Changelog

All notable changes to ChapterForge are documented here. The format is based on Keep a Changelog, and this project adheres to Semantic Versioning.

[Unreleased]

Added

• Release channels and an expanded feature flag list - The Help > Feature Flags dialog now offers a General/Beta update-channel selector alongside individual feature toggles, and the registry has grown from 8 to 18 flags - covering chapter-file splitting, batch title editing, source file renaming, chapter list import/export, setup templates, the build log, the setup wizard, and the diagnostics report, in addition to the features already flagged. Auphonic integration and editing existing master files (Open Existing Master) are Beta-channel features; everything else is General. Switching to Beta reveals newly-available features with their descriptions on the spot, so users can opt in (or stay on General) with a clear picture of what they're choosing. The old standalone "Enable beta features" checkbox is gone - Auphonic is now gated the same way as every other optional feature. Implemented in chapterforge/feature_flags.py.
• Cloud folder watching - A watch folder can now live inside a OneDrive, Dropbox or Google Drive sync folder. The watcher detects "online-only" placeholder files these services list before the audio has actually downloaded, and waits for every file in a folder to finish downloading before it builds - so a master is never built from incomplete audio. A "ChapterForge - waiting" notification appears while it waits, and the build starts automatically the moment every file is present locally. Implemented in chapterforge/watcher.py.
• Context-sensitive help (F1) - Press F1 on any focused control for a short, spoken-friendly explanation of exactly what it does and what pressing it will do right now - including live state (current speed, volume, chapter, playback position, build vs. edit mode) and the settings that shape its behavior (skip seconds, default volume). Move Up/Down and Remove/Merge Up - whose meaning changes between build and edit mode - get bespoke explanations that name both meanings. Anything not specifically covered falls back to a description built from its accessible name, tooltip and control type, so F1 always answers something. Shown in a read-only dialog styled like the setup wizard (multi-line text plus a Close button). The User Guide moved to Ctrl+F1 to make room. Implemented in chapterforge/context_help.py and chapterforge/control_help.py.
• Generated Control Reference page - A new "Control Reference" page, generated from the same description schema that powers the F1 help (chapterforge/control_help.json), documents every control in one place with the application's default settings filled in - it can never describe a control differently than the app itself does, because both are rendered from the same templates. Regenerated automatically by tools/build_docs.py.
• Richer context menus for playback - The chapter list's right-click / Menu key menu now includes a "Play Controls" submenu (Play/Pause, Stop, Previous/Next Chapter, Rewind, Forward, Go to Time), and the player panel itself now has a context menu with the same commands - previously it had none at all. Both reflect the player's current state (e.g. "Pause" instead of "Play" once something is playing) and are disabled appropriately when no audio is loaded.
• System tray playback controls - When ChapterForge is minimized to the system tray with audio loaded, its tray menu gains Play/Pause, Stop, and Previous/Next Chapter items, so playback can be controlled without restoring the window. The standalone background-watcher tray is unchanged (it has no player to control). Implemented in chapterforge/tray.py.
• Clearer build/edit mode switching - Entering edit mode now announces, in plain language, that Move Up/Down swap chapter titles (without moving the audio) and that Remove becomes Merge Up in this mode - the two button pairs most likely to surprise someone moving between modes.

[1.0.0] - 2026-06-06

Fixed

• Metadata lookup now returns results. MusicBrainz queries were being URL-encoded twice, so searches never matched; fixed the encoding.
• Podcast RSS feeds are now valid. The iTunes category is written as the required text="" attribute instead of element text.
• Metadata search no longer freezes the app. The online lookup runs on a background thread, so the window and screen reader stay responsive.
• Quieter builds. Per-chapter peak levels are only announced in verbose mode, so a long book no longer floods the screen reader at build start.

Added

• Background watcher feature parity. Watch-folder processes now carry narrator/series tags and honor the user's global build options (silence trim, per-chapter normalization, fades, inter-chapter gap, RSS and Podcasting 2.0 sidecars). The output-name template's extension now chooses the format (.mp3/.m4b/.flac/.opus).
• Expanded CLI. New flags: --narrator, --series, --series-part, --per-file-normalize, --normalize-lufs, --fade-ms, --trim-silence, --rss-url, and --format flac|opus.
• Clearer loudness options. The whole-book and per-chapter normalization settings are now clearly labeled and mutually exclusive (per-chapter wins), with the ACX -23 LUFS target called out in the help.
• Smarter CSV import. Chapter titles import by matching a filename or chapter-number column when present, instead of only by row order.
• ACX Compliance Check - New Tools > Check ACX Compliance menu item measures integrated loudness (LUFS), true peak (dBFS), and noise floor of any built master using FFmpeg's loudnorm analysis pass. Reports pass/fail against ACX requirements (-23 LUFS +/-1, -3 dBFS peak, -60 dBFS noise floor) with recommended corrective actions when a check fails. Can also run automatically after every build via Settings > Build > Check ACX compliance after each build. Implemented in chapterforge/acx.py.

• Metadata Lookup - New Tools > Look Up Metadata dialog searches MusicBrainz and Open Library by title and author/artist. Both APIs are free with no registration required. Results are shown in a list; selecting one pre-fills title, artist, album artist, genre, year, narrator, and series fields. Implemented in chapterforge/lookup.py.

• OPUS output format - Output format selector now includes Opus (.opus). Opus produces smaller files than MP3 at equivalent quality and is supported natively by AntennaPod, VLC, foobar2000, and most modern podcast apps. Chapter markers are written as Vorbis comments. Implemented in core.build_opus().

• Narrator and series metadata - Three new tag fields in the Tags panel: Narrator, Series title, and Series index. Written as ID3v2 TPE4 (narrator), TXXX:SERIES, and TXXX:SERIES-PART for MP3; as Vorbis comments for FLAC and Opus; and as FFMETADATA fields for M4B. Enables correct display in audiobook apps that support the narrator/series convention (Prologue, Libro.fm, Bound).

• Per-track silence trimming - New Settings > Build > Trim leading/trailing silence from each track option. Strips room noise from the start and end of each source file before concatenation using FFmpeg's silencedetect + lossless copy. Threshold and minimum silence duration are configurable. Implemented in core.trim_silence_item().

• Build log viewer - New Tools > View Build Log shows a scrollable log of recent build history: file name, chapter count, total duration, and encode mode. The log is stored in %APPDATA%\ChapterForge\build_log.txt and can be cleared from the viewer dialog.

• Podcast RSS feed generation - New Settings > Build > Write RSS feed sidecar after each build option. Generates a Podcasting 2.0-compatible .rss file alongside the built audio for self-hosted podcasters. Includes iTunes/Podcasting 2.0 namespace tags, chapter references, and narrator/ series metadata. Requires a media hosting URL. Implemented in chapterforge/rss.py.

• System high-contrast theme tracking - ChapterForge now detects the Windows high-contrast accessibility setting via the Windows API (SystemParametersInfo / SPI_GETHIGHCONTRAST) and automatically applies its built-in high-contrast theme when Windows HC mode is active and the theme is set to "Follow system". No manual setting change required.

• Chapter image preview - The Edit Chapter dialog now shows a live thumbnail of the selected chapter image as you browse or type the path. The preview updates immediately when the image field changes.

• Announcement verbosity control - The screen reader announcement detail level (Quiet / Normal / Verbose) is now exposed in Settings > General > Announcement detail. Previously the setting existed in the JSON file but had no UI. Quiet reduces repetitive progress announcements; Verbose adds extra context for users who want more detail.

• Auphonic Integration (beta) - Full audio post-production workflow via the new Auphonic menu. Opt in under Tools > Settings > General > Enable beta features to reveal the menu. Connect your Auphonic account via OAuth 2.0, view your credit balance, submit singletrack and multitrack productions, and download results (audio, transcripts, captions, stats, chapters). Six built-in presets: Podcast Cleanup, Podcast Cleanup + Transcript, Audiobook / ACX Draft, Lecture Cleanup, Meeting / Interview Multitrack, and Archive Master. Audio-only policy enforced at every stage via ffprobe inspection
• video files and video outputs are blocked. OAuth tokens stored encrypted via Windows DPAPI. Job history and results stored locally in SQLite under %APPDATA%\ChapterForge\auphonic.db.

• Beta features setting - New "Enable beta features" checkbox in Tools > Settings > General. Currently gates the Auphonic integration.

[1.95] - 2026-06-05

Added

• Lossless MP3 Trim and Cut - The player panel now includes a "Trim / Cut Selection" section with Set Begin, Set End, and Clear Selection buttons that mark a time range using the current playhead position. "Pre-Listen as Cut" plays from just before the cut point so you can hear the edit in context. "Save Trimmed..." saves the selected region to a new file using FFmpeg lossless copy - no quality loss. The trim state resets automatically when a new file is loaded. core.trim_file() implements the FFmpeg pass.

• Split One Long Recording into Chapters - A new "Split one long recording into chapters" task in the task dropdown. Opens a single long audio file in edit mode. Use the player and the existing "Split Here" button to mark chapter boundaries, then File - "Save as Individual Chapter Files" to save each chapter as a separate file using lossless FFmpeg copy. core.split_into_files() handles the splitting with an optional per-chapter progress callback.

• File - Save as Individual Chapter Files - Available in edit mode when two or more chapters exist. Opens a folder picker, then splits the open master into one file per chapter. Runs on a background thread with announcement on completion. Accessible from the command palette.

• Chapter Transition Fades - Settings - Build - "Chapter transition fade (seconds)" sets a fade-out then fade-in duration applied at each chapter boundary during the build. Range 0-5 seconds, default 0 (no fade). Implemented via FFmpeg afade filter; forces re-encoding of the faded boundary portions. core.apply_fades() is the per-file helper.

• Reusable Build Presets - Settings dialog now opens with a preset bar at the top. Three built-in presets are available immediately: Podcast MP3, Audiobook M4B, and FLAC Archive. Users can save any combination of build settings as a named preset and reload or delete it at any time. Presets are stored in settings.json under "presets".

• CSV Chapter Export - "Save Chapter List" now includes a CSV format (comma-separated: chapter number, title, start, duration, link URL, image path). Useful for importing into spreadsheets, databases, or generating transcripts. core.chapters_to_csv() implements the export.

• File Renaming from Chapter Titles - Edit menu - "Rename Source Files" opens a dialog where a naming pattern (using {n}, {n:02d}, {title}, {ext}) is applied to all source files. A two-column preview shows the current and new filename for each item before applying. The rename is undo-aware.

• Go to Time (Ctrl+G) - A new View menu item and keyboard shortcut opens a "Go to Time" dialog. Enter a timestamp in HH:MM:SS, MM:SS, or decimal seconds format and the player jumps to that position. Available whenever audio is loaded. The previous Ctrl+G shortcut (Save This Setup as Template) has moved to Ctrl+Shift+G.

• Per-Chapter Audio Level Announcements During Build - When a build is running, the peak dB level of each source chapter is probed via FFmpeg astats and announced to the screen reader as each chapter is processed. Helps verify normalization is working correctly across chapters. core.get_file_peak_db() implements the FFmpeg probe.

• GoToTimeDialog class - Accessible dialog that accepts time in multiple formats; parses via core._ts_to_ms.

• RenameSourceFilesDialog class - Pattern-based rename with live preview list showing old and new filenames.

Changed

• Ctrl+G reassigned - Save This Setup as Template moved to Ctrl+Shift+G. Ctrl+G is now Go to Time (player must have audio loaded).

• Task dropdown - third option "Split one long recording into chapters" added; no existing task indices changed.

Fixed

• CI failure: pyproject.toml BOM - sed -i on Windows injected a UTF-8 BOM into pyproject.toml, which TOML parsers reject. File rewritten without BOM; all future version bumps use the Edit tool directly.

[1.92] - 2026-06-05

Added

• FLAC, WAV, OGG, M4A, AAC, and Opus source file support - ChapterForge now accepts any audio format FFmpeg supports as a chapter source file. Source folders can contain a mix of formats; each is probed with FFprobe and encoded to the chosen output format during the build. The folder scanner now uses a broad AUDIO_EXTS constant covering .mp3, .flac, .wav, .ogg, .m4a, .aac, .opus, .wma, and .mp2.

• FLAC output with embedded chapters - A third output format option (Settings - Build - Output format: FLAC lossless .flac) builds a lossless FLAC master with Vorbis Comment chapter markers (CHAPTER001/CHAPTER001NAME convention). Cover art is embedded as a FLAC picture block. The build button label changes to "Build FLAC Master" when FLAC output is selected.

• Undo and Redo for chapter list operations - Ctrl+Z undoes the last chapter operation; Ctrl+Y redoes it. The Edit menu shows dynamic labels ("Undo Rename Chapter 1", "Redo Move Chapter Up") and enables/disables based on stack state. Operations covered: rename, move up/down, remove/merge, batch edit titles, and import chapter titles. The stack holds up to 50 actions and is cleared when a new file is loaded or a build starts.

• Batch Edit Titles dialog - Edit menu - "Batch Edit Titles" opens a dialog that applies transformations to all chapter titles at once. Transforms: title case, strip leading track numbers, replace underscores with spaces, remove extra spaces, find-and-replace, and a number pattern (Chapter {n}). A live preview shows before/after for the first 8 chapters before applying.

• Per-file chapter loudness normalization - Settings - Build - "Normalize each chapter individually" applies FFmpeg loudnorm to each source file before concatenating, targeting a configurable LUFS level (default -16.0 LUFS). More consistent than global normalize when source files were recorded at very different levels.

• CUE sheet import in build mode - Load Chapter List From File now works in both edit mode (replaces all chapter markers) and build mode (applies chapter titles from the CUE or timestamp file to the loaded source items by position). The menu item and command palette entry are now enabled whenever chapters are loaded, not only in edit mode.

• Configurable chapter list columns - View - Columns submenu toggles individual columns (Title, Start, Duration, Source file) on or off. Column visibility is saved in settings and restored at startup. The # column is always visible.

• Keyboard shortcut overrides - Settings stores a key_overrides dict that maps command names to custom key strings. Overrides are applied to menu items at startup via _apply_key_overrides(). The settings infrastructure and application logic are in place for a future settings UI.

• Product roadmap (from 1.91) - docs/ROADMAP.md with 13 viable features ranked by impact. Waveform visualization, MP3 recording, advanced filtering, cover art tools, and out-of-scope items removed per product decisions.

[1.91] - 2026-06-05

Added

• Watch folder setup step in the Startup Wizard - The wizard now has eleven steps. The new "Automatic Building in the Background" step explains the watch folder feature and offers a "Set Up Automatic Building Now" button that launches the watch folder configuration dialog directly from the wizard. Users can also skip or use Next to continue without setting it up.

Added

• Product roadmap - docs/ROADMAP.md added with 20 viable features ranked by impact. Covers lossless trim/cut, broad source format support, waveform visualization, recording splitting, batch metadata editing, cover art tools, presets, metadata export, FLAC output, undo/redo, file renaming, and more. Features are self-contained (no online services). Original inventory file removed.

[1.90] - 2026-06-05

Added

• Playback speed control with pitch preservation - Speed selector (0.75x, 1.0x, 1.25x, 1.5x, 1.75x, 2.0x) in the audio player. Uses FFmpeg atempo for time-stretching that preserves pitch at any speed - no chipmunk effect. Chapter boundaries are automatically scaled so Prev/Next navigation stays accurate. Resumes playback from the equivalent position after a speed change.
• "Save at This Speed" export - Button beside the speed selector saves the audio at any speed as a new MP3 file. Uses the same FFmpeg atempo pipeline as playback. The original file is always the source, so any speed can be exported regardless of what is currently loaded.
• Startup Wizard - Ten-step guided setup experience shown on first launch and available at any time from Help - Setup Wizard. Each step explains a key concept and, where relevant, lets the user configure the matching setting right there. Every step is skippable. Settings are saved incrementally as the user advances. Fully accessible: dialog title announces the current step, body text is a navigable read-only control, and a11y.announce fires on every step change. Steps: Welcome, Two-Step Workflow, Opening Files, Chapter Titles, Output Format, Audio Quality, Podcasting 2.0 Chapters, Cover Art, Keyboard Shortcuts, and a personalized summary on the final step.
• Column navigation in the chapter list - Left and Right arrow keys now navigate between columns (Chapter number, Title, Start time, Duration, Source file), announcing each column name and value. Compatible with JAWS and NVDA table navigation. Up/Down resets to row-summary mode. Accessible name updated to describe the feature.
• Go to Chapters (Ctrl+1) and Go to Tags and Build (Ctrl+2) - New View menu items and frame-level keyboard shortcuts to jump between the two workflow pages from anywhere in the app. Both are in the command palette and greyed out when already on that page.
• Check for updates on startup - New setting on the General tab (on by default). Runs a silent background check at launch; only notifies when an update is available. Never shows a "you are up to date" message at startup.
• Minimize to System Tray button - Permanently visible button at the bottom-right of the main window (last in tab order). Hides the window and shows a tray icon so ChapterForge keeps running while out of the way.
• Play This Chapter and Split Here in Edit menu - Both actions were previously only in the right-click context menu. They are now also in the Edit menu for keyboard and menu-bar users.

Changed

• Options panel removed from the main page - Output format, re-encode quality, normalize, gap, and Podcasting 2.0 JSON settings have been removed from the chapter list page. These settings live only in Settings (Ctrl+comma), eliminating the duplication and simplifying the main screen. Values are read directly from the saved settings when building.
• "Save to" button removed from output section - Identical to File - Save Master As; the menu item is sufficient. The output path display field and its hint text remain.
• Browse button renamed "Open Folder" / "Open File" - Matches the standard label pattern used elsewhere and describes the action instead of the mechanism.
• General tab is now the first tab in Settings - Player, appearance, and startup options are more commonly adjusted than build encoding settings; General tab opens first.
• Alt+Up / Alt+Down are now frame-level accelerators - Move Up and Move Down in the chapter list now work from anywhere in the window, not only when the list has focus. The redundant key handler in the list has been removed to prevent double-firing.
• Ctrl+/ opens keyboard shortcuts in the browser - Was a plain-text scroll dialog. Now opens the User Guide at the keyboard shortcuts section using the same browser-based help as F1.
• Save As shortcut changed from Ctrl+Alt+S to Ctrl+Shift+A - Ctrl+Alt combinations conflict with AltGr on international keyboards and with some screen reader commands.
• Organization name corrected - "Blind Information Technology Specialists" corrected to "Blind Information Technology Solutions" across all source files, docs, and metadata.
• Deployment Guide hidden from user-facing navigation - The HTML page is still generated for developers but is no longer listed in the documentation nav or Help menu.

Fixed

• Play button not working in build mode - Windows media backends (WMP, DirectShow, Media Foundation) require a visible, realized HWND before Load() will accept a file. The MediaCtrl was being hidden after creation, silently causing Load() to fail. The control now remains visible at zero size, which is visually identical.
• "Playing chapter X" announced even when audio load fails - The announce was outside the success branch. It now only fires when load succeeds; on failure a descriptive error is announced instead.
• Chapter title numbers not stripped - Files named with only digits (e.g. "01.mp3", "1.mp3") were falling back to the bare number as the chapter title. Pure-numeric stems now return an empty title, which is then replaced with "Chapter N" automatically.
• Checkbox accessible names not read by NVDA - SetName() sets wxPython's internal Python name, not the Win32 button window text that NVDA reads. All checkboxes in Settings now use a descriptive label= parameter and are created without a separate static-text label for that row (make_check pattern). CLAUDE.md updated to document the correct per-control-type rules permanently.
• Spinner accessible names not read by NVDA - wx.SpinCtrl and wx.SpinCtrlDouble are composite Win32 controls; NVDA focuses the inner edit field which has no associated label. All spinners in Settings now use ctrl.SetAccessible(_NamedAccessible(ctrl, name)).
• LoadURI fallback for media loading - Some Windows configurations accept a file:/// URI but not a bare path in wx.media.MediaCtrl.Load(). A fallback to LoadURI() is now tried automatically when Load() returns False.
• Multi-line list items broken in HTML documentation - The custom Markdown converter did not collect continuation lines for list items. Lines that wrapped past the first line were split into separate paragraphs, breaking screen reader reading. Fixed by collecting continuation lines before emitting each <li>.
• Ctrl+Alt+S removed - Conflicts with AltGr on international keyboards and with screen reader keyboard commands. Save As is now Ctrl+Shift+A.

[1.82] - 2026-06-05

Fixed

• Audio reorder crash - write_id3_chapters was called instead of the correct write_tags_and_chapters; would have crashed on first audio reorder.
• Command Palette entry - selecting "Command Palette" from within the palette itself raised AttributeError (called method on dialog, not frame).
• FFmpeg error messages - segment extraction errors now show FFmpeg's stderr output instead of the empty stdout.
• Page stays on Step 2 when opening a new file - loading a file in edit mode or switching to build mode now always resets back to the chapters page.
• Edit This Chapter uses focused item - F2 / Edit Chapter now correctly acts on the keyboard-focused item even when the list selection state lags.

Changed

• User Guide completely rewritten to reflect the two-page workflow, Edit menu, View menu, audio reorder, and all features added since 1.0.

[1.81] - 2026-06-05

Added

• Edit menu - Dedicated Edit menu with chapter operations: Edit This Chapter (F2), Move Up, Move Down, Remove/Merge Up, Load Chapter List, Save Chapter List. Chapter import/export moved here from the File menu where they belong logically.
• View menu - New View menu with live theme switching (Follow System, Light, Dark, High Contrast), text size controls (Larger Ctrl+=, Smaller Ctrl+-, Reset Ctrl+0), and Show/Hide Player toggle. Theme changes apply instantly without opening Settings.
• Quick Actions dropdown - A "Quick Actions..." combo in the source bar gives one-click access to Command Palette, Look for Updates, Settings, and Get Help.
• Portable installation mode - The single installer now lets you choose Standard (installs to Program Files with Start Menu) or Portable (extracts to any folder - USB drive, network share, no registry writes, no uninstaller).
• GitHub Pages documentation - https://bits-acb.github.io/chapterforge/ is now live.

[1.80] - 2026-06-04

Added

• Auto-download FFmpeg on first launch - Beautiful progress dialog shows while FFmpeg downloads in the background. Main window only appears when ready. Seamless experience.
• GitHub Pages documentation site - Docs automatically served online. App opens local files in development, falls back to GitHub Pages in releases. Users always have access.

Changed

• Bundle size reduced 90% - Removed FFmpeg (390MB) and documentation from installer. Bundle shrinks from 435MB to 45MB. FFmpeg auto-downloads as needed. Friendly UX!
• Friendlier, less technical language throughout the app:
• "Auto-chapter by Silence" → "Find Chapters in Silent Gaps"
• "Batch Build Folder" → "Build Multiple Books"
• "Watch Folders" → "Set Up Automatic Building"
• "Start Background Watcher" → "Auto-Build in Background"
• "Start Watcher at Sign-in" → "Auto-Build When I Sign In"
• "Load Job File" → "Load a Saved Setup"
• "Generate Job File" → "Save This Setup as a Template"
• "Import/Export Chapters" → "Load/Save Chapter List"
• "Edit Selected Chapter" → "Edit This Chapter"
• "Play Selected Chapter" → "Listen to This Chapter"
• "Split Chapter at Playhead" → "Split Here"
• "Choose Output File" → "Save Master As"
• "Check for Updates" → "Look for Updates"
• "Save Diagnostics" → "Get Help Information"
• Makes ChapterForge feel more accessible and less technical for new users.

[1.7.3] - 2026-06-04

Fixed

• Accessibility hardened across all dialogs:
• All checkboxes on Build and General settings tabs now have visible labels
• Preferences dialog puts focus on first control when opened
• Settings controls verified to have proper accessible names
• Diagnostics menu no longer locks up - now runs on background thread while announcing progress
• Removed all m-dashes (replaced with regular hyphens) for better compatibility
• Added Visit Project Website button to About dialog

[1.7.2] - 2026-06-04

Fixed

• Cover image browse button label now reads "Browse for Cover Image" instead of just "Browse" for clearer accessibility.

[1.7.1] - 2026-06-04

Fixed

• Task mode selector no longer auto-opens dialogs. Switching between "Build" and "Edit" modes now just changes the UI; users click Browse to open files/folders.
• Edit fields and chapter list are non-tabbable when empty. The chapter list, title field, and tag fields are now disabled (and excluded from tab order) until there is content to edit.
• Browse button tooltip simplified for clearer accessibility.
• Bundled FFmpeg binaries in the repo so builds work out-of-the-box without manual FFmpeg download/setup.

[1.7.0] - 2026-06-04

A UI polish and accessibility release. The app now shows only what is relevant to the task you are doing, the chapter list tells you more without you having to ask, and light and dark themes are available.

Added

• Task selector combo on the main window. A dropdown at the top of the Source section now says "Build new master from MP3 files" or "Edit chapters in an existing file." Choosing one switches the mode and opens the right dialog automatically. The combo also acts as a visible mode indicator so you always know which mode you are in, which a screen reader will read on focus.
• Build-only sections hide in edit mode. The Options section (bitrate, format, normalize, gap) and the Output section disappear entirely when you open an existing file to edit. They are not useful in edit mode and were previously just a row of dimmed controls taking up space. They reappear when you switch back to build mode.
• Source box adapts its labels and button to the current mode. In edit mode the box is titled "Current file," the path label reads "Open file:," and the Browse button becomes "Open File…" and opens a file picker instead of a folder picker. In build mode everything reads as before.
• Light and dark themes. Settings > General now has a Theme dropdown with four options: Follow system (default, uses your Windows color scheme), Light (white background with dark text), Dark (dark background with light text), and High contrast (black background with white text). The old High-contrast checkbox is replaced by this single control; existing settings migrate automatically.
• Move Up and Move Down have informative tooltips in edit mode. Instead of just saying "unavailable," hovering over either button when editing an existing master now reads "Reordering is not available in edit mode - chapter order is determined by start times."

Changed

• Focus after loading a folder goes to the chapter list, not the title field. The title field is empty until a chapter is selected, so landing focus there first was confusing for keyboard and screen-reader users. The list is the primary content control and is where focus belongs.
• Chapter list columns auto-size after every load. The Title column and the Source file or URL column resize themselves to fit the widest value, capped at reasonable maximums so no other column gets pushed off screen.
• Status bar and status label updated to mention Ctrl+Shift+P so new users discover the command palette immediately on first launch.

[1.6.0] - 2026-06-04

A keyboard accessibility and discoverability release. Every command in the app is now reachable from one place, the chapter list has a right-click menu, the Alt+F shortcut conflict is resolved, and ChapterForge can start quietly in the system tray.

Added

• Command Palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) - type any part of a command name to find and run it without touching the mouse. All menu and button actions are listed. Commands that are not available in the current state are shown with a dash prefix so you can still discover them. Down and Up arrows move through results; Enter runs the selected command; Escape closes without doing anything. The palette is also reachable from Tools > Command Palette.
• Right-click context menu on the chapter list - right-clicking (or pressing the application key) on any row in the chapter list pops up a small menu with the actions that make sense right now: Edit Chapter, Move Up, Move Down, Play Chapter, Split Here (edit mode), and Remove or Merge Up depending on the mode. Only relevant items are shown; items that cannot be used are dimmed.
• Start minimized in system tray - a new checkbox in Settings > General lets ChapterForge launch directly to the system tray without showing the main window. Double-click the tray icon to open it. The setting takes effect the next time you start the app. This is separate from the background watcher; no watch folders need to be configured.

Fixed

• Alt+F now opens the File menu as expected. The source folder label had an ampersand on the letter F, which caused Windows to route Alt+F to that label's associated text field instead of dropping down the File menu. The mnemonic has been removed from the label; the Browse button still has its own shortcut.
• Build-Release.ps1 step 3 no longer fails when ffmpeg is on the system PATH but not copied into the project's bin folder. The PyInstaller spec file now looks for ffmpeg and ffprobe in the local bin folder first, then falls back to whatever is on the PATH. If neither location has the tool it reports a clear error message instead of a cryptic PyInstaller path-not-found.

[1.5.0] - 2026-06-04

An accessibility and usability overhaul. Every control is now fully described when tabbing with a screen reader, the settings dialog is reorganised into logical tabs, and the keyboard shortcut model matches standard app conventions.

Added

• Build-Release.ps1 - a single PowerShell script that runs tests, builds HTML docs, runs PyInstaller and packages the Inno Setup installer in one step. Accepts -SkipTests, -SkipDocs, -SkipInstaller and -Open flags.
• Smart Ctrl+S - Ctrl+S now does the right thing in context: triggers Build in build mode and Save Changes in edit mode (M4B files redirect you to Save As with a spoken explanation). Ctrl+Shift+O is the new shortcut for choosing the output file location.
• Tooltips on every control - every button, checkbox, dropdown and spinner on the main window and the settings dialog has a plain-English tooltip that explains what it does and why you'd change it. Useful for new users and screen-reader users who explore with the mouse.

Changed

• Settings dialog restructured into three tabs: Build (encoding choices), General (player, appearance, announcements) and Advanced (silence detection). Related settings are grouped; unrelated ones no longer share a crowded flat list.
• Options row on the main window split into two rows: the three encoding dropdowns on top, and the three toggles/values below. Reduces horizontal crowding and makes the tab order easier to follow.
• Button names throughout carry their full context when read by a screen reader (e.g. "Browse for source folder of MP3 files", "Save master file to a chosen location", "Edit selected chapter title, link and image"). Trailing punctuation removed from player button names.
• "Set…" → "Save to…" on the output-file button - the label now reads as intent rather than a generic imperative.
• "Edit Title" → "Edit Chapter…" - the ellipsis signals a dialog and the name reflects that it edits title, URL and image.
• "Play Selected" → "Play Chapter" - shorter and unambiguous.
• "Split at Playhead" → "Split Here" - shorter label, tooltip carries the explanation.
• Build button label updates dynamically: "Build Master MP3" when MP3 is selected, "Build M4B Audiobook" when M4B is selected.
• "Remove" / "Merge Up" button's accessible name updates in edit mode to "Merge selected chapter into the one above it".
• Save Changes button tooltip explains the greyed-out state for M4B files.
• Settings dialog z-order fix - StaticText labels are now created before their associated controls so NVDA's preceding-static-text heuristic maps each label to the correct control.
• Chapter list label and column 4 header switch dynamically between build mode ("Chapter list, one per source file" / "Source file") and edit mode ("Chapter list" / "URL / Link").
• Unsaved-changes guards - switching mode, opening a folder, or loading a job file while in edit mode with unsaved edits now prompts before discarding.
• Player sizer leak fixed - repeated load/release cycles no longer accumulate dead sizer items.
• Volume slider name updated to "Playback volume, 0 to 100 percent" for clearer screen-reader announcement.
• Initial status text is now a welcoming instruction rather than "Ready."

[1.2.0] - 2026-06-20

A polish release that deepens editing, playback and accessibility. Everything remains fully keyboard accessible with screen-reader announcements.

Added

• Play from a chosen chapter - a "Play Selected" button (and the player's chapter map) lets you jump straight to any chapter. In build mode it auditions the selected source file.
• Real chapter editing of existing masters - merge a chapter into its neighbour (Remove/Delete becomes "Merge Up" in edit mode), Split at Playhead to add a boundary where the player is paused, and adjust a chapter's start time from the Edit dialog. Edits update the player without interrupting playback.
• Import / Export chapter lists - export the chapter list as Audacity labels, a CUE sheet, plain timestamps or Podcasting 2.0 JSON; import any of those into an open master to replace its markers.
• Inter-chapter gaps - insert a configurable amount of silence between chapters when building (also --gap-seconds on the command line).
• Post-build verification - after each build ChapterForge re-reads the file and confirms the chapter count, announcing "Verified N chapters."
• Output size estimate - a live estimate of the master's duration and approximate file size is shown before you build.
• Open Recent - the File menu remembers recently opened folders, masters and job files.
• Accessibility appearance options - adjustable UI text size and an optional high-contrast theme (Tools → Settings).
• Save Diagnostics (Help menu) - write a support report with version, Python/wxPython/OS and FFmpeg details, and your current settings.
• Download & install updates - "Check for Updates" can now download the right installer for your platform (over a verified HTTPS/GitHub connection) and launch it, instead of only opening the releases page. The CLI gains a matching --update.

Changed

• Editing chapters of an open master now updates the in-app player in place rather than reloading the file, so playback and position are preserved.

[1.1.0] - 2026-06-15

A big "maximum magic" feature release. Everything stays fully keyboard accessible with screen-reader announcements.

Added

• M4B audiobook export - choose MP3 or M4B output. M4B writes proper MP4 chapter metadata and an attached cover, ideal for audiobook players.
• In-app accessible player - preview the master without leaving the app: Play/Pause, Stop, Previous/Next chapter, Rewind/Forward (by a configurable interval), a volume control and a position slider. The current chapter is announced as the play-head crosses each boundary; Previous restarts the current chapter unless you are within the first few seconds.
• Edit existing chaptered files - open a finished MP3 (or M4B) to correct its ID3 tags and chapter titles. MP3 edits save in place (no re-encode); any file can be written to a new file with Save As.
• Save As - write the master, or an edited master, to a new file without touching the original.
• Auto-chapter by silence - detect chapter breaks in a single long recording from its silent gaps, then rename and save them.
• Batch build a library - point ChapterForge at a parent folder and build a master for every book sub-folder in one pass.
• Podcasting 2.0 chapters - optionally write a …chapters.json sidecar with per-chapter titles, and optional link URLs and images.
• Rich per-chapter metadata - the Edit dialog now sets a chapter's title, link URL and image.
• Pre-flight checks - before a build, ChapterForge warns about mixed sample rates or channel counts so you can decide whether to continue.
• Settings dialog (Tools → Settings, Ctrl+,) - defaults for output format, re-encode quality, normalization, cover auto-detect, chapters JSON, the player skip interval and volume, announcement detail and silence-detection tuning.

Changed

• The output format and a "write chapters JSON" option are now on the main Options bar; the default output extension follows your chosen format.

[1.0.0] - 2026-06-01

First public release.

Added

• Master builder - concatenate a folder of MP3s into one master MP3 with embedded ID3v2 CHAP chapter frames and an ordered CTOC. Uses lossless -c copy when source streams are uniform; re-encodes only when required.
• Accessible wxPython GUI - fully keyboard-navigable, labeled controls, menus with mnemonics and accelerators, and screen-reader announcements for status and progress. Chapter list supports edit (F2), reorder (Alt+Up/Down) and remove (Delete).
• ID3 tagging - title, artist, album-artist, album, genre, year, comment, cover art (APIC), with auto-detected cover preview.
• Chapter titles from filenames, with an option to keep or strip leading track numbers.
• Rich CLI (chapterforge-cli) with --help, live terminal progress, and flags for tags, output path, job files, watching and update checks.
• Job files (.cfjob) - simple, hand-editable definitions of file order and chapter titles. Generate, edit and load from the GUI or CLI.
• Reusable processes & folder watcher - define watch folders with naming templates; a system-tray app processes new MP3 folders automatically in the background.
• Windows notifications - toast + screen-reader announcements when jobs start and complete, in both foreground and background modes.
• Visible output organization - completed masters land in _ChapterForge\Completed\<book>\ with a readable … - chapters.txt report; failures are recorded under _ChapterForge\Failed\<book>.txt.
• Existing-master detection - a previously built master in the source folder is skipped instead of being added as an extra chapter.
• Check for updates via GitHub Releases.
• Run watcher at sign-in (per-user) toggle.
• Packaging - PyInstaller one-folder build (GUI + CLI exes, ffmpeg bundled) and an Inno Setup installer.
• About window crediting Blind Information Technology Solutions (BITS), showing the version and a 2026 copyright, with buttons linking to Join BITS, Let It Glow and Community Access.
• Documentation: README, User Guide, Deployment guide, third-party notices, MIT license. The in-app Help menu opens accessible HTML versions (generated by tools/build_docs.py) in the browser.

[1.7.0]: https://github.com/bits-acb/chapterforge/releases/tag/v1.7.0 [1.6.0]: https://github.com/bits-acb/chapterforge/releases/tag/v1.6.0 [1.1.0]: https://github.com/bits-acb/chapterforge/releases/tag/v1.1.0 [1.0.0]: https://github.com/bits-acb/chapterforge/releases/tag/v1.0.0