Xequte October Newsletter: Updates for DVD PixPlay and MailList King

23 October 2006

 

In this Issue:

  • DVD PixPlay V3.04 Released
  • MailList King V6.13 Released
  • Freeware Spotlight: SiteUp
  • Program Tips
  • Removing yourself from this List

 

  

Dear Xequte Software User,

 

No big news this month, just two small updates for DVD PixPlay and MailList King.  

 

From the "It never rains, but it pours" department, we had our mail system go down late last week, just before we left for a weekend away.  Upon our return, as we were rebuilding the system, we learned that technical issues had hit the discussion forum on our web site and we would need to restore it from back up.  So if you are waiting for a response to an email you have sent us, please allow us a few days to catch up.

 

Our web forum is back in commission so please drop by to discuss your software with us and other users:

 

www.xequte.com/userforum/

 

 

 

Regards

 

Nigel Cross

Xequte Software

nigel@xequte.com

www.xequte.com

 

 

P.S.  My wife made me scrap the original content of this message because she says marketing is boring.  It is available at: Marketing Research vs. Japanese Soft Drink Distributors

 

 

 

* DVD PixPlay V3.04 Released

 

DVD PixPlay allows you to create slideshow discs from your digital photos and videos for playback on DVD players and computers.  V3.04 adds styling improvements and Windows Vista compatibility.

 

Here is a top ten list of changes since last month:

 

1. Improved styling of dialogs within the application to more closely match current Windows style

2. Frame Captions now include a solid background color option

3. Various changes required for compatibility with Windows Vista

4. Added right-click menu to the Add Images dialog for quick access to common functions

5. Adobe Photoshop PSD images (single and multi-layer) are now supported

6. Now the Edit Text/Title Page dialog can be resized to the dimensions of the output format

7. Added third preview quality option to speed up generation of images with text

8. Improved the hint displayed when hovering over thumbnails, including displaying the starting time of the frame

9. Various improvements to the Add Images dialog including double-clicking of images to quickly add them to the project

10. Optimized loading of large images in the Edit Text dialog

 

Complete Change List:  http://www.xequte.com/pixplay/changes.html

 

More info and download:  http://www.xequte.com/pixplay/

 

(Simply install the new version over your old one.  No new key is required if you are already using v3.*).

 

Upgrades:  http://www.xequte.com/pixplay/upgrade.html

 

 

 

* MailList King V6.13 Released

 

MailList King allows you to manage and communicate with a mailing list from your own computer.  V6.13 adds styling improvements and Windows Vista compatibility.

 

Here is a top ten list of changes since last month:

 

1. Updated Find dialog to make it much easier to use and more effective when performing partial text searches

2. Improved styling of application to more closely match current Windows style

3. Various changes to make it compatible with Windows Vista

4. Now can specify an email address to which all messages in a folder are forwarded to (using automated folder processing tasks)

5. Right-click menu to all grids in the history dialog

6. Added a Print function to the Log Message dialog

7. Now always returns the SMTP address when processing messages on a Microsoft Exchange network

8. New option: Always check spelling before sending

9. Can now specify the Helo name for the SMTP Server (that is announced to destination mail servers when connecting)

10. In History dialog, Errors tab, removal errors can be added to the removed list

 

Complete Change List: http://www.xequte.com/maillistking/changes.html

 

 

Evaluations can be downloaded from: http://www.xequte.com/maillistking/download.html

 

Registered Users: An updated download link will be sent to you over the next 24 hours.  If you do not receive the link, please complete the following form:

 

http://www.xequte.com/support/serial/

 

 

 

* Freeware Spotlight: SiteUp, Web Site Availability Monitoring Software

 

SiteUp monitors your web sites and warns you when they become unreachable so you can quickly reboot the server or abuse your IT team.

 

More info and download:  http://www.xequte.com/other/

 

 

 

* Program Tips

 

- DVD PixPlay: Frame Captions and Adding Text to Frames

 

There are two ways to add text to your frames in DVD PixPlay:

 

Frame Captions: If you select Edit>Slideshow Properties and choose the Frame Captions tab, you can choose the custom text option.  This adds a small text box to the bottom right of the main text where you can quickly specify text for the frame.  If you have embedded descriptions in your images then DVD PixPlay will use that text automatically.

 

Note: With the latest version you can now specify a solid background color for your frame captions under Edit>Slideshow, Frame Captions tab.

 

Add Text:  If you need more control (different fonts and positioning for each frame) you can click the Add Text button on the toolbar.  This provides complete control over the text layout and also allows you to add clipart and shapes to your image.

 

 

- MailList King: Using the New Find Dialog

 

When you need to quickly find an address (or a personal or company name) you can select Edit>Find Member.  With the latest release the "Partial Search" function is much more powerful, allowing you to find text that appears anywhere within the search field.  However this option is slower, so specify the entire search text when possible.

 

When MLK finds the first member to match your search it will show their member record.

 

If you want to display all matching records (e.g. to send to all addresses of the same company), you should select the "Filter Mailing List" tab and perform your search there.

 

 

- Smart Pix/MegaView: Using Motion Effects to Add Interest to your Slideshows

 

V9 adds another weapon to your slideshow arsenal; Motion Effects.  Motion effects add excitement to your slideshows by making static images appear as if they are moving.  You can enable motion effects by selecting File>Options, Slideshow tab and turning on the relevant option (the option is also available on the slideshow toolbar).

 

 

- Diji Album: Adding a Button to Pause the Slideshow

 

If you create image display albums set to automatically play as full-screen slideshows, you might be wondering how you can offer users the ability to pause the playback at a particular image.  You can do this by inserting a slideshow toggle button using Insert>Button on the menu.

 

 

- Amaze: Displaying images downloaded from the Internet

 

If you pair Amaze with "Picture of the Day" you can enhance your screen saver with images downloaded from the many great "Image of the Day" sites available on the Internet.  To enable this, download and install POTD from www.xequte.com/other/  Then run it and check the option "Display images as a screen saver"