The Junction

Intro to PJ Remix webinars

2008-12-09T16:30:00.003+13:00

This week we've been holding "Intro to PJ remix" webinars for those who contacted us but missed out on our first series.

Well we've two more planned for this week but they're not quite full yet, so we thought we'd open them up to everyone.

Here are the dates and times:

Session one

NEW ZEALAND (Auckland): Wednesday 10th December at 9:00 AM

AUSTRALIA (NSW): Wednesday 10th December at 7:00 AM

UK: Tuesday 9th December at 8:00 PM

USA East Coast (EST): Tuesday 9th December at 3:00 PM

USA West Coast (PST): Tuesday 9th December at 12:00 noon

For other time zones click here

Session Two

NEW ZEALAND (Auckland): Thursday 11th December at 11:00 AM

AUSTRALIA (NSW): Thursday 11th December at 9:00 AM

UK: Wednesday 10th December at 10:00 PM

USA East Coast (EST): Wednesday 10th December at 5:00 PM

USA West Coast (PST): Wednesday 10th December at 2:00 PM

For other time zones click here

There are 15 spots left on both sessions so just like last time it's first in first served. Questions welcome. Flick me an email telling me which session you'd like to attend and I'll book your spot.

Be quick

Cheers, Nigel

All taken care of

2008-12-09T09:17:00.001+13:00

Ian likes his car. It feels like the manufacturers had him in mind when they designed it. It feels good. It seems to know what he needs. It thinks for him. It's a pleasure to drive.

Enough about Ian's car, but if you read this blog regularly you'll know we want PJ Remix to be like that: to think like you, look out for you, be a pleasure to drive.

For example, when you're working with lots of images it can get tricky keeping track of the ones you've used in your album design, so Remix remembers the images you've used and highlights their filenames for you, like this. Pretty smart ha?

Unused versus Used...

HTH, Nigel

Psst... Ian didn't realise we'd done this, and reported the new feature as a bug ;-)

How to watch on Vimeo

2008-12-05T14:09:00.012+13:00

If you've already checked out the Photojunction channel on Vimeo, you may have been wishing, like me, that the video was better quality! Well it is. Here's what to do. First, get into full-screen mode by clicking on the little button in the very bottom right-hand corner of the screen (above).

Then, make sure your settings look like they do on the left. In other words, HD is on and scaling is off (if you can't see the controls, roll over the video area with your mouse and they'll appear).

Once you do that your video will look like the introductory webinar we recorded (below – click on the image to see it in all its glory: much better quality!)

HTH, Ian

PS Even in a busy airport lounge with gazillions of people on the wireless connection, the video played back well. Thank you Vimeo.

Intro to PJ webinar now online

2008-12-03T17:00:00.003+13:00

Just quietly, our first crack at hosting webinars was pretty successful. We had heaps of interest and received some really great feedback. We also had lots of requests to record them and make them available online to watch. So here you go...

Click here to watch an 'Intro to PJ' webinar (59mins)

We've only uploaded one of the four webinars we ran because they all covered the same content.

You'll hear Danny and I answering questions that attendees were asking via a chat function (much like Sykpe). You won't see the questions or comments that came in during the webinar but you'll get the gist of them by the way they're answered.

Enjoy it and hope to see you at future webinars!

Cheers, Nigel

PJ Webinars

2008-11-26T09:00:00.002+13:00

In case you didn't get our email, we're running FREE HOUR-LONG INTRODUCTORY WEBINARS with Danny showing you how to fire up the software and start using it.

What's great about this is that you can see Danny demonstrating on your own computer screen, hear him talking and ask questions via chat or a headset mic.

We had a great response to our last invitation and all four sessions filled up really fast.

If you didn't get a spot we don’t want you to miss out, so we’re going to run a couple of extras in the near future. If you'd like to join in please email me and let me know. I’ll send an invitation when we have finalised times and dates.

In the meantime - if you've got an suggestions for topics you'd like us to cover in future webinars, please leave a comment and let us know.

Cheers, Nigel

PS If you didn't get the email and would like to be notified of upcoming webinars email me and I'll put you on the list.

WIPR: Cheeky

2008-11-20T11:00:00.000+13:00

Ed te Pas used his photoshop skills for this cheeky image.

Thanks again mate.

Danny (and Team PJ)

Drag and drop faster

2008-11-14T14:58:00.008+13:00

Here's a wee tip about something I never noticed before. Now that I have, I notice it all the time! Or rather the time it saves me...

You can set a default aperture size in Photojunction so that whenever you drag a new image onto a layout, it defaults to the size you specify instead of the standard 7x5. Pretty handy if you use one size a fair bit - saves you having to resize heaps of apertures!

Open the PJ preferences and under the Supplier option, you can choose whatever size you like from the drop down box.

HTH

PS • If what you want to do is drag the same size as the last aperture you added, here's how.

WIPR: Lyttelton

2008-11-13T11:00:00.000+13:00

Johannes and Jo of Moda Fotografica sent this clever shot through to us.

I was lucky enough to try their local Lyttelton coffee shop when I was speaking at an NZIPP meeting a few months back, and the coffee much, like the town, was just charming.

Thanks guys!

Danny (and Team PJ)

WIPR: Growth Rings

2008-11-07T11:00:00.001+13:00

We asked some of our friends to help us get some shots of PJ in their corner of the world.

Here's your first installment of "Where Is PJ Remix?"

Angelique Buckley of mk photography, one of our dedicated beta testers, took this wonderful shot for us of "Growth Rings" by Kate Kaman in Philadelphia.

Angelique said, "It seemed like the perfect spot to put the button. I see these circles everyday, so it was the first thing I thought of when I received the letter asking for a photo of the button in "my neck of the woods". It also seemed so appropriate given how far the application has come."

Doing my research I also found this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG6hbXuqh8Q

Thanks again Angelique!

Cheers
Danny (and Team PJ)

Registering for the first time

2008-11-05T13:14:00.010+13:00

Hi everyone, there has been some understandable confusion because when you open PJ Remix for the first time it asks you to register "either a full version or a 30 day trial version". That's out of date now but we can't do anything about it until we release a new version. That won't be long, but it's confusing meantime.

We've uploaded a brief movie to show how it works, but here's a brief run-through.

Click the "Click Here To Register" button in the Registration Window. That will open your web browser and take you to the secure Queensberry server to set up an account so you can register (you won't need to buy anything). You will need to be online (to register off-line computers, see below).

If you already have an account, but don't know the details, click the link for us to email your details.

Once you're done setting up your account, go back to the Remix Registration Window, click the Get Unlock Code Online button and you'll be good to go for 12 months.

The picture above shows what the window looks like when you're done.

HTH, Ian

We’ve gone global

2008-11-05T08:00:00.009+13:00

In the past 12 hours or so we've had software downloads from the following countries (lucky we upgraded our server):

United States
United Kingdom
Australia
Canada
Italy
Ireland
Japan
Malaysia
Portugal
Philippines
New Zealand
Spain
Mexico
France
Switzerland
Austria
Singapore
Netherlands
Puerto Rico
Hong Kong
India
China
Russia
Fiji
Romania
Norway
United Arab Emirates
Germany
Poland
Brazil
Latvia
Nigeria

Plus 14% "unknown" ;-)

Free to all

2008-11-04T16:56:00.007+13:00

The best album design software is now free to all.

The Directors of Queensberry and Photojunction are delighted to announce a major change of direction for Photojunction.

Effective immediately PJ Remix is a free download for photographers everywhere. The “price” will be to register with Queensberry and allow us to send you a monthly message.

Click here to download the free software now.

• Photojunction will continue to enable third-party album resources as well as the “DIY” functionality that allows users to design un-matted layouts sized for any vendor.

• Software support and training will be available free via the Photojunction website, support forum and blog. One-on-one support, including by email, will be on a paid basis (US$ 99.00 for twelve months).

• Existing subscriptions will continue on exactly the same basis as now until they expire, including one-on-one support.

• Subject to a more relaxed minimum purchase requirement, Queensberry customers will qualify for free one-on-one support. As in the past, purchase of a Starter Kit will be required to become a Queensberry album client.

This marks a new beginning for PJ Remix, but the end for our long-standing "supplier-independent" business model, which has been stifling the software. Instead, Photojunction will in effect be progressively integrated with Queensberry as a sub brand.

As part of the Queensberry group, Photojunction will have three goals going forward:

To build a great in-house development and support team.
To maintain our standing as the most powerful album design software available, and build an active user community around the free software.
To develop a dedicated, intuitive, hassle-free workflow for all Queensberry clients.

Click here for more details.

Big day!

Cheers, Danny

Hide and go seek

2008-11-04T10:20:00.000+13:00

A while back we talked about screen real estate.

Well, because not all of us have huge screens, here's a short video with a few tips to maximise PJ Remix if you're lacking screen space.

Cheers, Danny

PS we'll post a video with some tips for those with big screens soon.

Growing Pains

2008-10-29T15:30:00.000+13:00

We're suffering from growing pains...

Our download and server traffic is pretty high, and demand comes from all over the world so we've splashed out on a CDN (which basically means you're PJ downloads and updates will be much faster.)

So if you have any feedback about our download speeds, we'd love to hear how you're finding it.

Cheers

Danny

PJ Remix 1.2 Final Released

2008-10-21T17:10:00.000+13:00

PJ Remix 1.2 Final was launched yesterday. Open your existing version and software update will take care of the rest. ( release notes )

Also we've been private beta testing a new feature, portable projects. Feedback has been good and we're looking for more eager testers. If you're keen please email and let us know. info@photojunction.com

Cheers

Team PJ

Free PJ Remix!

2008-10-15T17:25:00.002+13:00

We're at it again - we're giving you the chance to score yourself a free 12-month PJ Remix sub.

We want you to share your favourite PJ feature or useful tip with us.

Record a short video explaining or demonstrating your favourite PJ Remix feature or tip, send it to us, and well credit your account with a 12-month PJ sub.

We’re not looking for a feature movie; a quick recording on a digital camera or screen shot software will do the job! Check out an example here.

We’ll upload them all onto our YouTube channel, and we’ll post the best ones on our blog.

Either send your videos to info@photojunction.com, or upload them to YouTube, send us the link, and we'll add them to our channel.

Happy movie making!

PS standard quality YouTube video has a picture of 320x240 pixels.

Portable Projects

2008-10-15T14:15:00.000+13:00

I don't like talking about features prior to release but I'll make an exception for this one. We're currently reworking how your data is stored for PJ Remix as there are shortcomings with our current implementation. If you're up for it, grab a cup of coffee and I'll tell you the full story ;-)

First I need to explain our decisions to date.

In PJ Retro we (and users) had four things to keep track of (the PJF and PJT files and the High and Low Res image folders). Our point of view may be different from yours, but support was a nightmare - clients (and not just the computer illiterate) got it wrong, frequently.

PJ Remix came along and we (over)simplified things by putting everything into one database, from which you could "import" and "export" projects if necessary.

This hasn't worked for everyone, but we do feel we're on the right track. In other words we don't want to "fix" our current problems by reverting to how Retro did things, with Retro's shortcomings. Rather we need to move forward.

So we are going to create individual "project files" that contain the client/event/album data and the low resolution images. These files will be "portable projects" that can be moved and saved anywhere you like (eg on a networked server, your desktop or external hard drive).

Some data (eg supplier resources etc) will continue to be stored locally in the user's central data base. Amongst other things, this will have a speed advantage if you want to operate over a network.

Keep in mind these Portable Projects will be reasonably large in size: 200Mb for a standard event and upwards of 500mb for a larger event (2000 images). While your first reaction may be to think that's a big file, it isn't really in proportion to the size of the 'event'. For instance a 200Mb project file was generated from a set of 700 jpegs totaling 3.5GB. That's quite reasonable by comparison but a lot of data to open over a network.

These will be cross platform and will work on any machine, but keep in mind that high resolution exports will require access to the original high resolution images (which you can re-link, as now).

Portable Projects will also be 'double clickable' to open them in PJ.

By default PJ Remix will still store Portable Projects in a 'managed back-end' but you'll be able to move them individually if you desire. PJ Remix will also try to keep a record of these files which will be opened whenever you access them.

We're actually not that far off, in fact we're ready for a small private beta to test so if you're interested let us know by emailing info@photojunction.com

Cheers

Danny

Photokina Roundup

2008-10-08T17:00:00.002+13:00

Photokina was huge - over 160,000 visitors and more than 140 countries represented.

The exhibition center was equally impressive with eleven different halls; some of them two stories high (my feet are still sore from all the walking!)

There weren't really any surprises. The album companies we saw didn't show us too much that we hadn't already seen. I guess that's a good thing. We got to meet and chat to a number of album companies based in non-English speaking countries, most of whom knew all about us. Another promising sign.

IMHO we didn't come across an album PJ couldn't design, or a piece of comparable software. But... of course we'd say that ;-)

Cheers. Danny

PJ reviews, reviewed

2008-10-06T15:41:00.000+13:00

Can't believe Danny and Stephen interrupted a perfectly legit wedding to grab this shot (in Switzerland)

Our 'PJ Remix Loves U' promo is over, but our little button has been popping up all over the place. Which means we've been giving away heaps of 12-month PJ Remix subs.

Thanks to all those who posted a review. Here are some of our favs...

- Top marks to Karen Dahlquist from Happyfish. Not only was she one of the first to review, but also one of most in-depth. Karen runs a design service with PJ, in case you're tempted.

- Dean Kaus raved about PJ Remix on his blog - flexible is our middle name ;)

- Vito Amati shared how PJ Remix fits into and streamlines his workflow

- Jennifer Bowen from Jennifer Bowen Photography gave us a run down of some of her favourite PJ Remix features (including it's drag-and-drop interface, export functionality and template management).

Thanks again to all those who reviewed.

Try this at home

2008-09-25T09:02:00.005+12:00

Drag an image to the page – leave it selected – then hit ⌘1, ⌘2, ⌘3 ... through to ⌘9 (CTRL+1 through 9 on Windows). Cool, eh?

Then hit ⌘Z a few times (CTRL+Z on Windows) to try out Undo.

If you liked that, check out the rest of our shortcuts.

We try and get as much functionality as we can out in plain view (as buttons) because most of our users would rather be shooting pictures than learning software. But remember a few of these and you'll really save time.

HTH, Ian

What do you do?

2008-09-24T15:36:00.009+12:00

You're designing an album and you want to take a quick look at the page layout, full screen. What do you do?

a) Click 'Album' on the menu bar and select 'Review Layout'

b) Click the resizing button in the bottom left corner of the Album Layout window and select 'Fit to Screen'

c) Hit - ⌘↑R (Ctrl+Shift+R on a PC)

If quick is key, then it's easily shortcut c). You'll be able to view your layout at full screen in an instant.

Esc will take you back to your Album Planning space.

Guten Tag!

2008-09-19T11:31:00.001+12:00

Stephen and I are planning to attend Photokina as visitors (not exhibitors).

We'd love to catch up one night and chat - maybe over a beer.

Email me if you're keen.

-Danny

Not Photojunction

2008-09-16T17:03:00.000+12:00

Have you noticed that almost all album planning software assumes that (a) all albums are flush-mount, and (b) templates are the only way to design them. Not PJ.

Coffee table books are cool, and so are templates - but there are other albums, and other ways to design them.

Sales Talk

2008-09-11T16:36:00.003+12:00

Queensberry offer sensible sales advice (using PJ, of course)

http://blog.queensberry.com/2008/09/no-surprise.html

Do your supplier a favour

2008-09-09T17:00:00.000+12:00

PJ Remix has four great things going for your album suppliers: we built it from the ground up to resolve their challenges, it sends business to them (not just to their competitors), they don’t need to support it (we do) and it costs nothing for them to get started.

That's a good deal, don't you think?

We've had a few calls from new vendors as a result of photographers lobbying them – thanks for that!

If you'd like to encourage your suppliers to get involved, here's a link to send them.