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Release Notes: Desktop Report Writer 5.6

May 27th, 2026

5.6 release paused. A report rendering issue was found in 5.6 shortly after today's announcement. Please don't upgrade yet. If you already have it don't worry, you can continue to use HomeGauge 5.5.43 like normal. We're pausing the rollout while we work on a fix. We'll send an update once it's ready. Typically, you can expect a few days. We apologies for the back-and-forth.

What's New

  • Dark Mode
    HomeGauge Desktop now supports Dark Mode. Switch the entire application — menus, toolbars, dialogs, forms, and PDF preview — to a dark theme that's easier on the eyes during long inspection days, late-night report writing, or low-light field work. Toggle it from View > Theme > Dark

  • 2,000+ inspection terms added to the spell check dictionary
    We've expanded the built-in dictionary with over 2,000 industry-specific terms — covering construction, HVAC, plumbing, electrical, structural, environmental, and other inspection vocabulary. Words like flashing, soffit, receptacle, condensate, and many more will no longer get flagged as misspellings, so you spend less time adding terms to your custom dictionary and more time writing reports.

  • Spellcheck now available in Inspector Info fields
    The Inspector Comments and Driving Directions fields under Misc → Inspector Info now support spellcheck (red underline on misspellings) and include a scrollbar for easier editing of longer entries.


Bug Fixes

  • Fewer crashes during PDF Preview and Publishing
    Resolved an issue where Preview or Publish could crash when a report contained many appended forms or a large number of high-resolution photos. PDF generation now handles memory more gracefully and surfaces a clear error instead of crashing.

  • Print To File now respects Cancel
    Pressing Cancel on the Publishing Options dialog or the Select Folder dialog during Print To File now correctly stops the process instead of continuing.

  • Stability improvements during report Preview and Publish
    Corrected internal PHP generation syntax that may have contributed to occasional crashes during report Preview.

How to Update

  • From the software: Open HomeGauge and go to Help > Check for Updates. If a new version is available, click Yes to download and run.

  • From your dashboard: Go to the bottom of the main navigation menu and select Install, or download directly by clicking the Install HomeGauge 5.6 button below.

The install process looks just like previous updates. At the end, you'll be asked if you'd like to open HomeGauge. Once complete, you'll have two programs on your computer: HomeGauge 5 (your current version) and HomeGauge Desktop (5.6, the new one).

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