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TransparentBar v0.2.3

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@github-actions github-actions released this 08 Nov 10:29
· 6 commits to main since this release
v0.2.3
66a7b31

TransparentBar v0.2.3

Responsiveness update that makes the connector pick up newly scrolled edge colours faster.

What comes bundled:

  • TransparentBar.exe - Native Windows host executable (x64)
  • transparentbar_bridge-0.2.3.dll - Native taskbar transparency bridge
  • Inno Setup Installer (TransparentBar-setup-v0.2.3.exe) - Standard per-user installation with desktop shortcut option
  • Portable ZIP Archive (TransparentBar-windows-x64-v0.2.3.zip) - Standalone package with SHA-256 verification sums

What doesn't come bundled:

  • A different connector appearance
    • Strip height, pattern, and gradient profile are unchanged; only the capture weighting and fade speed moved.

New and improved MAJOR features in 0.2.3:

  • Responsive Strip Hide

    • Lowered the settled sampling interval from 250 ms to 64 ms, so the strip disappears within a tick of the maximized window closing, restoring, or losing focus.
    • Foreground and location events now wake the 16 ms connector timer immediately, so hide detection no longer waits for the settled interval.

  • Faster Cross-Fade Convergence

    • Raised the per-frame blend from 30% to 50% of the remaining colour gap.
    • A newly scrolled edge now reaches its final colour in roughly half the time (about 8 frames instead of 13 at a full colour swing), while still avoiding an abrupt snap.
    • The 250 ms settled-interval easing is unchanged, so idle battery use is unaffected.

  • Faster Active Polling (60 ms to 16 ms)

    • Lowered the active connector sampling interval to 16 ms, so edge capture runs roughly every frame (60 Hz).
    • Newly scrolled colours are picked up within a single frame instead of waiting up to 60 ms between captures.
    • CPU cost stays negligible because the 4-row strip is unchanged and uploads are skipped when colours do not change.

  • Sharper Row Weighting Toward the Visible Edge

    • Sample rows are now weighted by the square of their distance from the top (1:4:9:16 across the 4-row band) instead of linear (1:2:3:4).
    • The bottom row closest to the maximized window now dominates the sample, so freshly scrolled content at the very edge registers in the next frame rather than being averaged down by rows above it.

New and improved minor features in 0.2.3 include:

  • Regression Coverage: The existing blend-convergence and edge-dominance tests pass unchanged, confirming the faster fade still eases rather than snaps.
  • Synchronized Versioning: Updated Cargo manifests, PE file resources, Inno Setup manifests, About dialog, taskbar bridge channel, and both versioned download filenames to 0.2.3.
Click here to view technical & architectural details
  • Target Architecture: Windows 10 & 11 x64 (MSVC static CRT), primary and secondary bottom taskbars.
  • Test Suite: 19 host unit tests and 7 bridge tests passing.

Downloads & Verification

Full Changelog: v0.2.2...v0.2.3

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