# About this Release

Cognex Designer 4.5.0 provides compatibility with VisionPro 9.21 and includes the following new features:

- Allows you to host Web HMI settings on a secure (HTTPS) web server

  See the topic WebHMI: A Functional Overview for details.

- Adds the ability to communicate with external systems using the MQTT protocol

  See the topic MQTT for details.

- Adds new sample plugins that allow you to develop your own custom project components:

  - VisionPro ToolBlock Scaler Component as described in the topic Cognex.Designer.ToolBlockScaler.

    Create a single Master ToolBlock which can be used as a template to generate multiple independent instances of that ToolBlock.

  - Example Custom Camera Device as described in the topic Cognex.Designer.ExampleCamera.

    Provides a template for creating a custom adapter Designer can use to integrate with custom camera devices

  - Additional sample Blocks as described in the topic Cognex.Designer.ExampleBlocks.

    - Camera Configuration Block

    - Custom Styled Block

    - Dynamic Input/Outputs Block

- Instructions for how to speed up project loading as described in the topic How To...Speed Up Project Loading.

See the section Resolved Issues for a full list of bug fixes in this release.

Note: See the Release History for a complete list of all functionality introduced in the previous releases of Cognex Designer.