Pixelmator v. 3.1 is out - with a bunch of built-in optimizations to use the dual GPUs available on the new Mac Pro, among other updates for us mere mortals who can't shell out for the shiny little tube...
Pixelmator 3.1 Marble (Released on January 23, 2014)
New Features
• Exclusive new Mac Pro support: Pixelmator 3.1 Marble takes advantage of the new Mac Pro’s incredible power and speed with its dual-GPU support. This means that just about any edit you make, you will experience remarkably smoother and more fluid performance.
• 16-bit support on the new Mac Pro: Harnessing the power of the Mac Pro’s dual-GPU architecture, we’re now able to support 16-bit per channel images for the first time. You can now edit rich and vibrant images in Pixelmator 3.1 Marble on the new Mac Pro.
• Order Prints: You can now quickly and easily turn your gorgeous images into stunning, fine-quality prints. With just a few clicks, order Pixelmator images as postcards, notecards, gallery frames, or posters.
Optimized for the New Mac Pro
• Both GPUs are used simultaneously when applying effects: one for computing the effect and the other one for composition rendering.
• 16-bit per channel color images are supported.
• The image auto saving is computed in the background while image composition is being rendered.
• Optimizations made for all 4-core, 6-core, 8-core, or 12-core Intel Xeon processors for better zoom out handling and faster bitmap layer duplications.
• GCD Dispatch I/O technology and PCIe-based flash storage makes opening and exporting high resolution images faster.
• Increased memory bandwidth is fully utilized for Pixelmator operations.
Layer Styles Improvements
• Now, you can select more than one layer with styles and change the opacity of the selected layers all at once.
• When you move a selection made on layers with styles, the layer style always stays visible, even when you go to another app and back.
• You can now apply styles on a new layer right after you’ve painted with the Paint Bucket Tool or the Pixel Tool.
• When converting layers with styles into regular layers, the Opacity setting always stays intact.
• When you clear layer contents, the layer style icon disappears as well.
• The Styles palette stays active when you copy layers with styles into a newly created document.
• You can now change the gradient fill for newly created text or shape layers from the Gradients palette without opening the Styles palette.
• When you choose a color in the Colors palette, it doesn’t change the color choice in the Styles palette.
• You can now remove style presets even if you have several layers with styles selected.
• After you clear a layer style, you can now remove layer style presets.
Other Improvements
• Pointillize, Pixelize, Mandala, Concert, City Lights, Color Hatch, X-ray, Infrared, Line Dye, Tracer, Scanner, Newspaper, Neon, ASCII, Blue Print and Projectile effects are now available again.
• The effects’ rope is now more stable.
• Improved RAW image file format support.
• You can now turn off Auto Select on shape layers as well as on the others layers.
• When you Control-click the selection on an empty layer, you can now choose Refine selection from the shortcut menu.
• When grouped text layers are duplicated, the text stays visible.
• When text or shape layers are converted into pixels, the Opacity setting stays intact.
• Now you can drag a gradient preset to the Finder.
• Improvements have been made for the outside stroke effect.
• New layers are no longer added when painting with the Paint Bucket Tool set to 0% of Opacity.
• Colors are updated in the Fill dialog correctly, whether you choose the dialog from the Menu bar or use the keyboard shortcut.
• The “Low disk space” message no longer appears when there’s lots of space on the computer.
• Improved localizations.
• And other tiny-yet-annoying bugs, random graphical glitches, and crashes have been fixed.
New Features
• Exclusive new Mac Pro support: Pixelmator 3.1 Marble takes advantage of the new Mac Pro’s incredible power and speed with its dual-GPU support. This means that just about any edit you make, you will experience remarkably smoother and more fluid performance.
• 16-bit support on the new Mac Pro: Harnessing the power of the Mac Pro’s dual-GPU architecture, we’re now able to support 16-bit per channel images for the first time. You can now edit rich and vibrant images in Pixelmator 3.1 Marble on the new Mac Pro.
• Order Prints: You can now quickly and easily turn your gorgeous images into stunning, fine-quality prints. With just a few clicks, order Pixelmator images as postcards, notecards, gallery frames, or posters.
Optimized for the New Mac Pro
• Both GPUs are used simultaneously when applying effects: one for computing the effect and the other one for composition rendering.
• 16-bit per channel color images are supported.
• The image auto saving is computed in the background while image composition is being rendered.
• Optimizations made for all 4-core, 6-core, 8-core, or 12-core Intel Xeon processors for better zoom out handling and faster bitmap layer duplications.
• GCD Dispatch I/O technology and PCIe-based flash storage makes opening and exporting high resolution images faster.
• Increased memory bandwidth is fully utilized for Pixelmator operations.
Layer Styles Improvements
• Now, you can select more than one layer with styles and change the opacity of the selected layers all at once.
• When you move a selection made on layers with styles, the layer style always stays visible, even when you go to another app and back.
• You can now apply styles on a new layer right after you’ve painted with the Paint Bucket Tool or the Pixel Tool.
• When converting layers with styles into regular layers, the Opacity setting always stays intact.
• When you clear layer contents, the layer style icon disappears as well.
• The Styles palette stays active when you copy layers with styles into a newly created document.
• You can now change the gradient fill for newly created text or shape layers from the Gradients palette without opening the Styles palette.
• When you choose a color in the Colors palette, it doesn’t change the color choice in the Styles palette.
• You can now remove style presets even if you have several layers with styles selected.
• After you clear a layer style, you can now remove layer style presets.
Other Improvements
• Pointillize, Pixelize, Mandala, Concert, City Lights, Color Hatch, X-ray, Infrared, Line Dye, Tracer, Scanner, Newspaper, Neon, ASCII, Blue Print and Projectile effects are now available again.
• The effects’ rope is now more stable.
• Improved RAW image file format support.
• You can now turn off Auto Select on shape layers as well as on the others layers.
• When you Control-click the selection on an empty layer, you can now choose Refine selection from the shortcut menu.
• When grouped text layers are duplicated, the text stays visible.
• When text or shape layers are converted into pixels, the Opacity setting stays intact.
• Now you can drag a gradient preset to the Finder.
• Improvements have been made for the outside stroke effect.
• New layers are no longer added when painting with the Paint Bucket Tool set to 0% of Opacity.
• Colors are updated in the Fill dialog correctly, whether you choose the dialog from the Menu bar or use the keyboard shortcut.
• The “Low disk space” message no longer appears when there’s lots of space on the computer.
• Improved localizations.
• And other tiny-yet-annoying bugs, random graphical glitches, and crashes have been fixed.
Just press Command-Shift-V to enter vector mode.
