We have just released a new version of PixInsight: 1.9.4 Lockhart build 1693. This release provides stability improvements and bug fixes on all supported operating systems.
Refer to the official announcement of version 1.9.4 Lockhart for complete information on new features, changes, and known problems in the current versions of PixInsight.
Installation
Installation packages for PixInsight 1.9.4 Lockhart build 1693 are now available to all licensed users for Linux, macOS (ARM64 and x64 architectures), and Windows:
https://pixinsight.com/dist/
As with all PixInsight core application updates, this version cannot be downloaded as an application update. You must install version 1.9.4 manually:
Bug Fixes
The following list describes the main bug fixes implemented in this release.
Critical Changes
On Windows, we now enable graphics acceleration (GPU-based or via OpenGL and DirectX calls) by default in WebView components (which are based on Google's Chromium web browser), effectively applying the same criterion that we apply (and have been applying for a long time) on Linux and macOS. We disabled these accelerations for the sake of stability, given the number of failures reported on many low-end and improperly configured Windows machines (e.g., using invalid or buggy graphics drivers).
In this version, we have removed this restriction because it severely limited the capabilities of current Windows versions of PixInsight for some important tasks. For example, when these accelerations are disabled, the Chromium browser becomes noticeably slow to browse our documentation and even unstable, especially during navigation on complex, demanding websites such as our official YouTube channel.
If you experience stability issues with WebView components on Windows, such as the graphics rendered in SubframeSelector, Filter Explorer, SPCC, or SPFC, you can restore the old behavior by specifying the
However, these problems should never occur on a well-configured, relatively contemporary Windows 11 machine.
*** UPDATE ***
To stop new complaints about WebView graphics issues, we have reverted the above change. On May 24, we uploaded new Windows installation packages (dated 20260524) with graphics acceleration disabled by default. The new installation packages are now available on our software distribution servers.
Of course, users with machines where GUI acceleration works correctly can still opt in to this feature by using the --accelerated-webview command line argument.
Scripts Ported to the V8 Runtime
The MakefileGenerator script (version 1.147) now runs on the V8 JavaScript runtime. This greatly facilitates PCL development on the macOS ARM64 platform.
Thank you for your attention,
The PixInsight Development Team at Pleiades Astrophoto.
Refer to the official announcement of version 1.9.4 Lockhart for complete information on new features, changes, and known problems in the current versions of PixInsight.
Installation
Installation packages for PixInsight 1.9.4 Lockhart build 1693 are now available to all licensed users for Linux, macOS (ARM64 and x64 architectures), and Windows:
https://pixinsight.com/dist/
As with all PixInsight core application updates, this version cannot be downloaded as an application update. You must install version 1.9.4 manually:
- Linux: The installation packages are xz-compressed tar archives (.tar.xz). To install one of these archives, extract its entire contents into a new directory, preferably one located under your home directory. Then, become root and run the installer program from a terminal. Typically, you should type 'yes' and press Enter to accept the default settings. Run ./installer --help for detailed information on command-line installer arguments.
- macOS ARM64/x64: If you have a previous version of PixInsight already installed, you must uninstall it by removing the /Applications/PixInsight folder. Run the .pkg installation package and follow the instructions. All our macOS installation packages are digitally signed with our latest corporate Apple developer certificate and have been notarized by Apple.
- Windows: Run the new installation package and follow the instructions. The installer will automatically remove a previous version, so there is no need to uninstall it first. All executable files in the PixInsight distribution for Windows, as well as our Windows installation packages, have been signed with our latest corporate Extended Validation (EV) code-signing certificate.
Bug Fixes
The following list describes the main bug fixes implemented in this release.
- The GradientCorrection process caused a segmentation fault when applied to some images with dimensions of 4096 pixels or smaller. This problem was 100% reproducible on macOS and sometimes on Windows. Original bug report.
- Message boxes (such as alerts and notifications) were incorrectly presented under some top-level windows, such as source code floating editors, on macOS. Original bug report.
- Custom XEPH layers were not working in the AnnotateImage script. The actual bug was in the implementation of EphemerisFile.visibleObjects() in the V8 JavaScript runtime. Original bug report.
- Activating a Graphics instance and throwing an exception without closing the graphics task results in a segmentation fault in internal V8 engine routines, causing immediate application termination. This was reproducible on macOS. Original bug report.
- The ImageView.appendTopControl() method of the V8 JavaScript runtime was invoking an undefined property. Original bug report.
- Manually installing a module via the Process > Modules > Install Modules command caused a segmentation fault due to invalid V8 handles. Original bug report.
- Manually changing a view's identifier did not trigger notifications for certain controls, such as ImageList combo boxes. This was causing problems with tools that dynamically acquire view properties and with the History Explorer component. Reported by certified developers.
- Specifying more than one XML document to sign with the
--sign-xml-filecommand-line argument resulted in invalid signatures, except for the first file in the list. This happened both when multiple arguments were specified and when wildcards were used to select a set of files. Reported by certified developers.
- The documentation of the ColorComboBox class (in Object Explorer) was not reflecting the latest changes introduced in the V8 JavaScript runtime. Reported by certified developers.
- When a module is installed manually (with Process > Modules > Install Modules) on macOS, gathering information about the module (such as author, version, description, etc.) is not viable because dynamic libraries (.dylib files) cannot be unloaded on macOS (this is a well-known operating system limitation, not our fault). After gathering information, the module cannot be correctly installed because it cannot be unloaded/reloaded. We have solved this long-standing issue in this version, where module information is never retrieved during installation on macOS.
- On macOS and Windows, we were limiting some critical graphics optimizations due to severe bugs in older versions of Qt (about 3-4 years ago and earlier). We have removed all of these limitations in this version, leading to significant improvements that are evident in the application's practical use on these platforms. For example, in previous versions, sometimes image windows were being incorrectly rendered as pure white for a fraction of a second during and after the execution of processes, which was quite annoying visually. Similar issues also happened sometimes when moving icons or selecting workspaces. All of these glitches have been fixed.
Critical Changes
On Windows, we now enable graphics acceleration (GPU-based or via OpenGL and DirectX calls) by default in WebView components (which are based on Google's Chromium web browser), effectively applying the same criterion that we apply (and have been applying for a long time) on Linux and macOS. We disabled these accelerations for the sake of stability, given the number of failures reported on many low-end and improperly configured Windows machines (e.g., using invalid or buggy graphics drivers).
In this version, we have removed this restriction because it severely limited the capabilities of current Windows versions of PixInsight for some important tasks. For example, when these accelerations are disabled, the Chromium browser becomes noticeably slow to browse our documentation and even unstable, especially during navigation on complex, demanding websites such as our official YouTube channel.
If you experience stability issues with WebView components on Windows, such as the graphics rendered in SubframeSelector, Filter Explorer, SPCC, or SPFC, you can restore the old behavior by specifying the
--no-accelerated-webview command-line argument when PixInsight is launched. For example:C:\Program Files\PixInsight\bin\PixInsight.exe --no-accelerated-webviewHowever, these problems should never occur on a well-configured, relatively contemporary Windows 11 machine.
*** UPDATE ***
To stop new complaints about WebView graphics issues, we have reverted the above change. On May 24, we uploaded new Windows installation packages (dated 20260524) with graphics acceleration disabled by default. The new installation packages are now available on our software distribution servers.
Of course, users with machines where GUI acceleration works correctly can still opt in to this feature by using the --accelerated-webview command line argument.
Scripts Ported to the V8 Runtime
The MakefileGenerator script (version 1.147) now runs on the V8 JavaScript runtime. This greatly facilitates PCL development on the macOS ARM64 platform.
Thank you for your attention,
The PixInsight Development Team at Pleiades Astrophoto.
