PrusaSlicer 2.4.0-beta3

Summary

This is the third beta release of PrusaSlicer 2.4.0, following 2.4.0-alpha1, 2.4.0-alpha2, 2.4.0-alpha3, 2.4.0-beta1 and 2.4.0-beta2. This beta mostly fixes bugs found in beta2. For new features in the 2.4.0 series, please read the release logs of the 2.4.0 alphas and betas.

To let you enjoy the beta without worries, the beta builds save their profiles into PrusaSlicer-beta directory, so you may use the beta side by side with the current release without ruining your production configuration.

Improvements with respect to PrusaSlicer 2.4.0-beta2

• MKS WiFi print host is newly supported #5617, thanks @RandoMan70.
• Duet WiFi print host newly allows to initiate a print simulation in addition to initiating an actual print #5157, thanks @mloidl.
• Since 2.4.0-alpha1, post-processing scripts are run on a temporary G-code file before the post-processed G-code is copied to the final destination or sent to a print host. The post processing thus has to be done in-place and it must neither rename nor move the file, which was always required by the manual. In this release, this requirement is explicitly mentioned above the post-processing script input field and a more descriptive error message is shown in case the temporary G-code file is deleted or renamed by the post-processing script. See the respective Prusa Knowledge Base article for details and how the script may pass a new G-code name to PrusaSlicer if needed.
• New config value "gcode_resolution" was added to control maximum deviation of the exported G-Code from the full resolution toolpaths. Very high resolution G-Code requires huge amount of RAM to slice and preview and a 3D printer may stutter not being able to process a high resolution G-code in a timely manner. On the other hand, a low resolution G-code will produce a low poly effect and because the G-code reduction is performed at each layer independently, visible artifacts may be produced. The G-code resolution defaults to 0.0125 mm, while modern 32 bit printer control boards are able to process G-code with about twice the resolution (0.005mm) with no issue.
• The painting tools (paint-on supports and seam, multi-material painting) newly produce smoother regions. When mouse is moved quickly, the active spherical or circular cursor used to be applied at mouse positions only producing jagged edges, while newly the path traveled by the mouse is interpolated with cylinders producing smooth smooth boundaries.
• Several icons in menu (Shape gallery) and object list (Sinking, Paint-on supports/seam/multimaterial) icons were added or updated.

Localization

Dictionaries for CZ, DE, ES, FR, IT and PL were updated by Prusa Research. Contributors are welcome, please check the localization guide.

Bugs fixed

• Count of custom G-Code lines shown at the vertical slider is limited to avoid tooltip flickering when the tooltip text is too long #7368.
• 'Slice resolution' parameter was not taken into account in previous 2.4.0 prerelease versions #7364.
• Fixed a bug resulting in support material interface pattern "Rectilinear Grid" value being reported as unknown #7316, thanks @n8bot.
• OSX specific: Fixed saving of G-codes with a custom file extension. When opening a "Save" file dialog with an output file name generated from the output file template, OSX file dialog strips the provided custom file extension and replaces it with the default file extension. This causes issues with a custom file output template, where a non-default file extension is specified. This was now improved and when a custom extension is provided by the output file name template, it is passed to the file dialog as the first extension in the list of file extensions supported, thus the custom file extension becomes the defaut #7190.
• Handling multi-part objects with "clip_multipart_objects" disabled was broken in all preceding 2.4.0 alphas and betas, which resulted in some object parts not being printed at all. This is now fixed and with "clip_multipart_objects" disabled, individual parts are printed overlapping #7366. -Windows specific: "Use system menu for application" option in Preferences is newly suppressed for systems older then Windows 10. PrusaSlicer 2.4.0-beta2 did not start on Windows 7 because a Windows 10 only API was called #7355.
• Fixed a possible crash when deleting objects while 'Arrange' or 'Optimize orientation' was in progress.
• 'Arrange' and 'Optimize orientation' can no longer be executed simultaneously, one waits for the other to finish.
• "Height range Modifier" menu item is no more available in 'Simple' mode #7381.
• Windows specific: Text controls in settings tabs (for Custom G-Codes etc.) now correctly handle encoding. Non-ASCII characters were previously mangled on Windows #7384.
• Linux specific: Avoid crashing with DISPLAY environment variable not set, just show a warning and print out a help screen.
• When sending system info from the recently introduced dialog and sending the system info fails, the "sent" flag is newly not saved, ensuring that the user is asked another time during following application start-up.
• When raft was enabled, visualization of objects' shells were not elevated above the raft in G-Code preview #7388.
• Fixed a bug when 'disable fan for first N layers' was not respected with raft enabled. The cooling logic was broken for raft during recent refactoring to cool support layers together with the object layers they support #7232.
• Windows only: Increased robustness of convex hull calculation by switching from floats to doubles. On other platforms the convex hull calculation was already using doubles. The insufficient convex hull robustness caused issues for some degenerate objects created for example by the cut tool #7377.
• "Did you know" notifications showed in English, even when the translations into a local language were available.
• Fixed some crashes in G-Code preview with specific models #7396.
• Avoid crossing perimeters did not work correctly when 'Detect thin walls' or 'External perimeters first' options were enabled #7209.
• Windows specific, OctoPrint support: Beta2 introduced a workaround for mDNS discovery, however the workaround broke support for complex host URLs, for example with non-default host port specified. This is now fixed #7361 #7389.
• Fixed incorrect rotation when volumes are being rotated by the gizmo while Alt key is pressed. This is a very old bug already present in 2.0.0.
• Object labels showing sequential print order were sometimes shown when the respective menu item checkbox was unchecked #7207.
• Fixed an issue with ironing, which was applied multiple times in case a part of the ironed top solid infill was inside a modifier mesh.
• Fixed crash when trying to delete the last printable volume of an object #7408.
• Windows specific, if installed by the Prusa3D Drivers installation package: The "Drivers" installer installs a 3rd party updater. The "Drivers" package used to install a "PrusaSlicer" link, which pointed to a 3rd party installer, which in turn launched PrusaSlicer. Unfortunately this broke launching PrusaSlicer by drag & dropping STLs and 3MFs onto the PrusaSlicer icon #6769. This is now fixed by PrusaSlicer launching the 3rd party updater, not vice versa. The 3rd party updater is only launched by PrusaSlicer if 'Check for application updates' is checked in Preferences. This overrides settings the 3rd party updater itself, meaning it will not be started even if set to check for updates e.g. every week.
• Windows specific: Fixed zooming with a touch pad on some Windows laptops. This is an old issue which was fixed long time ago, then broken again in PrusaSlicer 2.3.0 #2750.
• Linux specific: Fixed focus issue with some window managers with "focus follows mouse" enabled #5620 #6870.