DropDMG Changelog

What's new in DropDMG 3.6.7

Mar 8, 2024
  • DropDMG now double-checks the positions of invisible icons to make sure they don’t appear on top of your layout.
  • Fixed a bug where some errors when applying a layout were not properly handled.
  • Updated various user interface elements and documentation to reference updated locations in System Settings.
  • Added an ellipsis to the Create macOS Install Disk… command and updated it for macOS 14 Sonoma.
  • Each help page now has a link to a Google translation so you can view it in a different language.
  • Made various fixes and updates to prevent Cocoa from logging warnings.
  • Improved the following sections of the manual:
  • Change Image Passphrase…
  • Command-line tool
  • Creating a DropDMG Quick Action
  • Signing
  • Verify Signature…
  • Why don’t the icons appear in the desired positions in the mounted disk image?

New in DropDMG 3.6.6 (Mar 9, 2023)

  • When creating a New Blank Disk Image…, there is now a preset size for macOS Install Disk.
  • Worked around a macOS change that could cause the filename column of the log to be truncated.
  • Improved the Format section of the manual.
  • Added HdiutilFilesystem to the esoteric preferences. This makes it possible to use APFS when creating a disk image from a folder, which can make it faster for the end user to copy files from the mounted disk image.
  • Tried to work around a change in macOS 13 that could cause DropDMG to crash at quit if you had used the font panel.
  • Fixed bug where setting a disk image to auto-open would sometimes fail when running on an Apple Silicon Mac.

New in DropDMG 3.6.5 (Oct 18, 2022)

  • Made various code modernizations.
  • Updated the Create macOS Install Disk prompt and documentation for macOS 13 Ventura.
  • Renamed Preferences to Settings for macOS 13.
  • DropDMG now requires macOS 10.13 or later.
  • Updated the Signing section of the manual.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause a crash when type-selecting in a table view.

New in DropDMG 3.6.4 (Jun 22, 2022)

  • Updated the Security & Privacy Access documentation for the forthcoming macOS 13 Ventura.
  • The Append version number option and Layouts version number placeholders now work with iOS apps on Mac.
  • Worked around a macOS bug that could cause a crash when burning a disc.
  • Improved the error message when the source folder and destination folder are the same.
  • Updated the Segments section of the manual.
  • Updated the Chinese localization.
  • Updated the Read Me.

New in DropDMG 3.6.3 (Nov 18, 2021)

  • Updated the Create macOS Install Disk prompt and documentation for macOS 12 Monterey.
  • Updated the Format and Segments sections of the manual for macOS 12 Monterey.
  • Updated the crash reporter for macOS 12 Monterey.
  • The command-line tool no longer times out for very long operations.
  • Improved DropDMG’s error handling when setting a custom volume icon and making the mounted disk image auto-open.
  • Improved DropDMG’s error handling when reading license agreement information from a disk image.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause a crash when updating the Activity Window when multiple operations were in progress at the same time.
  • DropDMG now declares notch compatibility for the new MacBook Pros.

New in DropDMG 3.6.2 (Feb 17, 2021)

  • Worked around a bug in macOS 10.15 that prevented the Enter Passphrase… sheet from working from within the Get Image Info…, Mount Image…, and Verify Image… panels.
  • DropDMG now maintains its own error log files, so you can still access information for troubleshooting when the macOS system log isn’t working properly.
  • The software updater reports a more useful error message if you try to update DropDMG while running it from the disk image. This should prevent confusion where you continue running an old version despite telling it to update.

New in DropDMG 3.6.1 (Dec 23, 2020)

  • DropDMG now runs natively on Apple Silicon Macs.
  • App Wrapper and SD Notary now integrate with DropDMG.
  • The Layouts section of the manual now explains what happens with background pictures and Dark Mode.
  • Updated the Signing section of the manual.
  • Fixed a bug where DropDMG would sometimes incorrectly prompt for a passphrase when verifying a disk image.
  • Fixed a bug where the Automator action didn’t update when a configuration was deleted.
  • Updated the Italian localization.

New in DropDMG 3.6 (Oct 20, 2020)

  • Added support for LZMA-compressed disk images on macOS 10.15 and later. This format is even more tightly compressed than bzip2, with slightly slower compression speed and much faster decompression.
  • When using the dropdmg command-line tool, you can now specify additional parameters in combination with --config-name to override the values in the configuration. (This also works with the corresponding AppleScript command and parameters.)
  • Configurations now show a Gatekeeper badge on the icon when the disk image is code-signed.
  • Various operations that used to require multiple passphrase prompts when dealing with an encrypted disk image now require only one.
  • DropDMG no longer lets you try to codesign encryped disk images, as macOS does not support that.
  • DropDMG now requires macOS 10.9 or later.
  • When encountering various kinds of file permissions errors, DropDMG will now recommend that you grant it Full Disk Access.
  • Added more fine-grained control over DropDMG’s layout checks, so that it can still ensure that icon sizes and positions are correct even if you’ve told it to ignore a Finder error that causes the window size to be slightly off.
  • DropDMG no longer considers it to be an error if an icon position is off by only a fraction of a point, which can happen with certain combinations of file types and Finder view settings.
  • Worked around a bug in macOS 10.15 that could cause a spurious “Permission denied” error when using the Change Image Passphrase…, Convert Image/Archive…, or Verify Image… command.
  • Removed support for Growl, as all supported macOS versions now have Notification Center.
  • Updated the user interface for macOS 11 Big Sur:
  • Redesigned the application icon.
  • The main window uses the new inline title bar style, the toolbar defaults to icon-only mode and supports the new large icon style, and the toolbar icons have been updated.
  • The Preferences window uses the new, centered toolbar style and has updated icons.
  • Table views in the Preferences window have been updated.
  • The user interface now reflects the fact that macOS 11 removes support for creating NDIF disk images.
  • The Layouts section of the manual has updated guidance on background picture dimensions that takes into account the window layout changes in macOS 11.
  • Updated the Custom volume icon feature for Big Sur.
  • Worked around a macOS bug that prevented progress bars from being drawn.
  • Worked around an animation glitch.

New in DropDMG 3.5.10 (Oct 20, 2020)

  • If the chosen signing identity is no longer available, DropDMG will now show it in the Signing pop-up menu in red (instead of selecting Unsigned) so that you can see that creating the disk image with those settings will cause an error.
  • Fixed a bug where the Finder window height was one point off on macOS 10.14 and later.
  • Updated the Layouts section of the manual.
  • Updated the Chinese localization.

New in DropDMG 3.5.9 (Nov 15, 2019)

  • Worked around a bug in macOS 10.15 that could prevent a custom volume icon from being saved.
  • Worked around a bug in macOS 10.15 that prevented the Set Passphrase… sheet from working from within the New Blank Disk Image… panel.
  • Worked around a bug in macOS 10.15 that prevented licenses from being removed when converting a disk image using license None.
  • Worked around a macOS bug that could prevent DropDMG from launching after you used AirPlay.
  • Worked around a macOS bug that could cause the Command-line tool to fail with error Killed: 9 after being updated to a new version until the Mac was restarted.
  • Fixed a bug where the passphrase sheet could be stretched vertically.
  • Modernized the localizations.

New in DropDMG 3.5.8 (Oct 14, 2019)

  • The Create macOS Install Disk command works around some issues with the macOS 10.15 Catalina installer that could cause errors or the creation of incomplete installation disks.
  • Create macOS Install Disk automatically shows you the volumes list when it’s time to select the destination volume.
  • Updated the Create macOS Install Disk and Signing sections of the manual.
  • When calculating the size of the source folder or app, DropDMG now counts the sizes of any extended attributes. This fixes a problem where some apps (e.g. those made using the Qt framework) that include large numbers of small code-signed files wouldn’t fit on the disk image.
  • Work around a series of bugs in macOS 10.15 that sometimes caused a “Resource temporarily unavailable (-54)” error when creating a disk image with a license agreement.
  • Worked around an issue with macOS 10.14 where the log detail drawer might be slightly too short to fit all of its contents without scrolling.
  • Fixed a crash that could occur if there was an error creating a macOS install disk.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause a crash when a Software Update error occurred.
  • Fixed a bug with the crash reporter window and Dark Mode.

New in DropDMG 3.5.7 (Sep 4, 2019)

  • If setting a disk image’s layout fails, DropDMG will now report a better error message that explains how to enable Automation access in System Preferences, rather than just mentioning error code -1743.
  • Worked around a Mac App Store bug that prevented setting disk image layouts when using macOS 10.14 or later.
  • Expanded the Signing section of the manual with more information about the different kinds of signing, as well as notarization.
  • Worked around a bug in macOS 10.13 and later that can corrupt a custom volume icon.
  • Worked around permissions error that could occur when converting a disk image to an archive on newer versions of macOS.

New in DropDMG 3.5.6 (Jun 27, 2019)

  • Added preliminary support for macOS 10.15 (which is now in beta).
  • Worked around change in macOS 10.15 that could cause DropDMG to crash at launch.
  • The Software Update… installer now works on macOS 10.15. If you’ve already updated to macOS 10.15, you can use it to download the new version but will have to install it manually, as described in the Updating From a Previous Version section of the manual.
  • Worked around a macOS 10.15 bug where Finder didn’t save the window layout.
  • Finder in macOS 10.15 currently does not display custom volume icons.
  • macOS 10.15 removes support for Internet-enabled disk images, so DropDMG now makes that option unavailable when running on macOS 10.15.
  • The Expand Image Automator action doesn’t work on macOS 10.15 because macOS 10.15 support for Internet-enabled disk images has been removed.
  • Fixed a bug where DropDMG could crash when applying a layout if there had been a scripting error.
  • Updated the Command-line tool section of the manual.
  • Updated to Xcode 10.2.

New in DropDMG 3.5.5 (Nov 7, 2018)

  • The Create macOS Install Disk command now pre-downloads any required assets from Apple’s servers so that the install disk contains everything that you need to install macOS.
  • Added instructions for Creating a DropDMG Quick Action in macOS 10.14’s Finder.
  • DropDMG now supports the Hardened Runtime on macOS 10.14.
  • DropDMG is now notarized by Apple.
  • Improved the Security & Privacy Access instructions.
  • DropDMG now reports a helpful error message if the dropdmg command-line tool fails because its parent process doesn’t have Automation access to control DropDMG on macOS 10.14.
  • Added AppendToNameWhenConverting to the esoteric preferences.
  • The license agreement editor now uses a darker background color in Dark Mode to match the disk image mounter.
  • Improved the appearance of the log detail drawer in Dark Mode.
  • The About window now includes a link to the privacy policy and has an updated layout.
  • Worked around a bug in macOS 10.14 where the font and color buttons in the license agreement editor didn’t show their text because the images were too large.

New in DropDMG 3.5.4 (Aug 18, 2018)

  • macOS 10.14 has new data protection features that require the user to specifically grant applications such as DropDMG access to do certain things. In general, you will want to grant DropDMG Automation access for Finder and possibly Full Disk Access as well. This is further explained in the Security & Privacy Access section of the manual.
  • Added support for Dark Mode on macOS 10.14.
  • Improved the quality of the generated volume icons on macOS 10.14.
  • If the LayouterCheckViewOptions esoteric preference is set, DropDMG now checks and re-applies the icon positions.
  • When creating a disk image with a custom icon or layout (or using the AlwaysUseSlowPath esoteric preference), DropDMG now works around a bug in macOS 10.13 that could prevent icon files from being invisible.
  • Worked around a bug in macOS 10.13 that could prevent keyboard input after closing the Help menu.
  • Worked around a bug in macOS 10.13.4 that could cause an internal error when locating DropDMG’s data files.
  • Worked around a bug in macOS 10.14 that prevented recent destination folders from being saved.
  • Worked around a bug in macOS 10.14 that prevented license agreements from being added to a disk image.
  • Fixed a bug where creating a disk image could fail if DropDMG was given a symlink.
  • Fixed a bug where converting an encrypted disk image to another encrypted format would fail with an authentication error if you were changing the password at the same time.
  • Fixed some drawing glitches with the Activity window on macOS 10.14.
  • Improved the following sections of the manual:
  • Convert Image/Archive…
  • New Blank Disk Image…
  • Protecting Your Files With Encryption

New in DropDMG 3.5.4 Beta 3 (Aug 3, 2018)

  • The dropdmg command-line tool now works on macOS 10.14 Developer Beta 5.
  • The Automator action now works with Dark Mode.
  • Fixed some drawing glitches with the Activity window on macOS 10.14.

New in DropDMG 3.5.4 Beta 2 (Jul 25, 2018)

  • The dropdmg command-line tool may not work on macOS 10.14. You can work around this by using osascript to send AppleScript commands to DropDMG.
  • A Finder Quick Action that uses DropDMG’s Automator action may fail with error -1743. I think this is due to a bug in macOS 10.14.
  • Fixed a bug where creating a disk image could fail if DropDMG was given a symlink.
  • Worked around a bug in macOS 10.14 that prevented recent destination folders from being saved.
  • Worked around a bug in macOS 10.14 that prevented license agreements from being added to a disk image.
  • Added preliminary support for Dark Mode on macOS 10.14.
  • Improved the quality of the generated volume icons on macOS 10.14.
  • When creating a disk image with a custom icon or layout (or using the AlwaysUseSlowPath esoteric preference), DropDMG now works around a bug in macOS 10.13 that could prevent icon files from being invisible.
  • Added the Access to Application Data section of the manual, which explains some changes for macOS 10.14.

New in DropDMG 3.5.4 Beta 1 (May 16, 2018)

  • If the LayouterCheckViewOptions esoteric preference is set, DropDMG now checks and re-applies the icon positions.
  • Worked around a macOS 10.13 bug that could prevent keyboard input after closing the Help menu.
  • Worked around a bug in macOS 10.13.4 that could cause an internal error when locating DropDMG data files.
  • Fixed a bug where converting an encrypted disk image to another encrypted format would fail with an authentication error if you were changing the password at the same time.
  • Improved the following sections of the manual:
  • Convert Image/Archive
  • New Blank Disk Image

New in DropDMG 3.5.3 (Mar 16, 2018)

  • The Compact Image… command is now available as a toolbar button.
  • Updated the Mount Image… and New Blank Disk Image… sections of the manual.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause an internal error when using the Destination pop-up menu.
  • Updated the Italian localization.

New in DropDMG 3.5.3 Beta 1 (Mar 12, 2018)

  • The Compact Image… command is now available as a toolbar button.
  • Updated the Mount Image… and New Blank Disk Image… sections of the manual.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause an internal error when using the Destination pop-up menu.

New in DropDMG 3.5.2 (Jan 3, 2018)

  • Indicators for the supported macOS version in DropDMG’s pop-up menus are once again right-aligned on macOS 10.13, thanks to an OS bug fix.
  • Fixed a bug where a misleading error message would be presented if a secure connection could not be made to the software update server.
  • Updated the Making Images With Background Pictures section of the manual.
  • Updated the Italian localization.

New in DropDMG 3.5.1 (Oct 25, 2017)

  • DropDMG is now 64-bit only and requires macOS 10.7 or later.
  • Updated the Making a Bootable Device Image of a Hard Drive and Restoring Files and Disks sections of the manual for macOS 10.13.
  • Worked around a bug in macOS 10.13 that could corrupt auto-generated volume icon files.
  • Worked around a macOS error when creating a device image of an APFS volume by instead creating the device image of the entire APFS container.
  • Worked around a Finder bug that could mess up the status bar state after creating a disk image.
  • Modernized the task code for macOS 10.13.
  • Fixed a bug where device image files could be owned by the root user.
  • Fixed a bug where DropDMG would unnecessarily regenerate supplied volume icon files.
  • Fixed a bug where there was some extraneous text in the man page.
  • Updated the Chinese, French, and German localizations.

New in DropDMG 3.5.1 Beta 3 (Oct 21, 2017)

  • Updated the Restoring Files and Disks and Making a Bootable Device Image of a Hard Drive sections of the manual.
  • Fixed a bug where device image files could be owned by the root user.
  • Fixed a bug where DropDMG would unnecessarily regenerate supplied volume icon files.
  • Worked around a bug in macOS 10.13 that could corrupt auto-generated volume icon files.
  • Updated the Chinese localization.

New in DropDMG 3.5.1 Beta 2 (Oct 17, 2017)

  • Worked around a macOS error when creating a device image of an APFS volume by instead creating the device image of the entire APFS container.
  • Updated the Restoring Files and Disks section of the manual.

New in DropDMG 3.5.1 Beta 1 (Oct 6, 2017)

  • DropDMG is now 64-bit only and requires macOS 10.7 or later.
  • Worked around a Finder bug that could mess up the status bar state after creating a disk image.
  • Modernized the task code for macOS 10.13.
  • Updated the French and German localizations.

New in DropDMG 3.5 (Jul 25, 2017)

  • The Create macOS Install Disk command can now create a bootable install disk on a hard drive, USB stick, SD card, or disk image. This makes it easy to create test macOS installations from downloaded installers, reinstall the OS, repair your Mac’s drive, or restore from a backup. (Previously, the Create macOS Install Disk command handled burning OS installers to DVD.)
  • Disk image layouts now support the 96×96 icon size.
  • DropDMG is now compatibile with beta versions of macOS 10.13 High Sierra. In particular, there were a bunch of changes to APFS that prevented previous versions of DropDMG from working properly.
  • Made some changes to the New Blank Disk Image… interface and documentation to reflect the current status of APFS.
  • Worked around some bugs in macOS 10.13 that could cause errors when creating a disk image with a layout. It is possible that the window’s status bar and toolbar will not be correctly hidden, but at least now you can create images.
  • Added the How can I back up my DropDMG data? section of the manual.
  • Made various improvements to the diagnostic reporter.

New in DropDMG 3.5 Beta 1 (Jul 1, 2017)

  • Added preliminary compatibility with beta versions of macOS 10.13 High Sierra. In particular, there were a bunch of changes to APFS that prevented previous versions of DropDMG from working properly.
  • Made some changes to the New Blank Disk Image… interface and documentation to reflect the current status of APFS.
  • The Create macOS Install Disk command can now create a bootable install disk on a hard drive, USB stick, SD card, or disk image. This makes it easy to create test macOS installations, reinstall the OS, repair your Mac’s drive, or restore from a backup. (Previously, the command handled burning older installers to DVD.)
  • Disk image layouts now support the 96×96 icon size.
  • Worked around some bugs in macOS 10.13 that could cause errors when creating a disk image with a layout. It is possible that the window’s status bar and toolbar will not be correctly hidden, but at least now you can create images again.
  • Made various improvements to the diagnostic reporter.

New in DropDMG 3.4.6 (Apr 14, 2017)

  • The New Blank Disk Image… command now supports case-insensitive APFS (requires macOS 10.12.4 or later). This can be used for testing Mac apps on a file system that is Unicode normalization-preserving, but not normalization-sensitive.
  • The Save Diagnostic Report… command in the Help menu now works with all versions of macOS that DropDMG supports.
  • Made the task code more robust.
  • Made various internal code modernizations.
  • Documentation and Help menu links to c-command.com now use https instead of http.
  • Updated the Japanese localization.
  • Improved the following sections of the manual:
  • Create macOS Install Disk
  • Layouts
  • Making Images With Background Pictures

New in DropDMG 3.4.6 Beta 1 (Apr 3, 2017)

  • The New Blank Disk Image… command now supports case-insensitive APFS (requires macOS 10.12.4 or later). This can be used for testing Mac apps on a file system that is normalization-preserving, but not normalization-sensitive.
  • The Save Diagnostic Report… command in the Help menu now works with all versions of macOS that DropDMG supports.
  • Made the task code more robust.
  • Made various internal code modernizations.
  • Documentation and Help menu links to c-command.com now use https instead of http.
  • Updated the Japanese localization.
  • Improved the following sections of the manual:
  • Create macOS Install Disk
  • Layouts
  • Making Images With Background Pictures

New in DropDMG 3.4.5 (Jan 10, 2017)

  • Worked around a bug in macOS 10.12.2 that caused a garbage character to be displayed in various pop-up menus.
  • DropDMG no longer posts to Notification Center for operations that complete less than a minute after being queued. This should help make sure that the banners/alerts that you do see are genuinely useful.
  • Made some changes to reduce the time it takes to open the Preferences window.
  • Logging is more robust on macOS 10.12.
  • Updated the German localization.

New in DropDMG 3.4.5 Beta 2 (Jan 6, 2017)

  • DropDMG no longer posts to Notification Center for operations that complete less than a minute after being queued. This should help make sure that the banners/alerts that you do see are genuinely useful.
  • Updated the German localization.

New in DropDMG 3.4.5 Beta 1 (Dec 17, 2016)

  • Made some changes to reduce the time it takes to open the Preferences window.
  • Worked around a bug in macOS 10.12.2 that caused a garbage character to be displayed in various pop-up menus.
  • Logging is more robust on macOS 10.12.

New in DropDMG 3.4.4 (Dec 9, 2016)

  • Fixed a regression that could cause a crash when creating a disk image with a layout on Mac OS X 10.10 or earlier.
  • Fixed a regression where the System Fonts pop-up menu didn’t work.
  • The new Save Diagnostic Report… command in the Help menu provides an easier way of recording error logs and other information to send to technical support (requires macOS 10.12).
  • Updated the Burn… and Signing sections of the manual.
  • DropDMG now removes the Show Tab Bar menu item and associated functionality on macOS 10.12, since they don’t make sense for its user interface.
  • Worked around a problem with unexpected title bar accessory views.
  • Fixed a bug where DropDMG could incorrectly log an error about the Mac App Store receipt.
  • Improved the logging code.
  • Updated to Xcode 8.1.

New in DropDMG 3.4.4 Beta 4 (Dec 3, 2016)

  • Worked around a problem with unexpected title bar accessory views.
  • Improved the logging code.
  • Fixed a bug where DropDMG could incorrectly log an error about the Mac App Store receipt.

New in DropDMG 3.4.4 Beta 3 (Nov 19, 2016)

  • The new Save Diagnostic Report… command in the Help menu provides an easier way of recording error logs and other information to send to technical support (requires macOS 10.12).
  • Updated the Burn… and Signing sections of the manual.
  • Updated to Xcode 8.1.

New in DropDMG 3.4.4 Beta 2 (Oct 31, 2016)

  • Fixed a regression where the System Fonts pop-up menu didn’t work.
  • DropDMG now removes the Show Tab Bar menu item and associated functionality on macOS 10.12, since they don’t make sense for its user interface.

New in DropDMG 3.4.4 Beta 1 (Oct 20, 2016)

  • Fixed a regression that could cause a crash when creating a disk image with a layout on Mac OS X 10.10 or earlier.

New in DropDMG 3.4.3 (Oct 18, 2016)

  • Worked around a bug in the macOS 10.12 Finder that could cause an error when creating a disk image with a layout.
  • Worked around a change in macOS 10.12 that prevented the Always run with root access option from working.
  • DropDMG’s layout variables now work for .scptd files.
  • DropDMG now uses the new os_log subsystem on macOS 10.12.
  • Worked around a change in the macOS 10.12 Finder that could cause icons to be displayed in the wrong locations if you had enabled the hidden AppleShowAllFiles Finder preference.
  • Worked around a badly worded OS certificate error when checking for a software update.
  • Improved DropDMG’s logging of Scripting Bridge errors.
  • Made some changes to prevent Core Data from logging internal errors on macOS 10.12.

New in DropDMG 3.4.3 Beta 2 (Oct 15, 2016)

  • Worked around a change in the macOS 10.12 Finder that could cause icons to be displayed in the wrong locations if you had enabled the hidden AppleShowAllFiles Finder preference.
  • Worked around a change in macOS 10.12 that prevented the Always run with root access option from working.
  • SpamSieve now uses the new os_log subsystem on macOS 10.12.
  • Worked around a badly worded OS certificate error when checking for a software update.

New in DropDMG 3.4.3 Beta 1 (Sep 23, 2016)

  • Worked around a bug in the macOS 10.12 Finder that could cause an error when creating a disk image with a layout.
  • DropDMG’s layout variables now work for .scptd files.
  • Made some changes to prevent Core Data from logging internal errors on macOS 10.12.

New in DropDMG 3.4.2 (Sep 19, 2016)

  • Removed support for creating .xip archives because macOS 10.12 can no longer expand .xip files not created by Apple. DropDMG will change configurations using .xip to .zip. Going forward, Apple recommends using signed .dmg files.
  • Renamed “Mac OS X” to “macOS” throughout the app and documentation.
  • Updated to Xcode 8.
  • Added the Sending in Crash Log Files section of the manual.
  • Updated the Spanish localization.

New in DropDMG 3.4.2 Beta 1 (Sep 16, 2016)

  • Removed support for creating .xip archives because macOS 10.12 dropped support for expanding .xip files not created by Apple. DropDMG will change configurations using .xip to .zip. Going forward, Apple recommends using signed .dmg files.
  • Renamed “Mac OS X” to “macOS” throughout the app and documentation.
  • Updated the Spanish localization.
  • Updated to Xcode 8.

New in DropDMG 3.4.1 (Aug 24, 2016)

  • The Signing menu now groups the identities to make it clearer which type you should choose for .dmg files vs. .xip files. If no valid Developer ID identity is found, it tells you how to get one.
  • Updated the Dutch, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese localizations.

New in DropDMG 3.4.1 Beta 2 (Aug 22, 2016)

  • Updated the Dutch, French, German, Italian, and Portuguese localizations.

New in DropDMG 3.4.1 Beta 1 (Aug 19, 2016)

  • Signing menu now groups the identities to make it clearer which type to choose for .dmg files vs. .xip files. If no valid Developer ID identity is found, it tells you how to get one.
  • Updated the Italian localization.

New in DropDMG 3.4 (Jul 21, 2016)

  • Added support for creating disk images that are signed for Gatekeeper, as Apple now recommends that Mac applications be distributed on signed disk images (requires Mac OS X 10.11.5 or later). Unsigned disk images are subject to Gatekeeper Path Randomization. This is described in the Signing section of the manual.
  • Added support for the .xip archive format, which lets you create secure archives that are signed for Gatekeeper (requires Mac OS X 10.8 or later).
  • Added the Verify Signature… command for checking disk images and .xip archives to make sure they are correctly signed (requires Mac OS X 10.11.5 or later).
  • The New Blank Disk Image… command now lets you choose the File System, which can be any variant of HFS+ as well as Apple File System (APFS), Apple’s experimental next-generation file system for 2017. This feature is particularly useful for developers who want to test that their apps work properly on each file system.
  • On macOS 10.12, DropDMG no longer shows its Select Next Tab and Select Previous Tab menu items because they duplicate the new system ones.
  • Made various code modernizations.
  • If getting authorization fails, DropDMG now reports the command that it was attempting to execute.
  • The distribution disk image is now signed.
  • Updated the Sending in an Error Report section of the manual.
  • Renamed “Mac OS X” to “macOS” throughout the app and documentation.
  • Updated the Chinese, French, and Portuguese localizations.

New in DropDMG 3.4 Beta 2 (Jul 15, 2016)

  • Updated the screenshots in the manual.
  • Updated the Chinese, French, and Portuguese localizations.
  • Made various code modernizations.

New in DropDMG 3.4 Beta 1 (Jul 7, 2016)

  • Added support for creating disk images that are signed for Gatekeeper, as Apple now recommends that Mac applications be distributed on signed disk images (requires Mac OS X 10.11.5 or later). This is described in the Signing section of the manual.
  • Added support for creating .xip archives that are signed for Gatekeeper (requires Mac OS X 10.8 or later).
  • Added the Verify Signature… command for checking disk images and .xip archives to make sure they are correctly signed (requires Mac OS X 10.11.5 or later).
  • The New Blank Disk Image… command now lets you choose the File System, which can be any variant of HFS+ as well as Apple File System (APFS), Apple’s experimental next-generation file system for 2017. This feature is particularly useful for developers who want to make sure that their apps work properly on each file system.
  • On macOS 10.12, DropDMG no longer shows its Select Next Tab and Select Previous Tab menu items because they duplicate the new system ones.
  • If getting authorization fails, DropDMG now reports the command it was attempting to execute.
  • The distribution disk image is now signed.

New in DropDMG 3.3 (May 23, 2016)

  • The Format pop-up menu now makes it clearer which compression algorithm each format uses.
  • Improved DropDMG’s file choosing message text to work around Mac OS X 10.11’s behavior of sometimes not showing the panel’s title.
  • Improved the way tooltips show file paths when the file no longer exists.
  • Improved the error reporting and debug logging for the command-line tool.
  • Improved the error reporting for the Software Update… command.
  • Improved the error reporting when a Mac App Store receipt cannot be found.
  • Made various code modernizations.
  • The Command-line tool section of the manual describes how to use DropDMG with Xcode Server.
  • Updated the Licenses section of the manual.
  • DropDMG now disables full screen mode for its main window to work around a drawing glitch with Mac OS X 10.11.
  • Fixed a bug where creating a .sparsebundle or .sparseimage from a package didn’t work.
  • Fixed a bug where Mac App Store receipts would not validate if the Mac’s language was set to Hebrew.
  • Fixed a bug where if there were repeated errors saving the size of the Finder window, DropDMG would not properly clean up. Now it ejects and deletes the temporary disk image file.
  • Updated the German localization.

New in DropDMG 3.3 Beta 2 (May 13, 2016)

  • Improved DropDMG’s file choosing message text to work around Mac OS X 10.11’s behavior of sometimes not showing the panel’s title.
  • The pop-up menu now makes it clearer which compression algorithm each format uses.
  • The Command-line tool section of the manual describes how to use DropDMG with Xcode server.
  • Improved the error reporting and debug logging for the command-line tool.
  • Improved the error reporting for the Software Update… command.
  • Fixed a bug where creating a sparsebundle or sparseimage from a package didn’t work.
  • Made various code modernizations

New in DropDMG 3.3 Beta 1 (Feb 24, 2016)

  • Updated the German localization.
  • Fixed a bug where Mac App Store receipts would not validate if the Mac’s language was set to Hebrew.
  • Improved the error reporting when a Mac App Store receipt cannot be found.
  • Improved the way tooltips show file paths when the file no longer exists.
  • Fixed a bug where if there were repeated errors saving the size of the Finder window, DropDMG would not properly clean up. Now it ejects and deletes the temporary disk image file.
  • DropDMG now disables full screen mode for its main window to work around a drawing glitch with Mac OS X 10.11.

New in DropDMG 3.2.9 (Dec 11, 2015)

  • By default, Mac OS X 10.11 required you to click an Options push button to see the options for the New from Folder/File…, Convert Image/Archive…, Get Image Info…, and Mount Image… commands. DropDMG now shows the options by default.
  • Worked around a change in the Finder that caused disk image windows to be too short for the background picture when created using Mac OS X 10.11.
  • Worked around a Finder bug in Mac OS X 10.11 that could cause the disk image’s icons to be misaligned if the AppleShowAllFiles option was enabled.
  • DropDMG will now check that the Finder saved the state of the window status bar and fix it if necessary.
  • The Activity window is now shown by default.
  • Added the Why doesn’t the file I added show up on the disk image? section to the manual.
  • Updated the Create OS X Install Disk section of the manual.
  • Improved the error messages when the Finder doesn’t save the proper window bounds for the mounted disk image.
  • If the LayouterCheckViewOptions esoteric preference is set, DropDMG will now check that the icon size, text size, and background picture were correctly saved into the view options (retrying if necessary). This can work around a rare bug that was reported in Mac OS X 10.11.
  • Fixed a bug where Mac App Store receipt validation used the current date rather than the receipt creation date.
  • Fixed a regression (caused by an Xcode update) where various dialogs and sheets did not show the lock icon to indicate that a passphrase was set.
  • Fixed the size of the distribution disk image window.
  • Updated code for Xcode 7.2.
  • DropDMG is now localized in Simplified Chinese.
  • We need some help localizing DropDMG. If you would like to help keep DropDMG’s German localization up-to-date, please contact [email protected].

New in DropDMG 3.2.9 Beta 4 (Dec 9, 2015)

  • Worked around a Finder bug that could cause the disk image’s icons to be misaligned if the "AppleShowAllFiles" option was enabled.
  • By default, Mac OS X 10.11 required you to click an Options push button to see the options for the New from Folder/File… ; Convert Image/Archive… ; Get Image Info… and Mount Image… commands. DropDMG now shows the options by default.
  • Worked around a change in the Finder that caused disk image windows to be too short for the background picture when created using Mac OS X 10.11.
  • DropDMG will now check that the Finder saved the state of the window status bar and fix it if necessary.
  • The Activity window is now shown by default.

New in DropDMG 3.2.9 Beta 3 (Dec 1, 2015)

  • DropDMG will now check (and fix, if necessary) that the Finder saved the state of the window status bar.
  • Updated the Chinese localization.

New in DropDMG 3.2.9 Beta 2 (Nov 24, 2015)

  • Worked around a change in the Finder that caused disk image windows to be too short for the background picture when created using Mac OS X 10.11.
  • Fixed the size of the distribution disk image window.
  • Fixed a bug where Mac App Store receipt validation used the current date rather than the receipt creation date.
  • Updated code for Xcode 7.1.

New in DropDMG 3.2.9 Beta 1 (Nov 6, 2015)

  • By default, Mac OS X 10.11 requires you to click an "Options" push button to see the options for the New from Folder/File… Convert Image/Archive… Get Image Info… Mount Image… commands. DropDMG now shows the options by default.
  • The Activity window is now shown by default.
  • Improved the error messages when the Finder doesn’t save the proper window bounds for the mounted disk image.
  • Added the Why doesn’t the file I added show up on the disk image? section to the manual.
  • Updated the Create OS X Install Disk section of the manual.
  • Fixed a regression (caused by an Xcode update) where various dialogs and sheets did not show the lock icon to indicate that a passphrase was set.
  • If the LayouterCheckViewOptions esoteric preference is set, DropDMG will now check that the icon size, text size, and background picture were correctly saved into the view options (retrying if necessary). This can work around a rare bug that was reported with the Mac OS X 10.11.2 beta.
  • DropDMG is now localized in Simplified Chinese.

New in DropDMG 3.2.8 (Sep 29, 2015)

  • DropDMG is now fully compatible with Mac OS X 10.11 El Capitan.
  • Added support for LZFSE-compressed disk images, which are smaller than the standard zlib-compressed disk images yet twice as fast to encode and three times as fast to decode (requires Mac OS X 10.11).
  • When you’re editing a license or layout, DropDMG now adds a menu to the Fonts panel for choosing the system font, since there is otherwise no way of choosing San Francisco or the proper version of Helvetica Neue to match the user interface.
  • Updated the Create OS X Install Disk instructions for Mac OS X 10.11.
  • It is now possible to enter segment sizes larger than 50 GB in the Preferences window. (Previously, this was only possible via script.)
  • Added segment size and blank disk image preset for 100 GB BD-R XL discs.
  • Modernized code for the Xcode 7 compiler and the Mac OS X 10.11 SDK.
  • The Command-line tool is now installed in a different folder on Mac OS X 10.11 for compatibility with System Integrity Protection.
  • Added support for App Transport Security on Mac OS X 10.11.
  • The About, Software Update, and help windows now use the San Francisco font on Mac OS X 10.11.
  • Worked around an OS bug that could cause the volume to be busy when creating a device image on Mac OS X 10.11.
  • Worked around a bug in Mac OS X 10.11 that could cause a crash during Software Update….
  • Added some logging and esoteric preferences to work around problems hiding/showing the Finder’s status bar.
  • Improved the Sharing Licenses and Layouts section of the manual.
  • Fixed a bug where Software Update… would continue offering updates in the same session you had held down the Option key.
  • Removed inadvertent debug logging for the Append version number feature.
  • Updated the French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish localizations.

New in DropDMG 3.2.8 Beta 4 (Sep 25, 2015)

  • Worked around an OS bug that could cause the volume to be busy when creating a device image on Mac OS X 10.11
  • Updated French localization

New in DropDMG 3.2.8 Beta 3 (Sep 24, 2015)

  • Added support for compressed disk images, which are smaller than the standard zlib-compressed disk images yet twice as fast to encode and three times as fast to decode (requires Mac OS X 10.11).
  • Added another esoteric preference to work around bugs with the Finder’s status bar.

New in DropDMG 3.2.8 Beta 2 (Sep 18, 2015)

  • Modernized code for the Xcode 7 compiler and the Mac OS X 10.11 SDK.
  • When you’re editing a license or layout, DropDMG now adds a menu to the Fonts panel for choosing the system font, since there is otherwise no way of choosing San Francisco or the proper version of Helvetica Neue to match the user interface.
  • Improved the Sharing Licenses and Layouts section of the manual.
  • Updated the Create OS X Install Disk instructions for Mac OS X 10.11.
  • It is now possible to enter segment sizes larger than 50 GB in the Preferences window. (Previously, this was only possible via script.)
  • Added preset for 100 GB BD-R XL discs (for segment sizes and blank disk images).
  • Added support for App Transport Security on Mac OS X 10.11.
  • The About, Software Update, and help windows now use the San Francisco font on Mac OS X 10.11.
  • Fixed a bug where Software Update… would continue offering updates in the same session you had held down the Option key.
  • Worked around a bug in Mac OS X 10.11 that could cause a crash during Software Update….
  • Removed inadvertent debug logging for the Append version number feature.
  • Added some logging and esoteric preferences to work around bugs with the Finder’s status bar.

New in DropDMG 3.2.8 Beta 1 (Jun 20, 2015)

  • Fixed a bug where the Command-line tool could not be installed on Mac OS X 10.11.

New in DropDMG 3.2.7 (Jun 3, 2015)

  • If the Finder didn’t save the proper size for the mounted disk image window, DropDMG will now automatically retry several times. (DropDMG 3.2.6 would abort with an error, and you would have to retry manually.)
  • The Compact Image… command is now available in the contextual menu in the log.
  • Improved error reporting when a temporary folder cannot be created.
  • If DropDMG detects that one of its files is missing, i.e. that the application is damaged, it now presents a better error message.
  • Added accessibility label in the Software Update new News windows.
  • Improved the fonts in the About and Software Update windows.
  • When the trial period is over, the alert now has a Help button that opens the instructions for uninstalling.
  • Date formatters now use the POSIX local where appropriate.
  • Added the following sections to the manual:
  • Reinstalling a Fresh Copy
  • Splitting a File or Folder Into Pieces
  • Why don’t the icons appear in the desired positions in the mounted disk image?
  • Improved the following sections of the manual:
  • Layouts
  • Making Images With Background Pictures
  • Restoring Files and Disks

New in DropDMG 3.2.6 (Jan 27, 2015)

  • In rare cases, Mac OS X 10.10 does not properly save the size of the mounted disk image window. DropDMG can now detect when this happens and report an error so that you do not inadvertently deploy a disk image that doesn’t look right. Usually, simply creating the disk image again will avoid the problem.
  • The Layouts section of the manual now describes a problem with the rightmost 1 point of the background picture not being displayed in the Finder. For maximum compatibility with different OS versions, it is recommended that you design your background such that these pixels are not critical.
  • Added the Mount Disk Image sample AppleScript.
  • The About DropDMG window now uses the new system font on Mac OS X 10.10.
  • The About DropDMG window now uses the system language names when crediting localizers, to reduce the number of strings that localizers need to keep up-to-date.
  • Increased the font size in the Software Update… window on Mac OS X 10.10.
  • Worked around an OS bug that prevented bookmark files from being resolved.
  • Worked around a bug in Mac OS X 10.10 that prevented the Change Image Passphrase… command from working.
  • Fixed a regression that prevented editing layouts on Mac OS X 10.6 through 10.8.
  • Fixed a regression where the command-line tool did not accept none for the encryption.
  • Fixed a bug where a change in system font meterics caused some text in the Preferences window to be truncated.
  • Fixed a bug where DropDMG did not show Retina-resolution 515×512 icons in the Layouts window. (This did not affect the created disk images.)
  • Updated the Italian localization.

New in DropDMG 3.2.5 (Nov 20, 2014)

  • DropDMG now sets the Finder icon positions for invisible files, so that if the user has the Finder set to show invisible files (e.g. using AppleShowAllFiles) they do not cover up the background picture or the icons in your disk image’s layout.
  • DropDMG now accepts background pictures with resolutions that are off by a fraction of a dot per inch, as thats’s how some graphics programs save them.
  • DropDMG can now be told to mount disk images via AppleScript. You can control whether verification and file ownership are enabled, whether a shadow file is used, and whether the disk image is mounted at a custom location in the file system. For encrypted disk images, you can specify the passphrase directly or tell DropDMG to load it from a particular configuration in your keychain.
  • DropDMG now supports making the mounted disk image window smaller than the background picture. The window is always anchored at the top-left of the background picture but can be inset a certain number of points from its bottom and right edges. There is currently no user interface for setting the insets, but you can edit them by quitting DropDMG and editing the windowInsets value in the layout’s Info.plist file.
  • Modernized lots of code and removed old code that’s no longer needed for compatibility with legacy OS versions.
  • DropDMG now uses power assertions to prevent App Nap from slowing user-initiated operations when the window is in the background or blocked by the screensaver.
  • Adjusted the icon badging for Mac OS X 10.10’s new mounted disk image icon.
  • Updated the disk image icon for Mac OS X 10.10.
  • Improved the following sections of the manual (among others):
  • Create OS X Install Disk
  • Custom volume icon
  • Restoring Files and Disks
  • Uninstalling DropDMG
  • Updating From a Previous Version
  • Esoteric preferences links are now directly clickable in the Apple Help and PDF manual.
  • The log database no longer uses WAL mode.
  • Worked around a bug in Mac OS X 10.10 that could cause DropDMG to freeze at launch.
  • Worked around a bug in Mac OS X 10.10 that prevented the creation of encrypted disk images when the passphrase was not specified in the configuration.
  • Worked around an Xcode bug that caused DropDMG to complain in Console about missing images.
  • Improved DropDMG’s error handling.
  • Improved the crash reporter.
  • Updated the Gatekeeper signature format.
  • The Software Update… feature is better at explaining what you can do if installation fails.
  • Fixed a bug where the release notes in the Software Update… window were shown in the wrong font.
  • Adjusted the way the Purchase… window displays the remaining demo time to try to make it clearer.
  • The images in the PDF manual and Apple Help are now Retina-resolution.
  • Adjusted the font sizes in the PDF manual.
  • Better handling of localized strings when a bundle is missing (because the application is damaged).
  • Mac OS X 10.10 no longer logs an error related to the main window’s trial button.
  • Worked around an OS bug that could cause a crash when reading DropDMG’s log file.
  • Fixed a bug where DropDMG would report an error if you tried to delete from the log detail drawer.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause a crash when editing license agreements.
  • Fixed a bug where blank disk images sometimes had the wrong internal file ownership.
  • Fixed a regression where the Preferences window wouldn’t open when running in Japanese.
  • Updated the localizations.
  • We need help keeping DropDMG’s Italian and Japanese localizations up-to-date. Please contact [email protected] if you’re interested.
  • DropDMG now requires Mac OS X 10.6.8 or later.
  • DropDMG’s Automator action now requires Mac OS X 10.9 or later. This is because Xcode has dropped support for Objective-C garbage collection, but Mac OS X 10.8 and earlier only support garbage collected Automator actions. If you need to use DropDMG and Automator with Mac OS X 10.8 or earlier, you can run DropDMG 3.2.4.

New in DropDMG 3.2.4 (Jan 29, 2014)

  • DropDMG no longer posts errors to Notification Center. Instead, if DropDMG is not frontmost, it will bounce the Dock icon to alert you of an error.
  • Made some code signing changes for better compatibility with Mac OS X 10.9.
  • DropDMG is better at detecting errors when setting the background picture and arranging the icons.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause a crash when using DropDMG’s Automator action.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause an internal error when creating a hybrid disk image if the layouts preferences were open.
  • Fixed a bug where DropDMG could report an error when converting a disk image from .iso format to .dmg if the destination file already existed.
  • Updated the sample AppleScripts.
  • Updated the French localization.

New in DropDMG 3.2.3 (Oct 11, 2013)

  • DropDMG now displays file sizes using the system standard style (requires Mac OS X 10.8 or later).
  • The Burn OS X Install DVD command has been renamed to Create OS X Install Disk. It now offers instructions for creating an installer disk (e.g. hard drive, USB stick, or SD card) for Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks.
  • Fixed a bug where changes to the license agreement text weren’t saved if you created a new license or language using the action menu.
  • Fixed a bug where some disk image files were incorrectly owned by root if Always run with root access was checked.
  • Fixed a bug where DropDMG would use a stale version number variable when you imaged an application, updated it (e.g. via the Mac App Store), and then imaged it again in the same DropDMG session.
  • Automatic software updates no longer fail if Hazel is set to move files in the Downloads folder.
  • Fixed a typo in the man page.

New in DropDMG 3.2.2 (May 7, 2013)

  • It is now possible to set (or override) layout variables from AppleScript or the command line. This is also useful when creating a disk image of non-application files; DropDMG would be unable to intuit the {$APP_BASENAME}, but you can still set it to whatever you want in your script and have it rendered into the layout.
  • The HybridFSArgs esoteric preference lets you control which filesystems DropDMG uses for hybrid .iso disk images.
  • Fixed a bug where sometimes creating a disk image failed if it contained a very large number of small files.
  • Fixed a bug where .iso files would sometimes be owned by root instead of the user.
  • Made various minor adjustments to the toolbar icons in the main window.
  • Added Japanese localization.

New in DropDMG 3.2.1 (Jan 26, 2013)

  • Fixed a bug where DropDMG sometimes didn’t create large enough disk images for files that were stored using HFS+ compression (e.g. applications from the Mac App Store).
  • Fixed a bug where the log showed the source folder’s allocated size rather than its logical size.
  • Fixed a bug creating a disk image with a layout that had text but no background picture.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause DropDMG to create a device image with a dirty HFS+ journal. If the disk image was read-only, it would not be possible to mount the disk image. If you have such a disk image, you can fix it by converting it to a read-write format. The journal will then be replayed and saved in a clean state.
  • Fixed a bug where DropDMG could hang when using the contextual menu in the log.
  • Added instructions for burning a disc with a Custom volume icon.
  • Updated the Italian localization.

New in DropDMG 3.2 (Nov 8, 2012)

  • Highlights:
  • DropDMG’s user interface is now fully optimized for Macs with Retina displays, as well as multi-display setups.
  • DropDMG now renders Retina-quality background images. The source background picture can be a 72 or 144dpi image, a PDF file, or a multi-resolution TIFF file. DropDMG will render a multi-resolution background picture that’s optimized for display on both Retina and non-Retina Macs.
  • Rather than adding an application icon to a layout, you now have the option of adding an application icon placeholder. This makes it easy to use the same layout to create disk images for different applications.
  • Previously, you could add an Applications folder symlink to layouts by dragging and dropping your Applications folder. There’s now a dedicated button for adding the symlink, to make the feature easier to use and more discoverable.
  • Layouts now support a maximum icon size of 512 points (up from 128).
  • DropDMG can now create segmented ZIP archives (e.g. .z01, .z02, .zip). Such archives cannot be expanded by Mac OS X’s built-in Archive Utility, but there are free third-party expansion utilities such as The Unarchiver.
  • Added the Append version number feature. When imaging or archiving an application or installer, this option will add its version number to the end of the filename.
  • Added support for Notification Center (requires OS X 10.8).
  • Added the Burn OS X Install DVD feature, an easier way to make your own installer or emergency DVD.
  • Streamlined disk image creation by no longer optimizing images for restore that don’t need such optimization.
  • Added the ZlibLevel esoteric preference, which lets you set DropDMG to create .dmg files more quickly but with less compression.
  • Added the DisableRetinaBackgroundPictures esoteric preference, which lets you create non-Retina background pictures in order to work around a bug in Mac OS X 10.6.
  • Other Improvements:
  • DropDMG now tells the system that it can use the integrated GPU, which should reduce battery use on newer MacBook Pros.
  • You can now remove the background image from a layout using the contextual menu on the image view.
  • DropDMG now offers advice for dealing with “Resource busy” errors.
  • Expanded the Making Images With Background Pictures instructions to describe how to make a standard disk image for distributing a Mac application.
  • Improved the What information should I include when I report a problem? page.
  • Improved the folder name when a folder for segments already exists.
  • The documentation now recommends choosing a background picture that’s at least 437 points wide, to account for the Finder’s minimum window width.
  • The crash reporter can now make recommendations based on the contents of the crash log.
  • Deleting a layout, license, or configuration now moves it to the trash rather than deleting it outright.
  • DropDMG itself now has a Retina disk image background, and it shares the layout with other C-Command products.
  • After purchasing, DropDMG used to show your user image to indicate that it had been successfully personalized. It now shows a generic checkmark to avoid prompting you for Contacts access on OS X 10.8.
  • Added a link to the forum in the Help menu.
  • Fixes:
  • Reverted to version 1.2.3 of the Growl SDK to avoid problems with high CPU usage, internal errors, and crashes.
  • Fixed a bug where sometimes the layout editor would reset the scroll position.
  • Fixed a bug where the tooltips in the main window’s pop-up menu didn’t always update when a configuration was changed.
  • Fixed a bug where sometimes packages weren’t wrapped.
  • Fixed a bug where sometimes disk images were created without enough space for the background picture or custom icon.
  • Layout thumbnail previews no longer change the aspect ratio.
  • Fixed a bug where sometimes changes to the segment size in the temporary options dialog didn’t take effect.
  • Fixed an issue where, when loading your recent destination folders, DropDMG would sometimes prompt you with a dialog to find folders on unmounted volumes.
  • Fixed a bug where TIFF files were not allowed for background pictures.
  • Fixed a bug creating images in .cdr format with custom icons or layouts.
  • Fixed a bug where there was an extra gray strip next to the action button in the Layouts tab of the preferences.
  • Fixed a bug handling errors if the software update failed; if it succeeded, the .dmg file is now deleted.

New in DropDMG 3.1.4 (Jun 8, 2012)

  • Added the **Check for News...** command to the **DropDMG** menu.
  • Improved handling of localized button titles in license agreements.

New in DropDMG 3.1.3 (May 10, 2012)

  • DropDMG is now code-signed using a Developer ID certificate for Gatekeeper.
  • Layouts and custom volume icons now work with hybrid (.iso) disk images.
  • DropDMG’s helper tools are now 64-bit like the rest of the application.
  • Improved the reporting of unexpected errors.
  • DropDMG now logs more information when a layout item is missing from the source folder.
  • Improved the What information should I include when I report a problem? section of the manual.
  • Fixed a bug where the Compact Image… command didn’t work on Mac OS X 10.7 when the computer was running on battery power.
  • Fixed a bug where Delete after converting didn’t work when converting to .iso format.
  • Fixed a bug where DropDMG would report an error when converting a .iso disk image to the same format.
  • DropDMG now requires Mac OS X 10.5.8 or later.

New in DropDMG 3.1.2 (Feb 8, 2012)

  • Added support for Growl 1.3 and Growl notifications via GNTP (requires Mac OS X 10.7 or later).
  • DropDMG is now localized in Brazilian Portuguese.
  • Fixed a bug where the **Add Icon...** button didn't constrain new icons to the grid.
  • Fixed a bug where the **Add Icon...** button didn't let you add folder icons to a layout.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause a crash if there was an internal error launching a helper tool.
  • When renaming a configuration, layout, or license in the preferences, you can now press the Esc key to cancel.
  • Fixed a bug where DropDMG would log an error to the console when converting a ZIP archive to a disk image.
  • Added 1024x1024 application icon.

New in DropDMG 3.1.1 (Nov 17, 2011)

  • Added support for Growl 1.3.
  • DropDMG is now localized in Brazilian Portuguese.
  • Added 1024×1024 application icon.
  • Fixed a bug where the Add Icon… button didn’t constrain new icons to the grid.
  • Fixed a bug where the Add Icon… button didn’t let you add folder icons to a layout.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause a crash if there was an internal error launching a helper tool.

New in DropDMG 3.1 (Oct 5, 2011)

  • DropDMG is much faster at creating large disk images under most circumstances, and it now compresses disk images a bit more tightly. Added the Use less temporary disk space preference, so that you can make DropDMG operate in the older, slower mode if your destination volume is running out of space.
  • Disk image layouts can now contain text boxes, with your choice of fonts, styles, colors, and shadows. Thus, it’s no longer necessary to fire up a graphics program to update the text in your background picture.
  • Layout text boxes can contain placeholder variables, which DropDMG will replace when creating the disk image. For example, if your disk image contains an application (e.g. DropDMG.app), the text ${APP_SHORT_VERSION_STRING} will be replaced by the marketing version of the application (e.g. 3.1).
  • The Mount Image… command now has a Shadow file option that lets you mount a read-only disk image as read-write. Any changes made to the mounted image will be written to the adjacent shadow file. This can be useful, e.g. if you want to use Spotlight to search a read-only disk image.
  • DropDMG now supports license agreements localized in Arabic, Greek, Russian, and Ukrainian.
  • To ensure that background pictures display properly in the Finder, DropDMG now reports an error if you give it a picture file that’s not 72dpi.
  • Many operations when editing a disk image layout are now undoable.
  • The license agreement editor text view now displays line breaks in the same places as the text view that the system uses when mounting the disk image.
  • The Preferences window now supports full screen mode (requires Mac OS X 10.7).
  • Added the Burning a Lion Installation DVD section to the manual.
  • Fixed a bug where, when creating an encrypted disk image with no specified passphrase, DropDMG sometimes failed to prompt for one.
  • Fixed a bug where creating a new language for a license agreement appeared to do nothing if the license’s name was in edit mode.
  • Fixed a bug where the configuration/layout/license lists didn’t properly update if you added an item while you were renaming another item.
  • Fixed a bug where the source size reported in the log when mounting a disk image only counted the first segment.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause DropDMG to create a .tar.bz2 archive when you requested .tar.
  • Fixed alignment of license button text fields.
  • Fixed a bug with re-personalizing the application via URL.

New in DropDMG 3.0.7 (May 18, 2011)

  • Fixed a bug where DropDMG would fail with a permissions error when creating a disk image with a custom icon of a root-owned file, e.g. a purchase from the Mac App Store.
  • Fixed a bug where, in rare cases, DropDMG could not create a disk image if a file with its preferred temporary name already existed.
  • Fixed a bug creating images in .cdr format with custom icons or layouts.
  • Clarified the description of .cdr disk image format.
  • Adjusted the help page titles to fit better in the menu and search results.

New in DropDMG 3.0.6 (Mar 12, 2011)

  • Fixed a bug where the command-line tool and Automator would time out during long disk imaging operations.
  • Fixed a bug where disk images with layouts sometimes ended up with too short a window.
  • Fixed a bug where creating a disk image with a layout would sometimes fail if DropDMG was running with root access.
  • Fixed a bug that could cause a crash when verifying a folder containing circular symlinks.
  • Improved the error message when the chosen destination folder isn't writable.
  • Improved the German localization.

New in DropDMG 3.0.4 (Nov 16, 2010)

  • When creating a disk image with a layout, DropDMG now sets it to auto-open. This ensures that CDs/DVDs burned from that disk image will auto-open when the disc is inserted.
  • Fixed a bug where invisible version control folders could prevent detached licenses from working.
  • Fixed a bug where Automator would time out during a long disk imaging operation.

New in DropDMG 3.0.3 (Oct 5, 2010)

  • Fixed a bug where it didn’t work to simultaneously enter --license-folder and --layout-folder from the command-line.
  • Fixed a bug where some temporary folders would not be deleted if you canceled while converting a disk image.
  • Fixed a bug where the German and Italian localizations showed an incorrect version number.

New in DropDMG 3.0.2 (Aug 17, 2010)

  • DropDMG is now localized in French.
  • Added toolbar buttons to the DropDMG window for directly opening the Layouts and Licenses tabs of the Preferences window.
  • Added a preference to remove log entries When DropDMG quits.
  • Creates more tightly compressed ZIP archives than previous versions of DropDMG or the Finder (requires Mac OS X 10.6).
  • Added a CreateDeviceImages esoteric preference, which lets you create regular disk images instead of device images when dragging a volume onto DropDMG. This is slower but gives the option of setting a custom volume name.
  • Fixed a bug where DropDMG truncated the suggested volume and base names when using the Ask option.
  • Fixed a bug in the layout editor where retracting a marquee selection left the icons still selected.
  • Fixed a bug where DropDMG reported an error when converting encrypted .sparsebundle disk images.
  • Fixed a bug where using a detached license or layout could cause DropDMG to create extra Info.plist files in nearby folders.
  • When displaying an internal error, DropDMG now cleans it up and presents an abbreviated version to ensure that the window fits on screen. (The full error information is still included when you click the Send E-mail button.)
  • Worked around an OS bug that could prevent DropDMG from being able to open its Preferences window.
  • Tried to work around a problem where the software updater sometimes didn’t ask for the permissions it needed to complete an update.
  • Updated the disk image layout.

New in DropDMG 3.0.1 (Jul 14, 2010)

  • If you try to enter a serial number for DropDMG 2.x, rather than just complaining that it’s invalid, DropDMG now uses it to help you get a discounted or free upgrade and a 3.x serial number.
  • Fixed a bug where creating a disk image from the Finder’s contextual menu or keyboard shortcut sometimes didn’t work.
  • Fixed a bug where selecting a folder from the New from Folder/File… dialog didn’t work.
  • Fixed an internal error that occurred if you changed a configuration option while renaming a configuration.
  • Fixed a bug that could prevent the Automator action from working.
  • Fixed a regression where the -t argument to the dropdmg command-line tool wasn’t recognized.
  • Fixed a bug where the Base Name and Volume Name fields sometimes weren’t editable when dragging and dropping onto the main window.
  • Enabled undo for the Base Name and Volume Name text fields (requires Mac OS X 10.6 due to a bug in previous versions).
  • Fixed a bug where DropDMG would show two Help menus after auto-updating the command-line tool.
  • Fixed a bug where the Names pop-up menu text was too wide when using YYYY-MM-DD-HHMMSS dates.
  • Fixed the positioning of the log detail drawer.
  • Fixed a small memory leak.
  • The manual now recommends leaving space in a layout’s background picture for the Finder window’s path bar.
  • Updated the tooltips in the configuration options.
  • Updated the localizations.

New in DropDMG 3.0 (Jun 30, 2010)

  • Highlights;
  • The user interface and disk imaging engine have been almost completely redesigned and rewritten to make DropDMG easier to use and more robust.
  • Preferences: LayoutsThe Layouts feature gives developers a WYSIWYG editor to set the background picture, view options, and icon positions, making it easy to deploy Mac software to their users.
  • The New Blank Disk Image… command lets you protect select folders using the same encryption technology as FileVault but without its drawbacks.
  • Added support for the .sparsebundle, .sparseimage, and hybrid (.iso) disk image formats.
  • DropDMG WindowThe DropDMG window now has a customizable toolbar for quick access to commonly used commands.
  • DropDMG can now create device images of hard drives.
  • The Verify Image… command now works in the background and can verify a whole folder of disk images at once. You can also bulk-verify multiple encrypted disk images without having to keep re-entering the passphrase.
  • Activity WindowThe Activity window consolidates progress information into a single window, rather than having separate windows for each operation. Additionally, DropDMG now has progress bars for bulk operations, so that you can see the overall progress (e.g. folder 6 of 10) in addition to the progress for the current operations.
  • The Mount Image… command now works in the background and can mount multiple disk images at once. You can also bulk-mount encrypted disk images that share the same passphrase.
  • Added the Change Image Passphrase… command, which makes it much faster to change the passphrase of an encrypted disk image.
  • The Join Files… command lets you recombine files that have been split into .001, .002, etc. files.
  • Configurations:
  • Preferences: ConfigurationsConfigurations are now editable, and the Configurations window has been merged into the Preferences window.
  • The Formats pop-up menu has been reorganized and provides more information about the different formats and which versions of the OS they work with.
  • Added support for 256-bit AES encryption, which the NSA rates as secure enough for TOP SECRET level documents.
  • Added the Optimize for restores option.
  • Added the Sizes pop-down menu, which makes it easy to select common sizes for disk image segments.
  • The Show Passphrase button lets you check the passphrase for a configuration without having to re-type it.
  • The dialogs for the New from Folder/File… and Convert Image/Archive… commands now have pop-up menus to select which configuration to use.
  • The destination and names prompts have been combined into a single dialog.
  • If the chosen destination folder is not available (e.g. because its volume is offline) DropDMG now displays a caution icon in the pop-up menu and will report an error during the operation, rather than silently changing to Next to Source.
  • When choosing a configuration in the DropDMG window or from the Dock menu, you can hold down the Option key to open the configuration for editing.
  • Configurations are now stored as individual .plist files, rather than in DropDMG’s preferences file, so it’s easier to exchange them with other users and they work better with Time Machine.
  • Optimizations:
  • Creating encrypted disk images is faster and requires less temporary disk space.
  • Other types of operations can now run while DropDMG is waiting for a blank optical disc to be inserted.
  • Improved the queuing of bulk operations to reduce disk contention and increase performance.
  • DropDMG now runs as a 64-bit application under Mac OS X 10.6.
  • Log:
  • DropDMG Window: Log Detail DrawerThe DropDMG window now has a drawer that shows detailed information about the selected log entry.
  • You can Control-click on log entries to perform operations on their files.
  • Log entries are now posted as Growl notifications. If an operation has succeeded, clicking on the Growl notification will reveal the destination file in the Finder (or Path Finder). If the operation has failed, clicking on the notification reveals the log entry in DropDMG.
  • Preferences: AdvancedThe Remove log entries preference lets you set DropDMG to auto-delete old log entries after a specified amount of time.
  • It is now possible to delete individual log entries manually.
  • The log is now displayed as a table rather than a block of text.
  • The log can now be set to only show errors.
  • The log is now stored as a Core Data database rather than in DropDMG’s preferences file. This makes reading and updating it faster and reduces DropDMG’s memory usage.
  • License Agreements:
  • Preferences: LicensesThe separate windows for the license agreements list and the language editors have been combined into the new Licenses tab of the Preferences window. The steps for making a new localized license are much clearer now.
  • Licenses can now customize the prompt text and button names that are presented to the end-user.
  • Added additional languages for localized licenses: Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Slovak, Swedish, Turkish.
  • Software License AgreementLicense agreements are now stored as individual files, rather than in DropDMG’s preferences file. This allows for sharing, storing them under version control, editing using external applications, and better Time Machine backups.
  • Added Spelling and Grammar, Substitutions, and Transformations to the Edit menu, and also added menu commands for finding and replacing.
  • You can hold down the Option key when choosing a license in the Configurations tab to open it for editing.
  • The license agreement editor now localizes the display of the language names.
  • Miscellaneous:
  • You can now choose whether DropDMG shows temporary options by default or only when you hold down the Option key.
  • Added the Compact Image… command, which reclaims free space from .sparseimage and .sparsebundle files.
  • Get Image InfoThe Get Image Info… command now displays the information in an outline rather than a block of text.
  • Custom badged icons for the mounted disk image volume are of much higher quality. The icon is now rendered at up to 512x512 pixels, and there’s a separate optimized version for each size (rather than scaling down the full-size rendering).
  • The dropdmg command-line tool now has a man page.
  • File and segment sizes are now displayed using base 10 megabytes, for consistency with the Mac OS X 10.6 Finder.
  • Remembers between launches which windows were open.
  • DropDMG now auto-updates its command-line tool when you first launch a new version of the application.
  • AutomatorThe Create Disk Image/Archive Automator action is now compatible with Mac OS X 10.6.
  • Added Esoteric Preferences.
  • Worked around an OS limitation that could prevent DropDMG from converting a very large disk image into segments.
  • Properly handles composed characters when truncating filenames.
  • Made various improvements to the Software Update user interface and engine.
  • Improved the Purchase window to make it easier to understand how the trial period and serial numbers work.
  • DropDMG now uses Mac OS X code signing, which should reduce the number of annoying keychain dialogs.
  • Fixed a bug where DropDMG would continue trying to burn an encrypted disk image after the user had failed to enter the proper passphrase.
  • Fixed a bug with non-ASCII names and the command-line tool.
  • Removed:
  • DropDMG 3.0 requires Mac OS X 10.5 or later. Older versions for Mac OS X 10.4 and 10.3 are still available.
  • The Encoding option has been removed, since it’s no longer particularly useful to create BinHex- or MacBinary-encoded disk images.
  • Removed support for creating self-mounting .smi NDIF disk images, since all recent versions of the OS have built-in support for disk images.
  • Removed the keyboard shortcut for DropDMG’s command in the Services menu, since Command-Shift-D was appropriated by the OS. You can use the Keyboard pane of System Preferences to assign your own shortcut, if desired.
  • Removed the option for making disk images auto-open. This is no longer necessary since Mac OS X can now auto-open disk images that do not have this option set, and this makes disk image creation much faster.
  • Removed the Copy to Others button in the temporary options sheet, as this functionality is superseded by configurations.
  • Removed the contextual menu and Dock menu items for changing image formats. This functionality is superseded by configurations.
  • Removed support for creating and converting StuffIt archives.
  • Removed support for creating ADC-compressed disk images. Zlib-compressed images are more efficient, and, due to other changes in Mac OS X’s disk imaging engine, ADC images no longer provided any compatibility benefits.
  • Removed the Fix Image… command, since Mac OS X will now mount disk images regardless of whether they have the correct type and creator codes. The Control-drag shortcut has been reassigned to the Verify Image… command.

New in DropDMG 2.8.6 (Sep 4, 2009)

  • The Use custom icon for mounted image feature now works with Mac OS X 10.6.
  • The crash reporter now works with Mac OS X 10.6.

New in DropDMG 2.8.4 (Jan 22, 2008)

  • Fixed a regression in version 2.8.3 where DropDMG would delete the source file/folder if you were creating a segmented disk image next to the source and there was not enough disk space.

New in DropDMG 2.8.3 (Jan 9, 2008)

  • Fixed bug where a ".dmg" file would not mount on Mac OS X 10.3 and earlier if you created it on an Intel-based Mac running Mac OS X 10.5 and the image contained just a single package file (e.g. an application).
  • Fixed bug where "Append Current Date" didn't work properly when the original file/folder had a very long name.
  • Fixed bug where images converted from Zip archives were owned by root.
  • Faster at creating images of packages when running on Mac OS X 10.5.
  • Fixed bug restoring the selected row after editing a configuration name.
  • Carriage returns are no longer allowed in configuration names.
  • Fixed bug where some preferences items were incorrectly enabled when showing a temporary preferences sheet for a conversion operation.
  • More detailed logging of burn errors.
  • The software updater is better at handling invalid downloads folders.
  • Updated Spanish localization.

New in DropDMG 2.8.2 (Nov 16, 2007)

  • Fixed bug where the Apple Help didn't work on Mac OS X 10.5.
  • Added high-resolution version of the application icon.
  • Fixed bug where DropDMG could crash when canceling an operation.
  • Fixed bug where DropDMG would sometimes return an incorrect destination path back to a script.