Pixelmator Pro update brings redesigned photo browser, improved PSD and SVG support, more

The popular image editor Pixelmator Pro for Mac has received a major update that introduces a brand new photo browser, as well as other enhancements such as improved support for PSD and SVG files and better management of photos stored in iCloud.

According to the developers, the new photo browser has been “redesigned from the ground up” to improve support for iCloud Photos and provide a faster browsing experience. For instance, photos stored in iCloud are now automatically downloaded at their full resolutions when you open them in the app.

Photos are now organized by the same categories as in Apple’s Photos app, which includes Recent, Favorites, Panoramas, Selfies, and Screenshots. In addition, any changes the user makes in the Photos app are instantly shown in Pixelmator Pro. You can also change the size of thumbnails by using keyboard shortcuts.

With the new update Pixelmator Pro has improved support for exporting PSD files. The files can now be opened with Adobe Photoshop editable layers, curves and channel mixers. Support for SVG files has also been improved.

Other changes include:

• It is now possible to change the colors of shapes and Color Fill effect right in the Layers sidebar. Double-click the thumbnail of a layer to open the Color Picker.
• You can quickly transform color adjustments that have been applied to layers into color adjustments layers. Click the More button in the color adjustment pane to convert the layer into a color adjustments layer.
• 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 some stability and performance enhancements to shape related issues and resolved an issue regarding shape thumbnails.

Pixelmator Pro is available for $39. 99 from the Mac App Store. Of course, the update is free for current users.

More about Pixelmator

• Pixelmator Pro adds color adjustments and effects layers, 200 new vector shapes
• Pixelmator Photo for iOS now tuned to work well with limited Photos library access