Skip to content
Thoughtful, detailed coverage of everything Apple for 33 years
and the TidBITS Content Network for Apple professionals

TidBITS Watchlist: Notable Software Updates for 21 November 2016

Alfred 3.2 — Running with Crayons has issued Alfred 3.2 with improved workflow building, Script Filter enhancements, and integration with 1Password. You can now drag from a connection point to an empty space to create a new workflow object. Scripts can now output variables, and you can tell Alfred to re-run a script after a set amount of time. Thanks to added compatibility with 1Password 6.5, Alfred can now show results from multiple vaults and open logins directly in your default Web browser. The keyboard-driven launcher also fixes an issue with navigating out of empty folders in Copy To / Move To file actions, updates the iTunes
option to ignore movies and TV shows from the mini-player, and streamlines Alfred’s core for improved performance. (Free, £17 for Powerpack, 2.7 MB, release notes, 10.9+)

Read/post comments about Alfred 3.2.

Microsoft Office 2016 15.28 and Office 2011 14.7 — Microsoft has issued version 15.28 of its Office 2016 application suite with a handful of fixes and enhancements, including overall improvements in accessibility features and error reporting. Word fixes an issue that prevented saving documents with embedded Excel spreadsheets, and it updates Czech, Hungarian, Korean, Norwegian, Polish, Russian, and Turkish grammar localizations. PowerPoint now enables you to view interactive summaries and automatic navigation links that were created using the Zoom command in PowerPoint 2016 for Windows.
Microsoft AutoUpdate is now at version 3.8.1 and eliminates a couple of crashes.

On the security front, both Office 2016 and Office 2011, which Microsoft has updated to version 14.7, resolve several memory corruption vulnerabilities that could result in remote code execution. ($149.99 for one-time purchase, free update through Microsoft AutoUpdate, release notes, 10.10+)

Read/post comments about Microsoft Office 2016 15.28 and Office 2011 14.7.

Hazel 4.0.8 — In late October 2016, Noodlesoft released Hazel 4.0.7 with a workaround for a bug that prevented its help from displaying in macOS 10.12 Sierra, as well as fixing a bug that prevented deleted files from being removed from the Trash if secure delete had been set in Sierra. The file cleanup utility also ensured that temp folders were no longer left behind when syncing across drives and fixed a crash when either configuring or using the Upload action.

Last week, Noodlesoft updated Hazel to version 4.0.8 to fix a bug that prevented certain drives from being ejected and to fix server settings to ensure the Upload action always appears. ($32 new or $49 for five-member family pack, free update, 7.8 MB, release notes, 10.10+)

Read/post comments about Hazel 4.0.8.

Slack for Mac 2.3.2Slack has released version 2.3.2 of its Mac desktop client, fixing a problem with idle timing that made it seem as though you were inactive and unavailable and also resulted in too many mobile notifications. The group messaging system and productivity tool fixes a bug that caused characters to go missing when typing in languages that require input composition (such as Korean) and then switching to the input method editor. The update also ensures that contractions don’t cause spellcheck errors unless they truly are misspelled. (Free from Slack and the Mac App Store, 64.2 MB, 10.9+)

Read/post comments about Slack for Mac 2.3.2.

Postbox 5.0.7Postbox released version 5.0.6 of its eponymous email client with support for emoticons in HTML messages and added image effects, including scaling, float, margins, frames, and effects (such as greyscale, retro, sepia, and vintage). The update also fixes an issue that would cause icons in the Attachment panel to size incorrectly and resolves a bug that could cause the license to reset. It also adds support for macOS share sheets via the free macOS Sharing add-on. Shortly after this release, Postbox was updated to version 5.0.7 to address an issue with the Enigmail encryption add-on. The price of Postbox has risen to $40 (up from $15 for version 4.0), though version 5 is still on sale for $32 for a limited time. ($40 new, upgrade pricing available, 30.2 MB, release notes, 10.10+)

Read/post comments about Postbox 5.0.7.

ChronoSync 4.7.1 — Econ Technologies has released ChronoSync 4.7.1, improving sync speed up to 20 percent when syncing with Google Cloud and Amazon S3 cloud connections. The synchronization and backup app also improves tracking of DMG volume location to better handle mounting and unmounting disk images, fixes a bug that could cause a crash any time after opening a Container Document, and tweaks bandwidth limit calculations to more accurately match desired limits set in Connection Profiles. (Free update, $49.99 new for ChronoSync with a 20 percent discount for TidBITS members, 42.6 MB, release notes, 10.8+)

Read/post comments about ChronoSync 4.7.1.

1Password 6.5.1 — AgileBits has released 1Password 6.5.1 with a couple of new features aimed at the new MacBook Pro (see “New MacBook Pros Add Context-sensitive Touch Bar,” 27 October 2016). These include support for unlocking the password management utility with your fingerprint via the integrated Touch ID sensor and enhanced controls available in the Touch Bar. The update also improves integration for searching your vaults with apps like Alfred and LaunchBar, adds the capability to copy 1Password Documents across 1Password.com accounts, improves filling of credit
card expiration dates, enables you to manage your 1Password account subscription within the app, automatically resizes 1Password mini’s menu width to fit long browser extension names, and fixes a number of crashes. ($64.99 new from AgileBits and the Mac App Store with a 25 percent discount for TidBITS members when purchased from AgileBits, free update, 44.3 MB, release notes, 10.10+)

Read/post comments about 1Password 6.5.1.

Pixelmator 3.6 — The Pixelmator Team has released Pixelmator 3.6 (aka Cordillera) with full support for macOS 10.12 Sierra and the new MacBook Pro laptops with the context-sensitive Touch Bar (see “New MacBook Pros Add Context-sensitive Touch Bar,” 27 October 2016). If you have a new MacBook Pro, you’ll be able to change tools quickly using the Touch Bar, view options for the currently selected tool, and customize which tools appear (check out this Vimeo video to see the Touch Bar in action with Pixelmator).

The update also enables you to manage windows using tabs, adds the Smart Refine feature to improve selections with a single click, adds support for Deep Images (making 16-bit images more vibrant on wide color displays), makes the Repair tool faster and more accurate, adds a live preview to the Quick Selection tool, and fixes an issue with images disappearing when editing larger images on some 2013 and 2014 Macs. ($29.99 new from the Mac App Store, free update, 57.6 MB, release notes, 10.9.5+)

Read/post comments about Pixelmator 3.6.

Subscribe today so you don’t miss any TidBITS articles!

Every week you’ll get tech tips, in-depth reviews, and insightful news analysis for discerning Apple users. For over 33 years, we’ve published professional, member-supported tech journalism that makes you smarter.

Registration confirmation will be emailed to you.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA. The Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.