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Weekly Recap: Express Checkout Confirmations, Capture App Speed Testing, and a New Lightroom Classic Plugin

Weekly Recap: Express Checkout Confirmations, Capture App Speed Testing, and a New Lightroom Classic Plugin
Hey photo friends! 👋


This week’s updates are all about clearer customer actions, smoother retail performance, and new tools that speed up upload workflows. Plus, a strong round of Capture App polish (iOS & Android OTA) and some important Dashboard + Marketing fixes.

Let’s jump in. ✨

🛍️ Retail: Fewer Mis-clicks, Better Previews, Faster Feel

✅ Express Checkout confirmation (all express checkouts)

All express checkout flows now show a confirmation popup that clearly displays the shipping address selected, with options to place the order or go back. It also includes an invalid address popup.

Previously, people would sometimes purchase without double checking their express-checkout-method's default shipping address. So, this change is designed to reduce address mistakes and improve customer experience!

Confirmation popup now clearly displays shipping address confirmation.

🧠 Better UI + performance improvements

  • Improved local rendering (performance, memory usage, and task handling) — originally aimed to improve the retail experience on low-end devices, but it should make most devices feel faster!

  • Native “leave page” confirmation on supported browsers/devices (desktop + Samsung back button) when navigating away from an event page (refresh/back).

Leave page confirmation

🖼️ Clearer package download expectations + better pickers

  • Personal Gallery Downloads on store sheet and package editor now show “+X Images” in the configurator when there are more than 4 images—so customers don’t think they only get what’s previewed.

Personal Gallery Download "+X Images"

    • Personal Gallery Download products inside packages can now be clicked to preview contents.

    • Desktop product/package image pickers are now two columns (like mobile), allowing larger image preview during selection.

    Larger two column image previews

      • Image Filters landing popup now includes “Browse all photos without a filter” so customers who think they must pick a filter know they can also just browse!

      Image Filters landing popup

      🧩 Retail fixes worth noting

      • Fixed a slashed discount amount showing on week 3 when there is no higher amount.
      • Fixed a GalleryGuard edge case that could close the retail site on some Android devices that support mobile context menus when long-pressing.
      • Fixed a race condition where a Group-by-Face gallery loaded from URL params could show default results instead of the filtered view.
      • Fixed an edge case where manually assigned images marked as group could behave like non-group images on retail.

      📱 Capture App OTA: 5.6.1 & 5.6.2 (iOS & Android)

      🌐 NEW: Network Speed Test (5.6.1)

      A new Network Speed Test button is available in Resources. Tap Run Test to check download speed, upload speed, and latency to NowCandid servers (so results may differ from Google/Ookla). It’s a quick test (downloads 5 MB, uploads 2 MB) and is useful for diagnosing weak or congested service during events.

      Mbps is a standard measurement for connection speeds, and 1 megabit per second (Mbps) is 0.125 Megabytes per second (MB/s). So 8 Mbps is 1 Megabyte per second, max. For example, with images that are 10 Megabytes in size, a speed of 8 Mbps would take a minimum of 10 seconds to upload. When speeds are very slow, image uploads may be impossible due to uploads timing out and restarting. In these cases, open the app when you have a stronger connection and all your images will start going up!

      Network Speed Test

      🎪 Photo Booth + Selfie Check-In Station UI upgrades (5.6.2)

      • Photo Booth landing page updated to be more user-friendly (always-visible scrollbar, updated text, sticky go back/continue buttons, red/green emphasis, and a popup explaining why Continue is greyed out).
      • Selfie Check-In Station landing page updated with red/green Go Back / Begin buttons.
      • New dropdown icon beside Group Photo toggle (when an event has PhotoTags) to better display there are additional options to assign PhotoTags.
      • Fixed edge case cancel/continue behavior on Selfie Check-In Station when no contact info was entered.

      🧩 NEW: Lightroom Classic Plugin (Official)

      We’ve launched an official Lightroom Classic plugin to upload images to NowCandid events directly from Lightroom Classic.

      Key notes:

      • Lightroom Classic only
      • Same image rules apply (color profile, DPI, etc.)
      • Uses Capture App login
      • Only events within 60 days of event start date show in the selector
      • Image Details → Logs will show “Uploaded from NowCandid Lightroom Plugin”
      • Docs include guide/download/installation: https://app.nowcandid.com/docs/tools-more/lightroom

      Lightroom Classic Plugin

      Upload from NowCandid Lightroom Plugin

      🖥️ Dashboard: Upload & Roster Clarity + Small UX Wins

      • Event roster upload and PhotoRoster upload now warn about every unrecognized column, making it easier to spot misspellings (especially for optional columns).
      • Participant list page download now puts additional contacts into columns instead of rows.
      • Participant list download now puts merged contacts into their own row if they have different first/last names.
      • Image upload naming cleanup:
        • spaces/parentheses now automatically become underscores (e.g., Image (2)Image_2)
        • names ending in z now get a trailing underscore (e.g., ImagezImagez_)
      • Candy got even better at using the new Docs for responses.
      • Password reset now shows a clear “Your link has expired” screen (links expire after 24 hours).
      • Fixed participant filter inside another participant’s manual assign/unassign page not working properly.
      • Participant Details PhotoTag assignment UI: merged participants no longer incorrectly show PhotoTags as assigned.

      Upload Roster now warns about every unrecognized column.

      📣 Marketing Fixes

      • Fixed edge cases where galleries that were only AI-edited images could cause follow-up email marketing issues and show as 0 images on Participant List.
      • Fixed Day0 marketing edge case not starting if gallery is just AI-edited images.
      • SMS gallery links now include “View photos:” before the gallery URL to reduce confusion where some users thought the gallery link was an unsubscribe link.

      That’s the week! 💫

      Between the Lightroom Classic plugin, the Capture App’s new Network Speed Test, and retail improvements that reduce confusion (and improve performance), this week was packed with practical wins you’ll feel right away.

      Keep it sparkly,

      Candy

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      📸 Candy’s 12 Days of Christmas: Day 1 – The New NowCandid Web Dashboard 🎄🎁
      Feature Updates
      December 14, 2024

      📸 Candy’s 12 Days of Christmas: Day 1 – The New NowCandid Web Dashboard 🎄🎁

      3
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      Hello, my merry photographer friends! 🎅

      Candy here, and I’m excited to kick off a special holiday celebration with all of you!

      For the next 11 days, we’ll be counting down the 12 Days of Christmas by revisiting one of our biggest, most impactful NowCandid features from 2024 each day. Then, on December 25th, we’ll unwrap a brand-new surprise—one of our biggest new features of the year!

      Let’s begin Day 1 by shining a festive spotlight on the all-new NowCandid Web Dashboard, a cornerstone of our 2024 improvements that completely transformed how you manage your photography business online.

      What Changed in 2024:

      • Participant Details & Gallery Management:

        With the new dashboard, you can dive straight into a participant’s details, view their assigned images, and even add more images to their gallery if needed. This level of control made delivering a personalized experience easier than ever.
      • Enhanced Order Details & Reports:

        Gone are the days of scattered information. The updated dashboard brought comprehensive order details front and center, along with in-depth reports. Now you can monitor sales, understand trends, and make data-driven decisions with confidence.
      • Streamlined Image Downloads:

        Need to access event images quickly? The new dashboard let you download images right from your event pages, saving time and ensuring you have what you need at your fingertips—no extra steps required.

      From improved participant oversight to richer analytics and convenient image downloads, the new NowCandid Web Dashboard was a game-changer.

      It set the tone for a year filled with upgrades that helped you run your business more efficiently, serve your clients better, and ultimately capture more smiles.🎉

      Stay tuned for Day 2 tomorrow, where we’ll highlight another standout feature from 2024.🎄✨

      Until then, keep embracing the holiday spirit and know that something truly special awaits you on December 25th!

      Candy 🍬

      Weekly Recap: FreePics Improvements! 📸🎉
      Feature Updates
      December 13, 2024

      Weekly Recap: FreePics Improvements! 📸🎉

      3
       minutes read
      Hello again, my wonderful photographers! 🎅

      Candy here, bringing you another Weekly Recap. It’s a light week for changes, but we’ve got a couple of handy tweaks worth mentioning. Let’s dive in! 🌟

      1. Bigger, Better Downloads for FreePics & FreePics GO 🏆

      • Improved Download Quality: Images downloaded directly from the retail site during FreePics or FreePics GO events—via “tap and hold” or the download icon—now come closer in size and quality to what clients receive through free downloads at checkout or via MMS.
      • Richer Image Experience: This enhancement means end customers get crisper, more detailed images, no matter how they choose to save them.

      2. Clearer FreePics Products in the Offer Creator 💡

      • Improved UI Guidance: The two FreePics products are now always listed at the top of every custom offer in the Offer Creator.
      • Easier Understanding: Notes explain that these items only appear if you’re running a FreePics or FreePics GO event. This helps photographers realize they don’t need to manually add free downloads—FreePics has them covered.

      Looking Ahead: The 12 Days of Christmas Countdown 🎄

      Starting tomorrow, we’ll begin a special 12 Days of Christmas countdown. Each day leading up to December 25th, we’ll revisit one of 2024’s biggest features. On the final day, we’ll unwrap a brand-new surprise—one of the year’s biggest new additions!

      Stay tuned, enjoy the holiday season, and get ready for a festive lineup of features! 🎁

      Candy 🍬

      Candy's Weekly Recap: Extended Positive ID Events, Enhanced Order Details & More!📸🎉
      Feature Updates
      December 6, 2024

      Candy's Weekly Recap: Extended Positive ID Events, Enhanced Order Details & More!📸🎉

      4
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      Hello, my fabulous photographer friends!

      Candy here, ready to sprinkle some sparkle on your day with our latest Weekly Recap! 🌟

      We've been tinkering away to bring you some delightful updates that'll make your NowCandid experience even better—just in time for the holiday season! Let's dive in! 🏊‍♀️

      1. Extended Duration for Positive ID Events 🎅

      Great news for those capturing the magic of the season!

      • Positive ID Events Now Up to 30 Days Long: You can now edit your Positive ID Workflow events to extend their end date up to 30 days.
      • Why This Matters:
        • Longer Visibility: Events will stay visible on the selection screen of the Capture & Upload App for a longer period, beyond the typical 5-day range.
        • Perfect for Holiday Events: This change is especially helpful for those using our Scanner ID and Type & Take workflows for Santa photos and other festive events.
      • Note: This extension is currently only for Positive ID Events. Events using the Face Matching Workflow remain unchanged.
      • Holiday Cheer: Don't forget to try out our Candy Cane retail theme, stuffed with plenty of holiday spirit to make your galleries extra festive! 🎄

      2. Enhanced Order Details in Web Dashboard 🛍️

      We've supercharged the Order Details to keep you in the loop!

      • More Informative Order Details:
        • Comprehensive Info: Access all the information you need about each order directly from the dashboard.
        • Clickable Orders: Orders in the recent orders lists are now clickable, taking you straight to detailed order pages.
      • Participant Integration:
        • Jump to Participant Details: If an order is tied to a participant, you can navigate directly to their details page.
        • View Images & Marketing History: See their images, marketing interactions, and more.
      • Did You Know? 🤔
        • NowCandid Handles Retail Support: That's right! We take care of much of the retail support for you, including order resubmissions. You can focus on capturing moments while we handle the rest!

      3. Improved Scan Card Generation Performance 📝

      We've fine-tuned the Scan Card generation to make it smoother than ever!

      • Performance Boost:
        • Faster Generation: Recent updates had slowed down scan card creation, but we've optimized the process.
        • Reliability Restored: Generating Scan Card PDFs should now work properly and more efficiently.
      • Why It Matters:
        • Seamless Workflow: Especially important for high-volume events like holiday photo sessions.
        • Feedback Welcome: If you notice anything not performing as expected or have suggestions, please let us know!
      • A Festive Note:
        • We're committed to resolving any issues faster than Santa delivering presents to billions of children across the globe in just 24 hours! (All those cookies must give him quite the sugar rush.) 🍪🎅

      We're always here to support you!

      So please, feel free to share your feedback or questions.

      Cheers and sparkles,

      Candy 🍬

      P.S. Wishing you all a joyful holiday season filled with magical moments to capture! 🎁✨

      Let’s get in touch

      If you’re a photographer looking to add NowCandid™ services to your wheelhouse, set up a call with us!

      How to customize formatting for each rich text

      How to customize formatting for each rich text

      How to customize formatting for each rich text

      How to customize formatting for each rich text

      How to customize formatting for each rich text
      How to customize formatting for each rich text

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