Dear all, Welcome to the May 2008 newsletter, our regular update on developments at Third Light and news about changes and improvements made to the IMS product. This month, we will be releasing a new login page template, Atom feed options for IMS Events and extra bulk keywording tools. Features mentioned below will be released on Monday 12 May 2008. Please follow the instructions at the end of this email if you prefer not to receive our newsletters. Hints and Tips page To provide short examples on using selected features of IMS, we run a Hints and Tips page, which you can visit here: http://www.thirdlight.com/ims/tips Is there a particular topic you would like us to cover? Please drop a note to support@thirdlight.com. We would be pleased to hear from you. Bulk Keyword Editing When editing keywords in bulk, it is sometimes helpful to be able to replace one keyword with another, or selectively delete old keywords that have been used widely, and must all be changed. For example, if a product is re-branded and sold under a new name, this can save much effort. IMS now offers several new options when bulk editing pictures to help with these requirements. When editing more than one image, IMS offers the following choice of actions for Captions and Keywords: Don't change Append - add to the existing text Replace - replace the existing text Search & Replace - search for existing words and replace them with new text [NEW] Search & Delete - search for existing words and delete them [NEW] The multi-editor feature is accessed from any thumbnail page (eg. albums, Smart Folders, search results, Collections) by using the checkboxes along side the thumbnails, and then clicking on the 'Edit' button in the toolbox above the thumbnails. Further details are included in the IMS User Guide. Signature Photos & Login page Templates The default login screen provided by IMS can be customised in various ways, for example by switching off buttons or by adding a table of Events. These features are controlled on the Configuration -> Site Options -> Front Page Options page. From 12 May, a new default template will be used in newly created themes, which will offer a more attractive layout that takes into account the different possibilities that can be achieved using the Front Page Options settings. Any new theme created after 12 May will automatically pick up the latest templates and use this enhanced login page. Secondly, we have added a function which allows highlighted images to appear on the front page, in a cross-fading slideshow. This is known as the 'Signature Photos' view, and is designed to allow promotion of your best images, as well as making the login screen more visually appealing. The choice of images used as Signature Photos is defined using Collections, and then selected from the Configuration -> Site Options - > Front Page Options menu. Simply create a Collection of photos (manual section 12) and then select the new Collection as your Signature Photos Collection, next to the pull-down menu "Show Signature Photos on front page". This month's Third Light Hints and Tips page will describe this function in further detail. Atom Feeds from Events Atom Feeds (or RSS feeds) provide the ability to syndicate content, or to "push" updates on new photos to clients. For example, by having a Smart Folder that contains your latest photographs and sharing it using a Feed, it is possible to use IMS to actively promote images to your clients, or to incorporate the photos into an intranet or third party web site. From 12 May, IMS Events will support Atom feeds. If enabled by an administrator, the familiar feed icon (an orange radar symbol) will be displayed on the 'Manage Events' page, allowing the URL for the feed to be copied and pasted conveniently to emails or other web sites. If your site uses the latest templates (see above, 'Signature Photos and Login page Templates') then the feed icon will also appear next to your Events on the front page of your IMS site. To enable an Atom feed for an Event, open the Users & Events -> Manage Events menu and click on the Event in question. On the first page of options, check the box labelled "Provide feed for this Event". Miscellaneous Changes The following changes are live now. 1) A wide range of performance upgrades have been made to the upload services in IMS, to speed up the process of adding new pictures (eg. time required to generate thumbnails and newly created database records). At peak times, these changes will be particularly noticeable. 2) An intermittent problem causing a loss of search results from a user's session has been resolved. 3) Viewing non-image assets (such as videos) will now correctly indicate the type of asset in the non-admin pages of IMS. In the Download Wizard, IMS will show the size of the proposed output file in the non-admin pages as well as the admin pages. 4) The IMS Google Analytics module now uses the latest tracking code (referred to as 'ga.js' by Google). 5) IMS Appliances now ship with experimental support for MPEG 4 video, including H263 codecs. Web Design Assistance As we focus on the technology and software behind IMS, we are unable to provide help with web design and branding issues. This is especially true of customised templates. If you need help implementing a particular look and feel, then we recommend making contact with Siftware, our web design partners, who will be able to help you. For more details and prices, please see: http://www.siftware.co.uk/services/ims-integration/ Feedback Every feature of IMS is based on your ideas and feedback. We keep a thorough record of all feedback and aim to implement the features that are most requested as part of our development plans. Simply email features@thirdlight.com to send us your comments. For support questions, please use the Help menu support tool, as this allows us to track your queries and answer questions more efficiently. With regards, Third Light Ltd. http://www.thirdlight.com/