TidBITS Watchlist: Notable Software Updates for 19 October 2015

Tweetbot 2.1.1 — Tapbots has released Tweetbot 2.1.1 for the Mac, a maintenance release that’s full of bug fixes. The Twitter client fixes the New Tweet and Show/Hide global hot keys, resolves an issue with gestures being reversed in certain cases, fixes a bug where notification quick replies didn’t contain the reply text, sorts out some layout issues in OS X 10.11 El Capitan, rectifies an issue with the search tab where you couldn’t start typing into the search field, and resolves several crashes. ($9.99 new from the Mac App
Store, free update, 11.5 MB, 10.10+)

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Quicken 2015 for Mac 2.6.2 — Intuit has released version 2.6.2 of Quicken 2015 for Mac with security and performance upgrades for the Quicken Connect download service, plus improved sync error handling. The personal accounting software also fixes multiple data connection and sync issues (such as when transactions aren’t downloaded when a bank is reconnected with Direct Connect from a Web Connect account), resolves multiple conversion issues (including converting files from Windows 2015 Home and Business), and fixes a variety of crashes. That said, you might consider holding off on this update for a bit, given the troubles that
are being reported in the Quicken forums. As of this writing, Quicken 2015 for Mac was still stuck at version 2.5 in the Mac App Store. ($74.99 new, free update, release notes, 10.7+)

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Audio Hijack 3.2.1 and Airfoil 4.9.1 — Rogue Amoeba has released Audio Hijack 3.2 with several VoiceOver refinements. The popular audio recording utility now automatically lists the VoiceOver and com.apple.speech background apps in the Source selector when VoiceOver is running for easier selection, and several VoiceOver improvements have been made to the Source menu found in Application Blocks (such as properly reading the Source menu when tabbing to it). The release also updates the Instant On component to version 8.1.3 with full support for OS X 10.11 El Capitan, improves handling of missing audio devices (such as
when devices are unplugged or when Sessions are imported from another machine), ensures that a Block stops entirely when it is turned off, and improves how Audio Hijack handles copied or imported sessions to avoid duplicate names.

Additionally, Airfoil 4.9.1 has been released with the updated version 8.1.3 of the Instant On component (which fixes an extremely rare issue in Airfoil that could cause OS X’s coreaudiod to crash). It also corrects an issue where application icons in the Source menu could be pixelated. If you’re a TidBITS member, you can purchase these Rogue Amoeba products, as well as Fission, Piezo, and Nicecast, at a 20 percent discount. (Audio Hijack $49, 15.4 MB, release notes; Airfoil, $29, 14.5 MB, release notes; all are free updates and require 10.9+)

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DEVONthink/DEVONnote 2.8.7 — DEVONtechnologies has updated all three editions of DEVONthink (Personal, Pro, and Pro Office) and DEVONnote to version 2.8.7 with important compatibility changes for OS X 10.11 El Capitan, plus improved reliability when syncing between Macs (as well as between Macs and iOS devices). On the El Capitan front, the four apps add support for App Transport Security, fix glitches during drag-and-drop in icon views, improve handling of the fullscreen document window, and ensure that launch and progress panels display
as expected. All three versions of DEVONthink improve importing from Evernote, speed up indexing (up to twice as fast depending on metadata and file size), fix a bug with dragging email messages without a subject from Apple Mail, and update the MultiMarkdown engine to version 4.

DEVONthink Pro Office users should be aware that a bug in the initial 2.8.7 release broke OCR capabilities. That problem has now been fixed, but if you installed the update before it was, you should download a fresh copy to correct the issue. (All updates are free. DEVONthink Pro Office, $149.95 new, release notes; DEVONthink Professional, $79.95 new, release notes; DEVONthink Personal, $49.95 new, release notes; DEVONnote, $24.95 new, release notes; 25 percent discount for TidBITS members on all editions of DEVONthink and DEVONnote. 10.7.5+)

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Sandvox 2.10.3 — Karelia has released Sandvox 2.10.3 with improved full-screen support for YouTube videos. The Web site authoring tool also fixes a bug that would continually attempt to delete old files and fail each time you published to Sandvox Hosting, improves reliability when creating missing directories on an SFTP server, fixes an issue that prevented a document from opening if the Arial font wasn’t available, and resolves a crash that occurred when connecting to a remote server. Sandvox also restores functionality to “enhanced” and “shuffle” layouts in the Amazon List object, as well as restores the “Use
product preview popups” functionality (but Karelia notes that some international Amazon stores may not display products, and that this issue is still being investigated). ($79.99 new, free update from Karelia or the Mac App Store, 43 MB, release notes, 10.6.6+)

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Fantastical 2.1.1 — Flexibits has issued Fantastical 2.1.1 with several fixes and improvements for the full-featured calendar app. The update adds an option to set events as public or private on Google Calendar, sends you directly to the notes field after using the keyboard shortcut for showing details (Command-E), makes improvements to Split View on OS X 10.11 El Capitan, adds options to Send Email and Show Contact Card to invitees when adding a new event, and enables you to mark added invitees to events as optional. Fantastical 2 has a 21-day free trial and is available from either the Flexibits Store or the Mac App Store. ($39.99 new, free update, 11.7 MB, release notes, 10.10+)

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iMovie 10.1 — Apple has released iMovie 10.1 with support for creating and editing movies with 1080p HD video at 60 frames per second, as well as for editing movies with 4K resolution (for full-resolution 4K playback, you’ll need a compatible Mac, such as the latest iMac releases; see “Apple Adds Retina Displays to More iMacs, Updates Input Devices,” 13 October 2015). The update also now enables you to import movie projects from iMovie for iOS (version 2.2 and later), improves the Projects view to more easily find and open your movies, adds the option to hide the Browser
while editing a movie, and adds 10 video filters from iMovie for iOS. iMovie now requires OS X 10.10.5 or later. ($14.99 new from the Mac App Store, free update, 2.02 GB, 10.10.5+)

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Dropbox 3.10.8 — Dropbox has updated its eponymous file synchronization app to version 3.10.8 with some changes to its commenting and collaboration features (see “Dropbox Adds File Comments,” 1 May 2015). Dropbox adds more hiding options for the Badge (which appears on any Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, or Excel file saved in your Dropbox), and the Badge will notify you if collaborators made changes since the last time you opened the file (though this is currently being rolled out to only a subset of users). The update also fixes a bug that prevented certain versions of AutoCAD
from syncing, fixes issues with inconsistent LAN sync performance, and improves network utilization on downloads for fast Internet connections. The update should install automatically. (Free, 43 MB, release notes, 10.6+)

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Pixelmator 3.4 — The Pixelmator Team has released version 3.4 of its eponymous image editing app with support for OS X 10.11 El Capitan, including Split View. Pixelmator 3.4 (aka “Twist”) also adds the Metal-based Photos Extension, a number of Distort tools that enable you to reshape, retouch, and add artistic effects to images within Apple’s Photos app. The Photos Extension provides direct access to your Mac’s GPU, quickening the processing speed while also boosting the quality of the Distort tools. The update improves Force Touch support to make painting smoother
with Force Touch trackpads and uses San Francisco as the interface font. ($29.99 new from the Mac App Store, free update, 46.7 MB, release notes, 10.9.5+)

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1Password 5.4 — AgileBits has released 1Password 5.4 for Mac (dubbed “The Convenience Edition”) with the option to display passwords in large type. The password manager also numbers each character when viewed in large type, a handy addition should you be asked to provide specific numbered characters in a password. The update now enables you to change passwords for secondary vaults, adds the capability to make changes to columns in the Top Layout view (and preserves the width of columns), improves communication between the 1Password browser extension and 1Password mini, displays the folder path if an item is in a
folder, adds support for using AirDrop to send items from your Mac to other Apple devices, fixes an issue that prevented the Call feature from working with phone numbers containing spaces, and ensures that icons are displayed after switching to Top Layout. ($29.99 new from AgileBits and the Mac App Store with a 25 percent discount for TidBITS members when purchased from AgileBits, free update, 34.9 MB, release notes, 10.10+)

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Pages 5.6, Numbers 3.6, and Keynote 6.6 for Mac — Apple has updated its trio of iWork apps for the Mac — Pages 5.6, Numbers 3.6, and Keynote 6.6 — with some hefty improvements. Collectively, the three productivity apps now support Split View in OS X 10.11 El Capitan, provide haptic feedback when you force-click an image using a Force Touch trackpad, add support for opening iWork ’08 and ’06 documents, enable you to preview documents on iOS and Android browsers, improve access to recently used fonts in the Fonts menu, add
the capability to create table, chart, and shape styles from an image, and provide enhanced support for OpenType font features such as small caps, contextual fractions, alternative glyphs, and more.

The three apps gain several VoiceOver enhancements, including the capability to add and review comments, plus edit chart data and chart elements. Pages also enables you to track changes using VoiceOver, while Keynote adds support for reading presenter notes during slideshows. The triumvirate also improve support for exporting to their Microsoft Office brethren (and Pages gets improved EPUB export); improve compatibility for charts, text overflows, and non-rectangular masks imported from Microsoft Office; and receive additional AppleScript options for PDF export.

Additionally, the iOS and iCloud versions of the productivity apps have been updated with many of the same features noted above (though 3D Touch replaces Force Touch for the iOS versions of Pages, Numbers, and Keynote). The updates for both OS X and iOS are free.

Speaking of iCloud, Michael Cohen (author of Take Control of Pages) was excited to find that Pages for iCloud now lets you view tracked changes in a document that has change tracking turned on. However, he was let down after realizing that it is truly view only. In fact, if a document has any tracked changes from Pages for Mac or iOS, Pages for iCloud won’t allow you to edit the document at all. ($19.99 new for Pages, 224 MB; $19.99 new for Numbers, 166 MB; $19.99 new for Keynote, 456 MB; all three require 10.10.4+)

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