SlideShowPro News

07.02.08 | SSP for Flash 1.8.9 / SSP for Lightroom 1.3.2 released

Small update to the component itself (no Lightroom-specific changes) that addresses a couple of issues related to audio playback, plus a slight re-working of image alignment in navigation thumbnails for more accurate positioning. Click here to read more.

06.27.08 | SlideShowPro for Lightroom 1.3.1 released

Previewing content published from Lightroom using Firefox didn't work quite right in 1.3.0, so a new point update has been released (1.3.1) that fixes the issue. It's a free update for all SlideShowPro for Lightroom users, and can be obtained through your account center profile page:

Login/download

05.21.08 | SlideShowPro for Lightroom 1.3.0 released

A new point release update for SlideShowPro for Lightroom is available for download. This release tackles two things in the 1.2 build that were less than optimal -- hyperlinks, and embed size.

First, hyperlinks. In the current version of SlideShowPro for Lightroom, toggling on "Attach Hyperlinks" adds hyperlinks to each slideshow image so that (when clicked) a new browser window opens with that same image. It worked okay, but was a wasted opportunity to offer users something more (which you'd naturally expect by clicking on something anyway). So...we revamped the hyperlink functionality by incorporating a new "Popup" system. This allows you to export a third, higher-resolution set of slideshow imagery as part of your export. When a slideshow image is clicked, the larger version of that image is loaded in a new browser window along with its title, caption, and also a preloader (that uses the same animation options as the slideshow itself). The popups are fluid, so the windows will scale to fit smaller display resolutions if necessary, and proportionally downscale the popup images if necessary. You also have control over all its parameters within Lightroom. Also, by using Flash instead of HTML to display your popups, photographers have a little more security for their work instead of directly linking to a physical image.

Second, embed size. SlideShowPro for Lightroom is embedded, by default, at 100% width/height for extra features like the Header and Wet Floor effect, and so that your slideshow always "floats" in the center of the browser window. The one downside is people using lower-resolution displays, for SWFs embedded at 100% incorporating content that's larger than the display size can cause unwanted cropping and display problems. With that, this version implements a workaround that detects when a browser window is too small to display your slideshow and (like HTML) displays horizontal / vertical scroll bars if necessary.

As usual, this update is free for all current users of SlideShowPro for Lightroom, and can be downloaded here (login required).

05.16.08 | SSP for Flash 1.8.7 / SSP for Lightroom 1.2.7 released

Adobe released a public beta of Flash Player 10 yesterday, which we tested out to make sure everything was kosher, and found that the full screen button wasn't appearing (cause our player detection needed updating to detect the higher version). So we patched it up quickly and pushed out updated builds for both SlideShowPro for Flash and SlideShowPro for Lightroom to accommodate.

Updates can be downloaded through the account center.

05.09.08 | SSP for Flash 1.8.5 / SSP for Lightroom 1.2.6 released

New updates for both SlideShowPro for Flash and SlideShowPro for Lightroom have been released. Most notable in this release is a new "Smoothing" parameter (that replaces "Video Smoothing") that helps smooth out some of the jagginess when odd-size images are scaled and displayed in both products. This goes for everything from slideshow content to the thumbnail navigation and album previews. The extra processing required to generate the filter is negligible, but you can turn it off if need be.

These releases also fix a few other little tweaky things that were discovered recently. You can read about those in the updated version history at our new wiki.

Both updates are free for all current users and can be downloaded through your account center member profile.

05.07.08 | New help wiki launched

A couple of months ago we mentioned that a new help wiki for our products was in development, and today we're launching it. The wiki collects together all the content in our PDF-based user guides, how-to forum topics, forum stickies, API documentation, and more. We're hoping that the new format makes finding the content you need easier and faster.

Another reason for moving everything to HTML is to provide documentation in more than just English. Every document has an "Other Languages" box at the top right for alternate translations in Spanish, French and Italian. Right now pretty much everything is in English, and that's where we could use your help. Anyone can help translate a document by clicking a language link and entering their login and password to the account center. You'll then have full access to the non-English version of that document.

As for our existing documentation, we will continue to include the PDFs with our product downloads for at least another few weeks. That will give us time to fix any wiki issues, and hopefully get everyone accustomed to using the wiki to find the information they need before pulling the plug on everything that's been moved.

So when you have a chance, give it a look and let us know how it can be improved, or if you spot any mistakes / omissions.

04.22.08 | SSP for Flash 1.8.4 / SSP for Lightroom 1.2.5 released

Small update that patches an issue with the Dissolve transition style in both products, plus tweaks to permalink loading and album preview formatting in the Flash version.

Both updates are free, as always, and can be downloaded through your account center profile page.

04.16.08 | SSP for Flash 1.8.3 / SSP for Lightroom 1.2.4 released

New versions of SlideShowPro for Flash and SlideShowPro for Lightroom are now available. Version 1.8.3 of SlideShowPro for Flash includes a handful of bug fixes related to transitions and scaling (full version history here), while the 1.2.4 build of SlideShowPro for Lightroom simply brings the gallery up to the same build as the Flash version.

Both updates are free, as always, and can be downloaded through your account center profile page.

04.04.08 | SlideShowPro for Lightroom 1.2.3 released

This release brings the Lightroom version of SlideShowPro up to date with the latest Flash build, plus a new export option: permalinks. This has been available in the Flash version for a while, but wasn't added to Lightroom because of the technical issues in doing so. But they're in there now, and make it quite easy to copy a direct URL to a particular piece of slideshow content. You can read more in the updated SlideShowPro for Lightroom User Guide (the new "Extra options" chapter). Update can be downloaded here.

04.03.08 | SlideShowPro for Lightroom 1.2.2 released

Small patch to fix a couple of bugs found in the previous build. Click here to read the updated version history.

04.02.08 | Adobe Lightroom 2.0 public beta out in the wild

Want to see what's coming in the next big update to Adobe Lightroom? Well, you're in luck. Adobe has just released a public beta for Lightroom 2.0 that new or existing Lightroom users can try out. If you don't own Lightroom 1, it's a 30 day trial. If you do, you can use it until August 31, 2008.

As for SlideShowPro for Lightroom, we've been testing it with earlier (private) 2.0 betas, and everything works as expected. So you can use the extension with it just the same.

03.31.08 | SlideShowPro for Lightroom 1.2.1 released

Small update that simply brings the Lightroom version up to date with the just-released 1.8.1 build of SlideShowPro for Flash. Free update for all SlideShowPro for Lightroom users, and can be downloaded here.

03.28.08 | SlideShowPro Director Lightroom export plugin available

Now that we have the beta version of SlideShowPro Director 1.2 out, which includes a new API, we're also making available the new Lightroom export plugin we talked about earlier this week. This plugin is also considered a beta, and we'd love to hear your feedback. Note that this plugin requires the 1.2 beta of SlideShowPro Director in order to work, and does not currently work with the Windows version of Lightroom when exporting to slideshowpro.com hosting accounts (exporting from Windows to an installation of SlideShowPro Director 1.2 on your own server seems to work fine).

So if you're interested in trying it out, feel free to download here and let us know what you think.

03.26.08 | SlideShowPro for Lightroom 1.2.0 released

This release mainly brings the Lightroom version up to date with the 1.8.0 release of SlideShowPro for Flash. This includes modifications to the parameter interface plus the default templates to reflect changes made in 1.8.0.

The 1.2.0 update does include however one new feature, and an important change to how thumbnail previews are displayed. As for the new, a radio button was added named "Expand Browser Window" that will modify your exported HTML document so that it automatically expands the browser window to fill 100% of a user's monitor. This will come in handy for people who are publishing large slideshows, which require larger than normal browser windows in order to adequately present. The option is turned off by default.

The second change is with thumbnail link previews. Before, you simply modified "Thumb Width/Height" to change both the exported size of your thumbnails, and the size of the pop-up link previews. This turned out however to be a problem with people trying to export large images to use as album previews, so additional parameters were added ("Link Preview Width/Height") for independent control over the size of the link preview windows.

Update is free for all current SlideShowPro for Lightroom users, and can be downloaded here.

03.24.08 | Coming soon: SlideShowPro Director export plugin for Lightroom

By popular request, we're currently putting the finishing touches on a new SlideShowPro Director export plugin for Adobe Lightroom. What does it do? It allows you export images from the Lightroom Library directly into an installation of SlideShowPro Director on your own web server, or a hosted version of Director on our site. You'll be able to choose either an existing album to populate with your photos, or create a new album as part of the upload process. The plugin will also (optionally) maintain the titles and captions already assigned to your images in Lightroom.

The plugin is possible because of the new SlideShowPro Director API which is currently in private beta and scheduled to be released as part of the upcoming 1.2 update (which should be out soon). The plugin will be available, free of charge, once 1.2 is out the door.

Here are a couple of screenshots:

03.19.08 | Adobe yanks Lightroom 1.4 update

Lightroom users, heads up! Did you download the 1.4 update for Lightroom that Adobe pushed out the door on March 14th? Well, a couple of days later Adobe pulled the release, and is now (in the words of Tom Hogarty) recommending that anyone who installed 1.4 should uninstall it and reinstall Lightroom 1.3.1. I'm running 1.4, and haven't had any issues thus far, but if you're the paranoid type you might want to consider following their instructions. A 1.4.1 patch release is forthcoming, but no word on when that'll be available.

02.28.08 | SlideShowPro for Lightroom 1.1.4 released

This release keeps the Lightroom version in sync with Flash, plus fixes a vertical alignment problem when not using the wet floor effect.

Registered users can download here if interested.

02.26.08 | Trials available across the board

After far longer than I'd care to admit, we finally have a free, fully functional trial of SlideShowPro for Flash for people to download, test out, and kick around. Containing both the Flash extension and the standalone version (in SWF form), the trial is exactly like the real product except it's limited in the amount of content it can load (three pieces of content total).

With that, all three of our products now offer free trials for new users to try out. This isn't exactly useful news for existing users, but hey. Better late than never, as they say.

02.25.08 | SlideShowPro for Lightroom 1.1.3 released

This update brings the Lightroom version up to the latest build of SlideShowPro, plus throws in a couple of small updates, including more accurate vertical centering when using the wet floor effect, and a modification to the loader.swf and index.html files so that the path/file name of "param.xml" can be modified through FlashVars if necessary.

02.15.08 | SlideShowPro for Lightroom 1.1.2 Released

This update patches an issue from the previous update where link previews weren't using the correct size (as assigned through Thumb Width/Height). Recommended for anyone who's using 1.1.1 and non-default values for link previews.

02.13.08 | SlideShowPro for Lightroom 1.1.1 Released

This release brings the Lightroom version up to the 1.7.1 release of SlideShowPro for Flash, and includes a few Lightroom-specific fixes and updates. To read more about what's in 1.1.1, check out the version history.

02.05.08 | SlideShowPro for Lightroom 1.1 Released

Hot on the heels of SlideShowPro 1.7.0 going final, the 1.1 build of SlideShowPro for Lightroom has also been finalized and is now available for download in the Account Center. This release packs in everything from the 1.7 build of SlideShowPro, plus these Lightroom specific features:

• New "Header" area to display a logo (with link), gallery title and gallery description
• New "Wet Floor" effect
• 4 template groups, each containing 8 variations for landscape/portrait, dimension and aspect ratio (32 options total).
• New inputs to directly assign an audio file and caption
• New Director formatting panel

To read all the details on this release, see the full version history.

Thanks again to the Lightroom beta testers for their assistance and feedback.

02.01.08 | SlideShowPro for Lightroom 1.1 beta now available

Now that SlideShowPro for Flash 1.7 is nearly final, a beta version of SlideShowPro for Lightroom 1.1 is now available for download. This release incorporates all the fixes, updates, and changes in SlideShowPro for Flash 1.7, plus adds a number of Lightroom-specific fixes, updates and new features.

The most notable change in SlideShowPro for Lightroom 1.1 is a collection of default templates (shown left). There are four styles, each containing a number of aspect ratios and resolutions to choose from. These make it incredibly easy for new users of the product to get the look / size they want quickly, with all the presets for image export size and slideshow dimension taken care of.

Also of note is a new built-in effect that has proven very popular among SlideShowPro for Flash users -- the ubiquitous "wet floor" effect. The reflection can be toggled on/off, with extra controls for reflection depth and intensity.

Last but certainly not least, and by popular request, an optional header element has been added above SlideShowPro that displays the gallery title and description, plus a container to load a graphic that can be anything you want (most will probably incorporate logos or some kind of branding). The graphic can also be assigned a URL, so you can use the image to provide a link back to your main web site, or whatever else you want. The header includes complete controls for padding, spacing and alignment.

If you're a SlideShowPro for Lightroom user and would be interested in trying it out (and providing feedback), download here.

01.11.08 | SlideShowPro for Lightroom 1.0.6 released, trial available

A little bit of debug code accidentally went out the door with the 1.0.5 update a couple of days ago (doh!), so we're pushing out a quick update (1.0.6) that resolves that single issue. We're also now offering a free, downloadable trial of SlideShowPro for Lightroom 1.0.6, which you can download from here. The demo is fully functional, with the exception of demo text that overlays the slideshow. So if you've been interested in checking it out, but haven't purchased, now's your chance to kick the tires.

01.09.08 | SlideShowPro for Lightroom 1.0.5 Released

A quick patch to fix a full screen related issue inadvertently introduced in yesterday's 1.0.4 release. SlideShowPro for Lightroom users may visit the product download page to obtain this update.

01.08.08 | SlideShowPro for Lightroom 1.0.4 Released

A new update to SlideShowPro for Lightroom is now available for download. This update patches (crossing fingers!) a rather nasty CPU usage problem that reared its ugly head only in Windows XP and only with some hardware configurations. It took a little longer than expected to track down a piece of hardware that could replicate the problem (an old Dell Inspiron did the trick), but we were able to track down the cause.

This update also tweaks a few other things, including a background drawing problem (where a dark gray background would be visible for a split second), adjustments to min/max values for some parameters, an XML encoding change, and an adjustment to the default width/height of SlideShowPro for Lightroom (as well as the published image size) so that out-of-the-box 4:3 landscape imagery are flush and completely fill the content area.

This update is free for all SlideShowPro for Lightroom users, and can be downloaded from SlideShowPro for Lightroom product page.

12.14.07 | SlideShowPro for Lightroom 1.0.3 Released

This is a quick patch release that incorporates a missing parameter (Navigation Link Preview Background Color), which controls the background color of the link rollover thumbnails. It can be found in the "Navigation" area of the "Appearance" panel. Nothing else has changed in this release.

Current users can download here (requires login).

12.12.07 | "One heck of a deal for the money"

Michael Clark over at O'Reilly has written a very favorable review of SlideShowPro for Lightroom. Thanks Michael!

12.11.07 | SlideShowPro for Lightroom 1.0.2 Released

After thinking I had the "Preview in Browser" issue fixed in 1.0.1, turns out it still wasn't working correctly for some people using Windows. This release should fix the preview issue once and for all. This release also brings back the Link Preview Width/Height parameters that were removed from 1.0.1 (for simplicity), but it caused some unforeseen issues with a particular layout style. So they've been brought back; effectively returning it to 1.0 functionality. Outside of that, the modifiable contextual menu items (if you right clicked on a SWF) have been removed to prevent people from messing with the SWF timeline, and the swfobject.js file has been updated to the latest stable version (1.5), which is a bit more optimized than the previous one.

Current users can download here (requires login).

12.10.07 | SlideShowPro for Lightroom 1.0.1 Released

The first point update to the new SlideShowPro for Lightroom is now available for download. This release ushers in a near-complete reorganization of the side panels to help alleviate some of the layout issues found in the OS X build of Lightroom. Everything is a bit narrower now, and grouped using sub-headers labeled with the main interface elements they control ("Captions", "Navigation", etc).

This re-organization helps, but doesn't completely resolve the OS X problem, which as I noted in a previous news post is caused by a bug in Lightroom's panel system. It's ultimately up to Adobe to fix the problem for good, so perhaps something good will come from them down the road.

In general though, the new layout may actually be clearer for some new users as well, for parameters are grouped more closely around functionality, instead of purpose (color, transparency, size, etc).

Outside of that, this release adds a toggle for including hyperlinks, an "add watermark" option, independent controls for large/thumb image height, an easier process for assigning thumbnail link preview sizes, and bug fixes for "Preview in Browser" and the Cache Content parameter not functioning as expected.

To read the full version history, click here. To download the update, click here (must be logged in to the Account Center) and then follow the "Updating previous versions" instructions in the SlideShowPro for Lightroom User Guide that's included with the download archive.

12.07.07 | Those pesky panels

Since SlideShowPro for Lightroom was released at the beginning of this week I've been receiving a lot of email and forum complaints from Mac OS X users concerning panel layout problems. What's the issue? Well, Lightroom should consistently re-format interior panel content when the width of the panel column is adjusted. And most of the time, it does. But for Mac OS X users, if you scale the panel column as thin as it will go, quit/restart Lightroom, then open the panels again, you're in for a nasty surprise. The interior content overflows the panel width; making it impossible to modify some parameters.

The solution? Expand the panel, then quit/relaunch Lightroom. The panel interiors will reformat correctly.

I've been in touch with Adobe on this problem, for it clearly goes beyond SlideShowPro for Lightroom and is an issue with Lightroom's windowing layout system (and OS X, of course). The good news is that I've been able to confirm that it is a known problem. The bad news is that there may not be an application-level remedy anytime soon.

That said, I have been given some tips on ways to minimize the chances of panel content overflowing the container. It won't completely resolve the problem, but it will make the issue less prominent. Unfortunately, it will require a notable reorganization of the panel interface currently in 1.0, so when the update is released existing users can expect to see a number of changed controls. Shouldn't affect templates already created with 1.0, but the UI will simply look a bit different.

12.03.07 | SlideShowPro for Lightroom now available

After a short delay to workaround a late-breaking issue, SlideShowPro for Lightroom is now available for purchase and download.

Most everything I'd type here about the product you could just as well read on the page linked above, so I'll take this opportunity to write about something else. First, my thanks to John Nack, Tom Hogarty and especially Andy Rahn at Adobe for their accessibility and assistance during the development cycle. Considering how little I knew about Lightroom's API and available functionality, it was incredibly useful to have a team of people "on the inside" to provide support when needed.

Second, if you already have Lightroom installed, you will need to grab the new 1.3 update first before installing. There are some particular things that went into the 1.3 build (as part of our beta testing involvement) that are required in order for the gallery to work, so be sure to grab that in advance.

Third, even though SlideShowPro for Lightroom contains the latest version of SlideShowPro for Flash inside (1.6.8 as of this writing), everything else is considered 1.0, so we'd love to hear your feedback on how you feel the gallery could be improved or any issues you have using the software.

Fourth, we'll soon be posting a screencast video that demonstrates how SlideShowPro for Lightroom works, so stay tuned for that.

That's it for now! Head over to the new SlideShowPro for Lightroom page if interested.

11.30.07 | SlideShowPro for Lightroom FAQs

A number of people have sent emails asking specific questions about the upcoming Lightroom edition of SlideShowPro, including...

Will the Lightroom version support audio/video?

Technically, yes. You will be able to load background audio and video into the Lightroom version, but with one caveat -- Lightroom itself doesn't support audio or video, so there isn't a way (technically) to include those media types as part of a gallery export from Lightroom. You can however manually edit the content Lightroom publishes to include audio or video if you'd like.

If I already own SlideShowPro for Flash, is the Lightroom version free?

No. There is a special "crossgrade" price however, which is explained next.

How much will it be?

A few weeks ago I wrote that there would be "complete" and "incomplete" versions, with the latter designed for people who already own SlideShowPro for Flash. After further consideration, there will just be one version to keep things simpler, but the price you pay depends on what you already own. If you're a new user, SlideShowPro for Lightroom will be $25. If you own SlideShowPro for Flash, you can crossgrade to SlideShowPro for Lightroom for only $10.

Additionally, if you purchase SlideShowPro for Lightroom and then want the Flash version, you can crossgrade to it for only $14. So in the end, the price for purchasing both is the same, regardless of which you purchased first.

Will SlideShowPro for Lightroom work with SlideShowPro Director?

Yes. You can assign an XML File Path to SlideShowPro inside the Lightroom UI, and that content will be used instead of Lightroom's.

Can Lightroom publish more than one album as part of an export?

Unfortunately, no. Because of how Lightroom is architected, all of the images you choose to export for a gallery are flattened into one "filmstrip," which is essentially one album of content. To include more than one album in a gallery, you will need to manually edit/merge the content Lightroom exports. Instructions for that will be included in the product documentation.

Will I be able to use the SWF it creates in a separate HTML document?

Yes. And the process is pretty much the same as using SWFs published from Flash.

Those are the most frequent questions I've received. If these didn't answer yours, feel free to contact us.

11.28.07 | SlideShowPro for Lightroom screenshot

Someone sent an email asking to see a screenshot of SlideShowPro for Lightroom. Perhaps they were just curious, or wanted to verify its existence considering it was recently delayed (shouldn't be much longer). Either way, here you go! I think it fits in rather nicely.

11.26.07 | SlideShowPro for Lightroom delayed

In beta testing last week, we discovered a small but notable issue with the SlideShowPro for Lightroom gallery that requires extra time to investigate, so the launch will be delayed a few days. More will be posted here soon.

11.16.07 | SlideShowPro for Lightroom release date

Last night Adobe released version 1.3 of Adobe Lightroom, which we were beta testing as part of our SlideShowPro for Lightroom development. Now that 1.3 is "final" and available, we'll be spending the next few days kicking the gallery around to ensure everything still works, then eat some turkey and drink copious amounts of red sauce to round out the week (it's Thanksgiving next week, for those not in the US). After all that, SlideShowPro for Lightroom 1.0 will be released on Monday, November 26th. Pricing and other details concerning the differences between the Flash/Lightroom versions will be explained then.

But that's not all. Something else is being released on the 26th as well. More details a little later today.

10.24.07 | Coming soon: SlideShowPro for Adobe Lightroom

A frequent request from many, I'm pleased to announce that in the coming weeks we'll be offering a plugin for Adobe Lightroom, the Windows / OS X photo management and editing software developed for professional photographers.

The SlideShowPro plugin fits right into Lightroom's "Web module" workspace, which is where you can export/upload HTML/Flash photo galleries using your Lightroom content. You simply decide what size you want your slideshow to be, how you want it to be styled, and Lightroom publishes all the XML data, HTML, and imagery for you. It all works beautifully, and will (hopefully) be of interest to new customers (especially those without Flash or web development experience) as well as existing users of the Flash component.

With that, there will be two versions of the plugin — a "complete" version that ships with everything a new customer (without Flash or SlideShowPro) needs, and an "incomplete" version designed for existing users of SlideShowPro. For the "incomplete" version, you simply publish a SWF containing the component and add it to the SlideShowPro for Lightroom's plugin folder. Your "incomplete" version will then be "complete," and ready to go.

Both versions will be purchasable, with "incomplete" obviously costing less than "complete," but we haven't figured out exact pricing yet. Expect more information on that, including screenshots, in the near future!