History of
Smart Pix Manager
Photo and Multimedia Management Software

v8.0 Top 20 Enhancements:
 
1. Can now create auto-playing slideshow CD's and DVD's with complete support for background music, captions and transition effects
2. Added 130 new transition effects for image slideshows. Transition effects can now be previewed as they are selected
3. Complete overhaul of batch conversion function including complete control over the output format settings and better options for specifying the output filename
4. New "Ratings" toolbar allows you to rank your images and multimedia. The file display can be sorted and filtered by ratings
5. Much improved thumbnail display with background loading so the UI is not held up, continuous update while scrolling and new options for display file information (size, date, dimensions)
6. New Large Thumbnails file display option allows you to scroll through all images at a viewable size
7. New MP3 and WMA batch renaming function automatically names files based on their embedded music fields
8. New function to add photo frames to your images
9. Much faster addition of keywords, with support for cutting, copying and pasting of keywords and dragging of keywords onto files
10. Now supports raw image files from popular cameras: Canon, Sony, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus, Minolta, etc.
11. New image formats: XJPEG Images (128bit AES Encrypted JPEG format) and Dicom Medical Imaging Format
12. Many improvements to the styling of the UI, including XP themed controls throughout the application
13. File Creation and Modified Date have now been separated into two sortable columns
14. Added "Viewed Count" column so you can quickly access your favorite images
15. Improved control of image captions during a slideshow, including font styling and the display of digital camera data
16. New automatic keyword option adds common digital camera fields (camera model, exposure time, etc) as keywords
17. Improved HTML output when generating web page indexes, including buttons to navigate between images in pop-up display pages
18. Much faster database handling (particularly with large databases) with significant improvements to thumbnail retrieval, searching and keyword processing speed
19. Improved full details file display with automatic resizing of columns to fit and a new menu item for quick selection of columns for display
20. New "Search for Song Lyrics" function uses the embedded music fields to return the lyrics for the current song
 

Complete Change List:
 

Added: Now can drop a folder onto the favorites list to add all the images it contains
Added: Now when selecting a favorites file from the recent list it shows the number of images in each file
Added: New command in slideshow taskbar menu: "Add to Favorites and Skip"
Added: Better control over output folder with new dated folder when acquiring images from cameras
Changed: Now when displaying "Files without Keywords" it also shows files that ONLY have automatic keywords assigned to them
Changed: Updated the example files, keywords and descriptions provided in a sample database
Changed: Now multiple database support is available even in the unregistered version
Changed: Increased maximum files in unregistered version to 8000
Changed: Now uses an external table to store db thumbnails to deliver much faster thumbnail retrieval and display
Added: More control over the quality and format of the thumbnails
Added: Preloading of images now uses another thread
Added: Now displays progress when reading many sub-folders and allows processing to be cancelled
Added: No longer need to select the image to make a red eye
Added: Can now specify the function of the mouse wheel, default is to zoom the image
Added: New print quality outputs at Maximum DPI
Added: Now can choose not output the path of a filename when exporting or printing a file list
Added: Now when a video completes display the size and length are displayed
Added: Now can click the zoom display to toggle between 100% zoom and shrunk to fit
Added: Now Keyword and Quick Move fill to size of dock
Changed: Default for dockable flyover tools is enabled
Changed: Help file now in HTMLHelp format
Added: Support for EXIF data in RAW files
Removed: High quality option when batch converting (now always outputs at highest quality)
Fixed: Can't change some important GIF properties when creating animated GIF's
Fixed: May get error when click advanced button in send dialog
Fixed: May get Load error messages when using false extensions
Removed: No longer use external DLL for red eye removal
Fixed: Printer dialog has poor layout
Added: Many internal improvements
Changed: Multimedia load errors are no longer displayed in a message box
Changed: More informative error messages for some common multimedia errors
Fixed: Slideshow icon in system tray may show as paused after manually advance
Changed: Mode hints only shown over tabs not controls
Fixed: Read-Only status may be reset
Fixed: If zip support is turned on may not display the correct file launched from windows
Changed: No longer resets your folder to the original position after a drag drop
Changed: Now less trigger happy when moving/dragging keywords in the keyword toolbar
Fixed: May erroneously start dragging a keyword
Changed: Some wording related to adding/removing of keywords
Changed: Updated splash screens
Added: Now remembers the default margins in the print dialog
Fixed: Button position issues in add keywords dialog on large font systems
Fixed: Main window does not come to front after a DB update
Fixed: Description or image changes may not be saved when restart a new search with unsaved changes
Changed: No longer displays the color depth of images
Added: Can now display large thumbnails in the add keywords dialog
Fixed: spm_cust.txt not copied when move/copy database
Fixed: In HTML description pages lines on multiple lines may not have a <BR> line break added
Changed: Simpler layout under the Help menu
Changed: Wording of buttons in Database filter
Fixed: When printing posters the page count displayed in progress may be wrong
Changed: Improved bordering when displaying text files
Changed: No longer can drag items between groups in the keyword search box
Changed: No longer displays usage tips while the getting started dialog is visible
Added: Now when upgrading it automatically adds support for new image types
Fixed: Background around selected icon not consistent in filenames display mode
Fixed: Active icon not highlighted in filenames display mode
Fixed: In simplified UI mode there is not an easy way to revert to normal cursor
Removed: Never shows the group panel in simplified UI mode
Fixed: Group panel may default to on
Fixed: After editing an image that is stored within the database the thumbnail may not be updated
Fixed: If move/rename a folder it may not update the referenced database folder if it uses the wildcard character (%)
Fixed: Errors when drag dropping the currently selected folder
Added: Now adds a default background music file if available (if Plug in pack has been installed)
Added: Play button in background music dialog to allow you to preview the current sound file
Added: Better guessing about choice to act on all or selected files
Fixed: Some issues with the internet toolbar not having text, not being typeable, etc.
Added: Advice to use DVD PixPlay for more full featured slideshow disks (with download link)
Fixed: Can't choose just the selection when using Export File List
Fixed: May prompt to remove sorting from Favorites even when not necessary
Fixed: May not save the default database path to the recent database list
Changed: Now disable the read only option for the database if it is read-only because it is in a read only folder
Changed: Now puts all example files in user data folder
Changed: if folder and file keywords are enabled they are not used for example files
Fixed: Improved display of the text over images during a slideshow
Added: Now remembers the height of the quick keyword dialog
Added: New keyword button to the quick keyword dialog
Changed: New keyword shortcut is now Alt+Shift+K
Added: Quick add keyword dialog is Alt+K
Added: Can now nudge the selection in the crop dialog using the Cursor or Shift+Cursor keys
Fixed: Some issues when cropping images that are stored in the DB
Added: Now displays file date in status bar
Added: Now when show subfolders option is selected can sort by the path
Fixed: When change the DB status of a file in folders mode, may not display the new mode until the folder is refreshed
Fixed: When go into full screen, slideshow captions may initially be in the wrong position
Changed: Register request now shown from first running
Added: Now can sort by the date an entry was added to the database
Fixed: Displayed file dimensions may not be refreshed after editing an image
Changed: Thumb grid is not repainted during multiple file operations
Changed: Text insertion function now uses the EXIF or creation date
Changed: Database date field is now the modified date
Changed: Increased default thumbnail disk cache size
Fixed: May get error navigating to root paths using the back/forward buttons
Added: Can now manually type the keywords you want to search for
Changed: Order of main menu
Removed: Warning when try to display a folder and sub-folders that has many folders
Changed: Now only beeps once per keyword addition action (not once per keyword)
Fixed: Shrink and Stretch items in zoom popup menu may not be checked to reflect the current status
Fixed: Weird selection issue when in database mode and db is not cached
Changed: Recent folders list now defaults to the My Pictures Folder
Fixed: Clicking Browse in the quick links area of the move dialog, displays an error
Added: Now uses spin controls for setting the size of thumbnails with a "preview size" button
Changed: Tightened up the wording used throughout the application
Added: Now when processing duplicates it displays the current file position in the title bar
Fixed: May add system and/or hidden files to your database even if these options are disabled
Fixed: Error that can occur when running a multishow very quickly
Changed: No longer preloads images during a slideshow
Fixed: Some problems changing from Read Only to normal databases
Changed: Now home page links in created web page use target _top or _blank
Fixed: Some issues with image preloading
Fixed: Some minor issues with thumbnailing
Fixed: Lets you proceed through the create slideshow wizard without downloading the viewer
Fixed: Weird issue when prompting for XJPEG passwords
Fixed: Zoom toolbar display shown in hide all mode
Fixed: Problems filtering a search by viewed date
Changed: No longer mark a file as viewed when it a display by default
Added: Sorting by viewed count and rating
Removed: Warning when adding an item to the database that has already been inserted
Fixed: Plug-In pack installs files to wrong folder
Fixed: Plug-In pack does not write Viewer Path to registry
Fixed: Only one file in slideshow when create a slideshow CD
Fixed: When group some columns in Full Details Display mode, group text may be odd
Fixed: Error message if click on the header of a grouped column
Fixed: Add Folder to DB function may not process sub-folders
Fixed: Images may not appear to change during a slideshow
Changed: Layout of the Thumbnail pane of Options
Added: Changed layout of the image save filter
Changed: Better error message when a corrupt database is loaded at start up
Changed: No longer requires you to close Smart Pix if a database cannot be loaded
Added: Remembers your default resize dimensions
Added: Now when using the Add Files Wizard it processes any folder with "Pictures" or "Photos" in the name the same as the My Pictures folder
Added: No longer warns when changing the extension of like formats
Removed: Random File button
Changed: Updated help file for new release
Added: New Tips
Changed: Some button glyphs
Added: Help button to filter dialog
Fixed: When create a copy of a file, the copy does not show until the folder is refreshed
Changed: Added new Pop up Tips, removed some old ones and
Added: Progress display now shows the current folder # of the total we are processing
Fixed: Status bar Progress flashes excessively when adding files from folders
Fixed: When create a new directory with the Open Directory Dialog it is not returned as the selection
Added: Now can disable automatic refresh of the folder tree
Added: New option to dynamically choose the best wheel function based on the cursor position
Changed: Now always maintains a DB thumbnail for files stored in the database
Added: Now always checks that the size of the stored db thumb matches the current display dimensions
Added: Now when changing the database thumbnails it clears the cache
Fixed: Wrong filename may show for files when printing
Fixed: May get "Printing in Progress" errors when trying to print posters
Fixed: When printing posters your selected page orientation is ignored
Fixed: Slow refresh of directory tree on network drives
Changed: An added check of the internal structure of the serial number
Added: New Search for Song Lyrics function
Added: SPM now much better at displaying animated GIF's
Changed: Much faster when adding/removing multiple keywords and/or to/from multiple files
Changed: Faster searching due to optimized SQL
Changed: Doubled maximum size of files stored _within_ the database itself to 4GB
Changed: Updated database format for better speed and efficiency
Added: Menu item to control the visibility of file columns
Added: New option for full file details display: automatically resize columns to fit
Added: Now displays the file count when group columns in Full Details Display mode
Added: Much improved layout to the batch conversion dialog
Added: Much better method for specifying the output filename when batch converting
Added: Now when batch converting can control all the settings related to the output format in more detail
Changed: Increased default size of thumbnails
Added: Now displays the file date on the small thumbs file mode
Changed: Styling improvements for thumbnails
Changed: Icons are now displayed at full thumbnail size
Added: Now thumbnails are loaded in a separate thread so the UI isn't held up
Added: Content of thumbnail grid now updates as scrollbar is dragged
Added: Full file details display option for thumbnails mode
Added: New thumbnail display option: very large thumbnails
Added: Can now drag keywords and drop them onto files
Added: Can now copy/paste keywords to/from the clipboard
Added: XP themed controls throughout application
Added: Now can control what text is displayed at the top and bottom of the image during a slideshow
Added: New option to automatically add digital camera fields as keywords
Added: Many improvements to the layout and styling of dialogs
Added: Now can export auto-playing slideshow CDs and DVD's
Added: 130 new transition effects
Added: Now allows you to preview each transition effect as you select it
Added: Support for raw image files from cameras: Canon, Sony, Nikon, Pentax, Olympus, Minolta, etc.
Added: Can now add realistic picture frames to your images
Added: New batch renaming tool for MP3 and WMA files, uses the embedded music fields to give them a consistent name
Added: Support for XJPEG 128bit AES Encrypted JPEG format
Added: Can now display digital camera field data (camera and exposure) during a slideshow
Added: Can now specify the font for the text displayed over images during a slideshow
Added: Now have separate Creation Date and Modified Date columns (and sorting)
Added: New fields: Rating and Viewed Count
Added: Ratings Toolbar
Added: Ratings option to right click menu
Added: Two new columns, rating and Viewed Count
Added: Rating item to file information dialog
Added: New option to filter your database by rating
Removed: Processing completed confirmation after batch conversion
Added: When creating HTML display pages back/forward buttons are now added to image display pages
Added: Support for Dicom Medical Imaging Format (MegaView only)

 
v8.01 Modifications
 

Added: Info dialog when no duplicate files are found during a search
Fixed: No longer restarts playing if the multimedia file was paused and you change its position
Fixed: Sometimes FF and Rewind buttons do not work for multimedia
Changed: Some internal changes
Fixed: Wrong Skin used for zoom and ratings toolbar
Added: New batch conversion option to reset the exif and other text data in an image
Changed: No longer collapses panels in the batch conversion dialog unless there is insufficient space to show them
Fixed: Monochrome images may not print correctly
Fixed: Memory leak when loading photoshop files
Fixed: Problems displaying Olympus E1 raw files
Fixed: On some systems glyphs in status bar are not transparent
Fixed: Buttons truncated in MegaView move dialog
Fixed: Clicking the Other option under the move/copy menu may cause prompt to create an other folder
Changed: Now displays new files as "Unrated" in the right click menu rather than 2.5 Stars
Fixed: Show Error thumbnails setting may not be remembered
Added: Support for Kodak raw files (*.dcr)
Changed: Default for dynamic folder refresh is off
Changed: Now requires a selection before performing a redeye (a la v7.*)
Added: Now shows Created, Modified and EXIF (Photo Taken) date in File Information dialog
Fixed: Clicking edit for files stored in the database may not have any effect
Fixed: When no database is open get errors when changing folders/modes
Fixed: Some issues when opening a database and not specifying a valid password
Changed: During a slideshow it always loads images in the background
Added: Now when quick clicking the folder tree focus is returned to the file grid
Fixed: Some issues with particular registration addresses
Fixed: Rating title displayed even if hide option is set
Fixed: Confused working in the DB filter dialog
Added: Now when batch converting and using a numbered filename it adds zero prefixes to match the number of files
Added: Can use Ctrl+Shift to make multiple contiguous selections
Added: New function to export your descriptions to the IPTC fields of selected files
Added: New option to store descriptions in the IPTC fields of JPEG images

 
v8.02 Modifications
 

Fixed: Memory problems reading EXIF fields of some JPEG images
Fixed: Clicking Browse... in Quick Move dialog may not display browse dialog
Added: Now when exporting to DVD PixPlay it also exports the descriptions
Added: Can now set the file creation date and the database date field to the Photo Taken date for JPEG images
Added: New option to set the database file date to the EXIF Photo Taken date
Changed: Now when setting the date for a file it modifies the created, modified and accessed dates

 
v8.03 Modifications
 

Added: When doing a text search of keywords can now specify the * wildcard at the end of sought items (e.g, KEY* to find keyword and keyboard)
Changed: Batch rename example now shows date of current file rather than date now
Fixed: If add an unsupported file format when use Add Files to Database wizard you are still displayed a warning
Added: New slideshow exporting option to stretch small images to the size of the screen
Fixed: Slideshows created may not use your specified transition duration
Fixed: When moving folders may get warning about folder not being found
Fixed: Warning if specify no text at the bottom of the image during slideshow
Changed: Top text of a slideshow now also wraps
Fixed: May not be able to acquire images via Twain
Fixed: When reselecting the current path may get an erroneous error message
Changed: No longer shows lines in folder trees
Fixed: Line breaks may be added to MegaView descriptions at word wrap position
Added: HTML generator now outputs application version
Fixed: Some changes to address A/V errors on closure
Added: Now displays size of each cache option in MB
Added: Can now specify that disk cache should be deleted on closure
Added: New disk cache size options
Fixed: May be slow when determining the next transition to use
Fixed: May get warning of missing background when creating HTML of "Simple" style
Changed: Improved styling of application icons
Fixed: When use Windows Explorer to load thumbs may return as gray scale
Fixed: Selecting File > New > Text Document may not work
Fixed: When group columns by storage method, group heading does not display correctly
Changed: Sound files show length in status bar
Fixed: May display incorrect video size in status bar
Fixed: Slow at calculating the dimensions for images
Added: Now displays the dimensions/length of video and sound files in the dimensions column
Added: Now displays the length of text files in the dimensions column
Fixed: Description may not be saved if adding a new file to database by assigning a rating
Fixed: May not recognize that a file has been added to the database until folder is refreshed
Changed: Fast loading now enabled by default

 
v8.04 Modifications
 

Added: Frame preview tool now supports very large video files
Added: Now can preview the frames of all supported video formats
Added: Can now specify a particular video frame to display
Changed: Shorter date displayed in status bar
Fixed: Ampersands displayed as underlines in some text controls
Fixed: Doesn't show transient write errors on shared databases
Fixed: When loading images into multi-page TIFFs or animated GIFs the parameters for the added file are cleared
Added: Now displays a warning when a frame is not selected in the multi-page tiff or animated gif editor
Added support 25 new formats (after downloading free plug-in): Dicom Medical Imaging Format (*.dcm, *.dicom), Alias Wavefront RLE (*.pix), Apple Pict (*.pict), AVS (*.avs), Camera Digital Negative (*.dng), FITS (*.fits), FlashPix (*.fpx), Gimp Image (*.xcf), Graphviz DOT (*.dot), HDF (*.hdf), HP PCL Printer Image (*.pcl), JBIG (*.jbig, *.jbg, *.bie), Khoros VIFF (*.viff), Kodak Cineon (*.cin), Magick (*.miff), Matlab (*.mat), MTV Raytracing Image (*.mtv), Palm Pixmap (*.palm), Scalable Vector Graphic (*.svg), Seattle File Works (*.pwp), SMTPE DPX (*.dpx), Sun Rasterfile (*.sun), Vicar Rasterfile (*.vicar), XWindows Bitmap (*.xbm), XWindows Pixmap (*.xpm)
Removed: Advanced Save Dialog option (now based on simplified user interface setting)
Added: Can now show a slideshow of just the selection (in right-click menu)
Fixed: /Slideshow and /Multishow can't be specified as second parameter
Fixed: When slideshows are shown in FireFox image number does not change
Added: Can set Rating in slideshow tray icon
Added: Slideshow Controls Panel (toolbar that hovers over other windows during a slideshow)
Fixed: If play a video file in a new window and then try to play it in the main window it may have no picture
Changed: Clicking add to favorites during a slideshow no longer skips to the next file
Fixed: When printing a multi-page tiff it might only print the first page
Fixed: May show content even if select a special folder such as "My Computer"
Added: Better default heading when creating thumbnail sheets
Fixed: Doesn't remember a custom specified heading when creating thumbnail sheets
Changed: Changed some shortcuts that clashed with the help menu shortcuts (Alt+F -> Shift+Alt+F and Alt+E -> Shift+E)
Changed: No longer display error message when user cancels out of e-mailing a file
Changed: Now remembers whether files are being deleted or not when duplicates are detected
Fixed: Can get blank filename in favorite files list
Added: Improved Sharpen Filter
Changed: Now always shows the Enter Key button in About even if registered
Added: Now saves the settings you use when editing the colors of images or adding effects
Fixed: May always save JPEGs as progressive on some systems
Added: Now in folder right click menu you can quickly remove a folder from the database
Added: Now in folder right click menu you can quickly remove a folder from Favorite Folders
Changed: Simplified the DB Status of File dialog
Added: Now shows add/remove db options based on the status of your current file
Changed: Clicking delete in the keyword toolbar now removes the keyword from the file rather than permanently deletes it
Changed: Now when outputting web pages it always uses the original filename of an image (even if converted) and does not add an extension
Added: Can now disable JavaScript when outputting web pages

 
v8.05 Modifications
 

Fixed: Error when using the random image shortcuts
Added: Enhanced memory management
Fixed: May start sending an email when you type a capital E in the description box
Fixed: In a rare situation use of the duplicate file tool can remove also remove a file record
Fixed: When creating a new database, the name you specify may not be assigned
Added: New option to preview large images while they are loading
Added: Now always generates a unique filename for images created in HTML
Added: Now remembers custom settings for the add files to database algorithm
Fixed: For Raw images status may show incorrect dimensions
Fixed: Off color display of Raw images when using the plug-in
Fixed: Crash that can occur on closing program
 

Version 7 Release Information