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.

Tags: Collage, Release

Mooing Together Again

A few days ago we rolled out a compatibility update for Carousel that allowed it to work with some themes that were still using moo.fx or other older MooTools predecessors. Today we're releasing Accordion 1.3.2 which rolls in the same patched MooTools. This allows you to use Accordion with a couple of the RealMacSoftware themes like Business Funk Effects and Business Skyline Effects as well as a couple themes from Elixir: Light and Dark. We've also integrated a couple of needed bug-fixes too.

What's Fixed

• The latest and greatest version of the MooTools Javascript base library with a patch for moo.fx compatibility.
• Corrected some GUI inconsistencies.
• Adding links in the footer no longer corrupts selected Accordion content.

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 Accordion disk image.
4. Double click on the Accordion 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.

I need more help!

Check out our Accordion info pages on our wiki. Or visit the forum and look around.

How do I get it?

The most recent versions of Accordion are always available (with release dates and build numbers) on our Downloads page. Or you can just click right here: Accordion v1.3.2

Tags: accordion, Release

Download it now!

Carousel Beta 4

Yet another javascript error has been corrected. This bug was introduced in the previous beta -- so if beta 3 didn't work out so well give this one a shot. It should definitely improve things for quite a few folks.

Tags: Carousel, Release

Download it now!

Carousel Beta 3

This is another small modification to Carousel to fix a few bugs. Although a number of very small changes were made the two most notable fixes were:
1) Carousel will no longer fail when more than one is put on a Blocks page.
2) Carousel will now work well with some themes that rely on moo.fx, such as Elixir's Dark and Light, and RMS's Business Funk Effects and Business Skyline Effects.

Lots of Carousels

In beta 1 we introduced a bug that caused multiple Carousels not to work very well on a Blocks page. That's corrected now. But remember to keep it simple. Having too many effects on a page nearly always leads to problems. Remember, your pages need to work well on some pretty flaky old PCs with almost no RAM. Simple is almost always better, anyway.

Old Moo

A few of the aftermarket themes from RealMacSoftware and Elixir have some slick effects. Those effects rely on a fairly old version of the predecessor to MooTools called moo.fx. MooTools 1.11 and moo.fx are not very compatible. And the list of incompatibilities has grown since the previous version of MooTools. MooTools continues to innovate and the more they progress the more likely they are to have issues integrating with old version.
Many users have a fair amount of time and money invested in those themes and it could be a while before they get updated with MooTools. I didn't want to leave those users out in the cold.
I've spent a great deal of time tracking down and designing workarounds to clear out the incompatible pieces of moo.fx before loading MooTools and to ensure that MooTools does not tread upon the necessary moo.fx functions. This approach of custom library integration is far from perfect, but it will probably work with many of the existing scripts.
This, of course, does little to address the conflicts between MooTools and other base libraries, like Prototype and jQuery. Those libraries are not currently compatible with MooTools and since they all are doing similar things in similar ways it's not likely that those issues will be resolved any time soon.

Tags: Carousel, Release

Download it now!

Carousel Beta 2

We're going to release another beta of Carousel. We had to make some significant changes to the AJAX loading of images. A bug was fixed that caused empty Carousel content areas to fail in Internet Explorer and to some extent in other browsers too. This was the only change that we made, and we suspect that if no other bugs are reported then this version will become the released version 1.2.

Tags: Release, Carousel

One More Fix
We found one more bug in the recent release of Accordion related to the publishing of links. We're releasing Accordion 1.3.1 today to correct this issue.

Update: Make that two more fixes. We temporarily posted a development build of Accordion for about 2 hours. Sorry about that. You can check to make sure that you have the "good" version by looking at the version number in the Finder's Get Info Window. If you have Build #919 you're OK.

Tags: Release, accordion

MooTools Compatibility
We're releasing a new version of Accordion today with the latest version of MooTools v1.11. We've been updating all of our plugins to the most recent MooTools as quickly as possible since different versions of MooTools are not necessarily compatible with each other. So to ensure that everything can work on one Blocks page we're updating all the plugins.

Synchronous Mooing
With this update we've completed the migration to v1.11 and all of the YourHead plugins are now using the current release of MooTools. What's more, we've been working with LogHound to make sure we're all on the same schedule. Within the week his plugins should also be using v1.11 as well -- if it hasn't happened already. There are still probably a few themes and snippets out there using earlier versions of MooTools, or even Moo.fx, the predecessor, but hopefully there are fewer and fewer.

Compatible Future
Mootools v1.2 is in beta now and the developers indicated that they're nearing completion. Personally I was very concerned that we were in for another few months of painful version problems but it looks like the Mootools guys have had some mercy on us this time around. They now have a 1.11 compatibility mode for Mootools v1.2. This means that those folks that do update to 1.2 for its new features should be able to maintain compatibility with the previous version so long as they use the compatibility feature. With a little luck I think we're in for much smoother sailing in the new year.

Accordion Update
The primary reason for this update is to integrate the new Mootools. This version does not add any new features but does correct a couple niggles that have been around for a very long time in Accordion.

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 disk image.
4. Double click on the 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 are always available (with release dates and build numbers) on our Downloads page. Or you can just click right here: Accordion v1.3

Tags: Release, accordion

Bug Fixing
After a big release there are always a few sneaky bugs that need fixing. The Blocks 3.1 release was no different. A few of the new refinements that were made for Blocks 3.1 caused some unexpected problems and a couple things were just overlooked. Blocks 3.1.1 fixes all the known bugs. Don't expect this to be final though. There are bound to be a few more that are even sneakier.

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

• The Library no longer hangs when it encounters non library blocks in the Blocks Library folder.
• Using undo on a slave page no longer causes duplication of master content.
• Slave pages no longer export master content in certain situations.

For Developers
Well... OK, I lied. There is one new features. But it's just for developers of other RapidWeaver plugins. There's a simple way for developers to let Blocks know at runtime if their plugin is well-tested and working as a Page Block -- so other developers don't have to wait for a new Blocks release in order to get working in Blocks. If you're developing a plugin (and I haven't already contacted you) then drop me a line and I'll give you all the juicy technical details.

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 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 v3.1.1

Tags: Release, Blocks

Today we're releasing our seventh plugin, Kwix.

Go get your Download: Kwix 1.0.0

Amazing!
If you haven't been following along with the public beta releases over the past month then you're in for a nice treat. Kwix produces a dynamic, sliding, animated menu interface for your RapidWeaver site. It's fully compatible with the latest version Blocks so you can integrate it into your pages for something really stylish and cool.
Kwix is really difficult to explain in words, so you should jump over to our Kwix pages and check it out.

Boom!
Kwix allows you to add your own icon images and your own backgrounds to make it fit your site's theme perfectly. But not everyone is a Photoshop genius, so Kwix comes with 16 simple icons you can use on almost any site. Need more? We've got you covered. We have two new sets of extra icons for Kwix. One that has some great web components and another that covers new media, podcasting, and music. Check 'em out.

Namaste.
We'd like to give extra special thanks to some folks in the development community who are already hard at work developing more styles and icons for Kwix. If you want to see over a hundred more icons and styles then you really need to go to Henk's site. He's been a busy man and has produced a ton of fun new extras for Kwix. Check it out!

And there's just one more thing!
Kwix 1.0 doesn't have too many changes over the last beta. It was almost bug free. But there is one little feature that we added. Know what it is? The first person to post about it on the RapidWeaver forum gets a free copy of Kwix or some free icons (whichever they need more).

Tags: Kwix, Release

Today we're releasing another set of icons.

Go check 'em out: Kwix Web Icons

The Icons
And really I think this is realy the set of icons to get if you get any. You get a very nice home icon, a download icon, an info icon, and a lot of other good stuff.

How Many
Just like the Rave set, you get 432 variations. That's 16 icons, in 9 colors, and 3 sizes. All organized into nice groups so that you can drag, drop, install and publish.

Can I see the rest?
On the icon page click the Preview button to see the complete set. It's a lot of icons so make sure and scroll around to see all of them.

Tell us what you want
We've tried to hit two of the webs most fundamental areas -- basic web page design and new media. And combined with the icons that come with Kwix that's a lot of icons. We'd love to bring you some more, what icons do you need? Send us an email and tell us what you want.

Tags: Kwix, icons, Release

Today we're releasing a new icon set for Kwix. And this marks a major milestone for YourHead, too. Read to the end to find out more.

The Icons
Our first new set is called Rave Icons. It's a set of fun icons for new media, podcasting, MP3s. Like the icons that come with Kwix they're flexible enough to use on just about any site, but without being bland at all.

How Many?
We started with the same amount that come with Kwix, 16 icons. Then we size them into three different sizes (64px, 48px and 32px) for various sized Kwix menus. Then we take all of those and provide them in 9 different colors. That means you get 16 x 3 x 9 variations. That's 432 icons in all. Of course, it's really just the 16 icons, but with a ton of ways to use them. Over on our Kwix Extras pages you can see a Preview the full set.

Milestone Junky
We're giving one of the other online storefronts a try. For the past couple years we've been with eSellerate. And we really are very happy with their service -- pretty much 100% uptime, great support, and lots of features for a real web-based business. But e-Junkie has a lot to offer, too, and for a lot of reasons we felt that it was a good time to give them a try. That means that we have the e-comerce trifecta: eSellerat, e-Junkie, and PayLoom.
So, this means that Kwix icons will be available only through our new e-Junkie store which is built right in to the Kwix Extras pages. We've had a lot of fun customizing it and playing with its options, so even if you don't plan to buy the icons, test out the "Buy Now" buttons and let me know what you think of the store experience.

Tags: Kwix, icons, Release