diff --git a/NEWS b/NEWS
index 2e27330..bb04629 100644
--- a/NEWS
+++ b/NEWS
@@ -5,6 +5,9 @@ History
   Where applicable, changes are attributed to the people who submitted
   the ideas and, in many cases, patches and source code.
 
+ * Version 4.6.2 (14 Jan 2022)
+   + Developers: Tests do not write soft failures to stderr
+
  * Version 4.6.1 (13 Jan 2022)
    + Maildir format for local mailbox is supported by mailbox-preview.
    + mailbox-preview has other minor improvements.
diff --git a/configure.ac b/configure.ac
index 308c43e..63689ee 100644
--- a/configure.ac
+++ b/configure.ac
@@ -1,4 +1,4 @@
-AC_INIT([xlbiff], [4.6.1], [ed@edsantiago.com])
+AC_INIT([xlbiff], [4.6.2], [ed@edsantiago.com])
 AM_INIT_AUTOMAKE(foreign)
 AM_MAINTAINER_MODE(enable)
 AC_PROG_CC
diff --git a/debian/changelog b/debian/changelog
index 616c27f..117dd68 100644
--- a/debian/changelog
+++ b/debian/changelog
@@ -1,3 +1,9 @@
+xlbiff (4.6.2-1) unstable; urgency=low
+
+  * Developers: Tests do not write soft failures to stderr
+
+ -- Stephen Gildea <stepheng+debian@gildea.com>  Fri, 14 Jan 2022 12:01:13 -0800
+
 xlbiff (4.6.1-1) unstable; urgency=low
 
   * Maildir format for local mailbox is supported by mailbox-preview.
diff --git a/tests/utilities.sh b/tests/utilities.sh
index c9aa2d6..a406d99 100644
--- a/tests/utilities.sh
+++ b/tests/utilities.sh
@@ -192,6 +192,12 @@ util_client_has_connected() {
     xwininfo -root -children 2>&1 | grep -E -q -i "$util_window_name_pattern"
 }
 
+# append to the log and to stdout.
+# prepend the messages with program name and time.
+util_log() {
+    VERBOSE=1 util_logv "$@"
+}
+
 # append to the log, and if verbose to stdout.
 # prepend the messages with program name and time.
 util_logv() {
@@ -236,7 +242,7 @@ end_test_with_status() {
         echo "$0: end_test_with_status called outside a test" >&2
     fi
     if [[ "$pass_fail" = pass ]]; then
-        echo "$0: Passed: $current_test_name"
+        util_log "Passed: $current_test_name"
         ((num_tests_passed++))
     else
         echo "$0: FAILED: $current_test_name" >&2
@@ -260,11 +266,11 @@ loop_for() {
     local -i loops_done=0
     while sleep 0.1; do
         if ((++loops_done > loop_count)); then
-            echo "$0 $(date +'%H:%M:%S.%3N') timed out" \
+            util_log "timed out" \
                  "after $loop_count tries waiting for $success_function" \
-                 "in test $current_test_name $context_msg" >&2
-            xauth -v -i -n list >&2
-            xwininfo -root -tree >&2
+                 "in test $current_test_name $context_msg"
+            util_log "$(xauth -v -i -n list)"
+            util_log "$(xwininfo -root -tree)"
             kill_xvfb
             [[ -n "$return_on_failure" ]] && return 1
             exit 1
@@ -277,9 +283,9 @@ loop_for() {
             break
         fi
         if [[ "$child_alive" = 0 ]]; then
-            echo "$0: child process has died on try $loops_done/$loop_count" \
+            util_log "child process has died on try $loops_done/$loop_count" \
                  "waiting for $success_function" \
-                 "in test $current_test_name $context_msg" >&2
+                 "in test $current_test_name $context_msg"
             [[ -n "$return_on_failure" ]] && return 1
             exit 1
         fi