Today I am excited to release 0.1.8, which is going to be the last release of 0.1.x (aside from patches).

0.2.0 will be the next release which will involve a complete overhaul of the app -- adding much requested features such as layers, pinch-to-zoom, ability to change brush thickness, lockable line angles, diagonal symmetry, blur filter, blur brush, HSV and HSL color modes, magic wand tool, lasso tool, re-sizeable canvases, customization of how the app functions, and much more.

Those who are interested in previewing new, exciting features should also expect many alpha and beta builds of 0.2.0 to come out. Again, there is no set date as to when 0.2.0 will release, but it will take time. To ensure a good user experience -- alpha and beta builds will now no longer be available on F-Droid.

Due to this being a large update, I may have missed some things.

Features Added

• ✨ (https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/issues/184, https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/commit/9b8888a1252438eca415eb037223bf98178ba561) There is now a dialog dedicated to helping you export your pixel art, along with the added feature of exporting your pixel art as raw dimensions (as well as scaled). This was a heavily-needed feature which has now finally been added. Moreover, you can now also input custom compression quality values if you are exporting your image as a JPG.

Improvements Added

• Translation updates
• (56f494d7f33cf735729ba09a4a6ee47fbb5771f2, #213) App can finally properly register touch events when their start/end is outside canvas bounds (all credits go to Sergie Kozelko from StackOverflow for finding a solution to my question which you can find here -- if you are reading this, Sergie, thank you very much for your brilliant solution to a complex problem!)
• (9b8888a1252438eca415eb037223bf98178ba561) 'Save as' (with multiple submenus) has transitioned into a single menu titled 'Export'
• (a09377c378e15c7f4d98d1a290fb93b3665bf949) Minor margin adjustment in the 'New Color Palette' screen
• (edbbc9f40a732a3134d8964d3ff05f3a0581f032) The maximum value for spray radius/strength has been lowered from 20k to 10k
• (9ee8899c8aa2f1da268281e28d95ce8d0864612b) Replaced 'Save under new name' with 'Cancel'
• (12683c212178b919664b72f1f7658f25df9ffde2, #215) Spray tool now generates points within a circle, instead of within a square
• (2659061bd5bea61f2a874408022163bc6d03ac89) The maximum undo/redo stack size is now 100 items instead of unlimited
• (f4e8de1753b277cfeee2da4aea9128c26229bd03, #211) Updated in-app tutorial
• (28ba75c41e9ec7cb3833e430b779242894848d76) Improved the UI for the 'Input Name' dialog
• (3c426b1d65a8a8a8ec1c14a2a8c86464f4e56ba5) Changed 'We would love you to join our Matrix or Discord server' to 'Join the official Matrix or Discord server' -- this is more appropriate
• (a9d6d3f328ec5a16229c47a207798b932be441a2) The transparent background for colors in the color list (as well as the ones in the 'Find and Replace' fragment) now have the same appearance as those in the primary/secondary color switcher

Bugs Fixed

• (59394ebcaa6017889e441abe5938790a062696ea, 182721be87c455b5de4d07aabd8fe6ab3b4fcfea) Fixed bug where the 'About' fragment could become cut off if the user set a large default text size in their settings
• (#196, 3dc4f8ccf0d2034245d1d42192fe465faacbe295) Fixed bug in which input errors (such as an invalid or empty width/height) would leave permanent margin changes
• (a7ab329343f7f2bd77520d65a87876368ec6b413) Fixed bug in which occasionally, the keyboard from a previous fragment/activity wouldn't hide/close quickly enough when creating a new project or importing an image -- causing incorrect canvas view dimensions to be set
• (aa3988a307c10bd433f2e68c25a73dedffbfc9ad) Fixed bug where inputting a blank value for the 'Palette URL Identifier' EditText in the 'Import Lospec Palette' dialog would cause the app to crash
• (d587e7206b5ce37ece4d945573d4ad14fe44df71) Fixed bug where octal symmetry was being enabled when the bitmap was not a square
• (f96755f0d2931aa596b2e97da781c92d8be120d1) Fixed bug where the grid would become enabled when it shouldn't have
• (59fc2425d30064880fcd477d9c3c4fd449b9db7b) Fixed bug where 'XXX cannot be empty' errors were showing when the value wasn't empty, but simply greater than the maximum Int value
• (1d77cccd961d0c1d034a55c5eacbf2553944a9ca, #206) Fixed bug in which the input filter would sometimes cause the app to crash in the RGB section of the color picker
• (de0f97f49c1e0d97b839920c3050ad8b6e5f107a) Fixed bug where the user could use pixel perfect mode with a symmetry option selected which would then cause bugs
• (53904cdbfa937d0bbbbfeb978094422a563c69a3) Fixed bug where the transparent primary/secondary color would have a partial black background (instead of white) in dark mode
• (#228, a9d6d3f328ec5a16229c47a207798b932be441a2) Fixed bug where the transparent color indicator not visible in color palette preview
• (dd546176599005e64e680aca822cb54bbaf3fc87) Fixed bug in which when the user had an existing transparent color in their palette and added a new color it would scroll to the transparent color instead of the '+' icon
• (#231, d04d687f8f065c59e5a9b0a0d714c413d449efa2) [PROBABLE as the bug was quite rare] Fixed bug in which tapping 'Extract From Canvas' in 'New Color Palette' screen would cause the app to crash (SOMETIMES) on certain (predominantly large) canvases
• (229bc957ed18558bc91000c1b0f15763c2c8e541) Fixed bug where all filters would lighten when the user had the shading tool selected
• (#232, a7409c41424e8fa7d1f00c4e9b2be99a4741c2ed) Fixed bug in which changing display size while project is open and then returning to the app would cause a strange canvas glitch
• (0b82de9de7c6c50964a6458fe57417707f5dda7b) Fixed minor rotation state bug
• (0a4718e8e604e081d3f1917b0e847e5a3dda7739) Fixed bug in which rotating the canvas 180 degrees over and over again would cause the canvas to slowly become skewed - this occurred because of this internal Skia/AOSP bug workaround. To fix the issue I had to get rid of the workaround and just accept the bug, which is if you rotate the canvas 180 degrees, the shadow won't show.

Other Changes

• (069070f88cb9351471c2960a3369534695340db4, d514d6b3f995ae64cc09c988afddf301ba58be65) License has now changed from MIT to GNU GPL v3, copyright headers/license notices have also now been added to all Kotlin files
• (bedd7ed7a22fbcb6926154cd345e8fa100bacf48) Moved Lospec support out of beta
• (27e0c52d70456492f77076134590f1b001761b6b) Haptic feedback may not occur in the app if it's disabled on your device due to SDK updates

---

Full Changelog: https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/compare/v0.1.7-patch1...v0.1.8

⚠️ Warning: Release candidates (although more stable than beta releases) are not production ready, subject to major changes, and haven't gone through a great deal of testing to ensure feature stability.

Improvements Added

• Translation updates

Bugs Fixed

• (0d13373fe52184d686a249f376faafa42369e67c) Fixed bug in which inputting an out of bounds spray radius/strength value would show 'Value must be between 1 and 10,000' instead of the expected 'Value must be between 2 and 10,000'
• (de0f97f49c1e0d97b839920c3050ad8b6e5f107a) Fixed bug where the user could use pixel perfect mode with a symmetry option selected which would then cause bugs
• (53904cdbfa937d0bbbbfeb978094422a563c69a3) Fixed bug where the transparent primary/secondary color would have a partial black background (instead of white) in dark mode
• (#221, abbe5b420d032f0b9bb0386c2435e2ab23969b0f) Fixed bug in which the 'Compression Quality' text box and 'Resolution' radio buttons were not showing in landscape mode in the 'Export' dialog

Other Changes

• (27e0c52d70456492f77076134590f1b001761b6b) Haptic feedback may not occur in the app if it's disabled on your device due to SDK updates

---

Full Changelog: https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/compare/v0.1.8-rc1...v0.1.8-rc2

⚠️ Warning: Release candidates (although more stable than beta releases) are not production ready, subject to major changes, and haven't gone through a great deal of testing to ensure feature stability.

Improvements Added

• (56f494d7f33cf735729ba09a4a6ee47fbb5771f2, #213) App can finally properly register touch events when their start/end is outside canvas bounds (all credits go to Sergie Kozelko from StackOverflow for finding a solution to my question which you can find here -- if you are reading this, Sergie, thank you very much for your brilliant solution to a complex problem!)
• (12683c212178b919664b72f1f7658f25df9ffde2, #215) Spray tool now generates points within a circle, instead of within a square
• Translation updates
• (2659061bd5bea61f2a874408022163bc6d03ac89) The maximum undo/redo stack size is now 100 items instead of unlimited
• (f4e8de1753b277cfeee2da4aea9128c26229bd03, #211) Updated in-app tutorial
• (28ba75c41e9ec7cb3833e430b779242894848d76) Improved the UI for the 'Input Name' dialog
• (3c426b1d65a8a8a8ec1c14a2a8c86464f4e56ba5) Changed 'We would love you to join our Matrix or Discord server' to 'Join the official Matrix or Discord server' -- this is more appropriate

Bugs Fixed

• (aa3988a307c10bd433f2e68c25a73dedffbfc9ad) Fixed bug where inputting a blank value for the 'Palette URL Identifier' EditText in the 'Import Lospec Palette' dialog would cause the app to crash
• (d587e7206b5ce37ece4d945573d4ad14fe44df71) Fixed bug where octal symmetry was being enabled when the bitmap was not a square
• (f96755f0d2931aa596b2e97da781c92d8be120d1) Fixed bug where the grid would become enabled when it shouldn't have
• (59fc2425d30064880fcd477d9c3c4fd449b9db7b) Fixed bug where 'XXX cannot be empty' errors were showing when the value wasn't empty, but simply greater than the maximum Int value
• (1d77cccd961d0c1d034a55c5eacbf2553944a9ca, #206) Fixed bug in which the input filter would sometimes cause the app to crash in the RGB section of the color picker

Deprecated Changes Since 0.1.8 Beta 2

• (8984afa7dfb3e69f91d108c0ba531ebcd897c3f2) Due to serious bugs, you can no longer long tap on your primary/secondary color to get to the color picker

---

Full Changelog: https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/compare/v0.1.8-beta2...v0.1.8-rc1

⚠️ Warning: Beta releases are not production ready, subject to major changes, and haven't gone through a great deal of testing to ensure feature stability.

Features Added

✨ (9d407ee6bdd53edef57b8d0502c08fdc19a1f01c, #200) You can now input a compression quality value when exporting your images to JPG

More information

To input a custom compression quality value, press the following menu item -- titled 'Export' -- in the project of your choice:

Then, choose the file type 'JPG', and input the compression quality value of your choice in the 'Compression Quality' text box:

Compression quality only applies to the JPG (technically the JPEG) file type, as all other file types typically have lossless compression or no compression at all.

Finally, press 'Done', and then open the file by pressing the 'View' button.

If you put in a high compression quality value, the overall result will be much more pleasant to look at.

Below I have given a visual comparison of how a very low compression quality (around 0-15) and 100 differ:

The effect is even further amplified when exporting the project in its raw resolution:

Note: the second image may not look sharp, that's because it's been scaled up in the Android gallery app due to its small size.

One last thing: you may be wondering what exactly the point of this feature is, and if you are -- good question! My answer to that would be that in certain scenarios you may want a smaller file size when exporting to JPG, so you'd oftentimes put in a lower compression quality value. Lower compression quality values oftentimes have a less detrimental effect when your images are larger, as you would have probably seen in the first example.

Improvements Added

• (872cc1f676becf7d1a7f6d26d1fde983641f6d90) You can now long tap on your primary/secondary color to open the color picker; this used to be a feature, but was removed -- now it has been re-added
• (edbbc9f40a732a3134d8964d3ff05f3a0581f032) The maximum value for spray radius/strength has been lowered from 20k to 10k
• (9ee8899c8aa2f1da268281e28d95ce8d0864612b) Replaced 'Save under new name' with 'Cancel'
• Translation updates

Bugs Fixed

• (a7ab329343f7f2bd77520d65a87876368ec6b413) Fixed bug in which occasionally, the keyboard from a previous fragment/activity wouldn't hide/close quickly enough when creating a new project or importing an image -- causing incorrect canvas view dimensions to be set

---

Full Changelog: https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/compare/v0.1.8-beta1...v0.1.8-beta2

⚠️ Warning: Beta releases are not production ready, subject to major changes, and haven't gone through a great deal of testing to ensure feature stability.

Features Added

✨ (#184, 9b8888a1252438eca415eb037223bf98178ba561) Added the option of exporting your project under its raw dimensions (along with scaled dimensions, which used to be the only option)

More information

To save your project under its raw dimensions, press the following menu item -- titled 'Export' -- in the project of your choice:

Then, choose the file type of your choice, and under 'Resolution', tap 'Raw' (which is the default):

Finally, press 'Done', and then open the file by pressing the 'View' button:

Improvements Added

• (9b8888a1252438eca415eb037223bf98178ba561) 'Save as' (with multiple submenus) has transitioned into a single menu titled 'Export'
• (a09377c378e15c7f4d98d1a290fb93b3665bf949) Minor margin adjustment in the 'New Color Palette' screen
• Translation updates

Bugs Fixed

• (#196, 3dc4f8ccf0d2034245d1d42192fe465faacbe295) Fixed bug in which input errors (such as an invalid or empty width/height) would leave permanent margin changes

Other Changes

• (bedd7ed7a22fbcb6926154cd345e8fa100bacf48) Moved Lospec palette support out of beta

---

Full Changelog: https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/compare/v0.1.7-patch1...v0.1.8-beta1

Improvements Added

• Major translation updates

Bugs Fixed

• (4f1a472cbf9e708a3b64273184867c0a71c12804) Fixed bug in which when the user would apply a filter with the dither tool selected, it would apply the filter within the dither bounds
• (34a3cd6135a0c6e953d8c363c765251a1d478509) Prevent infinite zoom in -- max zoom in limit is now one million
• (0e0e0e6b60fc8904ff94ab3b9adf09de92aedb2b) Fixed bug in which the preview in the FindAndReplace fragment wasn't saving rotation/flip state properly in the preview
• (ab85e4482e52732f9f23768d5068c1c294395199) Fixed flip icon tint issue in which the color was staying as black in dark mode
• (84f0dc8d86f7c4387392bcfe182ae83b82e03bf8) Fixed bug in which the redo stack wasn't being cleared when the user would tap on 'Clear Canvas'
• (06838d6d91dcd5930935c12fd396e77acea165f0) Fixed bug where some controls weren't resizing properly in CanvasActivity
• (03d9cfd615fee55bcdeaefd8a3b9cfaf58fed84f) Fixed major bug in which after the user would clear the canvas, and then change their orientation, the bitmap would return to its state before it was cleared

Other Changes

• (0194aa52184476104a77114483f44a8640ae788e) Shape preview code cleanup -- this will improve the overall stability of the app

About

0.1.7 is a semi-major update which introduces some small new features and lots of improvements.

Since this is a large update, I may miss some things -- it's extremely difficult to keep track of everything.

Features Added

For more info on how to work with each feature, click on the appropriate link.

In beta-1 (https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/releases/tag/v0.1.7-beta1):

✨ Lospec palette support - you can now import palettes from Lospec (https://lospec.com/palette-list) into the app

In beta-3 (https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/releases/tag/v0.1.7-beta3):

✨ Delete All - you can now delete all of your projects

✨ Open Image - you can now open/import images from your file system to the app

In this release:

✨ Flip - you can now flip your canvas horizontally or vertically

Improvements Added

In beta-1 (https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/releases/tag/v0.1.7-beta1):

• More strings have been translated into various languages -- thanks to all the translators!
• After 'Delete' is tapped in the bottom sheet, instead of getting a dialog verifying whether or not the user wants to delete their creation, the creation will get deleted and you will then see a snackbar with an 'Undo' button (https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/commit/20462bec3509eaee7300d9f5d7da109bc79938e8)
• Added a better ripple color for the floating action button in the home screen (https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/commit/8f5f26a84cee6fec1ab53a4e7c5c735044d36d85)
• 'Find and Replace', 'Filters', and 'Clear Canvas' actions are now faster (https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/commit/f5dcdcd9593252aec77bb921a9b478b7472a001f, https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/commit/285b8bc2be519954d44bd4f7bc8099e33ce87b11, https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/commit/62a13aa378b480f5c98856b2c8f68ba29669a552, https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/commit/ca48d41d5201d52769040c801838890332707b92) (https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/issues/166)

In beta-2 (https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/releases/tag/v0.1.7-beta2):

• App is now more adaptable with phones that have smaller screens, larger user interface sizes, and tablets (https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/issues/74, https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/issues/168)
• Renamed 'Find and Replace' to 'Replace Color' (https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/commit/d531d52412b703e6ed4653ef46d1beafc3d191a7)
• 'Reset Position' and 'Save in Background' are now more stable Color picker icon improvements (it now appears as a rectangle with a gradient)

In beta-3 (https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/releases/tag/v0.1.7-beta3):

• Minor interactive app tutorial improvements (https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/commit/3076407fe7988c98508eb085f618e50c6985a9ca, https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/commit/c869fd9079d1b438e1b37372c85ebf3b6b1bddc5, https://github.com/therealbluepandabear/PixaPencil/commit/3ed03d618fec855522a60fa8cd23d0f011135121)
• Translation updates

In this release:

• Replaced submenu 'Rotate XX' items with simply the degree value (5897ae2e7b7605065e00a972874ed64f1402192e)
• Removed rotation animations permanently (#180)

Features Added

✨ Delete All (df54ad16cdec9f03ba7d03dd53967502b497e8a9)

More information

To delete all of your projects, press the following three dots in the home screen:

Then, tap 'Delete All':

You will get a warning dialog, press 'OK':

Your projects should then delete:

✨ Open Image (#176)

More information

To open an image, press the following three dots in the home screen:

Then, tap 'Open Image':

Then, pick an image of your liking, I downloaded a pixel art image for demonstration purposes:

After you tap on the image of your liking, you'll see a dialog asking you to name your project:

When you're done, press 'OK', and magic:

Improvements Added

• Minor interactive app tutorial improvements (3076407fe7988c98508eb085f618e50c6985a9ca, c869fd9079d1b438e1b37372c85ebf3b6b1bddc5, 3ed03d618fec855522a60fa8cd23d0f011135121)
• Translation updates

Improvements Added

• App is now more adaptable with phones that have smaller screens, larger user interface sizes, and tablets (#74, #168)
• Renamed 'Find and Replace' to 'Replace Color' (d531d52412b703e6ed4653ef46d1beafc3d191a7)
• 'Reset Position' and 'Save in Background' are now more stable
• Color picker icon improvements (it now appears as a rectangle with a gradient)

Other Changes

• Removed 'Rename' functionality due to high amount of bugs (bbbe00f9070bed3e7d486d3e563bca78e5a6023c)
• Changed F-Droid description and cover images (36c6d46601a13f7d1bcf347716e7b99f04be7696)

Before Updating, Read Carefully...

Since this is a beta version, expect bugs. For most users, it's worth waiting until 0.1.7.

The item_rotation column has been removed from the database, permanently.

Rotation is still supported in the app, but the removal of this column has reduced unneeded complexity. I have provided a path for Room to ensure smooth database migration, although the only caveat is that after updating, all rotations done to your projects will reset. It's unfortunate that this occurs, although it shouldn't be a major issue, you can simply rotate the project again, press 'Save', and it will be back to what it was before. You may also experience further database bugs -- if I can find any more, I will fix them in 0.1.7.

---

I am looking for new collaborators

Apologies if this message bugs anyone, you can skip this if you're not interested.

PixaPencil is now open for serious contributors/collaborators who are interested in improving the app -- if you are interested in helping speed up the app's development process (and expand the app's reach) send me an email at [email protected].

If you don't want to develop per se, but simply help test versions before they get released or help in documentation writing or cover art, that would also be great, and you can send me an email as well.

Features Added

✨ [BETA] Import external Lospec palettes as an in-app palette

Users now have the ability to import external Lospec palettes inside the app.

This feature is currently in beta, so it's not 100% stable.

More information

You can get to this by pressing the three dots at the top right of the screen, and then tapping 'Import Lospec Palette':

Then, type in the palette URL identifier of your choice:

After pressing 'OK', the end result should be similar to the following:

Improvements Added

• More strings have been translated into various languages -- thanks to all the translators!
• After 'Delete' is tapped in the bottom sheet, instead of getting a dialog verifying whether or not the user wants to delete their creation, the creation will get deleted and you will then see a snackbar with an 'Undo' button (20462bec3509eaee7300d9f5d7da109bc79938e8)
• Added a better ripple color for the floating action button in the home screen (8f5f26a84cee6fec1ab53a4e7c5c735044d36d85)
• 'Find and Replace', 'Filters', and 'Clear Canvas' actions are now faster (f5dcdcd9593252aec77bb921a9b478b7472a001f, 285b8bc2be519954d44bd4f7bc8099e33ce87b11, 62a13aa378b480f5c98856b2c8f68ba29669a552, ca48d41d5201d52769040c801838890332707b92) (#166)

Other Changes

• Backend improvements and general app stabilization
• Changelogs should now be visible on F-Droid (#156)