Photosounder 1.11.3 beta (23 Nov 2024)

Changes since version 1.11.2:

• TIFF image file export compatibility improvements (ICC profile, fixed missing tag)
• Fixed cursor control of playback in lossless mode
• Fixed crash when turning on lossless mode
• Fixed loading a .pha file from the command line

Photosounder 1.11.2 (30 Oct 2022)

Changes since version 1.11.1:

• Fixed controls being reset to default after adding an image to a layer
• Fixed problem with loading files with long paths

Photosounder 1.11.1 (23 Aug 2022)

Changes since version 1.11.0:

• Removed non-live non-lossless noise synthesis mode, which caused crashes and wasn't needed anymore
• Fixed crash when loading archive files
• Fixed crash when image was modified while live synthesis volume calculation was still running

All these changes are detailed in this video.

Photosounder 1.11.0 (21 Jul 2022)

Changes since version 1.10.1:

• License validation dialog
• Audio output dialog for selecting an API, device, sample rate and buffer size
• Save dialog for selecting the file format
• Dialog to extend or cut the project's duration
• Save non-lossless mode sound files now uses live synthesis which gives better output and solves previous problems with trying to save when live synthesis mode on


• A crash report file is generated and revealed when Photosounder crashes on Windows
• Faster graphics thanks to SIMD optimisation
• Restored road-roller and magnet and mask erasing functionality
and mask erasing (as opposed to one for the whole project)
• Each layer can now have its own original copy used for road-roller and magnet
• logfile.txt on Windows is now in the AppData folder, like config.txt
• Fixed the Save command when scripting an image save
• Fixed "Merge all to new layer" in scripting
• Fixed PHA file saving for the status type
• Fixed WAV file loading for some cases
• Floating window manager so windows don't have a fixed order anymore
• Fixed an issue with program not launching due to restoring window position, now the window always starts maximised


• July 22nd hotfix: Fixed crash on Windows with high DPI displays

All these changes are detailed in this video.

Photosounder 1.10.1 (29 Feb 2020)

Changes since version 1.10.0:

• Fixed mouse zoom on macOS
• Reenabled Page Up/Down zooming
• Fixed issues with loading RGB TIFF files

Photosounder 1.10.0 (08 Feb 2020)

Changes since version 1.9.5:

• Ability to import more files to a single project, each on its own layer
• New interface system that adds dialogs for creating a new project, opening/importing files, analysis options, and more
• Drag and drop of files
• Console you can bring up using F3 to enter commands
• Volume limiter
• Much faster FFT-accelerated and GPU-accelerated convolution between layers
• Can save images to linear 32-bit per channel TIFF
• Can analyse ultrasounds up to 192 kHz
• Fixed issues with the Gamma and Intensity knobs as well as various other issues

All these changes are detailed in this video.

Photosounder 1.9.5 (03 Sep 2018)

Changes since version 1.9.4:

• Volume in live synthesis mode is now properly set
• Visualisation overlays now remain when a menu is open
• MP3 files with out of range samples don't get clipped anymore
• Issues with silent blocks in lossless mode on Windows should be resolved
• Fixed a possible post-loading crash

17 Sep 2018: Support for macOS versions 10.6 to 10.11 was restored. Versions 1.9.1 to 1.9.5 originally shipped with libraries built to only work with macOS 10.12 and above.

Photosounder 1.9.4 (02 Aug 2018)

Changes since version 1.9.3:

• Fixed the sometimes extremely slow analysing of sound files. Loading sounds is now consistently fast.
• Fixed a potential source of crashes when loading MP3 files on Windows. The libmpg123 DLL is not needed anymore.

Photosounder 1.9.3 (25 May 2018)

Changes since version 1.9.2:

• Moved config.txt (Mac and Windows) and logfile.txt (Mac only, Windows keeps it in the program's folder) to the proper Photosounder files folder
• Open Manual on Mac now opens the manual in the website (instead of not doing anything)
• Fixed the Reload function
• Changed what was incorrectly called "pink noise" to "brown noise"
• Added an Operation to generate proper pink noise

Photosounder 1.9.2 (01 Mar 2018)

Changes since version 1.9:

• Fixed issues with launching on macOS 10.11 and later
• 64-bit only, which means no more "out of memory" problems
• Fixed the occasional loading of sound that was 10x slower than usual
• Changed the way paths are handled internally, Unicode paths are now handled properly on macOS
• Added option in the Help menu to locate where Photosounder now puts files (like history.pha)
• Can now load MP3s out-of-the-box on Windows since all MP3 patents have expired

Version 1.9.1 was an unannounced 2017 release that only offered new 64-bit builds and attempted to solve the new macOS issues.

Photosounder 1.9 (20 Jun 2013)

Changes since version 1.8.3:

• Live Synthesis mode added, it makes any change to the image heard instantly with no interruption
• Cursor-controlled playback
• Option to dump/save live synthesis output to an audio file
• Image rotation has been changed to make the image keep the same dimensions, can be applied on individual layers in multi-layer images
• Layers and groups of layers can be disabled
• Fixed layer list in menu in the Mac version to display more than just the names of the layers
• Various bug fixes, improvements and optimisations

Photosounder 1.8.3 (06 Apr 2011)

Changes since version 1.8.2:

• History/Scripting function: All actions done in Photosounder are saved to a human-readable history file (history.pha) which when opened redoes every action. It also allows for writing elaborate scripts interpreted by Photosounder.
• Resume Last Session function
• Option to suspend processing
• Waits for synthesis to complete before saving sound to file
• Changed the windows compiler, more optimisations, larger address space
• 4/4 rhythm overlay
• Semitone overlay
• Constant Time Resolution Analysis option
• Linear knob control option
• Added option to only view/edit/hear the current group of layers
• Optional History menu to set history recording options
• Fixed freeze when checking for updates (Windows)
• logfile.txt always created in the Photosounder folder (Windows)
• Fixed freezes on certain Macs
• Added new View menu
• Fixed crash in Group to Nearest Semitone
• Made Escape key not quit but select the cursor instead
• Remembers window size and tool size and intensity
• Asks to save before opening a new file
• Made drawing smoother, Gamma and Intensity knobs much more responsive
• Improved harmonics drawing
• Menus extend to the side when they reach the bottom of the screen (Windows)
• Improved behavior of left/right arrow keys
• Extended support for high precision slow mouse movement
• Changed which layer is selected after a Merge Down operation

Photosounder 1.8.2 (11 Sep 2010)

Changes since version 1.8.1:

• Mac version out of beta
• MP3 input in Mac version (no add-on required)
• Saving whole session to a Photosounder Archive (.pha) file
• Speeded up responsiveness/image display speed on multi-layer images
• Blending optimisation (useless operations removed)
• New Group to Nearest Semitone operation
• Fixed silent/messed up block of sound bug
• Blending 'tags' in layers list
• Option to set convolution centre
• Fixed minor bugs

Photosounder 1.8.1 (6 Jul 2010)

Changes since version 1.8:

• New convolution/propagation blending modes
• New layer intensity knob
• New Fill to Left and Bottom, Horizontal/Vertical Normalisation and Horizontal/Vertical Curves operations to manipulate horizontal and vertical envelopes
• Layers can all be merged into one new layer
• Gamma knob has real-time preview
• Fixed spray tool offset issues
• Fixed minor bugs

Photosounder 1.8 (1 Jun 2010)

Changes since version 1.7.3:

• New basic stereo support
• New layer system
• Interface made more responsive
• New move tool
• Changed WAV and AIFF output to 32-bit float
• Toggleable loop playback
• Added option for large synthesis block sizes
• New single-row interface layout for large windows (1400+ pixels wide)
• Fixed sound saving so that it uses less memory/is less likely to crash
• Fixed lack of basses on high res images
• Setting tool size to 0.0 draws thin but strong lines instead of invisible lines
• Smoother lines
• Options to change image display mode
• Option to view layer only
• Fixed leaks and crashes

Photosounder 1.7.3 (5 Apr 2010)

Changes since version 1.7.2:

• Mac menus added
• Chunks of sound in view get processed first
• New interface layout for lossless mode
• Faster image display
• Fixed a large memory leak in lossless mode
• Up and Down arrow move views to the end and beginning of sound
• Altered harmonics on white spray
• Sound laid out in memory differently to make crashing with extreme time stretching harder
• Fix the drop of the click when painting outside the image area (Mac)
• Fixed resampling on MP3 loading

Photosounder 1.7.2 (1 Mar 2010)

Changes since version 1.7.1:

• Speed improved by 100% (Windows)
• About 20% of RAM saved on large sounds
• Fixed open dialog on Windows 2000
• Improved idle CPU usage
• Fixed RGB display on sounds
• Fixed RGB colours
• Fixed positioning of magnet cross when zoomed
• Fix bug in the synthesis progress display when zooming
• Fixed Invert to invert original copy
• Changed vertical size of New to reflect the BPO setting
• Improved drag scroll at high zoom levels

Photosounder 1.7.1 (17 Feb 2010)

Changes since version 1.7:

• Zoom
• Waveform display updates while loading sound
• Fixed/improved the non-gradient image display

Photosounder 1.7 (11 Feb 2010)

Changes since version 1.6.6:

• Menus added
• Online update checking added
• New image creation
• Got rid of the mask system, improves the behaviour of Mask Invert and makes everything roughly 8% faster (even synthesis and analysis)
• Vertical flip added
• Manual opening implemented on Mac
• Set the minimum PPS to 0.01
• Fixed a crash that would occur after having resized the window
• Clearer error message when gfx/ files not found
• Fixed spray tools to work in subpixel precision
• Solved sounds output for sound cards that didn't support mono output
• Fixed crashes when unsupported files would be opened
• Fixed a crash that would occur when the time bar was placed at certain positions before rotation

Photosounder 1.6.6 (23 Oct 2009)

Changes since version 1.6.5:

• New "road roller" tool for smart erasure
• Faster (optimised) spray tools

Photosounder 1.6.5 (19 Oct 2009)

Changes since version 1.6.4:

• Harmonics modifier for spray tools
• Magnet modifier for spray tools

Photosounder 1.6.4 (5 Oct 2009)

Changes since version 1.6.3:

• Mask invert
• Improved spray tools
• Precision mouse cursor function
• Mouse cursor for tools
• Fixed lack of mouse position updating after sound loading
• Fixed block range to resynthesise after spray tools are used

Photosounder 1.6.3 (26 Aug 2009)

Changes since version 1.6.2:

• New configuration options that allow changing several default parameters
• Perfected calibration in analysis
• Mac display issues on window resize fixed
• Optimised the redraw of the frequency scale
• Fixed range of affected blocks for the rectangle tool

Photosounder 1.6.2 (17 Aug 2009)

Changes since version 1.6.1:

• Fixed a volume bug that would occur after saving a sound

Photosounder 1.6.1 (16 Aug 2009)

Changes since version 1.6:

• Uses new configuration file to set audio buffer size (used to fix stuttering issues)
• Doesn't crash as easily anymore when running low on memory

Photosounder 1.6 (27 Jul 2009)

Changes since version 1.5.5:

• New waveform display
• Reprocesses only modified areas
• Fixed opening with Open With.. (Windows)
• Sound moved back to SDL
• Minor interface rearrangements
• Processing stops faster when cancelled
• Fixed crash when loading a sound after another that existed since 1.4
• Fixed behaviour for when loading an unrelated image when the lossless mode is on
• Adjusted audio volume so there can be clipping only above +0.0 dB
• Fixed mask range bugs

Photosounder 1.5.5 (15 Jul 2009)

Changes since version 1.5.4:

• Rectangle tool added
• Fixed window issues at loading time
• Fixed after-rotation crash

Photosounder 1.5.4 (12 Jul 2009)

Changes since version 1.5.3:

• Undo/redo function added
• Fixed invert on masks

Photosounder 1.5.3 (9 Jul 2009)

Changes since version 1.5.2:

• Added dialogs and checks to make lossless mode less confusing
• Fixed Mac error dialogs

Photosounder 1.5.2 (29 Jun 2009)

Changes since version 1.5.1:

• Beep every 6 seconds in demo replaced with silence every 12 seconds
• Holding a Control key while pressing the left mouse buttons acts like a right mouse click

Photosounder 1.5.1 (26 Jun 2009)

Changes since version 1.5:

• Fixed display issues such as interface choppiness and white windows
• Fixed support for audio files with non-44.1 kHz sampling rates

Photosounder 1.5 (10 Jun 2009)

Changes since version 1.4.3:

• Mac version
• Image redraw made much faster, spray tools no longer lag
• Vision Mode doesn't change when an image is loaded
• The selected tool's button stays down
• INV button is toggleable
• Time-frequency cues appear when the spray tools are used
• Window is maximisable
• Interface rescales automatically when the window becomes too small (Windows-only)
• Most libraries have been replaced with new ones
• Various bugs fixed

Photosounder 1.4.3 (21 Mar 2009)

Changes since version 1.4.2:

• Time resolution knob crash fixed
• Click bug at the end of a sound in lossless mode fixed

Photosounder 1.4.2 (14 Mar 2009)

Changes since version 1.4.1:

• Crash in lossless mode fixed
• Original audio file name now indicated in lossless mode

Photosounder 1.4.1 (2 Mar 2009)

Changes since version 1.4:

• Spray tool delay bug in lossless mode during processing fixed

Photosounder 1.4 (28 Feb 2009)

Changes since version 1.3:

• New lossless mode
• White paint spray added
• New backwards and ping-pong playback modes

Photosounder 1.3 (20 Feb 2009)

Changes since version 1.2:

• Fixed freezes and various minor bugs
• The image is now displayed progressively as the sound is being analysed
• Files can now be opened through Windows' Open With..
• MP3 input (optional)
• Added support for more WAV formats, FLAC, AIFF, AU and every other format supported by libsndfile
• Sounds can be saved to WAV, AIFF and FLAC
• Input sound samplerates other than 44.1 kHz are now correctly supported
• Open dialog re-opens instead of quiting the program when an invalid file is opened
• Multi-threaded parallel synthesis
• Time display changed to MM'SS"XXX instead of only seconds
• Frequency and pitch at the mouse cursors position is indicated in the lower left corner of the window

Photosounder 1.2 (8 Feb 2009)

Changes since version 1.1:

• Calibrated and equalised analysis for a higher fidelity in sound reproduction
• Pitch resolution in the analysis increased to up to 60 pixels/octave (instead of 24 pixels/octave)
• Synthesis now about twice faster
• Interface now keeps updating properly when out of focus
• Looped playback added
• New colour gradient

Photosounder 1.1 (31 Dec 2008)

New features:

• Saving images to files
• Copying images to clipboard
• Visual mode switch