Updated Translations
September 07, 2022The UI translations for Lazy Nezumi Pro have been updated!
Two new languages have been added: French (complete), and Simplified Chinese (incomplete).
If you're on LNP version 22.05.23 or higher, download the new binary language pack from this page. You will not need to update the app itself!
Big Summer Update!
July 20, 2022Today's update is the biggest I've released in a while! Some much needed polish has been added to the user interface and experience, and many issues have been addressed. If you've been waiting to update, this is the one to get! Read on for the details.
New "Attach to Windows" Method
You can now add LNP's processing features to your art apps by dropping a special LN icon into their canvas windows! The old "hook window" method could sometimes fail when using your pen over certain apps. This new method should work with both your mouse and your pen. The old keyboard shortcut to hook the window under the cursor still works the same way.
The new "Attach to Window" window will also show you the list of hooked apps, and let you detach LNP from hooked windows without needing to exit the art app. The flashing window animation has also been improved, and should now display correctly over any type of window (if the hook is successful).
Some common hooking errors are now handled automatically, and others generate much more useful error messages. Thanks to JP for helping me address an issue caused by 32bit/64bit mixups of runtime DLLs (which the updated installer should now fix).
Updated Installer
I finally took the time to rewrite LNP's installer from the ground up.
Instead of copying the LNP Photoshop plugin file to the Photoshop plugins folder, the installer will now install links (shortcuts) to the LNP installation folder. This will ensure that Photoshop will always load the correct version of the plugin, and will help avoid plugin version mismatch problems.
Links are installed in the Photoshop plugin folders themselves, but also in the Common Files\Adobe\Plug-ins\ folders. This means that you shouldn't need to reinstall LNP after updating Photoshop CC. And unless Adobe completely change their plugin loading mechanism, this installer should now also work with future versions of Photoshop.
If you have a "portable" version of Photoshop installed in an unusual location, the installer may not find it. In this case, the app itself will offer to install a link for it when you use the "Attach to Window" method.
The app will now also offer to fix any plugin version mismatch problem it detects, in case any old plugin files were leftover and the installer could not find or remove them.
Updated App Support
This update adds Windows Ink support for the following apps: Pencil2D, Xournal++, and Rebelle. Thanks to Adri, Vladimir, Walter, and Kasia for reporting issues with these apps, and for helping me test fixes.
Starting with this update, once LNP is loaded into an Affinity app, new canvas windows are automatically hooked (like with Photoshop).
Updated UI and Custom Styles
Sometimes you need a change of scenery. I got tired of looking at the same old UI for years, so I decided to give LNP a little refresh. Nothing major. Can you spot all the differences? :)
The stylesheet used to style the UI can now be loaded from an external file, which means you can now make your own custom UI themes! The installer will place some example stylesheet files in the styles subfolder of your installation folder. If present, the app will then load the style.qss file from your user data folder's styles subfolder. The app will scan this file for changes while it's running, so you can edit the file and instantly see the results on the UI. (Custom stylesheet support for the preset toolbar may be added in a future update.)
The QSS file format is Qt's version of CSS (which is used for web pages). While it doesn't support all CSS features, it's still pretty powerful. You can view the reference guide here, and some examples here.
As a quick example, here's what a blue-highlight themed style looks like:
New Settings File
In previous versions, most of the user settings were saved to the Windows registry. This made backing up your settings and copying them to other machines tricky.
Starting with this version, the settings are now stored in the lazynezumipro.ini file in your user data folder (%LOCALAPPDATA%\Lazy Nezumi Pro).
Better High-DPI Support
This update adds better high-DPI support. LNP's windows should now look better on high-DPI monitors in Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7.
In Win10 and Win11, LNP will continue to let Windows itself scale the windows automatically. I've started working on proper high-DPI support without Windows scaling, but there are still too many issues to be fixed.
Bug Fixes
This update fixes quite a few bugs, some that had been eluding me for a while. Thank you to everyone who reported these issues. Special thanks go out to MetaDragonArt, Matsuzaki, Pharan, Sula, and Iiku!
Here's the full list:
- LNP windows should no longer appear off-screen if you've changed your multi-monitor layout while LNP was closed. The windows will also change screens if the screen they're on is disconnected.
- A workaround was added for a Windows bug that was causing the overlay window to become partially broken after being moved across screens on certain multi-monitor configurations. This was causing some of the ruler handles to become un-grabbable.
- A tablet info initialization bug was fixed. This was causing glitches at the start of lines for the first lines drawn right after hooking a window.
- The overlay window could sometimes steal focus from modal dialogs.
- LNP was interfering with the radial menus in Sketchbook.
- The plugin could sometimes cause a crash at program exit.
- The script graph line thickness was not being set correctly if the script was not explicitly setting output pressure.
- The script graph animation variable list was not always updated correctly.
- The connection between the plugin and the main app would sometimes be lost.
- LNP will no longer process input when you click in non-client window areas (title bar, scroll bars, etc. if the app is reporting these areas correctly).
- Preset names were not saved as UTF8 in presetSettings.xml, which would cause shortcuts to be lost for some names.
- The default language was not always chosen correctly based on the system locale.
- A workaround was added for a tablet driver bug that was causing gaps and dents in lines.
Translators Needed!
May 23, 2022Starting with today's update, LNP's translation files will be stored in the translations subfolder of the installation folder. This means that you will be able to update them and add new translations without having to update the app itself. I have spent the last couple of months adding developer comments to most of the text strings in the app, which I hope will help translators with their work.
If you are an existing LNP user (and license holder), are comfortable around the app and its features, and speak multiple languages, I need your help! Please have a look at the new Translations page to find out how you can help.
Minor Update
March 01, 2022Today's update fixes a few minor issues, and updates some of the translations. (Thanks Matsuzaki!)
The Vanishing Lines ruler now has different colors for its VP setup control line handles, which will make it a little easier to interact with. Be sure to check out the video about this ruler if you haven't already!
Help Ukraine
February 28, 2022If you can, please donate to the International Rescue Committee. They do good work, and are currently helping refugees all over the world (including Ukraine).
Google.org is also matching up to $5 million in donations to Ukraine until April 30th. This is a great way to double your impact to help those in need.
New LNP Perspective Video!
February 06, 2022This video will show you how to match the perspective of any scene with Lazy Nezumi Pro's rulers, in order to add perspective-correct elements to it.
It also goes through the basics of how to use the Linear Perspective and Vanishing Lines rulers. If you've ever struggled with these rulers, or perspective in general, this will hopefully help!