stainlessb
Member 
Posts: 5,419
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Jul 18, 2025 19:08:04 GMT
I now have a color analysis app which I have named StampZ packaged for all platforms. If you interested PM me or send me an e-mail. I have it in a Dropbox file and will send the link- in theory you shouldn't need a Dropbox account. I Anyone? Anyone  |
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Beryllium Guy
Moderator 
Posts: 6,169 
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps 1840-1930
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Post by Beryllium Guy on Jul 18, 2025 21:09:27 GMT
Stan ( stainlessb) First of all, congratulations on this achievement! It is excellent that you have developed your own color app, as it seems that other possibilities have not been working out. Bravo, and thank you! I would love to try it out myself, but I am traveling at the moment, and I don't have access to my scanner. So, I will volunteer to work with you after 10th August when I am back home with my scanner and my collection. In the meantime, I hope someone else will step up!  |
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stainlessb
Member
Posts: 5,419
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Jul 18, 2025 22:05:55 GMT
Chris
I am hoping that by time you return all manner of bugs have been eradicated. But I am hopeful that there will be few issues
Stan
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clivel
Member
Posts: 436
What I collect: Basutoland, Bechuanaland, Rhodesias, South Africa, Swaziland, Israel to 1980, Ireland predecimal, Palestine Mandate
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Post by clivel on Jul 19, 2025 2:17:47 GMT
I'd be happy to give it a try Clive |
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renden
Member
Posts: 9,865
What I collect: Canada-USA-France-Lithuania-Austria--Germany-Mauritius-French Colonies in Africa
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Post by renden on Jul 19, 2025 13:09:25 GMT
Chris I am hoping that by time you return all manner of bugs have been eradicated. But I am hopeful that there will be few issues Stan If one does not have LINUX/MAC ?? René |
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stainlessb
Member
Posts: 5,419
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Jul 19, 2025 14:06:52 GMT
If one does not have LINUX/MAC ?? René I'm working on it! I hope to star on the Windows bundle today! stay tuned! |
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stainlessb
Member
Posts: 5,419
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Jul 19, 2025 18:31:26 GMT
There is now MacOS version available!
Now working on bundling for Windows
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stainlessb
Member
Posts: 5,419
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Jul 19, 2025 18:36:27 GMT
revised
OK. all 3 platforms are available from my DropBox. I have set up what I believe requires no account or login. PM me or e-mail for link
I had to zip each version (even though each a single file) Dropbox apparently has security issues with executable files..
still learning...
!
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stainlessb
Member
Posts: 5,419
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Jul 20, 2025 2:27:37 GMT
Well my friends..... another obstacle. Because I am on a Mac M4 silicone machine it uses ARM64 architecture so the Windows build need to be redone.... unsure about the Mac version, whether is it backwards compatible or not...
For those trying to understand why on Windows it keeps telling you unable to run on this PC.... take abreak
I'll be back... <very big sigh>
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Henry
Member
Posts: 515
What I collect: Germany, Upper Silesia, Britain, and a little US, Canada and France
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Post by Henry on Jul 20, 2025 2:33:41 GMT
revised OK. all 3 platforms are available from my DropBox. I have set up what I believe requires no account or login. PM me or e-mail for link Congratulations! And thank you. I am a Mac user and am interested - I will PM you
Henry |
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stainlessb
Member
Posts: 5,419
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Jul 20, 2025 13:11:39 GMT
Update.... according to the all powerful google AI and other sources, supposedly I can set up an Intel based Windows VM on my Mac ARM machine which should solve th eWindows bundle launch issue....
if that fails, anther option (and all of this is new to me). is to use WINE on my Linux VN and package vi the Linux environment.
If that fails, unless a Windows user is willing to go through the steps to bundle, there may not be Windows version. The linux version works (with a tweak)... Mac version .... no reports yea or nay yet 9other than it runs on my computer,,,, which for that matter I can run all three on my computer.... which is apparently the problem
so I thank you for your patience, those who have thus far gotten involved
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Post by PostmasterGS on Jul 20, 2025 13:39:23 GMT
Heh. Welcome to the world of cross-platform publishing! One headache after another...
I work daily on an Intel Mac and a Win box. To get my apps working on the other 2 platforms, I had to wipe an old laptop and install Linux, and buy the cheapest ARM Mac I could find.
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stainlessb
Member
Posts: 5,419
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Jul 20, 2025 17:08:10 GMT
and another update. For those who received links earlier, for Mac, Linux and Windows, there are Intel64 versions. The windows arm64 version has been deleted as I doubt anyone has a ARM silicone chip machine specifically running Windows... although if you do, let me know.
So for any brave should, please try again. I have received feedback the MacOSARM version works. I tried moving th eUser guides location in dropbox so it can be accessed... if not, let me know
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clivel
Member
Posts: 436
What I collect: Basutoland, Bechuanaland, Rhodesias, South Africa, Swaziland, Israel to 1980, Ireland predecimal, Palestine Mandate
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Post by clivel on Jul 20, 2025 18:40:09 GMT
I have StampZ installed and working with no issues , impressive what you have accomplished. I'll play around with it over the next few days. It seems as if the notorious "endianness" syndrome has bitten you, something that goes back to the very early days of computing. Processors are divided into two classes: big-endian and little-endian, which simply define how bytes are ordered in multi-byte words. Unfortunately, though, the ramifications are far from simple. I have always been a one computer man, the current love of my life is my 15" Dell XPS-15 laptop, which I use for everything, including cross-platform development. The XPS-15 replaced my recently deceased XPS-13, which, with its svelte lines and compact form factor, I loved even more. Unfortunately, however, ageing eyes insisted on a larger screen when it came to its replacement. I use Linux as my primary operating system, including for all my development work. For cross-platform building and testing, I have Win 10 installed on a VMware virtual machine, and a cloud-based virtual Mac courtesy of MacStadium. Clive |
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stainlessb
Member
Posts: 5,419
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Jul 20, 2025 19:55:43 GMT
glad to hear it is working! I have been on Mac almost 20 years, maybe 20+ n now.... I don't remember exactly. I'd like to think I am done for a while, although there are already several small issues. In th linux version, can you minimize the window? in Mac the yellow dot is not yellow and it doesn't work. I have 3 monitors so not really an issue for me, but I can see how it could be be foe some
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rod222
Member
Posts: 13,193
What I collect: Worldwide Stamps, Ephemera and Catalogues
Member is Online
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Post by rod222 on Jul 20, 2025 21:19:17 GMT
PostmasterGSI for one, am so glad you persist with the cross platform work, Scanning is a huge part of my Collecting journey and since my adoption of "Stampfix" a previous yoke, has been removed from my routine. I use it, just about every day. Eternal thanks for that delightful piece of code.
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stainlessb
Member
Posts: 5,419
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Jul 20, 2025 23:53:29 GMT
I would love to hear from a Windows user if any success has been achieved>
I also now have Multiplatform version software my Plot_3D app. I need to see how much capacity I have on Dropbox, as these are larger (especially macOS-Intel 1.54 gB) the others are smaller, but I'll need ~2.5 GB... that might be pushing things on Dropbox
Anybody interested and we'll figure something out. There is also a specific format for spreadsheets that I have a blank of .
I do not (yet) have a user manual for this....
and , as with the others, if anyone wants the python code, just ask!
no ideas on when I might get around to this- I really want/need to make some stamp pages made/revised and get some recent stamps off my desk!
Keep on stamping!!
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Hugh
Member
Posts: 1,723
What I collect: Worldwide Occupation Stamps and Postal History; and, anything that looks interesting.
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Post by Hugh on Jul 21, 2025 2:08:26 GMT
stainlessb Stanley, I have the MacOS version up and running on my system. I just had to get past the Apple security settings. Once that's done, however, it's looking good. I'm running MacOS 15.5 on a 2024 iMac with an M4 chip. [10 cores, 32GB + 2TB] It seems pretty intuitive (well, mostly) ... I don't do a lot of colour analysis. I'll give it a whirl over the next few weeks and let you know if I encounter any issues. For now, though, everything seems to be working fine. Congratulations ... nicely done. Cheers, Hugh 
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stainlessb
Member
Posts: 5,419
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Jul 21, 2025 2:18:47 GMT
Thanks Hugh!
yes, Apple Security, short of getting at approved by Apple which co$t$... once it's gotten past you are good to go,
Were you able to download the User guide? I think they may have gotten outside the links...
check your e-mail
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Hugh
Member
Posts: 1,723
What I collect: Worldwide Occupation Stamps and Postal History; and, anything that looks interesting.
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Post by Hugh on Jul 21, 2025 2:37:24 GMT
Were you able to download the User guide? I think they may have gotten outside the links... check your e-mail Nope, the user manual wasn't part of the file download through dropbox. But, I just got your email copy ... thanks! Regards, Hugh |
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stainlessb
Member
Posts: 5,419
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Jul 21, 2025 14:15:26 GMT
good morning...happy Monday whatever... I have heard from a couple of folks that the links to DropBox are indicating the files have been deleted.... I could see them, however I have deleted and re-uploaded all into a single holder If you have not yet downloaded and the link I previously sent fails (now the files in that link have truly been deleted), contact me for new link. I am not posting so I can keep track of who 'may' be using it  |
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stainlessb
Member
Posts: 5,419
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Jul 21, 2025 14:52:24 GMT
follow-up. It appears all platforms built in security initial flags the all make the initial launching stall (or never happen), You will need to unblock or otherwise set permission. In Mac, go to settings-> Privacy & Security, scroll down to Security and the app that just got the warning (and offer to delete) should appear there. Allow, (you will need your system password). Once done, close Settings , click on th app and it should launch (and likely ask to access your desktop. After this it will launch in the future without issue.
• Windows Defender SmartScreen: Users will see "Windows protected your PC" - they need to click "More info" then "Run anyway"
• Alternative: Right-click the .exe → Properties → check "Unblock" if present → Apply
• PowerShell method: Unblock-File -Path "path\to\StampZ.exe"
If this doesn't work for Windows let me know and I will go look into it... it runs on my Windows VM.... but I am learning that may not mean much
a cert to make it 'approved' is costly and I do not want to even consider asking for payment.
work in progress
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stainlessb
Member
Posts: 5,419
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Jul 21, 2025 15:55:21 GMT
update. (this is becoming the never ending story) I have just uploaded new Win, Linux and Mac for intel versions. there was a definition issue that seemed to only affect the Windows version, but as my workflow code is for all 3 I have updated all 3. Please let me know if the world is once again a happy and serene environment |
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stainlessb
Member
Posts: 5,419
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Jul 22, 2025 14:17:31 GMT
another day. I am aware that there are issues with the latest versions and apparently DropBox is again showing others the files are deleted....
I have switched to a single workflow (spec file) that builds all platform versions from a single 'base packet' of code. I can only test the macOS_ARM version, but in theory, if I find an issue there, it will exist in all versions, and if I fix it there, then it is fixed everywhere else.
I plan on thoroughly testing only machine and will not release anymore updates or links to updates until I have confidence that I am not causing frustration for all who are interested in the app.
I thank you for your patience.
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stainlessb
Member
Posts: 5,419
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Jul 23, 2025 14:16:39 GMT
Good morning all! I almost feeling normal after a bout of norovirus... (my wife was convinced I having a heart attack...)
I have some revisions, and several folks are kindly testing for me. Because I am on a Mac-ARM chip machine it has become clear that VM/s or otherwise, so I am reliant on others. I currently need some willing should with a Windows (10 or 11) on an intel chip PC. Windows has been th most difficult, so the Windows version is more basic. Once I know it launches and what features are included work, I can start adding back the others as I have been unable to nail down what exactly is causing the disconnect.
also, any Mac intel users,I have aversion for this, but unless Apple switches back tot he Intel architecture, the older Macs will go the way of the Dodo. My last 2018 I-Mac is an Intel chipped machined, it will not run anything beyond OSX12... Sequoia is the last Intel chip based OS, and Apple has announced it will be the last version for Intel chips, so anyone interested in testing it, pM me.
and believe it or not I am once. again actually handling stamps!
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stainlessb
Member
Posts: 5,419
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Aug 2, 2025 16:15:14 GMT
Good morning! For those interested, new versions have been uploaded (see link at end of message). New versions for Mac users (intel chip and ARM) Windows x86 users (I think Windows 10 and 11 both work), Linux-Intel users (does not work with Ubuntu 20 or earlier... sorry, Ubuntu 20 has been 'deprecated" so i have no way to build for esrlier versions. I am on a Mac ARM system, so I cannot actually test the Intel chip versions, however they bundled without errors and aside from dealing with your OS security (apps are not signed) they should all work. What's new? Top menu bar under Help -> Preferences. You can now select where you want cropped, edited images saved. You can designate format for exported dataExporting data is no longer limited to .ods, but you can now select .xlsx or .csv. When using the Viewing Data function (button in Sample Tool mode) your preferred export format should open up a spreadsheet. DB Examine now allows for deleting entires, or entire .dbs 9careful, it cannot be undone) Top menu bar under Color Analysis provides a number of options, some new, others existing,but an alternate way to access. the analysis provides some detailed output of the database being used for an image analysis (must have an image open, and in Sample, a named (existing) template (or Manual Mode - MAN_MODE). You will have the optionof a .txt formatted report, exported .csv data, and/or graphical analysis. if you have any problems,please let me know. As a precaution, if you existing app versionis working, do not immediately replace (move it to a folder) and then unzip the new version to your desktop and take for test ride! The zipped apps can be found HERE |
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stainlessb
Member
Posts: 5,419
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Aug 6, 2025 16:01:35 GMT
Working with app, a question came came regarding results that were not what was expected. Especially "Red". I went to one of the online color generators and entered RGB: 254,0,0 (very red). Took a screen shot of the color swatch that was generated:  Then I opened in the color app, selected 5 sample areas ( very similar to the dice cube #5 ) and got this! not bad- i wish stamps were this consistent.  The sample area works by defining an area, lets start with 10 x 10 pixels, or a total of possible pixels. I say 'possible" because the app design ignores partial pixels. If you visualize the pixel display in an image, it is a grid as pixels are generally square. if the sample area is placed precisely aligned with on the grid you would have 100 whole pixels in our sample area. Shift the image off grid and you could end up with up to 19 partial pixels (the corner pixel is common to two sides, hence the odd number result). Circle, square, or rectangle, the area of actual 'used' pixels in the sampling is typically lees thean the sq. px. If the sample area includes part of a unprinted area (more a challenge with line engraved) your results are skewed 'lighter", sample area includes part of a cancellation, teh results are skewed darker. Working a stamps with 'solid" barckrounds or areas? As I have discovered working on the France Semeuse cameé, the solid printed areas are not all. that solid, so sampled areas are often a combination of the inks different pigments, and the paper itself adds to the variation, as many of the papers surfaces are neither even nor solid. Line engraved may realize better results (or easier placement of the sample areas) by scanning at a higher dpi carry on! |
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renden
Member
Posts: 9,865
What I collect: Canada-USA-France-Lithuania-Austria--Germany-Mauritius-French Colonies in Africa
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Post by renden on Aug 6, 2025 16:12:21 GMT
stainlessb - Stan, maybe a Ph.D. in color for the future  Good work and interesting too - René
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stainlessb
Member
Posts: 5,419
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Aug 6, 2025 16:17:21 GMT
renden. LOL!!! it has definitely been an unexpected learning experience!
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stainlessb
Member
Posts: 5,419
What I collect: currently focused on most of western Europe, much of which is spent on France, Belgium, Germany and Great Britain Queen Victoria
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Post by stainlessb on Aug 9, 2025 1:06:22 GMT
For those using the app (or any color app).
The basic_colors library contains the basic red, blue and green.
Take a screenshot of a section of the color swatch
if you don't have thr basic_colors library, google to one of the online color generators and enter:
255, 0, 0
0, 255, 0
0, 0, 255
take a screen shot of each
Now open your color analyzer and analyze each of the 3 basic colors.
Now, if you get great matches, you're golden. If they are less than convincing- go to yourr computer settings - > monitors, and start trying the different profiles (In MacoS there's quite a few, I'm guessing other platforms are similar). try them all and select the one that gives you the closest results to the values you enetered to get the colors (In the basic_volors library in StampZ the RGB and L*a*b* are both displayed with each color in th elibrary)
You may be quite surprised at how grateful a differentce you find between various monitor profiles.
I didn't spend my whole day coming to these conclusions, but i thought they were worth sharing
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Good work and interesting too - René