Author: Tom Catchesides

Light Blue 2023.1.2 release notes

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We’ve just released Light Blue 2023.1.2, which is a minor update that adds new features and fixes bugs reported since we launched Light Blue 2023.1. It includes the following changes:

  • We’re now handling a change in 12-hour time formatting in macOS 14 Sonoma that could interfere with autocompleting times.
  • You can now import multiple sales from the Inbox in a batch by using Shift-click on Command/Control-click to select several sales before clicking the “Import” button.
  • You can now open “failed to send” emails from the Outbox and send them via a different email account, e.g. using the Light Blue email servers instead of one of your own email accounts.
  • Our HTML editor now allows mailto: and tel: URLs to be added.
  • Added a “Check Server Connection Before Trying to Sync” preference. We’re also providing more information in the “Background Activity” window if your internet connection appears to not be working.
  • Importing a form that’s been submitted for a shoot that’s been deleted is now treated as if you’re importing a form that’s not linked to anything.
  • On Windows, we now default to ignoring your display’s scale factor when printing.
  • Added a “Reset” button to the template translation editing dialog, to clear any customised translation and revert it to the default value.
  • In the custom report dialog, changed the wording from “quick or saved query” to “quick query”.
  • Changed the wording of the “Set Opt-In” button in “Set Mailing List Opt-In For Contacts From CSV” dialog to “Change Opt-In Status”.
  • In the “Revenue By Product” report, the “Product Code” column is now only be shown if if “Show Product Code” option is checked.
  • Fixed a bug that caused the query for potential duplicate contacts when you’re previewing incoming data to be case-sensitive.
  • Fixed a bug where drag-reordering contact methods in contact add dialog appears to not work.
  • Fixed a bug where querying on a time field and setting the operator to “Is Blank” or “Is Not Blank” wasn’t hiding the value field and the query couldn’t be run.
  • Fixed a bug where the query dialog’s advanced mode’s closing bracket could disappear when clicked on to activate them.
  • Fixed a bug where the printed version of quotes weren’t using the “Quote/Sale Notes Label” from template translations.
  • Fixed a bug where the last row of the CSV file could be ignored when using “Set Mailing List Opt-In For Contacts From CSV” housekeeping tool.
  • Fixed a bug where the address label popup arrows don’t appear in contact add dialog when adding a contact to a shoot.
  • Fixed a bug where mail-merging a centrally aligned %InvoiceURL% tag in an email template changed it to left-aligned.
  • Fixed a bug where merging duplicate contacts from a shoot could cause the sort order of the preserved contact to change unexpectedly.
  • Fixed a bug where checking the “preview mail-merge tags” checkbox while editing contract text opens blank pages in your default browser.

Light Blue compatibility with macOS 14 Sonoma and iOS 17

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Over the next few weeks, Apple are going to be releasing major upgrades to macOS and iOS. iOS 17 is going to be released on 18 September. macOS 14 Sonoma is being released on 26 September.

We’ve been testing the current versions of our macOS and iOS apps on the prerelease versions of macOS 14 and iOS 17 and haven’t found any major issues. We’ll be releasing an update to our desktop app very soon that fixes the only minor issue we’ve found. However, please read on for our usual health warning about the dangers of installing a major operating system update as soon as it’s available!

Health warning

As with all major operating system updates, it is a very sensible idea to be cautious about updating your computers until Apple have had a chance to fix some of the bugs that will inevitably be present in macOS Sonoma. Although our testing of Light Blue 2023.1.1 on macOS Sonoma has been positive, there is every chance that Apple could change something that breaks compatibility or that we’ve missed something because we can’t test every conceivable combination of devices and settings.

If you rely on Light Blue to run your business, we would therefore recommend holding off from updating your operating system as soon as macOS Sonoma is available. At the very least, if you really really want to update on day one, make sure that you have at least one computer on the ‘old’ operating system until you’ve had a chance to test that all of the features that you depend on are fully functional.

Also, please note that our testing has been has been focussed on the latest version of our desktop app. The vast majority of our subscribers are already using Light Blue 2023.1, and if you’re using an older version of our desktop app then please update to the latest version to ensure that you’re able to take advantage of all of the new features and bug fixes that we’ve been adding. You can update the desktop app by using the ‘Check for updates’ command (in the ‘Light Blue’ menu if you’re on a Mac, or in the ‘Help’ menu if you’re using it on Windows).

Light Blue 2023.1.1 release notes

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We’ve just released Light Blue 2023.1.1, which is a minor update that adds new features and fixes bugs reported since we launched Light Blue 2023.1. It includes the following changes:

  • The “Current Events” and “Enquiries” widgets now have an option to reverse their sort order.
  • When importing orders from ProSelect, include the image filenames from multi-image layouts.
  • Added a warning if you’ve pasted what looks like a truncated Stripe API key in the “Online Payments” tab of the “Integrations” section of the Preferences window.
  • Added an option to ignore display scale factor when printing on Windows.
  • Changed the custom date range option for the task manager widget to no longer include outstanding tasks that are outside the selected date range.
  • The main window can now be made fullscreen again on macOS.
  • Removed the “Edit List” item from email server selection menus.
  • Fixed a bug that caused “Studio Closed” to appear twice in the list of time off types.
  • Fixed a bug that caused colons in scheduling calendars names to break scheduling request mail-merge tags.
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when double-clicking on an item in the workflow visualiser.
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when selecting the email “Tracking” field in the query dialog.
  • Fixed a bug that allowed the %InvoiceURL% mail-merge tag to be used from sections other than the Sales section.

New online scheduling features

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Light Blue’s online scheduling feature is very popular with our subscribers because it they make it really easy for your clients to book shoots or meetings with you without needing to send messages back and forth to find the perfect time. We’ve just added a new feature to our scheduling calendars, and more are coming very soon…

First of all, you’ll notice that the booking confirmation page now features “Add to Apple Calendar/Outlook” and “Add to Google Calendar” buttons. Your clients can use these to quickly add their booking to their calendar, and of course you can use Light Blue’s powerful workflows feature to send automated reminders via email and text message.

Today, we’ve started beta testing another new scheduling feature: you can use scheduling requests to book meetings or shoots with existing clients. Your clients will love them because the booking form will be pre-filled with the information that you already have, and you will save time because the event that’s created will automatically be linked to the relevant records in Light Blue. Please let us know if you’d like to join our list of beta testers so that you can start using this feature today!

Christmas & New Year support

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We’re still here to help over the festive season, but we’re also going to be taking a bit of a break so won’t be answering emails quite as quickly as normal between Christmas and New Year:

  • We’ll be offering our usual support hours until 5pm UK time on Friday 23rd December.
  • There’ll be no email support during the public holidays on Monday 26th & Tuesday 27th December.
  • We’ll be offering limited email support 28th-30th December.
  • There’ll be no email support during the public holiday on Monday 2nd January.
  • We’ll return to normal hours from Tuesday 3rd January onwards.

Wishing you all the best,

Tom & the Light Blue team

Looking back on 2022

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We hope that 2022 has been a successful year for you. It’s been another rollercoaster, with emerging from the pandemic being a real highlight but plenty of other challenges along the way.

We always like to take stock at the end of the year and reflect on the things that we’re particularly proud of and we hope you’re able to do the same!

“Best Professional Software” award

We’re here to help professional photographers to run a successful business, so we’re delighted that so many of you voted for us in the “Best Professional Software” category at The Societies of Photographers convention awards. Light Blue was up against giants of the photography industry such as Adobe’s Lightroom and Photoshop in this category, so it’s an enormous achievement for such a specialised product to win.

We’re incredibly grateful to everyone who voted for us, and to our customers for placing their trust in us to look after such an important part of their business. We’d love to win again in 2023, so we would really appreciate you casting your vote for us in the “Best Professional Software” category!

Major updates and new features

This year has been a great year for launching new features that are helping thousands of photographers to book more shoots and keep themselves organised.

Light Blue’s new online scheduling calendars allow your clients to book shoots and appointments directly into your diary. You no longer need to send messages back and forth to find the perfect time, or rely on complicated integrations with third-party tools. This has been a really popular addition and we’ve had great feedback from customers, old & new.

Most recently, Light Blue 2022.2 is a major update that expands the range of third-party apps that you can use with Light Blue. Linking your Zoom account to Light Blue makes scheduling online meetings with your clients even more convenient and you can now configure your scheduling calendars to automatically create a Zoom meeting when a client makes a booking. Light Blue’s new Zapier integration is the most comprehensive in the photography industry, with triggers and actions that allow you to use Light Blue for all of your day-to-day work while taking advantage of industry-leading apps and services in a totally automated fashion. We also launched new integrations with Pic-Time, Square, and GotPhoto, helping you to make the most of other apps while keeping Light Blue at the heart of your business.

Out and about

Things definitely felt like they were getting back to normal in the UK by the Spring, so it was great to be able to get back to seeing photographers face to face at trade shows including The Photography Show, The Societies of Photographers convention, and the The Newborn and Portrait Show.

If you’d like to come and see us in person to find out more about how you can use Light Blue to organise and grow your business, your first opportunity in 2023 will be The Societies convention in London in March.

What’s next?

We’re always working hard for you, helping photographers to succeed with Light Blue and building new features that will help your business in exciting new ways.

Our prerelease testers will shortly be getting their hands on features including forms in workflows, scheduling requests that make it more convenient to use online scheduling calendars with existing clients, and new online payment options for anyone who’s using Stripe with Light Blue. All of this work is happening alongside work on our Android app, so if you’d like to get early access to any of these features then please let us know.

Meanwhile, we’re always available to help you get started with Light Blue or to make the most of any of the features that are designed to help you make the most of the opportunities out there while delivering a great service to your clients. The Help section of our website lists the ways we can help you, from our getting started guide through to booking a Zoom call to give you a hand with anything that you need to get 2023 off to a great start.

Wishing you all the very best,
Tom & the Light Blue team

Light Blue 2022.2 integrates with thousands of other apps

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Light Blue 2022.2 is a major update that expands the range of third-party apps that you can use with Light Blue.

Zapier

Zapier is a service that saves you time by connecting the apps and services that you use and automating them for you. Light Blue offers a set of triggers and actions that allow you to use it with thousands of other apps. With Light Blue at the centre of your business, you can use it for all of your day-to-day work while taking advantage of industry-leading apps and services in a totally automated fashion. You can also use Light Blue’s Zapier integration actions to send information to Light Blue.

Light Blue’s new Zapier integration is the most comprehensive in the photography industry, with triggers and actions that allow you to use Light Blue for all of your day-to-day work while taking advantage of industry-leading apps and services in a totally automated fashion.

“Invoices are now automatically sent from Light Blue to our accounting system, clients unsubscribing from our mailing system update Light Blue, and we can send bulk emails through our mailing system by tagging contacts in Light Blue! With the latest updates, all of these tasks just happen. Thank you Light Blue!” – Rose Stacey

Zoom

Linking your Zoom account to Light Blue makes scheduling online meetings with your clients even more convenient. You can now configure your online scheduling calendars to automatically create a Zoom meeting when a client makes a booking.

Pic-Time

Pic-Time offer beautiful client galleries and art galleries with smart sales features, so we’re delighted that you can now link your Pic-Time account to Light Blue. Doing so allows Pic-Time to send client orders to Light Blue’s Inbox, from where you can import them at the click of a button and keep all of your orders together in one place.

Square

Making things more convenient for your clients makes them love working with you even more, and the feedback that we get from photographers is that their clients love using Light Blue’s online scheduling, contract signing, and invoice payment services. Using an online payment option with any of those services helps you to get paid more quickly, so we’re pleased to be able to add Square to the list of online payment processors that you can use with Light Blue.

GotPhoto

Schools photographers using GotPhoto can now import batches of orders into Light Blue and automatically link them to the right shoot, enabling you to combine Light Blue’s planning and reporting tools with GotPhoto’s sales tools.

And more…

You can find out about the other new features and changes in this release in the Light Blue 2022.2 release notes.

Free upgrade for subscribers

Light Blue 2022.2 is a free upgrade for all of our subscribers. We’ve loved seeing how our prerelease testers have been using it to streamline their admin and make the most of the other apps they use in their business, so we’re keen to see what you do with it!

Light Blue 2022.2.2 release notes

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Changes in Light Blue 2022.2.2:

  • Our Zoom integration is now available to all of our subscribers. Your online scheduling calendars can now create Zoom meetings when a client makes a booking, and automatically update a linked Zoom meeting if they reschedule or cancel their booking.
    • Holding down the Alt key when navigating from the calendar to an appointment now takes you to the appointment’s parent record without opening the appointment window.
    • Fixed a bug where clicking the “Import” button in the Inbox for a Pic-Time order wouldn’t treat it as incoming sale data.
    • Fixed a crash that could occur when editing scheduling calendar availability and specifying an invalid date.
    • Fixed a crash that could occur when customising an appointment type’s colour.

    Light Blue 2022.2 release notes

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    Light Blue 2022.2 is a major update that expands the range of third-party apps that you can use with Light Blue.

    New and updated integrations

    • Light Blue’s new Zapier integration is the most comprehensive in the photography industry, with triggers and actions that allow you to use Light Blue for all of your day-to-day work while taking advantage of industry-leading apps and services in a totally automated fashion.
    • Your online scheduling calendars can now create Zoom meetings when a client makes a booking, and automatically update a linked Zoom meeting if they reschedule or cancel their booking.
    • We’ve added Square to the list of online payment processors that you can use with Light Blue’s online invoices, scheduling calendars, and contract signing services.
    • Pic-Time joins the list of online photo galleries that can send client orders to your Light Blue account, allowing you to import them at the click of a button and keep all of your orders together in one place.
    • Schools photographers using GotPhoto can now import batches of orders into Light Blue and automatically link them to the right shoot, enabling you to combine Light Blue’s planning and reporting tools with GotPhoto’s sales tools.

    Please note that the minimum OS version required for Light Blue 2022.2 is now macOS 10.14 (Mojave) or Windows 8.1.

    Continue reading “Light Blue 2022.2 release notes”