Release Notes Archive
See the notes below for releases further in the past. For the most recent, go here.
August, 2022
In addition to a variety of tweaks, here are some of the more noticeable updates we made over the summer.
- Multi-column text frames – Split a text frame into multiple columns with just a few clicks. Set the number of columns and the space between each column. The text then flows between the columns seamlessly as you resize the frame and edit the text.
- Apply character styles from the context menu – When editing text, you can easily apply a character style to selected text from the context menu. Just right-click, go to the Character Styles option in the context menu, and pick the style you want to apply.
- Scaling percentage in cropping mode – When cropping an image, you can now see the amount of scaling applied to the image inside the frame. This is helpful in applying the same amount of scaling to different versions of the same image. For example, search the Help system for the tutorial on “Layering Images.”
- Generate portrait proofs (a.k.a. “directory proofs) in the Library
- New custom text field for portraits – Each portrait record now has a field for “custom text.” This text field can be flowed along with your portraits so you can include things like student quotes, teaching areas, or extra-curricular activities along with each portrait. This is in addition to the ability to flow the grade or teacher field as part of the portrait flow.
- Change case function for portrait data
- Find/Change for bulk updates to portrait data – Use the Find and Replace function in the Portrait Library’s List View to clean up your portrait data. For instance, find all grades listed as “09” and change them to “9.”
- Reflow indicator on pages when portrait data changes
- Ability to flow and reflow portraits on pages through the Preflight stage
- Ability to add strokes (borders) to portrait images
- Ability to flow first and last names on separate lines when placing names below portraits
- Improvements to the Live Preview function in Portrait Flow
- Portrait Flow defaults to the custom margins from Settings
- Ability to deactivate whole rows or columns at once in Portrait Flow – When setting up your portrait pages, just right click on a frame in the Portrait Flow wizard and choose “Disable Row” or “Disable Column” to deactivate all the portraits in that row or column. You can re-activate them in the same way.
- Ability to copy a page’s settings in Portrait Flow to all the other pages in that flow – When you get one portrait page set just the way you want it, you can apply the same settings to all the pages in the flow—or just to all the left pages or all the right pages. This makes configuring long portrait sections a breeze.
- Ability to flow up to four teachers or teacher assistants with a class
- Ability to place teacher portraits to the inside or outside of the page – When flowing teachers with their classes, you can now choose to place the larger teacher portraits on the left side of the page or the right side of the page. This makes it easy to have the consistency you want across all your classes.
Released on April 13, 2022
In addition to a variety of tweaks and bug fixes, here are a few of the more noticeable changes with this release.
- Filter for Non-Favorite Images – there is now a filter in the Library for “non-favorite” images so you can see just the images that didn’t “make the cut.”
- “Toggle Case” Function for Name List – If you import a name list that has a lot of entries that are in all caps, you can now toggle a whole group of names to title case or back to upper case with a click. When you select more than one name, the Toggle Case button becomes active.
- Duplicate Names Filter in Coverage Report – you now have a quick filter to show possible duplicate names in the Coverage Report.
- Color Panel Improvements – the color panels in Page Design now have a default list view for your color swatches as well as a search field that makes it easier to find the color you want when you have a lot of swatches.
- Apply character styles from context menu – when you are editing text, you can now apply character styles from the context menu (from a right-click).
- Change to Image in Text Restriction – previously Image in Text was restricted to text that was 48 pt or larger. We have changed that restriction to be based on a character count of 500. You can now place an image in smaller type, but you are limited to text frames with fewer than 500 characters.
- Grade and Teacher Filters for Portraits in Page Design – in the Portraits section of the Library Panel in Page Design, you now have filters for grade and teacher.
- Resolution Tooltip for Background Images – when a background image shows a resolution alert, you can see the actual resolution of the image by going to the ribbon at the top when the background tool is active and hovering over the resolution warning.
- Workspace Control Improvements – Using the workspace controls in Page Design, you can now toggle the visibility of Name Check and Spell check underlines and easily switch back to your default settings. This is in addition to the previously release controls for changing the visibility of the margins, grids, guides, etc.
- Coverage Reports Filter for Duplicate Names – the coverage report now has a quick filter to show you possible duplicate names (note: you manage and correct any duplicates in the Name List area).
- “Save as Mod” in Context Menu for Groups – when you open the context menu on a group (with a right-click) there is now the option to “Save as Mod” so you have quick access to the function.
- Improved Scrolling in List View for Portraits – The portrait list view now scrolls the same way the grid view scrolls—smooth and fast.
- Replace Portrait from Google Drive – when replacing a portrait in the Library, you now have the option to pull the replacement portrait from Google Drive.
- Combine Multiple Marquee Selections – you can now marquee around a group of objects to select them and then—while holding down the Shift key—marquee around another group of objects to add them to the original selection.
- Save Folio as Template – you now have the ability to save the folio as a template so you can apply it to pages where special customizations are needed. You can do this from the File menu in the Folio spread or from the Export menu in the Book module.
- Index Builder Shortcuts – when editing the index data, you can now use the shortcut Shift-C to combine two or more selected entries and Shift-I to Ignore selected entries.
- Index Builder Remembers Settings – Index builder now remembers your flow settings (start page, character styles, number of columns, etc.) when you have to reflow.
- Index Builder Can Ignore Bylines: If you precede a name with one of the phrases below, Index Builder will ignore that name for the index:
- photo by
- layout by
- story by
- stories by
- photos by
- copy by
- written by
Released on February 24, 2022
In addition to a variety of tweaks and bug fixes, here are a few of the more noticeable changes with this release.
- Changes to the PDF proofing process.
- We’ve added indicator icons in the Book module to make it easier to generate a PDF proof.
- These PDF icons also let you know if a PDF has been created of the current version of each page.
- We’re now requiring a PDF to be made of the final version of each page before it can be moved to Pre-Submit. This will help you ensure you’ve viewed a PDF of each page in its final state.
- You can now mark images as “favorites” both in the Library and in Page Design.
- Send and Sell – there is no longer a “Select for Send and Sell” option for images. Send and Sell now pulls from your “favorited” images when you place an image in a Send and Sell message.
- Image counts are included in the dropdown menu for Teacher designations in the Portrait section of the Library.
- In the portrait section of the library, the person’s name appears when you place your cursor over the thumbnail image in the grid view.
- Index Builder: New alphabetical quick links to quickly jump you to another part of the list
- A clearer indication of the wrap area on the hardcover template
- Preflight check for non-supported characters in text frames
- Fit to Window command in Page Design resizes the spread to fit in the visible area when the Library Panel is open.
- New Workspace controls to easily show and hide the non-printing items in Page Design (grids, guides, margins, etc.)
Released on January 13, 2022
In addition to a variety of tweaks and bug fixes, here are a few of the more noticeable changes in with this release.
- Index Builder and Coverage Report performance improvements – Coverage Report and Index Builder should now run more quickly and produce better results.
- Index Builder and Coverage Report preferences – Advisers can now set preferences for what items are flagged by Index Builder and Coverage Report. It is now possible to create an index based just on tagged images or to ignore ladder topics, etc..
- Coverage Report details – the Coverage Report now provides a breakdown of the different coverage inclusions being counted..
- Ignore for Name Check ignores for Index Builder – If you set a text frame in Page Design to be ignored for Name Check, text in that frame will also not be picked up by Index Builder. For instance, you can disable a headline text frame for Name Check and it will no longer have the Name Check underline–and that text will not be picked up as a possible Index entry..
- Improved image scaling when resizing an image frame while holding the Shift key..
- Image in Text restricted to font sizes of 48 points and above.
- Name Tag in View Mode – you can now tag images in Page Design even when you are in View Mode. This means that users can tag images on pages after they are submitted or when they don’t have rights to edit the page..
- Resolution indication with Resolution Warning – The tooltip that appears when you hover over an image with a resolution alert now includes the actual resolution of the image at the current size. The resolution warning kicks in when an image drops below 250 ppi, so the resolution value in the tooltip helps you evaluate how low the resolution really is..
- Automatic “curly” quotes and apostrophes – when you type quotation marks and apostrophes in Page Design, you automatically get the “curly” versions (a.k.a. typographers quotes)..
- Custom Ruler guides – users can now pull out custom ruler guides on the page. This feature has some limitations, so for more details.
- The global spell check dictionary includes most common contractions. Spellcheck will now see words like I’ll, we’ve, and they’re as correctly spelled.
- Character Styles menu can be filtered and has a link to Manage Character Styles..
- Capitalization options via a button in the control panel at the top..
- Preflight panel updates live..
- New “photo not available” graphic that should perform better when flowed with portraits
- Name tagging enabled for portraits in the Library – You can now add name tags to portraits in the Library for cases in which images are accidentally uploaded to portraits and used on pages. Name tagging of portraits will be added to Page Design in a future release.
Released on December 9, 2021
In addition to a variety of tweaks and bug fixes, here are a few of the more noticeable changes in with this release.
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- There is now advanced filtering in the main Library just as we have in the Page Design Library Panel. Go to the Filter menu and choose Advanced Filters.
- In the Portrait Library, you can now filter by “Unspecified” option when filtering by Grade or Teacher/Other. This lets you filter for records with no value in these fields.
- There is a fit image proportionally option in the Cropping control panel (in addition to the fill frame proportionally option)
- Coverage Reports now have a “No Book Purchased” filter
- Restored the ability to activate Art from Catalog
- When using Spread Controls in Book, you now have an Unlock option when only one of the pages is locked
- You have a larger text entry area when creating a new Sticky Note
- You can use the Tab key to create a standard indent on a paragraph in Page Design
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Released on November 17, 2021
Here are a few of the more noticeable changes in with this release.
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- Option to change the case of selected text: ALL CAPS, lowercase, or Title Case – (no sound)
- Newly-created colors in Page Design are automatically applied to the selected object
- Improvements to controls around rotation angle and corner radius to make it more clear that you can type in a custom value- (no sound)
- Name Check now works with possessives so you can check and replace possessive names
- Improvements to process for saving templates and saving mods –
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Released on October 26, 2021
Here are a few of the more noticeable changes in with this release.
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- Name tag overlay in Page Design to show you which images have name tags.
- Improved experience when scrolling through images and other assets in the Page Design Library panel
- Advanced filter options in the Page Design Library panel for Portraits (filter by grade and teacher/other)
- A fix to the Tint slider on the color panels in Page Design
- Scale both the frame and the image by holding the Shift key and resizing from the corner.
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Released on October 11, 2021
Here are a few of the more noticeable changes in with this release.
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- Name List (Master List): There is now an updated version of the Name List area (formerly called Master List)
- Settings: Created preference for Spread Controls in Settings .
- Settings / Canva: Preferences for a choice of Standard Functionality or Limited Integration
- Page Design: Advanced filtering added to Libraries
- Page Design: you can now see what filters are use in the Mini-Ladder view.
- Settings / Staff Setup: show password to adviser and higher users when adding or updating the password for users
- Page Design: “Find image” now available for background images in the Object menu.
- Face Tagging: you can now clear all tags while using facial detection when you want to remove all identified face tags
- Page Design: you can click through overlapping objects in Page Design with Ctrl/Command key
- Library: Student portraits with the same last name will be sorted alphabetically by first name
- Coverage Report: refreshing the report now pulls back results more quickly
- Page Design: the vertical scrollbar for the design area now appears when the the Library Panel is open
- Page Design / Settings: Fonts in mods that are not currently active will activate in books when they are placed on the page
- Book: Pre-Submit confirmation message lists pages with active preflight alerts
- Library: TIFFs that are uploaded via PSPI will be converted to JPEG automatically
- Catalog: double-click Book Style thumbnail to View Style
- Catalog: you can now continue to work while loading process for a Book Style completes
- Page Design: you can now save a template when you are in View Mode.
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Released on September 16, 2021
Here are a few of the more noticeable changes in with this release.
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- Added delete icons in Keywords tagging panel in the Library to make it easier to remove keywords that are not being used.
- You can now select multiple images and move them from candids to portraits or from portraits to candids.
- In the Portrait Library there is now an image count in the grade selection drop-downs.
- Added a column to the Coverage Report to indicate the pages on which student references occur.
- In the Book module, we added a Spread control toggle to make it easy to apply the same assignments to both pages in a spread.
- In the assignments panel in the Book module, each page has a clear page status indicator and improved buttons for moving pages through the statuses.
- When a page is in Preflight and the user opens the page in Page Design, the Preflight check panel automatically opens for reference.
- When a page is moved from Preflight to Pre-Submit, the confirmation window requires users to acknowledge that they have proofread their pages and reviewed a PDF proof.
- There is now a View Mode for pages that a user enters when a page cannot be opened in Edit mode.
- Fixed an issue in Page Design where closing the Preview Panel caused the Library panel to automatically refresh.
- Advisers can now generate a high-res PDF from Practice Pages
- You can now add Keywords to images in tagging panel of Page Design
- Added preflight check warnings for low-resolution images and for placeholder text frames
- In Portrait Flow, images without names are now added to a “Not Pictured” list at the end of the group when the user chooses “end of group” for names without images.
- In Settings, we resolved an issue where the colors and fonts lists did not always appear for users when the page first loaded.
- Fixed an issue in Settings where ship dates would appear incorrectly for users in different time zones.
- The Order Information screen in Settings now has a YOC direct link for Key and Advantage Plus orders
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Released on August 25, 2021
Here are a few of the more noticeable changes in with this release.
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- New look and feel for MyHJYearbook.com
- Enhanced message board on Home screen –
- Text frame fill color and stroke –
- Combined Preview and Tagging panel in Page Design –
- Filter by page number in the Library and Image Importer –
- Filter portrait groups in Portrait Flow –
- Page Status colors in the Grid view of Book –
- Additional filters in Book for Unfinished pages and Secret spreads.
- Page locks on pages automatically release when a user is logged out
- “No Topic Applied” filter in the Library
- Go to hjedesign.com to access eDesign directly. You’ll land on the eDesign Home page after logging in.
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Released on July 23, 2021
Here are a few of the more noticeable changes in with this release.
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- Updated Catalog for viewing and activating Herff Jones’ templates, art and mods –
- Users can now import images from other year’s books (even from books in the “old” eDesign) – (no sound)
- Portrait list view – columns expand when you hide columns –
- Updates to the image tagging panel in Page Design –
- There are new folder icons in the tagging panel to show you can filter by that tag (like opening a folder) –
- You can download images in Page Design from the preview panel –
- Name check automatically runs on Portrait text frames
- Labels for endsheets in ladder
- Show day/time a page was locked –
Released on July 1, 2021
Here are a few of the more noticeable changes in with this release.
- Mini-ladder for navigating your book inside Page Design.
- Assign Staff has changed to show responsibility and only those actually “assigned” will show in the ladder.
- Improved tabbing between fields in the Portrait List View
- Ability to configure columns in the Portrait List View
- Portrait filters added to the Grid View
- Portrait List view has a new “Do Not Include” column in order to allow advisers to opt out portraits they don’t want to flow
- Purple around image thumbnails to indicate images edited in Canva.
- Updated Staff Setup username requirements:
- min 5 characters and max of 30
- a-z lowercase only
- digits 0-9 and hyphen(-)
- Sections assigned to pages can now appear in the folio
- The ability to copy a Master List from a main book to a supplement
- My HJ Yearbook navigation is now available on tablet-sized screens
- Various bug fixes and minor user experience enhancements throughout the application, including inside Page Design and the Library specifically.
Released on June 9, 2021
Here are a few of the more noticeable changes in with this release.
- Crop and Flip Background Images – after applying an image background to a page or spread, you now have the option to adjust the cropping of the image to get just the right area in view, and you also have the option to flip the image horizontally or vertically. to learn more.
- New “Splash Screen” for Page Design – when you open a page in Page Design, you will see a splash screen that appears while all of the needed items are being loaded and prepared. This makes it clear when the page is ready to go.
- Bleed Items on Folio — You can now have items on the Folio master spread bleed off the page beyond the bleed line.
- Image Resize for Canva — Canva will now resize very large images (over 25 MP) to allow them to be edited.
- Setting to Disable Canva – There is now a preference to disable the Canva integration. Go to Settings > Design Styles > Page Design Preferences. Unchecking the box for “Enable Canva Integration” will disable the feature.
- Portrait List View
- Better speed and performance when scrolling through the list of portraits.
- Number of images at the top correctly tells you X out of Y portraits for the current filtered view.
- You can now replace a portrait while in the list view.
- Editors can now make portrait data changes in list view (as they can in grid view).
- Portrait Directory Proofs – Generate print-friendly proofs of your portraits from the Library. In grid view or list view, go to Import/Export > Print. The printable proof will be generated showing the group of portraits currently in view. For instance, you could filter by “Ms. Smith” in the portrait list view and generate a proof of just those images.
- File Size Limit Increase – You can now upload files up to 50 MB in file size.
- More Context Menu Options in Library – From the context menu (right click on a thumbnail), you now have options to Delete, Rotate and Move to other Library sections (for instance, move a candid to the Art section or something in the Art library to the Ads library).
Released on May 21, 2021
Here are a few of the more noticeable changes in with this release.
- New Look and Feel — We have refreshed the eDesign interface with a new color scheme and styles.
- Canva Integration – The first version of our integration with Canva is now live. Check out these videos to learn more (or search for Canva in the Help widget in eDesign):
- Book Settings — We released a whole new Book Settings area for Advisers and Editors that replaces the old Book Setup and Staff Setup. to learn more.
- Image Tagging in Page Design – you can now add name tags and topic tags to images on pages within Page Design.
- Library Enhancements:
- Upload up to 150 images in a batch
- Upload images directly to Art and Ads (in addition to Candids and Portraits)
- New lightbox preview option
- Create portrait directory proofs
- Inline editing of portrait info
Released in April 2021
Here are a few of the more noticeable changes in April.
- Stroke on Text — Now you can add a stroke to the outside of text for a unique type treatment.
- Image in Text — Place an image inside any text frame—and the text remains live editable type.
- HEIF-HEIC Images — You can now upload HEIF/HEIC images directly into eDesign, both in the library and when you are working on a page. These are the default image types taken by an iPhone with iOS 11 and later. This applies to images uploaded from the Library, the Library Panel in Page Design, and images from the mobile Image Uploader.
- Break Lock on Multiple Pages Simultaneously — In the ladder, you can now break the lock on multiple pages at one time.
- Filter Dynamically — When you want to filter your ladder to view pages according to page statuses, deadlines, and/or staff assignments, eDesign will dynamically filter the ladder, so as you check boxes, it will instantly filter the ladder for you.
- Dynamic Topic and Section Fields — Now Topics and Sections in the Ladder both have dynamic search fields. As you begin typing topics or sections, the list will filter to quickly reveal what you need. Also, you can easily add topics and sections in those fields as well. NOTE: dynamic search for Sections does not apply to 2021 books.
- Jump to Sections — Just as you could jump to page numbers and page topics, you can also now jump to sections.
- “Find My Image” — While on a page, you can use the “Find My Image” function to reveal candids, portraits, artwork, or ads in their panels. You can do this with a right click or by selecting the object and choosing it from the Object menu. Also, if you select more than one image on a page, Find My Image will populate the image panel with all the selected images.
- Hovering while Placing Elements Highlights Selection — When dragging a photo, a portrait, artwork, or an ad from the library into a frame, eDesign will highlight the frame under your cursor so you can see which frame you are selecting for placement.
- Select All Options — You’ve always been able to Select All on a page or a spread, but now you have more options! You can now “Select All Text Frames,” “Select All Shapes with Same Fill Color” or “Select All Shapes with Same Stroke Color”
- Decimal Stroke Weights — You can now set a stroke’s weight to a decimal point, and you can even go as low as a .25 stroke.
- Constrain Shapes while Drawing new Frames — When drawing object frames or text frames, you can hold down the Shift key to constrain proportions so that you draw a perfect square, a perfect triangle or a perfect circle.
- Make Straight Lines while Customizing Shapes — Also, while customizing a shape, if you hold down the Shift key while dragging an anchor point, eDesign will constrain the line to stay straight.
- Name Check: Search Custom Names — In addition to proposing correct spellings for names using entries on the Master List, Name Check now also proposes entries from the Custom Names list.
- Quick Copy — You can now quickly copy an element or a group of elements on a page by selecting the element(s), holding down the Alt key, and dragging the element elsewhere on the page, and eDesign will create a copy of it.
- “Flip Layout” in Addition to “Flip” — You’ve been able to use the Flip function to flip elements on a spread, but now if you choose the Flip Layout option, eDesign will account for the spread dimensions during the flip. You can flip the layout horizontally, vertically and both, and, as it is with Flip, when you Flip Layout, eDesign will maintain the correct orientation of photos and text. With all the objects on the layout selected, go to Layout > Flip Layout.
- Format Text in Multiple Frames Simultaneously — You can now Shift-select multiple text frames and change the formatting of the text in those frames all at one time. You can change the font, color, leading, tracking of the font in every selected frame all at once. Select multiple text frames and then click on the Text tool to show the text formatting options.
- Save Color to Swatches — Now if you have a color on a page that you want to add to your approved swatches, you can click on the color in the Swatches panel and choose “Add to Swatches” to make that color available on every page.
- Adding an Element to an Existing Group — Now when you want to add an object to a grouped element, you don’t have to ungroup it first. You can simply select the group, select the object(s) you want to add to the group,, and then choose Group.
- Two New Keyboard Shortcuts — We have two new keyboard shortcuts for you. These work when you are not editing text. 1) When you press P on the keyboard, you’ll be switched to the Edit Path/Pen Tool. 2) When you press Y on the keyboard, you’ll be switched to the Polygon tool.
- Editing Portraits Data in Page Design — You can now edit portrait data in the Portrait Preview panel in Page Design. You don’t have to go to the library to make a change. You can now right click on a portrait, Choose “Find My Image,” click to open the Portrait Preview panel, and then make the name, grade, and/or teacher changes right there in page design. You’ll still need to reflow later, but you can quickly make portrait edits without having to leave the page.
Released March 8, 2021
Click and draw new shapes and frames –
Overset text enhancements
Move Spreads enhancements
Jump to Page –
Custom shapes –
Name Check –
Flipping mods and layouts –
Updates to page design interface and icons
Released February 5, 2021
New cropping interface –
Image preview panel –
Upload and Tag in Page Design –
DPI warning –
Sticky note improvements –
Color panel improvements
Zoom Improvements – marquee zoom tool, updated controls –
Overset Text –
Portrait Flow Enhancements –
- Flow grades or additional info with names
- Flow two teachers with class
Advanced filtering in Book –
- New filter indicators
- Filter for Tip-ins
Send and Sell custom links –
- Add custom hyperlinks
- Add link to Yearbook Order Center
- Add link to eShare
Released December 6, 2020
Released November 6, 2020
Released October 9, 2020