We’re expecting a new version of RapidWeaver, with support for automatic updating plugins to come any minute now. (oh-please-oh-please-oh-please!!!)

We’re pushing out one more update to Collage that we hope takes care of all the weird little bugs that cropped up with images, sparkle updaters, and everything else.

We strongly urge all our customers who use Collage to update if they have a chance. Use manual updating this time and with any luck all future updates will be automated.

Download: Collage 2.0.5

Collage 2 Update

Today we’re releasing a small patch to Collage. This should hopefully smooth some problems that cropped up when RapidWeaver 4.2 was released. RapidWeaver 4.2 changed the file caching mechanisms and caused Collage to lose track of its images if directories were moved around -- such as when the page was renamed.
Of course this version is recommended for all users of RapidWeaver 4.2 and works well with RapidWeaver 4.1.3 as well.

Update: We’ve made one more change. So we’ve pushed the revision number up to 2.0.4.

Collage 2: Get it Now

Bug Fixes

• Changing the name of a page in RapidWeaver 4.2 no longer causes Collage to loose it's images.
• Dragging a new image into the preview area now properly updates the image browser.
• Image loading is now faster for large images.
• Image data is cached more aggressively to reduce memory overhead for large files. NB: This doesn't mean that you should have a very large file. If your file sizes are growing a lot ask on the RapidWeaver forum how you can divide it up.

Requirements

You must have RapidWeaver 4.1.3 to use Collage 2.

How much?

This is a free update if you’re already a Collage 2 registered users.
If you purchased Collage 1 then the upgrade to Collage 2 is just $7.95.

How do I install it?

The easiest way to install it is to:

1. Open RapidWeaver
2. Close any open documents.
3. Download the Collage 2 disk image here.
4. Double click on the Collage plugin in the disk image window.
5. Quit and restart RapidWeaver

How do I get it?

Jump over to our Collage page and grab a copy.

How Much is Lunch?

Beta 7 is out and with it we’ve added an even slicker lightbox, work with even more themes, and have, we hope, nailed down all the IE6 bugs -- but IE 6 always seems to come up with new and unique ways to frustrate developers -- and that’s why this is still a beta.

But we’re getting very very close to release quality with this build. In fact, we wanted to test our registration code so we’ve turned on the Buy Now button. Sorry, I guess there’s no free lunch after all.

Hopefully, if you’ve been using GoogaLoom for a while it’s already paid for itself and it will be a easy business decision. If you haven’t been selling with GoogaLoom, well, what are you waiting for?! Grab some stuff, put up a page and let’s get selling!

What's New?

• New LightBox
• Better Internet Explorer 6 compatability
• Improved CSS is compatible with more themes.
• Registration is now enabled.

How Much?

GoogaLoom is now on sale for $19.95.

Requirements

RapidWeaver 3.6 and Mac OS X 10.4

Book Worm

We had a little bug in the Blocks 3.2.0 release. It seems that while fixing a problem in library reading we raised the bar a bit too high and eliminated not only problematic things, but also a few real working library blocks too. We’re releasing Blocks 3.2.1 today to correct that error. It’s the only change.

If you’re still using older versions of RapidWeaver, then you should visit our Plugin Archive. We keep older versions of our plugins there and have a set recommended specifically for RapidWeaver 3.

What's fixed?

• Library Blocks stored in internal bzip format (from Blocks 3.0) are no longer ignored.

How much?

Like most updates from YourHead Software this update is free.

How do I install it?

If you’ve been using the beta version then this version should come via automatic software update the next time you use Blocks.
If this is the first time you’ve seen Blocks 3.2 then you’ll still have to install this version manually, the easiest way to install it is to:

1. Open RapidWeaver
2. Close any open documents.
3. Download Blocks.
4. Double click on the Blocks plugin in the disk image window.
5. Quit and restart RapidWeaver

You'll need to republish pages before the new content (like the new Javascripts) gets to your server, but otherwise there should be no changes required.

How do I get it?

The most recent versions of Blocks are always available (with release dates and build numbers) on our Downloads page. Or you can just click right here: Blocks v3.2.1

If you’re still using older versions of RapidWeaver, then you should visit our Plugin Archive. We keep older versions of our plugins there and have a set recommended specifically for RapidWeaver 3.

A Bit More Time

We’ve added just a few more minor tweaks to this beta and we’ve also extended the beta period so that you can keep enjoying GoogaLoom free of charge for a bit longer.

What's New?

• Beta period extended an extra month in case we need a bit more time.
• GoogaLoom should now properly save custom CSS and custom templates.

How Much?

We have not announced the price of GoogaLoom yet. Until then you can use the beta free of charge When the beta period ends, pricing will be similar to PayLoom.

Requirements

RapidWeaver 3.6 and Mac OS X 10.4

Just one more fix?

There was one important change that we've been meaning to make to Carousel for a quite a while and for some reason it didn't make it into the recent spate of updates. But since we're on a roll, we decided we'd send this one out too.

What's New?

• Carousel no longer ignores some formatting in the content area. This change may also improve plugins that work while exporting, like PlusKit from LogHound.

How Much?

Like most YourHead updates, this one is free.

Requirements

RapidWeaver 4.1.3 and Mac OS X 10.5

More Info?

There’s lots of great info on our site about Carousel. Here’s a quick list:

• Main Carousel Page
• Download Carousel
• Carousel FAQ
• Carousel Forum
• Henks page of Carousel Styles
• More Carousel Styles

• Installation Guide
• Quick Start
• Reference Manual
• Registration Guide

Built for RapidWeaver 4

If you’ve been following along with the Blocks beta builds we’ve released a number of small fixes, most aimed at subtle changes just for RapidWeaver 4.
Just like our other plugins, we’re now compiling Blocks specifically for RapidWeaver 4. We think this change will allow us add newer RapidWeaver features more quickly and should also improve overall stability.
If you’re still using older versions of RapidWeaver, then you should visit our Plugin Archive. We keep older versions of our plugins there and have a set recommended specifically for RapidWeaver 3.

What's fixed?

• Fixed a possible crash when switching themes while in preview mode.
• Fixed a possible error while unzipping library items.
• Fixed a possible crash while opening files with Quicktime embedded in text blocks.
• The blocks, block borders, guides, and drag handles should all appear crisper and draw more accurately. This change is purely to the screen drawing code and will not have any affect on the exported HTML, CSS, or Javascript.
• Automatic plugin updating now works to update Blocks.
• Blocks is now built for the RapidWeaver 4 API. This means more stability, flexability, and new features.
• Fixed some undo behavior.
• Fixed a possible crash while searching for library items.
• Units are now always whole numbers.

How much?

Like most updates from YourHead Software this update is free.

How do I install it?

If you’ve been using the beta version then this version should come via automatic software update the next time you use Blocks.
If this is the first time you’ve seen Blocks 3.2 then you’ll still have to install this version manually, the easiest way to install it is to:

1. Open RapidWeaver
2. Close any open documents.
3. Download Blocks.
4. Double click on the Blocks plugin in the disk image window.
5. Quit and restart RapidWeaver

You'll need to republish pages before the new content (like the new Javascripts) gets to your server, but otherwise there should be no changes required.

How do I get it?

The most recent versions of Blocks are always available (with release dates and build numbers) on our Downloads page. Or you can just click right here: Blocks v3.2.0
If you’re still using older versions of RapidWeaver, then you should visit our Plugin Archive. We keep older versions of our plugins there and have a set recommended specifically for RapidWeaver 3.

Collage 2 Update

We’re rolling up a number of bug-fixes, refinements and adding automatic updating. This release is recommended to everyone who is using Collage, especially if you are using RapidWeaver 4.1.3.

Collage 2: Get it Now

Bug Fixes

• Missing images no longer cause RapidWeaver to hang while saving files.
• Swtiching to Collage pages is now significantly faster.
• Changing details of custom styles no longer loses info.
• Applying styles after resizing image browsers no longer causes crashes.
• When lightboxes are disabled, Collage will include a space between the href and other properties of an anchor tag. And should now validate xHTML strict again.

New Features

Like a lot of our plugins, we’re adding Sparkle automatic updating. This means that Collage will notice any future releases and download them automatically.

Requirements

You must have RapidWeaver 4.1 to use Collage 2.

How much?

This is a free update if you’re already a Collage 2 registered users.
If you purchased Collage 1 then the upgrade to Collage 2 is just $7.95.

How do I install it?

The easiest way to install it is to:

1. Open RapidWeaver
2. Close any open documents.
3. Download the Collage 2 disk image here.
4. Double click on the Collage plugin in the disk image window.
5. Quit and restart RapidWeaver

How do I upgrade?

This time we’re doing things a bit differently. Collage 2 is such a huge change from Collage 1 that we decided updating your existing Collage pages just wouldn’t produce quality output. Images would suffer because Collage 1 saves small images and Collage 2 needs nice big images for Slideshows and Lightboxes. So we decided that you should probably migrate you pages slowly, using the original images, that’s the way Collage 2 works best. Here’s what you need to know:

• Q: Will my Collage 1 pages be upgraded automatically?
  A: No, you should rebuild them from the original images.
• Q: Can I keep my old Collage 1 pages while building new Collage 2 pages?
  A: Yes! Collage 1 and Collage 2 run side by side.
• Q: Do I need to uninstall Collage 2 to run RapidWeaver 3.6?
  A: No. RW3 will ignore Collage 2.

How do I get it?

Jump over to our Collage page and grab a copy.

One more bugfix. One more feature.

What's New

• Sparkle automatic updating. You have to download this version, but future versions can be downloaded automatically.

What's Fixed

• No longer duplicates image names in RW 4.1.1. This time for sure, Rocky!
• Fixed a URL in the registration window.

Where can I learn more?

Jump over to the product pages, check out the manual, and read all about it.

How much?

This update is free.

How do I install it?

The easiest way to install it is to:

1. Open RapidWeaver
2. Close any open documents.
3. Download the Carousel disk image.
4. Double click on the Carousel plugin in the disk image window.
5. Quit and restart RapidWeaver

You'll need to republish pages before the new content (like the new javascripts) gets to your server, but otherwise there should be no changes required.

How do I get it?

The most recent version of Carousel is always available (with release dates and build numbers) on our Downloads page. Or you can just click right here: Carousel 1.3

Another Blocks beta is going out tonight. It will again be only for the auto-updater. So if you’re not seeing auto-updates, you’re missing out.

To get auto-updates you’ll need to download the Blocks 3.2 beta 1. Read all about it.

Again we’re squashing a few more bugs that have been outstanding for too long. Some cosmetic drawing bugs. See the release notes that come with the updater for more info.

Let me know if, when, and how the auto-update went. We’re still working out a few of the kinks.

Google, eCommerce, and RapidWeaver. Three great things that go better together.

Ever since we released PayLoom last year we’ve been hounded to add some of the competition. Google Checkout, of course, was high on the list. With Google you get a slick payment system, inexpensive or even free processing (for AdWords users), and a brand that the whole world trusts to, “do no evil.”

Beta 1

This is our first beta release of GoogaLoom, so there are bound to be a few bugs. Obviously, you may want to hold off using this for mission critical sites. But in return for the growing pains, we’ve made this release free of any registration or constraints. GoogaLoom will be for sale when we make the final release, but until then feel free to play, build sites, and let us know what you think.
DownLoad GoogaLoom

Fun New Toys

We’ve tried hard to maintain a consistancy between the PayLoom and GoogaLoom interfaces -- hiding as many of the HTML differences as we possibly can. But the reality is that PayPal and Google Checkout are really quite different. Different enough that the GoogaLoom has some interesting features you may want to check out.

Floating Cart

Rather than forwarding you off to another server, GoogaLoom uses Javascript to float the cart right on your store webpage. This keeps your customers engaged and gives immediate feedback to their actions.

Options, Overrides, and Custom Controls

Google gives you total freedom in defining production options. You can add as many as you like, each with a set of predefined choices, price overrides, and interface options. Of course learning how to build this into your web site could be a real chore, but with GoogaLoom you can easily add and remove options, change prices, and mix up the interface.

Power User Control

Fine tune your cart with power user features that let your web store feel like an integrated part of your site.
Of course, you don’t need to use these settings, we’ve found some nice defaults so if you need to get your store up and running, you don’t have to change a thing.

And More

There are even more fun new things to play with, but this being a beta release, you’re supposed to explore a bit, so I’ll save the rest as an exercise for the reader.

Blocks 3.2.0 beta 2 was just pushed up to our update server. There is no difference to the beta 1 version that we published yesterday -- except that beta 2 is only being sent out via automatic update.

If you picked up the auto-update, let us know how it went. We’d like to know how things worked out for you.

What’s new?

1) It’s a beta.
2) It requires RapidWeaver 4.
3) It will automatically update itself when a new version is released.

It’s because of #3 that this is a beta. It’s the first plugin to have this feature and there are any number of things that might go wrong. So please download this one only:

1) If you don’t mind beta software.
2) You are using RapidWeaver 4
3) If you’d like to test out some auto updating.

If you’re still using RapidWeaver 3, are working on a production web site, or just don’t feel like testing beta software. Stick with Blocks 3.1.4.

Requirements?

To get the auto-update feature you’ll need the very latest and greatest RapidWeaver: RapidWeaver 4.1.3. Nothing earlier will do -- although version back to 4.0 will work, but without auto-updating.

How do you get the auto-updating to work?

1) Make sure that you have enabled automatic updates in RapidWeaver.
2) Open a file with a blocks page and select the page.
3) If an update is available, then the rest should be the familiar series confirmations, downloads, and a rapidweaver relaunch.

OK, still interested?

Here’s what you need to do to get the beta:
1) Repeat after me, “I will send bug reports to support@yourhead.com. I will not post them on the forum.” OK. Good.
I WILL NOT respond to forum posts about beta bugs. I WILL NOT!
Email. Please. Really! Thanks.
2) Download it here: Blocks 3.2.0 beta 1
3) Make sure to use the update feature and report back to me how it works.

The next version will come automatically Monday morning (Sept 2, 08). Please let me know (via email!) how the auto update went and if there’s anything I can do to make it even better.

RapidWeaver Update Madness!

RapidWeaver 4.1 introduced a nice new feature of automatically naming imported image files, which is great -- but it broke the way Carousel generates a QuickAlbum.
We've fixed this problem, of course, and we're releasing this version of Carousel specifically targeted for RapidWeaver 4.1. That will make things more stable and allow us to use new APIs in the future. So if you have RapidWeaver 3 -- there's absolutely no reason to upgrade. This new version won't work on RapidWeaver 3 or even 4.0.1 (you won't even see it) -- and really, there's no new features and no known bugs with the old version.
Take this as a subtle hint. This update doesn’t include any new features, so if you’re still on RapidWeaver 3, you’re not missing much. But, it's time to start thinking about RapidWeaver 4.1 upgrades. Now that RapidWeaver 4.1 is out, all our plugins will be heading in this direction, so if you haven't upgraded yet, you should really starting considering it.
If you do accidentally install this version and you need to jump back to the preview one, check the bottom of our Downloads page for older RW3 versions.

What's New

• There are no new features in this version.

What's Fixed

• No longer duplicates image names in RW 4.1.1.
• New RapidWeaver 4 icons.
• Nicer RapidWeaver 4 splash images.
• Mac OS X 10.5 GC-Support

Where can I learn more?

Jump over to the product pages, check out the manual, and read all about it.

How much?

This update is free.

How do I install it?

The easiest way to install it is to:

1. Open RapidWeaver
2. Close any open documents.
3. Download the Carousel disk image.
4. Double click on the Carousel plugin in the disk image window.
5. Quit and restart RapidWeaver

You'll need to republish pages before the new content (like the new javascripts) gets to your server, but otherwise there should be no changes required.

How do I get it?

The most recent version of Carousel is always available (with release dates and build numbers) on our Downloads page. Or you can just click right here: Carousel 1.3

A Few Odds and Ends

After the big 1.2 update we noticed a few little odds and ends that were left off the list. Nothing new and just a few fixes. This is a free update recommended for everyone who uses PayLoom.

What's Fixed

• Custom template entry fields now wrap text.
• Localized stores no longer localize form decimal points which confused PayPal.
• Add to Cart works in the lightbox of the grid layout.

How much?

This update is free.

How do I install it?

The easiest way to install it is to:

1. Open RapidWeaver
2. Close any open documents.
3. Download the PayLoom disk image.
4. Double click on the PayLoom plugin in the disk image window.
5. Quit and restart RapidWeaver

You'll need to republish pages before the new content (like the new javascripts) gets to your server, but otherwise there should be no changes required.

How do I get it?

The most recent version of PayLoom is always available (with release dates and build numbers) on our Downloads page. Or you can just click right here: PayLoom 1.2

Now with Customizable Product Templates

If you haven’t been playing along with the PayLoom beta, then this is what you’ve been waiting for. Version 1.2 adds more customization features and more compatibility with a lot of other content and themes. And now that we’re out of beta we’ve nailed down all the little bugs, so it’s a good time to update.

What's New

• Customizable templates.
• Customizable product CSS.
• An “Out of Stock” button allows you to display the item without the Buy Now button.
• Use Option-Drag in the product list to duplicate products.
• More custom-template-documentation.

Make sure to check out the product template features on the PayLoom help pages. It gives you all the details so that you can customize PayLoom to do just about anything.

What's Fixed

• Custom Buy Now button images fixed.
• Fixed layout issues with some themes that use z-index.
• CSS @import removed for compatibility with some themes.
• PayLoom no longer dumps extraneous console messages.
• Dragging a comma delimited list into the Options area works again.
• Lightbox no longer appears underneath the sidebar in some themes.

How much?

This update is free.

How do I install it?

The easiest way to install it is to:

1. Open RapidWeaver
2. Close any open documents.
3. Download the PayLoom disk image.
4. Double click on the PayLoom plugin in the disk image window.
5. Quit and restart RapidWeaver

You'll need to republish pages before the new content (like the new javascripts) gets to your server, but otherwise there should be no changes required.

How do I get it?

The most recent version of PayLoom is always available (with release dates and build numbers) on our Downloads page. Or you can just click right here: PayLoom 1.2

It’s all the little things.

Now that RapidWeaver 4 out we’re making the rounds in all of the YourHead plugins looking for anything that we can fix. Kwix has a couple of problems in RapidWeaver 4 so we thought it would be a good time to introduce a few minor code upgrades too. A few cosmetic bugs have been fixed, a nice new icon for RapidWeaver 4, and significantly smaller Javascript footprint with much better compatibility with a wider range of themes.

What's New

• Smaller Javascript.
• Compatibility with RMS Business Effect themes.
• Better compatibility with Rapidweaver 4..

What's Fixed

• Icon window no longer hangs in RW 4.
• Cosmetic fixes to settings GUI.

How much?

This update is free.

How do I install it?

The easiest way to install it is to:

1. Open RapidWeaver
2. Close any open documents.
3. Download the Kwix disk image.
4. Double click on the Kwix plugin in the disk image window.
5. Quit and restart RapidWeaver

You'll need to republish pages before the new content (like the new Javascripts) gets to your server, but otherwise there should be no changes required.

How do I get it?

The most recent version of Kwix is always available (with release dates and build numbers) on our Downloads page. Or you can just click right here: Kwix 1.1

Now with exactly what you want!

One thing we noticed pretty much as soon as we published PayLoom was how much people wanted to customize every little thing. It seems obvious now -- people want their store to be as unique as their products that the store is selling.
We aim to please and have added a totally customizable HTML template to PayLoom. This means that you can tweak your PayLoom pages to your hearts desire.
Be careful what you ask for, though. The templates and custom CSS require some web-savvy. We’ll post some examples when the final version is released, to give you a helping hand.

What's New

• Custom templates.
• Custom CSS.
• An “Out of Stock” button allows you to display the item without the Buy Now button.

What's Fixed

• Better RW 4 support.
• Header and Footer images no longer have name collisions with other images.
• jQuery based, “no conflict” Javascript for smoother integrations.

How much?

This update is free.

How do I install it?

The easiest way to install it is to:

1. Open RapidWeaver
2. Close any open documents.
3. Download the PayLoom disk image.
4. Double click on the PayLoom plugin in the disk image window.
5. Quit and restart RapidWeaver

You'll need to republish pages before the new content (like the new javascripts) gets to your server, but otherwise there should be no changes required.

How do I get it?

The most recent version of PayLoom is always available (with release dates and build numbers) on our Downloads page. Or you can just click right here: PayLoom 1.2 beta 1

Collage 2 is finally here!

If you’ve been waiting for the beta testing to be done, your wait is finally over. Collage 2 is ready for download. In case you missed the announcement with all the feature details, I’ve listed some of the details below.

Collage 2: Get it Now

New Features

We’ve been hard at work on this new Collage for almost six months, so there’s quite a bit to talk about. Read about all the new features here or jump over to our Collage pages and check out some screenshots. Our screenshots even use Collage... to show off Collage!

AJAX Slideshow

Add a super cool animated slideshow with AJAX image loading. Just one click and Collage does the rest for you.

Image Editing

Now you can zoom, scale, and crop your images just by grabbing them with the mouse and dragging them into position. Or, click on the auto-reset and your image will automatically be scaled to perfectly fit into the Collage thumbnail.

New Styles

We’ve added a new Styles window. If you’ve used Kwix or Carousel, you’ll be familiar with it. Even better, we’ve begged, bartered, and bribed Elixir Graphics into creating a few professional grade Collage Styles that are built right in. They even did our super cool icon too!

Cool Effects

Everyone loves the light-box effect. Now you can have it right inside your Collage. No more Javascript wrangling or Flash incompatibilities, either. With just one click Collage will scale images, add the Javascript, and upload everything for you.
Plus you can add even more description to your images without cluttering up your pages with a Hover box. Turn on hover boxes and a nice little box will pop up when the user moves the mouse over your images.

Loads of Graphic Options

Now there are even more ways to make your collage unique. There are a lot of new things to set, here’s the big list:

• Image Backgrounds
• Image Masking
• Image Overlays
• Selectable Corner Rounding
• Set the Rounding Radius
• More settings for your shadows
• More settings for your reflections
• Edge fading

Mouseover Effects

Every single graphic setting can be changed when a user hovers their mouse over a thumbnail. It makes it simple to produce eye grabbing interactivity. Simply copy over your idle-state settings and change, change a few settings, and voila!, you’ve got a professional mouseover effect.

And there’s so much more!

A live preview window to see all your settings in real time, xHTML strict coding, AJAX image loading, Fade-Out slideshow controls, higher quality thumbnails, and of course, better IE support than ever.

RapidWeaver 4

Collage 2 uses all the great new RapidWeaver 4 API calls. That means that we have much more control over the way we manage images and save files. Collage doesn’t degrade your images at all. Collage “hard links” to the original files, just like Time Machine does. It doesn’t take any extra space on your hard disk, but if you accidentally delete the original Collage will (as if by magic) make sure that a copy is safe and sound inside your RapidWeaver file. It’s like having your cake and eating it too!

Leopard

Leopard gave us the power to add some great upgrades to the Collage interface. We take advantage of some great animation effects and use Leopards built in image browsers to give you all the speed and power Mac users are used to. But don’t worry, we didn’t go over the top. In Collage 2 form still follows function.

Requirements

You must have RapidWeaver 4 to use Collage 2.

How much?

If you purchased Collage in the past three months then Collage 2 is a free upgrade.
If you purchased Collage before that then the upgrade to Collage 2 is just $7.95.
If you’re new to Collage then it’s $14.95.
If you qualify for a free update we’ll contact you via the email address you registered with. If you don’t receive an email or believe your email address has changed feel free to send an email to support and just ask -- we want to make sure you get the bargain that was promised.

How do I install it?

The easiest way to install it is to:

1. Open RapidWeaver
2. Close any open documents.
3. Download the Collage 2 disk image here.
4. Double click on the Collage plugin in the disk image window.
5. Quit and restart RapidWeaver

How do I upgrade?

This time we’re doing things a bit differently. Collage 2 is such a huge change from Collage 1 that we decided updating your existing Collage pages just wouldn’t produce quality output. Images would suffer because Collage 1 saves small images and Collage 2 needs nice big images for Slideshows and Lightboxes. So we decided that you should probably migrate you pages slowly, using the original images, that’s the way Collage 2 works best. Here’s what you need to know:

• Q: Will my Collage 1 pages be upgraded automatically?
  A: No, you should rebuild them from the original images.
• Q: Can I keep my old Collage 1 pages while building new Collage 2 pages?
  A: Yes! Collage 1 and Collage 2 run side by side.
• Q: Do I need to uninstall Collage 2 to run RapidWeaver 3.6?
  A: No. RW3 will ignore Collage 2.

How do I get it?

Jump over to our Collage page and grab a copy.

We’ve been hard at work eliminating bugs and making refinements to Collage. We’re quickly closing in on the final release. But there were some more changes added to broaden our compatibility with a number of 3rd party themes. Collage works with just about every theme out there even some of the tough ones. We’ve even created a few test pages in some of the themes that we’ve been working with. Our test pages are published in PNG -- which is quite slow for the lightbox, we always recommend publishing lightboxes in JPEG -- but just to stress the system we did it.

Collage 2 Beta 3: Get it Now

What’s New

Most of our changes this time were to fix bugs, but we did add one new feature that we know everyone wanted:

• Headers and Footer are back. Look in the settings under the Text tab. They support full styled-text and even come with the new RapidWeaver 4.0 toolbar. Yeah!
• Content was added to Preview mode only to help users if they have content or themes that are breaking Collage.
• The image browser is now styled with Drag Images Here when it’s empty to help new users. It has a very nice Core Graphics fade-in too.

What’s Fixed

Many of the changes were to correct compatibility with a particular theme or a particular browser, these aren’t included in the list below, but rest assured there are dozens of small tweaks:

• Saving and Opening files takes less memory and should be faster too.
• Turning off the Grid in the Layout tab now packs items wherever they fit.
• Title and Subtitle should not be cut off any more, even if you enter a lot of text.
• Row height will grow to accommodate large titles/subtitles.
• CSS improved for when page is loaded without Javascript. No more red squares.
• Color pallet works in Headers and Footers (bug in RapidWeaver).
• CSS classes were added to the semantic content to help ease theming.
• There is more feedback for people entering upgrade serial numbers into the registration window.
• Compensated for a RapidWeaver memory leak in image loading API.
• You can now place HTML into the Title, Subtitle, and Hover Box (obvious cautions apply, of course).

What Else?

If you missed out on the original Collage announcement you might want to read that post. It details lots of the cool features and new exiting changes.

Requirements

You must have RapidWeaver 4 to use Collage 2.

How much?

If you purchased Collage in the past three months then Collage 2 is a free upgrade. If this is you and you haven’t heard from us, please send us an email.
If you purchased Collage before that then the upgrade to Collage 2 is just $7.95.
If you’re new to Collage then it’s $14.95.

How do I install it?

The easiest way to install it is to:

1. Open RapidWeaver
2. Close any open documents.
3. Download the Collage 2 disk image here.
4. Double click on the Collage plugin in the disk image window.
5. Quit and restart RapidWeaver

How do I upgrade?

This time we’re doing things a bit differently. Collage 2 is such a huge change from Collage 1 that we decided updating your existing Collage pages just wouldn’t produce quality output. Images would suffer because Collage 1 saves small images and Collage 2 needs nice big images for Slideshows and Lightboxes. So we decided that you should probably migrate you pages slowly, using the original images, that’s the way Collage 2 works best. Here’s what you need to know:

• Q: Will my Collage 1 pages be upgraded automatically?
  A: No, you should rebuild them from the original images.
• Q: Can I keep my old Collage 1 pages while building new Collage 2 pages?
  A: Yes! Collage 1 and Collage 2 run side by side.
• Q: Do I need to uninstall Collage 2 to run RapidWeaver 3.6?
  A: No. RW3 will ignore Collage 2.

How do I get it?

Jump over to our Collage page and grab a copy.

Collage 2 is a pretty complex piece of software for a plug-in. It’s still nowhere approaching Blocks sort of size, but it far surpasses any of our other plugins. As such our first beta was, well... well... it was rough. It was buggy, even for a beta. With so many changes to the plugin as well as to RapidWeaver it was probably bound to happen, but it was a bit more than we bargained for. We’ve had to roll up our sleeves and spend a lot of late night hours squashing all the bugs.
We’ve also taken a lot more time to test more themes, more machines, and more data. I suspect there may yet be some difficult bugs in beta 2, but with all the great bug reporting from our users, loads of detailed tests, and lots of help from the themers, this release (we hope) will be much more enjoyable for everyone.

Collage 2 Beta 2: Get it Now

What’s New & What’s Fixed

Our primary goal with this release was to get rid of any bugs we could find, to make Collage faster, and more usable for everyone, and to eliminate any incompatibilities that were found in Beta 1. That means no new features, but a whole lot of fixes. Here’s the big list of what we fixed:

• Image previews no longer duplicate the first item on PPC machines.
• Apply button no longer locks up after the first few clicks.
• Wait spin cursor is no longer missing sometimes.
• Drag and drop no longer has off by one error when reordering images.
• PNG replacement scripts of many themes no longer cause disappearing Collage in IE 6
• Some incompatibilities fixed between Moo.fx based themes
• Zoom made more smooth and a bit slower
• Zoom no longer distorts image
• Hover box styles work with more themes
• File loading and saving times improved

What Else?

If you missed out on the original Collage announcement you might want to read that post. It details lots of the cool features and new exiting changes.

Requirements

You must have RapidWeaver 4 to use Collage 2.

How much?

If you purchased Collage in the past three months then Collage 2 is a free upgrade.
If you purchased Collage before that then the upgrade to Collage 2 is just $7.95.
If you’re new to Collage then it’s $14.95.
If you qualify for a free update we’ll contact you via the email address you registered with. If you don’t receive an email or believe your email address has changed feel free to send an email to support and just ask -- we want to make sure you get the bargain that was promised.

How do I install it?

The easiest way to install it is to:

1. Open RapidWeaver
2. Close any open documents.
3. Download the Collage 2 disk image here.
4. Double click on the Collage plugin in the disk image window.
5. Quit and restart RapidWeaver

How do I upgrade?

This time we’re doing things a bit differently. Collage 2 is such a huge change from Collage 1 that we decided updating your existing Collage pages just wouldn’t produce quality output. Images would suffer because Collage 1 saves small images and Collage 2 needs nice big images for Slideshows and Lightboxes. So we decided that you should probably migrate you pages slowly, using the original images, that’s the way Collage 2 works best. Here’s what you need to know:

• Q: Will my Collage 1 pages be upgraded automatically?
  A: No, you should rebuild them from the original images.
• Q: Can I keep my old Collage 1 pages while building new Collage 2 pages?
  A: Yes! Collage 1 and Collage 2 run side by side.
• Q: Do I need to uninstall Collage 2 to run RapidWeaver 3.6?
  A: No. RW3 will ignore Collage 2.

How do I get it?

Jump over to our Collage page and grab a copy.

What’s still not fixed in this beta

Although we have eliminated a number of issues we still know of a handful of cosmetic issues. We’re also aware that if you have about 10 Collage pages things start to slow down more than they should. And the header and footer still have yet to make their reappearance. Don’t worry, they’ll be back.

Bug Squashing

This version of Blocks fixes one nasty bug and also optimizes a change that was introduced a couple releases ago. It's recommended for everyone, especially folks that are using RapidWeaver 4, but this release works just fine with RapidWeaver 3 too.

What's fixed?

There are no new features in this version of Blocks. It's just the bug fixes:

• RW4 Only: Page Blocks imported from Styled Text pages no longer hang RW on export.
• RW3+: Changing the folder name of a Blocks page no longer causes page blocks to import poorly.
• RW3+: JPEG images no longer call the PNG fix script on mouseover events.

What isn't fixed?

There is still a known bug when importing Photo Albums in a Page Block. This bug is near and dear to me and affects the publishing of this very website -- so my motivation to fix this bug is even more keen than usual. However, after a few days of research I've come to the conclusion that this is likely a race condition that exists in Photo Album page publishing. Blocks exacerbates that Race Condition making it fail much of the time.
It's quite possible there is a change to Blocks that could correct this problem, however we need to spend more time working with the RapidWeaver developers before we can mutually make changes to correct the problem.
Usually we would not publish Blocks with any known bugs -- especially ones that were as serious as this one. However there are three mitigating factors that force the decision:
1) The bug that was fixed was critical and needed to be fixed ASAP to get people back on track.
2) The photo album bug may take time to fix and may not result in any changes to Blocks.
3) The RapidWeaver devs have their hands full with lots of support issues, it may be a few days before this issue gets the time it needs to be resolved.
If you are experiencing this error, which is likely (although not guaranteed) if you are importing a photo album in a Page Block, then I would recommend temporarily removing that page block or pointing it to a static image until this is resolved.
On my site both my photo album alone and my page block importing the photo album generated a hang while exporting. The only workaround was to (hopefully temporarily) remove both.
I expect that this bug should be resolved sometime this week, check back soon for more info.

How much?

Like most updates from YourHead Software this update is free.

How do I install it?

The easiest way to install it is to:

1. Open RapidWeaver
2. Close any open documents.
3. Download Blocks.
4. Double click on the Blocks plugin in the disk image window.
5. Quit and restart RapidWeaver

You'll need to republish pages before the new content (like the new Javascripts) gets to your server, but otherwise there should be no changes required.

How do I get it?

The most recent versions of Blocks are always available (with release dates and build numbers) on our Downloads page. Or you can just click right here: Blocks v3.1.4

Happy Release Day!

With the release of RapidWeaver 4 we can finally let everyone see Collage 2. We’re still beta testing, but we’d love it if you would download it and help us work out the last few bugs. The beta is quite stable and definitely ready for real world use.

Collage 2 Beta 1: Get it Now

New Features

We’ve been hard at work on this new Collage for almost six months, so there’s quite a bit to talk about. Read about all the new features here or jump over to our Collage pages and check out some screenshots. Our screenshots even use Collage... to show off Collage!

AJAX Slideshow

Add a super cool animated slideshow with AJAX image loading. Just one click and Collage does the rest for you.

Image Editing

Now you can zoom, scale, and crop your images just by grabbing them with the mouse and dragging them into position. Or, click on the auto-reset and your image will automatically be scaled to perfectly fit into the Collage thumbnail.

New Styles

We’ve added a new Styles window. If you’ve used Kwix or Carousel, you’ll be familiar with it. Even better, we’ve begged, bartered, and bribed Elixir Graphics into creating a few professional grade Collage Styles that are built right in. They even did our super cool icon too!

Cool Effects

Everyone loves the light-box effect. Now you can have it right inside your Collage. No more Javascript wrangling or Flash incompatibilities, either. With just one click Collage will scale images, add the Javascript, and upload everything for you.
Plus you can add even more description to your images without cluttering up your pages with a Hover box. Turn on hover boxes and a nice little box will pop up when the user moves the mouse over your images.

Loads of Graphic Options

Now there are even more ways to make your collage unique. There are a lot of new things to set, here’s the big list:

• Image Backgrounds
• Image Masking
• Image Overlays
• Selectable Corner Rounding
• Set the Rounding Radius
• More settings for your shadows
• More settings for your reflections
• Edge fading

Mouseover Effects

Every single graphic setting can be changed when a user hovers their mouse over a thumbnail. It makes it simple to produce eye grabbing interactivity. Simply copy over your idle-state settings and change, change a few settings, and voila!, you’ve got a professional mouseover effect.

And there’s so much more!

A live preview window to see all your settings in real time, xHTML strict coding, AJAX image loading, Fade-Out slideshow controls, higher quality thumbnails, and of course, better IE support than ever.

RapidWeaver 4

Collage 2 uses all the great new RapidWeaver 4 API calls. That means that we have much more control over the way we manage images and save files. Collage doesn’t degrade your images at all. Collage “hard links” to the original files, just like Time Machine does. It doesn’t take any extra space on your hard disk, but if you accidentally delete the original Collage will (as if by magic) make sure that a copy is safe and sound inside your RapidWeaver file. It’s like having your cake and eating it too!

Leopard

Leopard gave us the power to add some great upgrades to the Collage interface. We take advantage of some great animation effects and use Leopards built in image browsers to give you all the speed and power Mac users are used to. But don’t worry, we didn’t go over the top. In Collage 2 form still follows function.

Requirements

You must have RapidWeaver 4 to use Collage 2.

How much?

If you purchased Collage in the past three months then Collage 2 is a free upgrade.
If you purchased Collage before that then the upgrade to Collage 2 is just $7.95.
If you’re new to Collage then it’s $14.95.
If you qualify for a free update we’ll contact you via the email address you registered with. If you don’t receive an email or believe your email address has changed feel free to send an email to support and just ask -- we want to make sure you get the bargain that was promised.

How do I install it?

The easiest way to install it is to:

1. Open RapidWeaver
2. Close any open documents.
3. Download the Collage 2 disk image here.
4. Double click on the Collage plugin in the disk image window.
5. Quit and restart RapidWeaver

How do I upgrade?

This time we’re doing things a bit differently. Collage 2 is such a huge change from Collage 1 that we decided updating your existing Collage pages just wouldn’t produce quality output. Images would suffer because Collage 1 saves small images and Collage 2 needs nice big images for Slideshows and Lightboxes. So we decided that you should probably migrate you pages slowly, using the original images, that’s the way Collage 2 works best. Here’s what you need to know:

• Q: Will my Collage 1 pages be upgraded automatically?
  A: No, you should rebuild them from the original images.
• Q: Can I keep my old Collage 1 pages while building new Collage 2 pages?
  A: Yes! Collage 1 and Collage 2 run side by side.
• Q: Do I need to uninstall Collage 2 to run RapidWeaver 3.6?
  A: No. RW3 will ignore Collage 2.

How do I get it?

Jump over to our Collage page and grab a copy.

Oh, And there’s One More Thing

We really tried hard to get rid of the Header and Footer sections of the original Collage. You won’t find them in this release at all. Why? Well, people have been quite successful at using Kwix without them and we thought it would be great to eliminate all that complex code in Collage too.
But, then we sent the Collage 2 beta copies around for private testing. It’s been pretty much unanimous that we really screwed up. We’re sorry. We promise it won’t happen again. :-)
We’ll put back the headers and footers before the final release. But it’s a lot more code than you might imagine, so be patient while we hammer it out.

Getting Ready
Like a lot of other folks we’ve been busy having fun with the RapidWeaver 4 private beta. If you’re on the private beta list (lucky you!) then you may have noticed a few problems in Blocks. A lot has changed behind the scenes and Blocks had a few minor glitches. We also took the opportunity to fix a couple of small bugs that have been around forever.

What's Fixed
There are no new features in this version of Blocks. It's just the bug fixes:

• RW4 Only: Dragging a selection area in edit mode works well again.
• RW4 Only: New icons.
• RW3+: Images saved as PNG with transparency that also have rollovers display correctly in IE
• RW3+: Images with rollovers can be saved and published without a primary image (the primary image can be deleted to produce an image that is only visible when the mouse is over the block).

How much?
Like most updates from YourHead Software this update is free.

How do I install it?
The easiest way to install it is to:

1. Open RapidWeaver
2. Close any open documents.
3. Download the Blocks disk image here.
4. Double click on the Blocks plugin in the disk image window.
5. Quit and restart RapidWeaver

You'll need to republish pages before the new