UltraConvert 1.4.0 Preview — Startup and Finder Settings

UltraConvert 1.4.0 preview adds native startup and Finder integration settings.

• Open UltraConvert → Settings… (⌘,): optional Launch at Login, current macOS approval/error status, automatic Finder action registration, manual action repair and format-service refresh. Launch at Login stays off until you request it.
• Repair templates are included in every native app. Finder and Keyboard Settings buttons lead to macOS's enable switches; registering a service does not change those switches.
• The standalone development builder packages all engines inside the app and removes about 94 MB / 4.4% of local/debug symbols and Python development files. All codecs, Calibre plugins and offline geographic precision grids are retained. The local compressed DMG shrank by about 22 MB, from 1,341,930,197 to 1,319,457,872 bytes.
• Clearer install notes are included in the public ZIP and DMG. The README now covers startup/Finder settings as well as installation, mixed batches and output locations.

Install this public preview: download the macos-arm64 ZIP, extract the complete UltraConvert folder, open Terminal there and run python3 install.py. The public DMG contains the same installer folder. Homebrew engines and a separate Python runtime are installed; dragging its prebuilt .app alone is insufficient. See installation instructions.

The public prebuilt app is ad-hoc signed with Hardened Runtime and not Apple notarized. If macOS blocks it, follow the documented source-build route; do not disable Gatekeeper. Apple Silicon is tested locally on macOS 27 and in CI on macOS 26. The native interface targets macOS 13, but earlier macOS and Intel/engine availability remain unverified.

Verification: 62 representative format round trips plus preservation, security and batch regressions passed against the smaller standalone runtime; native layout, Finder ownership/repair, settings state/error checks and static/dependency audits passed. Both macOS and static CI jobs passed for the exact released commit.

Standalone distribution status: the drag-to-Applications DMG is still local. Public bundled-engine distribution awaits complete corresponding-source/notices review, Developer ID signing, Apple-accepted notarization/stapling and a quarantined clean-Mac check. The preview's source includes the builder; its public assets do not bundle those engines. See standalone status and size measurements.

This is a prerelease; v1.3.0 remains the latest stable release.