Kaleider 5.1 includes two major new features, Sequons and Active Pattern Combos, plus many improvements to existing functions.  Further details follow:  (Also see Kaleider 5.1.1, Kaleider 5.1.2 and Kaleider 5.1.3)

• Sequons =>  A rendered effect (Kaleidoscope, Mirror, 3D Mirror or Funnel) can now be stored as a Sequon.  A Sequon can later be applied to recreate the exact same effect with any source image, optionally scaled appropriately for source images of different sizes.

  Sequons can also be included with Random Effects and Automatic Effects, based upon a Use Sequons % value set through the Automatic Effects Configuration screen.

  Click the button on Kaleid Tools or type ' (hyphen) to initiate the current default Sequon for the active effect type.  Or, just click in the main Kaleider window while pressing the CTRL key to render the Sequon at that point on the screen.  Right-click to show a menu of available Sequons and options.  The current rendered effect can be saved as a Sequon by choosing the New Sequon From Current <Effect> option.  Several sample Sequons are included with the Kaleider package.
  

• Active Pattern Combos =>  The old
  
  
  Pattern Combos feature has been greatly expanded, making it possible to design and display composite Combo images within the main Kaleider window.  A Combo Area that is filled with a Pattern image can be designated as 'Active' so that it will immediately change as the Pattern itself is manipulated.  While in
  
  Combo Mode, the Pattern portion of Kaleid Tools is altered to provide functions for designing and controlling Combos.

  As with any Kaleider generated image, a Combo image can be saved with an option to also save a Remake Script so that the Combo image can be easily recreated.  Combo images can also be Upscaled.

  Click Design to show a panel of Combo Design Controls at the top of the main Kaleider window.  A Combo can be stored as a Build so that the same Combo structure can be quickly recreated.  Several sample Combo Builds are included with the Kaleider package.

  Combos can be randomly selected and created from Builds during Automatic Effects, based upon a Use Combos % value set through the Automatic Effects Configuration screen.
  

• Adjustable Upscaling =>  The Upscale Window now provides options to adjust the size of Upscaled images.  The Scaled Size is calculated based upon rescaling the current image in the main window at the scale of the original source image, optionally adjusted by a Scaling Percentage.  By default, the Scaling Percentage is set to 100%, which would rescale at the exact resolution of the source image.  The Scaling Percentage can be adjusted from 10% (a tenth of the original image scale) to 200% (double the original image scale).

  The Save With Special Options screen has been redesigned to also allow adjustment of the Scaled Size when saving Upscaled images with enhanced options.
  

• More =>  Much of the development of Kaleider 5.1 involved extensive internal changes that were needed to implement the new features.  Here are a few other improvements that might be noticable:
  • The Kaleider interface has been somewhat rearranged to add controls for the new Sequon and Combo features, and to more logically group some of the old functions.
  • A Tile Source Image option has been added under the View Menu.  Before, when a displayed source image did not entirely fill the window, the surrounding areas would be filled with the Background Color, (which can be chosen through the Appearance Options screen).  With Tile Source Image toggled on, such areas would instead be filled with mirrored portions of the source image.
  • The OpenGL rendering of 3D Rooms has been entirely reworked to use more recent OpenGL methods that better utilize the power of modern graphics processors.  By default, the 3D Engine for Rooms is still set to DirectX, but it might be worthwhile to try both DirectX and OpenGL by switching between them with the Room Options.  Either DirectX or OpenGL might provide noticably better performance and/or quality, depending on your computer and graphics card.
  • The Scripting feature has been expanded to include Pattern and Combo actions.  As mentioned above, a Remake Script can be saved along with a saved Combo image, so that both the structure of the Combo and the images of any Patterns involved can be easily recreated by loading and playing the Remake Script.  Activity such as switching between Patterns, copying a Pattern, loading a Combo Build, etc. can be captured when recording a Script.  Also, a Capture Current Remake Script option has been added to the Script Control and Editing screen, which can be used to quickly add the Script actions needed to recreate the current image as a Recorded Sequence.
  • Pattern and Combo images are now automatically rescaled whenever the Kaleider window is resized, which might happen, for example, when the appearance of the Main Menu is toggled on or off.  All rendered effects, Room scenes, Combo Areas, etc. are adjusted as needed to reconstruct the same images within the resized window.
    

Kaleider 5.1.2 

This Kaleider release includes fixes to the Sequons Library merge/update process.  Also, several other minor tweaks.  (The Kaleider Screensaver has also been updated to Version 5.1.2.)

Kaleider 5.1.3 

Although no major new features were added with Kaleider 5.1.3, it does include some fairly important fixes and improvements.  Most noticeable perhaps is that the Volume sliders on the Audio Player, Video Player and Movie Controls have been replaced by sliders that indicate play progress and which allow adjustment of the progress.  Also, keyboard commands have been added for controlling the Audio Player.  (The Kaleider Screensaver has also been updated to Version 5.1.3.)