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Author Topic: v2014.200 issues/comments  (Read 19170 times)
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« on: March 11, 2014, 09:19:29 PM »

http://www.ddisoftware.com/qimage-u

v2014.200    Mar 11, 2014

Priority: High

v2014.200 is a major release with many new features and fixes:

  • Uneven borders: The sky is the limit with new colored templates.  Create unlimited, uneven borders and more! See the video.
  • Print grouping: Use templates to group prints: all prints within (on top of) a template move together when the template is moved.
  • EXIF date shot sort: Ability to sort thumbs by EXIF date/time.  See Edit, Preferences, Thumb Sort.
  • Stability improvements: Corrected some stability issues that could cause crashes in some situations.
  • Print orientation fix: Fixed a bug where prints could occasionally print in the wrong orientation (180 degrees rotated from the preview).
  • B+ border fix: Fixed a bug where B+ borders were not working with larger prints and "size by one dimension".
  • UI improvements: Fixes and improvements to various UI controls incl. new method for setting/using print property defaults.

Mike
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Fred A
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« Reply #1 on: March 12, 2014, 01:17:24 PM »

This is a doosey of a release... Qimage Ultimate 2014.200

Quote
Uneven borders: The sky is the limit with new colored templates.  Create unlimited, uneven borders and more! See the video.

Now templates are like your images, except for one thing, Templates are transparent.
With those facts, you can visualize many new creative possibilities.
You can place a template inside of a template inside of a template and make two borders per template plus two on the image itself...

Quote
Print grouping: Use templates to group prints: all prints within (on top of) a template move together when the template is moved.

This is another big addition.
If you are (example) making a greeting card, and you are placing the photos of the family and the dog, and you have text also, you can place all on a larger template, and the picture on another and the text on another.....
Then you can drag each template or the underneath template and position stuff and keep the spacing.
OK Card is all set?   Now save as a Job. 
St. Patrick day has passed. Make a card for April Fools day.
Recall that card job, and change the picture easily by dropping the new one over the old one in the queue, go into Page Editor and revise the text... all done.
Oh you want to move things around so they aren't all the same? Fine.
Drag a template and whatever is within it all move together.

There's also a nice change to the Print Property boxes for each thumbnail, and the main one to the right side of the screen.
I call them zebra buttons.
You can change the settings on a temporary basis or on a default (from now on) basis.
Try it. It's fun!

Fred
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Ernst Dinkla
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« Reply #2 on: March 13, 2014, 02:55:54 PM »

http://www.ddisoftware.com/qimage-u

v2014.200    Mar 11, 2014

Priority: High

v2014.200 is a major release with many new features and fixes:

  • Uneven borders: The sky is the limit with new colored templates.  Create unlimited, uneven borders and more! See the video.

Mike

Hello Mike,

I though you made my day. After the video it did not. Must be a nice feature but not for me in that shape. What I like to have is a fast way to create white borders around an image and one border, the bottom one, to be slightly larger for a signature etc. Today I do that by adding some canvas white at the bottom in Photoshop and the rest of the borders in Qimage.  If the crop tool of Qimage could be pulled beyond the image boundary like possible with Photoshop then that would be a nice solution to add some extra white beneath the image. Preferably as a filter like all image edits in Qimage.

--
Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
January 2014, 600+ inkjet media white spectral plots. [/list]
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Terry-M
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« Reply #3 on: March 13, 2014, 07:30:16 PM »

Hi Ernst,
Quote
Must be a nice feature but not for me in that shape. What I like to have is a fast way to create white borders around an image and one border, the bottom one, to be slightly larger for a signature etc.
I do not understand what your problem is because that is exactly what you can do by using the new version of templates. Think of it (heaven forbid) like a PS canvas underneath the main image. You make the template part white by giving it a large white border.
Add the template, fit to page or whatever size is needed and give it a border. In freehand mode add (drag) your image at the size required and position it accurately in the page editor. The arrow, shift or control keys, together with the actual dimension readout make this very easy & quick. Finally add your text.
One advantage of using this QU PRINT function is that the extra image you make is not required. Another advantage is that, for repeated print & border size combinations with text, you can make a Template for repeated use, a method that has long been a feature of QU.

Quote
Today I do that by adding some canvas white at the bottom in Photoshop
Well, like many things people suggest for Qimage, there is a way to do this but not as you suggest. I'm pretty sure this could easily be done by making a Cutout to apply to the image. I think it would need to a "frame" type ut that is easily checked.

Terry

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Terry-M
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« Reply #4 on: March 13, 2014, 08:36:23 PM »

Quote
I'm pretty sure this could easily be done by making a Cutout to apply to the image. I think it would need to a "frame" type but that is easily checked.
Yes that is correct, easily done, see screen shot attached.
The white strip at the bottom is created by a frame type cutout and the conventional border is added in grey so it is visible for the purposes of this post.
NB. the "white" strip has to be a little off 255,255,255, say 254,255,255 to make it visible under the transparency rules of cutouts.
QU is sooo .. versatile and no overhead of saving to a new image.
Terry
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Ernst Dinkla
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« Reply #5 on: March 14, 2014, 11:03:51 AM »

    Quote
    I'm pretty sure this could easily be done by making a Cutout to apply to the image. I think it would need to a "frame" type but that is easily checked.
    Yes that is correct, easily done, see screen shot attached.
    The white strip at the bottom is created by a frame type cutout and the conventional border is added in grey so it is visible for the purposes of this post.
    NB. the "white" strip has to be a little off 255,255,255, say 254,255,255 to make it visible under the transparency rules of cutouts.
    QU is sooo .. versatile and no overhead of saving to a new image.
    Terry

    Terry, Fred, Mike,

    Creating uneven borders is way too elaborate in the new feature, at least for my jobs and the simple extra signature white I need. I do not want to go the Freehand route with more images on a print page. More images happens all the time when you print with a wide format on media rolls. In September 2009 I mentioned my request again for a simple extra border feature, one that could add at least some extra white (or border color) at the bottom for a signature (and maybe add extra white at opposite borders to fit an existing frame size when the image aspect ratio does not fit with even borders). Someone else was also asking the same feature then, I have asked this simple addition more often. At the border settings this would be the best place to have that feature as it allows a metric or inch description of the extra border(s) width and then does not vary for the different sizes of a printed image.

    With the crop tool extra white could be created if it allowed a crop beyond the image. Has to be done with pixel numbers but can be estimated. If too much I could cut the print a bit more within cut marks. Today I do that sometimes but then on three sides to get that uneven border at the bottom. Not as nice as the above solution and wasting more paper.

    With the Cutout feature:  I have tried it there in the past with .frame and tried it again this morning. Made 2 add-signature.frame.tiff(s).  One with a square black window, one pixel white around and a white bar underneath. The other with a landscape black window and the rest identical. That solves it for portrait, square and landscape images. The white can be the 000, 000, 000, that does not matter for .frame if I want white = unprinted extra margin.
    Slow processing. The extra white border varies in width depending on the size the image will be printed and its original number of pixels. Harder to estimate what the result will be. I could make some variations for different print sizes but the first solution would be much nicer and faster in my opinion.

    --
    Met vriendelijke groet, Ernst

    http://www.pigment-print.com/spectralplots/spectrumviz_1.htm
    January 2014, 600+ inkjet media white spectral plots. [/list]
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    Fred A
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    « Reply #6 on: March 14, 2014, 11:42:04 AM »

    Quote
    QU is sooo .. versatile and no overhead of saving to a new image.

    Terry is so right!

    Besides the fact that uneven borders now takes under a minute, once you make a decent setup for a venue, you can swap images in the blink of an eye.

    I made this uneven border setup just for fun with an image of a boat at the South Jetty in Venice, Fl.
    See snap 025

    Now switch to the Print Queue tab   see snap 027

    Now drag a thumbnail and drop it on top of the filename in that print queue.  Now you get a different picture with the same border setup.
    See snap 026

    To make that set up (colors are your taste),  simple!

    1) Freehand Mode, landscape page

    2) Drag a Template at Fit to Page size from the thumbs to the preview screen.

    2a)  Click the zebra button of the template in the preview panel; select a border color, and type a 9 into the border size box. (That fills the template with color)

    3) Select your image and click the zebra button of that thumb and select an appropriate size for the picture.
    Not critical. Just pick a 7 x 5 for now. Drag that on the preview panel on top of the big template.

    4) Click the zebra button of your 5 x 7 in the preview panel, and choose a color and a size for those borders (usually 0.10 is a good starting size)
    One or two border is up to you...

    5) Go to Page editor. Select your image (click on it until you get 4 little red dots; one in each corner)

    Now put your mouse pointer on a red dot and drag to enlarge. Don't worry what size you have. Just drag until it looks good.

    6) If your image is to the left of center, Hold The CTRL key and tap the right arrow key.
    If your image is lower than center, Hold The CTRL key and tap the up arrow key.

    6a) Make sure you are using the TAB marked Size Location. You can see the positions on the page are centered.
    Now tap the up arrow key a few times to off-set only, and stop when you are pleased.

    OK last step
    In the wider border at the bottom, Right Mouse click, and select Floating text.

    It's all yours from this point.

    Click Done, and print to to paper or print to file

    Fred
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    Ernst Dinkla
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    « Reply #7 on: March 14, 2014, 11:51:26 AM »

    A message modification to get it across:

    * Signature space: ... 15mm ... white ...

    That is how I see that feature added to the other border features. The image edge to add it to; bottom and that based on the thumbnail. Without fixing that position for the lay-out on the print page, it should still be possible to have the auto-rotate working for best nesting.

    Yes, it is possible to use template + image at the same size and shift one 15mm, do that for six other images on that page and shift the total template etc etc. But I like what I describe and still be able to center or optimal etc place the images on the print page or switch to a 36" roll width instead of 44" and not make a mess of the nesting. What I see in the uneven border feature now is a lay-out tool that is elaborate and sacrifices other print page features. It has its place but I will not use it.


    Ernst
    « Last Edit: March 14, 2014, 01:31:00 PM by Ernst Dinkla » Logged
    Fred A
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    « Reply #8 on: March 14, 2014, 01:03:55 PM »

    Hi Ernst

    A 15 mm border is easy.
    I am not very good with mms, and Terry makes the cut outs. So best we wait for him to come home.
    He is out taking pictures ...
    I made a 15 mm border in about a minute. They are even all the way around.
    You want the bottom one larger than 15 mm? Also very easy.
    The signature part, you have to wait for Terry.

    Fred
    « Last Edit: March 14, 2014, 01:08:45 PM by Fred A » Logged
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    « Reply #9 on: March 17, 2014, 12:22:40 PM »

    Hi,

    I support the request of Ernst Dinkla. I would find it better.
    A function add an extra border, better a signature area added at the bottom (or even selectable on the bottom, top, left or right edge)
    would be very helpful.
    The ultimate would be: add the image title (without the extension) automatically or manually (select the font and font size, the suffix: image title, author, datum ... ) and the selected (Tiff)-signature in the signature area (scalable).
    Various settings (font size, font and Tiff_signatur) should be stored and loaded it if necessary.

    The proposed method with six steps is cumbersome for many images.
    A simple function "add a signature area" in the main menu, next to the Border function would be faster and better.

    Thanks Wolfgang
    « Last Edit: March 18, 2014, 08:35:44 AM by GlossyBlacky » Logged
    silviuv
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    « Reply #10 on: March 18, 2014, 10:55:42 AM »

    Hello,

    Unequal borders would be a great addition. I also print on large format printer using roll paper and I often need different size borders around image (not only on bottom).

    Thanks,
    Silviu
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    Fred A
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    « Reply #11 on: March 18, 2014, 11:26:24 AM »

    Quote
    Unequal borders would be a great addition.

    It's already in there and works like a charm

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RpxXB6eWc0Q&feature=youtu.be&hd=1
    See this video and position the image so that you have 4 different size borders.
    or...

    Use template on a template

    Fred
    « Last Edit: March 18, 2014, 11:28:22 AM by Fred A » Logged
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    « Reply #12 on: March 18, 2014, 01:26:51 PM »

    A message modification to get it across:

    * Signature space: ... 15mm ... white ...

    That is how I see that feature added to the other border features. The image edge to add it to; bottom and that based on the thumbnail. Without fixing that position for the lay-out on the print page, it should still be possible to have the auto-rotate working for best nesting.

    Yes, it is possible to use template + image at the same size and shift one 15mm, do that for six other images on that page and shift the total template etc etc. But I like what I describe and still be able to center or optimal etc place the images on the print page or switch to a 36" roll width instead of 44" and not make a mess of the nesting. What I see in the uneven border feature now is a lay-out tool that is elaborate and sacrifices other print page features. It has its place but I will not use it.


    Ernst

    Ernst,

    The simplistic method you propose has its place as well, but is not nearly as versatile as what we have now.  You can do the above very easily by setting up a layout, saving that layout, and then once you've designed the layout, you can load it and use it and just click the "+" button on thumbnails to fill the templates.  It's not like you need optimal placement to design a layout.  Put as many on the page as you like, oriented however you like, with your 15mm border on the bottom, with signature, save, and use that layout whenever you need it.  A simple click on the "+" button on any thumbnail while using that layout will fill your top templates (the blank ones) automatically, one by one.

    When I design a feature, I design it with versatility in mind rather than trying to only meet the minimum requirements for what someone could call "uneven borders".  The color templates and grouping can accomplish simplistic uneven borders of any specification (any size on any edge) and a lot more.  These are just a few of the things that can be done with colored templates and grouping that you cannot do with simple specification of border sizes:

    - Border nesting: you can stagger, cascade, overlap, and create many designs that are not simple edges
    - You can create solid rectangles of any color you like for use as text boxes or even backgrounds
    - You can do as many borders as you like (each one uneven if you like).  Want 15 borders: just design a layout like that.
    - Create 3D photo drop shadows easily using staggered (cascaded) border templates.
    - Use templates to group "packages within packages" and easily move those around the page to create new layouts.

    Mike
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    vsteffel
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    « Reply #13 on: March 18, 2014, 03:45:51 PM »

    silviuv,

    Related to your messages.  Am I missing something?  I can't open your attachments.  Moreover, it seems that there is no content in either attachment.  Any help?
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    Fred A
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    « Reply #14 on: March 18, 2014, 05:50:51 PM »

    Quote
    Can't open either.

    I was hoping to get an idea of what the gentleman was looking for with unequal borders so I could make it in easy fashion.

    In the meantime: 4 unequal borders; took about 1 minute.

    Fred
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