After it delivered the Deep Zoom Composer version tailored to Silverlight 2 in mid-October 2008, Microsoft is now offering for download a new release of the tool. The latest Deep Zoom Composer release is focused on under-the-hood optimizations, as well as bug fixes and a boost in usability, but at the same time users will notice new additions.

“We deviated a bit from what we said [in the past] that future releases will focus more on under-the-hood changes. The changes you see today are things that many of you had asked us about, so even though we are continuing to invest in stability and performance, do feel free to send us more suggestions. Some oft-asked features may find their way into a future version,” revealed Celso Gomes, a member of Expression Blend and Design products team.

Reflecting the functionality evolution, Microsoft kicked the Export UI up a notch with the addition of Seadragon Ajax as an output type option. In this manner, the Redmond company is offering support for the JavaScript-based implementation of the Deep Zoom functionality in Silverlight.

At the same time, the application programing interface has been enhanced. The new API streamlines the addition of Deep Zoom tilling functionality for applications. Microsoft has essentially looked beyond the command-line tools SparseImageTool.exe and ImageTool.exe, and is offering a .NET/managed DLL, which can be integrated into programs, increasing performance and reliability when dealing with image import tasks.

“In the past, we really haven’t given our project templates much attention. We are changing that with this release with more usable templates for both Silverlight and Seadragon AJAX,” Gomes added. “The revised templates contain bug fixes and usability issues that many of you have given us feedback on.”

Deep Zoom Composer is available for download here.