Overview
A number of operations previously only available from the GUI are available from the command line for pipeline integration or batch processing operations. This brings parity between what can be done in the GUI versus what can be done using the CLI. Specifically, combining multiple images into a single animated image and generating contact-sheets may now both be performed from the CLI. Furthermore, high-quality image quantization is now available in the GUI from the Edit menu. Previously quantization was only an option when saving palettized image formats or from the CLI.
Quantization
Image quantization (determining a reduced colour-palette) is now available for any image rather than just as a parameter when saving GIF files. The quantize operation is available from the Edit menu. In the image below there are only 16 colours being used! The quantization in this case uses the slower Scolourq algorithm with dithering turned on. The faster Wu Bipartition algorithm also yields excellent results even without dithering.
Post Operations
Post operations are specified in the CLI using --po opname[arg1,arg2,...]
These are operations that take more than a single image as input and are separated out into a different pass for efficiency. The post-op pass still uses the same set of input images and it runs after all normal operations have completed. If a regular operation modifies any of the input files, the modified file(s) are used as input to the post operation. If a normal operation generates a new file not included in the inputs, the new file is not used by the post operation.
Combine
--po combine[]
Combines multiple input images into a single animated image. The output file type must support animation or be able to store multiple sub-images / pages. Details on using this command are available by passing --help as the command-line parameter.
Contact
--po contact[]
Creates a single contact sheet image (AKA flipbook) from multiple input images. You may specify the number of columns and rows or let the operation determine it automatically for you based on the number of input images. Creating contact-sheets using Tacent View handles transpareny properly. By default if an imput image has transparency, so will the contact sheet. Details on using this command are available by passing --help as the command-line parameter.
Normal Operations
Normal operations run sequentially on each input image and are specified using --op opname[arg1,arg2,...]
One additional normal operation has been added in this release to again bring parity between the CLI features and the GUI features.
Pixel
-op pixel[]
Sets the pixel at (x,y) to the colour supplied. You may specify specific channels to affect as well as offsets from the right and top edges if the input images have different sizes. Details on using this command are available by passing --help as the command-line parameter.
Summary of Changes
- Quantize an image directly from the GUI. Quantize is available from the edit menu. The UI for the different quantize methods and parameters is now shared between the quantize modal dialog and the save GIF modal.
- Create contact sheets from the command line interface.
- Combine images and create animated images from the command line interface.
- Cleaned up the gif-save, contact-sheet, extract, and multi-frame modal dialogs in the GUI so they take up less real estate.
- Saving GIFs (both CLI and GUI) now support an auto-detect alpha channel mode. If the source image has transparency a 1-bit alpha channel will be automatically used. If the source image is opaque, all palette entries will be used for colours and the GIF will be opaque.
- 2 more packed dds pixel formats are supported. Specifically R8G8B8 and R8G8B8A8. These are less efficient than the BGR variants, but some were found in the wild and are now loadable.
- Fixed gif encoding. It was possible for a fully opaque image to result in a GIF with binary alpha in some circumstances.
- Improved the warning when an image will take a long time to quantize. This is primarily when the scolorq algorithm is being used. The warning now takes the estimated running time into account and considers both the palette size as well as the image dimensions.
Full Changelog: v1.0.39...v1.0.40