A year in the life of SSP: 2007
As this year draws to a close, I thought I would recall what the year has been like for SSP.
The April 2007 Edition involved one of the biggest internal changes in SSP's recent history. Not since the implementation of high-end graphics capabilities (version 5.5) had so much change taken place for a single upgrade. These changes, however, did provide new capabilities and features. I discuss the changes here:
- A slide editing enhancement
- Technology Preview: Watermark Effect
- Technology Preview: Background Effects
- Feature Preview: Image and Text Rotation
- Feature Preview: Color Adjustment
- Feature Preview: Gradient Mask
- Feature Preview: Image Mask
- Feature Preview: Sepia Effect
- Feature Preview: Transparency
- Feature Preview: Negative Effect
- Feature Preview: Flare Effect
- Old Blur, New Blur
The June 2007 Edition included the long-waited implementation of audio file support for songs and slide shows. These features were strongly influenced by the wish list. Also included in this edition was the capability to use the CinFX bevel effects as stand-alone (non-entrance) animations. So in summary:
- Audio file support for songs
- Audio file support for slide shows
- Enhanced availability of the bevel effect.
I realize now that I have not blogged on any of these topics (except for here), so perhaps I should put that on my to-do list.
The October 2007 Edition provided improvements to the user interface for ease of use, and enhancements in the fill/line technologies for text and objects. I discuss these enhancements here:
- The new Display Properties Window
- The new search mechanism
- Selecting videos and images using thumbnail previews
- Enhancements of the fills technologies
- Service elements for programs
- Build your own gradients
- Distinct Effects for Fills and Outlines
- Enhanced clipboard capabilities
- The New Christmas Ornaments Transition
The complete list of enhancements for these new editions is available at the What's New page.
It's been a busy and fun year.
And I thank all of you who made the decision to make SSP your presentation software of choice this year, and to those of you who continue to support the product as subscribers. It's a pleasure to design and build a product for a purpose that I'm passionate about, and for people that I relate with, and to work with the team that I do.
Happy New Year!
(BE128)
Comments:
To my knowledge, most of these good descriptions of features are not in the tutorial or users guide. I hope that the next edition will gather these and other instructive materials from the site and put them in one, easily recognized, place.