Release Notes for Blockpad 1.7.0
May 2025
Version 1.7.0 is currently available on Windows. If you do not yet see an automatic update offered inside your version of Blockpad, you can update now by
downloading the latest installer on the download page, and follow the steps to update to the newest version.
Version 1.7.0 is also currently available on Mac and Linux. Please see the the download page.
Summary
Changes with version 1.7.0 include:
- Language support
- Special symbols in formulas (breaking change)
- New installer and auto-update process
- Features and improvements
- Bug fixes
Language support
The following langauges are now supported with translations in the user interface:
- English
- Spanish
- French
- German
- Dutch
- Italian
- Czech
- Norwegian
- Polish
- Swedish
- Danish
- Portuguese
- Turkish
- Greek
- Ukrainian
- Russian
- Finnish
- Lithuanian
- Latvian
- Estonian
- Icelandic
- Romanian
- Hungarian
- Catalan
- Hindi
- Bengali
- Japanese
- Korean
- Bulgarian
- Khmer
- Tagalog
- Indonesian
- Malay
By default, Blockpad will use your operating system's installed language. To choose another language, select the language when installing Blockpad, or go to the app menu > Manage Installation and re-install.
Other improvements to language support:
- Improved auto selecting of items in formula input dropdown list for variable names with diacritics
- Improved default fallback fonts, so now Japanese, Korean, Chinese, Bengali, Hindi, and other types of text now appear without needed to select a special font first.
Special symbols in formulas (breaking change):
Added ability to parse math symbols as operators, even those that do not directly calculate in the Blockpad formula language. This can be used to show static equations
with any math operators from the Symbol tool. These symbol operators cannot be used in a raw formula variable name anymore - to use in a name would now require wrapping in Latex bounds.
If you have used these symbols in formulas as part of variable names, you will now see an error message "Cannot evaluate non-calculating operator". To fix this,
you can tweak those formulas to put \( ... \) around the variable name. For example, you can change A → B = 5 to
\(A → B\) = 5.
When using operators for calculating, make sure to use the actual calculation operators.
New installer and auto-update process
- New Manage Installation tool (in the app menu) that helps switch between beta and stable install channels and change UI language
- Improved auto update process, for updates from version 1.7 to later versions, or for installs using the new installer
Features and improvements
- Optimizations to style rules, where files with many style rules will now be much faster, including spreadsheets with a lot of formatting
- Removed limits on number of style rules, including table range formatting
- Organized Objects of Type list in style rule manager into a hierarchy
- Added new style rule targets for any equation, any frame, and paragraphs by outline level
- Added Equation Body, Equation Step, and Equation Result types to style manager, for creating special styles (including for printing and saving to PDF) for individual parts of equations.
- When subtracting date time values, the context of the specific date values being subtracted is now preserved when converting to a time unit
- When displaying complex numbers, the greatest number of digits for the applied value format is now used for both real and imaginary components, as opposed to greatest possible number of digits previously.
- Reorganized settings page into tabs
- For blocks defined over a table range, styles inside the block are defined by the block itself, for styles applied by table range.
- Added support for .json files as external references.
- Added support for tab-separated data files (.tsv files) for import.
- Added new documentation to functions in toolbar and in formula input.
- Improved library menus in toolbar, to help with exploring library functions.
- Added general support for emojis in Blockpad files. Emojis will work in formulas and in other text. They will only appear in black and white (or whatever text color and highlight are set),
except currently in the Save to PDF tool, which renders them in full color. There is no tool to insert them directly, but you could copy and paste emojis from other programs.
- Individual formulas may now take more than 10 seconds to calculate, and it is also possible to cancel ongoing formula updates.
- Improved array layouts of linear series to show accurate array dimensions and to use better formatted numbers.
- Added new overload to Reduce function with initial value parameter.
- Added support for adding style rules to blocks and embedded frames.
- Added new input for table of contents to specify leader before page numbers.
- Added support for specifying padding for paragraph (within border and background box) when applied as style rule.
- Added MN unit to built-in units.
- When browsing a library of blocks in the Insert Block tool, the subcomponents of a block are now listed on the right along with a library's blocks.
- Libraries are now cached on your local computer as they are used. This ensures you will have uninterrupted access to them locally, even if there is an internet disruption.
This also improves the performance of the block system. The program will automatically sync changes with cached libraries if it detects changes. (Note that caching
does not yet work for the data of library data tables.)
- Added a Rename tool to the External References and Resources tools, to give items new names to use in formulas.
- Added a new tool ReloadResourceTool in Library.Tools.File that can be used to automate reloading external references in macros. For example,
Library.Tools.File.ReloadResourceTool({Target: [nodeof(xref1)]});
- Improved SMath file import to work better with newer SMath versions.
- For Python integration, made several robustness improvements.
Bug fixes
- Fixed issue with floating point arithmetic in determining last item of linear series
- Fixed issue where linear series was sometimes shown with extra ### values
- Fixed issue with using Formulas > Update Selected to update blocks, to ensure block inputs update in addition to block itself
- Fixed issue with formula refactoring in block inputs, where if an object is renamed, the block input formulas will update correctly now
- For style rules applied to type or by name, borders are now applied correctly to table cells
- Fix to issue with sudden unwanted scrolling after inputting an equation
- Fix to reference values not being displayed correctly in scenario blocks
- Fix to issues with applying value definitions to table ranges
- Improved keystrokes while inputting option lists specified by value definition, as well as other dropdown boxes in the application. Now, the space bar always opens a dropdown list, typing into a dropdown box correctly starts selecting items, and tab or enter key selects the item and moves the input to the next cell or control, if applicable.
- Fixed issue with copying and pasting from Excel to Blockpad, where now basic pasting works again. Now, copying and pasting merged cells also works.
- Fixed LCM function to support numbers with units.
- Fixed issues with SignificantFigures function.
- Fixed issue with multiplying and dividing numbers with custom base units.
- Improved consistency of error messages being shown when there is an error with a block or its inputs.
- Fixed several issues with scenario blocks defined over a table range.
- Fixed issue where Suggest Equations option was always active, whether chosen or not.
- Cleaned up and clarified error messages if there is a problem when a file is opened.
- Improved reliability of pasting images from websites.
- Fixed issue where sometimes table columns did not fit exactly to page width.
- Fix to issues with increase and decrease digits tools and related tools.
- Fix to issue with using single-parameter built-in functions directly with Each function.
- Fixed issue where section backgrounds and borders could overlap page header and footer.
- Fixed insert hyperlink tool to preserve selected text when creating a link.
- Fixed issue where a heading 2 could incorrectly become a heading 1 when turning off outline numbering for the heading.
- Fixed issue with Duplicate tool for frames removing page break properties and embedded frame titles in duplicated content.
- Fixed issue with setting some properties when paragraphs are selected in multiple selections.
- Fixed several issues with editing blocks.
- Improved the value format toggle tools (commas, percentage, etc.).
- Fixed issues with excessive warnings with saving files on network file shares.
- Fixed issues in math layout with show steps with negative numbers.
- Fixed issues with Alt keypad combinations to insert symbols.
- Fixed issues with justified alignment in the web app, Mac app, and when saving to PDF.
- Fixed issues with Latex layouts when Show Formula is off.
- Fixed issue with array formulas overriding properties of individual cells when updating.
- Fixed issue with image resources being removed incorrectly when inside step-by-step sections and solver sections.
Further fixes in build 3620:
- Fixed performance issue with libraries added with Include Libraries tool.
- Fixed issue with double clicking empty cells with a value definition option list.
- Fixed issue with layouts hanging in rare cases.
- Tweaked file saving on networks to reduce chance of file handles being left open by Windows.