Creative Tools and Publishing Release Notes
Updates for creative production, editing, media collaboration, and publishing platforms.
Products (12)
Latest Creative Tools and Publishing Updates
- Nov 10, 2026
- Date parsed from source:Nov 10, 2026
- First seen by Releasebot:Nov 11, 2026
WordPress 7.2 Beta 5
Wordpress releases 7.2 Beta 5 for testing, with security, accessibility, compatibility, and default-theme refinements. The update resolves known PHP 8.6 compatibility issues and improves admin navigation, application password notifications, and the Ipsum theme ahead of the planned final release.
WordPress 7.2 Beta 5 is ready for download and testing!
This beta release is intended for testing and development only. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, use a test environment or local site to explore the new features.
How to Test WordPress 7.2 Beta 5
You can test WordPress 7.2 Beta 5 in any of the following ways:
WordPress Beta Tester Plugin
Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin on a WordPress install. Select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream.
Direct Download
Download the Beta 5 version (zip) and install it on a WordPress website.
Command Line (WP-CLI)
Use this WP-CLI command:
wp core update --version=7.2-beta5WordPress Playground
Use a 7.2 Beta 5 WordPress Playground instance to test the software directly in your browser. No setup required-just click and go!
The scheduled final release date for WordPress 7.2 is December 8, 2026. The full release schedule can be found here. Your help testing Beta and RC versions is vital to making this release as stable and powerful as possible. Thank you to everyone who contributes by testing!
What’s in WordPress 7.2 Beta 5?
For technical details on the issues addressed since Beta 4, see the following links:
- Closed 7.2 WordPress Core Trac tickets since November 3, 2026
- 7.2 Gutenberg commits since November 3, 2026
Continued Improvements to WordPress 7.2
WordPress 7.2 Beta 5 continues refining the upcoming release with additional security, accessibility, and compatibility improvements.
Recent changes include email notifications when application passwords are created, improved keyboard navigation in the WordPress admin toolbar, and accessibility refinements to Visual History. Additional fixes strengthen permissions for Notes reactions, improve compatibility with MP3 uploads, and address automatic update behavior in Git worktree installations.
Learn more: Trac #63927, Trac #66331, Trac #65122, Trac #66447, Trac #46544, Trac #66460
Further Refinements to Ipsum
The new default theme, Ipsum, receives another round of improvements in WordPress 7.2 Beta 5. Accessibility enhancements include improved keyboard focus indicators and view transitions that respect reduced-motion preferences. Additional refinements to block styles and patterns provide greater design flexibility, while optimized stylesheets and other under-the-hood improvements help prepare the theme for its final release.
Learn more: Trac #66631, GitHub #198, GitHub #187, GitHub #180
PHP 8.6 Compatibility Improvements
WordPress 7.2 aims to fully support PHP 8.6, which is scheduled to be released on November 19, 2026. The WordPress project has a long history of being compatible with new versions of PHP as soon as possible, and this release is no different.
As of the Beta 5 release, all known compatibility issues with PHP 8.6 have been resolved.
While all of the known issues in WordPress have been addressed, you will need to verify that all of your plugins and themes are also compatible with PHP 8.6 prior to upgrading. Keep an eye on the Making WordPress Core blog in the coming days for more detailed information about what to look for.
WordPress continues to encourage all users to run the latest and greatest versions of PHP.
Learn more: Trac #66648
How important is your testing?
Testing for issues is a critical part of developing any software, and it’s a meaningful way for anyone to contribute – whether or not you have experience. Details on what to test in WordPress 7.2 are available here.
If you encounter an issue, please share it in the Alpha/Beta area of the support forums. If you are comfortable submitting a reproducible bug report, you can do so via WordPress Trac. You can also check your issue against this list of known bugs.
Curious about testing releases in general and how to get started? Follow along with the testing initiatives in Make Core and join the #core-test channel on Making WordPress Slack.
A Beta 5 haiku
One last beta blooms
Release candidate awaits
The finish draws nearProps to @audrasjb and @desrosj for pre-publish review.
Original source - Nov 3, 2026
- Date parsed from source:Nov 3, 2026
- First seen by Releasebot:Nov 4, 2026
WordPress 7.2 Beta 4
Wordpress releases 7.2 Beta 4 for testing, with accessibility, editor reliability, developer API and theme refinements, plus easier management of individual translation updates. The beta also includes bug fixes and compatibility improvements ahead of the planned final release.
WordPress 7.2 Beta 4 is ready for download and testing!
This beta release is intended for testing and development only. Please do not install, run, or test this version of WordPress on production or mission-critical websites. Instead, use a test environment or local site to explore the new features.
Wait, what happened to 7.2 Beta 3???
WordPress 7.1.4 was released on October 28 which included WordPress 7.2 Beta 3.
How to Test WordPress 7.2 Beta 4
You can test WordPress 7.2 Beta 4 in any of the following ways:
WordPress Beta Tester Plugin
Install and activate the WordPress Beta Tester plugin on a WordPress install. Select the “Bleeding edge” channel and “Beta/RC Only” stream.
Direct Download
Download the Beta 4 version (zip) and install it on a WordPress website.
Command Line (WP-CLI)
Use this WP-CLI command:
wp core update --version=7.2-beta4WordPress Playground
Use a 7.2 Beta 4 WordPress Playground instance to test the software directly in your browser. No setup required-just click and go!
The scheduled final release date for WordPress 7.2 is December 8, 2026. The full release schedule can be found here. Your help testing Beta and RC versions is vital to making this release as stable and powerful as possible. Thank you to everyone who contributes by testing!
What’s in WordPress 7.2 Beta 4?
For technical details on the issues addressed since Beta 2, see the following links:
- Closed 7.2 WordPress Core Trac tickets since October 27, 2026
- 7.2 Gutenberg commits since October 27, 2026
Continued Improvements to WordPress 7.2
WordPress 7.2 Beta 4 continues refining the upcoming release with improvements to accessibility, editor reliability, and developer APIs, alongside additional bug fixes and compatibility updates.
Recent work includes improved keyboard focus visibility in Windows High Contrast mode, refinements to administration interfaces, and fixes for right-to-left block alignment and custom block spacing.
Developers will also benefit from continued improvements to the Abilities API, DataViews extensibility, and REST API behavior. Additional fixes strengthen revision handling, input validation, and compatibility across supported environments.
Learn more: Trac #45910, Trac #66382, Trac #66427, Trac #66383, Trac #66343, Trac #66329
Continued Improvements to Ipsum
The new default theme, Ipsum, continues to receive refinements ahead of WordPress 7.2’s final release. Recent updates improve accessibility with clearer keyboard focus indicators, more descriptive screen reader links, and better support for right-to-left languages. Additional improvements refine block patterns, touch target spacing, and color palette compatibility with other default themes.
Learn more: Trac #66352, GitHub #15113
Improved Translation Update Management
WordPress 7.2 makes managing translation updates easier by displaying individual available updates on the Updates screen. Administrators can now review and selectively install translation updates, bringing language management in line with the familiar plugin and theme update experience.
Learn more: Trac #42281, GitHub #11610
How important is your testing?
Testing for issues is a critical part of developing any software, and it’s a meaningful way for anyone to contribute – whether or not you have experience. Details on what to test in WordPress 7.2 are available here.
If you encounter an issue, please share it in the Alpha/Beta area of the support forums. If you are comfortable submitting a reproducible bug report, you can do so via WordPress Trac. You can also check your issue against this list of known bugs.
Curious about testing releases in general and how to get started? Follow along with the testing initiatives in Make Core and join the #core-test channel on Making WordPress Slack.
A Beta 4 haiku
Where did Beta Three go?
A surprise along the way
Four arrives on cue.Props to @audrasjb, @courane01, @huzaifaalmesbah for pre-publish review.
Original source All of your release notes in one feed
Join Releasebot and get updates from Automattic and hundreds of other software products.
- Nov 2, 2026
- Date parsed from source:Nov 2, 2026
- First seen by Releasebot:Nov 4, 2026
4.0.2 Current 2 Nov 2026
Audacity releases version 4.0.2, though the provided entry lists no product changes.
4.0.2 Current 2 Nov 2026
Original source - Nov 1, 2026
- Date parsed from source:Nov 1, 2026
- First seen by Releasebot:Nov 11, 2026
November 2026 (version 22.0)
InDesign adds AI Assistant, document checks, smarter copy tools, and Flex Layout to speed up publishing and help create adaptable designs. The release also brings native Windows ARM support, faster font and script discovery, streamlined exports, and fixes for reliability, accessibility, and EPUB workflows.
Feature updates
- Get instant answers and complete complex tasks with AI Assistant (beta)
Ask questions in natural language to get step-by-step guidance, find the right tools, and modify layouts without leaving InDesign. AI Assistant (beta) can help you move through your publishing workflow faster. - Catch and fix document issues before export with Check Document
Scan your entire document for grammar, consistency, accessibility, and quality issues from a single panel. Review the issues and apply suggested fixes directly from the panel, including adding table summaries and alt text. - Refine your copy with Rewrite, now with grammar and copy suggestions
Generate text variations, then fix grammar and copy issues for clarity, redundancy, and consistency right in your layout. - Find and preview fonts faster with the enhanced font browser
Browse curated font collections and see live previews in context in a redesigned font panel. Select the right typeface for your project with fewer steps. - Build responsive layouts with Flex Layout
Design layouts that adjust automatically when content or frame sizes change. Flex Layout repositions and resizes child elements, and text frames now resize automatically as your layout adapts across formats. This makes it easier to create adaptable designs for brochures, reports, and multi-format publishing. - Run InDesign natively on Windows ARM devices
InDesign now runs natively on Windows ARM64 processors, including Snapdragon-powered devices. You get full performance without emulation and improved battery efficiency. - Export directly from the Pages panel
Use the new Export command in the Pages panel context menu to export a page, spread, or entire document to PDF, JPEG, PNG, EPS, or fixed-layout EPUB. You no longer need to go through the File menu. - Find scripts faster with search in the Scripts panel
Use the new live search bar in the Scripts panel to find scripts as you type. Turn on match case or limit the search to a folder. - Get cleaner math expressions with None as the default font style
Math expressions now use None as the default font style, so variables and symbols no longer pick up a style automatically. You can still change the style from the Font Style options. - See custom icons for UXP plugins in every theme
Plugin and panel icons defined in a UXP plugin’s manifest now appear in InDesign, including docked panel icons. If the plugin provides theme-specific icons, they update when you change the app theme.
Fixed issues
Customer-reported fixes
- Users in Chinese Simplified are no longer blocked by a subscription error when using InDesign.
- Packaging now works on macOS 26 (Tahoe).
- Audio and video files now play in EPUB Preview when they are inside a group or rotated.
- Webviews in UXP plugins can now send postMessage.
- Horizontal padding can now be customized for HTML text input elements in InDesign UXP plugins.
- [macOS] The cursor now moves when you press the arrow keys after entering Korean text.
- Grouped context break images now export correctly when paragraphs are mapped to
<hr />. - Panels closed with the Close option in the context menu no longer reappear after you go to the Home screen and create a new document.
- Manually entered alt text is now retained when another user who uses AI-generated alt text relinks the image.
- For graphic frames, the alt text is now retained when the content is edited in InCopy.
- Alt text is now consistently included in tagged PDF exports.
- Special characters in MacRoman-encoded data sources are no longer changed after you update the data source in Data Merge.
- Multibyte characters are no longer replaced with U+FFFD (Replacement Character) when merging UTF-8 CSV files.
Crash fixes
- InDesign crashes intermittently when performing actions on a page or spread in the Pages panel.
- [Win] InDesign no longer crashes intermittently when working with the Glyphs panel.
- [Win] InDesign no longer crashes when drawing the layout view.
Generative AI features
- Auto alt text no longer generates incorrect descriptions for white logotypes on dark backgrounds.
Other notable fixes
- OpenType superscript/inferior and numerator/denominator attributes are now applied to the last character of footnote references with three or more digits.
- The selected font is now auto-focused in the Text panel.
- [macOS Intel] The GPU Preview label now appears next to the document name when GPU Performance is turned on.
- InDesign Server package creation no longer fails for documents created in a newer version.
- InDesign Server no longer logs extra CoreText messages in the console on macOS 15.
- Nov 1, 2026
- Date parsed from source:Nov 1, 2026
- First seen by Releasebot:Nov 4, 2026
GIMP 3.2.8 Released
GIMP releases version 3.2.8, a stable update with bug fixes, security patches, and usability improvements. It adds stronger right-to-left text support, improves performance and cross-platform compatibility, and fixes issues across Windows, macOS, and Linux.
We’re glad to announce the release of GIMP 3.2.8!
This new stable release contains a number of bugfixes and security updates from new and long-time contributors.
General Updates and UX Improvements
Highlighting New Contributor’s Work
System-specific Updates
Security Updates
Around GIMP
Documentation for resource makers
New Mirrors
Release Stats
Downloading GIMP 3.2.8
What’s Next
This news posts provides an overview of the changes since GIMP 3.2.6. For a more detailed review, check out the NEWS changelog.
Wilber-o’-Lantern, CC BY-SA 4.0, October 31st, 2026
General Updates and UX Improvements
The Add Border filter now allows you to create semi-transparent borders based on the color you choose in the filter.
Jehan fixed a bug introduced in GIMP 3.2.6 when we added better support for cutting/copying from layer groups. Non-rectangular selections on layers within a layer group will now be copied over correctly.
Bruno Lopes corrected an issue where the cursor coordinates did not always update in the status bar when changing between different applications.
denzjos helped us identify a bug with the Levels tool where picking input levels with the Color Picker tool would report incorrect values when working with non-destructive filters. Jehan then developed a fix for it.
Harsh Verma has implemented a new GUI testing suite in GIMP so we can better check for regressions in the GUI during development. He is preparing a news post that will go over this in more detail, which we will share soon!
Jehan improved our font-loading code so that it can be cancelled early (for instance, when quitting GIMP while the fonts are still loading). This should speed up our shut-down times.
Bruno Lopes made improvements to some dialogs so they appear on the correct screen for users with multiple monitors. In addition, the Dot to Dot setting now works again. It was reporting wrong pixel density since GIMP 3.0.
Jacob Boerema backported some fixes for the Metadata Editor and Viewer feature, as part of his larger work in the development branch.
Alx Sa and Bruno Lopes added more definitions to our theme file so that GIMP looks the same on each platform.
Highlighting New Contributor’s Work
All contributions to GIMP from the community are valued! We want to highlight work from some of the newer contributors here.
Infinity made several improvements to our text tool for this release! In particular, they improved text cursor movement when editing Right-to-Left languages and mitigated issues when editing text with negative kerning.
As a side effect of this bug fix, we actually get much better support of RTL text as well as of mix of LTR and RTL texts.
The on-canvas dialog now has two new icons for text directions, and the tool automatically detects your base text direction, as defined by rule P2 of the Unicode Bidirectional Algorithm, unless you manually override by clicking one of the buttons.
Showcasing improved support for RTL text - GIMP 3.2.8
Aruius improved our color picking display GUIs, so you see more minor changes in colors when editing.
Chiem Whua Ma helped resolve an issue on Windows where the UI would appear to freeze when moving the canvas after opening multiple images at once. They also fixed a bug where vector layers would be offset incorrect after the canvas was resized.
Manu Cornet has focused on several performance fixes for GIMP. For this release, they improved caching when drawing gradients larger than 6000 x 6000 pixels. They also made the “marching ants” display for selections run more efficiently. Additionally, they improved how channels are displayed in the Channel dock when a dark theme is set. Finally they sped up the display time for the Preferences dialog.
balooii made several fixes as well. For instance, they updated our external copy and paste code to also pass along the DPI settings for the image; this means that other software can properly rescale what you paste if they have a different setting that what you used in GIMP. They also made our Debug dialog themeable and translatable (though we hope you don’t get the opportunity to see their work in this area!)
MrYoranimo fixed an oversight in our raw data import plug-in, where images were not loaded as binary data on Windows. This is a bit technical, but it meant that some raw data might not be interpreted correctly. Their fix ensures that the data is loaded consistently on Windows as it has been on other platforms.
Dimitriy Ryazantcev has continued their work on Windows icon and animated cursors. In this release, they have updated our loading code to match how Windows orders and groups icons in the file.
abderraouf updated our HEIF loading code to allow for loading larger images.
Chomu updated our menu code to allow plug-in and script developers to add submenus in named menu sections. For instance the following code will add a submenu Custom/ below other Paste as actions and your new plug-in action in it:
gimp_procedure_add_menu_path (procedure, "<Image>/File/[Paste as]/Custom");Also gimp_plug_in_add_menu_branch() has been deprecated (though it was already not working properly anyway so we expect nobody was using it).
System-specific Updates
Bruno Lopes continues their work to improve GIMP’s integration on different platforms. To name a few updates:
- On macOS 27+, title bars are displayed with background colors again. Icons on the menu bar should also appear accordingly. Since the release of Golden Gate, these were being rendered transparently due to breaking changes on the macOS side.
- On macOS 14+, we now use the ScreenCaptureKit API for taking screenshots.
- On Intel-based macOS, GIMP should run without warnings from GateKeeper thanks to us now consistently notarizing Python.
- We now display a 1/0 value for switches on macOS based on the “Differentiate without color” setting.
- Transparency is retained when copying an image from certain apps to GIMP, instead of it showing as black.
- The longstanding “Blank UI” bug that happened on startup for certain macOS computers should be finally fixed!
- Print Preview (aka Image Settings tab) should now work with the Windows 11 Unified Print Dialog on that platform.
- In addition, Page Setup should now use the correct printer, not just the default one on Windows.
- On Windows, “Merged title bar” settings now play nicer with system features such as minimizing from the task bar and title bar shadowing effets.
- The Screenshot feature now works better on HDR displays on Windows.
- AppImage compatibility was improved to support installing Python Wheels from pip like Flatpak and Snap.
- Note, however, that our minimum version for 3.2 continues to be a distro released after Debian 13 (Trixie).
Security Updates
As many free and open source software projects can attest, we have continued to receive a large quantity of security reports due to recent advances in software scanning and testing programs. Jacob Boerema and Alx Sa along with new contributors Mike Gorse, Dirk Müller, and Alynx Zhou have proactively responded to and patched these reported issues when applicable.
We take security seriously, but this is not quite as scary as it first sounds. There are no personal accounts or banking information to exploit since we of course don’t access or store that information! The most common report that we get is our older image plug-ins and legacy filters are too trusting of the image size information provided by the image file, and if you intentionally alter this information, you could cause the plug-in (not GIMP itself) to crash.
Around GIMP
Documentation for resource makers
Bruno Lopes wrote two new tutorials on developer.gimp.org:
- Internationalizing plug-ins
- Internationalizing filters
These articles should help plug-in and script developers who want to make their plug-ins translatable, either by themselves or by members of the community. This will be especially helpful as we make progress on creating an built-in Extension repo for easily downloading and installing plug-ins, filters, and more. (More information on that coming soon!)
New Mirrors
Randhost, in Portugal, and ZEROLAG, in Romania, have graciously offered to serve mirrors for GIMP downloads. Mirrors help GIMP be available for download at high speeds wherever you are in the world.
Does your organization wish to be one of our official mirror sponsors?
Create a request to become an official mirror!
Release Stats
Since GIMP 3.2.6, in the main GIMP repository:
- 82 reports were closed as FIXED.
- 46 merge requests were merged.
- 300 commits were pushed.
- 11 translations were updated: Chinese (China), Dutch, Georgian, Kazakh, Lithuanian, Norwegian Bokmål, Norwegian Nynorsk, Slovenian, Swedish, Turkish, Ukrainian.
27 people contributed changes or fixes to GIMP 3.2.8 codebase (order is determined by number of commits; some people are in several groups):
- 10 developers to core code: Bruno Lopes, Jehan, Alx Sa, Harsh Verma, Manu Cornet, Chiem Whua Ma, balooii balooii, infinity, Chomu, aruius.
- 11 developers to plug-ins or modules: Alx Sa, Bruno Lopes, Jacob Boerema, Dimitriy Ryazantcev, Alynx Zhou, Dirk Müller, Harsh Verma, Jehan, Mike Gorse, MrYoranimo, phoinix.
- 11 translators: Anders Jonsson, Dick Groskamp, Kolbjørn Stuestøl, Martin, luming zh, Aurimas Aurimas Černius, Baurzhan Muftakhidinov, Ekaterine Papava, Kjartan Maraas, Yuri Chornoivan, Emin Tufan Çetin.
- 1 theme designers: Alx Sa.
- 4 build, packaging or CI contributors: Bruno Lopes, Jehan, Harsh Verma, Alx Sa.
- 2 contributors on other types of resources: Jehan, Bruno Lopes.
Contributions on other repositories in the GIMPverse (order is determined by number of commits):
- The gimp-test-images (unit testing repository) repository had 2 commits by 1 contributors: Jacob Boerema.
- The flatpak release had 12 commits by 2 contributors: Bruno Lopes, Jehan.
- Our main website (what you are reading right now) had 65 commits by 3 contributors: Bruno Lopes, Jehan, Alx Sa.
- Our developer website had 56 commits by 5 contributors: Bruno Lopes, Jehan, Harsh Verma, Alx Sa, Denis Rangelov.
- Our 3.0 documentation had 197 commits by 8 contributors: Jacob Boerema, Dick Groskamp, Kolbjørn Stuestøl, Anders Jonsson, Marco Ciampa, Jehan, Balázs Úr, Yuri Chornoivan.
Let’s not forget to thank all the people who help us triaging in Gitlab, report bugs and discuss possible improvements with us.
Our community is deeply thankful as well to the internet warriors who manage our various discussion channels or social network accounts such as Ville Pätsi, Liam Quin, Michael Schumacher and Sevenix!
Note: considering the number of parts in GIMP and around, and how we get statistics through git scripting, errors may slip inside these stats. Feel free to tell us if we missed or mis-categorized some contributors or contributions.
Downloading GIMP 3.2.8
You will find all our official builds on GIMP official website (gimp.org):
- Linux AppImages for x86 and ARM (64-bit)
- Linux Flatpaks for x86 and ARM (64-bit)
- Linux Snaps for x86 and ARM (64-bit)
- Universal Windows installer for x86 and ARM (64-bit)
- Microsoft Store for x86 and ARM (64-bit)
- macOS DMG packages for Intel/x86 and Apple/ARM hardware (64-bit)
Other packages made by third-parties are obviously expected to follow (Linux or *BSD distributions’ packages, etc).
What’s Next
While we’ve been making periodic updates to the stable GIMP 3.2 branch, we’ve also been hard at work on developing the next version of GIMP. There’s a lot of cool things in progress, and we look forward to sharing more about that with you all soon!
Don’t forget you can donate and personally fund GIMP developers, as a way to give back and accelerate the development of GIMP. Community commitment helps the project to grow stronger!
Original source - Oct 30, 2026
- Date parsed from source:Oct 30, 2026
- First seen by Releasebot:Nov 3, 2026
New on Substack: chat channels, lists, freewalls, discounts, podcast updates, and more
Substack adds chat channels, curated lists, flexible paywalls and subscription discounts, plus expanded podcast tools like YouTube streaming, voiceovers and automatic downloads. The updates give creators more ways to grow communities and earn while helping readers control how they discover and enjoy content.
More ways to connect with your audience, get paid for your work, and be in control of your feed
Our latest product updates give everyone more ownership over what they read, listen to, and watch on Substack and give creators more ways to connect with their audiences and turn that connection into long-lasting support, including paid subscriptions.
Here’s the latest.
Chat channels
Publishers on Substack are building large, vibrant communities with Chat. You can now create multiple subscriber group chats—“channels”—within a publication to focus on specific topics, like a TV series, sporting event, or AMA.
As a creator, you control who can join, post, and reply in subscriber chats. You can make a channel available to all subscribers or reserve it for paying subscribers. You and your subscribers can now tag other participants using their Substack handles (and edit your messages so the conversation is free of typos).
We recently spoke to Sean Ross, cohost of popular TV watch-along podcast Drop Your Buffs, about how he turned his obsession with Survivor and its fandom into a podcast and chat community. You can read more here.
Learn more about chat channels in our Help Center.
Lists
Yesterday, we launched lists, the next generation of recommendations on Substack and a new way to showcase the work you care about.
Curate your list, give it a name and a description, and write a short blurb for each publication so people know why you selected it. When someone opens your list, they’ll see each publication with your blurb, plus the chronological feed of posts from everyone on the list under the Activity tab.
Learn more about creating lists in our Help Center.
Freewalls
Freewalls help you turn a reader’s passing interest into a direct relationship by asking readers for their email address before they can read a full post.
On Substack, you own what you create. You can export the email addresses of both your free and paid subscribers to give them another way to engage with you and support your work.
Learn more about freewalls in our Help Center.
Metered paywalls
With metered paywalls, you can give free subscribers access to a set number of paid posts each month. You decide how many paid posts free subscribers can access each month and which posts are included. Metered paywalls help you deepen your relationship with your readers by allowing them to experience the value of being a paid subscriber.
When readers reach the limit you’ve set, you can encourage them to subscribe for full access to your work.
Learn more about metered paywalls in our Help Center.
Discounts
You can now create a discount to incentivize your monthly subscribers to upgrade to an annual subscription.
This much-requested feature gives you a way to encourage your biggest fans to commit for the long term.
Learn more about discounts in our Help Center.
Games category
The Games community is already home to standout writing, podcasts, and videos. As it continues to grow, we’re excited to give its creators a dedicated place to be discovered.
If Games is a fit for your publication, switch your primary category in your publication dashboard, and check out the new Games leaderboard.
Schedule ad hoc emails
Previously, you could use the subscriber dashboard to send an email to a subset of your subscribers. Now you can schedule emails containing special offers, event reminders, or other targeted messages to specific segments of your audience.
Learn more about scheduling ad hoc emails in our Help Center.
Podcast updates
In September, we launched the Podcast tab to support the thousands of podcasters making Substack their home. Podcasters on Substack collectively earn over $200 million a year. In the past month, we’ve added even more features to help you run your podcast business on Substack. Here are a few standouts:
YouTube multicasting
Your livestreams can now reach your audiences across both Substack and YouTube. Connect your YouTube account to Substack, and your video posts will upload automatically to YouTube when you publish. You can also start or stop the YouTube stream partway through or end it without ending your Substack stream, to keep your Substack community front and center.
Learn how to connect your YouTube and Substack accounts in our Help Center.
IAB Tech Lab certified and more complete data
Substack’s podcast download measurement is now IAB Tech Lab certified. IAB Tech Lab sets the standard for measuring downloads and is trusted by advertisers and sponsors across the industry. This certification makes it easier to report on your show’s growth and pitch to sponsors.
Spotify downloads are now included in your Substack podcast data, too.
We’ve also upgraded post stats so you can track engagement over time, with separate stats for live viewers and people who watched the recording. This helps you understand how your audience engages, whether it’s with a livestream, audio podcast, or video podcast.
Together, these updates offer a more complete picture of how your work resonates with your audience, so you can do more of what works and less of what doesn’t.
Voiceovers
Posts with voiceovers can now be experienced like a podcast. With author-read voiceovers, your subscribers can choose to read or listen to your post. Posts with voiceovers are also eligible for Podcast tab rankings, which gives your written work more ways to be discovered.
Simon Haisell, the publisher of Footnotes and Tangents, has added voiceover to all of his posts. He told us that despite not always liking the sound of his own voice, “recording my voiceovers has been a revelation. You’re asking a lot from readers to sit down and read a 3,000-word article. But a voiceover lifts your words off the page, letting listeners take you anywhere.”
And he added that “as the internet becomes saturated with AI-generated content, this is honestly the easiest way to let readers know that they are engaging with another human.”
Listen to Simon’s posts on James Joyce’s Ulysses here.
Learn how to add voiceover to your posts in our Help Center.
Automatic downloads
Subscribers can set up automatic downloads of recent posts from individual publications or across their subscriptions. They can take your articles or podcasts with them, whether they’re commuting without service or traveling and out of their regular routine.
By default, only the audio from video posts will download to save data, but subscribers can enable video downloads for individual publications.
And a bonus: customized cursor
Your Substack is yours, right down to your cursor. You can now create a custom cursor by going to Publication Dashboard → Settings → Custom Cursor.
If you have a story about how a specific feature or best practice helped you grow your Substack, let us know in a Note, in a post, or by restacking. Thanks for being here.
Original source - Oct 30, 2026
- Date parsed from source:Oct 30, 2026
- First seen by Releasebot:Oct 30, 2026
Introducing lists on Substack
Substack launches curated lists that let people showcase and share favorite writers, podcasters, and publishers. Each list includes a chronological feed of creators’ posts and Notes, and can be saved to help readers discover trusted recommendations.
Gather the writers, podcasters, and publishers you love into a shareable list with its own chronological feed, and save the lists others make
Today, we’re launching lists, the next generation of recommendations on Substack and a new way to showcase the work you care about.
Each curated list comes with its own activity feed: a stream of the latest posts and Notes from the featured creators in chronological order. The lists are dynamic: when a curator adds a new publisher to one of their lists, anyone who has saved the list will see that publisher’s new material in their feed, annotated to show which list it appears on.
In other words, you can curate your own feed, and save those that others create.
The thinking behind lists
Recommendations have long been a core way that publishers grow on Substack, and one of the primary ways the communities around them take shape. When you point your audience to someone you trust, it provides additional value for them and is a generous way to help another creator. Curated lists make that generosity more personal and specific. And recommendations on Substack are free—nobody pays to be on a list—so a spot on one carries real weight.
With this update—which makes lists more prominent and accessible, particularly in the app—we’ve made it easier than ever for people to discover new writers, podcasters, and publishers from the trusted recommendations of creators they already know and love.
Plus, they’re fun to curate. Share your expertise, show off your taste, and highlight the hidden gems you wish more people knew about. For every list, you can add a name, a description, and an easy-to-share link. You can also see how much traffic your list has sent to each writer you’ve included.
Make your first list
Find lists on your recommendations dashboard. Curate your list, give it a name and a description, and write a short blurb for each publication so people know why it’s there.
When someone opens your list, they’ll see each publication with your blurb, plus the chronological feed of posts from everyone on it under the Activity tab. Lists can be saved, shared on Notes—where they appear as a card in the feed—or shared off Substack with a link.
Learn more about lists here.
You know your audience better than anyone, and we’re excited to see the lists you come up with for them: the niche, the timely, the zany, the tactical, and all the other ways you might introduce the writers, podcasters, and creators you love.
Original source - Oct 28, 2026
- Date parsed from source:Oct 28, 2026
- First seen by Releasebot:Oct 30, 2026
WordPress 7.1.4
Wordpress releases version 7.1.4, a security update that fixes multiple vulnerabilities, including stored cross-site scripting and denial-of-service issues. Sites are urged to update promptly, with security fixes also being backported to eligible older branches.
This security release features fixes for multiple issues.
Because this is a security release, it is recommended that you update your sites immediately.
You can download WordPress 7.1.4 from WordPress.org, or visit your WordPress Dashboard, click “Updates”, and then click “Update Now”. If you have sites that support automatic background updates, the update process will begin automatically.
WordPress 7.1.4 is a short-cycle release. The next major release will be version 7.2, currently planned for December 8th.
For more information, please visit the WordPress 7.1.4 HelpHub site.
Security updates included in this release
The security team would like to thank the following people and organizations for responsibly reporting vulnerabilities, and allowing them to be fixed in this release:
- A weakness in the WordPress upgrade process which can lead to remote code execution during the upgrade window, reported by Umut Bayram.
- A stored XSS with specially crafted block markup, reported by Rafie Muhammad (Awesome Motive, Inc.).
- Privacy Data Removal Requests can be created in a way that leads to stored XSS, reported by Anthropic.
- Multiple stored XSS issues in the Interactivity API independently discovered by AnC and DatNLQ from VietSunshine Cyber Security, rekter0 and Anas cherni, Marcel Karlsson (whoismarcel), and Weston Ruter, Jon Surrell, Alex Concha, and Luis Herranz of the WordPress Security Team.
- A stored denial of service issue in the Interactivity API, reported by Jon Surrell of the WordPress Security Team.
- A stored XSS in Customizer selective refresh, reported by Rafie Muhammad (Awesome Motive, Inc.).
- A Stored XSS in the Categories block reported by Ben Bidner of the WordPress Security Team.
- Specially crafted User Logins can lead to a stored XSS reported by Anthropic.
- Unpublished customizer changesets can be discovered by unauthenticated users, reported by Antonio Lorensius Silaban.
- A Stored XSS in Playlist and image blocks, reported by Ben Bidner of the WordPress Security Team.
- Stored XSS in core/comments-pagination-next and core/comments-pagination-previous blocks, reported by Alex Concha of the WordPress Security Team.
- Notes can be read by privileged users that lack access to edit the post the note is attached to, reported by Ramon of the WordPress Security Team.
- An update to the bundled root certificates due to the eMudhra revocation.
Thank you to these WordPress contributors
This release was led by Aaron Jorbin and Nik Tsekouras. WordPress 7.1.4 would not have been possible without the contributions of the following people:
Aaron Jorbin, Adam Silverstein, Alex Concha, Andrew Duthie, Andrew Serong, David Arenas, Dennis Snell, Ella Van Durpe, George Mamadashvili, Isabel Brison, Jake Spurlock, Jb Audras, Jeremy Felt, John Blackbourn, Jon Surrell, Jonathan Desrosiers, Kira Song, Lance Willett, luisherranz, Marco Ciampini, marcs0h, Marin Atanasov, Mario Santos, Miguel Fonseca, Nik Tsekouras, Peter Wilson, ramonopoly, Rudy Faile, Sergey Biryukov, umut3806, Weston Ruter
Backports
As a courtesy, the security fixes were backported to all branches eligible to receive security fixes (currently through 4.7). As a reminder, only the most recent version of WordPress is actively supported. The backports are in progress and will ship as they become ready.
WordPress 7.2 Beta 3 has also been released, containing all applicable fixes.
Original source - Oct 23, 2026
- Date parsed from source:Oct 23, 2026
- First seen by Releasebot:Oct 24, 2026
What shipped in October: set your firm's rules once
Affinity releases firm-wide Meeting Prep instructions, flexible team visibility, deal-team-based opportunity access, and expanded Notetaker privacy controls. New Lists gains triggers, CSV imports, and bulk actions, while Affinity MCP adds confirmed record cleanup. The update helps firms apply conventions consistently and manage data with more control.
Every firm has conventions that aren't written down, like how a brief should read, which team sees whose meetings, who is on which deal, or what has to be filled in before something goes to IC. Today, teams enforce them by repeating themselves.
This month's releases move those conventions into Affinity, where you set them once and they apply every time.
Tell Ascend what's important for your firm on meeting briefs
Admins can now write instructions that shape every Meeting Prep brief at your firm. Anyone with the permission to manage AI feature access (admins and Enterprise Admins have it by default) can write up to 2,000 characters on the Meeting Prep agent card. There’s one set of instructions per firm, everyone can read it, and it applies to briefs generated after you save.
An admin might ask briefs to emphasize what was last discussed about round timing and check size, so those two points sit at the top of every brief. Instructions work best for style and emphasis: what to include, what to leave out, and what to stress.
Read more:
- Give Ascend agents your firm's context
Decide how much other teams see
Until now, a team's synced emails and meetings were visible to the rest of the firm in full or not at all. Each team can now choose how much people outside it see. Team visibility is available on the Enterprise plan.
Say your partners want their activity kept close. They can limit outsiders to names and dates, so the rest of the firm sees that a conversation happened and when. Meanwhile, the investment team shares email subject lines and meeting titles with everyone. Privacy and transparency no longer have to be one firm-wide trade-off, because each team sets its own line.
Read more:
- Enterprise permissions
Restricted opportunities follow your deal team
Add someone to the deal team and they can see the opportunity. Take them off and they can't. Restricted opportunities can now take their access list from a person field on the opportunity, such as your Deal Team field, so there is no separate access list to keep up to date.
Enterprise Admins set this up under Settings, then Opportunities, then Control Allowed Members from Field, choosing the controlling field for each opportunity list. Turning it on backfills access for the opportunities already on that list.
Read more:
- Restricted Opportunities
More privacy controls for Notetaker
Admins now control what Notetaker keeps. They can turn transcript retention off (the summary note is still created), set who receives summary emails, and, for Enterprise Admins, export transcripts in bulk. Compliance teams asked for these controls, and they are now in the admin settings.
Reliability improved too. Outlook distribution-list invitees are matched through their own calendars, and on shared calls the organizer's Notetaker joins when they have it turned on.
Read more:
- How to set up and use Affinity Notetaker
What's new in New Lists
List triggers, CSV imports, and bulk copy and remove all work in New Lists now, without a trip back to Classic.
Set a trigger from the list's menu to require fields when a deal reaches a status, create an opportunity, or create a reminder. Bring in a CSV with the guided importer. Select several rows to copy them to another list or remove them in one step. Switching back to Classic is still available, for now.
Read more:
- Lists in Affinity
Clean up records from your AI tool
Duplicate companies and stale list entries no longer need a trip into the CRM. Affinity MCP can now delete and merge records, so you can ask your AI tool to merge duplicate companies or people, remove a list entry, or correct a note you wrote. It waits for your confirmation before every delete or merge. Try a prompt like "Merge the two Northwind Logistics company records in Affinity."
The full list: delete list entries, opportunities, companies, and people; edit or delete notes you created; and merge people and companies. Every delete and merge shows you what it will affect and waits for your explicit confirmation. Affinity MCP already read and wrote records, and this update adds cleanup to that.
If you connected before September 24, 2026, restart your AI tool or open a new session to load the new tools.
Read more:
- Getting Started with Affinity MCP
One decision, made once
Each release this month takes a decision your firm makes over and over and lets you make it once.
Original source - Oct 23, 2026
- Date parsed from source:Oct 23, 2026
- First seen by Releasebot:Oct 24, 2026
Component slot defaults
Webflow adds default components for slots, automatically populating component instances with designer-defined content while letting marketers customize or reset it. The feature is available on all plans.
Add a default component to a slot so it’s auto-populated on every component instance.
Component slots provide a lot of configurability, but they can also lead to ambiguity and redundant work for cross-functional collaborators.
An empty slot gives Marketers zero indication of what belongs there. Designers know how each component should be used, but handing it off means documenting the dos and don'ts or rebuilding the same setup on every instance.
So starting today, Designers can add components to a slot on a main component to make it the slot's default. For example, if you add a button component to a slot on a main card component, the next time you add that card to a page, it will arrive with its button components already in the slot, ready to customize.
When you update the default in a main component, every instance that still uses that component will update too. But marketers still retain flexibility. They can swap the content for other components, reset the slot to the default, or clear it for customized instances.
Default components for slots join show/hide controls for Marketers and slot restrictions as new guardrails to help you confidently hand-off a component system.
Good to know
- Slot defaults accept components only. Components in CMS Rich Text show their slot defaults, but you can't edit slot content there.
- Default components for slots are available on all plans and should be available to all Webflow users by tomorrow.