Pixelmator updates to 1.2, adds bunch of features

Here at Gear Live, we are big fans of Pixelmator. In case you haven’t heard of it, Pixelmator is an image editor for OS X that takes advantage of a bunch of different OS X features in a way that few apps do. We love it because, while not as powerful os Photoshop, it has just about every feature the average person needs in their image editing/manipulation app, at a price that is far, far easier to swallow at just $59. Oh, and it does support PSD files, and is the world’s first image editor powered by your graphics card. Anyway, they’re calling this one “Pixelmator 1.2 Draftsman,” and there are a bunch of new features that we look forward to getting our hands on. We’ve got the full release notes for you after the jump.

Pixelmator 1.2 Draftsman Release Notes (May 12, 2008)

• Rulers, Guides, Grid, and Snap added
• Curves Tool added
• Color Balance Tool added
• Auto Enhance Tool replaced the Auto Levels, Auto Colors, and Auto Contrast tools
• Polygonal Lasso Tool added to Lasso tool (use L shortcut to switch between polygonal and simple lasso)
• Automator actions (except Change Type of Images and Transform Images) have been rewritten from scratch
• Transform tool has been rewritten from scratch for precision and stability
• Free Transform tool now available in Edit menu (or via Command + F keyboard shortcut)
• New Help documentation has been added
• Show Transform Controls option has been added to Move tool in Tool Options palette
• Tool type has been added to Lasso tool in Tool Options palette
• Rulers preferences have been added and include default units for rulers, ability to choose guides color, grid color, grid settings
• Rulers contextual menu (right-click on ruler) includes New Guide…, Show/Hide Guides, Lock/Unlock Guides, Clear Guides, Show/Hide Grid, Snap To, and Ruler Units menu items
• Transform palette now includes width, height, angle, cancel, and OK
• Free Transform menu item added to selection tools contextual menu
• Rectangular Marquee Tool is now precise
• The transparency of palettes has been reduced
• Blur has been added behind palettes
• A bug that sometimes caused a layer to disappear in PXM has been fixed
• A bug that caused layer mask not to sync with layer after file was saved in PXM format has been fixed
• A bug that caused Undo to work incorrectly after duplicating layer has been fixed
• A crash that occurred when launching Photo Browser on some PowerPC-based Macs has been fixed
• A crash that sometimes occurred when deleting selection with Backspace key has been fixed
• A crash that sometimes occurred when inverting selection outside of canvas has been fixed
• A bug that caused application to stay active after Quit command has been fixed
• As a result of Quick Look crash issues, .mat, .yuv and .pdb file extensions were removed from the Quick Look plug-in
• PSD compatibility improved
• It is now possible to click on text near buttons in Welcome screen
• Minor Levels histogram improvements have been added
• Minor user interface improvements have been implemented
• Minor performance improvements have been made