What’s New in MetaScope 1.0.2 (Build 10)

🚨 Critical Fixes

External Drive Support Revolution

MetaScope now provides seamless external drive integration with persistent access across app restarts. This major infrastructure update resolves the “Error Loading Directory” issues many users experienced.

What’s Fixed:

• ✅ External drive favorites now load correctly after app restart
• ✅ Breadcrumb navigation works seamlessly on external drives
• ✅ Professional permission dialogs explain required access clearly
• ✅ Bookmarks persist permanently for granted directories

Sony ARW File Processing

MAJOR FIX: Eliminated 30+ second hangs when processing Sony ARW files. The app now handles large RAW metadata efficiently with concurrent processing.

What’s Fixed:

• ✅ ARW files load metadata within normal timeframes (2-5 seconds vs 30+ seconds)
• ✅ No more indefinite “Loading metadata…” states
• ✅ Improved memory management for large file processing
• ✅ Enhanced timeout mechanisms prevent app freezing

Nikon NEF File Reliability

CRITICAL FIX: Resolved metadata loading freezes specific to Nikon NEF files through robust UTF-8 handling and optimized ExifTool processing.

What’s Fixed:

• ✅ NEF files load metadata successfully without hanging
• ✅ Robust handling of binary data in RAW file metadata
• ✅ Multi-tier UTF-8 conversion prevents processing failures
• ✅ Optimized ExifTool flags for better NEF compatibility

🎨 Major Feature Enhancements

Revolutionary Modern Photography Analysis

NEW: Complete Modern tab overhaul transforms sparse feature detection into comprehensive computational photography analysis.

What’s New:

• 🆕 Color Science Analysis: ICC profile detection, color space identification, gamut analysis
• 🆕 Lens Technology Detection: Distortion correction, vignetting compensation, chromatic aberration
• 🆕 Processing Pipeline Recognition: Adobe, Capture One, DxO, Luminar software detection
• 🆕 Progressive Disclosure UI: Intelligent content revelation based on available metadata
• 🆕 Educational Empty States: “Did You Know?” sections teach modern photography concepts
• 🆕 Visual Design System: Color-coded indicators (🟢 AI/computational, 🟡 software-enhanced, ⚪ standard)

Enhanced EXIF Display System

IMPROVED: Comprehensive unification of EXIF display across Modern and Raw tabs with user-configurable options.

What’s Enhanced:

• ✨ Dual Tab System: Modern tab focuses on computational features, Raw tab shows complete ExifTool data
• ✨ Configurable Display: Choose between raw technical values or human-readable formatted data
• ✨ Font Customization: Apply user font preferences to both EXIF keys and values
• ✨ PDF Export Options: Three sorting modes (by group, by name, raw ExifTool order)
• ✨ Authentic Ordering: Raw EXIF tab matches ExifTool’s native organization system

Exiftool version update 13.34

Thumbnail Navigation Polish

FIXED: Keyboard navigation in thumbnail view now moves exactly vertically/horizontally as expected.

What’s Improved:

• ✅ Up/down arrows move one row vertically (no more diagonal movement)
• ✅ Left/right arrows move horizontally within rows
• ✅ Consistent behavior regardless of window size or thumbnail settings
• ✅ Professional grid navigation experience

⚙️ Interface & Settings Improvements

Settings Organization Enhancement

REORGANIZED: Streamlined settings interface with improved logical grouping and reduced complexity.

What’s Better:

• 📍 EXIF Display Settings: Moved from Advanced tab to Interface tab for better discoverability
• 📍 Debug Consolidation: All debug functionality now centralized in Developer tab
• 📍 Shared Components: Unified metadata filtering across batch processing and export interfaces
• 📍 Enhanced Navigation: Improved keyboard focus management with proper arrow key handling

Performance & Responsiveness

OPTIMIZED: Multiple performance improvements enhance overall app responsiveness and reliability.

What’s Faster:

• ⚡ PDF Export Sorting: Optimized performance for large datasets
• ⚡ Computational Analysis: Intelligent caching eliminates redundant parsing operations
• ⚡ UI Updates: Eliminated AttributeGraph cycles preventing UI lag
• ⚡ Template Processing: Faster template selector with visual percentage indicators

🛠️ Technical Quality Improvements

Production Polish

ENHANCED: Professional-grade code quality improvements and warning resolution.

What’s Cleaner:

• 🔧 Debug Logging: Removed verbose development output for cleaner console
• 🔧 Compiler Warnings: Resolved all Swift compiler warnings across components
• 🔧 Symbol References: Fixed non-existent SF Symbol references
• 🔧 Type Safety: Enhanced type handling throughout EXIF processing systems

Reliability Enhancements

STABILIZED: Multiple stability improvements prevent edge cases and improve error handling.

What’s More Reliable:

• 🛡️ IPTC Metadata: Fixed intermittent IPTC Date Created field disappearing
• 🛡️ Portfolio Colors: Resolved color theme application timing in advanced UI
• 🛡️ Memory Management: Enhanced cleanup routines prevent resource leaks
• 🛡️ Error Handling: Improved error messaging with clearer user guidance

🎯 Developer Experience

Code Architecture

MODERNIZED: Significant architectural improvements enhance maintainability and future development.

What’s Better:

• 🏗️ Component Unification: Shared MetadataFilterView reduces code duplication
• 🏗️ Concurrency Patterns: Proper async/await patterns with MainActor compliance
• 🏗️ Security Model: Robust security-scoped resource management
• 🏗️ State Management: Optimized SwiftUI state patterns prevent update warnings

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System Requirements

• macOS 15.4+ (Sonoma)
• 200MB+ available storage for large RAW file processing
• External drive access requires user permission (one-time setup)

Upgrade Notes

This update maintains full backward compatibility with existing favorites, templates, and settings. External drive favorites will prompt for permission re-authorization (one-time) to enable the new persistent access features.

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MetaScope 1.0.2 Build 10 represents a significant leap forward in reliability, performance, and user experience. With critical file processing fixes, revolutionary modern photography analysis, and comprehensive external drive support, this release establishes MetaScope as the professional-grade metadata editor for serious photographers and content creators.