Adobe Awards StudioCloud Honorable Mention

The StudioCloud team is proud to announce that the StudioCloud software was selected as an Honorable Mention for the upcoming Adobe MAX awards in the Digital Enterprise: Empowering Employees category.

Adobe MAX is Adobe's largest conference attended by designers, software developers, and business decision makers. It is also where many of the latest and greatest Adobe technologies are displayed and announced. We are proud of the StudioCloud development team that has put together such an incredible suite of business management tools and we are excited to see what they will come up with next.

CloudProofing In Beta

Please note that the CloudProofing is no longer in beta

StudioCloud recently released its Online Proofing 3.0, now called CloudProofing, into open beta. The open beta means that all current Online Proofing subscribers can try out CloudProofing at their discretion. To try out the CloudProofing simply click on the CloudProofing button on the overview page and click the Try CloudProofing button. You will need to download the minor release before you can use the CloudProofing. It is available at the following link. http://labs.studiocloud.com/studiocloud-beta

 The new CloudProofing contains some important changes and updates which are listed below:

• The entire CloudProofing has been redesigned to be easier and faster to use.
• The 1000 images to an album limit has been removed and there is no limit to the number of images in an album. However, you are still limited by your available CloudStorage space.
• The CloudProofing Manager now resizes and uploads multiple files at once which can make the upload process almost 5 times faster.
• The image thumbnails have been increased in size giving a better view of the image from the thumbnail.
• The CloudProofing is now divided into 3 main sections or views
• Slideshow View
• Images and Thumbnails View
• Products and Checkout View
• Each of the CloudProofing views are optional and can be hidden if so desired.
• Favorites can be saved to a favorites list and shared with others.
• This feature is optional and can be hidden if so desired.
• The albums now have a thumbnail assigned to them which is viewable in both the CloudProofing manager and in your public list of albums.
• Each album now can have a unique tax rate
• Product, Services, and Packages now can have thumbnails

 The above feature list as well as a list of known CloudProofing issues is available at the following link. http://labs.studiocloud.com/cloudproofing

3.1.059 Release Notes

The latest major update contained quite a few new additions and changes. We thought we'd give you a quick overview of some of the most important updates below.

• Line Item Discounts
• StudioCloud's invoices now support line item discounts. This means that you can apply a discount directly to a product, service, or package.
• Read how to use line item discounts at http://app1.studiocloud.com/support/index.php?/article/AA-00675/0/
• New Security Roles Interface
• The Security Roles section used by EmployeeBoost users has been redesigned to be much more powerful. Now you can setup StudioCloud to only let your employees create invoices and not allow them to edit or delete them. In addition, you can setup StudioCloud to only let your employees view the invoices that they created and not any other employees' invoices. That is just a small sample of what you can do.
• Dymo Label Writers
• StudioCloud now supports printing out labels from a Dymo Label Writer. This allows you to print labels for client information and appointment information.
• Read how to setup and use a Dymo Label Writer at http://app1.studiocloud.com/support/index.php?/article/AA-00855/0/
• LogBook Tracking
• StudioCloud now supports historical tracking of information over time. Using the LogBook you can view what changes were made in StudioCloud, when they were made, and by whom. In addition, you can also view when emails were sent to a client from either StudioCloud or from the CloudAlert email system.
• Read how to use the LogBook at http://app1.studiocloud.com/support/index.php?/article/AA-00850/0/
• Disable Auto Sync
• StudioCloud now allows you to disable the auto sync process. This is valuable if you are using an internet connection which charges you per mb.
• Read how to disable the auto sync at http://app1.studiocloud.com/support/index.php?/article/AA-00852
• Track Canceled Appointments
• StudioCloud now allows you to cancel an appointment rather then deleting it. This allows you to maintain a history of clients that cancel over time. To view the canceled appointments go to the events section in the clients history and click the "View Cancellations" checkbox
• Print Calendar Filter Agendas
• StudioCloud now allows you to print agendas for a specific employee or calendar filter.
• Share CloudStorage File
• StudioCloud now provides the public link so that you can share your CloudStorage files with others. To access the link go to Manage Cloud Storage and click the Share button.
• New Internet Diagnostic Icons
• StudioCloud has added a new internet icon to provide additional information. Previously we only offered a blue icon which meant that you had internet and a red icon which meant that you didn't have an internet connection. We have introduced a new yellow icon which indicates that you have an internet connection but StudioCloud has detected some internet issues with it. If you click on the yellow icon it will provide additional information regarding those issues.
• New Service Health Dashboard
• The new Service Health Dashboard will be updated by StudioCloud if there are ever any issues in our data centers that might affect StudioCloud's syncing process.
• Real Time Scheduling Wizard
• StudioCloud added a real time scheduler to StudioCloud to assist in getting the most accurate schedule as possible. Please note that there are some limitations to the scheduler so make sure you click the "Real Time Scheduling Limitations" button to learn more about those.
• New Cloud Services Item
• To simplify the user interface all of StudioCloud's paid for add-on's have been moved to the Cloud Services section of StudioCloud.

As always the features above were available in our minor releases long before they were released in a major release. You can always get a minor release by going to the following link. http://labs.studiocloud.com/studiocloud-beta

New Client Portal

StudioCloud is excited to announce a new online client portal available for CloudBoost and EmployeeBoost users. The client portal provides the following functionality once a client has logged into the portal.

• View their contact information for accuracy
  
• View their scheduled appointments with you
• View their invoices and pay any outstanding balance*

The client portal is available for you right now. You can embed the client portal in your website so that clients that go to your website can login directly to it or you can send them a link in an email that they can use to login.

For setup instructions please refer to the following tutorial. http://app1.studiocloud.com/support/index.php?/article/AA-00658

*A Merchant Warehouse account is required for customers to pay balances from the client portal.

-StudioCloud Team

To Update Or Not To Update

The StudioCloud team often struggles with conflicting customer feedback with no real obvious solution to the problem. Sometimes members of the team can feel like the duck in the comic below.

One of those struggles is with StudioCloud updates. On the one hand, everyone loves the fact that the team can quickly release updates to address their needs. On the other hand, many people are frustrated by the frequency of the pop-up that appears when each new update is available.

To address this issue we have introduced the concept of major and minor releases. A major release generally occurs once every two weeks and includes all of the functionality in the minor release. The minor releases occur every few days. If you install a minor release you will get a pop-up every time a new minor or major release becomes available. If you install a major release you will only get a pop-up when major releases are available.

To learn more about the major and minor releases as well as view the release notes please go to the following link: http://labs.studiocloud.com

-StudioCloud Team

iPhone App Now Available

This version of the iPhone/iPad app has been discontinued.  Please see the following blog post for details on the latest version of the app.

iPhone - http://blog.studiocloud.com/2012/12/iphone-app-now-available.html
iPad - http://blog.studiocloud.com/2012/12/ipad-app-now-available.html

StudioCloud is pleased to announce that StudioCloud mobile, our iPhone app, is now available for free in the Apple App Store.


The application includes client management, an agenda view with filter capabilities, task and project management, time tracking, and syncing. The time tracking and syncing capabilities do require a StudioCloud CloudBoost or EmployeeBoost add-on.

Proud WPPI Sponsor

The WPPI 2011 Photography conference is in full swing. This year, StudioCloud is proud to be sponsoring the event. In honor of the conference, StudioCloud is excited to announce the following specials:

Get Online Proofing Free (valued at $120 per year) or Save 10% on a CloudBoost or EmployeeBoost subscription. Learn more at http://studiocloud.com/special.html

Swell Retreat

Here at StudioCloud we like to highlight different activities that StudioCloud users are doing. Here is a photography business workshop that some StudioCloud users are putting on. Please note that StudioCloud is not affiliated with this workshop in any way but we are excited that they will be talking about StudioCloud during it.

A time to retreat, recharge, and reevaluate your business.

The Swell Retreat is not your standard workshop. It is a time to get together with other professional photographers and learn what it takes to reevaulate your business to make it grow and swell to new heights.

Headed by professional photographers Marla Carter and Catherine Clay, the Swell retreat is focused on you. Joined by other photographers from across the country, you will be able to network your business and get great advice, insights, and ideas.

Held at a luxurious resort off the Gulf Coast in Florida, this is your time to relax and recharge, all while gaining invaluable information to grow your business like never before. At Swell, be prepared to learn about pricing, staying in high demand, utilizing social networking, using StudioCloud, marketing campaigns, and more!

So, if you're looking for a time to retreat, recharge, and reevaluate your business on the warm beaches off the Gulf Coast in Florida, then Swell is just the thing you need.

Learn more here.

If you, or someone you know, is hosting an event that discusses business ideas and how StudioCloud works for you, please contact partners@studiocloud.com

StudioCloud is not sponsoring the Swell retreat, nor is it affiliated with the Watercolor Inn and Resort, or the information discussed on the Swell website.

Lock It Down

StudioCloud has added an exciting new optional feature for CloudBoost and EmployeeBoost users. You can now lock down your StudioCloud account to only allow you or your employees to be able to login from preapproved computers. Not only does this feature give you more control over your employees it also includes the ability to view when your employees last logged in, on which computer they logged in, and where that computer is geographically located.

Now you can control whether or not an employee is allowed to work from a specific computer and you can also monitor when and where they are working.

For more information on how to lock your account down refer to this tutorial here.
For more information on how to monitor logins in StudioCloud refer to this tutorial here.

Proud Imaging USA Sponsor

The Imaging USA 2011 Photography conference is in full swing. This year, StudioCloud is proud to be sponsoring the event. In honor of the conference, StudioCloud is excited to announce the following specials:

Get Online Proofing Free (valued at $120 per year) or Save 10% on a CloudBoost or EmployeeBoost subscription. Learn more at http://studiocloud.com/special.html