Paul,
The problem with automation panel being active despite of closing them all on exit is still there and definitely is NOT solved. To give more pertinent information I did a series of experiments and the findings are below.
1. For my experiments I used my existing project with 8 Synchron instances, 11 Opus/Play instances, 7 Spitfire Audio (BBC Orchestra), 1 SINE (Orchestral tools) and 2 Kontakts.
2. VEP with all automation panels closed on exit, on loading opens the panel for the instance being displayed during saving process. So, if I displayed first instance of synchron on saving, this instance will have automation panel open on loading.
3. I repeated this with first 2 synchrons without closing previous panels and then added the third and saved. What I got on loading was a disaster: all synchrons, all Opus/Play, Sine, both Kontakts and 4 out of 7 Spitfires had automation panels activated
4. Next I deactivated all automation panels, again displayed first synchron instance and saved the project. Then loaded the project, displayed Kontakt and saved. What I got after loading the project was ALL except one synchron instance having automation panel active.
5. In search for a "survival workaround" I once again closed all automation panels, displayed the first synchron and saved the project. Loaded, displayed all instances one-by-one, BUT before saving the project I displayed only first synchron and saved the project. When loaded the project had 22 out of 29 instances with active automation panels.
6. Next, again, I closed all automation panels, displayed the first synchron and then just saved and loaded the project 5 times without touching anything, just open and save. The 5th time ALL automation panels were active.
7. Finally, again, I closed all automation panels, displayed the first synchron, saved project and loaded it 5 times WITHOUT saving (just closing). This is the only situation when only one panel was active.
In conclusion I think that this bug is a non-trivial one, rooted probably not only in the process of active manipulations of/in instances (cases 3, 4 and 5) but also in saving process itself (case 6).
The project used in these experiments can be made available for your developers.
Witold