QuickView v4.2.5 - Comparison & Precision Master

QuickView v4.2.5 - Comparison & Precision Master
Release Date: 2026-03-22

This update introduces our highly anticipated Compare Mode, significant UI refinements, and specialized Pixel Art support. We've focused on making QuickView the most precise tool for image inspection.

🔍 Compare Mode (Visual Benchmarking)
Side-by-Side Analysis: Compare two images with synchronized zoom/pan and rotation.
Precision HUD: Real-time RGB envelope histograms, dual-curve analysis, and quality metrics (Entropy/Sharpness).
Interactive UI: Smart divider with transparency and a dedicated 'C' shortcut to toggle Comparison modes.
🎨 Rendering & Visuals
Smart Interpolation: New automated interpolation modes with specialized Pixel Art compatibility for crisp scaling.
Zoom Integrity: Added visual edge indicators for better viewport orientation and refined scaling anchors.
SIMD JXL: Faster JPEG-XL decoding leveraging SIMD-optimized pixel swizzling paths.
⚙️ Window & Interaction
Advanced Window Locking: Highly customizable window lock behaviors with dedicated settings for different workflows.
Workflow Shortcuts: Native support for Home/End (Jump to First/Last) and PgUp/PgDn (Page Prev/Next).
Gallery Context: Right-click any gallery thumbnail to instantly enter Compare Mode or open in a new window.
🤝 Acknowledgments
@hortiSquash for providing critical testing assistance and bug reports throughout the development of this major update.

QuickView v4.0.5 - Precision & RAW Stability Fix

QuickView v4.0.5 - Precision & RAW Stability Fix

Release Date: 2026-03-13

This maintenance release addresses several deep-seated issues in the Titan Engine's caching system and significantly improves RAW file support stability and correctness.

🚀 Key Fixes

• Titan Cache Precision (Aspect Ratio Fix):
  We fixed a regression where ultra-large images (decoded via the Titan Engine) would display incorrect aspect ratios when re-opening them from the memory cache. The engine now explicitly tracks and preserves the original image's resolution (srcWidth/srcHeight) separately from the scaled preview tiles.

• Persistent RAW Orientation:
  RAW files now retain their correct orientation even when hitting the pre-decode cache. We re-engineered the orientation propagation logic to ensure EXIF metadata is preserved across all worker threads and deep-copy operations.

• RAW Decoder Stability:
  Fixed a critical "Double Free" crash that could occur with certain RAW files when the embedded JPEG preview extraction failed. Fix #22

✨ UX & Interaction

• Smart RAW Toggle (Session-Only):
  The "RAW" button in the toolbar is now a temporary session override. Clicking it allows you to quickly toggle between "Embedded Preview" and "Full RAW Decode" for the current image without altering your global system defaults. Your permanent choice in the Settings menu remains untouched.

• Flicker-Free Transitions:
  Refined the bitmap promotion logic to ensure that upgrading from a lower-LOD preview to a high-quality full-resolution image is completely seamless with zero visual flicker. Fix #27

---

QuickView v4.0.2 - Performance & Stability Fixes

QuickView v4.0.2 - Performance & Stability Fixes

Release Date: 2026-03-10

This update focuses on refining the Titan Engine performance, optimizing UX interaction, and fixing several critical bugs discovered after the v4.0.0 milestone.

UX & Interaction

• Smart 3-State Zoom: Re-engineered the zoom toggle logic. Clicking now cycles through Initial -> Fit Screen -> 100%, providing much smoother control over image sizing.
• No-Stutter Exit: Solved the annoying window stutter/lag that occurred when closing the application via the Esc key.

Titan Engine Refinements

• Wait Cursor Fix: Corrected logic where the OS wait cursor would incorrectly flicker during background prefetching.
• Tile Triggering: Optimized Titan tile activation by removing threshold quantization, ensuring seamless LOD transitions even for ultra-narrow images.
• Progress UI: Enhanced the Titan loading progress bar for better visual performance and accuracy.

Stability & Fixes

• SVG Scaling: Fixed a bug where SVGs would randomly disappear when scaling at certain factors.
• Window Snap: Resolved an issue where the window would creep downwards on systems with top-aligned taskbars.
• Gallery Sync: Fixed HUD Gallery thumbnail desync when deleting images while the gallery is open.

QuickView v4.0.0 - The Titan Engine Update

QuickView v4.0.0 - The Titan Engine Update

Release Date: 2026-03-06

This is a massive milestone release focusing on the introduction of the Titan Architecture, full JPEG XL integration, and Gigapixel Image Handling.

🚀 Architecture: "Titan System"

• Gigapixel Tiling: The new Titan Pipeline dynamically slices massive image datasets into manageable LOD (Level of Detail) tiles, enabling smooth 60fps panning over images that previously caused OOM (Out of Memory) crashes.
• Smart Pull & Prefetch: Memory is now intelligently streamed. QuickView only decodes and uploads the tiles currently visible on your monitor, predicting panning direction to prefetch adjacent chunks.
• Direct-to-MMF Decode: Zero-copy Memory-Mapped File strategy to pipeline gigantic source images directly to the render composition engine.

✨ Format Enhancements

• Native JPEG XL (JXL): Full, hyper-optimized support for the next-generation JXL format, backed by our parallel HeavyLane workers.
• Pro Design Formats: We now support Photoshop's massive document format (PSB) and can instantly extract embedded previews from both PSDs and PSBs.
• Shell-Accelerated Gallery: The T Gallery now taps directly into the Windows Explorer Thumbnail Cache, making initial indexing of massive folders completely instantaneous.

💎 UX & Scaling

• True PerMonitorV2 High-DPI: The interface has been untethered from Windows' legacy scaling. We now support explicit native UI scaling with granular manual overrides (100%-250%).
• Always Fullscreen: A much-requested feature—you can now command QuickView to automatically launch images in exclusive Fullscreen mode (Off, Large Only, All).
• Wheel Action Customization: Unified and centralized logic for mouse-wheel actions with a new WheelActionMode for absolute control.

🛠 Visual Precision

• AVX-512 SIMD Resizing: Critical bilinear scaling paths have been unrolled using the latest AVX2/AVX-512 instruction sets for blazing-fast zooming.
• Center-to-Center Topology: Our internal rendering coordinate system was mathematically refactored, permanently eliminating "edge smearing" and pixel gaps between Titan tiles.
• Focus Robustness: Implemented low-level AttachThreadInput logic to guarantee new QuickView windows forcefully seize focus when you open new files from Explorer.

QuickView v3.2.5 - Precision & Expansion Update

QuickView v3.2.5 - Precision & Expansion Update

Release Date: 2026-01-26

This is a massive update focusing on Precision UI, Multi-Monitor Capabilities, and Core robust-ness.

✨ New Features

• Span Displays (Video Wall): New "Span Across Monitors" feature (Ctrl+F11) allows the window to instantly stretch across all available displays, perfect for video walls or ultra-wide viewing.
• Modern D2D Rename Dialog: Replaced the legacy Windows GDI rename dialog with a fully hardware-accelerated Direct2D version that matches the application's dark theme.
• Help Overlay: Added a built-in keyboard shortcut guide (F1).
• Window Rounded Corners: New toggle in Settings -> View to enable/disable Windows 11-style rounded window corners.
• AVX2 Detection: Added start-up check for AVX2 instruction set support to ensure compatibility with optimized decoders.

💎 Precision UI & Typography

• Binary Search Text Truncation: Completely rewrote the text shortening engine. Using a binary search algorithm, filenames in dialogs and the Info Panel now use every available pixel, eliminating wasted space and "..." artifacts for long filenames (especially CJK).
• Pixel-Perfect 100% Zoom: Fixed scaling logic to ensure images of ALL sizes (from 16px icons to 50MP RAWs) render crisp and accurate at 100% zoom.(#6 )
• Smart Double-Click: Double-clicking now rationally adapts to context:
  • Fullscreen: Exits Fullscreen.
  • Windowed: Toggles between "Fit to Window" and "100% View".(#9)
• Info Panel Zoom: The Info Panel now displays the current Zoom percentage.(#6 )
• Zoom Snap Damping: Added configurable damping mechanics for "Magnetic Zoom", making it feel more organic.
• Robust Auto-Hide: Optimized toolbars and navigation arrows to hide reliably (100% success rate) even when the mouse exits the window rapidly.

🛠 Core Architecture

• Unified Window Controls: Moved all window control rendering (Minimize/Maximize/Close) into the UIRenderer pipeline for consistent styling and correct behavior in Fullscreen/Maximized modes.
• Unified Zoom Logic: Decoupled zoom logic from window resizing, fixing "fighting" issues between user input and auto-fit logic.
• Portable Mode Polish: Improved logic for switching between Portable and Install modes, ensuring cleaner registry handling.(#6)

🐛 Bug Fixes

• Scaling Anomalies: Fixed visual glitches when high-DPI scaling was active.
• Gallery Tooltips: Fixed issue where image dimensions would show as 0x0 in gallery tooltips.
• RAW Toggle: Fixed state persistence issue where the "Force RAW Decode" setting wasn't saving correctly.
• Cursor Visibility: Fixed Navigation Arrows remaining visible even when the cursor was set to hidden.
• Settings UI: Fixed layout displacement of the "Back" arrow in the General settings tab.
• Icon Display:Fix Missing Icon Fonts(#6 )

QuickView v3.1.3 - Stability & Polish Update

QuickView v3.1.3 - Stability & Polish Update

Release Date: 2026-01-20

🖥️ True Fullscreen Experience

QuickView now features a robust "True Fullscreen" mode that completely eliminates distractions:

• No Borders: The window now correctly covers the entire monitor, including the taskbar, without any leaking borders.
• Rock-Solid Stability:
  • No Accidental Drags: We've locked the window position in fullscreen, so you can't accidentally drag it away.
  • No Resize Cursors: Hovering over the edges no longer shows resize arrows, keeping the visuals clean.
  • Zoom Stability: Zooming in/out with the mouse wheel no longer causes the window frame to jitter or resize.

🖱️ Interaction Improvements

• Intuitive Exits: Double-click anywhere to leave fullscreen. Clicking the Maximize button on the hover bar also exits cleanly.
• Edge Protection: Window edges are now completely locked in fullscreen—no accidental resizing or cursor changes.

🐛 Bug Fixes & Stability

• Icon Font Fallbacks: Resolved a critical issue where UI icons (toolbar, settings) could disappear on systems missing specific fonts. The engine now correctly falls back to system fonts (Segoe UI Symbol) to ensure icons are always visible.
• Toolbar Sync: Fixed "Ghosting" artifacts on the toolbar button states. The Pin button now updates instantly, and the "Lock Toolbar" setting applies immediately.

QuickView v3.1.0 - The Global Vision Update

QuickView v3.1.0 - The Global Vision Update

Release Date: 2026-01-18

🌍 Internationalization

• Global Language Support: QuickView now speaks your language! Added native support for Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Russian, German, and Spanish.
• Auto-Detection: Interface language automatically adapts to your system locale.

🔄 Precision Rotation & Imaging

• Next-Gen Rotation Engine: Completely rewrote the rotation and flipping algorithms using Direct2D for mathematical precision.
• Stability Fixes: Resolved critical bugs where images would get "stuck" or double-rotate during rapid operations.
• Ghost-Free Logic: Eliminated pan jitter and visual artifacts during orientation changes.

✨ UX Refinements

• Cleaner OSD: Removed the redundant filename overlay when switching images. The Info Panel now serves as the single source of truth, reducing visual clutter.
• Robust Settings: Fixed a critical hang when resetting settings (Use-After-Free bug) and improved visual feedback.
• System Integration: Restored and fixed File Association registration for reliable "Open With" functionality.

QuickView v3.0.5 - The Quantum Flow Update

The Quantum Flow Update
Release Date: 2026-01-16
Version: 3.0.5
Fixes: Window Position, WebP Association, Reset Hang, Reset Feedback.

Version: 3.0.4

⚡ Core Architecture: "Quantum Flow"

• Unified Scheduling & Decoding (Quantum Flow): Introduced a "Fast/Slow Dual-Channel" architecture (FastLane + HeavyLanePool) that isolates instant interactions from heavy decoding tasks.
• N+1 Hot-Spare Architecture: Implemented a "Capped N+1" threading model where standby threads are kept warm for immediate response, maximizing CPU throughput without over-subscription.
• Deep Cancellation: Granular "On-Demand" cancellation logic allowed for heavy formats (JXL/RAW/WebP), ensuring stale tasks (e.g., during rapid scrolling) are instantly terminated to save power.
• Direct D2D Passthrough: Established a "Zero-Copy" pipeline where decoded RawImageFrame buffers are uploaded directly to GPU memory, bypassing GDI/GDI+ entirely.

🎨 Visual & Rendering Refactor

• DirectComposition (Game-Grade Rendering): Completely abandoned the legacy SwapChain/GDI model in favor of a DirectComposition Visual tree.
  • Visual Ping-Pong: Implemented a double-buffered Visual architecture for tear-free, artifact-free crossfades.
  • IDCompositionScaleTransform: Hardware-accelerated high-precision zooming and panning.
• Native SVG Engine: Replaced nanosvg with Direct2D Native SVG rendering.
  • Capabilities: Supports complex SVG filters, gradients, and CSS transparency.
  • 2-Stage Lossless Scaling: Vector-based re-rasterization during deep zoom for infinite sharpness.
  • (Requirement: Windows 10 Creators Update 1703 or later).

💾 Memory & Resource Management

• Arena Dynamic Allocation: Switched to a TripleArena strategy using Polymorphic Memory Resources (PMR). Memory is pre-allocated and recycled (Bucket Strategy) to eliminate heap fragmentation.
• Smart Directional Prefetch:
  • Auto-Tuning: Automatically selects Eco, Balanced, or Performance prefetch strategies based on detected system RAM.
  • Manual Override: Full user control over cache behavior.
  • Smart Skip: Prevents "OOM" in Eco mode by intelligently skipping tasks that exceed the cache budget.

🧩 Infrastructure & Metadata

• Metadata Architecture Refactor: Decoupled "Fast Header Peeking" (for instant layout) from "Async Rich Metadata" parsing (Exif/IPTC/XMP), solving UI blocking issues.
• Debug HUD: Added a real-time "Matrix" overlay (F12) visualizing the topology of the cache, worker lane status, and frame timings.

QuickView v3.0.4 - The Quantum Flow Update

Release Date: 2026-01-16

⚡ Core Architecture: "Quantum Flow"

• Unified Scheduling & Decoding (Quantum Flow): Introduced a "Fast/Slow Dual-Channel" architecture (FastLane + HeavyLanePool) that isolates instant interactions from heavy decoding tasks.
• N+1 Hot-Spare Architecture: Implemented a "Capped N+1" threading model where standby threads are kept warm for immediate response, maximizing CPU throughput without over-subscription.
• Deep Cancellation: Granular "On-Demand" cancellation logic allowed for heavy formats (JXL/RAW/WebP), ensuring stale tasks (e.g., during rapid scrolling) are instantly terminated to save power.
• Direct D2D Passthrough: Established a "Zero-Copy" pipeline where decoded RawImageFrame buffers are uploaded directly to GPU memory, bypassing GDI/GDI+ entirely.

🎨 Visual & Rendering Refactor

• DirectComposition (Game-Grade Rendering): Completely abandoned the legacy SwapChain/GDI model in favor of a DirectComposition Visual tree.
  • Visual Ping-Pong: Implemented a double-buffered Visual architecture for tear-free, artifact-free crossfades.
  • IDCompositionScaleTransform: Hardware-accelerated high-precision zooming and panning.
• Native SVG Engine: Replaced nanosvg with Direct2D Native SVG rendering.
  • Capabilities: Supports complex SVG filters, gradients, and CSS transparency.
  • 2-Stage Lossless Scaling: Vector-based re-rasterization during deep zoom for infinite sharpness.
  • (Requirement: Windows 10 Creators Update 1703 or later).

💾 Memory & Resource Management

• Arena Dynamic Allocation: Switched to a TripleArena strategy using Polymorphic Memory Resources (PMR). Memory is pre-allocated and recycled (Bucket Strategy) to eliminate heap fragmentation.
• Smart Directional Prefetch:
  • Auto-Tuning: Automatically selects Eco, Balanced, or Performance prefetch strategies based on detected system RAM.
  • Manual Override: Full user control over cache behavior.
  • Smart Skip: Prevents "OOM" in Eco mode by intelligently skipping tasks that exceed the cache budget.

🧩 Infrastructure & Metadata

• Metadata Architecture Refactor: Decoupled "Fast Header Peeking" (for instant layout) from "Async Rich Metadata" parsing (Exif/IPTC/XMP), solving UI blocking issues.
• Debug HUD: Added a real-time "Matrix" overlay (F12) visualizing the topology of the cache, worker lane status, and frame timings.

QuickView v2.1.0 - Total Control

[v2.1.0] - Total Control

Power is nothing without control.
If v2.0.1 was about the visual experience, v2.1.0 is about ownership. We have completed the QuickView ecosystem with a comprehensive Configuration System, allowing you to tailor the engine's behavior to your exact workflow. Combined with the debut of our Native Auto-Update System, this is a milestone release.

✨ Major Features

🎛️ The Configuration Overhaul

We didn't just add a settings window; we unlocked the engine. You can now define exactly how QuickView interacts with your mouse, your screen, and your files.

• 🖱️ Input Mapping (New):

• Mouse Customization: You decide what the Middle Click, Wheel, and Side Buttons do.

• Drag Behaviors: Split "Window Drag" and "Image Pan" logic between Left and Middle buttons.

• 👁️ Viewport Personalization:

• Professional Backgrounds: Switch between Black, White, Grid Overlay (for transparency checking), or Custom colors.

• Smart Layouts: Toggle "Always on Top," "Auto-Hide Title Bar," and configure the behavior of the new EXIF Panel.

• ⚙️ Core Logic:

• Portable Mode: Choose where your config.ini lives. Toggle between the global User Directory or the Local Program Folder to make QuickView truly portable.

• Startup Habits: Customize "Single Instance" logic and loop navigation rules.

• 🖼️ Image Pipeline Control:

• Force RAW Decode: Toggle between embedded previews (speed) and full sensor data decoding (quality).

• Transparency Tuner: Granular alpha sliders for the HUD, Toolbar, and Settings window.

📡 Native Auto-Update System (Debut)

The last manual update you'll ever perform.
We have deployed a sophisticated Over-The-Air (OTA) pipeline directly into the viewer.

• Zero-Interruption: Updates are detected and downloaded silently in the background while you work.
• Install on Exit: No waiting bars. The update applies instantly when you close the app, ensuring you are always on the bleeding edge next time you launch.

🚀 Performance: Multi-Threaded JXL

90MP? Instant.
We rewrote the JPEG XL (JXL) implementation to utilize Parallel Runners.

• The Change: Shifted from single-threaded to multi-core decoding.
• The Impact: Decoding high-resolution JXL files is now 5x-10x faster, eliminating the "rendering lag" on large assets.

🛠️ Refinements

💳 System Dashboard ("About" Tab)

More than just credits. The new About tab serves as a hardware audit tool, displaying real-time AVX2 SIMD status, OS Build version, and the active render pipeline state.

🐛 Bug Fixes

• Stability: Fixed a potential race condition when switching rapidly between large images.
• Layout: Resolved an issue where the sidebar could be clipped on small windows; the window now intelligently adapts its constraints.

---