audio imported from external apps (Files, iCloud, Messages, Music, etc) or internal samples.
• IMPROVED: The audio menu items 'Use Video Audio' and 'Use Settings Audio' are reimplemented for clarity.
• FIXED: Some audio files were not loading due to a mismatch of file extension and audio type.
• NEW: Option apply current background color to spectra when rendering. The background color is set in the Size pane.
• Other improvements.
Updated 'More Settings' web view. Use 'More Settings' to load additional settings from the web into the 'My Settings' table.
Fixed an issue with the 'My Settings' table where the table experienced inadvertent scrolling after selecting a setting. Updated for iOS 14.
FIXED: Saving background images to the Photos library now preserves transparency. In this way restoring a background from the photos library will restore the transparency, which is important for the mask mode of the Color pane.
Improved Performance: Settings data is cached to handle the increased load from incorporating background images and waveform audio files. Most notably the presets table scrolls more smoothly, but other methods that use settings data is faster.
Background Preview in Settings: The background image can be previewed from the user settings table. (Swipe on a row in iOS, right(control)-click on a row in macOS.)
Open Settings Options: Opening settings is more discriminate - if current settings has background, but new settings do not then an alert is presented because the existence of a background could mean the spectra does not look as expected unless you change the background settings.
Play Waveform Audio: The current waveform audio file can be played (if it exists; a waveform graphic only displays the audio samples, and its presence does not mean there is an audio file associated with it.) Select ‘Play Waveform Audio’ from the Audio menu. (Or on Mac use the ‘Play Waveform Audio’ button, and in iOS tap the waveform graphic)
1.5.4
2022-04-26
Added HDR video support by converting HDR to SDR to improve colors; presents a reminder that you can set a background color for spectra videos from the Size view.
Previous Updates:
13 new presets have been added to the built-in settings library. Settings are available in the Presets tab. The Presets tab has two tables named Built-In and My Settings. These new presets appear in the Built-in settings, at the bottom. Your own settings are saved to My Settings.
126 new presets have been added to the built-in settings library. These were previously available from 'More Settings' and required individual downloads. This makes a large variety of presets readily available with ease.
NEW - Shadow option in the 'Lines' pane. This option will draw shadows for every line.
FIXED - After app relaunch the 'Play Waveform Audio' may sometimes play the wrong audio file.
New - When saving a spectra as a video you now have the option of including the audio, if available. The video duration will then match the audio duration. This can create a fun visualization of the audio.
New - Audio menu has new menu item named 'Share Waveform Audio' enabling you to send the waveform audio, if there is one, to an email, message, etc.
Fixed - Issue with audio processing that could prevent a settings file that uses audio from being restored to the correct look. It was due to a slight variation in audio modulation values. This issue was caused by changes in the last version.
• IMPROVED: Video color generation faster.
• NEW: Apply audio or set background image from Settings. ‘Apply Audio’ for audio, 'Set Background' for background.
• NEW: Playing audio shows its progress in the waveform graphic.
• NEW: When switching to settings without a background from one that does an option to remove the current background is offered.
• NEW: ‘Use Opened Audio’ menu item in the Audio menu: sets the current audio to the last audio imported from external apps (Files, iCloud, Messages, Music, etc) or internal samples.
• IMPROVED: The audio menu items 'Use Video Audio' and 'Use Settings Audio' are reimplemented for clarity.
• FIXED: Some audio files were not loading due to a mismatch of file extension and audio type.
• NEW: Option apply current background color to spectra when rendering. The background color is set in the Size pane.
• Other improvements.
Updated 'More Settings' web view. Use 'More Settings' to load additional settings from the web into the 'My Settings' table.
Fixed an issue with the 'My Settings' table where the table experienced inadvertent scrolling after selecting a setting. Updated for iOS 14.
FIXED: Saving background images to the Photos library now preserves transparency. In this way restoring a background from the photos library will restore the transparency, which is important for the mask mode of the Color pane.
Improved Performance: Settings data is cached to handle the increased load from incorporating background images and waveform audio files. Most notably the presets table scrolls more smoothly, but other methods that use settings data is faster.
Background Preview in Settings: The background image can be previewed from the user settings table. (Swipe on a row in iOS, right(control)-click on a row in macOS.)
Open Settings Options: Opening settings is more discriminate - if current settings has background, but new settings do not then an alert is presented because the existence of a background could mean the spectra does not look as expected unless you change the background settings.
Play Waveform Audio: The current waveform audio file can be played (if it exists; a waveform graphic only displays the audio samples, and its presence does not mean there is an audio file associated with it.) Select ‘Play Waveform Audio’ from the Audio menu. (Or on Mac use the ‘Play Waveform Audio’ button, and in iOS tap the waveform graphic)
1.5.3
2022-03-15
13 new presets have been added to the built-in settings library. Settings are available in the Presets tab. The Presets tab has two tables named Built-In and My Settings. These new presets appear in the Built-in settings, at the bottom. Your own settings are saved to My Settings.
Previous Updates:
126 new presets have been added to the built-in settings library. These were previously available from 'More Settings' and required individual downloads. This makes a large variety of presets readily available with ease.
NEW - Shadow option in the 'Lines' pane. This option will draw shadows for every line.
FIXED - After app relaunch the 'Play Waveform Audio' may sometimes play the wrong audio file.
New - When saving a spectra as a video you now have the option of including the audio, if available. The video duration will then match the audio duration. This can create a fun visualization of the audio.
New - Audio menu has new menu item named 'Share Waveform Audio' enabling you to send the waveform audio, if there is one, to an email, message, etc.
Fixed - Issue with audio processing that could prevent a settings file that uses audio from being restored to the correct look. It was due to a slight variation in audio modulation values. This issue was caused by changes in the last version.
• IMPROVED: Video color generation faster.
• NEW: Apply audio or set background image from Settings. ‘Apply Audio’ for audio, 'Set Background' for background.
• NEW: Playing audio shows its progress in the waveform graphic.
• NEW: When switching to settings without a background from one that does an option to remove the current background is offered.
• NEW: ‘Use Opened Audio’ menu item in the Audio menu: sets the current audio to the last audio imported from external apps (Files, iCloud, Messages, Music, etc) or internal samples.
• IMPROVED: The audio menu items 'Use Video Audio' and 'Use Settings Audio' are reimplemented for clarity.
• FIXED: Some audio files were not loading due to a mismatch of file extension and audio type.
• NEW: Option apply current background color to spectra when rendering. The background color is set in the Size pane.
• Other improvements.
Updated 'More Settings' web view. Use 'More Settings' to load additional settings from the web into the 'My Settings' table.
Fixed an issue with the 'My Settings' table where the table experienced inadvertent scrolling after selecting a setting. Updated for iOS 14.
FIXED: Saving background images to the Photos library now preserves transparency. In this way restoring a background from the photos library will restore the transparency, which is important for the mask mode of the Color pane.
Improved Performance: Settings data is cached to handle the increased load from incorporating background images and waveform audio files. Most notably the presets table scrolls more smoothly, but other methods that use settings data is faster.
Background Preview in Settings: The background image can be previewed from the user settings table. (Swipe on a row in iOS, right(control)-click on a row in macOS.)
Open Settings Options: Opening settings is more discriminate - if current settings has background, but new settings do not then an alert is presented because the existence of a background could mean the spectra does not look as expected unless you change the background settings.
Play Waveform Audio: The current waveform audio file can be played (if it exists; a waveform graphic only displays the audio samples, and its presence does not mean there is an audio file associated with it.) Select ‘Play Waveform Audio’ from the Audio menu. (Or on Mac use the ‘Play Waveform Audio’ button, and in iOS tap the waveform graphic)
1.5.2
2021-12-31
126 new presets have been added to the built-in settings library. These were previously available from 'More Settings' and required individual downloads. This makes a large variety of presets readily available with ease.
Previous Updates:
NEW - Shadow option in the 'Lines' pane. This option will draw shadows for every line.
FIXED - After app relaunch the 'Play Waveform Audio' may sometimes play the wrong audio file.
New - When saving a spectra as a video you now have the option of including the audio, if available. The video duration will then match the audio duration. This can create a fun visualization of the audio.
New - Audio menu has new menu item named 'Share Waveform Audio' enabling you to send the waveform audio, if there is one, to an email, message, etc.
Fixed - Issue with audio processing that could prevent a settings file that uses audio from being restored to the correct look. It was due to a slight variation in audio modulation values. This issue was caused by changes in the last version.
• IMPROVED: Video color generation faster.
• NEW: Apply audio or set background image from Settings. ‘Apply Audio’ for audio, 'Set Background' for background.
• NEW: Playing audio shows its progress in the waveform graphic.
• NEW: When switching to settings without a background from one that does an option to remove the current background is offered.
• NEW: ‘Use Opened Audio’ menu item in the Audio menu: sets the current audio to the last audio imported from external apps (Files, iCloud, Messages, Music, etc) or internal samples.
• IMPROVED: The audio menu items 'Use Video Audio' and 'Use Settings Audio' are reimplemented for clarity.
• FIXED: Some audio files were not loading due to a mismatch of file extension and audio type.
• NEW: Option apply current background color to spectra when rendering. The background color is set in the Size pane.
• Other improvements.
Updated 'More Settings' web view. Use 'More Settings' to load additional settings from the web into the 'My Settings' table.
Fixed an issue with the 'My Settings' table where the table experienced inadvertent scrolling after selecting a setting. Updated for iOS 14.
FIXED: Saving background images to the Photos library now preserves transparency. In this way restoring a background from the photos library will restore the transparency, which is important for the mask mode of the Color pane.
Improved Performance: Settings data is cached to handle the increased load from incorporating background images and waveform audio files. Most notably the presets table scrolls more smoothly, but other methods that use settings data is faster.
Background Preview in Settings: The background image can be previewed from the user settings table. (Swipe on a row in iOS, right(control)-click on a row in macOS.)
Open Settings Options: Opening settings is more discriminate - if current settings has background, but new settings do not then an alert is presented because the existence of a background could mean the spectra does not look as expected unless you change the background settings.
Play Waveform Audio: The current waveform audio file can be played (if it exists; a waveform graphic only displays the audio samples, and its presence does not mean there is an audio file associated with it.) Select ‘Play Waveform Audio’ from the Audio menu. (Or on Mac use the ‘Play Waveform Audio’ button, and in iOS tap the waveform graphic)
Apply Audio File Option: When opening settings with an audio file contained you have the option to ‘apply’ the audio file. File is read and stored as the current audio file for the waveform. So if the settings are changed and saved a copy of the same audio can be included. (Saved audio can be played from the user setting table.)
1.5
2020-12-24
NEW - Shadow option in the 'Lines' pane. This option will draw shadows for every line.
FIXED - After app relaunch the 'Play Waveform Audio' may sometimes play the wrong audio file.
Other Recent Updates:
New - When saving a spectra as a video you now have the option of including the audio, if available. The video duration will then match the audio duration. This can create a fun visualization of the audio.
New - Audio menu has new menu item named 'Share Waveform Audio' enabling you to send the waveform audio, if there is one, to an email, message, etc.
Fixed - Issue with audio processing that could prevent a settings file that uses audio from being restored to the correct look. It was due to a slight variation in audio modulation values. This issue was caused by changes in the last version.
• IMPROVED: Video color generation faster.
• NEW: Apply audio or set background image from Settings. ‘Apply Audio’ for audio, 'Set Background' for background.
• NEW: Playing audio shows its progress in the waveform graphic.
• NEW: When switching to settings without a background from one that does an option to remove the current background is offered.
• NEW: ‘Use Opened Audio’ menu item in the Audio menu: sets the current audio to the last audio imported from external apps (Files, iCloud, Messages, Music, etc) or internal samples.
• IMPROVED: The audio menu items 'Use Video Audio' and 'Use Settings Audio' are reimplemented for clarity.
• FIXED: Some audio files were not loading due to a mismatch of file extension and audio type.
• NEW: Option apply current background color to spectra when rendering. The background color is set in the Size pane.
• Other improvements.
Updated 'More Settings' web view. Use 'More Settings' to load additional settings from the web into the 'My Settings' table.
Fixed an issue with the 'My Settings' table where the table experienced inadvertent scrolling after selecting a setting. Updated for iOS 14.
FIXED: Saving background images to the Photos library now preserves transparency. In this way restoring a background from the photos library will restore the transparency, which is important for the mask mode of the Color pane.
Improved Performance: Settings data is cached to handle the increased load from incorporating background images and waveform audio files. Most notably the presets table scrolls more smoothly, but other methods that use settings data is faster.
Background Preview in Settings: The background image can be previewed from the user settings table. (Swipe on a row in iOS, right(control)-click on a row in macOS.)
Open Settings Options: Opening settings is more discriminate - if current settings has background, but new settings do not then an alert is presented because the existence of a background could mean the spectra does not look as expected unless you change the background settings.
Play Waveform Audio: The current waveform audio file can be played (if it exists; a waveform graphic only displays the audio samples, and its presence does not mean there is an audio file associated with it.) Select ‘Play Waveform Audio’ from the Audio menu. (Or on Mac use the ‘Play Waveform Audio’ button, and in iOS tap the waveform graphic)
Apply Audio File Option: When opening settings with an audio file contained you have the option to ‘apply’ the audio file. File is read and stored as the current audio file for the waveform. So if the settings are changed and saved a copy of the same audio can be included. (Saved audio can be played from the user setting table.)
Save Audio Option: Saving settings presents the option to NOT save the current waveform audio file. Saving the audio file is for two purposes:
1. So that you can recall the audio by playing it from the user setting table.
2. So that if you load setting with an audio file you apply it so it may be included when saving a modified version of the settings.
1.4.8
2020-12-04
New - Audio menu has new menu item named 'Share Waveform Audio' enabling you to send the waveform audio, if there is one, to an email, message, etc.
Fixed - Issue with audio processing that could prevent a settings file that uses audio from being restored to the correct look. It was due to a slight variation in audio modulation values. This issue was caused by changes in the last version.
Other Recent Updates:
• IMPROVED: Video color generation faster.
• NEW: Apply audio or set background image from Settings. ‘Apply Audio’ for audio, 'Set Background' for background.
• NEW: Playing audio shows its progress in the waveform graphic.
• NEW: When switching to settings without a background from one that does an option to remove the current background is offered.
• NEW: ‘Use Opened Audio’ menu item in the Audio menu: sets the current audio to the last audio imported from external apps (Files, iCloud, Messages, Music, etc) or internal samples.
• IMPROVED: The audio menu items 'Use Video Audio' and 'Use Settings Audio' are reimplemented for clarity.
• FIXED: Some audio files were not loading due to a mismatch of file extension and audio type.
• NEW: Option apply current background color to spectra when rendering. The background color is set in the Size pane.
• Other improvements.
Updated 'More Settings' web view. Use 'More Settings' to load additional settings from the web into the 'My Settings' table.
Fixed an issue with the 'My Settings' table where the table experienced inadvertent scrolling after selecting a setting. Updated for iOS 14.
FIXED: Saving background images to the Photos library now preserves transparency. In this way restoring a background from the photos library will restore the transparency, which is important for the mask mode of the Color pane.
Improved Performance: Settings data is cached to handle the increased load from incorporating background images and waveform audio files. Most notably the presets table scrolls more smoothly, but other methods that use settings data is faster.
Background Preview in Settings: The background image can be previewed from the user settings table. (Swipe on a row in iOS, right(control)-click on a row in macOS.)
Open Settings Options: Opening settings is more discriminate - if current settings has background, but new settings do not then an alert is presented because the existence of a background could mean the spectra does not look as expected unless you change the background settings.
Play Waveform Audio: The current waveform audio file can be played (if it exists; a waveform graphic only displays the audio samples, and its presence does not mean there is an audio file associated with it.) Select ‘Play Waveform Audio’ from the Audio menu. (Or on Mac use the ‘Play Waveform Audio’ button, and in iOS tap the waveform graphic)
Apply Audio File Option: When opening settings with an audio file contained you have the option to ‘apply’ the audio file. File is read and stored as the current audio file for the waveform. So if the settings are changed and saved a copy of the same audio can be included. (Saved audio can be played from the user setting table.)
Save Audio Option: Saving settings presents the option to NOT save the current waveform audio file. Saving the audio file is for two purposes:
1. So that you can recall the audio by playing it from the user setting table.
2. So that if you load setting with an audio file you apply it so it may be included when saving a modified version of the settings.
New User Settings Table Row Labels: Labels in the user settings table indicate : contains audio data file, creation date and data size of the file.
New Labels & Colors For Clarity: New terminology adopted: ’Mask the spectra by the background image or vice versa. Implements 'white on alpha' masking, where white is transparent.' This is to emphasize the intended usage of the ‘White’ color in the color pane, and the use of the ‘Invert’ operation for masks.
1.4.7
2020-11-04
• IMPROVED: Video color generation faster.
• NEW: Apply audio or set background image from Settings. ‘Apply Audio’ for audio, 'Set Background' for background.
• NEW: Playing audio shows its progress in the waveform graphic.
• NEW: When switching to settings without a background from one that does an option to remove the current background is offered.
• NEW: ‘Use Opened Audio’ menu item in the Audio menu: sets the current audio to the last audio imported from external apps (Files, iCloud, Messages, Music, etc) or internal samples.
• IMPROVED: The audio menu items 'Use Video Audio' and 'Use Settings Audio' are reimplemented for clarity.
• FIXED: Some audio files were not loading due to a mismatch of file extension and audio type.
• NEW: Option apply current background color to spectra when rendering. The background color is set in the Size pane.
• Other improvements.
Previous recent updates:
Updated 'More Settings' web view. Use 'More Settings' to load additional settings from the web into the 'My Settings' table.
Fixed an issue with the 'My Settings' table where the table experienced inadvertent scrolling after selecting a setting. Updated for iOS 14.
FIXED: Saving background images to the Photos library now preserves transparency. In this way restoring a background from the photos library will restore the transparency, which is important for the mask mode of the Color pane.
Improved Performance: Settings data is cached to handle the increased load from incorporating background images and waveform audio files. Most notably the presets table scrolls more smoothly, but other methods that use settings data is faster.
Background Preview in Settings: The background image can be previewed from the user settings table. (Swipe on a row in iOS, right(control)-click on a row in macOS.)
Open Settings Options: Opening settings is more discriminate - if current settings has background, but new settings do not then an alert is presented because the existence of a background could mean the spectra does not look as expected unless you change the background settings.
Play Waveform Audio: The current waveform audio file can be played (if it exists; a waveform graphic only displays the audio samples, and its presence does not mean there is an audio file associated with it.) Select ‘Play Waveform Audio’ from the Audio menu. (Or on Mac use the ‘Play Waveform Audio’ button, and in iOS tap the waveform graphic)
Apply Audio File Option: When opening settings with an audio file contained you have the option to ‘apply’ the audio file. File is read and stored as the current audio file for the waveform. So if the settings are changed and saved a copy of the same audio can be included. (Saved audio can be played from the user setting table.)
Save Audio Option: Saving settings presents the option to NOT save the current waveform audio file. Saving the audio file is for two purposes:
1. So that you can recall the audio by playing it from the user setting table.
2. So that if you load setting with an audio file you apply it so it may be included when saving a modified version of the settings.
New User Settings Table Row Labels: Labels in the user settings table indicate : contains audio data file, creation date and data size of the file.
New Labels & Colors For Clarity: New terminology adopted: ’Mask the spectra by the background image or vice versa. Implements 'white on alpha' masking, where white is transparent.' This is to emphasize the intended usage of the ‘White’ color in the color pane, and the use of the ‘Invert’ operation for masks.
Mask Inversion: Masks can be inverted. This is intended for use with ‘white on alpha masks’ - namely masks created as white with transparency. Choose the ‘White’ color option for a spectra and then save it as a background for masking. When inverted white pixels becomes transparent and transparent pixels become white.
1.4.6
2020-10-19
Updated 'More Settings' web view. Use 'More Settings' to load additional settings from the web into the 'My Settings' table.
Previous updates:
Fixed an issue with the 'My Settings' table where the table experienced inadvertent scrolling after selecting a setting. Updated for iOS 14.
FIXED: Saving background images to the Photos library now preserves transparency. In this way restoring a background from the photos library will restore the transparency, which is important for the mask mode of the Color pane.
Improved Performance: Settings data is cached to handle the increased load from incorporating background images and waveform audio files. Most notably the presets table scrolls more smoothly, but other methods that use settings data is faster.
Background Preview in Settings: The background image can be previewed from the user settings table. (Swipe on a row in iOS, right(control)-click on a row in macOS.)
Open Settings Options: Opening settings is more discriminate - if current settings has background, but new settings do not then an alert is presented because the existence of a background could mean the spectra does not look as expected unless you change the background settings.
Play Waveform Audio: The current waveform audio file can be played (if it exists; a waveform graphic only displays the audio samples, and its presence does not mean there is an audio file associated with it.) Select ‘Play Waveform Audio’ from the Audio menu. (Or on Mac use the ‘Play Waveform Audio’ button, and in iOS tap the waveform graphic)
Apply Audio File Option: When opening settings with an audio file contained you have the option to ‘apply’ the audio file. File is read and stored as the current audio file for the waveform. So if the settings are changed and saved a copy of the same audio can be included. (Saved audio can be played from the user setting table.)
Save Audio Option: Saving settings presents the option to NOT save the current waveform audio file. Saving the audio file is for two purposes:
1. So that you can recall the audio by playing it from the user setting table.
2. So that if you load setting with an audio file you apply it so it may be included when saving a modified version of the settings.
New User Settings Table Row Labels: Labels in the user settings table indicate : contains audio data file, creation date and data size of the file.
New Labels & Colors For Clarity: New terminology adopted: ’Mask the spectra by the background image or vice versa. Implements 'white on alpha' masking, where white is transparent.' This is to emphasize the intended usage of the ‘White’ color in the color pane, and the use of the ‘Invert’ operation for masks.
Mask Inversion: Masks can be inverted. This is intended for use with ‘white on alpha masks’ - namely masks created as white with transparency. Choose the ‘White’ color option for a spectra and then save it as a background for masking. When inverted white pixels becomes transparent and transparent pixels become white.
Background Color for Contrast: Since newer versions of Spectra enable coloring spectra with white it was hard to distinguish them when the default view background is white, therefore the default is now slightly ‘off white’ to provide contrast.
- The current audio data, as well as the processed samples for graphics modulation, is stored in a Spectra settings file enabling playing of the audio within Spectra.
To play the audio: In the 'My Settings' pane of Presets swipe across a row to display the row actions menu: Play, Rename, Delete and select 'Play'.
Note: When loading settings the audio data is not used to replace the current audio being used by Spectra. But since you can now play the audio that was the current audio at the time the settings were saved you can recall what it was.
- New isosceles triangle option, save Spectra to video, mask images by spectra, use images for color, composing spectra via backgrounds
1.4.5
2020-09-28
Fixed an issue with the 'My Settings' table where the table experienced inadvertent scrolling after selecting a setting. Updated for iOS 14.
Previous updates:
FIXED: Saving background images to the Photos library now preserves transparency. In this way restoring a background from the photos library will restore the transparency, which is important for the mask mode of the Color pane.
Improved Performance: Settings data is cached to handle the increased load from incorporating background images and waveform audio files. Most notably the presets table scrolls more smoothly, but other methods that use settings data is faster.
Background Preview in Settings: The background image can be previewed from the user settings table. (Swipe on a row in iOS, right(control)-click on a row in macOS.)
Open Settings Options: Opening settings is more discriminate - if current settings has background, but new settings do not then an alert is presented because the existence of a background could mean the spectra does not look as expected unless you change the background settings.
Play Waveform Audio: The current waveform audio file can be played (if it exists; a waveform graphic only displays the audio samples, and its presence does not mean there is an audio file associated with it.) Select ‘Play Waveform Audio’ from the Audio menu. (Or on Mac use the ‘Play Waveform Audio’ button, and in iOS tap the waveform graphic)
Apply Audio File Option: When opening settings with an audio file contained you have the option to ‘apply’ the audio file. This means that the file is read and stored as the current audio file for the waveform. This way if the settings are changed and saved a copy of the same audio can be included. (Audio is saved so that you can recall the audio by playing it from the user setting table.)
Save Audio Option: Saving settings presents the option to NOT save the current waveform audio file. Saving the audio file is for two purposes:
1. So that you can recall the audio by playing it from the user setting table.
2. So that if you load setting with an audio file you apply it so it may be included when saving a modified version of the settings.
New User Settings Table Row Labels: Labels in the user settings table indicate : contains audio data file, creation date and data size of the file.
New Labels & Colors For Clarity: New terminology adopted: ’Mask the spectra by the background image or vice versa. Implements 'white on alpha' masking, where white is transparent.' This is to emphasize the intended usage of the ‘White’ color in the color pane, and the use of the ‘Invert’ operation for masks.
Mask Inversion: Masks can be inverted. This is intended for use with ‘white on alpha masks’ - namely masks created as white with transparency. Choose the ‘White’ color option for a spectra and then save it as a background for masking. When inverted white pixels becomes transparent and transparent pixels become white.
Background Color for Contrast: Since newer versions of Spectra enable coloring spectra with white it was hard to distinguish them when the default view background is white, therefore the default is now slightly ‘off white’ to provide contrast.
- The current audio data, as well as the processed samples for graphics modulation, is stored in a Spectra settings file enabling playing of the audio within Spectra.
To play the audio: In the 'My Settings' pane of Presets swipe across a row to display the row actions menu: Play, Rename, Delete and select 'Play'.
If there is no audio to play you are told so - for example old settings files will not contain audio.
Note: When loading settings the audio data is not used to replace the current audio being used by Spectra. But since you can now play the audio that was the current audio at the time the settings were saved you can recall what it was.
- New isosceles triangle option, save Spectra to video, mask images by spectra, use images for color, composing spectra via backgrounds
1.4.4
2020-01-23
FIXED: Saving background images to the Photos library now preserves transparency. In this way restoring a background from the photos library will restore the transparency, which is important for the mask mode of the Color pane.
Previous updates:
Improved Performance: Settings data is cached to handle the increased load from incorporating background images and waveform audio files. Most notably the presets table scrolls more smoothly, but other methods that use settings data is faster.
Background Preview in Settings: The background image can be previewed from the user settings table. (Swipe on a row in iOS, right(control)-click on a row in macOS.)
Open Settings Options: Opening settings is more discriminate - if current settings has background, but new settings do not then an alert is presented because the existence of a background could mean the spectra does not look as expected unless you change the background settings.
Play Waveform Audio: The current waveform audio file can be played (if it exists; a waveform graphic only displays the audio samples, and its presence does not mean there is an audio file associated with it.) Select ‘Play Waveform Audio’ from the Audio menu. (Or on Mac use the ‘Play Waveform Audio’ button, and in iOS tap the waveform graphic)
Apply Audio File Option: When opening settings with an audio file contained you have the option to ‘apply’ the audio file. This means that the file is read and stored as the current audio file for the waveform. This way if the settings are changed and saved a copy of the same audio can be included. (Audio is saved so that you can recall the audio by playing it from the user setting table.)
Save Audio Option: Saving settings presents the option to NOT save the current waveform audio file. Saving the audio file is for two purposes:
1. So that you can recall the audio by playing it from the user setting table.
2. So that if you load setting with an audio file you apply it so it may be included when saving a modified version of the settings.
New User Settings Table Row Labels: Labels in the user settings table indicate : contains audio data file, creation date and data size of the file.
New Labels & Colors For Clarity: New terminology adopted: ’Mask the spectra by the background image or vice versa. Implements 'white on alpha' masking, where white is transparent.' This is to emphasize the intended usage of the ‘White’ color in the color pane, and the use of the ‘Invert’ operation for masks.
Mask Inversion: Masks can be inverted. This is intended for use with ‘white on alpha masks’ - namely masks created as white with transparency. Choose the ‘White’ color option for a spectra and then save it as a background for masking. When inverted white pixels becomes transparent and transparent pixels become white.
Background Color for Contrast: Since newer versions of Spectra enable coloring spectra with white it was hard to distinguish them when the default view background is white, therefore the default is now slightly ‘off white’ to provide contrast.
- The current audio data, as well as the processed samples for graphics modulation, is stored in a Spectra settings file enabling playing of the audio within Spectra.
To play the audio: In the 'My Settings' pane of Presets swipe across a row to display the row actions menu: Play, Rename, Delete and select 'Play'.
If there is no audio to play you are told so - for example old settings files will not contain audio.
Note: When loading settings the audio data is not used to replace the current audio being used by Spectra. But since you can now play the audio that was the current audio at the time the settings were saved you can recall what it was.
- Ads have been removed to increase the space available to display controls panes.
- Also : new isosceles triangle option, save Spectra to video, mask images by spectra, use images for color, composing spectra via backgrounds
1.4.3
2020-01-21
Improved Performance: Settings data is cached to handle the increased load from incorporating background images and waveform audio files. Most notably the presets table scrolls more smoothly, but other methods that use settings data is faster.
Background Preview in Settings: The background image can be previewed from the user settings table. (Swipe on a row in iOS, right(control)-click on a row in macOS.)
Open Settings Options: Opening settings is more discriminate - if current settings has background, but new settings do not then an alert is presented because the existence of a background could mean the spectra does not look as expected unless you change the background settings.
Play Waveform Audio: The current waveform audio file can be played (if it exists; a waveform graphic only displays the audio samples, and its presence does not mean there is an audio file associated with it.) Select ‘Play Waveform Audio’ from the Audio menu. (Or on Mac use the ‘Play Waveform Audio’ button, and in iOS tap the waveform graphic)
No Background Image: The background image preview will now show a ‘no background’ image graphic if there is no background image.
Apply Audio File Option: When opening settings with an audio file contained you have the option to ‘apply’ the audio file. This means that the file is read and stored as the current audio file for the waveform. This way if the settings are changed and saved a copy of the same audio can be included. (Audio is saved so that you can recall the audio by playing it from the user setting table.)
Save Audio Option: Saving settings presents the option to NOT save the current waveform audio file. Saving the audio file is for two purposes:
1. So that you can recall the audio by playing it from the user setting table.
2. So that if you load setting with an audio file you apply it so it may be included when saving a modified version of the settings.
New User Settings Table Row Labels: Labels in the user settings table indicate : contains audio data file, creation date and data size of the file.
New Labels & Colors For Clarity: New terminology adopted: ’Mask the spectra by the background image or vice versa. Implements 'white on alpha' masking, where white is transparent.' This is to emphasize the intended usage of the ‘White’ color in the color pane, and the use of the ‘Invert’ operation for masks.
Mask Inversion: Masks can be inverted. This is intended for use with ‘white on alpha masks’ - namely masks created as white with transparency. Choose the ‘White’ color option for a spectra and then save it as a background for masking. When inverted white pixels becomes transparent and transparent pixels become white.
Color Pane Reorganized: The ‘Color’ pane has been reorganized and improved for clarity.
Bold Text: A fix for bold text option in system settings.
Background Color for Contrast: Since newer versions of Spectra enable coloring spectra with white it was hard to distinguish them when the default view background is white, therefore the default is now slightly ‘off white’ to provide contrast.
Previous updates:
- The current audio data, as well as the processed samples for graphics modulation, is stored in a Spectra settings file enabling playing of the audio within Spectra.
To play the audio: In the 'My Settings' pane of Presets swipe across a row to display the row actions menu: Play, Rename, Delete and select 'Play'.
If there is no audio to play you are told so - for example old settings files will not contain audio.
Note: When loading settings the audio data is not used to replace the current audio being used by Spectra. But since you can now play the audio that was the current audio at the time the settings were saved you can recall what it was.
- Ads have been removed to increase the space available to display controls panes.
- Also : new isosceles triangle option, save Spectra to video, mask images by spectra, use images for color, composing spectra via backgrounds
1.4.2
2020-01-15
- The current audio data, as well as the processed samples for graphics modulation, is stored in a Spectra settings file enabling playing of the audio within Spectra.
To play the audio: In the 'My Settings' pane of Presets swipe across a row to display the row actions menu: Play, Rename, Delete and select 'Play'.
If there is no audio to play you are told so - for example old settings files will not contain audio.
Note: When loading settings the audio data is not used to replace the current audio being used by Spectra. But since you can now play the audio that was the current audio at the time the settings were saved you can recall what it was.
- Ads have been removed to increase the space available to display controls panes.
Previous Updates:
- Saving and restoration of Spectra settings supports background images and all background image options : show, fill and mask.
Note: when using an image as a mask white is transparent while other colors have varying amount of opacity.
- Settings tables modified for displaying white spectra (intended for use as background masks), and items labelled to indicate if contains a background image.
- When opening settings with a background 3 options are provided - ignore it, replace the current, or combine it with the current.
- Background can be masked by spectra (as well as spectra masked by background)
- 13 new audio ring tones
- Fix - saving background image to Photos library will preserve its transparency.
- Rather than set the dpiFactorSlider to 1 without warning alerts you after 3 warnings and only suggest lowering it.
- Background Image controls in Color pane to replace the menu with same functions, and similar to Mac version.
- Added new 'View' button to preview the background image with size displayed, and it uses same background texture as preview. Tap and hold the preview to open menu of color options.
- Backgrounds have a new option to 'fit or fill' the spectra background - default is original 'fit'. The option is available in the Color pane, and applies to drawing and masking with the background.
- In the Size pane convenience button added to set the preview background color for contrast.
- Background image options for showing and masking are restored on app launch. Background images are used for compositing spectra and masking.
See demo videos ‘Composite Spectra’ and ‘Mask Background Image’
- In the Size pane an alert is presented if the resulting spectra will be greater than 12 megapixels.
- Spectra can now be saved as video - frames of the video display the process of drawing the spectra.
- Background image can be used as a mask for the current spectra: white is transparent, black is opaque, intermediate colors are semi-transparent. This is illustrated in the screenshots. See demo video ‘Mask Background Image’
- The set of methods for managing the background image has been put into a separate background image menu available from the Media menu and Color pane.
- Background images can now be deleted in background image menu.
- Background images can now be set from Photos library in background image menu.
- Background images can be saved to Photos. (This is useful because a background image can be saved as a composite of a previous background and spectra.)
- A background image preview has been added to the Color pane (where Background image is managed).
- A new color option in the color pane called ‘White’ intended to be used for creating background masks from a spectra.
- The preview background can be set to a texture to help view spectra using background masks that are white - available in Media menu, or by ‘tap and hold’ on preview itself.
- New builtin presets using the new Isosceles triangles option (in the Lines pane) have been added.
Features for generating new kinds of spectra graphics based on triangles, manage output metrics for improved print quality, setting background images and displaying a grid in the preview. Details:
1.4.1
2020-01-14
- Saving and restoration of Spectra settings supports background images and all background image options : show, fill and mask.
Note: when using an image as a mask white is transparent while other colors have varying amount of opacity.
- Settings tables modified for displaying white spectra (intended for use as background masks), and items labelled to indicate if contains a background image.
- When opening settings with a background 3 options are provided - ignore it, replace the current, or combine it with the current.
- Background can be masked by spectra (as well as spectra masked by background)
- 13 new audio ring tones
- Fix - saving background image to Photos library will preserve its transparency.
- Rather than set the dpiFactorSlider to 1 without warning alerts you after 3 warnings and only suggest lowering it.
- Background Image controls in Color pane to replace the menu with same functions, and similar to Mac version.
- Added new 'View' button to preview the background image with size displayed, and it uses same background texture as preview. Tap and hold the preview to open menu of color options.
- Media menu simplified: removed background management menu that has been superseded by new options in the color pane (for consistency with Mac version), and preview background color menu - which can be set using “tap and hold” on preview.
Previous Updates:
- Backgrounds have a new option to 'fit or fill' the spectra background - default is original 'fit'. The option is available in the Color pane, and applies to drawing and masking with the background.
- Color generation displays a color swatch for each color.
- In the Size pane convenience button added to set the preview background color for contrast.
- Background image options for showing and masking are restored on app launch. Background images are used for compositing spectra and masking.
See demo videos ‘Composite Spectra’ and ‘Mask Background Image’
- In the Size pane an alert is presented if the resulting spectra will be greater than 12 megapixels.
- Spectra can now be saved as video - frames of the video display the process of drawing the spectra.
- Background image can be used as a mask for the current spectra: white is transparent, black is opaque, intermediate colors are semi-transparent. This is illustrated in the screenshots. See demo video ‘Mask Background Image’
- The set of methods for managing the background image has been put into a separate background image menu available from the Media menu and Color pane.
- Background images can now be deleted in background image menu.
- Background images can now be set from Photos library in background image menu.
- Background images can be saved to Photos. (This is useful because a background image can be saved as a composite of a previous background and spectra.)
- A background image preview has been added to the Color pane (where Background image is managed).
- A new color option in the color pane called ‘White’ intended to be used for creating background masks from a spectra.
- The preview background can be set to a texture to help view spectra using background masks that are white - available in Media menu, or by ‘tap and hold’ on preview itself.
- New builtin presets using the new Isosceles triangles option (in the Lines pane) have been added.
Features for generating new kinds of spectra graphics based on triangles, manage output metrics for improved print quality, setting background images and displaying a grid in the preview. Details:
NEW - In the ‘Lines’ pane there is a new option to draw a line as an isosceles triangle, either solid or outlined. This option has an associated size parameter which is controlled using the adjacent size slider.
NEW - In the ‘Size’ pane there is a new option to draw a grid in the preview. You can either turn the grid off, or set it to a blue or gray color. The grid size matches width and height.
1.4
2020-01-07
- Masking with a background is faster.
- Backgrounds have a new option to 'fit or fill' the spectra background - default is original 'fit'. The option is available in the Color pane, and applies to drawing and masking with the background.
- Color generation displays a color swatch for each color.
- Other enhancements
Previous Updates:
- In the Size pane convenience button added to set the preview background color for contrast.
- Background image options for showing and masking are restored on app launch. Background images are used for compositing spectra and masking.
See demo videos ‘Composite Spectra’ and ‘Mask Background Image’
- In the Size pane an alert is presented if the resulting spectra will be greater than 12 megapixels.
- Spectra can now be saved as video - frames of the video display the process of drawing the spectra.
- Background image can be used as a mask for the current spectra: white is transparent, black is opaque, intermediate colors are semi-transparent. This is illustrated in the screenshots. See demo video ‘Mask Background Image’
- The set of methods for managing the background image has been put into a separate background image menu available from the Media menu and Color pane.
- Background images can now be deleted in background image menu.
- Background images can now be set from Photos library in background image menu.
- Background images can be saved to Photos. (This is useful because a background image can be saved as a composite of a previous background and spectra.)
- A background image preview has been added to the Color pane (where Background image is managed).
- A new color option in the color pane called ‘White’ intended to be used for creating background masks from a spectra.
- The preview background can be set to a texture to help view spectra using background masks that are white - available in Media menu, or by ‘tap and hold’ on preview itself.
- New builtin presets using the new Isosceles triangles option (in the Lines pane) have been added.
Features for generating new kinds of spectra graphics based on triangles, manage output metrics for improved print quality, setting background images and displaying a grid in the preview. Details:
NEW - In the ‘Lines’ pane there is a new option to draw a line as an isosceles triangle, either solid or outlined. This option has an associated size parameter which is controlled using the adjacent size slider.
NEW - In the ‘Size’ pane there is a new option to draw a grid in the preview. You can either turn the grid off, or set it to a blue or gray color. The grid size matches the current ‘Width’ and ‘Height’ settings: the number of grid spaces matches each dimension.
NEW - In addition to the new grid option to act as spectra guides for printing to fit specific sizes, the dimension label in the ‘Size’ pane will display the current spectra size in inches to 2 decimal places for printing to 300 dpi.*
NEW - After a spectra is generated (i.e. saving) an alert is displayed which shows the actual dimensions of the spectra in inches to 2 decimal places for 300 dpi.*
*Note: the DPI of a spectra will vary based on available memory: if memory is limited the actual DPI may be less than the desired DPI. Use the ‘DPI Factor’ option in the ‘Size’ pane to extend the threshold for memory constraints if you need to print higher resolution than the default.
- Photos can be used for generating color palettes, as a supplemental method to using video for color. See demo video 'Image For Color'
Image for color extraction is subsampled for speed and inherent limit of 2048 colors, so not all colors included.
- Photos can be used as background images under the current Spectra.
- Menu item ‘Set Background Image From Spectra’ sets background image to the current spectra for composing multiple spectra into one. See demo video 'Composite Spectra'
- Menu item ‘Set Background Image From Video’ sets background image from the current player video frame.
1.3.9
2020-01-02
- In the Size pane convenience button added to set the preview background color for contrast.
- Background image options for showing and masking are restored on app launch. Background images are used for compositing spectra and masking.
See demo videos ‘Composite Spectra’ and ‘Mask Background Image’
- In the Size pane an alert is presented if the resulting spectra will be greater than 12 megapixels.
Previous Updates:
- Spectra can now be saved as video - frames of the video display the process of drawing the spectra.
- Background image can be used as a mask for the current spectra: white is transparent, black is opaque, intermediate colors are semi-transparent. This is illustrated in the screenshots. See demo video ‘Mask Background Image’
- The set of methods for managing the background image has been put into a separate background image menu available from the Media menu and Color pane.
- Background images can now be deleted in background image menu.
- Background images can now be set from Photos library in background image menu.
- Background images can be saved to Photos. (This is useful because a background image can be saved as a composite of a previous background and spectra.)
- A background image preview has been added to the Color pane (where Background image is managed).
- A new color option in the color pane called ‘White’ intended to be used for creating background masks from a spectra.
- The preview background can be set to a texture to help view spectra using background masks that are white - available in Media menu, or by ‘tap and hold’ on preview itself.
- New builtin presets using the new Isosceles triangles option (in the Lines pane) have been added.
Features for generating new kinds of spectra graphics based on triangles, manage output metrics for improved print quality, setting background images and displaying a grid in the preview. Details:
NEW - In the ‘Lines’ pane there is a new option to draw a line as an isosceles triangle, either solid or outlined. This option has an associated size parameter which is controlled using the adjacent size slider.
NEW - In the ‘Size’ pane there is a new option to draw a grid in the preview. You can either turn the grid off, or set it to a blue or gray color. The grid size matches the current ‘Width’ and ‘Height’ settings: the number of grid spaces matches each dimension.
NEW - In addition to the new grid option to act as spectra guides for printing to fit specific sizes, the dimension label in the ‘Size’ pane will display the current spectra size in inches to 2 decimal places for printing to 300 dpi.*
NEW - After a spectra is generated (i.e. saving) an alert is displayed which shows the actual dimensions of the spectra in inches to 2 decimal places for 300 dpi.*
*Note: the DPI of a spectra will vary based on available memory: if memory is limited the actual DPI may be less than the desired DPI. Use the ‘DPI Factor’ option in the ‘Size’ pane to extend the threshold for memory constraints if you need to print higher resolution than the default.
- Photos can be used for generating color palettes, as a supplemental method to using video for color. See demo video 'Image For Color'
When using image for color extraction the image is subsampled for speed and the inherent spectra limit of 2048 colors. Hence not all the colors in an image will be realized in the generated palette for the spectra.
Live phots still have the option to use their video as the color source.
- Photos can be used for as background images that appear under the current Spectra.
- A menu item ‘Set Background Image From Spectra’ to set the background image to the current spectra. Enables composing multiple spectra into one. See demo video 'Composite Spectra'
- A new menu item ‘Set Background Image From Video’ is a method to set the background image from the current player video frame.
NEW - In the ‘Color’ pane there is a new hide/show option for the current background image.
1.3.8
2019-12-31
- Background image can be used as a mask for the current spectra: white is transparent, black is opaque, intermediate colors are semi-transparent. This is illustrated in the screenshots.
- The set of methods for managing the background image has been put into a separate background image menu available from the Media menu and Color pane.
- Background images can now be deleted in background image menu.
- Background images can now be set from Photos library in background image menu.
- Background images can be saved to Photos. (This is useful because a background image can be saved as a composite of a previous background and spectra.)
- A background image preview has been added to the Color pane (where the Background image is managed).
- A new color option in the color pane called ‘White’ intended to be used for creating background masks from a spectra.
- The preview background can be set to a texture to help view spectra using background masks that are white - available in Media menu, or by ‘tap and hold’ on preview itself.
- New builtin presets using the new Isosceles triangles option (in the Lines pane) have been added.
Previous Updates:
Features for generating new kinds of spectra graphics based on triangles, manage output metrics for improved print quality, setting background images and displaying a grid in the preview. Details:
NEW - In the ‘Lines’ pane there is a new option to draw a line as an isosceles triangle, either solid or outlined. This option has an associated size parameter which is controlled using the adjacent size slider.
NEW - In the ‘Size’ pane there is a new option to draw a grid in the preview. You can either turn the grid off, or set it to a blue or gray color. The grid size matches the current ‘Width’ and ‘Height’ settings: the number of grid spaces matches each dimension.
NEW - In addition to the new grid option to act as spectra guides for printing to fit specific sizes, the dimension label in the ‘Size’ pane will display the current spectra size in inches to 2 decimal places for printing to 300 dpi.*
NEW - After a spectra is generated (i.e. saving) an alert is displayed which shows the actual dimensions of the spectra in inches to 2 decimal places for 300 dpi.*
*Note: the DPI of a spectra will vary based on available memory: if memory is limited the actual DPI may be less than the desired DPI. Use the ‘DPI Factor’ option in the ‘Size’ pane to extend the threshold for memory constraints if you need to print higher resolution than the default.
NEW - The ‘Video’ menu is now called the ‘Media’ menu because the use of media has been extended in a number of ways.
- Photos (including Live Photos) can be used for generating color palettes, as a supplemental method to using video for color.
When you use an image for color extraction the image will be subsampled for speed and given the inherent spectra limit of 2048 colors. In other words not ALL the colors in an image will be realized in the generated palette for the spectra.
If the media is a live photo then you still have the option to use its video as the color source.
- Photos (including Live Photos) can be used for as background images that appear under the current Spectra. This feature is primarily intended for composing multiple spectra graphics, because of the next new feature.
- A new menu item ‘Set Background Image From Spectra’ is a convenience method to set the background image to the current spectra. The intention of this feature is to easily enable composing multiple spectra into one.
- A new menu item ‘Set Background Image From Video’ is a method to set the background image from the current player video frame.
- A new menu item ‘Show/Hide Background Image’ to hide or show the current background image.
NEW - In the ‘Color’ pane there is a new hide/show option for the current background image.
New: Video generation can be saved as a video. From the File menu choose 'Save Spectra > Video'.
1.3.7
2019-12-12
Features for generating new kinds of spectra graphics based on triangles, manage output metrics for improved print quality, setting background images and displaying a grid in the preview. Details:
NEW - In the ‘Lines’ pane there is a new option to draw a line as an isosceles triangle, either solid or outlined. This option has an associated size parameter which is controlled using the adjacent size slider.
NEW - In the ‘Size’ pane there is a new option to draw a grid in the preview. You can either turn the grid off, or set it to a blue or gray color. The grid size matches the current ‘Width’ and ‘Height’ settings: the number of grid spaces matches each dimension.
NEW - In addition to the new grid option to act as spectra guides for printing to fit specific sizes, the dimension label in the ‘Size’ pane will display the current spectra size in inches to 2 decimal places for printing to 300 dpi.*
NEW - After a spectra is generated (i.e. saving) an alert is displayed which shows the actual dimensions of the spectra in inches to 2 decimal places for 300 dpi.*
*Note: the DPI of a spectra will vary based on available memory: if memory is limited the actual DPI may be less than the desired DPI. Use the ‘DPI Factor’ option in the ‘Size’ pane to extend the threshold for memory constraints if you need to print higher resolution than the default.
NEW - The ‘Video’ menu is now called the ‘Media’ menu because the use of media has been extended in a number of ways.
- The menu item ‘Live Photo Library’ is now called ‘Photo Library’ since you can now pick a photo or live photo for either a background image or color palette (see next items).
- Photos (including Live Photos) can be used for generating color palettes, as a supplemental method to using video for color.
When you use an image for color extraction the image will be subsampled for speed and given the inherent spectra limit of 2048 colors. In other words not ALL the colors in an image will be realized in the generated palette for the spectra.
If the media is a live photo then you still have the option to use its video as the color source.
- Photos (including Live Photos) can be used for as background images that appear under the current Spectra. This feature is primarily intended for composing multiple spectra graphics, because of the next new feature.
- A new menu item ‘Set Background Image From Spectra’ is a convenience method to set the background image to the current spectra. The intention of this feature is to easily enable composing multiple spectra into one.
- A new menu item ‘Set Background Image From Video’ is a method to set the background image from the current player video frame.
- A new menu item ‘Show/Hide Background Image’ to hide or show the current background image. There is also the new hide/show option for the current background image in the ‘Color’ pane.
NEW - In the ‘Color’ pane there is a new hide/show option for the current background image.
IMPROVED - the line dash length and spacing setting is restored when the app is relaunched.
Previous Updates:
New: Video generation can be saved as a video. From the File menu choose 'Save Spectra > Video'.
When generation is completed you can share the video in the usual ways: Message, Photos, iCloud etc.
Maintenance update. Since some videos may take significant time to download from the iCloud photo library and copy to Spectra progress feedback has been added to the main view.
Improved loading videos from Photo library.
Fixed: Music selected from the device music library is now loading successfully.
New: Apply dash pattern to lines. Dash length and spacing is adjustable. Access from the Lines palette of parameters.
1.3.6
2019-10-27
Improved video color.
Previous Updates:
Updated for iOS 13.
New: Video generation can be saved as a video. From the File menu choose 'Save Spectra > Video'.
When generation is completed you can share the video in the usual ways: Message, Photos, iCloud etc.
Maintenance update. Since some videos may take significant time to download from the iCloud photo library and copy to Spectra progress feedback has been added to the main view.
Improved loading videos from Photo library.
Fixed: Music selected from the device music library is now loading successfully.
New: Apply dash pattern to lines. Dash length and spacing is adjustable. Access from the Lines palette of parameters.
1.3.5
2019-10-14
Updated for iOS 13.
Previous Updates:
New: Video generation can be saved as a video. From the File menu choose 'Save Spectra > Video'.
When generation is completed you can share the video in the usual ways: Message, Photos, iCloud etc.
Maintenance update. Since some videos may take significant time to download from the iCloud photo library and copy to Spectra progress feedback has been added to the main view.
Improved loading videos from Photo library.
Fixed: Music selected from the device music library is now loading successfully.
New: Apply dash pattern to lines. Dash length and spacing is adjustable. Access from the Lines palette of parameters.
1.3.4
2019-06-06
New: Video generation can be saved as a video. From the File menu choose 'Save Spectra > Video'.
When generation is completed you can share the video in the usual ways: Message, Photos, iCloud etc.
Previous Updates:
Maintenance update. Since some videos may take significant time to download from the iCloud photo library and copy to Spectra progress feedback has been added to the main view.
Improved loading videos from Photo library.
Fixed: Music selected from the device music library is now loading successfully.
New: Apply dash pattern to lines. Dash length and spacing is adjustable. Access from the Lines palette of parameters.
1.3.3
2019-05-14
Maintenance update. Since some videos may take significant time to download from the iCloud photo library and copy to Spectra progress feedback has been added to the main view.
Previous Updates:
Improved loading videos from Photo library.
Fixed: Music selected from the device music library is now loading successfully.
New: Apply dash pattern to lines. Dash length and spacing is adjustable. Access from the Lines palette of parameters.
1.3.2
2019-05-13
Maintenance update. Improves loading videos from Photo library.
Previous Updates:
Fixed: Music selected from the device music library is now loading successfully.
New: Apply dash pattern to lines. Dash length and spacing is adjustable. Access from the Lines palette of parameters.
1.3.1
2019-02-13
Fixed: Music selected from the device music library is now loading successfully.
Previous Update:
New: Apply dash pattern to lines. Dash length and spacing is adjustable. Access from the Lines palette of parameters.
1.3
2018-11-18
Maintenance update for latest iOS.
New: Apply dash pattern to lines. Dash length and spacing is adjustable. Access from the Lines palette of parameters.
1.2.4
2018-10-07
Maintenance update.
Previous update:
Zooming the spectra graphic preview has been enhanced.
The preview image resolution now reflects changes to the 'DPI Factor' in the Size tab: the preview image size is proportionally adjusted to the DPI Factor. This way a higher factor increases the level of zoom obtainable.
The default zoom level is fairly low. To increase it go to the Size tab view and at the bottom change the DPI Factor. It can be increased to a maximum factor of 3. The size of the preview image will also be adjusted by a factor that is proportional to the DPI factor, and redrawn. Now you can zoom in closer.
Note that increases in the DPI Factor will also increase the memory requirements of the app. Bigger images need more memory.
1.2.3
2018-07-07
Zooming the spectra graphic preview has been enhanced.
The preview image resolution now reflects changes to the 'DPI Factor' in the Size tab: the preview image size is proportionally adjusted to the DPI Factor. This way a higher factor increases the level of zoom obtainable.
The default zoom level is fairly low. To increase it go to the Size tab view and at the bottom change the DPI Factor. It can be increased to a maximum factor of 3. The size of the preview image will also be adjusted by a factor that is proportional to the DPI factor, and redrawn. Now you can zoom in closer.
Note that increases in the DPI Factor will also increase the memory requirements of the app. Bigger images need more memory.
1.2.1
2018-06-08
Maintenance update.
1.2
2018-01-30
• NEW: Rendering progress is shown using partial drawing of the graphic as well as a new progress bar.
• NEW : ‘Stop’ and ‘Redraw’ buttons in the image view to stop drawing or continue drawing one that has been stopped.
• NEW: Spectra can now open audio files in the Spectra Documents folder, which can be accessed using iTunes File Sharing. Select ‘Spectra Documents’ from the Audio menu. Spectra also supports the Music app, iCloud and file import from other apps using sharing - see next.
• NEW: Support added to receive audio from other apps using their 'share icon' (square with an arrow pointing out of it). Select 'Copy to Spectra' in apps that support this. For example, when listening to an audio attachment in Messages tap the audio players share icon to send it to Spectra.
• NEW: "DPI Factor" slider in the Size pane (DPI = ‘dots per inch’). Use this feature only when you are ready to save or print. Multiplies the regular DPI by a factor up to 3 for higher resolution printing. You can also save spectra to resolution independent PDF format.
• NEW: When a setting is chosen from ’Show More Settings’ the Presets pane is opened for you to 'My Settings' scrolled to the icon for the selected setting.
Previous Update:
FIX: Some button and label text were truncated if the system settings option for "Bold Text" is on.
Added the file extension m4r to the list of recognizable audio file types so that they can be chosen in iCloud Drive* from the Audio menu - use 'iCloud Drive...' from the Audio menu.
*Remember that iCloud Drive is a useful way to share settings between the iOS and Mac apps! (So if you have a Mac be sure to try the Mac version.)
1.1.12
2018-01-26
FIX: Some button and label text were truncated if the system settings option for "Bold Text" is on.
Previous Update:
Added the file extension m4r to the list of recognizable audio file types so that they can be chosen in iCloud Drive* from the Audio menu - use 'iCloud Drive...' from the Audio menu.
*Remember that iCloud Drive is a useful way to share settings between the iOS and Mac apps! (So if you have a Mac be sure to try the Mac version.)
1.1.11
2018-01-09
Maintenance update.
Previous Update:
Added the file extension m4r to the list of recognizable audio file types so that they can be chosen in iCloud Drive* from the Audio menu - use 'iCloud Drive...' from the Audio menu.
*Remember that iCloud Drive is a useful way to share settings between the iOS and Mac apps! (So if you have a Mac be sure to try the Mac version.)
1.1.10
2017-12-13
Updated for latest iOS and devices
Added the file extension m4r to the list of recognizable audio file types so that they can be chosen in iCloud Drive from the Audio menu.
1.1.9
2017-11-27
• Updated for latest iOS and Devices
• Improved preview drawing speed
1.1.8
2017-09-08
Fixed a bug with the feature 'Save Audio Image' in the Extras menu. The correct audio image was not being saved when the audio was changed in the Audio menu or by loading a Settings file.
1.1.7
2017-08-01
- New support for Live Photos. The live photo selected will have its video and audio extracted for use in spectra generation. This enables the application of live photo audio to other settings.
- Additional audio samples for effects.
Other recent enhancements to Spectra include:
- Improved the variable palette generator in the color pane.
- You can load extra settings from our website using the ‘Show More Settings’ option in the File menu. Tap on the settings icons in the web page to load them into ‘My Settings’ of the presets pane.
- Whenever new settings are added to ‘My Settings’ the table will scroll to the newest automatically. This is useful when adding settings from the ’Show More Settings’ web collection.
- Improved color generation for videos with very short duration
- When browsing for videos in Spectra Document folder or in iCloud Drive mpeg-4 type (extension mp4) is now recognized also.
- The video color generator has greater resolution frame time extraction, which yields a wider color gamut, especially for short videos.
- Settings files can be saved and opened from iCloud Drive
- Video can be loaded from iCloud Drive
- Audio can be loaded from iCloud Drive
- Settings files can be emailed from within the app, as attachments.
- Because Spectra settings files now have a formal type they are recognized by other apps, like Mail and iCloud Drive. This means you can open spectra settings files from an email with them as attachments, or using the iCloud Drive app.
1.1.6
2017-06-29
- Improved the variable palette generator in the color pane.
Other recent enhancements to Spectra include:
- You can load extra settings from our website using the ‘Show More Settings’ option in the File menu. Tap on the settings icons in the web page to load them into ‘My Settings’ of the presets pane.
- Whenever new settings are added to ‘My Settings’ the table will scroll to the newest automatically. This is useful when adding settings from the ’Show More Settings’ web collection.
- Improved color generation for videos with very short duration
- When browsing for videos in Spectra Document folder or in iCloud Drive mpeg-4 type (extension mp4) is now recognized also.
- The video color generator has greater resolution frame time extraction, which yields a wider color gamut, especially for short videos.
- Settings files can be saved and opened from iCloud Drive
- Video can be loaded from iCloud Drive
- Audio can be loaded from iCloud Drive
- Settings files can be emailed from within the app, as attachments.
- Because Spectra settings files now have a formal type they are recognized by other apps, like Mail and iCloud Drive. This means you can open spectra settings files from an email with them as attachments, or using the iCloud Drive app.
1.1.5
2017-06-28
- A new control has been added to the Spectra ‘Size’ pane named ‘Percent Memory Factor’.
For some print services it is recommended that artwork be submitted at specific dpi, such as 150, for good prints. This control should enable you to extend the dpi range if needed.
This control does this by adjusting how much memory the app will be allowed to use in order to achieve higher DPI (dots per inch) for a given canvas size. It allows you to adjust the base percentage of free memory used to compute the dpi by a factor of 2 to 6 times.
However, the app does restrict the total megapixels for any artwork to 13 MP (megapixels). This enables you to achieve 150 dpi for a canvas of 24x24 inches (the default size) when possible.
Other recent enhancements to Spectra include:
- You can load extra settings from our website using the ‘Show More Settings’ option in the File menu. Tap on the settings icons in the web page to load them into ‘My Settings’ of the presets pane.
- Whenever new settings are added to ‘My Settings’ the table will scroll to the newest automatically. This is useful when adding settings from the ’Show More Settings’ web collection.
- Improved color generation for videos with very short duration
- When browsing for videos in Spectra Document folder or in iCloud Drive mpeg-4 type (extension mp4) is now recognized also.
- The video color generator has greater resolution frame time extraction, which yields a wider color gamut, especially for short videos.
- Settings files can be saved and opened from iCloud Drive
- Video can be loaded from iCloud Drive
- Audio can be loaded from iCloud Drive
- Settings files can be emailed from within the app, as attachments.
- Because Spectra settings files now have a formal type they are recognized by other apps, like Mail and iCloud Drive. This means you can open spectra settings files from an email with them as attachments, or using the iCloud Drive app.
1.1.4
2017-06-27
- You can load extra settings from our website using the ‘Show More Settings’ option in the File menu. Tap on the settings icons in the web page to load them into ‘My Settings’ of the presets pane.
- Whenever new settings are added to ‘My Settings’ the table will scroll to the newest automatically. This is useful when adding settings from the ’Show More Settings’ web collection.
Other recent enhancements to Spectra include:
- Improved color generation for videos with very short duration
- When browsing for videos in Spectra Document folder or in iCloud Drive mpeg-4 type (extension mp4) is now recognized also.
- The video color generator has greater resolution frame time extraction, which yields a wider color gamut, especially for short videos.
- Settings files can be saved and opened from iCloud Drive
- Video can be loaded from iCloud Drive
- Audio can be loaded from iCloud Drive
- Settings files can be emailed from within the app, as attachments.
- Because Spectra settings files now have a formal type they are recognized by other apps, like Mail and iCloud Drive. This means you can open spectra settings files from an email with them as attachments, or using the iCloud Drive app.
1.1.3
2017-06-24
- Fixed an issue in which the Mac could display the wrong number of lines saved in an iOS generated Spectra settings file if the number is rounded 'up'.
In recent previous updates:
- Improved color generation for videos with very short duration
- When browsing for videos in Spectra Document folder or in iCloud Drive mpeg-4 type (extension mp4) is now recognized also.
- The video color generator has greater resolution frame time extraction, which yields a wider color gamut, especially for short videos.
- Settings files can be saved and opened from iCloud Drive
- Video can be loaded from iCloud Drive
- Audio can be loaded from iCloud Drive
- Settings files can be emailed from within the app, as attachments.
- Because Spectra settings files now have a formal type they are recognized by other apps, like Mail and iCloud Drive. This means you can open spectra settings files from an email with them as attachments, or using the iCloud Drive app.
1.1.2
2017-06-19
- Improved color generation for videos with very short duration
- When browsing for videos in Spectra Document folder or in iCloud Drive mpeg-4 type (extension mp4) is now recognized also.
In the previous update:
- The video color generator has greater resolution frame time extraction, which yields a wider color gamut, especially for short videos.
- Settings files can be saved and opened from iCloud Drive
- Video can be loaded from iCloud Drive
- Audio can be loaded from iCloud Drive
- Settings files can be emailed from within the app, as attachments.
- Because Spectra settings files now have a formal type they are recognized by other apps, like Mail and iCloud Drive. This means you can open spectra settings files from an email with them as attachments, or using the iCloud Drive app.
1.1.1
2017-06-16
- The video color generator has greater resolution frame time extraction, which yields a wider color gamut, especially for short videos.
- Settings files can be saved and opened from iCloud Drive
- Video can be loaded from iCloud Drive
- Audio can be loaded from iCloud Drive
- Settings files can be emailed from within the app, as attachments.
- Because Spectra settings files now have a formal type they are recognized by other apps, like Mail and iCloud Drive. This means you can open spectra settings files from an email with them as attachments, or using the iCloud Drive app.
- Various user interface enhancements to make the app easier to learn and use.
1.1
2017-06-01
- Can save settings files, like the Mac, and use in both iOS and Mac versions
- Color and audio both saved in settings files, as well as the control parameter values
- Access your custom settings in the new ‘My Settings’ table
- When loading a settings file you have the options to load: all settings, color only, audio only, all setting but color.
- Custom settings can be shared between iOS and Mac version of Spectra using iTunes File Sharing
- Colors from video generation are always computed all at once, so you can switch between settings faster.
- Color generation for a video can be a one time only computation since colors are saved in settings and can therefore be reloaded
- New palette generator parameterized by a color picker and sinusoid function with variable period
- Switch colors between video, settings, grayscale, random and variable palettes
- Current video and settings palettes restored on next app launch
- Audio smoothing provides extended effects from sound levels
- Settings files can effectively be used as an audio or color palette source
- Supports iTunes File sharing to move settings files in and out of the app
- Load video files in the Documents folder from the Extras menu (expects extensions mov or m4v)
- Put video files into the Documents folder with iTunes File sharing (expects extensions mov or m4v)