SlideShowPro Director translation project now live
The SlideShowPro family of products is used all over the world, with many of our users speaking languages other than english. For some time, we’ve provided basic templates that allowed Director’s interface to be translated, but it was a cumbersome process and not easy to update. Today, we are launching a web based translation project that will allow anyone to join in the effort to translate Director to their native language.
It couldn’t be easier to get started. Just visit the translation project in your web browser, then select your language. There may already be an existing translation in your language and if so, you can simply join in the work that is already underway. If you don’t see your language listed, start a new translation in the proper locale.
Once you have selected a language, you will be presented with an english message to translate. Type the string in your language, then click the Save button (or just press Enter) and another message will be loaded for you to translate. At any time, you can click the language name in the page header to see an overview of your translated messages as well as download the translation files for testing in Director.
If you have any questions or feedback on the translation application, feel free to drop us a line.
Latest Director beta includes group reordering
In case you missed it, Director 1.4 is currently available as a beta release and includes some great stuff. Get caught up on the original announcement here.
We’ve just released a new build (Build 3400) of the beta that includes one of the most requested features we hear from Director users: the ability to reorder multiple items within an album. In the past, you could only reorder a single image/video at a time, making it quite difficult to manage content order within large albums. In this new build, you can use the existing multiple-selection functionality in Director to select a range of images, then drag and drop them as a group to a new location in the album. For those who need visual proof, check out the example video below.
Remember, Director 1.4 is still in the beta phase, so it may be unstable or even unusable on some setups. If you are testing, please give us your feedback on all the new features over in the beta forum.
SlideShowPro Director 1.4 beta now available
A few weeks back, we gave a sneak peek at a few of the things we were working on for SlideShowPro Director 1.4. Today, I’m happy to report that those new features (and a few more goodies) are available in the form of a beta release.
Before we get to the good stuff, we should cover the standard disclaimer regarding beta software. You should not use this release on anything that is in production, as we cannot guarantee that it will work properly, or that it will work at all. If you do choose to use the beta, please make the appropriate backups of both the Director folder and the database before continuing.
So what’s new in 1.4? Here’s a rundown:
Auto-updating
If you’ve ever had to manage several Director installs, you know the pain that can be associated with keeping them all up to date. That’s why Director 1.4 features a built in auto-update system. While you will still need to upgrade all your installs to 1.4 the old way, once they are running 1.4 all further updates will be handled in Director itself, all you have to do is click a button.
Simplified install
In addition to making application updates easier, we’ve also made the initial installation process simpler. Installation will now consist of a single file you upload to your server. You then load the file in your web browser, enter your server information, and presto‚ all the requisite files for SlideShowPro Director will be downloaded from our server to yours with all the correct file permissions and settings you need to get going. This system will ensure fewer installation errors and make the installation process easier for non-web developers.
Generated video previews and thumbnails
In the previous point update to SlideShowPro Director, we enhanced videos by giving users the ability to assign separate images for video previews and thumbnails. Director 1.4 will take this functionality a step further by generating images from your uploaded videos. Simply upload a video, and SlideShowPro Director will automatically assign a still image. To use a different image from a video, pop-open the edit window to choose a different frame. For users who prefer creating their own video previews and thumbnails, nothing has changed. You can still assign your own images should you not want to use an image generated by Director.
Note: This functionality will require a server with the ffmpeg library installed. Director 1.4 will automatically find the library for you (if available). If you’re unsure whether your server currently supports ffmpeg, you may want to contact your web host.
Smart galleries
In Director 1.3, we introduced smart albums, which allowed you to group content from other albums based on tags, date and other information. In Director 1.4, we’ve extended Director’s built-in intelligence to allow for smart galleries. They work much like smart albums do, as you can add tags to albums and use those tags to form smart galleries. You can also use the date the album was created or last modified as a rule to further filter the included albums.
Rebuilt manage albums interface
Last but certainly not least, we have reworked a portion of Director that has needed some updating for quite some time. The manage albums screen, which is used to select which albums are included/excluded from a custom gallery, worked fine as long as you didn’t have too many albums. If you had a larger install, however, the screen slowed down and in some cases was not usable. We’ve now separated out the functionality, showing only the albums currently in the gallery by default. To add albums, you simply click the “Add albums” button, and any available albums are shown in a popup dialogue. The listing is paginated and can also be searched, so it should work well whether you have 5 albums or 500.
We’ve spent the last few weeks chasing down bugs, touching up Director’s interface and trying to squeeze as much performance as we can from this new release. Now, we need your feedback on how we’ve done. To download the beta, go to the Director product page and scroll down to the section marked “BETA RELEASE”. There you will see links to either download a new install or upgrade an existing install. We’re particularly interested in hearing reports on how the simplified install process works, and to that end we are offering a free activation key that anyone can use to install 1.4 during the beta phase (the key will expire once a final version of 1.4 is released). The free beta key is:
one-four-beta
As always, we appreciate your help kicking the tires of this new release. Let us know what you think in our dedicated beta forum. Happy testing!
SlideShowPro Director 1.4 sneak preview
SlideShowPro Director 1.4 is nearing completion and should be released as a beta within the next few weeks. For now, here’s a preview of a few notable additions you can expect to see.
Generated video previews and thumbnails
In the previous point update to SlideShowPro Director, we enhanced videos by giving users the ability to assign separate images for video previews and thumbnails. Director 1.4 will take this functionality a step further by generating images from your uploaded videos. Simply upload a video, and SlideShowPro Director will automatically assign a still image. To use a different image from a video, pop-open the edit window to choose a different frame. See the screenshot below for an example:
For users who prefer creating their own video previews and thumbnails, nothing has changed. You can still assign your own images should you not want to use an image generated by Director.
Note: This functionality will require a server with the ffmpeg library installed. Director 1.4 will automatically find the library for you (if available). If you’re unsure whether your server currently supports ffmpeg, you may want to contact your web host.
Auto-updating
SlideShowPro Director 1.4 will likely be the last Director update you ever download from this site. Why? Because Director 1.4, and all subsequent versions, will auto-update whenever a new release is made available. Like a desktop application, you’ll be notified when updates are released. Click a button, and SlideShowPro Director will update itself automatically. See the screenshot below for an example:
Simplified installation
In addition to making application updates easier, we’ve also made the initial installation process simpler. Installation will now consist of a single file you upload to your server. You then load the file in your web browser, enter your server information, and presto &mdash all the requisite files for SlideShowPro Director will be downloaded from our server to yours with all the correct file permissions and settings you need to get going. This system will ensure fewer installation errors and make the installation process easier for non-web developers.
Developer Anthony Picciano of Tuft and Company has released DirectorAS3 — an ActionScript 3 library for accessing SlideShowPro Director’s API. The library is compiled as a SWC file, and can be used in either Flash or Flex. Full API documentation is also available at their site. This is a 1.0 release for the library, so if you’re an ActionScript developer and would like to give it a try, please do and provide feedback to make the library even better! You can download the free library here. Thanks Anthony!
Director 1.3.9 fixes serious security issue
Thanks to the helpful folks at Clear Skies Security, we’ve found and fixed a serious security issue in SlideShowPro Director. The following versions of SlideShowPro Director are affected:
SlideShowPro Director 1.1.x
SlideShowPro Director 1.2.x
SlideShowPro Director 1.3.x
If you are running any of the above versions, we recommend you upgrade immediately to SlideShowPro Director 1.3.9, now available in the Account Center.
This issue does not affect SlideShowPro Director Hosting customers, as always your installs have been automatically upgraded to the latest version.
We’ve released Director 1.3.8 to squash a few bugs that popped up in the recently released 1.3.7. Most of the issues revolved around the new “Download original image” link template, but this release also fixes a problem that surfaced in 1.3.7 that would prevent you from deleting albums.
SlideShowPro Director 1.3.7, DirectorPHP 1.1.5 released
Hot off the press are two maintenance releases for SlideShowPro Director (1.3.7) and the DirectorPHP class (1.1.5).
Director 1.3.7 is mostly a bug-fix release, but does include a few additions. Most notably, we now include a “Download original image” link template and we’ve changed our uploader so that it recognizes IPTC keywords and automatically adds them as tags. For a list of all the changes in this releases, have a peek at the version history.
You can download the Director update by logging into your account center profile and the DirectorPHP update is available on the Director extras page.
If you are using the SlideShowPro Director hosting service at slideshowpro.com, your installs are already running 1.3.7, so enjoy!
After corresponding with numerous people about our need for another support person, we’ve decided on Rob Henrichon — a longtime SlideShowPro for Flash and SlideShowPro Director user who has worked within the internet industry for a number of years; including a support role for a large email marketing company. Rob will be assisting us (and you) with support questions regarding SlideShowPro for Flash and SlideShowPro Director, so you can expect to see his name in both the forums as well as in support emails from us starting next Monday. Welcome aboard Rob!
The 1.9.6 version of SlideShowPro for Flash is now available for download through the account center. As announced yesterday, this release includes pan and zoom (a.k.a. “Ken Burns”) for slowly scaling / moving photos in your slideshows.
If you are a SlideShowPro Director user, and intend to use pan and zoom, you should update to the Director 1.3.6 version that was also released today. It includes enhanced functionality when loading slideshow content that has focal points assigned to them when using pan and zoom.
If you haven’t updated component instances in Flash before, we recommend viewing this updating video which demonstrates how.
Also, if you are a “Standalone” user of SlideShowPro, we have now made that version a separate download from the Flash Extension. Too many people were confused by the presence of the Standalone files in the same archive, so we made it separate. It’s now linked separately on the SlideShowPro for Flash product download page in the account center.
The Lightroom version of SlideShowPro will be updated to this release early next week. SlideShowPro Director Hosting subscribers can also expect their accounts to be updated to the latest version of Director soon.
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