JPEG Saver 4.9
Published
The biggest change in this version of JPEG Saver is the addition of support for loading files in the WebP image format. In case you haven't heard of it before, it's a bit like the JPEG format in that it supports lossy compression, and a bit like PNG in that it also supports lossless compression and alpha channels.
Loading WebP images is supported for the main image, background images and logo items (with alpha channel transparency). The WebP format supports EXIF and other metadata, but I have not yet attempted to add support for loading it into JPEG Saver. Expect this to work in a future version.
Other changes in this version are an extra slider in the logo item dialog for setting an alpha blending value, an extra checkbox on the background tab for maintaining the aspect ratio of images when scaled to fit the screen, and four new transitions: “Doors”, “Wall tiles”, “Fold” and “Unfold”.
One weird bug fixed in this version is that JPEG Saver will now not open Windows Explorer windows on the screen saver desktop when you press the “e” key to go to the current file. You may be surprised that there is a “screen saver desktop” - in Windows XP and Windows 7 it is enabled by selecting the “On resume, display logon screen” or “On resume, display Welcome screen” option in the screen saver preferences. In Windows 8, the screen saver desktop always appears to be enabled.
Pressing the “e” key now from the screen saver will display an error message saying that JPEG Saver is unable to access the desktop. Using the “Desktop” and “Desktop pile” background modes will result in drawing a snapshot of the screen saver desktop behind the images instead of your normal desktop. The screen saver desktop does have the same desktop background image as the main desktop on Windows XP and Windows 7, but on Windows 8 it is a plain colour.
Manually running JPEG Saver by double-clicking on the executable file or one of its config files will run it on the main desktop, with access to display the desktop background and use the “e” key option properly. It is only when the operating system runs JPEG Saver as the screen saver that things get a bit compartmentalised.
I didn't spend too much time attempting to get around the screen saver desktop problems because the extra desktop is obviously a security enhancement and I did not think it was worth the effort.
As usual, the updated installer is available from the downloads page.