After a number of beta versions released into the wild, the final version of 1.0.3 is ready to roll.
I already wrote about new features in the previous entry, but there’s one important update I left out: SlideShowPro Director can now be installed on Windows servers running IIS 5.0+ or Apache 1.3+.
1.0.3 is a free update for all Director users, and is now available in the member section for download. Simply login, click on the Director link under the “Your product purchases” header, and grab the update.
Thanks to all the beta testers who helped kick the tires for this important update.
For all you Director users out there hop on over to the Director product page to check out a beta release of the next update, version 1.0.3. Please note that this should only be used by those interested in testing new features, which include complete image processing (Director now generates optimized versions of large photos in addition to thumbnails if you don’t want to pre-process your slide show imagery using a desktop app), image rotation, navigation between images in the Edit Images pane, a revised layout for the Generate Content tab, additional formatting options for generating image captions, faster rendering of preview images in the Edit Images tab, and “memory” settings for your album’s images so that any new images you upload automatically inherit (and are published with) the values of all the other content in your album.
Since there’s lots of new stuff it’s best to kick this out the door as a beta before going totally live. So if you kick the tires, please send some feedback — even if everything functions normally for you. Thanks!
How about that? Barely 48 hours after 1.0 was released comes version 1.0.1. A couple of small tweaky things were patched, plus a new feature that will certainly come in handy for those with large amounts of photos — XML caching.
Here’s how it works. When SlideShowPro requests gallery data from Director, Director returns the XML data, but also caches a static version of the document. So if Director receives another request from SlideShowPro and the data from the first request hasn’t changed, Director points SlideShowPro to the cached version instead of generating an entirely new XML file. This considerably speeds up the parsing of your XML, especially with large galleries. All of it is done automatically so you don’t have to change a thing.
In addition to the caching of XML on the server-side, Director 1.0.1 also resolves the hassle of XML caching in web browsers. Director now appends a unique variable onto the end of XML file path when it’s sent to the Flash Player; fooling the player into thinking that the XML data is new so it doesn’t use a cached copy. This ensures that your users always receive an up-to-the-minute version of the XML; not a version that’s been cached on their local machine.
Comments and suggestions for future versions are appreciated. Head on over to the Director forums if you have a tip. To download the update, login to your member page.
Today I’m pleased as punch to announce the launch of SlideShowPro Director, a brand new app now available from Dominey Design and BradleyBoy Productions.
What is Director? Well, it’s quite simply the easiest way to get your photos into SlideShowPro. It installs on any Linux server with PHP/MySQL, has an intuitive Ajax-driven user interface for managing all your photos, creates thumbnails in a snap, plus a whole lot more. And like SlideShowPro, it comes with a full User Guide explaining everything from installation to setup, and is priced nicely at $20 per copy.
So head on over to the Director promo page, or view a promotional video to see the app in action.
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