Isadora 2.6 Release Notes

Welcome to Isadora 2.6!

  • A battle-tested release to ensure full compatibility with the latest operating systems, including Mac OS X High Sierra and Windows 10 

  • Under-the-hood performance and reliability improvements, HAP video codecs, and enhanced Alpha Channels

  • Organize, navigate, and control your project easier than ever before with new control panel actors, cue numbering, and updates to the Scene Editor interface.

  • Integrated Spout support for Windows 10

  • Brand new actors, including Picture Capture, the visually stunning 3D Ropes actor, and ready-made GLSL Shaders by TroikaTronix

A Thank You to the Isadora Community

This latest release of Isadora was made possible thanks to the amazing feedback, support, and requests of the Isadora Community. The TroikaTronix Team would like to thank all of our users who tried out the new features, provided amazing feedback on the community forums, and followed Mark’s development blog while Isadora 2.6 was under development. A very special shout-out to those who followed this process since we first previewed Isadora 2.6 at the Isadora Werkstatt in August 2017. We hope you enjoy working in Isadora 2.6 on your future creative projects, and we can’t wait to see the exciting new artwork you make with Isadora!

Isadora Support Policy

The TroikaTronix tech team is here to provide complimentary e-mail support to Isadora users with an active, up-to-date license. We've recently released a short document which outlines what you can expect from our support team. Click here to see our new Isadora Support Policy.

New Features

Automatically Import Preferences on Update

Starting in Isadora 2.6, when Isadora opens and there is no preference file for the current version, it searches or the most recent preferences version and imports that information into the new preferences file. So, no more need to reset all your preferences each time you update to a new version. Note to users with multiple versions of Isadora installed: Isadora uses highest version number preference file it can find for this import, not the most recently modified one.

Enhancements for Movies with Alpha Channels

Isadora 2.6 includes a new 'alpha mode' input on the Movie Player that allows you to specify whether the movie is 'straight alpha' (unpremultiplied) or premultiplied so that Isadora can handle either one. You can read about alpha issues in Mark’s Blog.

Spout Integration for Windows

We have a nice addition specifically for Windows users: integrated Spout support!

In fact, these actors are exactly the same as the Syphon Receive and Syphon Stage Output actors which we've had for a while on Mac OS. If you save a patch with these Syphon actors on Mac OS, they'll open up on Windows as Spout actors instead and vice-versa.

Show Tagged Actors

There is a new "Show Tagged Actors" button is at the bottom of the scene editor:

What does it do? Well, when you click it, any actor whose name starts with a hashtag will appear in a popup menu. Choose that item and the Scene Editor will scroll directly to that actor, placing it in the top-left corner.

(In case you didn't know it, you can rename any actor by choosing Actors > Rename Actor.)

Rich Text Comments

The Comment actor now supports rich text formatting options to give you better documentation tools within an Isadora project. 

(Mark's note: this is the Comic Sans of styled Comment actor examples. It was designed to show off the new feature, so please excuse the kitsch!)

Alongside this new feature is a built-in Font Panel. You can show and hide this panel from Edit > Text Editor > Show Font Panel after you've double-clicked on a comment to edit it.


Audio Files are now Sound Samples

Isadora 2.6 renames "Audio Files" to "Sound Samples" in the Media view to make it clearer that these files are not intended to be super large. In addition, if you drag in a sound file that is > 128MB, you will now see this dialog which explains why:

New and Updated Actors

Isadora 2.6 features many new and powerful actors:

Isadora Native v002 Rutt-Etra Effect (Download for macOS and Windows)

Isadora 2.6 introduces a native plugin that implements the awesome, open-source v002 Rutt-Etra plugin created by Vade. v002 Rutt/Etra emulates the Rutt/Etra raster-based analog synthesizer. Because this plugin is open-source, it is not included with the main Isadora download. You can download the plugin here.

Bill Etra passed away in 2016. He leaves behind long legacy of pioneering both video art and video tools, including the Rutt/Etra Video Synthesizer. Vade sends all donations he receives via the v002 Rutt Etra web page to Jim’s partner Roz. She lives on fixed income and has no surviving family to help her, so every donation made via Vade's page makes a big difference in someone’s life. (You can read more about Bill & Roz at Vade's Rutt/Etra page.)

ArtNet Send and Receive (Download for macOS and Windows)

Isadora 2.6 integrates support for ArtNet communications with the new ArtNet Send and ArtNet Receive actors. Because these plugins use open-source code, they are not included with the main Isadora download. You can get them both here.

Please note, a working knowledge of computer networking is needed to correctly use the ArtNet actors. The TroikaTronix team can’t troubleshoot each and every network configuration, application, and hardware. If in doubt, please hire a professional consultant to properly configure your network and hardware.

Capture Stage to Picture

One long-requested feature is finished: the new "Capture Stage to Picture" actor.

It complements the existing "Capture Stage to Disk" (renamed now to "Capture Stage to Movie") and "Capture Camera to Disk." All three actors feature new icons, seen above. You can capture the pictures as JPG, PNG, BMP, TIF, and (single frame) GIF files. 

GPU-Enhanced Dots and Lines

Isadora 2.6 includes a GPU version of the Dots actor that replaces the old one. The old CPU version is now called "Classic Dots." New features include the ability to crossfade between a specified dot color and the source color, the ability to specify the maximum dot size. The CPU dot version is now anti-aliased too! 

Likewise, there is a GPU version of the Lines actor that replaces the old one. The CPU version is now called  "Classic Lines". The new features include a new 'end cap' input that allows flat, square, or round endcaps, a background color input, and a 'classic' input that will cause this actor to replicate the behavior of the old CPU based Lines actor that used QuickDraw for drawing.

OSC Multi Listener

Isadora 2.6 includes a brand new actor called OSC Multi Listener. This allows you to capture a contiguous range of OSC inputs. You tell the actor the first channel and the number of channels to copy, and the matching outputs will appear, labeled with the corresponding channel numbers to make it clear which channel is which.

New Data Array Actor with Text Support

Another long-requested feature: the new Data Array Text actor brings text support to the Data Array actor. It works in exactly the same way, but now will read UTF-8 encoded text, allowing full Unicode support.

Note that the inputs and outputs will not automatically change to a text input or output based on the data in the Array. Instead, these inputs are mutable; they will show the text value when you connect them to a text input or output property.

Note that this is actually a new actor that supersedes the old Data Array actor from previous versions of Isadora. The old, numbers only Data Array actor has been renamed as "Classic Data Array." This actor will still work in old patches, but it has marked as "deprecated" and will not appear in the Toolbox unless you disable the "Hide Deprecated Plugins" option in the General tab of the in the Preferences.

Cue Numbers 

Isadora 2.6 includes new user-interface improvements to make organizing and controlling your projects faster and more intuitive.

Every Scene now has a Cue Number in addition to a Scene Name. Naming a scene is the same as always, but you now have three options for how to assign a Cue Number to each Scene.

The first option is the Scene Index. In this mode, Scenes are merely numbered automatically by their exact order in the Scene List, incremented by one. If you just want to number your scenes as they appear in the Scene List, use Scene Index mode.

The next option is Manual. Under this option, you can manually give a scene a number by secondary clicking one or more selected scenes.

When set to Manual, new scenes added to the end of the scene list will be automatically numbered. If you create a new scene between two existing scenes, you will be prompted to number that new scene. Two scenes can not have the same number, but in Manual mode, scenes do not have to be ordered correctly.

When set to Automatic, Isadora automatically assigns numbers to scenes, and renumbers scenes when their order is altered. When inserting a new scene between two numbered scenes, Isadora assigns a “.5” cue number.

New Control Panel Actors: Scene Select, Next Scene, and Previous Scene

A simple, vertical scene list option is now available via the control panel. Making a simple control layout is a snap.

Miscellaneous Changes

  • The Set Captured Media Folder... command has been moved from the Input menu to the Output menu.


Bug Fixes in Isadora v2.6

  • Made several improvements to the code that works with the Sassafras Keyserver addressing a bug which would cause Isadora to deregister.
  • Fixed an issue with the Stage Mouse Watcher which caused the actor to report Right mouse clicks as Left mouse clicks
  • Fixed issues with flickering video with Direct Show HAP video playback
  • Corrected the install path for Pete’s Plugins on PC, and corrected URL list for source files that was incorrect.
  • Fixed several issues with video alpha edges
  • Fixed an issue where using non ASCII characters in a file path on Windows would cause errors when saving Isadora projects or loading media from folders named with international characters
  • Improved help text and function on the timed trigger actor to clarify functionality
  • Fixed a PC issue where Windows Display settings reported a different numbering of monitors than listed in Isadora’s Preferences for Stage Settings
  • Fixed an issue on High Sierra where Isadora would not recognizing imported media file path when loading a project
  • Fixed an issue where User Actor On/Off would cause a crash when switched to OFF for actor containing the Javascript actor
  • Fixed an issue where typing Non-ASCII characters into Inspector Fields did not function.
  • Resolved crashes on startup if long strings of OSC are coming in on PC
  • Resolved crashes when trying to use '*' placeholder for OSC addresses on Mac and PC
  • Fixed a problem when the Movie Player does not function with non-zero Play Start values
  • Fixed an output problem which rendered stages upside down when crossfading
  • Added a warning that Isadora may crash with Large (> 1GB) Sound Files
  • Fixed default Information text for actors which displayed an incorrect keyboard shortcut to open help popups
  • Fixed an issue where Isadora would import to the wrong Media Bin Slot when Capture Stage To Disk and Capture Camera to Disk were operating at the same time
  • Fixed an issue where Temporary Files (Capture Stage/Camera To Disk) Not Deleted when quitting Isadora.
  • Resolved crashes caused by Extra Spaces in Registration Code
  • Resolved an issue where Isadora quits on startup (PC only) if no default audio device is active
  • Fixed an issue where the Sound Player doesn't respect default output device in audio midi setup on Mac OS.
  • Fixed an issue on Mac OS where “Scan for Devices” does not show hotplugged devices
  • Fixed an issue where HAP AVI files would stop playback after 75 plays.
  • Fixed issues where it was possible to change values inside a User Actor and not be prompted to save changes or update other instances
  • Isadora will now correctly display Loaded Media when Movie Players are in User Actors (memory buildup)
  • Addressed issues with framerate drops on High Sierra while Interacting with the Media Bin
  • Fixed an issue where Isadora crashes when copying and pasting between projects if the source project is closed before the paste action is performed
  • Resolved an issue where the Monitor Control displayed inverted video
  • Addressed brightness dips when crossfading scenes
  • Resolved an issue where pasting unicode text into certain text boxes produced bizarre results
  • Compression settings are now Saved with the Isadora project file
  • Fixed an issue where the Data Array Text does not properly write text items to a file
  • Corrected typos in the Isadora installer dialog boxes.
  • Corrected behavior when using the tab key on Mac OS to perform as expected on user actor inputs
  • Updated URL links to Video Tutorials in the Help Menu


Known Bugs

  • The Explode actor will crash on video resolutions higher than HD (1920x1080) when the 'horz size' and 'vert size' inputs are very close to zero. To prevent this crash, set the values to a higher number.


Isadora 2.6.1 "Hotfix"

Fixed Bugs

  • Isadora v2.6.1 no longer crashes if your internet connection is disabled.

  • On macOS, Isadora v2.6.1 will now safely play HAP encoded movies for long periods of time when using AVFoundation (i.e., when the 'optimize' mode of the Movie Player is set to 'performance.')

  • Isadora v2.6.1 solves a bug related to automatically importing the Isadora Preferences from the previous version. 

  • If Isadora can't read the preferences file for some reason, you now have can now click a button to create a new preferences file instead of having to exit the program.

  • In certain situations – primarily when rapidly clicking through scenes – Isadora would now correctly disposes unneeded Picture files from memory preventing a possible out of memory error.

  • Clicking the input to the Listener actor no longer crashes if you are using the "Classic" theme.

  • Edit Text boxes in the control panel now draw properly when setting their text from the output of an actor.

  • Keyboard Watcher actors no longer fire when the 'direction' is set to 'up' and you are typing into a text edit field.

  • The Capture Stage to Disk now respects the size setting in the Record Stage Settings dialog.

  • The Text Chopper actor no longer freezes if there is only one line of text.

  • The Jump to Cue actor now ignores extra "whitespace" and carriage returns when specifying the cue number.

New Actors

  • Get URL Text - Asynchronously retrieves the text from the specified URL.