Tuesday, December 10, 2013

December 10 Update

Virtual Publisher Features

  • Url field added to ads list, VP Plan Items List, VP Ad List Report 
  • Every major list view in SMA and VP are now customizable and savable. Each list column set can be dragged and reordered and saved/edited as a custom name for later viewing. Watch video
  • Every major list view in SMA and VP are now downloadable as CSV files. The concept is that combining this will the new custom view system gives publishers a better reporting system. This means you can make custom views that are specifically designed to be exportable reports.  Watch video
  • Notes UI redesigned to load in right side panel.
  • New option to show VP issue selector as a plan selector instead. This helps when the publisher wants a special name for the plan and does not want to see the issue.
  • New VP delivery system added that allows delivery of completed pages when they are finalized.
  • New VP page position approval system added. Allows pages as a whole to be approved before completion. This can be coupled with the new delivery system to deliver each page as it completes.
  • New Image management system with softproofing is complete. (This has to be turned on for each publisher and is chargeable).
  • New image workitems system is in place which allows publishers to add specific tasks to uploaded images.
  • Story page uploader is now HTML5, no longer requires Flash.
  • New tablet plan builder system in place to fully deploy tablet plans to our customizable tablet app solution.
  • New option in company profile added to disable usage of previous issues as new plans. This means templates only.
  • Fixed some bugs in plan snapshot system.
  • Several new rights added which allows vp to be viewed in complete read only mode. 
  • Changed the 4 and 3 pad folio styles to 0 pad labels with alpha characters as well. Example: Before C1 now C0001
  • Change the Edition tag style to not show ROB in the final file name when delivering. Before: ABC_ROB_001.pdf now ABC_001.pdf.
  • New rights added: Can see clipboard, Can see plan snapshot, Can see plan history, Can see editorial details, Can see VP approvals, Can see VP run list, Can see images, Can snapshot plan, Can add issues, Can add plan, Can download editorial manager plugin, Can import plan data, Can remove editorials.
  • Ability to use a separate "virpublisher.com" email address for notifications, instead of "sendmyad.com".

SendMyAd Features

  • Removal of old view preferences per user and replaced with new customizable view system. Each list column set can be dragged and reordered and saved/edited as a custom name for later viewing.  Watch video
  • Every major list view in SMA and VP is now downloadable as CSV files. The concept is that combining this will the new custom view system gives publishers a better reporting system. This means you can make custom views that are specifically designed to be exportable reports.  Watch video
  • Ad Creator now supports custom phone format fields including dot and dash formats.
  • Ad Creator now supports a new custom field called mixed text, which allows the publisher to hard set a piece of text in front of advertiser entered text.
  • Ad Creator text fields now show how many characters are over the limit if one is defined. 
  • New variables available for file delivery: IssueNumber, IssueVolume, IssueExternalId.
  • Revision detection system will no longer offer to revise files that have been rejected and locked. 
  • New digital ad upload group system allows publishers to pre-configure the types and number of ads allowed in the upload form. Configured per web media profile. 
  • Fix for HTML characters in the digital ad upload form message.
  • Fix for bad characters in digital ad URL field.
  • Minimum and maximum resolution now both appear for "designed for tablet" ad uploader.
  • Improvements in preview quality and information extraction for image files. 
  • CSV reports now enclose fields in double-quotes, and escape quotes within the fields. 
  • Fix for issue import when CSV file has spaces in the filename. 
  • Adds support for digital video types of digital ads.
  • Rejection Reason chart in publisher statistics shows much more reliable information now. 

Thursday, October 31, 2013

October 31 New Features

SendMyAd

New Features:

  • New upload groups system for digital ads. Preconfigure the types of ads your advertisers must supply you with in your Web Media Profile settings and keep them organized by group when delivered. 
  • Added ability for advertisers and agencies to change their company type in company details view.

Virtual Publisher

New Features:

  • All PDF snapshots respect the current filtered view. This gives the user more flexibility to make different plan PDFs and report PDFs.  (Video Link: New Snapshot Features)
  • New Snapshot configuration screen allows users to create a very custom plan snapshot and all settings are remembered. 
    • Options added to configure amount of spreads per row
    • Options added to configure slug info
    • Options added to add a note to the plan
    • Known bug being worked out with 3 Spread row pdf creation timing out.
  • Added issue details which can be used in delivery
    • ExternalID
    • Volume
    • Issue  Number
  • Added Upload API option and VP Page option to mark as accepting merge page.
  • Added double click to open slot details from story details view
  • Page overset information added to story details view.
  • Added ability to toggle Section bars, inserts and signature splits in plan snapshot system
  • Added option to see HTML version of plan in snapshot manager. Good for quickly seeing the simple plan in html.
  • Added option to format .75 story page to different corners, also fixed some bugs around this.
  • Added new options to zoom in on slots with slider in bottom tool bar. 
  • There is now a plan template selector at the top of the template toolbar when you are viewing a template.
  • New tabbed style browser for tablet based plans.
  • Added ability to create cover less sig auto flows.
  • Added ability to create single signature book or single fill minus cover.
  • Fixed bug concerning back side book signature menus
  • Added 1/3 Square and Half page Spread Ad specification shapes.

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Release Notes: October 29, 2013

SendMyAd

New Features:

  • Moved preflight profile selection under color profiles to allow for more flexibility on file output and preflighting per color profile. Please check your color profiles to be sure your desired preflight profile has been selected. 
  • Option to lock an ad during rejection to prevent further revisions 
  • Raised Internet Explorer minimum requirements to version 9 since less than 10% of Internet users are still using version 8, and 11 is the most current. Internet Explorer users are urged to update to 9 or 10, or switch to Firefox or Google Chrome if possible. 
  • Redesigned digital ads upload form. Upload group system will be coming very soon.

Fixes:

  • Fixed some spread ad bugs.
  • Fixed text tool offset bugs.
  • Fixed some Chrome display bugs.
  • File processing improvements.

Virtual Publisher

New Features:

  • VP Images now supports fully customizable view system with savable views.
  • Ability added to copy a template to a different publication of the same trim size. See template details and new "Duplicate Button"
  • When making new plans from templates, the clipboard will be carried to the new plan. All editorials created on a template clipboard are maintained with the template.Added overset warning and amount on placed stories in story details view.
  • Added new option to leave story as overset when dropping on the plan and hitting a conflict.
  • Move tablet plan system to its own left menu option. Lots more changes to come here.
  • When a merged page is dragged to the clipboard more information is provided and the ability to cancel is an option.
  • Option added to skip removal of editorials when a plan is removed.
  • VP Pages now allow complete custom metadata configuration just like ads already had.
  • Added ability to change coverage on any story type, before it was manual when the story was in the clipboard.
  • Delete (backspace) key is now mapped to the DELETE action in softproofing viewer. (For removing annotations). 

Fixes:

  • coverage change bug fixes
  • Fixed bug with showing all editorials on template clipboard

Monday, October 14, 2013

October 13, 2013 Release Notes

SendMyAd

New Features:

  • Interface improvements across the site. 
  • Publication codes are now required to be unique within the publisher's set of titles.
  • New option to use a 3-digit unique issue ID for materials ID generation. You must enable "one issue per ad" to use this. 
  • Web ads now allow multiple run dates.
  • New uploader deployed in more areas in the site, now including print ad revisions. 
  • Web text ads can now check word count instead of character count. Determined per ad unit. 
  • "Designed for Tablet" ads now allow device sizes to be marked as optional.
  • Revision Number added to list of delivery path variables. 

Fixes:

  • Issues list variable in email notifications now shows materials due date instead of run date.
  • Duplicating a print ad size will also copy its associated InDesign template file.
  • Links to web ads from email notifications now work properly. 
  • Added paging for digital ads in the table and thumbnail views. 
  • Better performance when submitting the Ad Creator form. 
  • Ad reservation merging bugs resolved. 
  • Launching of trim tool when using custom message is fixed.
  • Interface improvements when managing tablet ad sizes.
  • Advertisers are shown materials due date now, not run date, on materials requests. 
  • Preflighting for the "Separation All" (registration) now works properly after a file is trimmed. 
  • Advanced search supports apostrophes.
  • Various fixes for duplicating publications.
  • Revising a HTML web ad is now working properly. 
  • Web ad tag file upload improvements. 


Virtual Publisher

New Features:

  • New image management module allows publishers to manage and softproof their images. Please contact sales@blansys.com for more information.
  • Users can now see coordinate based notes on the plan view and the magazine viewer.
  • Some enhancements to speed concerning drag and drop
  • Removal of the multi-select drag system. After some analysis we found this feature was not being used and was causing minor conflicts with drag, so we turned it off. Please let us know if you would like it back.
  • Hid change round system. Can be turned back on in your publisher profile setup.
  • Moved Editorial view out one level. Editorials can now be managed without specific plan data.
  • Editorial details view now shows all content in plan from start to finish of story.
  • New compact look
  • More information in footer areas
  • Redesigned dashboard area with more information and better layout.
  • Import plan data screen made more consistent and updated sample files to reflect all features.
  • Adding issue or plan now allows previous issues to be used as new plan sources
  • Removed ability to have multiple plans per issue. Just add more issues as needed.
  • Materials ID field available in ad reservation form if not using automated materials ID system.

Fixes:

  • Thumbnail now shown in revisions bar for original version of a file after uploading a new revision.
  • Added back link to SendMyAd in top bar.
  • Quick search entry field now works properly. 
  • JPEG images with very large physical dimensions are rejected automatically to save processing resources. 
  • Many improvements for new image management module.

Tuesday, August 13, 2013

August 13, 2013 Release Notes

SendMyAd

New Features:

  • Custom metadata fields available as delivery path variables
  • Tracking of agency information associated with ads
  • Moved the "Custom Trim Message" template editor button next to its corresponding preference, found in Company Profile > Print Ad Settings > Trimming Ads. 
  • New "Can see billing reports" right, assigned by default only to the System Administrator Publisher Group
  • Booking number now available in advanced search for ads
  • Ad reservations & materials requests now show the ad shape instead of a generic icon in the ads thumbnail list
  • Added Materials Code as a variable for report names
  • New ability to choose the materials contact or technical contact for support emails. Found in Company Profile > General Settings. 
  • New color profile preflighting option available for detection objects set to ALL (registration) color inside the trimbox. It is set to warn by default. (Please note, there is a known issue with this where the crop marks may incorrectly be flagged by this rule after trimming. It will be addressed by a future update to our preflight engine). 
  • FTPS is now available as a delivery location server type
  • Ad Per Issue (By Month / Year) report renamed to Ad Counts by Publication Issue (by Month / Year)
  • New report Ad Details Per Issue (By Month or Year) includes publication and issue information along with other ad data
  • Expanded the concept of pre-planned ads. Ad Reservations are for pre-planned ads that have not yet been assigned to a particular user. When a user is assigned to supply the ad materials, it becomes a Materials Request. 
  • Added Un-Archive to the digital ads list view
  • Ad reservations or materials requests are only assigned a materials ID when the files are uploaded
  • Improved Ad Creator image preflighting when an uploaded image is resized manually or by using fit-to-frame
  • Ad Creator form now detects and warns if a user has not uploaded an image to replace the default placeholder images from the template
  • Added bullet text support for Ad Creator templates. Send a tech support request for assistance in properly setting up your templates to use bullet lists. 

Fixes:

  • Space in company name allowed in final file's naming template
  • Maximum number of revisions allowed setting is saving properly now
  • Various rendering improvements for Internet Explorer 8
  • Improvements in archiving performance and interface
  • "Disable print ad reception" for an issue will no longer also make it unavailable for tablet ad uploads
  • Many interface improvements


Virtual Publisher

New Features:

  • Clipboard, dashboard and run list now show more ad and editorial count and coverage details.
  • Advanced search added to Plan Items view.
  • Better labeling for archived ad reservations.
  • Added ability to easily restore missing and archived ads from plan view.
  • Added instructions field to the values available for CSV story data import.
  • Added sample CSV files available to download for Ad and Editorial data import.
  • Display clipboard ad information on the Dashboard.
  • New "Large Insert Labels" preference in Virtual Publisher settings allows plans to show very large insert thumbs.
  • Tablet plans can be created from an existing print plan.
  • New ad type system added, allows publishers to set ad as PSA, In house or Supplied. Information now available in reports and dashboard.
  • Better system for layout of dragged editorial which are less than a full page.
  • New tablet deployment features allow print plan to be deployed to iPad and Android devices.

Fixes:

  • Improved information displayed in footer of plan items view
  • Fixed batch pickups from Plan Items list
  • Disable unnecessary buttons when an ad reservation is archived
  • Better display of thumbnails in soft-proofing approval viewer
  • Fix for rare cases where split ads would not appear in SendMyAd

Monday, July 1, 2013

June 30th, 2013 Release Notes



Virtual Publisher
  • Excel format reports replace the previous comma-separated text reports. 
  • Option to automatically disable plans a specified number of days after the issue ship date.
  • New support for editing placed multipage ad specs on the plan. If the number of pages is edited, the ad will be sent to the clipboard to re-placement.  
  • Instructions field added to Edit Plan Details. 
  • Bulk remove of position tags.
  • New tag placement rule to count from the back of the book.
Bug Fixes
  • Many fixes for soft-proofing approval system.
  • Fixes for color swatch labels for ads and editorials. 
  • Restored plan items "archive" and "permanent remove" functions.
  • Various bug fixes for the editorial files uploader.
Send My Ad

    • Simplified publication level approvals setup. There is no longer an option to "enable" publication approvals. Simply add one or more publication approvals and they will be used instead of global approvals. If your publication had approvals configured, but were not enabled, you must delete them or they will be used. 
    • New uploaders across the app. These new uploaders are being phased in, with most simple uploaders for digital and tablet ads, ad asset uploads, and site branding materials replaced in this update. The next update will replace the remaining uploaders, including the main print ad uploader. 
    • Some reports now include the custom metadata fields as available customizations. 
    • Very quick shortcut in advanced search when you know the unique process ID of an ad. (publishers only)
    • Added process ID to available advanced search options.
    • New "large text" datatype for custom metadata fields.
    • Publications list report.
    • New print ad upload and reservation form option "Do not allow advertisers to change ad size on ad reservations."
    Bug Fixes
    • Restored user preference for file viewer background color.
    • CSS editing for site branding fixed.
    • Allows user registration with apostrophe in local portion of email address.
    • Many minor bug fixes particularly with digital ads.

    Friday, May 10, 2013

    New Report Customization Feature

    Our mid-week update includes a new feature to allow report customization. It can be accessed in your company settings area: 


    Choose the report to edit:


    This opens the Manage Report interface:


    From here, you can edit the names of the report columns, turn them on or off, and re-order them. You can also edit the filename, using variables just like email or text templates. 

    The reports themselves are still accessed from the Dashboard or the Company Settings screen. 

    Monday, April 29, 2013

    April 2013 Release Notes



    Virtual Publisher
    • New ability to customize exactly what is displayed on each ad and editorial page.
    • New folio label types:
      • Signature Based: Applies labels only to selected signature
      • Auto Fill: Easily auto fill labels till the label system hits a new label type.
      • Normal Flow: Preexisting default labeling system
    • Ability to un-split spreads when not split automatically added.      
    • New change marker system added, allows publishers to marks changes, save change sets as a "Change Round" and print plan with visual changes.
    • New plugin released with more stability fixed.
    • Please update your plugin as soon as possible as it is critical to take advantage of the bug fixes and new feature sets.
    • Better spread splitting information from virtual publisher
    • New ability to nest regions inside of other regions to create sub-regions. Adding a super region can save time in managing regions on pages.
    • Dragging stories less than a single page in size will result in more accurate page positioning, similar to partial page ad drops.
    • Better region and edition management.
      • Missing regions much more visible via status
      • New regionalized pages have region icon for easy viewing
    • New system for managing reports added. We still do not have a way to configure these reports, but support can help you get a custom report faster now with out developer support and the interface for managing these custom reports will be released soon.
    • Region management has been removed from Sendmyad due to complexities concerning the target issue. Now when in Virtual Publisher, and managing regions, the target issue is chosen automatically by the selected plan.
    • New import fields added
      • Ad import includes new fields "section" and "category"
      • Editorial import includes new fields "section" and "flow type"
    • New thumb browser in magazine viewer makes flipping through pages easier.
    • Regions can now be added on the new ad reservation form and the add editorial form.
    • Revise, reupload and several other actions now mark previous VP deliveries as invalid so that they will be delivered again when the user chooses.
    • Better display of what will be delivered upon completion
    • Warning popup added to inform user of potential charged related to delivering files repetitively.
    • Ad Tags available on add new VP ad reservation form.

    Bug Fixes
    • Fixed several bugs concerning inserts and insert templates
    • Fixed bugs related to page approvals on merged ad and merged ad/edit pages.
    • Fixed bug which allow zip uploads to VP
    • Improvements in item placement on plan, preventing overlaps and edge problems. 
    Send My Ad

    • New gutter preview system on spread ads, configurable on spread ad specification manager
    • Ad Creator Templates now feature several new items.
      • Ability to hide certain items from ad creator completely.
      • Ability to now have data selectors for custom information.
      • Ad creator templates remember most information when a new re-upload of the template is done.
    • Product URL added to ad reservation forms
    • Product URL added to print ad forms
    • Allows for revision of autosplit spread files.
    • Autosplit spread works for ads uploaded to materials requests.
    • When revising a spread ad that has been split, user is given the choice of replacing an individual page or the original spread file. 
    • Custom text for Ad Sizes screen.
    • Custom text for Edit / Upload Image screen.
    • Interface improvements in ad revision system.
    • Publication and Issues selectors for web ads view.
    • New help system shows messages when hovering pointer over help icons.
    • Delivery supplies "NA" (not available) for some missing metadata values. 
    • Ad Creator ad history shows when an image is uploaded with warnings. 
    • Advertiser signup form redesign.
    • New code field available for a spread ad size's left and right components. Found in "Configure Spreads" window. This information is saved to the delivered files' XMP data and is available as metadata for the delivery location. 
    • Better user feedback when testing a new delivery location connection while saving the configuration.
    • Ability to cancel Designed for Tablet ad uploads. 
    • Significant performance improvement for all advanced searches. 
    • New ad size metadata field "Rate Code."
    • Materials request emails sent to advertisers are now logged in the ad history.
    • Digital ad upload form items can be customized.
    • Tablet ad upload form items can be customized.
    • Adding or editing issues, regions, sections from one page of a multipage or spread ad does the same for all related pages. 
    • New color profile selector when duplicating an ad. Defaults to the existing color profile. 
    • Simplified existing options for pickup materials ID treatment, added some new choices. 
    • Added material and publication code to the ads per issue by issue (compact) report.
    • Material Code added to XMP data, digital receipt and email templates.
    • New custom metadata option for data sets - appears as a select menu on upload forms. 
    • More mappable fields added in custom metadata editor. 
    • Mirror value added to history message for split ads.
    • Publication code available in email templates. 
    • FTPS added as a delivery connection type.
       
    Bug Fixes
    • Duplicating an ad size will copy all delivery location and spread information.
    • Uploader fixes for revising multipage ads.
    • InDesign ad size templates are now only updated when necessary; performance improvement when editing ad size fields. 
    • Ad Creator-only ad sizes will not create InDesign templates. 
    • Print preflight report feature now works correctly.
    • Removed inappropriate action to revise an Ad Creator ad. New button allows user to create a replacement ad instead.
    • Improvements in tablet drag and drop uploader.

    Monday, February 18, 2013

    February 17, 2013 Upgrade



    SendMyAd


    Features 
    • Multi-page ads can now be assigned unique color profiles per page.
    • Automatic splitting of spread ads. To configure, enable the feature for spread ad sizes.  
    • New help display when hovering over help icons.
    • New in-application alert system.
    • New color picker is available site-wide. 
    • Digital ads view can now be filtered by Web Media Profile. 
    • Newly-invited advertisers will now appear as the ad contact even if they have not yet created their SendMyAd account. 
    • When hiding or removing a single file of a multipage or spread ad, the linked files will also be hidden or removed. 
    Fixes
    • Better validation of web media profiles being ready to receive ads. 

    SendMyAd Tablet Ads


    Features
    • New file list variable for Designed for Tablet ad email notifications.
    • Enhanced for Tablet ad previews are now available in email notifications. 
    Fixes
    • DFT ads available as a zipped download under the Assets section.
    • Many fixes for both kinds of tablet ads. 

    Virtual Publisher


    Features


    • Mark an editorial as advertisement.
    • New ability to add an issue and plan all at once if a template is chosen. This can be done from the book plan view while a publication is selected.
    • New ability to see all plans under the publication at once.
    • Better text formatting in smaller cells. Text dynamically gets smaller when needed.
    • Removed magnifier icon at the bottom of each page to create more space. The status icon now performs the same way as the magnifier did.
    • Color profiles can now be assigned to each page of a multi-page ad individually.
    • New "Info Only" plan filter view allows users to see info only without thumbnails.
    • New top left heads up display in plan view indicates suggested next actions when plan is complete or locked.
    • Plan menus popup faster.
    • Better info display in tooltip of each page
    • Ad sizes now display trim size instead of planned size.
    Fixes:
    • Several enhancements in the edition/regional ad/edit ratio reports.
    • Editorial Manager Plugin made more stable.
    • Print a plan view now remembers the last size the use printed at.
    • Fixed minor bugs associated with complex layouts.

       

    Thursday, January 17, 2013

    January 17, 2013 Update



    SendMyAd


    Features 
    • Several enhancements for picking up and sending multiple page and split spread ads to other publications.
    • Separate configuration interfaces for print, tablet and digital ad upload form elements.
    • Sales representative field available on upload form for all ad types.
    • Improved color picker.
    • Bulk removal of ad categories.
    • Ad pickup form pre-fills more information from the source ad to make data entry easier for the most common use - picking up an ad for a new issue the same title. 
    • Ad category selector on upload form.
    • Issue details view shows a message when the issue is disabled because of run date and related publication setting "disable ad reception X days before issue run date."
    • New publisher approvals report.
    • Ad Size edit form enhanced for spreads and multipage ad configuration.
    • Publication and Issue selection now available as an option for digital ads. 
    Fixes
    • Fixes deliveries for split and multipage ads.
    • Delivery location form improvements.
    • Back button in ad pickup form fixed.
    • Improved validation for custom metadata fields on upload forms.
    • Enhanced processing of PDF files with hidden layers.
    • File thumbnail added as an option in the new pickup notification templates.

    SendMyAd Tablet Ads


    Features

    • Allow re-uploads of previews until ad is completed. 
    • New custom text in URL confirmation screen.
    • Adding Reject Ad option for Designed for Tablet (DFT) ads.
    • Ad category selector on upload form.
    • Pixel-range preflighting for DFT ads.
    • File size preflighting for DFT ads.

    Fixes
    • Various fixes for email notifications
    • Improved device thumbnail display

    Virtual Publisher


    Features
    • Plug-in fully supports custom metadata fields. 
    • Plugin supports download of both full page and partial advertisements.
    • Plugin supports merging ad content and sending back to the portal
    • New text editor
    • Items from plan moved to clipboard when plan size is reduced. 
    • Printable Ladder view.
    • Position notes for empty pages.
    • New ability to select multiple pages at once and move them around.
    • Lots of UI improvements surrounding plan management. All plan related tabs can now be seen on a single tabbed popup.
    • Plan list can now be seen at both the issue and publication level.
    •