SlideShowPro News

08.18.08 | SlideShowPro for Flash 1.8.9 (AS3 b1) now available

Today we're releasing an ActionScript 3.0 version of SlideShowPro for Flash 1.8.9 as a public beta for all current SlideShowPro for Flash users to download and test. This version is a complete rebuild of the (current) ActionScript 2.0 version of the component and features all of the same functionality. Where it differs however is that it's only compatible with Adobe Flash CS3, FLAs that use ActionScript 3.0 as their language, and Flash Player 9 or higher.

Some may read the above and wonder...if it's the same, why bother? Here's why. First, having an AS3 version allows Flash developers to use the component more effectively in their AS3 projects for it gives them direct access to the component's properties, events and methods (which wasn't possible when loading an AS2 SWF). Second, AS3 and Flash Player 9 ushered in numerous under-the-hood speed improvements and optimizations; allowing the component to run smoother and faster than in AS2. Third, it keeps the component up to date and current for other future uses that may hinge on AS3 exclusivity.

If you'd like to give it a try, login to your profile and click on the SlideShowPro for Flash link. Look for the "Betas" box in the left column.

To provide feedback or report issues, please visit this dedicated forum just for the AS3 version.

Lastly, please read the release notes that come with the ZIP. It contains some important usage instructions.

Enjoy! And happy beta testing.

07.23.08 | AS3 component update

A number of weeks ago we mentioned that an ActionScript 3 version of SlideShowPro for Flash was in development. We haven't mentioned anything about it since, so here's a quick update.

Development continues at a brisk pace, with nearly all of the main component functionality up and running. There are a couple of big pieces left to code, but it's coming together really nicely. If all things continue as they are with no major hiccups, we should have a downloadable beta about a month from now.

As for how the AS3 version will fit into our product lineup, the AS3 build will share the same version number as the current (AS2) build of SlideShowPro for Flash, which is 1.8.9. It will offer all the same functionality, and for all intents and purposes should be indistinguishable from the AS2 build.

Once final, the AS3 version will be included (for free) in the same download as the current AS2 version; allowing users to choose which extension they'd prefer to use. Flash MX 2004 and Flash 8 users will continue using the current AS2 build, while Flash CS3 users will have the option of using either in their projects.

As for SlideShowPro for Lightroom, it will use the AS3 version of SlideShowPro once all the kinks have been worked out and the component is no longer in beta.

If you'd like to be notified of the AS3 version's availability, subscribe to our RSS feed or follow us on Twitter through the links displayed at the top right of this page.

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.

06.30.08 | Symphony Audio Import

The web site for Symphony Audio Import is using SlideShowPro for Flash to show off their catalog of products. With the entire site rendered in full screen mode, the developers employ some clever masking to show/hide the slideshow when moving in an out of the main navigation. And when the slideshow is visible, you can click a "menu" button at the top right to return and select a different category. In all, an engaging idea for using the component exclusively in full screen.

06.27.08 | New third party script: Fetchr4SSP

Developer Steve Mooradian has just released a new PHP script for loading Flickr photosets in SlideShowPro for Flash. Named Fetchr4SSP, the script accesses Flickr's API, and allows you to load more content than what's available through SlideShowPro for Flash's RSS parsing. The script is sold for $4.95 (personal use) and $9.95 (commercial use), and comes with a free trial as well. Check it out.

05.29.08 | SlideShowPro for Flash 1.8.8 released

A small patch that fixes a Media RSS parsing issue with Flickr feeds, plus embedding changes to the standalone version of the component. To read more about this release, see the updated version history.

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.

05.13.08 | SlideShowPro for Flash 1.8.6 released

This is just a quick release that changes the default setting of the "Smoothing" parameter added to the previous version (1.8.5) to "Off" instead of "On." Why the change? Well, it turns out that the smoothing filter caused problems when loading an XML file from a domain where cross-domain permission is granted, but the links contained inside the XML file point to separate domains. May sound like an edge-case problem, but it's fairly common with Media RSS feeds. So to keep things from being broken "out of the box" and causing unnecessary confusion, the parameter is now opt-in.

Nothing else is different in this build, so unless you were having issues similar to the aforementioned, you don't need to download it or update your slideshows. Update can be download 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 Flash 1.8.2 released

Version 1.8.2 is now available for download. This release incorporates the changes to permalink functionality described earlier, a rewritten chapter on permalinks in the SlideShowPro for Flash Customization Guide, plus a couple of other small fixes. Update can be downloaded here.

04.03.08 | Permalink problems explained. Important changes ahead.

Lately there have been reports of issues when using the permalinks option in SlideShowPro for Flash. The problems stem from two factors unrelated to the component itself, but important nonetheless. First, there's a bug in the latest version of Flash Player 9 (9.0.115.0) for Internet Explorer on Windows that prevents javascript communication between SWFs and HTML (with AS that doesn't use ExternalInterface -- more on that in a minute). Two, in another IE related problem, SWFObject 2.0 -- the popular javascript method for embedding SWFs -- has issues when using VBScript, which is part of the process for how permalinks are used in IE.

Now, both of these problems are related to the fact that SlideShowPro for Flash's method for using permalinks dates back to Flash Player 7, before Macromedia made Flash/Javascript communication easier with their ExternalInterface class in Flash Player 8. It's precisely these old-school ways of communicating with Javascript that's causing both of these issues.

We could wait and see if Adobe fixes this problem in the next build to Flash Player 9, but if history is any indication (been doing this longer than I'd care to admit), this holds a good chance of not being resolved; especially since Adobe has been making numerous security/scripting changes to Flash Player 9 lately, and I doubt they'll be in the mood to open holes to allow outdated code to work.

With that, the next point update to SlideShowPro for Flash will get rid of the old school way and support ExternalInterface instead, which will cut out a bunch of unnecessary code and make permalinks easier to deploy. The downside though is that users of Flash MX 2004 will not be able to use permalinks. They will only work when published from Flash 8 or Flash CS3.

But as we've mentioned before with the updated transition styles, the vast majority of people these days are using Flash 8 or newer, so it's a change that shouldn't affect that many people.

So if you're having permalink problems, hold tight. A fix is on the way soon.

03.31.08 | SlideShowPro for Flash 1.8.1 released

Bug fix release that patches up a few issues found after 1.8.0 went out the door. Also added a couple of new JSFL commands for manipulating instances of SlideShowPro for Flash. One resizes the component to fit the Stage, while the other does the opposite. Both provide a quick and easy way to make the Stage and SlideShowPro for Flash the same dimension for quicker exporting.

Complete version history available here. Update is free for all SlideShowPro for Flash users, and can be downloaded here.

03.26.08 | SlideShowPro for Flash 1.8.0 released

Hot and fresh out of the oven is a new point update for SlideShowPro for Flash that brings the component up to version 1.8.0. New in this release are four new transitions: "Blur," "Dissolve," "Drop" and "Push."

Both "Blur" and "Dissolve" are transitions I've wanted to incorporate for a long, long time, but purposely withheld because they weren't compatible with SWFs published from Flash MX 2004. Today though, the vast majority of our users have Flash 8 or Flash CS3, so the time felt right to add these in. If you're a Flash MX 2004 user, you'll have to update your IDE to Flash 8 or higher in order to use these two new transitions. (Note: the home page of this site was updated to use the "Blur" "Dissolve" transition, if you'd like to see a preview).

"Drop" and "Push" work in all supported versions of Flash. "Drop" is a transition that was added to an early beta, removed, and forgotten about. This release brings it back, plus the new "Push" transition which is similar to the "Filmstrip" customization demo we have in the account center in that new content pushes old content out of the way.

This release also unhinges the "Gallery Navigation" (the previous/next screen buttons) from the "Album..." parameters that used to control its appearance. The nav now has its own set of parameter settings, which allows for more creative control and will be less confusing to new users of the product.

Also in 1.8.0 are a few bug fixes and general updates, which you can read about in the version history. Update can be downloaded here.

03.22.08 | We want your parameters!

The recent builds of SlideShowPro for Flash incorporate a couple of handy JSFL scripts (accessible through the Commands menu in Flash CS3) that make exporting/importing parameter values easy. They allow you to export all of the customizations you've made to an instance of SlideShowPro in one FLA, and import / apply those custom settings to a brand new instance in a separate FLA. They were designed to make upgrading component instances cleaner and safer, but they had the unintended side effect of allowing people to share their parameters without having to share their FLAs.

With that, we thought it would be cool to offer a page here on the site where SlideShowPro for Flash users can preview, download, and share parameters. They would allow people who are new to the component the ability to quickly modify all the settings in an instance without having to manually change parameters; similar to how templates work in SlideShowPro for Lightroom.

So, if you use Flash CS3, and have an instance of SlideShowPro that's been styled in a way that diverges from the default settings, and wouldn't mind sharing your work with others, feel free to email us your XML file. You can do so by selecting "Commands > SSP - Export Param XML", save the XML file, and email it to us an attachment. You will of course receive name credit for your contribution.

Thanks in advance.

03.16.08 | AS3 version of SlideShowPro for Flash

A handful of SlideShowPro for Flash users have inquired when or if an ActionScript 3.0 compatible version of the component will be available. The answer? Yes, a 3.0 version is currently in development, and should be available sometime within the next few months.

The plan is for the 3.0 version to be exactly the same as the 2.0 version. As a matter of fact, you probably won't be able to tell the difference between the two. The ActionScript API will be different, especially in regard to handling events broadcasted by the component, but for the most part it should work just the same.

Unfortunately, converting all the functionality that's in SlideShowPro for Flash from 2.0 to 3.0 won't be trivial. Entire sections of the component will need to be re-coded, which of course opens up plenty of ways for things to break. So it'll simply take some time to transcode it all, and ensure it's working properly before putting it out there. A public beta will be offered once we have something available for testing.

03.05.08 | New button pack: "Pearl"

Now available for purchase/download is a brand new button pack for SlideShowPro for Flash users named "Pearl." This pack is just like the popular "Quartz" pack in that it comes with 18 icons in both 16px and 24px sizes, with the smaller size optimized for use with the "Numbers" navigation link appearance and the larger optimized for "Thumbnails." The set is comprised of 24-bit semi-transparent PNGs with subtle outlines and highlights that look great when set on top of all kinds of colors.

"Pearl" is just 9 bucks, and really easy to implement in your SWFs. Check out the "How Button Packs Work" screencast video for a bird's eye view, or hop on over to the purchase page to download your copy.

02.28.08 | SlideShowPro for Flash 1.7.4 released

This fixes a drawing issue with a few parameters when assigned values via ActionScript, plus a crazy conflict when using the component in FLAs that have Arial embedded in dynamic text fields (ahhh Flash, you crazy devil).

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 Flash 1.7.3 released

A patch update that fixes a few full screen related issues, plus a little glitchy issue when calling the nextImage() / previousImage() methods repeatedly. The standalone version was also updated in this release to support dynamically assigning the path to "param.xml" in case developers need to assign a file with a different name or location. If interested, you can read the full update notes here.

02.18.08 | SlideShowPro for Flash 1.7.2 Released

This release squashes an album switching / video bug, plus a problem with requesting "Crop to Fit All" content from Director when using the "Fullscreen" Content Format option. Also modified the behavior of "Video Auto Start" so that when set to "Off," the preview is treated like regular slideshow content and can be rotated in auto-playback mode just like imagery. Clicking a video play button stops playback and plays the video.

The one thing that's new is the formal addition of the export/import JSFL commands I wrote about recently, which have been updated since that initial beta to prevent versions of Flash earlier than CS3 from running the scripts, plus better error handling when an instance of SlideShowPro for Flash can't be found on the FLA Stage.

While I was playing around with JSFL, I went ahead and threw a third command into the install package that does one simple (but time saving) thing -- grabs SlideShowPro for Flash from the Components Panel, places it on the Stage, aligns it to the top left (0,0), assigns an instance name of "my_ssp", and renames the timeline layer it sits on to "ssp". Pretty handy if you find yourself creating as many FLAs as I do.

Update can be downloaded from the SlideShowPro for Flash download page.

02.13.08 | SlideShowPro for Flash 1.7.1 Released

Purely a bug fix release that addresses a number of issues found in the initial 1.7 release of SlideShowPro for Flash. To read more about what's in 1.7.1, check out the version history.

02.08.08 | Export/Import Parameters Command (Beta) now available

One of the things that's always driven me crazy about the Component Inspector panel in Flash is that it doesn't provide a way to save settings. There's simply no built-in way to copy the parameters of one instance of SlideShowPro over to another in a separate FLA, or share your settings with another user. So, I decided to experiment with creating my own parameter copying utility, and before I knew it had built just that.

Using the JSFL engine in Flash CS3, I've built a couple of commands that make the exporting/importing of parameter settings fast and easy. Parameters are exported as an xml file, which can then be imported back into Flash, parsed, and assigned to a separate instance of SlideShowPro. You can even share the XML file with someone else, and they'll be able to take a default, new instance of SlideShowPro and convert it (size, color, behavior, everything) to an instance that's identical to yours.

These will also make upgrading to new point releases easier. The scripts are purposely written so that any parameter in SlideShowPro that matches one in an imported configuration file are modified, and any that do not are left alone. This way you'll only have to modify new/changed parameters between point releases.

Last but certainly not least, an exported parameter file can also be used with the "standalone" version of SlideShowPro for Flash that comes with the extension download. So you could technically build your slideshow in Flash, export a parameter file, use that file with the standalone version, then update the parameters in the XML whenever you need to change something (without returning to Flash and publishing a new SWF).

Both scripts require Flash CS3 (simply not possible in earlier versions, sorry), and will be included as part of the extension installation when they're no longer beta. If you'd like to try them out, download here (login required). Note: commands no longer beta and are now part of the SlideShowPro for Flash installation package.

02.05.08 | SlideShowPro for Flash 1.7.0 Released

The final release of SlideShowPro for Flash 1.7.0 is now available for download in the Account Center. This release went through about three weeks of beta testing, where a handful or problems / optimizations were made thanks to the numerous SlideShowPro for Flash users who helped kick the tires.

So, what's new in this release? Here we go...

• Volume control in the media player (for both audio/video)
• Navigation can now be positioned on top
• Media player can now be positioned on top
• Auto-start option for videos (toggle off/on). When off, you can assign a preview graphic, and a "play" button is displayed over the preview.
• Media RSS support
• "Content Format" option to control the size of imagery (full screen or normal) SlideShowPro Director publishes, or are grabbed from a Media RSS feeds containing multiple image options should format imagery for.
• New album preview style: "Banner".
• New "Crop to Fit All" option to fill the whole component area (instead of content area)
• Preloader and timer can now be aligned to any of the 8 clockwise points.
• Preloader and timer can now be positioned inside the content area or inside content (latter looks best with 'floating' style imagery)
• Two new preloader styles -- "Spinner" and "Pie Spinner"
• Control knob for media player video scrubber
• Multiple XML files from different sources can be combined/loaded as one gallery using OPML
• Completely revised caching system for better bandwidth consumption
• Padding controls for captions, albums and the gallery

Additionally, the download archive comes with something new: a "standalone" version of SlideShowPro for Flash in SWF form that's accompanied by an editable XML file (for modifying parameters). This allows developers who do not own Flash to modify and use SlideShowPro for Flash.

If you want to read the whole nitty gritty, check out the whole version history here.

02.01.08 | SlideShowPro for Flash 1.7.0b4 available

In what will likely be the final beta before going final, beta 4 of SlideShowPro for Flash 1.7 is now available for download. This release fixes a few little things that were in the previous beta, and nothing else. If you're a user of SlideShowPro for Flash, feel free to download if you'd like to kick the tires.

01.28.08 | SlideShowPro for Flash 1.7.0b3 available

The beta train for SlideShowPro for Flash 1.7 keeps chugging along with a third release that's now available for download. This releases fixes a couple of bugs from the second beta, and provides further refinements / optimizations to other new features. There is one new thing however, and that's a circular control "knob" inside the progress bar of the media player to control scrubbing. You could scrub before by clicking and dragging the end of the progress bar, but this release makes the region a bit more obvious. The color of the element can be independently controlled.

If interested, here's the 1.7.0b3 version history.

Thanks again to everyone who's tested 1.7 and provided feedback thus far.

01.21.08 | SlideShowPro for Flash 1.7.0b2 available

The second public beta of SlideShowPro for Flash 1.7 is now available for download. This release mostly refines/fixes a few things from beta 1, with the notable exception of a couple of new additions. First, a video play button now appears in the center of a video's preview graphic (if one is assigned), and as you might expect, it plays the associated video when clicked. It also appears at the end of a video if Display Mode is set to "Manual" (so that it can be restarted).

Secondly, the "Director Image Format" option from beta 1 has changed names to "Content Format" because that same functionality now applies to Media RSS feeds that contain a selection of imagery to choose from. In other words, if a feed contains large, high-resolution imagery and "Content Format" is set to "Full Screen," SlideShowPro for Flash will load the largest possible version that'll fit a user's monitor resolution. If "Normal" (the default), SlideShowPro for Flash will load the largest possible version that'll fit the SWF size in HTML.

To read more about this release, see the beta 2 version notes. And as usual, feedback is encouraged.

01.16.08 | SlideShowPro for Flash 1.7.0 public beta available

Interested in checking out the next 'major' update to SlideShowPro for Flash? A public beta for SlideShowPro for Flash 1.7.0 is now available for download in the Account Center. What's new, you ask? Well, a lot of stuff, most of which was implemented based on recent (and some old) feedback. Here we go:

• Volume control in the media player (for both audio/video)
• Navigation can now be positioned on top
• Media player can now be positioned on top
• Auto-start option for videos (toggle off/on). When off, you can assign a preview graphic.
• "Director Image Format" option to control which 'view' it should format imagery for (normal or full screen)
• New album preview style: "Banner Top".
• New "Crop to Fit All" option to fill the whole component area (instead of content area)
• Preloader and timer can now be aligned to any of the 8 clockwise points.
• Preloader and timer can now be positioned inside the content area or inside content (latter looks best with 'floating' style imagery)
• Two new preloader styles -- "Spinner" and "Pie Spinner"
• Media RSS support
• Multiple XML files from different sources can be combined/loaded as one gallery using OPML
• Completely revised caching system for better bandwidth consumption
• Padding controls for captions, albums and the gallery

There are a few other tweaky things here and there, but those are the highlights. To read the complete version history, click here.

This beta is available for any current SlideShowPro for Flash user, and can be downloaded from the SlideShowPro for Flash download page in the Account Center. We recommend that only current users with experience using the product download and test this release, and ask that all feedback be directed to the dedicated 1.7.0 beta forum. The beta extension can be safely installed/removed from Flash without affecting your current (stable) build of SSP.

Finally, if you do download, please be sure to read the read-me that comes inside. It contains additional notes concerning the update.

12.10.07 | SlideShowPro for Flash 1.6.9 Released

A very small point release that resolves an issue with cacheContent being assigned via ActionScript. Fixed in this release so that it behaves as expected whether assigned via the Component Inspector or with ActionScript. Most users can skip this release, unless you're assigning parameters via ActionScript.

11.30.07 | SlideShowPro for Flash 1.6.8 Released

A new release of SlideShowPro for Flash is now available. This is another small point release that doesn't introduce anything all that new, but does fix a few small issues related to transitions, audio volume, etc. I went ahead and added one new request (since it took all of two seconds to add), and that's a key command (F) to pop SSP into full screen mode. The SWF has to have focus in the browser for it to work, and you still have to press ESC (or click the normal screen button in SSP) to get out, but at least it's there to get it going.

This should be the last release in the 1.6 series before starting work on the next major version, 1.7. I've been talking to a number of SSP users about how 1.6 could be improved, and am rolling as much of that as I can into 1.7. More details on that down the road.

For now, here's the release notes for 1.6.8 if interested.

11.29.07 | New licensing options for developers

For quite a while now, the single user license agreement for SlideShowPro for Flash (which you've read, right?) has disallowed the embedding of SWFs created with SlideShowPro for Flash inside a proprietary software application for redistribution. It's provoked a fair amount of confusion, so we decided to do something about it. Today we're offering a new OEM license for SlideShowPro for Flash that grants permission to software developers interested in using SWFs as a component of their own software. You can read more about the OEM license here. The license sells for $499, and may be obtained by emailing us.

Additionally, we've also been asked by developers if bulk licensing is available for SlideShowPro Director. So today we're offering a new SlideShowPro Director Developer Pack that includes 20 licenses / keys for Director at a specially discounted price (approx 20% off each license). The pack will generate all 20 keys at once, so anytime you need to install Director on a new domain you simply login and grab a key from your profile page.

Developers can contact us with any questions about these new licensing options.

11.16.07 | Announcing SlideShowPro Director Hosting

I hinted earlier at something "else" coming on Monday, November 26th, and here it is: Director hosting!

Beginning the 26th, everyone will be able to use SlideShowPro Director to manage their slideshow content. You'll get your own subdomain (you.slideshowpro.com), unlimited storage, unlimited bandwidth, and the peace of mind knowing your SlideShowPro Director installation will always be up to date with the latest version, securely backed up, and constantly watched over.

Hosting will be affordable, purchasable in chunks of time (6 months, 1 year, 2 years), and completely automatic. Your space will be setup automatically after your subscription, so you'll be able to login and immediately get to work. We'll also be offering a 14-day free trial so everyone can kick the tires. We expect the service to be popular with those who'd rather not install server-side software, or those who simply have better things to do.

For those using Director on their own web servers, don't worry. The hosted version of Director will be nearly identical to the downloadable version, with the only differences being an extra utility or two in the hosted version for managing access, etc. So whether you purchase Director and install it on your own box, or one of ours, you're getting the same application.

More details will be announced on the 26th.

11.14.07 | How times change

When I first started working on SlideShowPro about three years ago, I had no idea I'd still be working on it today. Or for that matter, subsequently quitting my full time day job as a Creative Director at Turner (specifically the Super Deluxe video comedy site) to work exclusively on SlideShowPro (and related products). I always thought it would be a fun side project to experiment with, and maybe a few people would use it. Well, times have certainly changed, and as a result there will be a small, but symbolic name change.

If someone asked me 2 years ago what "SlideShowPro" was, I would have replied, "a Flash photo gallery and slideshow component." Which, as you may have noticed, is how I'm using the name in the first paragraph. But today that doesn't hold true anymore. "SlideShowPro" is much more than that. It's rapidly becoming a publishing platform, mainly because of the work Brad and I have been putting into SlideShowPro Director. "SlideShowPro" is also a collection of exporting utilities for Photoshop and iPhoto, not to mention the Adobe Lightroom web engine that'll be released in the coming weeks. Today the name is spread across multiple products and has outgrown its original definition.

So with that, what some people (especially older users) may associate with "SlideShowPro" will be changing to "SlideShowPro for Flash." It's a small change, but a very notable one, for it frees the brand "SlideShowPro" from being just a Flash component for expanded use in all kinds of things. It'll also help clarify how our products work, for new users will be able to choose from "SlideShowPro for Flash" or "SlideShowPro for Lightroom," and instantly understand which version they require.

There will be small tweaks here and there to the site, as well as all the documentation, to incorporate the updated name. May feel a little weird (it's taken me some time to get used to it), but going forward it's the best thing to do.

11.13.07 | SlideShowPro 1.6.7 released

Wasn't planning on releasing a new update so quickly after the last one (which came out only 4 days ago) but one of my favorite old bugs from the early days of 1.6 crawled back in, so I had to push this out quickly. The bug I'm referring to is the nasty little piece of unformatted text that would appear in the Content Area if Media Player Appearance was set to "Hidden." Rather unsightly. Version 1.6.7 fixes that.

While I was working on the media player I found a couple of other little things that needed updating, so I was able to get those in as well. You can read the full version history here.

11.09.07 | SlideShowPro 1.6.6 released

Another day, another update. This release adds a parameter to control whether smoothing is applied to videos when they're scaled by SlideShowPro. Named "Video Smoothing," it's turned on by default, and only affects videos that are scaled by "Content Scale." In other words, if your video doesn't require scaling, or you have Content Scale set to "None," no smoothing is applied. If otherwise, smoothing is used. This will make the quality of downscaled videos better.

Also updated the Customization Guide's parameter list to include this new parameter, as well as the ActionScript Help panel.

11.07.07 | SlideShowPro 1.6.5 released

Just a small patch to fix a mouse tracking issue that caused the media player to not show/hide at the correct time when Content Frame Padding was set to a higher value than 0. Hardly something that would affect most users, so most can skip this release. But if you use video or audio in your slideshow and are applying padding to your content, this one is for you.

Login your account center profile to grab the latest version.

11.01.07 | SlideShowPro 1.6.4 Released

The latest and greatest version of SlideShowPro is now available for download in the Account Center. This is a point release that fixes a few issues that popped up since the latest point release (including most notably) a content scaling fix when using inline captions, and the ability to playback audio when the media player is hidden. You can read more about this release in the forum's version history thread.

10.30.07 | iPhoto 7 compatible plugin now available

As promised, the free SlideShowPro Export for iPhoto plugin has been updated to work with iPhoto '08 (aka iPhoto 7, and part of the new iLife '08 suite of apps). Visit the extras section to download (you must be logged in to your account, and will be notified accordingly if need be).

Because of all the changes Apple made to iPhoto, it was impossible to continue offering a single plugin for all versions of iPhoto. With that, there are now two versions available: 1.0.4, which is the same plugin as before, and 1.0.5, which only works with iPhoto '08.

The 1.0.5 version is pretty much exactly the same as 1.0.4, but with one notable difference. By popular demand, we've added a little more control over how image caption fields are populated. In previous versions, the caption field for every image in an album automatically filled with the filename and modification date of the image. This was fine for most, but it was a pain for those who wanted to manually enter their own. So in 1.0.5, the caption fields are empty by default, and if you want to auto-fill them there's a button to click that'll do it for you. It also includes a "Clear" button to get rid of them all, in case you change your mind.

At any rate, apologies for the long delay, but numerous factors preventing it from happening as quickly as we'd like. The good news is that it's finished, and now available for all SlideShowPro users.

10.23.07 | New demo posted: SlideShowPro with Lightbox2

A few people in the forums asked recently how to use SlideShowPro with the Lightbox2 javascript library so that slideshow content can be clicked and opened inside Lightbox. So I sat down and knocked out a demo that shows how to setup your HTML file so that data can be passed from SlideShowPro to JavaScript to popup Lightbox. You can use this to pop open the same image loaded in SlideShowPro, or a completely different image. You can also assign a different image caption for use in Lightbox.

Here's a preview. To download the source files, visit the SlideShowPro download page in the Account Center (requires login).

10.18.07 | SlideShowPro 1.6.3 Released

A little pesky display issue with the media player popped up after 1.6.2 went out the door yesterday, so I quickly patched the problem and pushed out a new release. If you're not using video, or if you are (but always include the media player interface), there's no real need to update. But if you're using 1.6.2, and are hiding the media player when using video, it's recommended.

10.17.07 | SlideShowPro 1.6.2 Released

A few more glitchy things popped up from version 1.6.0, so version 1.6.2 of the component is now available for download. To read what's changed / fixed in this release, check out the version history.

10.15.07 | SlideShowPro 1.6.1 Released

A new point-release for SlideShowPro is now available for download. This version fixes a few little things that popped up during the course of people using 1.6.0 over the past couple of weeks, including a couple of footer positioning errors, the dissapearance of the media player (when playing back audio) when entering / exiting full screen mode, and a Firefox video playback problem.

Also, due to several comments from end-users, I've revised the "Hidden When Gallery Open" option for the Navigation Appearance parameter so that the navigation is invisible when the gallery slides up, but is then visible again on the way back down. This way you don't see the navigation bar animating upward with the gallery.

I've also added a new method to handle xml file swapping after the component has initialized: setData(). Using this, you can assign new XML File Path / XML File Type to SlideShowPro through an external button and SlideShowPro will reload with that new data. This brings back functionality that existed in earlier SlideShowPro versions where assigning a new XML File Path would reload the component with that data (but in a more formal, method based way).

Anyway, if you'd like to read more about the changes, the version history has been updated. To download, click the "User Login" link at the top-right of this page to grab it from the Account Center.

10.04.07 | New (and free) Photoshop scripts

In addition to the updated versions of SlideShowPro and SlideShowPro Director, we're also releasing a new pair of export scripts for Photoshop CS2 / CS3. What do they do? Well, they either take a bunch of images already open in Photoshop, or an external folder full of images, and spit out slideshow / thumbnail imagery plus an XML file. And if your images have metadata embedded in them, the metadata will be used when populating image captions.

After export, all you have to do is link to the XML file it created from SlideShowPro and you're done. It's a similar concept to our iPhoto plugin, in that it's designed for quick, one-time batch export of content to quickly build a slideshow, but these scripts are cross-platform, and work with either Photoshop CS2 or CS3.

Visit the new Extras to download a copy!

10.03.07 | SlideShowPro 1.6 and SlideShowPro Director 1.1 now available

Title says it all! SlideShowPro 1.6 and SlideShowPro Director 1.1 are now available for purchase / download. As noted before, these updates are free for all current users of both applications, and can be downloaded through your profile here at the site. Click on the "User login" link at the top of this page to enter the new Account Center.

Couple of important notes concerning these releases:

One, if you're upgrading to either product, be sure to read the update notes included with both. A lot has changed in both of these releases, so it's important that you take the necessary precautions to avoid problems.

Two, we've decided with these new releases to revise our product pricing. This will only affect new users, for both products are free updates for all existing users. That said, we're sure there are some people out there who were holding out on obtaining Director 1.1 (or additional installation keys) until the final version was available, so to be fair we're offering a special Director coupon code that'll allow existing users to purchase Director for the old price. To obtain the coupon code (which is available for the next two weeks), login to your profile, and if you purchased SlideShowPro before today you'll see the code at the top.

Thanks go out to all our beta testers and language translators who helped us make these releases even better.

10.01.07 | We're done

I'm pleased to announce that after numerous weeks of private / public beta testing, SlideShowPro 1.6 and SlideShowPro Director 1.1 are "final" and ready to roll. In tandem with the updates will be a new design for slideshowpro.net, updated screencast videos (which will now be available as a podcast), completely new documentation (all user guides rewritten), a new Photoshop CS2/CS3 script (will write more about this later), as well as updated demonstration files using the latest version of SlideShowPro.

We'll be sending out an email blast when everything is complete, which we're guesstimating to be either sometime tomorrow or Wednesday. We just have a few little things to take care of before then.

Thanks to all the beta testers who helped kick the tires!

08.27.07 | Release candidates now available

After a full summer of development, and a couple of weeks of private beta testing, we're finally able to publicly offer release candidates for both SlideShowPro 1.6 and SlideShowPro Director 1.1. Feature wise, a lot has changed in both products, but that's only half the story. We've also put a considerable amount of time into under-the-hood improvements. You know, the kind of stuff that never gets a fancy bullet point, but is there nonetheless.

With that, if you're feeling brave, you can now login to your user profile and download the first release candidate of both products (assuming you own both, of course). But before you do, please remember that both are still considered betas. We've spent a lot of time kicking the tires on both, and feel strong enough about their stability to offer both publicly. But we fully expect there to be issues that will require resolution before going final with both products.

SlideShowPro 1.6.0 RC1 installs as a separate extension in Extension Manager, so installing that is pretty straightforward. SlideShowPro Director 1.1 RC1 on the other hand, because we're dealing with server-side software, isn't so straightforward. If you download Director 1.1, refer to the sticky entries in the Director 1.1 Release Candidate forum before attempting to install / update your existing installation of Director, or install a new build.

New forums have been setup for both products as well. We encourage anyone who downloads and uses these releases to provide feedback through those channels.

Before I go, one last thing. Many thanks to our private beta testers who were kind enough to help kick the tires. Their time and feedback was more than helpful.

08.17.07 | Got video? Show us!

As demonstrated a week ago, the next update to SlideShowPro will support FLV playback. With that, we'll soon be updating this site with an example of SlideShowPro playing back video. That's where we could use your help. We could lift some movie trailers or other stuff that doesn't belong to us, but that's not nice. So we're turning to you! If you've got some video we could use for demonstration purposes, we'd be happy to give you credit and a conspicuous link back to your web site.

What kind of video are we looking for? Anything that's production quality, 16:9 aspect ratio, and around two or three minutes in length. It can't contain profanity, or anything offensive. We'd also prefer something non-promotional/advertorial (otherwise it might look like we're selling something else). Short films, music videos, experimental stuff, whatever you're willing to share!

If you'd like to help out, email us a URL to your masterwork(s). You can also shoot us an email if you have any questions.

Thanks in advance.

08.10.07 | Beta testers needed!

Would you like to help "kick the tires" of SlideShowPro 1.6 and Director 1.1? If so, jump over to our beta signup page and send us your email address. Please be sure to use the same email address that's part of your slideshowpro.net user profile so that we can verify your identity. The beta is open to any user who owns a license for either product, but we will stop asking for participants once we feel the room is full enough. So if you're interested, signup now, and make sure you read the Terms & Conditions first. Thanks!

08.08.07 | SlideShowPro 1.6.0 Beta video demo

Remember all those times when I said that "video wasn't supported" in SlideShowPro? And that loading FLVs was a bit of a hack? Well, not anymore. The next update to SlideShowPro, version 1.6.0, will support direct linking to FLVs from your XML file, just like you would an image. So all you have to do is create an FLV, link to it in the XML, or upload it to Director. Here's a little demonstration I whipped up using a trailer for the movie Ratatouille.

The demo doesn't show this (cause there's only one piece of content), but if SlideShowPro is set to "Auto" Display Mode when reaching a video, the video will temporarily switch Display Mode to "Manual," and after completion of the video will switch it back to "Auto" and progress to the next "image." This way you could line up more than one video, or mix videos with photos, and they'll playback in a loop.

As for the media player, it appears at the beginning of a video for 5 seconds, then slides out of the way. If you want it back, move your mouse down towards where it would normally be, and the player will appear. And like all other parameters in SlideShowPro, you'll have complete control over its color, text size, scale, etc. You can also turn off the navigation to just show video and the media player if you'd like.

And one last thing -- your videos will scale just the same as images. So if they don't fit exactly, you can proportionally scale them, downscale larger videos only, or scale and crop to fit.

So there you go! Back to work!

08.01.07 | SlideShowPro / Director update pricing and features

Alrighty everyone! After a considerable amount of work, here are a few highlights from the next versions of SlideShowPro and SlideShowPro Director.

SlideShowPro 1.6.0

• FLV playback support
• Integrated media player for handling video and audio
• Transition pause countdown animation
• Revised play/pause feedback element
• Ability to remove navigation bar from view when gallery is open
• Centered text in captions, album titles and descriptions
• More parameters to control the width, height and scale of thumbnail pop-up previews and album previews
• Ability to peruse links in the navigation without snapping back to current image in view (when in auto playback mode)
• Lots of visual improvements to live preview mode to make editing easier

SlideShowPro Director 1.1

• Complete user interface and design overhaul
• Vastly improved organization of content
• New on-demand image publishing system
• Image sharpening
• Ability to copy/move images between albums
• Ability to batch copy/move/delete images in any album
• Editable template system for assigning hyperlinks to images
• Automatic reading of IPTC caption metadata (if available) on image upload
• International language support
• One-click copying of XML file paths
• Interface themes (comes with two - black and white)
• User avatars
• Integrated server/installation information
• Ability to "remember me" when logging in

And now for the best feature of all! Both updates will be free of charge to all current users. Yes, free. Why? Because we're crazy. No, seriously, we could have easily up-ticked both to "2.0" and passed around the collection plate, but we don't roll like that. Consider it a "thank you" for your constructive feedback, word-of-mouth support, and for taking a chance with us in the first place.

All that said, there is one small caveat for a small percentage of Director users. SlideShowPro Director 1.1 will feature a new key authentication system (and revised license agreement) that will allow you to install the software at one domain, and one domain only. If you need to install Director under a second domain (or more), you will need to purchase a new license for each additional domain. Most people use Director at only one domain anyway, so this won't impact the majority of users. But everyone else will need to purchase additional licenses if they administer Director installations on multiple sites.

If you're one of the affected people, you may be thinking "W-T-F." But hear us out. The reason for moving to a system like this is to prevent the escalating issue of software piracy, license agreement abuse, and to ensure that everyone pays their fair share. We dislike these type of systems just as much as anyone else, but for the continued development and support of Director it's simply unavoidable.

Alright, so now that we have that out of the way, the next series of blog posts will highlight some of the aforementioned features, including a demo of SlideShowPro playing FLVs, and a thorough explanation of how Director's new "on-demand publishing system" works. We'll also be offering a private beta for both product updates, which we'll announce more information about in the coming days.

07.24.07 | Product update news to be announced soon

I know, I hate "coming soon" blog posts more than anyone, but a number of people have written in asking how things are going with the next version of SlideShowPro Director (which we've posted a couple of preview videos for). Our "to-do" list is getting slimmer, and the light is beginning to appear at the end of the tunnel. With that, we'll soon be offering a private beta to a limited group of Director users. More information about how you can be involved is forthcoming.

Additionally, there will be a private beta for the next version of SlideShowPro, which will also be updated to coincide with the Director update. There's actually a technical reason why the component will require updating alongside Director, which I'll talk more about soon. Trust me, it's pretty cool, and will completely change how both products are currently used together.

Sorry to be a tease, but I want everyone to know that we're busting our tails making both product updates the very best they can possibly be. More news coming soon.

07.11.07 | New "Filmstrip" demo posted

Contributed by SlideShowPro user Shannon Jensen, this cool filmstrip demo shows (in rather dramatic fashion) what you can do with the image data that SlideShowPro broadcasts. SlideShowPro is actually positioned out-of-view offstage, while everything else is constructed using ActionScript. The original FLA used to create this is on the SlideShowPro product download page (accessible through your profile page). Check it out.

07.02.07 | iPhone

Someone sent me an email yesterday asking why SlideShowPro doesn't work on something called an "iPhone." Perhaps you heard of it? Anyhoo - in case you're wondering, the answer is no. Why? Because the iPhone doesn't have a Flash Player. It does have the "real internet" according to Mister Jobs, but that comes without the ability to display a SWF. Man, I'm glad hardly anyone embeds those things! ;)

Sarcasm aside, half a million of those little buggers were moved over the weekend (I personally know almost 10 people who bought one on Friday), and that number will only grow over the next few months. Here's hoping we see a plug-in from Adobe sooner rather than later.

06.28.07 | External Navigation Demo updated

Silly me. When I recently refreshed the various demo FLAs available through the user area, I accidentally updated the "Custom Navigation Demo" with an older version which didn't include the looping-playback functionality I added a while back. The demo has been updated once again, and has changed names to "External Navigation Demo" to avoid confusion with swapping out navigation elements inside the component itself.

06.09.07 | Video demo ZIP updated

I neglected to save one of the FLAs in the Video Demo I posted yesterday as a Flash MX 2004 document (it was saved as Flash CS3, which was impossible to open in older versions of Flash), so I resaved the FLA and uploaded a new ZIP. Grab it again if you had trouble with it.

06.08.07 | Two new demonstration files

In addition to releasing a new update for SlideShowPro, I've also created two new demonstration files for users to check out.

The first is a refreshed video demo. After hearing about problems some SlideShowPro users were having when trying to load video into SlideShowPro, I decided to revisit the old "Sin City Demo" and update it to work with the latest version of SlideShowPro. This time around, the demo loads more than one video, and cross-fades the audio in addition to video as you click between numbers in the navigation. This should help give those "bleeding-edge" users an idea of how they can load video in their slideshows. You can preview the video demo here.

(Note: Technically, SlideShowPro was not designed for loading video, so it's still not a supported practice. But it can work.)

Second, by popular request, a new demo that shows how to call methods in SlideShowPro through HTML links. It requires a bit of Javascript to facilitate interaction between the SWF and the HTML document embedding it, but for intermediate web developers it should be fairly straightforward. The Customization Guide (available in the new 1.5.3 update) has a new chapter devoted to this topic.

To download the source files for both of these demos, login to your profile, click on the "SlideShowPro" link, and on the next page scroll down to see the demo download files.

SlideShowPro 1.5.3 Released

The latest version of SlideShowPro, version 1.5.3, is now available for everyone to download.

This is a bug-fix / usability update release that tackles a number of issues that popped up since 1.5.0 came out. To read up on what's new, check out the version history. To download the update, login to your profile and click on the "SlideShowPro" text link to go to the product download page.

05.17.07 | SlideShowPro 1.5.2 Released

A new version of SlideShowPro is available, version 1.5.2. This is a very small bug fix release that takes care of a problem with the "Open Gallery" Auto Finish Mode setting. The problem occurred if the gallery automatically opened when an album automatically ended, and a user attempted to load another album thereafter. The images simply wouldn't load. This release fixes that problem.

Download the update by logging into the user area.

05.12.07 | SlideShowPro 1.5.1 Released

Version 1.5.1 is out the door and available for download through the user area. This is a small bug patch release that fixes custom navigation button issues with the audio player. If you're not using the audio player, you can probably skip this release. But for anyone who's using 1.5.0 and the audio player, it's recommended you update.

For more specific information, see the version history.

05.08.07 | Skyscraper

A new example named "Skyscraper" has been added to the Examples section to illustrate how portrait photos can be used, as well as show off the new Quartz button pack. The example also uses the new "Navigation Background Alpha" parameter (introduced in version 1.5.0) to create a semi-transparent glass look that sits on top of the full frame photos.

04.16.07 | Photoshop CS2 Companion Script for SlideShowPro

Developer Matt Johnson has churned out a free script for Photoshop CS2 that quickly publishes slide show images and thumbnail images -- and the requisite XML file -- for SlideShowPro. It's really easy to use. Simply open the original images you want to use in your slide show, start the script from within Photoshop, and the script spits out all the content SlideShowPro needs. Not only that, but if a photo has XMP data embedded in it, the script will populate the XML file with that data as well. Check it out.

04.09.07 | Button pack preview: "Quartz"

As promised, here's a preview of the first button pack to be offered for sale as part of the forthcoming SlideShowPro update that'll introduce custom navigation icon functionality. The pack's name is "Quartz," and as you can see below, it will come with two different sizes of icons to work with -- a 24px square version for taller navigation bars (usually as a result of using thumbnails for the nav), and a 16px version for the slimmer ones. The icons are semi-transparent, and will work with just about any colored background.

In case you're curious, these screenshots are not Photoshopped. They show a beta build of SlideShowPro with the icons swapped out. More to come.

04.02.07 | Coming soon: custom navigation icons and button packs

One of the questions I've been repeatedly asked over the past couple of years is whether SlideShowPro's default navigational icons can be swapped out. Or more specifically, "is it possible to keep the numbered/thumbnail navigation area, but replace the other buttons with my own?" And every time I've replied no, no no.

Well, I decided to do something about it and am now working on the next update to SlideShowPro which will allow you to quickly and easily replace any of the icons with your own.

Not only that, but I'll soon be offering (for sale) a collection of "SlideShowPro Button Packs" to replace SlideShowPro's default icons. Each pack will contain two sizes for each icon -- 16 pixels square and 24 pixels square. The 16px versions look best with SlideShowPro's default numbered navigation, 24px with the thumbnail navigation. The icons will also be semi-transparent PNGs, so you'll still be able to change the color of your navigation bar and the button pack icons will change color as well.

I've got one button pack designed and ready to go (a preview of it is coming soon), and will work on a couple more before releasing everything publicly. Expect to see it all in a few weeks!

03.28.07 | "Wet Floor" with SlideShowPro

Last night a SlideShowPro user emailed me, saying he was having syncing problems with two instances of the component in the same movie. Thinking he had mistakenly added the second instance (for you should only need one) I told him to delete it. He replied that he couldn't delete the second one because it was used as a "reflection." Not sure was he was implying, I checked out his movie.

The second instance of SlideShowPro was below the first, flipped vertically, and with a pseudo gradient mask layered above it. In other words, he was (rather inventively) recreating the popular "wet floor" look you see all around the web these days. Despite its popularity, I had never thought of using SlideShowPro in this manner, nor had I seen anyone else attempt it. And it looked fantastic.

But how could the affect be achieved without two component instances? I thought about it for a few minutes, then remembered the BitmapData object in Flash 8. What if we only used one instance of SlideShowPro, and used ActionScript to create the effect?

After about an hour of tinkering, I got it working.

At first glance it looks like a Photoshop effect, but notice what happens when the images change or you rollover the thumbnails in the navigation. Ahhh yeah, a live reflection. This is accomplished by using an enterFrame event to render the bitmap with every frame tick.

If you're a SlideShowPro user and would like to see how it's done, login to your member account and click on the "SlideShowPro" text link under "Your product purchases". Scroll down on the next page and look for "Wet Floor." There's a link to the FLA there.

Have fun!

03.03.07 | SlideShowPro 1.4.5 Released

Version 1.4.5 of SlideShowPro is now available for registered users to download. This releases fixes three bugs (one of which was potentially nasty for those who repeatedly load a SWF containing SSP into another SWF), plus new public methods for navigating between gallery screens from outside the component. Check out the version history for more information, or login to your account to grab the update.

02.09.07 | SlideShowPro 1.4.4 Released

Version 1.4.3 introduced a nasty little bug with Auto Finish Mode. If SSP tried to auto-load a second album at the end of another album, the next album wouldn't load. Arrgh! But all appears to be well now, and 1.4.4 is available for download. This download is highly recommended for anyone currently using 1.4.3.

02.05.07 | SlideShowPro 1.4.3 Released

Version 1.4.3 of SlideShowPro has been pushed out into the wild. It's mostly bug fixes and little tweaks, but important stuff nonetheless. Check out what's new, or login to your account to download the update.

01.14.07 | SlideShowPro Director 1.0.9 Released

The next iteration of Director (1.0.9) is now available for download.

The changes are mostly bug fixes related to the new architecture introduced in 1.0.8. However, there is one notable addition that might be of interest to those who have been waiting to make the jump to Director for slide show management. Director now includes an import utility that can take your XML and images from an existing slide show and import them right into Director. Once imported, all you have to do is modify the XML File Path in Flash to point to Director's data feed. To see how it works, check out the screencast or consult the updated Director user guide.

Another helpful new feature is a built in password reminder that will email you your login credentials if you have forgotten them. Consult the changelog for a full rundown of the changes.

12.17.06 | User Guide update

Published a small update to SlideShowPro's User Guide this morning. The "Display your slide show online" chapter has been completely rewritten to hopefully make the process of embedding SWFs in HTML documents not published by Flash a little easier. The 1.4.2 download has been updated, but you can also download the guide directly from here.

11.18.06 | SlideShowPro 1.4.1 Released

After numerous beta releases, SlideShowPro 1.4.1 is good to go.

This may be the biggest update ever released for SlideShowPro. I decided a while back to use 1.4.1 as an opportunity to cram in as much new stuff in as I possibly could, and I think the updated version history reflects that.

Highlights include new image transitions, a new inline caption style, the ability to use images for albums (a popular 'hack' in earlier versions), new "crop to fit" image scaling option (so images are always flush, regardless of size), plus a couple of feedback fields in the component's live preview state that show the pixel dimensions of both albums and the photo area (which will make cropping photos to match SSP much, much easier).

In the coming weeks I plan on developing new screencast tutorials that explain the new functionality, as well as demos that show what's possible.

To download 1.4.1, login to your member profile and click on the "SlideShowPro" text link under "Your product purchases." The download link is on the next page.

A lot has changed in this release, so if you find issues not discovered during the extensive beta release process, drop me an email.

Note: One issue from the beta testing that hasn't gone away is the updating of existing components in FLAs. Sometimes it works perfectly, other times not. It appears that as the size and complexity of SSP has grown that Flash doesn't always update older FLAs correctly. I'm looking into the issue to see if anything can be done about it. In the meantime, if your FLA doesn't update correctly, you'll need to create a new FLA with a new instance of SSP.

11.15.06 | SlideShowPro 1.4.1b6 Released