diff --git a/.zscripts/dev.pid b/.zscripts/dev.pid
index 1e3b283..967ba32 100755
--- a/.zscripts/dev.pid
+++ b/.zscripts/dev.pid
@@ -1 +1 @@
-1195
+1107
diff --git a/src/components/ava/footer-bar.tsx b/src/components/ava/footer-bar.tsx
index 3b1163b..6d935a0 100755
--- a/src/components/ava/footer-bar.tsx
+++ b/src/components/ava/footer-bar.tsx
@@ -1,4 +1,15 @@
-// OVE — sticky footer status bar: micro-stats + version stamp + engine health.
+// OVE — sticky footer status bar: micro-stats + maker credit + version stamp
+// + engine health.
+//
+// v7.9 credit block: "© {year} · Site Created & Deployed by Sum'ting White" +
+// a "View my portfolio at zcreations.dev" link, centered in the footer's
+// blank area. Flex choreography: from xl the credit sits INLINE between the
+// stats and the right-hand stamp — its xl:mx-auto splits the free space so
+// it centers in the blank area while the right group (xl:ml-0) hugs the edge.
+// Below xl there isn't room, so the credit is order-last + w-full: it drops
+// to its own centered row under the stats row (the stats + health stay on
+// row one via the right group's ml-auto). All zinc-* utilities follow the
+// visitor's base theme (each base remaps the ramp — globals.css).
 
 'use client'
 
@@ -19,7 +30,7 @@ export function FooterBar() {
 
   return (
     <footer className="mt-auto border-t border-zinc-800/80 bg-zinc-950/90 backdrop-blur">
-      <div className="mx-auto flex max-w-[1800px] items-center gap-3 overflow-hidden px-4 py-2 font-mono text-[11px] tabular-nums text-zinc-500 sm:gap-4">
+      <div className="mx-auto flex max-w-[1800px] flex-wrap items-center gap-x-3 gap-y-1.5 overflow-hidden px-4 py-2 font-mono text-[11px] tabular-nums text-zinc-500 sm:gap-x-4">
         <span className="hidden min-w-0 items-center gap-1 sm:inline-flex">
           SRC: <span className="text-zinc-300">{source.toUpperCase()}</span>
           {sourceTitle && (
@@ -46,8 +57,28 @@ export function FooterBar() {
           SCRIPT: <span className="ml-1 truncate text-zinc-300">{scriptName}</span>
         </span>
 
+        {/* maker credit (v7.9) — centered in the blank area from xl; on
+            narrower screens it drops to its own centered row */}
+        <div className="order-last flex w-full shrink-0 flex-wrap items-center justify-center gap-x-4 gap-y-1 xl:order-none xl:mx-auto xl:w-auto">
+          {/* copyright span wraps at a word boundary on very narrow phones
+              (the link stays on one line — a URL must never break) */}
+          <span className="max-w-full">
+            © <span suppressHydrationWarning>{new Date().getFullYear()}</span> · Site Created &amp; Deployed
+            by Sum&rsquo;ting White
+          </span>
+          <a
+            href="https://zcreations.dev"
+            target="_blank"
+            rel="noopener noreferrer"
+            title="Open zcreations.dev in a new tab"
+            className="whitespace-nowrap rounded-xs text-zinc-300 underline decoration-zinc-500/60 underline-offset-2 transition-colors hover:text-emerald-300 hover:decoration-emerald-400 focus-visible:ring-2 focus-visible:ring-ring focus-visible:outline-none"
+          >
+            View my portfolio at zcreations.dev
+          </a>
+        </div>
+
         {/* version stamp (left of the engine-health dot) + engine health */}
-        <div className="ml-auto flex shrink-0 items-center gap-3 sm:gap-4">
+        <div className="ml-auto flex shrink-0 items-center gap-3 sm:gap-4 xl:ml-0">
           <span
             className="text-zinc-600"
             title={`${APP_NAME} — version ${APP_VERSION}`}
diff --git a/src/components/ava/share-dialogs.tsx b/src/components/ava/share-dialogs.tsx
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
diff --git a/src/components/ava/whats-new-dialog.tsx b/src/components/ava/whats-new-dialog.tsx
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
index d60b0c1..3327f81
--- a/src/components/ava/whats-new-dialog.tsx
+++ b/src/components/ava/whats-new-dialog.tsx
@@ -7,6 +7,14 @@
 // visitor hasn't seen yet — stored per visitor in localStorage and cleared
 // the moment the dialog is opened (mount-guarded so SSR never mismatches,
 // same pattern as the header's ThemeToggle).
+//
+// v7.9 typographic tidy-up: every release box opens under a hairline divider
+// (border-zinc-800 — a ramp step, so it follows the visitor's base theme via
+// the globals.css remaps), and each change row is a two-column grid — the
+// kind tag top-RIGHT justified against an invisible vertical line (the
+// column boundary), the description top-LEFT justified with word wrap in the
+// right column — so every description, in every release, starts on the same
+// pixel column instead of jogging with each tag's width.
 
 'use client'
 
@@ -33,10 +41,14 @@ const KIND_META: Record<ChangeKind, { label: string; cls: string }> = {
   removed: { label: 'Removed', cls: 'border-zinc-500/40 bg-zinc-500/10 text-zinc-400' },
 }
 
-/** One release: version chip + name + change rows with kind tags. */
+/** One release: hairline divider + version chip + name + change rows with
+ *  kind tags (two-column grid — see the v7.9 note up top). */
 function ReleaseSection({ note, current }: { note: ReleaseNote; current: boolean }) {
   return (
-    <section aria-label={`Version ${note.version} release notes`}>
+    <section
+      aria-label={`Version ${note.version} release notes`}
+      className="border-t border-zinc-800 pt-5"
+    >
       <div className="flex flex-wrap items-center gap-2">
         <span
           className={cn(
@@ -59,16 +71,24 @@ function ReleaseSection({ note, current }: { note: ReleaseNote; current: boolean
         {note.changes.map((c, i) => {
           const meta = KIND_META[c.kind]
           return (
-            <li key={i} className="flex items-start gap-2">
+            // invisible two-column table: fixed-width tag column (sized to
+            // the widest tag, "IMPROVED"), the gap-x between the columns IS
+            // the invisible vertical line — perfectly straight down the list
+            <li
+              key={i}
+              className="grid grid-cols-[4.5rem_minmax(0,1fr)] items-start gap-x-3"
+            >
               <span
                 className={cn(
-                  'mt-px shrink-0 rounded border px-1.5 py-px font-mono text-[9px] font-semibold uppercase tracking-wider leading-relaxed',
+                  'mt-px justify-self-end rounded border px-1.5 py-px font-mono text-[9px] font-semibold uppercase tracking-wider leading-relaxed',
                   meta.cls,
                 )}
               >
                 {meta.label}
               </span>
-              <span className="min-w-0 flex-1 text-xs leading-relaxed text-zinc-300">{c.text}</span>
+              <span className="min-w-0 text-left text-xs leading-relaxed text-zinc-300">
+                {c.text}
+              </span>
             </li>
           )
         })}
diff --git a/src/lib/ava/share-codec.ts b/src/lib/ava/share-codec.ts
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
diff --git a/src/lib/release-notes.ts b/src/lib/release-notes.ts
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
index 3169f1b..690f9f8
--- a/src/lib/release-notes.ts
+++ b/src/lib/release-notes.ts
@@ -33,6 +33,20 @@ export interface ReleaseNote {
 }
 
 export const RELEASE_NOTES: ReleaseNote[] = [
+  {
+    version: '7.9',
+    name: 'Footer credit + changelog polish',
+    changes: [
+      {
+        kind: 'added',
+        text: 'The footer now signs the work — “© 2026 · Site Created & Deployed by Sum’ting White” (year always current) with a clickable “View my portfolio at zcreations.dev” that opens the portfolio in a new tab.',
+      },
+      {
+        kind: 'improved',
+        text: 'What’s New tidy-up: a theme-matched divider now sits above every release box, and the Added / Improved / Fixed / Removed tags right-align against an invisible column so every description lines up on the same edge.',
+      },
+    ],
+  },
   {
     version: '7.8',
     name: 'Share strings, supersized',
diff --git a/src/lib/server/audio-files.ts b/src/lib/server/audio-files.ts
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
diff --git a/src/lib/version.ts b/src/lib/version.ts
index d9839eb..9735193 100755
--- a/src/lib/version.ts
+++ b/src/lib/version.ts
@@ -12,6 +12,20 @@
 // warns in the console when the two drift apart.
 //
 // History:
+//   7.9 — footer credit + What's New polish. The footer's blank middle now
+//           carries the maker's signature: "© {year} · Site Created &
+//           Deployed by Sum'ting White" (year generated from the clock,
+//           hydration-guarded) with a "View my portfolio at zcreations.dev"
+//           link that opens zcreations.dev in a new tab — centered in the
+//           blank area from xl (mx-auto between the stats and the version
+//           stamp), dropping to its own centered row on narrower screens so
+//           nothing ever crowds. The What's New dialog got a typographic
+//           tidy-up: a hairline divider above every release box
+//           (border-zinc-800 — a ramp step, so it matches every base theme
+//           through the globals.css remaps), and each change row became an
+//           invisible two-column grid — the kind tag top-right justified
+//           against the column boundary, the description top-left with word
+//           wrap — so all descriptions start on the same pixel column
 //   7.8 — share strings 2.0: ~72% shorter than the script (was ~49%). The
 //           base-62 idea, cranked to 11,172… 32,164: after the symbol
 //           dictionary (which grew ~170 data-mined entries — every function
@@ -260,4 +274,4 @@
 
 export const APP_NAME = 'Open Visualization Engine'
 export const APP_SHORT = 'OVE'
-export const APP_VERSION = '7.8'
+export const APP_VERSION = '7.9'
diff --git a/tool-results/read_1793257458971_e7e497778ba8.txt b/tool-results/read_1793257458971_e7e497778ba8.txt
old mode 100644
new mode 100755
diff --git a/tool-results/read_1793257461037_d5a576fe8974.txt b/tool-results/read_1793257461037_d5a576fe8974.txt
old mode 100644
new mode 100755