Memory, Stability, and Format Compatibility · Release Candidate 50

Memory Management

Several changes address how Aspect uses system memory, particularly with large libraries. Base memory usage during library loading and after system standby has been improved, which should reduce the baseline footprint when returning to the application after leaving your machine idle. For libraries with extensive keyword hierarchies, the keyword tree refresh has been optimized to avoid unnecessary memory spikes.

On Windows and Linux, Aspect now monitors its own memory consumption and will automatically restart if usage grows excessive. This is a pragmatic safeguard for long editing sessions where memory leaks or fragmentation might otherwise force a manual restart.

Stability Improvements

This update fixes numerous crash scenarios, many involving edge cases in the library lifecycle. Crashes during exit—whether from details view with no library loaded, during active duplicate removal, or triggered by rapid view transitions followed by immediate shutdown—have been resolved. A timing-sensitive issue where multiple library organization activities could overlap and destabilize the application has also been fixed.

Library creation is now more robust: disk access errors during creation no longer crash the application, and creating a library without an automatic path configured works as expected. The default library path detection itself has been made more resilient to system configuration variations.

Format and Tool Compatibility

Sony RAW files with non-standard metadata fields are now handled better, and Aspect supports additional grayscale formats beyond 8-bit per pixel. Two DNG-related issues are fixed: crashes with 32-bit floating-point DNGs and improved Darktable compatibility. The latter includes both proper reading of generated XMP files and a workaround for Darktable's persistent database, which could previously cause synchronization conflicts.

XMP sidecar preference has been corrected: filename.ext.xmp is now properly prioritized over filename.xmp, matching conventional expectations. Metadata and thumbnail cache flushing also handles file access failures more gracefully.

Platform-Specific Fixes

• Windows: The mouse cursor now reappears reliably after exiting fullscreen image view
• macOS: Back/forward button placement in fullscreen mode has been corrected; shutdown reliability improved
• Linux: Shutdown reliability improved alongside the memory monitoring feature
• iOS: Text visibility and UI styling issues have been addressed

Scripting and Interface

JavaScript scripting gains a url method on JSFileNode objects. In the main interface, toolbar buttons in thumbnail and details view now display their assigned keyboard shortcuts, making discoverability easier without consulting documentation.

As always, see the change log for the full list of changes.