What is new in SVGMarks 4
SVGMarks 4 is the latest version of SVGMarks, which was developed by a complete overhaul of the previous version 3.08. It comes with the following major improvements:
- Inkscape is no longer needed. Opening images, their processing, and mark alignment is lightning fast because it is done internally by SVGMarks.
- Image stitching is a new feature that applies the same transformation to any number of images based on the transformation of a single image. It is used when multiple images are captured automatically by a microscope with a motorized stage. It allows all transformed images to be loaded into a design file to form a single large stitched image.
- Support for high DPI displays and font scaling (fonts no longer appear blurred on modern displays in Windows 10/11).
- Mark properties (such as color and thickness) can be adjusted during manual alignment because SVGMarks has full control over the workflow.
Feature Roadmap
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In the next version of SVGMarks, currently under development, SVGMarks will be able to create a single large stitched image. The drawback of the current stitching option is that all transformed images must be stitched into a design file, which is cumbersome because it requires access to nanofabrication CAD software and also manually loading images into the CAD software one at a time. The next version will be able to generate the entire stitched image itself, eliminating the need for nanofabrication CAD software. Of course, it would also be possible to load such a stitched image into the CAD software if required.
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After implementing the above feature, stitching of non-transformed images will follow. Not all images taken by a microscope with a motorized stage can be transformed because not all samples have alignment marks. SVGMarks will therefore allow images to be stitched based on features present in neighboring images. This will be done by manually placing the marks on the common features on two horizontally and two vertically offset neighboring images to calculate the translation vectors used by the microscope in both directions to take the images. Such an option is usually available for microscopes with a motorized stage, but it is usually expensive and only works as long as the microscope stage and software are calibrated (some microscopes need to be calibrated from time to time).
Release notes
| 4.1 | 29 Sep 2024 | Added support for 4-mark image transformation, also known as perspective correction. |
| 4.0 | 27 May 2024 | The brand-new version that no longer requires Inkscape and has many new features (see "What is new in SVGMarks 4" above). |
| 3.08 | 26 Sep 2020 | Fixed the 'Parameter is not valid' bug. The problem was caused by the last release of Inkscape 1.0.x, which deprecated some commands without providing backwards compatibility. This version of SVGMarks is not needed for Inkscape 0.92.x. |
| 3.07 | 22 Jan 2018 | It is possible to change the size, thickness and colour of marks. Fixed issue with some high-resolution images (e.g. taken from a smartphone). |
| 3.06 | 15 Sep 2017 | It is possible to enter a minus sign in the text boxes using the numeric keypad. Fixed problem with wrong directory separator on Linux. |
| 3.05 | 12 Sep 2017 | Fixed error 'Input string was not in a correct format'. This was caused by a recent version of Inkscape that changed the format of some vector objects. |