Ugly Hedgehog - Photography Forum
Home Active Topics Newest Pictures Search Login Register
Links and Resources
Collage software testing
Sep 3, 2019 17:39:11   #
foehner Loc: St. Louis, Missouri
 
Five years ago I asked for volunteers to test the collage software I developed. That was a super help! Now there is a new version of PhotoSpills that could use some early users before being released to the public. I think you folks here are an excellent group for this task so I'm asking again for your help.

The software is still free and there are few requirements to be a tester. Just download, install and use the software as much or little as you want. Then, provide feedback about problems or suggestions.

Note: You will need to use an email address to register the software. If you prefer, you can use a temporary, disposable email address (or just make one up)

Some of the new features in this version include -
- Ability to crop the images to better fit the collage
- Better control for placing photos at specific design locations
- Improved method for putting captions on trading cards
- Animated collages (.gif)

You can get more details and download the software at --

http://www.photospills.com/intro_5.htm

(The original online documentation hasn't been updated yet. Sorry.)

There are sample PhotoSpills collages below and you can see lots more of my collages posted to InstaGram --

https://www.instagram.com/photospillscollages/

Thanks!









The photos in the collage below are from the "Faces of Open Source" project by photographer Peter Adams. Check out http://facesofopensource.com and get introduced to people responsible for so much of the tech you use today.
The photos in the collage below are from the "Face...











Reply
Sep 4, 2019 02:09:08   #
chasgroh Loc: Buena Park, CA
 
...I'll give 'er a shot! Looks like some neat stuff!

Reply
Sep 4, 2019 10:08:40   #
foehner Loc: St. Louis, Missouri
 
chasgroh wrote:
...I'll give 'er a shot! Looks like some neat stuff!


Thanks Charlie!

Reply
 
 
Sep 4, 2019 14:45:13   #
DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area
 
I tried it and it works well. I ran a virus scan first - came up negative. It's occasionally a little buggy - I guess that's why they want testers. But, it produced various interesting collages.

Reply
Sep 4, 2019 15:20:04   #
foehner Loc: St. Louis, Missouri
 
DWU2 wrote:
I tried it and it works well. I ran a virus scan first - came up negative. It's occasionally a little buggy - I guess that's why they want testers. But, it produced various interesting collages.


Thanks! Please let me know specifics about any of those buggy things and I'll try fixing them. You can reply here are send to support@photospills.com.

Thanks again! John

Reply
Sep 4, 2019 15:48:16   #
DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area
 
foehner wrote:
Thanks! Please let me know specifics about any of those buggy things and I'll try fixing them. You can reply here are send to support@photospills.com.

Thanks again! John


I had a few issues, but couldn't always replicate them. Maybe I had too many photos open or photos were too large?

Anyway, here's what I experienced. Most issues were in the Quick Spill Module.
- Changing the Quick Style button sometimes resulted in a black preview screen.
- Changing the Shapes choice sometimes resulted in a black preview screen.
- Changing the Shapes choice sometimes did not change the previewed shape.
- Previewed text was somewhat different from the rendered text produced by the Spill button.
- Sometimes selecting Circles produced Hearts in the preview.
- Need a Check for Updates choice in Help.
- Why is there an L-shaped white figure in the opening splash screen?
- Application won't enlarge to full screen.
- Couldn't give custom frame its own file name - had to resuse one of the existing names.
- Need further guidance on importing icons. I read the instructions, and limited BMP to 90x90, but, after import, icon didn't appear in the frame. Was this related to the somewhat unclear information referencing clear pixels?
- A useful improvement would be to be able to drag and drop photos within a matrix, instead of shuffling photos. For example, in a matrix with a large center photo, it would be good to drag my choice of photos to the center. Maybe have dragging photo A to Photo B's space could cause them to swap positions?

Reply
Sep 4, 2019 16:09:52   #
foehner Loc: St. Louis, Missouri
 
DWU2 wrote:
I had a few issues, but couldn't always replicate them. Maybe I had too many photos open or photos were too large?

Anyway, here's what I experienced. Most issues were in the Quick Spill Module.
- Changing the Quick Style button sometimes resulted in a black preview screen.
- Changing the Shapes choice sometimes resulted in a black preview screen.
.........
- A useful improvement would be to be able to drag and drop photos within a matrix, instead of shuffling photos. For example, in a matrix with a large center photo, it would be good to drag my choice of photos to the center. Maybe have dragging photo A to Photo B's space could cause them to swap positions?
I had a few issues, but couldn't always replicate ... (show quote)


Thanks Dan! Great report.

I did a quick check on the Shapes issues and that is happening for me, too. Sorry. "Shapes" was not a new feature, so I hadn't tested it much before now. I'll check on that.

You can drag-and-drop in the preview window to swap the position of two photos. Also, you can right-click on a photo in the preview window to select a new photo for the spot.

Thanks again! I really appreciate you taking the time to report all this! - John

Reply
 
 
Sep 4, 2019 16:19:04   #
DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area
 
foehner wrote:
Thanks Dan! Great report.

I did a quick check on the Shapes issues and that is happening for me, too. Sorry. "Shapes" was not a new feature, so I hadn't tested it much before now. I'll check on that.

You can drag-and-drop in the preview window to swap the position of two photos. Also, you can right-click on a photo in the preview window to select a new photo for the spot.

Thanks again! I really appreciate you taking the time to report all this! - John


You're welcome! Nice software - bugs were pretty minor.

Reply
Sep 4, 2019 18:27:55   #
DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area
 
I figured out how to produce all the samples you provided (I think) except one - how do you make the first one, where bordered photos sit in front of copies of the same vignetted photos? (It's not on your Samples page).

Reply
Sep 4, 2019 19:22:11   #
foehner Loc: St. Louis, Missouri
 
DWU2 wrote:
I figured out how to produce all the samples you provided (I think) except one - how do you make the first one, where bordered photos sit in front of copies of the same vignetted photos? (It's not on your Samples page).


That first sample is two collages, where one of the collages is the background image for the second.

In that sample, I created a 2x4 matrix collage that is off-center... to the upper left. The collage uses soft edges and I spill/save that collage for use later.

Then I created the same 2x4 matrix collage, but increasing the top and left margins while decreasing the bottom and right margins. I used a wide white frame this time and picked the first collage as the background image. Bingo.

So, it's not really a special feature of PhotoSpills that made that sample. I've used this idea several times to stack multiple collages.

I'm still going through your earlier report and will get back to you again about your comments.

Thanks again! - John

Reply
Sep 13, 2019 08:20:04   #
foehner Loc: St. Louis, Missouri
 
Hi Dan - Sorry for the long delay. Other life issues got in the way.

There is a new version of the software available for download (same link). It takes care of most of those "Shapes" wrong style/black preview problems. But I found a related (obscure) bug while testing, so I will be still working on that.

Other items you mentioned...
- Why is there an L-shaped white figure in the opening splash screen?
I'm not sure about this?? Could you send/post a snapshot of that??

- Application won't enlarge to full screen.
Sorry. I don't let the application be resized at all.

- Couldn't give custom frame its own file name - had to resuse one of the existing names.
- Need further guidance on importing icons. I read the instructions, and limited BMP to...
I'll look into these over the next few days.

Thanks again! - John

Reply
 
 
Sep 13, 2019 09:21:32   #
DWU2 Loc: Phoenix Arizona area
 
foehner wrote:
Hi Dan - Sorry for the long delay. Other life issues got in the way.

There is a new version of the software available for download (same link). It takes care of most of those "Shapes" wrong style/black preview problems. But I found a related (obscure) bug while testing, so I will be still working on that.

Other items you mentioned...
- Why is there an L-shaped white figure in the opening splash screen?
I'm not sure about this?? Could you send/post a snapshot of that??

- Application won't enlarge to full screen.
Sorry. I don't let the application be resized at all.

- Couldn't give custom frame its own file name - had to resuse one of the existing names.
- Need further guidance on importing icons. I read the instructions, and limited BMP to...
I'll look into these over the next few days.

Thanks again! - John
Hi Dan - Sorry for the long delay. Other life is... (show quote)


Here's a screen shot with the L-shape.


(Download)

Reply
Sep 25, 2019 18:06:24   #
Uaana
 
FYI Avast AV doesn't like your .exe.
I've submitted as trusted..

**Avast now has on accepted list.

Reply
Sep 30, 2019 10:43:08   #
foehner Loc: St. Louis, Missouri
 
Uaana wrote:
FYI Avast AV doesn't like your .exe.
I've submitted as trusted..

**Avast now has on accepted list.


Thank you! I've been looking at getting a signed software certificate. Still coming up on the learning curve.

Reply
Sep 30, 2019 11:08:47   #
foehner Loc: St. Louis, Missouri
 
This "L" doesn't show up on any of my test machines, but I tend to buy cheaper PC's and laptops. You may have a better video card and screen.

I've had similar reports about things being the wrong size or placed in the wrong spot. I believe those have been fixed, but I can't properly test it. I did buy the exact same laptop that was reported as having the problem. But I could never duplicate the problems on it. Something was still different.

Anyway, I've made a fix and the new version is now available at -
http://www.photospills.com/intro_5.htm
If you have the time, I'd appreciate hearing if the "L" problem is fixed.

And I'm still looking for other people to try the software before a public release.

Thanks Dan!

Reply
If you want to reply, then register here. Registration is free and your account is created instantly, so you can post right away.
Links and Resources
UglyHedgehog.com - Forum
Copyright 2011-2024 Ugly Hedgehog, Inc.