Updates to Black Ink for Mac an iOS are now available. Download for iOS from the App Store, and for Mac from the Black Ink site or the Mac App Store.

Black Ink 2.1 for iOS introduces all-new native support for Apple Vision Pro, featuring a streamlined interface tuned to the “glass” look and feel of the platform:

The iOS version, as well as Black Ink 2.3 for Mac, now support the graphical overlays that are included in certain New York Times puzzles. Sometimes these images drive home a theme or are useful hints for solving the puzzle. And sometimes they’re just pretty:

Both updates come with a variety of other improvements. Here is the list of changes shared by both releases:

• Support for puzzles that specify graphical overlays on the puzzle
• Support for puzzles that specify multiple correct answers for a given square
• Blank answers that are correct are now treated as such

iOS-Specific Changes:

• Native Apple Vision Pro support
• Keyboard shortcuts are now shown as expected when holding the Command key down on keyboard
• Improvements to the appearance and behavior of the in-app purchase interface
• Now supports keyboard shortcuts for Enter Special Answer (Cmd-Opt-M) and Clear Word (Cmd-Delete)

Mac-Specific Changes:

• Now requires macOS 10.15.4 or later
• Small adjustments to size and layout of puzzle title and copyright
• Fix a bug that caused puzzles to close without being saved in some cases

If you enjoy Black Ink, please consider writing a review or rating the app on the App Store, the Mac App Store, and spreading the word on Facebook or Twitter! Thanks for your support.

FastScripts 3.3 is now available on the FastScripts home page, or by selecting “Check for Update” from the FastScripts menu.

This update includes a major new premium scripting addition, facilitating mouse automation by providing a variety of new scripting commands, including a powerhouse for synthesizing clicks and drags:

• click mouse simulates a mouse click at arbitrary point with params:
  • at point
  • [with button] left, right, middle, N
  • [with click count] N
  • [dragging to] point (optional – infers a drag after clicking)
  • [with event cadence] N (imposes a delay between generated events)

Because synthesizing user events can easily conflict with inadvertent inputs from the actual user, FastScripts also supports a command to suppress user interaction while a script is running:

• disable user interaction
  • [with timeout] N (optional: seconds before re-enabling)
• enable user interaction (optional: in any case, user interaction will be re-enabled when the script finishes)

When automating mouse events, the clicks, drags, and releases can happen so fast that it confuses or overwhelms some interface components. For this reason, FastScripts imposes a short delay between the generation and delivery of each individual event that makes up a requested automation command. I’m calling this delay the event cadence, and it can be overridden with a longer or shorter cadence by supplying a parameter to the click mouse command, or for the duration of a whole script by setting this property:

• default event cadence

Finally, there are two new properties for querying the state of the mouse and keyboard:

• current mouse position
• current keyboard modifiers

On top of these new automation features, there are a few bug fixes and enhancements. Here is the complete list of changes in this update:

Complete list of changes for this release:

• New Mouse Automation scripting additions for moving, clicking, and dragging the mouse
• Restore keyboard shortcuts for arrow navigation and deletion to search text field
• Fix a bug that could prevent the search field from being focused the first time the menu is displayed
• Fix a bug that prevented the “Open at login” checkbox from accurately reflecting the status
• Fix a possible crash when certain keystrokes are typed in the Keyboard Shortcuts preference pane
• Fix a bug that caused the FastScripts menu item to remain highlighted after navigating with arrow key
• Built-in crash reporter now detects crashes in script runner proceses

If you enjoy FastScripts, please consider spreading the word on Facebook or Twitter! Thanks for your support.

Updates for both Black Ink for iOS and Black Ink for Mac are now available to address a problem with logging in to the New York Times.

Black Ink 2.2.9 for Mac is now available on the Black Ink site and on the Mac App Store. Black Ink 2.0.4 for iOS is available on the iOS App Store.

If you enjoy Black Ink, please consider writing a review or rating the app on the App Stores, and spreading the word on Facebook or Twitter! Thanks for your support.

Black Ink for iOS 2.0.3 is now available on the App Store.

This update focuses on improving the accessibility of the app with improvements for VoiceOver and other assistive technologies:

• Focused word now tracks movement of voiceover cursor
• Expose custom action for “change puzzle focus direction”
• Now announces selected square when describing focused word

If you enjoy Black Ink, please consider writing a review or rating the app on the Mac App Store, and spreading the word on Facebook or Twitter! Thanks for your support.