PL Tool by PkR

PL Tool is an application to view and edit Sonic Adventure lighting files (PLxxxx.BIN and SLxxxx.BIN)

Latest version: https://dcmods.unreliable.network/owncloud/data/PiKeyAr/files/PLTool/PLTool.exe

Changelog (for major releases only)

Version 3.21
Rebuilt using a modified Clickteam Fusion runtime with DPI awareness override - this will make the tool look sharp with any display scaling

Version 3.2
All alpha channel functionality has been restored
The level/act ID (guessed from PL filename) is now displayed at the bottom left together with the size edit box
Reworked internals to avoid relying on buggy and outdated extensions where possible
The tool no longer shows a warning when a PL file is loaded from the command line and a matching SL file cannot be found
The default "Save" function now only saves the PL file if no SL file is open
Disabled runtime compression to prevent false positives with some anti-virus software

Version 3.1
Reworked the tooltip system to display tooltips in the status bar instead of pop-ups
The SL Light editor now shows more accurate previews based on the new understanding of the SL system
Fixed the update check after the switch to CTF that always reported a new version being available

Version 3.0
Redesigned some UI elements and removed manual input fields from dialogs - use the sliders/keyboard to fine tune the values if needed
Moved most non-interactive text elements to the status bar
Moved the PL file size box to the status bar (appears when you move the cursor over the status bar)
Moved preview settings to a separate context menu (right click the preview image)
Fixed a bug with displaying the level name for Red Mountain 3 when using the level menu
Fixed some minor issues with palette generation
Reduced CPU usage when the window is out of focus
Added an option to hide the top menu (press F8 to show it again)
Implemented significantly faster preview generation
Support for larger palette previews: 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1152x864, 1280x960 and 1920x1440
Added an option to open palette previews in fullscreen mode
Added two backup palettes to the palette list
Implemented support for loading and editing SL files based on current knowledge of SL Light data: light direction sliders, SL Light color/diffuse/specular/ambient with preview (approximate)
Added a toggle between palette preview and SL Light editor
Added support for loading the SL file automatically when the corresponding PL file is loaded, and vice versa
When PL Tool is associated with BIN files, it will attempt to guess the file type (PL or SL) on load, so you can open PL and SL files in a single click
Added an option to import and export SL Light data as text (INI)
Added menu options to load a single PL or SL file
Updated documentation with more information on SL Light data

Version 2.1
Minor GUI fixes
When BIN files were associated with PL Tool, using the level list was impossible after opening a file from command line - this is now fixed
Added a label displaying the level's name (guessed from PL filename) to the main window
The program now attempts to load level masks automatically from the "masks" folder located in the same folder as the PL files. Example: PL_10F.png and PL_10M.png for fullbright and mask respectively.
Added a toggle for the above feature

Version 2.0
Renamed to PL Tool
Major UI redesign: reworked top menu and main window layout
Light grey background option
Implemented mask-based palette preview
Zero-based is now the only mode of displaying palette indices
Removed various redundant information
Improved right click functionality
Added a context menu for individual colors to replace the old color editor
Keyboard arrows can now be used to change the selected color index
Exported PNGs are now named according to their palette type and index
Added an error message when a PL file cannot be found
Added Photoshop-like gradient generation with presets
Reworked the SADX Preview style gradient generator UI
Added tooltips
Moved palette descriptions to tooltips
Implemented an update check

Version 1.41 - last PLEdit release
Fixed bugs in CO1/CO2 blending algorithm.
Reworked the input fields in the "Generate" dialog.
Fixed a potential issue with color 255,255,1.
Fixed an issue with input fields becoming read only in the "Generate" dialog.

Version 1.4
You can now create palettes SADX Preview style by generating 2 gradients using RGB and POW values + ambient RGB.
The Space keyboard hotkey has been removed to avoid accidental button presses etc.
"Toggle background color" now works in all dialogs.
When you save a PL file to a new location, PLEdit will use that location for "Save current file".
Information based on PL filename is retrieved again after a PL file is re-saved with a different filename.
PL file information updated.

Version 1.3
Command line support: you can now associate PL files with PLEdit and it will open them as an associated program. You can also drag-and-drop a PL file onto PLEdit.exe
You can now replace a color by clicking the color preview box
Added an option for 0-based palette index (View -> Zero-based palette index)
The left panel and the palette context menu now tell you which palette ID you have selected, as well as whether it is base or specular
All edit boxes have been replaced with numeric boxes for better usability
Added copy/paste options for selected palettes
Miscellaneous UI improvements
Failsafe enhancements (e.g. preventing glitches when opening incompatible files)

Version 1.21
Fixed high CPU usage
Minor UI fixes

Version 1.2
Added a context menu option to replace a palette with a pattern of colors
Bug fixes

Version 1.1
Renamed to PLEdit
The program is now much faster at splitting palettes.
The UI has been reworked to save space; now there's a menu bar with all options in one place.
You can now select a stage/act from the level list, and the program will load the PL file for it automatically (for this to work, you need the PL files to be in the same folder as PLEdit).
You can now save all palettes as one 256x16 PNG image or as separate PNG images for each palette.
You can also import a 256x16 PNG image (with alpha transparency), which will be split into 16 palettes by the program.
You can select individual numbered palettes by left-clicking them.
If you right-click when an individual palette is selected, a context menu will appear that allows you to quickly replace the selected palette with black, white, a custom color, a custom gradient or a palette from a PNG file (you can export it as PNG here too). You can also make the entire palette transparent (set all colors' alpha to 0), semi-transparent (127) or completely opaque (255).
When working with very bright or very dark palettes, you can press Space to toggle background color (gray/black/white) for better visibility.
Added support for custom file size and size autodetection.

Version 1.0
Preview gradient bars have been replaced with color boxes. You can click an individual color to view or edit it (including the alpha value).
When you open a file, its full path will be displayed in the window header.
Added support for saving PL files with a preset size.

PLView update 4
HEX/color value tables have been removed. They were useful for debugging purposes, but now there's no point in displaying them.
Import functionality disabled (temporarily)

PLView update 3
Added import functionality for selected palettes
UI changes for better usability
Ability to toggle preview size between 256 (DC)/GC 1x/GC 1.5x
 
PLView update 2
Added export functionality for selected palettes
Added a selection rectangle for better usability
Added a list of known palette indices and unknown PL files

PLView update 1
You can now open PL files from the Gamecube version
Fixed dialog not working sometimes
Automatic splitting and drawing - no more need to push any buttons
An enhanced preview function. If you click on any of the gradients, they will also be displayed at the bottom as two bars like in SADX Preview. There's a switch to scale them to match the gradients in SADX Preview rendered at 1x and 1.5x native resolution in Dolphin. This is just to test whether or not these palettes match up with the gradients in SADX Preview debug mode. 
Fixed R01 G01 B01 color not displaying properly
A reverse button that simply reverses the gradients.

PLView original release
First public release of PLView