New Features

Dynamic Soundtrack

Academy Article

  • You can now assign a soundtrack a parameter.
  • Map the soundtrack to a folder.
  • Set a default value for a soundtrack.
  • You can still set a static value for a soundtrack.


Extended Asset File Type Support

Academy Article

  • You can now upload more asset file types to Storybuilding Suite.
    Here's the list for media assets:
    • JET
    • MP4
    • FLV
    • MOV
    • WEBM
    • GIF
    • PNG
    • JPEG
    • JPG
  • This is the list for audio assets:
    • WAV
    • MP3
    • MP4 (only the audio channels used)
  • When using mapping to a folder, the order for searching a file is the same as the order of the lists above.


Dynamic Paths for Assets

Academy Article

  • Instead of using just a parameter, or mapping to a folder, or mapping to a properties file, you can now also create a dynamic path to your assets.
  • Build a path using static text and parameters.
  • Find the Edit Path property in the placeholder's three dot menu.


Mapping to Several Properties Files with a Parameter

Academy Article

  • You can now use several properties files with a single placeholder.
  • Use a second parameter to choose which properties file to use.
  • Useful for multi-language projects.


Choosing Fonts With Parameters

Academy Article

  • You can now drive font selection with a parameter.
  • You can also create a list of fallback fonts that are attempted if a glyph is missing in the original fonts.
  • Access these options in the new Font Settings panel.


Text Placeholder Interface Change

Academy Article

  • We changed the interface for the text placeholder. All controls are inside the Advanced Text Properties panel accessed through the pencil icon.
  • You no longer have to choose if the first part of your text is static or dynamic in the placeholder card--you do it directly in the advanced properties panel.
  • Set mapping, default, and formatting per text part.


Higher Image Resolution

Academy Article

  • Though maximum placeholder resolution is 2048 X 2048, dynamic image size can be of any resolution.
  • Maximum video resolution is still 2048 X 2048.


Layer Styles Effect

Academy Article

  • Layer Styles is now supported through the IDM Layer Styles effect.
  • We currently only support Color Overlay and Stroke.
  • More to follow (promise!)


New Errors in Scene Builder

  • If Baseline Shift is used in the character panel, an error prevents you from packaging.
  • The "More options" section in a text layer's parameters is only supported in its default state. If any of the settings are not default, an error prevents you from packaging.
  • Media and audio asset names have to be a-Z, 0-9, and underscore, and that's it. You now get an error if other characters are used.
  • If, for whatever reason, the Idomoo Video 2.0 output module is inaccessible, you get an error with instructions.



Bug Fixes

Storybuilding Suite

  • Hiding placeholders didn't work as expected with white frames appearing from time to time, and hidden layers appearing on occasion. We thought better have expected results instead.
  • When changing a scene's duration, previewing the scene was still using the full duration. Guess what, it's fixed!
  • When changing an audio's parameter name, downloading a CSV template would still show the old parameter name. We nudged the CSV template along. It now reads the correct parameter.
  • The function Apply TO All did not copy mapping settings. Now it does.
  • The default thumbnail time used to be 2 seconds. However, if the first scene's duration is less than 2 seconds, the middle duration of that scene is used instead.
  • Social buttons on landing pages are now sent out to analytics. Exciting! Let's go see how many clicks we got!
  • The first row of a properties file was ignored. It must have felt so insignificant. Poor first line. Now all lines are equal.
  • The combination of Shorten Scene and Magnetic Audio (when daisy-chaining audio placeholder to follow each other) resulted in inconsistent scene duration. No more!
  • In Player 19, a floating thumbnail did not report to analytics on IE11. It does now.


Scene Tools and Graphics

  • Placeholder track mattes now appear as placeholders in Storybuilding Suite. You can show them, if you like, by using the three dots menu, but unlike other hidden layers, they are always editable.
  • Middle vertical alignment for text placeholders didn't always give expected results. It's much better now.
  • Using expressions on the Opacity property didn't always resolve as expected.
  • In a case that the user name for the computer uses special characters or punctuation, such as ลก, there were issues with packaging. Use any character your operating system allows you to, and we support it!
  • Stopping a render should cancel packaging. On some occasions it wouldn't have. Now it's consistent.
  • There's been several bug fixes done to the text animate feature:
    • You can have text animate apply changes without a selector. We now support that.
    • Using more than one text animator on a text layer is now better supported.
    • On the Mac the errors you received about text animate properties were difficult to read. Now they're perfectly readable.
    • When text animate is switched off, Scene Builder no longer exports the text animation. You wanted it off, didn't you?
    • Expressions used in text animate weren't always resolved. They are now.