Tinn 0.4.0 ships today. The free version is now the whole app - and there’s a lot of new app to go with it.
What changed
- PDFs export clean. The “Made with Tinn” credit in the page margin is gone. Every export, every plan, whether or not you have an account.
- Unlimited boards. The one-board-per-project limit is removed.
- Templates are yours. Save them, use them, no restriction.
- The clip library works. Pull clips from any signed-in machine.
If you already have Tinn, the update does all of this on its own. Nothing to switch on.
Permits
There is a new tab. Permits is for the paperwork side of a project: the municipal building application and everything that travels with it.
- A permit is a case with sections and slots, one slot per document the municipality expects. Tinn tracks which are required, which are conditional, and which do not apply to your case.
- Fill the official forms inside Tinn. Open a PDF form, type into the fields, save it back into the case.
- Mark up drawings with the same drawing tools the board uses.
- Place a signature. Drop in an image of your signature and put it where it belongs. To be clear about what that is: a visual mark, not a legally binding digital signature. Norwegian submissions are authenticated through Altinn.
- Deadlines that follow the rules. Set the permit type and Tinn works out the review track and the dates.
- A correspondence log, so what was sent and what came back sits with the case.
- Print or export the whole set as one document.
Permits is free, like everything else that runs on your machine. The paperwork is the least enjoyable part of the job and it should not sit behind a payment.
Also in this release
- Drawing got a real toolset. Line and Path tools with anchor editing after the fact, corner geometry, Bezier handles, and typed length while you draw.
- A second selection tool, with multi-select group resize and Ctrl/Cmd+A to select everything.
- The color picker keeps swatches, shared between Board and the Permits markup tools.
- A real layers panel, with a lock so a layer’s contents can’t be bumped by accident.
- A portfolio dashboard. Every project you’ve ever opened, in one place, with what’s changed and how long it’s been quiet.
- Overall Tasks and Overall Notes, for the work that doesn’t belong to a project yet.
The line, so it is never a surprise later
Everything that happens on your own machine, with your own files, is free forever. No watermark, no project limit, no account needed.
Cloud storage, working across devices, sharing with clients, and AI help cost money to run every month, for every person using them. Those will be paid when they arrive. None of them exist yet, and there is no date.
That line follows what things cost rather than what they are worth, which is why it is not going to move. Local work costs us nothing. Server work does.
Anonymous usage data, if you say yes
This release can send a small amount of anonymous usage data, and the first time you open it, it asks you whether to. Nothing is sent unless you say yes. Being straight about it, because a tool that keeps your files on your own machine should not be vague on this point.
What it records: that the app was opened, that a project was created or opened, that a PDF was exported, which tab was in use, and how long a session lasted.
What it never records: your project names, your file names, your product or supplier or client names, or any text you have typed. None of it is tied to your account or your email.
The reason is narrow. Tinn is built by one person, and until now there was no way to tell whether anyone who installs it opens it a second time. That single fact decides what gets built next.
Say no and nothing is sent, ever. Settings has a switch either way, and it takes effect immediately.
How to update
If Tinn is already installed, the auto-updater will prompt you on next launch. New here? Download from the Download page.
Simon