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Kaleidoscope Changelog

What's new in Kaleidoscope 4.5

Apr 16, 2024
  • New Features:
  • Many new Text Themes have been added. Also, Text Themes now influence the overall background and text colors.
  • The Folder Comparison has an entirely new, more subtle, look. Bold type and blue text tell you at first glance what is different. Visit Settings > Folder to adjust icon and text size to your liking.
  • When used via git difftool --dir-diff, the folder comparison now follows symlinks, showing you live updates of the linked files, making the --dir-diff (-d) option much more usable with Kaleidoscope.
  • Enhancements:
  • The File Properties now provide you with even more insights. Similar to the Folder Comparison, you can immediately see which side of the comparison is larger, newer, or where file permissions differ. If an item has modified extended attributes, those attributes are now shown.
  • Various smaller performance improvements in text views.
  • Visual updates to make the Path Bar more stable.
  • A few updates to Kaleidoscope Help
  • Bugfixes:
  • Fixed an issue where the content could resize the changeset sidebar.
  • Various smaller fixes.

New in Kaleidoscope 4.4.1 (Mar 15, 2024)

  • Bugfixes:
  • Resolved an issue where equal items in a folder comparison could be reported as different. Note that items are often temporarily shown as different (due to date differences) while the content difference is still being calculated.
  • Collapsing and expanding folders in the folder comparison could sometimes get out of sync between A and B.

New in Kaleidoscope 4.4 (Feb 27, 2024)

  • New Features:
  • Outline view in folder compare. Instead of having to double-click into each subfolder to see what might be different 5 levels deep, Kaleidoscope now shows differences in all subfolders at first glance.
  • Jump to Line command. Kaleidoscope now enables you to quickly locate a specific line in any text view. As lines may not match in A, B and the merged view, select which one you want to jump to. Try out a few keyboard shortcuts for switching, they all work. ;)
  • Enhancements:
  • Major Improvements when comparing folders:
  • Comparing folders with many smaller items is now several magnitudes faster. Same for switching filters, sorting, and other operations.
  • Items that are symbolic links or aliases are now easier to distinguish.
  • Items (including folders) now show correct file sizes. Hover over any size to see a tooltip that includes the precise byte value.
  • More reasonable date display that adapts to available space. Hover any date to see the precise value down to the second.
  • Two new options to collapse all folders and to show all changes (on all levels). They can be found in the lower-left area of the window and the View menu.
  • Improved progress reporting for longer-running folder compare operations.
  • For symbolic links, Kaleidoscope now reports the file size of the link, not the linked item.
  • Many other smaller improvements.
  • Improved highlighting of changes and conflicts by making a clearer distinction between the selected and the unselected ones. Moreover, subtle improvements to color choices.
  • Added several keyboard shortcuts to the Find functionality.
  • Bugfixes:
  • The folder comparison now correctly updates if items are modified, added or removed on any level.
  • Again, in the folder comparison: reduced memory consumption and fixed various memory leaks.
  • When opening a new image comparison, menu commands should now immediately work.
  • Fix a rare crash with local notifications.

New in Kaleidoscope 4.3.1 (Dec 6, 2023)

  • Enhancements:
  • Syntax Coloring is now available for SQL files.
  • Bugfixes:
  • Fixed a memory issue in the Git File History, leading to unintended side effects.
  • Resolved rare cases where opening a comparison or merge with rather small files would be unreasonably slow.
  • Added a lot of additional safeguards to make the Git integration more reliable.
  • Using a newer version of our Git Integration library.
  • Updated to the latest version of our Syntax Coloring library.
  • Fixed a few other small issues found after the last release.

New in Kaleidoscope 4.3 (Nov 16, 2023)

  • New Features:
  • Git File History now recognizes file renames and moves. You will now see the entire history of a file, even if it has been renamed or moved in the past. See the exact change in the commit detail popover. And there is the ability to search for all names of a file in the filter at the bottom of the list.
  • Integration with Git Accounts. Kaleidoscope will try to find a base URL for a known account type and automatically create links to issues, commits and branches where appropriate. Currently, GitHub, GitLab and Bitbucket are supported, others will follow as needed. Click the small gear icon in the commit details popover to configure in case your repository has multiple remotes.
  • Display of Git References. Both the header in the merge document as well as the commit details will now list references (branches, tags) pointing to a commit.
  • Markdown in commit messages. While we were adding ticket and commit links, we also added styled display of markdown content in commit messages (again, in the commit details). We deeply enjoy that change and encourage everybody to use markdown in commit messages. A future self and your coworkers will thank you for the enhanced readability.
  • Enhancements:
  • Support for Display P3 color profile in Image Comparison. Kaleidoscope now knows how to properly read and display images in saved with a Display P3 color profile. Apart from obvious technical use cases, this makes a (sometimes subtle) visual difference with photos shot on iPhone 7 and later.
  • Windows of recent documents will now remember their screen position and reopen where you closed them before.
  • Improve keyboard navigating and working with the Git File History.
  • Bugfixes:
  • Fixed a few minor macOS Sonoma glitches.
  • A few other fixes we don't bother to mention in detail (aka. "bug fixes and performance improvements")

New in Kaleidoscope 3.7.2 (Oct 26, 2022)

  • Bugfixes:
  • Fix a regression that prevented activating a license through the website.

New in Kaleidoscope 3.7.1 (Oct 24, 2022)

  • New Features:
  • Integration with BBEdit. An entry in the BBEdit script menu shows unsaved changes of a document in Kaleidoscope. Go to Kaleidoscope > Integration… > BBEdit to learn more. Also let us know if you have additional BBEdit integration suggestions.
  • Warp can now be used as Terminal app. (Direct version only)
  • Enhancements:
  • The JetBrains integrations (AppCode, IntelliJ IDEA, PhpStorm, PyCharm, WebStorm, …) can now be configured as diff and merge tools in 2022.x versions of their IDEs. Go to Kaleidoscope > Integration… > JetBrains IDEs to install it.
  • The Alfred workflow no longer requires ksdiff to be installed. Go to Kaleidoscope > Integration… > Alfred for more info.
  • Kaleidoscope can now work with .strings files in binary plist format.
  • Improved the path context menus. The file menus have new entries to Copy file contents (in case of JSON both as-is and normalized) and to save the current state to a new file.
  • The Save As… entry for temporary files has been improved.
  • Improved the path view for temporary files.
  • Improved the path view in the case of git merges.
  • Bugfixes:
  • The Safari extension would potentially open many Kaleidoscope windows at once. Now it opens everything in one window, and no longer opens the same page multiple times. But you can still get multiple items, in the case of websites that use frames.
  • The Compare Kaleidoscope Quick Action shortcut no longer fails, even with repeated uses.
  • An updated VSCode extension is available, go to Kaleidoscope > Integration… > VSCode.
  • The Xcode Debugger Integration can be installed when running macOS Big Sur.
  • A few smaller fixes and improvements.
  • Removed the cause of a few rare crashes.

New in Kaleidoscope 3.7 (Sep 29, 2022)

  • New:
  • Sharing. You can now share any text diff using the familiar and convenient Share button in the window toolbar. Choose from functionality provided by macOS to directly share via AirDrop, Mail, Messages, or open a comparison in Notes. You can also choose to share via Share Menu extensions provided by the other apps you use. Kaleidoscope converts your diff into a HTML document in those cases.
  • Save a Patch File. Kaleidoscope now has the ability to write a text diff to a standard patch file, which is also accessible via the Share button.
  • There’s now a preference setting to disable JSON normalization by default, if the functionality doesn’t suit your workflow. When disabled, you can still enable it when needed from the bottom toolbar.
  • Kaleidoscope now enables you to modify a comparison that contains normalized JSON, after confirming this is what you want. It also offers to switch to the non-normalized variant.
  • The File Shelf offers an option to save temporary content (such as imported from the Clipboard, ksdiff, Services or Shortcuts) to a file.
  • Improvements:
  • The Find functionality is now also available for single documents (such as added or removed files in a changeset).
  • The processing icon in the bottom toolbar (JSON normalization) is more prominent when turned on.
  • The backspace character is now also being treated as invisible character, and shown accordingly.
  • The JSON normalization will no longer quote slash (/) characters. We were surprised ourselves that it is defined with a quoted slash in the JSON standard.
  • Fixes:
  • Various fixes to the Find functionality
  • When installing a license via double-clicking a license file, a potential Trial Expired dialog will now correctly disappear.
  • Moving a window between screens no longer results in occasional unintended size changes.
  • Several fixes to the Open Recent menu. You may need to get rid of corrupted old entries by cleaning it once after installation.

New in Kaleidoscope 3.6.1 (Aug 11, 2022)

  • Fixes:
  • git difftool/mergetool invoked inside a repository subdirectory.
  • ksdiff launched directly out of the application bundle.

New in Kaleidoscope 3.6 (Aug 10, 2022)

  • New:
  • New look and features for the changeset window. The changeset window now sports a modern macOS look with a sidebar that can be hidden. The filter on the bottom now allows filtering files by type, in addition to the file name filter and the buttons that hide or show files that have been modified, added, deleted, or moved. Power user hint: try option-clicking items.
  • Notifications for longer running changesets. Opening larger changesets takes time, due to the ongoing git interaction. You can now receive a notification once processing is complete. Be sue to allow notifications when asked by macOS for this to work.
  • Removed the need to update ksdiff. Beginning with the first update after Kaleidoscope 3.6, you should no longer need to update the ksdiff command line tool when we make changes. This includes the App Store version. This is a major change, and we certainly hope we got it right. For our users who like technical details: instead of installing the ksdiff tool by copying it to /usr/local/bin, we just create a link to ksdiff inside the app in /usr/local/bin. Kaleidoscope will notice when the link no longer works (if you’ve moved the app, for example), and will offer to fix it.
  • (App Store only) The Kaleidoscope command line tool ksdiff is now compatible with Apple’s requirements for the App Store. This means it can be delivered as part of Kaleidoscope and no longer needs to be installed separately. If you aren’t familiar with ksdiff yet, we suggest you take a look at Kaleidoscope > Integration…
  • Improvements:
  • Reduced memory consumption.
  • Closing a changeset window or quitting Kaleidoscope now stops processing in ksdiff (and git). This means Kaleidoscope will no longer open another window and continue.
  • Fixes:
  • Opening image comparisons could result in the wrong zoom level, which could make images invisible.
  • Comparing Word documents (or other files) that contained Chinese characters could crash Kaleidoscope.
  • In some situations, you could end up with an item missing in the File Shelf.
  • When a changeset is shown in Kaleidoscope and you then stash changes or switch branches, Kaleidoscope will no longer crash.

New in Kaleidoscope 3.5.1 (Jul 21, 2022)

  • Fixes:
  • Merging and saving of JSON files works again.
  • Fix a crash in Changeset documents.
  • Changing a git working copy while a Changeset document showing that working copy is open, will no longer cause Kaleidoscope to misbehave.

New in Kaleidoscope 3.5 (Jul 11, 2022)

  • New:
  • Normalize JSON. By default, Kaleidoscope 3.5 will normalize JSON files when opening them. This enables humans to actually compare the content, and provides major speed improvements when comparing large files. Normalization can still be turned off using a new button in the bottom toolbar.
  • Compare Archives via Compare Folders Shortcut action. The folder comparison has a new use case, thanks to integration with Shortcuts (available on macOS Monterey and later). You can now send any file list in Shortcuts to Kaleidoscope to compare that list as a folder. On our blog, we describe how to use that to compare popular archive formats like .zip or .jar.
  • Integrate with iTerm. Many of our users prefer iTerm over Terminal, and so do we. Using a new preference setting, you can now choose to have Kaleidoscope open paths in iTerm instead of Terminal.
  • New preference setting for the File Shelf view. Some users prefer that the File Shelf is always visible. Others prefer that it not be visible. Now you can choose the default that works best for you.
  • Improvements:
  • Overhauled Preferences organization
  • Better keyboard navigation for folder comparisons
  • When opening a comparison or merge via ksdiff, the Welcome window will no longer be shown.
  • New windows are no longer stacked when an existing window is (almost) covering the whole screen.
  • The Compare Files and Compare Text Shortcut actions allow you to optionally set a document title.
  • Initial improvements for compatibility with future versions of macOS.
  • Fixes:
  • The Reveal in Finder context menu entry in a folder comparison will now select all selected items in Finder.
  • Fixed a rare situation in which the merge button in the bottom toolbar would be erratically disabled.
  • Opening read-only files now works in the App Store version.
  • Trying to add the same file to a document twice no longer results in unexpected outcomes.
  • Fixed a resize issue with the search field in Find.
  • When copying text from Word and pasting it in Kaleidoscope, no longer results in an image comparison.
  • Opening Word .docx documents through the Compare Files Shortcut action now works as intended.
  • Fixed a rare issue where the app could get stuck.
  • Fixed various rare crashes.

New in Kaleidoscope 3.4.4 (Jun 2, 2022)

  • New:
  • Kaleidoscope is now part of our new company, Leitmotif GmbH.
  • The team behind Kaleidoscope remains the same!
  • Fixes:
  • Under certain circumstances, printing or exporting a document would not print/export the entire document.
  • Fix multiple issues related to merging, in particular when combining typing, merging and undo/redo.

New in Kaleidoscope 3.4.3 (May 26, 2022)

  • Fixes:
  • Switching the View mode once again retains the scroll position.
  • Fix an issue where opening a diff or merge would not scroll to the first change/conflict.
  • Fix a potential crash when opening a merge document.
  • Fix a crash when switching System Appearance after having closed a merge.
  • Fix a rare crash when switching views.
  • Fix a potential crash when opening and closing a lot of documents.
  • Improve performance when closing large documents.
  • The bottom toolbar no longer allows making changes to text imported from PDF or Word documents.

New in Kaleidoscope 3.4.2 (May 23, 2022)

  • Fixes:
  • Printing now also works in the App Store version.
  • Fix for a potential crash in the changeset window.

New in Kaleidoscope 3.4.1 (May 12, 2022)

  • Fixes:
  • When opening large files with a merge conflict, it could happen that the first conflict was not selected and navigation would not work afterwards.
  • When repeatedly opening documents in Kaleidoscope from other apps (such as Ulysses), Kaleidoscope would open a new window for each file, instead of showing them in a comparison. (BTW, as of Kaleidoscope 3.4 you can drag items from the File Shelf onto other windows.)
  • Fix cases where files opened through the Kaleidoscope Share Extension could disappear.
  • The window resize animation is now faster.

New in Kaleidoscope 3.4 (May 12, 2022)

  • New:
  • Printing! Text comparisons can now be saved as PDF or be printed on paper. For the first time, you can share what you see in Kaleidoscope with others. This works both for normal file comparisons and changesets. Note: landscape orientation is recommended when printing source code. Let us know if you like this new feature and how well it fits your needs!
  • Some text editors have a mini map– Kaleidoscope now features a micro map showing an overview of all changes in a text comparison within the scroll bar.
  • Modified (and unsaved) files in a changeset window are now shown in italics in the sidebar.
  • Items can be dragged from the File Shelf of one window onto another window to move them.
  • Improvements:
  • Major parts of the user interface have been modernized under the hood. Everything should work at least as well as before. Let us know if you find any glitches.
  • Tabs in Kaleidoscope are now macOS-native. While this should result in no major changes, is is another massive technical change for this release.
  • Kaleidoscope now honors configuration files (such as .gitconfig) if they are a symlinks.
  • The Path Bar now makes better use of the available space.
  • Windows can now be closed also when not active. Finding a solution for this took way longer than you would expect.
  • The Open in Terminal action available from several contextual menus is now also available in the App Store version.
  • Fixes:
  • Shortcut actions that would sometimes not work as expected have been fixed.
  • Dragging files into Kaleidoscope, e.g. screenshots from the (iOS) Simulator now works consistently and no longer crashes.
  • Configuring git now works even if there is no .gitconfig file yet.
  • Plus a few of the usual "overall stability and performance improvements".

New in Kaleidoscope 3.3 (Mar 16, 2022)

  • New:
  • Kaleidoscope Developer Tools for Safari. Compare HTML or CSS code, or use the new ksdiff function in the JavaScript console or debugger to find bugs in your code.
  • Kaleidoscope for Visual Studio Code. This new extension lets you open files, git changesets and git merges quickly from VSCode.
  • Finding invisible character differences. Kaleidoscope can now visualize invisible UTF characters (like U+FEFF) and spot differences including them. There's also a new option to show invisible characters in the whole document.
  • Improvements:
  • The Share Menu Extension will now try to reuse an existing window for new content of the same kind.
  • Added documentation for the Services support that always existed, the Share Extension, and the new integrations.
  • Fixes:
  • Several bugfixes.

New in Kaleidoscope 3.2.2 (Feb 9, 2022)

  • This time for real, fix a regression with merges where a sidebar would erratically appear.
  • Fix more regressions where the sidebar in changesets would cover half the window width and not be resizable.
  • Kaleidoscope would often crash when being opened from Versions.
  • The view options in Folder Comparisons would sometimes change on their own when inspecting folders.
  • The middle mouse button can now be used to close tabs, as is common on macOS.

New in Kaleidoscope 3.2.1 (Feb 6, 2022)

  • Improvements:
  • Add a context menu option to copy the relative path, if one exists. Hat tip to Brett.
  • Fixes:
  • Fix a regression from version 3.2, where 3-way merge documents would show a large empty sidebar.
  • [App Store] Try to work around macOS showing Kaleidoscope.app is damaged and can't be opened. Please contact us if it still happens.
  • A few more minor fixes.

New in Kaleidoscope 3.2 (Jan 31, 2022)

  • New:
  • A new Share Extension brings Kaleidoscope even closer to where your content is. Use it from the Finder or any other app that supports sharing. At this point, we no longer know how we were able to use Kaleidoscope previously.
  • The Changeset window gains new tricks:
  • Better progress display while loading
  • Animations in the table view. You won't believe how many hoops we had to go through for this.
  • The font size in the sidebar can now be controlled, see the brand new context menu.
  • That context menu also allows opening a pair of changed files in a new window.
  • Still in that context menu, you can now get to the selected file in the current working copy, in case it exists there.
  • The path shown for files in changesets is more useful.
  • The sidebar of the changeset window can be resized (and even hidden in Reader View).
  • ksdiff now support process substitution, so you can call it like ksdiff

New in Kaleidoscope 3.1.3 (Dec 31, 2021)

  • New:
  • New single-click integration with Android Studio to use Kaleidoscope as diff and merge tool. Android developers also deserve some fun.
  • Copy/paste or drag of XCTest logs into Kaleidoscope to have them shown as a diff. This is a lot of fun when you're dealing with structures like JSON in test results.
  • Improvements:
  • The Date Modified and Size columns of the folder views now use a fixed-width font for better readability
  • Fixes:
  • Various fixes, improving the reliability of the folder comparison

New in Kaleidoscope 3.1.2 (Nov 17, 2021)

  • Improvements:
  • (Direct only) Improve the Register Kaleidoscope window with additional details
  • Items opened as part of a folder comparison no longer get added to the Recent Documents menu
  • Fixes:
  • The "Open in New Window" option in the open dialog is now off by default, restoring previous behavior
  • Fix a sporadic crash when closing documents while scrolling
  • Fix a regression in the Integration window
  • Fix a text color issue in dark mode

New in Kaleidoscope 3.1.1 (Nov 17, 2021)

  • New:
  • Integration with IDEs from JetBrains, like IntelliJ IDEA, AppCode, PhpStorm and others. Open Kaleidoscope > Integration… for details.
  • Fixes:
  • Fix crash on switching views in three way merge.
  • Fix ksdiff to include Apple silicon (Apple M1 chip) support.
  • Fix ksdiff to continue without waiting for stdin pipe to close with new --no-stdin option.

New in Kaleidoscope 3.1 (Oct 26, 2021)

  • New:
  • On macOS Monterey, Shortcuts support is here with two actions: Compare Files and Compare Text
  • Install the sample shortcut, offering a useful Quick Action for the Finder
  • Open Kaleidoscope > Integration… to learn more.

New in Kaleidoscope 3.0.3 (Oct 21, 2021)

  • Major fidelity improvements to the copy operation in folder compare. A huge thanks to Mike for helping us track this down.
  • Improved color contrast for text in Dark Appearance.
  • Fix an issue where the popup menus next to the Choose A and Choose B buttons were missing in three way merge.
  • Fixed the underlying issue for an "This app needs to be updated" system alert on macOS 12, making it unnecessary and not appear.
  • Ongoing UI consistency updates. Thanks Matt!
  • Fixed an issue that could make one side of the Folder compare disappear unexpectedly in certain rare situations.

New in Kaleidoscope 3.0.2 (Oct 8, 2021)

  • Major Changes:
  • First big interface redesign in 8 years, including a new app icon. Kaleidoscope now feels at home on macOS Big Sur and macOS Monterey.
  • Gorgeous new dark appearance for those who like it darker.
  • Runs natively on alls Macs, including those based on Apple silicon (Apple M1 chip).
  • New:
  • Reader View that lets you focus on the content.
  • Much more control over how text is laid out: Better font options, choose your preferred tab width, line height, hide all invisibles, and turn off line numbers if you don’t need them.
  • Convenient filtering of items in changeset windows.
  • Git changesets now recognize moved files.
  • Ability to ignore particular folders and files in folder compare using powerful patterns.
  • Powerful integration with Alfred.
  • Improvements:
  • New consistent top toolbar with convenient Add and Paste buttons.
  • New look for the Unified text view.
  • Binary plists are now supported (including webloc files).
  • Rebuilt the File Shelf from the ground up.
  • Switch between absolute and relative image rendering directly from the menu.
  • Progress feedback when adding a second folder to the folder scope.
  • Proper sorting of the sidebar in changeset windows.
  • Option to turn off wrapping around when jumping through changes/conflicts.
  • Fixes:
  • Way too many to note individually.

New in Kaleidoscope 2.4.2 (Sep 8, 2021)

  • Filter settings in the Folder Scope are now persistent
  • Choosing "Open in Terminal" would silently fail
  • Fix an issue where certain menu items would be disabled
  • ksdiff would sporadically not work
  • Fix a rare and rather obscure crash

New in Kaleidoscope 2.4.1 (Apr 15, 2021)

  • The kspo command, accessible from lldb, gained a few new superpowers.
  • macOS developers: Send a visual representation of any NSImage, NSView, or NSWindow to Kaleidoscope just by using kspo [object]
  • iOS developers: Send a visual representation of any UIImage or UIView (which also means UIWindow) to Kaleidoscope just by typing kspo [object]
  • If you prefer the old way of seeing a textual description, state that by typing kspo [object].description
  • Single page PDFs such as your typical graphic assets for development are now being rendered as images, enabling visually comparing of those files.
  • Added support for ~/.config directory location (XDG) for git integration configuration.
  • Fixed a case where your ~/.gitconfig could be overwritten when using the Configure button for the git integration.
  • When using ksdiff, the —no-wait option was sometimes ignored.

New in Kaleidoscope 2.4.0 (Feb 15, 2021)

  • New Xcode debugger integration (see Kaleidoscope > Integration…), providing ksp and kspo commands in lldb. Check out the examples to get an idea how much superpower this can add to your debugging abilities.
  • The ksdiff tool now always accepts the --label (-l) option to send the command to a specific Kaleidoscope window.
  • The ksdiff tool now accepts input via pipe. Use - in the file list where the piped input should be, or just use it in combination with the --label option to send multiple runs of a command into one window.
  • Enjoy improved window titles. Also, the tab bar is only visible if there is more than one document in a window.
  • Various small visual improvements, particularly on macOS Big Sur. We also fixed some drawing glitches here and there.
  • Fix an issue where ksdiff would not work on macOS High Sierra unless Kaleidoscope was already running.
  • Kaleidoscope no longer gets stuck when being launched with VoiceOver turned on.

New in Kaleidoscope 2.3.6 (Jan 19, 2021)

  • Major performance improvements when merging larger text files, like Xcode projects, particularly when using the Blocks view.
  • More than 10% performance increase when using ksdiff.
  • SVG files are treated as text for now (as they are XML), so they can be compared.
  • Fix the reasons for the most reported crashes..
  • Other smaller improvements.

New in Kaleidoscope 2.3.5 (Jan 8, 2021)

  • On macOS Big Sur, when closing a window after reviewing changes, Kaleidoscope should now always offer to save changes, instead of the app becoming unresponsive.
  • Clicking a screenshot in the Getting Started window once again opens a sample document. Also, the app no longer crashes every time.
  • Drastically reduced memory consumption in many areas.
  • View > Decrease Text Size now always works as expected.
  • Improved readability of some content when running on macOS Big Sur.
  • New Privacy Policy and updated License Agreement.
  • Various smaller bug fixes and improvements.

New in Kaleidoscope 2.3.4 (Nov 8, 2020)

  • Fixed some potential bugs hiding behind warnings.
  • Fixed missing update functionality of version 2.3.2.
  • Note: If you installed version 2.3.2 please download manually the latest version.

New in Kaleidoscope 2.3.3 (Nov 8, 2020)

  • Update contact information to [email protected], don't be shy and say hi!
  • Fixed newsletter sign-up in the Help > Getting Started window.

New in Kaleidoscope 2.3.2 (Nov 8, 2020)

  • Note: build 1442 (Direct) was pulled because it is missing update functionality. If you installed version 2.3.2 please download manually the latest version.
  • Fixed bug in integration window

New in Kaleidoscope 2.3.1 (Nov 8, 2020)

  • Fixed a crash caused by opening a zero-length text file
  • Improved scrolling performance when using Find to search for text
  • Minor bug fixes

New in Kaleidoscope 2.3 (Mar 12, 2020)

  • Improved macOS Catalina compatibility
  • Notarized builds for improved security
  • Fixed blurred scrollbar endcap issue on Retina displays
  • Updated crash analytics package
  • Minor bug fixes

New in Kaleidoscope 2.2.2 Build 1376 (Nov 9, 2017)

  • Bug fixes.

New in Kaleidoscope 2.2.1 Build 1158 (Aug 10, 2017)

  • Fixed crashes related to future macOS releases.
  • Fixed an issue where the user is unnecessarily prompted to update ksdiff.
  • Updated documentation.
  • Added analytics to help our developers improve future releases.

New in Kaleidoscope 2.2.0 Build 439 (May 4, 2017)

  • New: Added support for recent macOS updates:
  • Overhauled the interface to better reflect the contemporary Mac environment.
  • Added stability with multiple under-the-hood improvements.
  • Modernized the codebase to make future work more manageable.
  • Fixed various issues related to macOS Sierra.

New in Kaleidoscope 2.1.1 Build 219 (Jun 11, 2015)

  • Fixed a couple issues with our Bazaar integration instructions.
  • ⌘-D now triggers the Don't Resolve button when dismissing a merge warning.
  • Improved automatic graphics switching support (Early 2011 or newer MacBooks Pro): Kaleidoscope will now only use the discrete GPU when necessary.
  • Updated our mechanism for purchasing a Kaleidoscope registration.

New in Kaleidoscope 2.1.0 Build 134 (May 1, 2014)

  • New Feature: Added support for ignoring whitespace (leading, trailing and line ending) in text comparisons.
  • New Feature: Added an indicator to display remaining unresolved conflicts in a merge document.
  • Text Scope:
  • Added dropdown menus on either side of Choose Left/Choose Right buttons to make “Choose Both” options more discoverable.
  • Added better tooltips for the “Copy to” buttons when in Unified view.
  • Fixed various issues with Dark Theme which made text difficult to read.
  • Fixed issue where selecting different text scope views on one window could affect copy right/left buttons on other windows.
  • Fixed issue where holding option to modify the behavior of copy right/left buttons on one window could affect other windows.
  • Fixed issue that could prevent Kaleidoscope from picking up changes made to a document open in more than one window.
  • Fixed issue that could prevent Kaleidoscope from picking up changes made to documents externally, especially on the MAS build.
  • Folder Scope:
  • Fixed issue where sometimes Folder Scope copies would not show up correctly after the copy had taken place.
  • Fixed issue where Folder Scope would not pick up external additions of empty files or directories.
  • Fixed issue that caused the app to reject dragging of folders to the dock icon.
  • Integration:
  • Fixed issue that caused git integration to fail on 10.9 Mavericks.
  • Fixed issue where ksdiff was sometimes not able to connect to Kaleidoscope after reboots with window restoration enabled.
  • Fixed issue that where Kaleidoscope would not allow quitting when choosing “Review Conflicts” on a modified document.
  • General Improvements:
  • Updated Automator actions to categorize correctly in Automator.
  • Added support for copy/paste shortcuts in the crash reporter window.
  • Kaleidoscope now avoids saving files without changes.
  • Kaleidoscope will now disallow edits to files that can be read but not written to (e.g. docx files).
  • Kaleidoscope now better remembers size and position of your windows.
  • Fixed issue that stopped the comparison windows from minimizing when double clicking their title bar.
  • Fixed issue where the path bar area could fail to update correctly when switching tabs.
  • Fixed issue where clicking the dock icon would not restore minimized documents.
  • Fixed issue where dragging a group of files that were already open in Kaleidoscope could cause issues resulting in not all new files being added.
  • Fixed issue that made it possible for the comparison window to grow vertically offscreen on 10.9 leaving you with a window you could not reposition afterwards.
  • Fixed issue that made it impossible to bring up the open dialog by clicking on an empty tab when fullscreen in 10.9.
  • Fixed issue where sometimes full-screen windows would not be full-screen.
  • Fixed small visual issues with the Ignored Files dialog window.
  • Fixed documentation issues with ksdiff help.
  • Improved Help Documentation.
  • Various performance and stability fixes.

New in Kaleidoscope 2.1.0 Build 131 Beta 2 (Apr 4, 2014)

  • General Improvements:
  • Added information about whitespace ignoring to Help.
  • Improved Help documentation.
  • Fixed a crasher that could occur when choosing a merge option in 3-up.
  • Fixed issue where Choose A/B buttons did not have proper icons when starting in Unified mode.
  • Fixed issue that could cause Copy Left/Right dropdowns to appear when clicking on unrelated buttons.

New in Kaleidoscope 2.1.0 Build 130 Beta (Mar 26, 2014)

  • New Feature: Added support for ignoring white-space (leading, trailing and line ending) in text comparisons.
  • New Feature: Added an indicator to display remaining unresolved conflicts in a merge document.
  • Text Scope:
  • Added drop-down menus on either side of Choose Left/Choose Right buttons to make “Choose Both” options more discoverable.
  • Added better tool-tips for the “Copy to” buttons when in Unified view.
  • Fixed various issues with Dark Theme which made text difficult to read.
  • Fixed issue where selecting different text scope views on one window could affect copy right/left buttons on other windows.
  • Fixed issue where holding option to modify the behavior of copy right/left buttons on one window could affect other windows.
  • Fixed issue that could prevent Kaleidoscope from picking up changes made to a document open in more than one window.
  • Fixed issue that could prevent Kaleidoscope from picking up changes made to documents externally, especially on the MAS build.
  • Folder Scope:
  • Fixed issue where sometimes Folder Scope copies would not show up correctly after the copy had taken place.
  • Fixed issue where Folder Scope would not pick up external additions of empty files or directories.
  • Fixed issue that caused the app to reject dragging of folders to the dock icon.
  • Integration:
  • Fixed issue that caused git integration to fail on 10.9 Mavericks.
  • Fixed issue where ksdiff was sometimes not able to connect to Kaleidoscope after reboots with window restoration enabled.
  • Fixed issue that where Kaleidoscope would not allow quitting when choosing “Review Conflicts” on a modified document.
  • General Improvements:
  • Updated Automator actions to categorize correctly in Automator.
  • Added support for copy/paste shortcuts in the crash reporter window.
  • Kaleidoscope now avoids saving files without changes.
  • Kaleidoscope will now disallow edits to files that can be read but not written to (e.g. docx files).
  • Kaleidoscope now better remembers size and position of your windows.
  • Fixed issue that stopped the comparison windows from minimizing when double clicking their title bar.
  • Fixed issue where the path bar area could fail to update correctly when switching tabs.
  • Fixed issue where clicking the dock icon would not restore minimized documents.
  • Fixed issue where dragging a group of files that were already open in Kaleidoscope could cause issues resulting in not all new files being added.
  • Fixed issue that made it possible for the comparison window to grow vertically off-screen on 10.9 leaving you with a window you could not reposition afterwards.
  • Fixed issue that made it impossible to bring up the open dialog by clicking on an empty tab when full-screen in 10.9.
  • Fixed issue where sometimes full-screen windows would not be full-screen.
  • Fixed small visual issues with the Ignored Files dialog window.
  • Fixed documentation issues with ksdiff help.
  • Improved Help Documentation.
  • Various performance and stability fixes.

New in Kaleidoscope 2.0.2 Build 116 (Oct 24, 2013)

  • Improved compatibility with OS X 10.9 Mavericks
  • Improved stability

New in Kaleidoscope 2.0.1 Build 114 (Feb 20, 2013)

  • Text Scope:
  • Tweaked the visual appearance of the change count stepper in Text Scope.
  • Fixed the "Reset Selection" menu item in Text Scope to enable and disable properly.
  • The Save menu is now properly disabled when comparing text snippets.
  • Fixed a bug where the summary text in document titles and tabs might not properly update.
  • The Resolved document in Three Way Blocks now has better alignment with similar content in A and B.
  • Kaleidoscope can now properly diff .textClipping documents.
  • Folder Scope:
  • User-defined system date formats will now be properly used.
  • Fixed a bug that prevented Folder Scope from having the correct keyboard focus by default.
  • Image Scope:
  • Kaleidoscope now handles different color spaces more reliably in Image Scope.
  • Kaleidoscope now properly accounts for camera orientation when displaying images in Image Scope.
  • Changesets:
  • Improved keyboard navigation in changesets.
  • Unsaved files will now be properly marked as dirty in changesets.
  • Changesets now properly select the list of files on the left when opening, allowing you to quickly review changes.
  • General Improvements:
  • Direct Sale fulfillment emails will now properly activate Kaleidoscope for users with diacritics in their names.
  • Kaleidoscope will no longer move itself to ~/Applications if that folder exists. It will now move to /Applications in all cases.
  • Fixed a bug that caused temporary licenses to expire one day earlier than they should have.
  • Fixed a bug that caused the corner radii of windows in Full Screen to not match.
  • Fixed an issue that sometimes led to poor vertical alignment in the File Shelf.
  • Dragging files to Kaleidoscope will properly open to a comparison document and will no longer leave the launch window open in the background.
  • Fixed a bug that caused accessing files from the Recents list to sometimes stop working.
  • Improved the messaging if Kaleidoscope is unable to open a document that was previously available via AFP.

New in Kaleidoscope 2.0.0 Build 107 (Jan 17, 2013)

  • Resets trial period for users whose trial period expired during beta

New in Kaleidoscope 2.0.0 Build 104 (Jan 17, 2013)

  • New Feature: Added support for merging text documents using a Two-Way interface in Text Scope.
  • New Feature: Added version control integration for merging and resolving conflicts using a Three-Way interface in Text Scope.
  • New Feature: Folder Scope — now you can spot the differences between folders and copy files and folders between them. Double click any row to open a new comparison and look at any pair of files or folders more closely.
  • New Feature: Kaleidoscope Snippets and Services
  • You can now drag text and images directly into the Kaleidoscope window, or the Kaleidoscope dock icon, to create Snippets. This lets you quickly compare content without having to save and name files. Try dragging images or text directly from Safari or an email message!
  • Kaleidoscope now includes OS X System Services to make you more productive. They are enabled by default, but you can manually turn them On or Off in the Keyboard section of System Preferences. You can also set global keyboard shortcuts for them in the Keyboard pane of System Preferences if you want to get to these even faster.
  • Open in Kaleidoscope: Right click on any files or folders in Finder, and compare them in a single Kaleidoscope tab. This is the easiest way to compare folders!
  • Text and Image Compare: Right click on text or images and send them directly to Kaleidoscope as Snippets. Try this by selecting and right clicking on any text in TextEdit, then select “Compare Text in Kaleidoscope” from the Services menu.
  • New Feature: Clipboard Support
  • You can use the new "Edit -> Paste as File" and "File -> New from Clipboard" menu items to compare directly from the Clipboard. This works similarly to the drag and drop Snippets functionality. Use this to quickly create a new comparison document or to add existing text or images to an open document.
  • New Feature: Kaleidoscope now supports resolving merge conflicts for images.
  • New Feature: Added support for Full Screen on Lion and Mountain Lion.
  • Full support for Macs with Retina displays.
  • Substantially updated and modernized user interface.
  • Added support for sending arbitrary changesets and partial changsets with ksdiff.
  • Added support for arbitrary merges and diffs using ksdiff.
  • Integration with third-party tools now requires installation of the ksdiff command-line tool from the Integration window. You can find the Integration window by selecting “Integration” from the “Kaleidoscope” menu.
  • Stability improvements and bug fixes to ksdiff.
  • General bug fixes and stability improvements.

New in Kaleidoscope 2.0.0 Build 99 Beta (Dec 20, 2012)

  • Changes how third-party tools interact with Kaleidoscope. Integration with Kaleidoscope now requires installation of the ksdiff command-line tool from the Integration window.

New in Kaleidoscope 2.0.0 Build 98 Beta (Dec 19, 2012)

  • Clipboard Support:
  • You can use the new "Edit -> Paste as File" and "File -> New from Clipboard" menu items to compare directly from the Clipboard. This works similarly to the drag and drop Snippets functionality introduced earlier.
  • 3-Up and Conflict Resolution:
  • When opening a 3-Up document, it should now scroll to the first conflict automatically.
  • Kaleidoscope now prompts you if you try to save a merged document that still contains unresolved conflicts.
  • Better handling of git's trustExitCode when closing conflict documents.
  • When Kaleidoscope performs automatic merging, it now properly marks the document as dirty so that changes can be saved to disk.
  • Text colors in 3-Up have been revised and improved for conflicts and merging.
  • The behavior of the Conflicts and Changes stepper control has been improved in 3-Up.
  • The Revert to Saved menu item now behaves as expected when looking at a text conflict.
  • It's now possible to use the Find bar to search in all three documents when in 3-up.
  • Changesets:
  • There is now a "Save All" (Command-Shift-S) menu item when in a Changeset document.
  • You can now use Command-Shift-Up/Down to navigate between files in a Changeset.
  • Text:
  • Text coloring has been revised to be more consistent between modes, with less clutter, and sharper lines.
  • Dragging text from Kaleidoscope to Kaleidoscope no longer causes it to hang.
  • General:
  • Many crashers have been squashed. Thank you for the crash reports, they were invaluable.
  • The toolbar now handles smaller window sizes more elegantly.
  • Fixed a minor issue that caused the - and + icons next to the image zoom level slider to look wrong.
  • Made Kaleidoscope less noisy on the console.
  • Small text changes throughout Kaleidoscope.
  • Updated the icons used in Help.

New in Kaleidoscope 2.0.0 Build 84 Beta (Dec 3, 2012)

  • You can now drag text and images directly into the Kaleidoscope window, or the Kaleidoscope dock icon, to create Snippets. This lets you quickly compare content without having to save and name files. Try dragging images or text directly from Safari or an email message!
  • Kaleidoscope now includes OS X System Services to make you more productive. They are enabled by default, but you can manually turn them On or Off in the Keyboard section of System Preferences. You can also set global keyboard shortcuts for them in the Keyboard pane of System Preferences if you want to get to these even faster.
  • Open in Kaleidoscope: Right click on any files or folders in Finder, and compare them in a single Kaleidoscope tab. This is the easiest way to compare folders!
  • Text and Image Compare: Right click on text or images and send them directly to Kaleidoscope as Snippets. Try this by selecting and right clicking on any text in TextEdit, for example.
  • New: Kaleidoscope now supports resolving merge conflicts for images.
  • The Kaleidoscope In-app Store now tastes great and is less filling.
  • The In-app Store has been redesigned for a more convenient workflow.
  • The In-app Store will now AutoFill your name, address, and email when you go to make a purchase if you allow Kaleidoscope to access this information.
  • Kaleidoscope now requires 10.7.3 and up
  • General bug fixes and stability improvements.

New in Kaleidoscope 2.0.0 Build 81 Beta (Nov 26, 2012)

  • Customers wishing to pay with PayPal will now see a properly sized window in the Registration panel.
  • A "Buy Now" button has been added to the launch window.
  • Added an indication of the SSL certificate validity and encryption being used in the Registration panel.
  • Fixed a crash that could occasionally happen when opening only a single document in Kaleidoscope.
  • Fixed a crash in ksdiff when passing an arbitrary merge without specifying a base file.
  • Fixed a rare crash in Folder Scope when a copy failed to complete.
  • Took Kaleidoscope on a diet and fixed a number of leaks by the power of Instruments.app.

New in Kaleidoscope 1.1.8 Build 57 (Aug 2, 2012)

  • Corrects a problem that broke full-screen mode on Mac OS X 10.7.

New in Kaleidoscope 1.1.7 Build 56 (Jul 26, 2012)

  • Adds support for Developer ID on Mac OS X 10.8.

New in Kaleidoscope 1.1.6 Build 55 (Dec 16, 2011)

  • Implemented full screen support for Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion)
  • Integration improvements for Mercurial & Bazaar
  • Updated License Agreement and Acknowledgements information
  • Updated ownership and contact information from Sofa to Black Pixel

New in Kaleidoscope 1.1.5 Build 54 (Jul 22, 2011)

  • Improved compatibility with Mac OS X 10.7 (Lion)

New in Kaleidoscope 1.1.4 Build 50 (Jun 11, 2011)

  • Integration improvements on some versions of Mac OS X
  • Clarified steps in the Integration Window
  • Fixed a bug where Kaleidoscope would launch twice following an update
  • Fixed a bug where comparing license agreements would display an empty window for expired trial versions
  • Minor stability and performance improvements
  • Small refresh to the look and feel
  • Updated license agreement

New in Kaleidoscope 1.1.3 Build 48 (Apr 12, 2011)

  • Text Scope:
  • Fixed some drawing issues in the Text Scope search bar
  • Image Scope:
  • Fixed a crash when some images could not be loaded
  • Integration:
  • Fixed a bug where the Integration Window would fail to report ksdiff as installed
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when using the Integration Window
  • Integration Window no longer shows an alert when users cancel authorization install of ksdiff
  • Other Improvements:
  • Clicking the file shelf button in a background tab now selects the tab
  • Fixed a crash that could occur during registration

New in Kaleidoscope 1.1.2 Build 46 (Jan 27, 2011)

  • General Improvements:
  • The “Close Other Tabs” menu item in the tab context menu is now disabled when there is only one tab
  • Kaleidoscope now always opens an empty tab when the Dock icon is clicked and there are no open tabs
  • Fixed bug where new tabs could be displayed in the wrong order
  • Clicking “Open Files In New Tab...” from the tab bar context menu and clicking the Cancel button in the Open dialog no longer opens an empty tab
  • The File Shelf context menu is now hidden when the file you were looking at is deleted in the background
  • Fixed a bug where Kaleidoscope would not open a changeset after the license agreement was accepted
  • Kaleidoscope now remembers the width of the changeset source list between comparisons
  • Fixed issues related to showing multiple “Ignored Files” alerts
  • Various other small improvements
  • Text Scope:
  • SVG files are now opened in the Text Scope, instead of showing a empty Image Scope
  • Comparing text files with a large number of lines is now much faster
  • Image Scope:
  • “Transparency” is now spelled correctly in the Image Scope preferences
  • Integration:
  • Added steps for setting up TextMate's Mercurial bundle in the Integration window
  • Software Updates:
  • Kaleidoscope will now ask for administrator privileges when installing an update if needed
  • Fixed a rare crash that could occur when checking for updates