|
In this Issue:
Dear Xequte Software User,
Wow nearly two months into the new year and no newsletter. This can only mean one of two things: we've been sunbathing on the white sands of Ko Samui, sipping coconut juice and enjoying $2 massages, or we're hard at work on a major upgrade. Well, I'd like to say it was the former, but my lily-white legs betray the truth. We're holed up, hard at work, beating a new release of DVD PixPlay into shape.
I don't want to give much away just yet, let's just say it will include our single most requested feature. Yes, that one. I think you're going to like it :-)
It won't be ready for another couple more months, but it will be a free upgrade to all purchasers in 2008 (and some in 2007). So you can purchase now and get the upgrade for free.
Regards
Nigel Cross Xequte Software nigel@xequte.com
* MailList King V7.02 Released
MailList King allows you to manage and communicate with a mailing list from your own computer.
We have now released v7.02 to address some minor issues. The update is recommended for all v7 users.
Here are the top 5 improvements in v7.02:
Complete Change List: http://www.xequte.com/maillistking/changes.html#702
More Info and Evaluation download: http://www.xequte.com/maillistking/download.html
Registered Users: If you have not been emailed your download link please complete the following form:
http://www.xequte.com/support/serial/
* Plug-Ins for DVD PixPlay
DVD PixPlay allows you to create slideshow discs from your digital photos and videos for playback on DVD players and computers.
If you are an existing PixPlay user you will undoubtedly know about our Exporting Plug-In Pack, which is required to burn slideshows in DVD or Images format.
However you may not know about the following Plug-Ins:
Improves support for RAW camera formats and adds many new formats, such as Apple Pict (*.pict), Camera Digital Negative (*.dng) and JBIG.
A selection of MP3 files that can be used as background music in your slideshows
150 clip art files that you can use in Title Pages or add to your images
An Adobe Acrobat version of the Help file suitable for printing
More info and download: http://www.xequte.com/pixplay/plugins.html
* Plug: Rental Property Manager v2
Our friends over at Source IT have released a new version of their product, Rental Property Manager.
RPM has been designed by a property manager as a complete solution for management of your rental properties, tenants and related financial transactions. It is widely used by private property investors and real estate professionals.
V2 significantly enhances the user interface to make it much easier to use and includes many new features, such as tenant and property photos and a late fees calculator.
More Info and download: http://sourceitsoftware.com/rpm/
Disclosure: This is a plug for a friend, we are not formally associated with Source IT, nor do we make any money from the sale of RPM
* Program Tips
- DVD PixPlay: Quickly Reordering your Slideshow
For quickest reordering of the images in your slideshow, avoid the promote/demote buttons on the toolbar in favor of drag/drop. Simply select the images (you can use the Ctrl or Shift key to select multiple) then click the mouse on your selection and drag them to your desired destination.
You can also "cut" a selection of images using Ctrl+X, and "Paste" them to a new location using Ctrl+V.
- MailList King: Validating Email Addresses
Email Validation is one of those mailing list functions that is always touted as a feature but really is of little value. Most mail servers these days reject any attempts at validating an email address (particular from a local source) so the report you receive is largely unreliable. The reliable way to validate your addresses is just to send to your mailing list and then let MLK process the bounces and automatically remove the addresses that bounce too often (View>Options, Delivery Failure).
However I would like to say that V7 does in include a validation method that actually works. It only validates the domain. This means that it is very reliable (we can reliably test to know that hotmail.com exists and votmail.com does not) and it also fast (once we know that hotmail.com exists, we don't need to check it again).
To use the feature select List>Validate Email Addresses and choose "Domain Validation"
- Smart Pix Manager: Adding Custom Fields to your Database
You can store informational tags for each of your image and multimedia files using the custom fields functionality. This allows you to add extra fields to the database to match your own requirements, for example with digital camera images you might want to add fields for "Location", "Subject", etc.
You can view Custom Fields by selecting the relevant tab under File > File Information. To add a new field click the "Add Field" button and specify the field name. The new field(s) will be displayed in the grid and you can click in the right-hand box to modify the test for that field.
You can search your custom fields by selecting the database tab in the main window, choosing the text search option and selecting Custom Fields as your search location.
- MegaView (Also in Smart Pix Manager): Automatically Rotating Acquired Images
Mid to High-end Digital cameras record the orientation of the camera when a photo is taken within the data fields of the image. Smart Pix and MegaView can use this information to rotate all of the images acquired from your digital camera to the correct display angle. To automatically rotate a set of images select them all (Shift+Mouse click or Ctrl+A, for example) and then choose Image > Other Editing > "Automatically Rotate Image" from the menu
- Amaze: Shortcut Keys
You can quickly change the options or images that Amaze is using just by clicking C to display the configuration dialog while the screen saver is running. You can also advance or reverse the slideshow using the cursor keys, or pause it by clicking P. |