Bravo!

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the great ideas. I will summarize here, and get them into the queue. We have been discussing several of these ideas already:

Just to make sure, did both of you try alternate templates on your pages (see Templates in the right hand sidebar) ? Several have multiple images per page, and some have text.

• Drag and Drop the pages reordering on the left sidebar. we actually have this working, and it should go live shortly. The larger question is what to do about reordering pages when you have a LOT of pages, and want to move them over long distances. Say, "I want to move pages 80 the 86 to 10 through 16". Scrolling doesn't work in the left window I'm afraid, so we might have a LARGE display of all pages, or perhaps an form that lets you specify moving large blocks of pages.
• Text boxes in order to be able to have text on a page - this is a really interesting idea, and one that hadn't occurred to us. Arbitrarily placing text might be a lot easier than using a template technique. We will explore this option. Once the basics are polished up, text handling is our next priority.
• An easy way to "2-page spread" a single image" We have talked about this a lot, since it is commonly done, and very impressive. Also...
• "Multiple layout options for different number of photos per page" Along with the two page spread, these would be special "smart layouts" that have a good bit of software and engineering behind them. It's defintely something we would like to do, as our multi-fit images per page in the Book Machine solves the generic case and allows unlimited images on a page.

Thanks for all the feedback and comparisons. We'll do our best to get these new improvements delivered asap.

This is definitely a step toward the right direction. I've tried numerous photobook products from different manufacturers, namely, Shutterfly, Photoworks, MyPublisher, MPix, Blurb, Inkubook and Viovio. IMHO, nothing beats the quality AND price of Viovio!!! The only thing that holds me back from using Viovio more often is the software, or lack thereof. When I use Viovio, I usually upload a pdf file that I have created using Fotofusion, which is VERY time consuming. When I need something fast I usually just go with Shutterfly or Photoworks. Lately, the great software from MPix saves me a lot of time formatting my photobooks so I have been using them more often. But compared to Viovio, I think the quality of Viovio is still far superior.

Just my suggestions for the book maker software:
It will be great to have an option to use a photo as a one-page or two page spread background. Multiple layout options for different number of photos per page should be quite standard. The ability to add text to the page or to the photo should also be available.

In terms of bookmaker software, the best and most flexible and easy to use that's out there is the one used by Mpix. The same software is also available from DigiLabs, and for $350 you can buy the software and get a license which enables you to save a file in jpeg or pdf. A little too expensive for me! If Viovio can create a bookmaker with similar features as the Mpix/DigiLabs software, then I would have no reason to use any other company again for my photobooks!!! On the average, I create a photobook about once a month.

Hey, wow! This is such a huge improvement on the previous method!! Thanks so much for bringing this out.

It would be cool to be able to drag pictures once they're on the page, in order to try them in different positions. Presently, if you want to try a different picture in a spot, you have to drag it down from the upper tool bar.

Also, it would be a real help to be able to drag and drop the pages around on the left sidebar. So if I decide that page 4 really looks better in the position where pages 6 is, I could just drag and switch them around instead of having to essentially re-create page 4 from scratch in the position of page 6, then recreate page 6 in the position of page 4.

Overall, though, a huge and vast improvement from before.

Last wish: Text boxes in order to be able to have text on a page. That's what other companies such as Blurb and MyPublisher allow, which is pretty cool.

Thanks for the improvements, and keep up the good work!