To answer the original request, no, this forum doesn't have any built-in chat features or online indicators. It would take quite a bit of development effort to add something like that.

Never seen anything like that shrinking before.

As for the Large Exports, you can just edit the script file found in the annual folder (@Annual\Issue 129 - Large Exports) with notepad or similar. Near the very bottom of the file, there is this line:

RUNAPP @Annual\Issue 129 - Large Exports\tile.cmd

This is the line that calls that windows batch file that does the stiching and deleting of the output files. Simply remove this line from the script, and that batch file will never be called.

(An alternative is to edit the batch file and remove the commands you don't want, but I find it better to edit the script file as you can then have one copy of the script file with this line and one without so you can easily use it both ways)

A new set of maps integrated. This time I did @Royal Scribe's contest entries, along with some required intermediate overland maps and supporting maps.

Autosave deliberately save to a separate file to make sure to not accidentally overwrite your actual map file with what is perhaps unwanted changes, for example when testing things.. This is how autosave works in most software. I guess a more correct name would be "recovery save" or something like that, but autosave has just stuck in most software as the common term. It is not a replacement for manual saves, just an extra layer of security, so yes, you should always manually save before exiting. (Personally, I have autosave on, but the dialog off, so it autosaves silently in the background, which is what most other software does by default)

The right click -> Run as Admin is old legacy advice which doesn't make a difference at all with modern installers. All modern program installers automatically make themselves admin if needed, this is why you see that UAC prompt that asks you if this installer should be allowed to make changes to your computer, what that really means is that the installer have just requested admin permissions.

You can see it on the program icon for the installer if it will run automatically as admin or not. Look for the blue/yellow admin shield on the icon:

As for running CC3+ itself as an admin, that should be completely unnecessary. The old CC3 needed it because it kept all it's data files in the installation folder where normal users can't write, but CC3+ changed that by introducing the data folder and sets it up with write access for all users.