Pixelmator Pro gains new photo browser and workflow improvements

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Pixelmator Pro 24 Update
Pixelmator Pro 24 Update (Image credit: Pixelmator)

What you need to know

  • A big new Pixelmator Pro update is now available in the App Store.
  • The new update is a free download for existing owners.
  • New changes to the photo browser and iCloud management make this a worthwhile update for all.

Pixelmator Pro for Mac has a new update out that adds and tweaks features, including a new photo browser and overall workflow improvements that include better support for PSD and SVG filetypes.

The new update, available as a free download via the App Store for everyone who already has the app installed, includes changes that bring "much improved support for iCloud Photos, a smoother photo browsing experience, and more." Changes made via the Photos app will now also immediately appear in the Pixelmator Pro Photos browser, too.

There's a lot going on in this new update, with the full rundown of changes reading:

  • The Photos browser has been redesigned from the ground up, bringing much improved support for iCloud Photos, a smoother photo browsing experience, and more.
  • Opening photos stored in iCloud will now automatically download full-resolution versions of these photos.
  • In the new Photos browser, you'll now find the Recents, Favorites, Panoramas, Selfies, Screenshots, and most of the other standard Photos albums.
  • Any changes you make in the Photos app — for example, if you rearrange or rename your albums, add or remove photos — will now instantly appear in the Photos browser.
  • Change the size of thumbnails in the Photos browser using the Zoom buttons or the Command-Plus (+) and Command-Minus (-) keyboard shortcuts.
  • It is now possible to change the colors of shapes and Color Fill effect right in the Layers sidebar. To open the color picker, double-click the layer thumbnail.
  • You can now quickly convert color adjustments applied to a layer into a color adjustments layer. Do that by clicking the More button at the top of the Color Adjustments pane and choosing Convert to Color Adjustments Layer.
  • PSD files exported from Pixelmator Pro will now open with editable Levels, Curves, Channel Mixer, and Invert adjustment layers in Adobe Photoshop.
  • Improved SVG support with certain third-party apps.
  • Option-scrolling to zoom using MacBook Air trackpads would sometimes work incorrectly. Fixed.
  • Changing the image size would not scale the grain size and sharpen radius of the Grain and Sharpen color adjustments layers. Fixed.
  • Added a few shape-related stability and performance improvements and fixed an issue with shape thumbnails.

Those who have yet to buy Pixelmator Pro can grab it from the Mac App Store for $39.99 right now. Your money will get you one of the best Mac image editors around, not to mention one that has been built with Apple silicon in mind for super-speedy performance.

Oliver Haslam
Oliver Haslam
Contributor

Oliver Haslam has written about Apple and the wider technology business for more than a decade with bylines on How-To Geek, PC Mag, iDownloadBlog, and many more. He has also been published in print for Macworld, including cover stories. At iMore, Oliver is involved in daily news coverage and, not being short of opinions, has been known to 'explain' those thoughts in more detail, too. Having grown up using PCs and spending far too much money on graphics card and flashy RAM, Oliver switched to the Mac with a G5 iMac and hasn't looked back. Since then he's seen the growth of the smartphone world, backed by iPhone, and new product categories come and go. Current expertise includes iOS, macOS, streaming services, and pretty much anything that has a battery or plugs into a wall. Oliver also covers mobile gaming for iMore, with Apple Arcade a particular focus. He's been gaming since the Atari 2600 days and still struggles to comprehend the fact he can play console quality titles on his pocket computer.