New in MaxLab: A new release package has been made available to all users. It has been 4 months since our last public release, since many of our users have been in full production and not in a position to update. As it’s been a little longer between releases than usual, we have rolled up the last few internal releases into a bumper release available to update now.
In total we have 2 completely new features, 31 improvements and 31 resolved issues. We are on a path of continuous improvements, so even though there are a lot of very small improvements listed, these contribute to our goal of providing the most efficient and robust software for running a high volume photography operation.
The complete list can be read in the full release notes at the end of this post; but we will call out a few here.
Virtual Copies
Make a virtual copy of an image in MaxLab, and apply different products, crops, colour corrections, or metadata without duplicating or affecting the original image file.
Blink scores
Our face detection libraries, along with some proprietary magic, allows us to help find blinks – this has been released in BETA
Blink scores add to the other very useful features availabe with our face detection feature, such as “Happy” scores and detection of Glasses– useful for checking for reflections.
These face detection and analysis features allow you to quickly weed out the worst images leaving more time to focus on your best!
Export Power features
Major overhaul of the “Export Images” User Interface, including better previews and several new options and features. This makes MaxLab Exports a more powerful tool than ever. Interact with other systems by creating highly customised exports of Images and / or data. Sometimes when we add many options and features, we need to take a step back and look at how we can improve the user expericnce so that all of the options do not become overwhelming.
QR Import Improvements
Improvements to QR import – including allowing users to reject images at this early stage to save time down the line.
QOL – quality of life improvements
Many improvements and a few bug fixes; initiated through user feedback and our own rigorous testing. These make the software easier to use and more efficient, reducing the need for training and reducing costs to the business.
Existing users head over to the Downloads page now, if you are not already a MaxLab user and would like to explore how it can make your school photography or volume photography business more efficient, please get in touch.
19/07/2021 – V2021.3.5 Full Release Notes
- MaxLab Installer 2021.3.5.200
- MaxLab Server Installer 2021.3.5.221
- Production Agent Installer 2021.3.5.139
- Microlab Layout Designer Installer 2021.2.0.311
- Web Upload Agent Installer 2021.3.5.49
- Rolled up release of internal versions 2021.1.1 thru 2021.3.5
New
- MLAB-5061 – Client – Face Detect – blink scores
- BETA for initial testing of Blinks scores, feedback etc.
- MLAB-4977 – Implemented ability to create ‘virtual copies’ in edit screen
Improved
- MLAB-5029-unsupported-image-migration-support
- MLAB-5091 – Virtual copy rerender
- Fixed issue where sometimes the virtual copy would need to re-rendered or wouldn’t show correctly
- MLAB-5093 – QR import reject images
- Removing an image from QR import now only rejects it, and excludes it from being imported
- MLAB-5095 – Added ‘0’ option to asset rating filter
- Removed ‘Enter’ key as a trigger for auto completing a word in Edit data text boxes.
- Was hard to enter different but similar data as you have to hit enter now to commit the new text, if there was a suggestion it would autocomplete. Only ‘Tab’ is used now to auto complete.
- MLAB-4972 – Minor library screen UI improvements. Removed ‘actions’ and ‘open’ buttons from menu bar, added ‘Open Collection’ button above images
- MLAB-5096 – Added asset rating to datagrid view
- Group on SubjectToken and in Data grid view can scan which groupings don’t have favourite image selected
- MLAB-5076 implemented ‘ProductName’ as new dynamic field in device custom file renaming option in production agent
- MLAB-5056 implemented ability to select from different 1d and 2d barcode formats to scan for during QR import
- MLAB-5034 – GotPhoto – Pull down Email and save against Address from new GotPhoto API endpoint
- MLAB-5015 – Original / Full size no Crop when Exporting an Image
- MLAB-4997 text box auto complete case sensitivity
- MLAB-5027 added refreshing library screen after a collection has been imported
- MLAB-5014 Ability to Quickly Reject/Remove Images in the QR Import workflow
- MLAB-3942 Clarification: “Primary Image Identifier must be Indexed, Required, not Editable, and of type ‘Number'”
- MLAB-4963 Export Images UI Improvements
- MLAB-4994 – added tooltip to ‘filter unmatched’ button in exif import
- MLAB-4968 – Save if user has scaling tool magnifier enabled or not
- MLAB-4975 Client – Adding a Tag with no images selected -just does nothing, maybe needs a toast
- Added a toast for when the tag field is valid but no images are selected. Also, adjusted the UI of both the panel and tag control itself to better display the tags.
- MLAB-4891 implemented paging in the client collections list
- MLAB-4136 Web Portal – Hide ‘System’ users from ‘Users’ page
- MLAB-4996 added number of items to the export modal in job portal page
- MLAB-4484 MLab Client – Add Product / New Product UI tweaks
- Added requested tooltips to the menu bar, changed the new product buttons to include the images and changed the modal titles from ‘Add’ to ‘New’. Left the file names themselves as was just a UI request change and things still seem clear code-wise, but happy to go through renaming files if preferred.
- MLAB-4980 Client – Add warning for unsaved changes before opening export modal in Edit
- MLAB-4999 MaxLab GotPhoto Upload – Rename ‘Order’ to ‘Upload Job’
- MLAB-4485 Web Portal – Button to Test GotPhoto Credentials
- MLAB-4402 Diagnostic Dump – Add ability for user to add a note when they send a diagnostic dump
- MLAB-5013 implemented the ability to filter on unmatched rows in the import new data modal. Initially added ‘save overview data’ button to save the results to a csv, but copy+paste into excel or google sheets achieved the same result so left out to keep thing
Initially added ‘save overview data’ button to save the results to a csv, but copy+paste into excel or google sheets achieved the same result so left out to keep thing - MLAB-5079 – Small update to ensure the order list cached settings cannot load a page size of 0
- MLAB-4321 – MicroLab Client Edit Screen – When you are filtering, if you Reject an Image you are scrolled to the Top
- Needs testing, as we had been trying to fix the gallery issues that came with this for quite some time. Hopefully resolved now!
- MLAB-5081 Client – export – dateTime not formatted
- MLAB-5019 MaxLab – Limit the size of Client Sessions Documents in the Database
Fixed
- MLAB-4895 – MaxLab Client – Error after adding Single Print
- MLAB-5102 – MaxLab Client – If moving between views in Edit screen with an Image selected the next selection doesn’t clear
If Moving from Gallery with an Image selected to either DataGrid or Analyzer view, the next image selected wouldn’t clear selection. - MLAB-5022 migration tool correcting mapped data feature
- MLAB-5024 – MaxLab Search – Searching with wildcard no longer working using syntax in ticket
- MLAB-4653 – Selection lost, or selected Image doesn’t show when switching from Data grid view back to an Image view
Switching from Data Grid to Analyzer/Gallery would not show the Image for the selected data grid row
Switching from Analyzer/Gallery would not show the row in the data grid for the selected image - MLAB-5103 – Virtual copies index out of bounds error
- MLAB-5099 – QR Import – Rescanning images sometimes throws null reference error
- MLAB-5077 MaxLab – Linked Images not working correctly for Layout inside Pack in Order Builder
- Fixed potential issue where production agent could show devices from other production services
- MLAB-5055 Export erroring on first start up
- MLAB-4646 MaxLab Edit – Remove asset links doesn’t terminate
- MLAB-5060 fixed issue where the scaling tool sometimes wouldn’t save the scale
- MLAB-5053 Error when trying to save new Versions (Large Group Images)
- When retouching a very large image it would error when trying to save the version
- MLAB-5016 MaxLab – QR Import error when merging data without a Job Selected
- MLAB-5057 Client – Null Reference Exception on Import
- MLAB-5011 MaxLab Stuck on Saving Images
- MLAB-5018 Web Portal – Possible spelling / typo in toast that appears when sending Photo tickets to Production
- Fixed ‘queued’ typo
- MLAB-5017 Production Agent – C8 Device External Products have changed Toast keeps showing
- MLAB-5042 fixed issue when a grouping is changed with a single asset selected causes the next selection to not clear the initial selection
- MLAB-5050 Client – Library Paging Intermittent Error Loading Collections
- MLAB-5026 MaxLab Edit – Cropping issue when using Keyboard shortcut to rotate
- MLAB-4646 MaxLab Edit – Remove asset links doesn’t terminate
- MLAB-5020 fixed an issue with the ‘create’ button not showing up sometimes when trying to create a new field group
- MLAB-5030 fixed collection search errors
- MLAB-5035 fixed issue where select no items for shootlist export would show ‘exporting 0 data items’
- MLAB-5028 pack product linked images issue
- MLAB-5036 portal jobs adding extras subject token bug
- MLAB-4205 fixed issue where tooltips for displayed asset data were not showing, and added
- MLAB-4976 Client – F8 – if “Append Index Print” is checked and Index Print Layout is not selected an Exception occurs
- MLAB-4993 Client – when changing the metadata which I am grouped on, the cursor moves to the start of the field before I have finished typing
- MLAB-5004 MaxLab ExternalOrderSystemExport Task Timer is not disposed- suspected cause of memory leak.