Backlight’s 1.0.2 Update and Client Response Add-on are now available.
Backlight 1.0.2 brings a large batch of new features, improvements and fixes to Backlight’s core, while the new Client Response Add-on introduces popular features from our client response galleries to the Backlight publishing system.
For clarity, the Client Response Add-on requires Backlight 1.0.2. Backlight users should upgrade to the latest version before installing the Client Response Add-on. Customers coming up from CE4 Client Response Gallery should upgrade to Backlight or Backlight + Pages, understanding that the new Client Response Add-on is not a Lightroom plugin.
We’ve got a lot to talk about, and you’ll want to read it all. But use these links to skip ahead to whatever you’re most interested in:
Or if you’re in a hurry, the Client Response Add-on is available in the shop; scroll down to the Add-ons section and click “Add to Cart”, or click here to buy the Client Response Add-on immediately.
Warning! Google Fonts changes
We’ve changed our implementation for Google Fonts. Existing implementations will break, so if using Google Fonts, you’ll want to fix your templates immediately after updating. We were using Google Fonts’ @import statements to reference fonts, but this has proven unreliable for some users. Our Google Fonts implementation is now using the <link> element method, so go to Google Fonts and rebuild your collection; click “Use” and for step 3 select the “Standard” tab to get a line of code that looks like this:
<link href='https://fonts.googleapis.com/css?family=Roboto' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css'>
Copy and paste this into Backlight to use Google Fonts.
Backlight 1.0.2
Backlight 1.0.2 features additions large and small. Highlights include:
- Cell numbering and color label support for grid cells in albums.
- Improved single-image HTML pages.
- New customization options for album pagination UI.
- New styling options for site navigation.
- The backend brings significant performance and caching improvements, and adds further functions to manage Top-level Galleries.
- Numerous other stability, compatibility, functionality and presentation improvements and fixes, detailed in the 1.0.2 changelog.
Finally, in albums image downloads may now be initiated from the image grid by holding Command (Mac) or Control (Windows) when clicking an image thumbnail. This capability is available when using Photoswipe for large-image presentation, and when image downloads are enabled for the Photoswipe presentation. This uses the HTML5 “download” attribute, which is unsupported by Internet Explorer and Safari; in these browsers, the image file will be opened in a new browser tab. In Chrome, Firefox and Opera, the image will immediately begin downloading. This behavior is consistent with the Download Image feature already a part of Photoswipe.
Visit the 1.0.2 changelog for update instructions.
Client Response Add-on
The Client Response Add-on adds image select and feedback feature’s to Backlight’s standard album templates.
This is not a standalone gallery, but an add-on feature set for Backlight’s existing album module. Basic usage is documented, but in short, you will clone an existing template or create a new one, then enable and customize client response features for the album template. This makes it dead simple to add client response features to your existing album designs.
Supported features include image selection, star rating, and customizable options and comments. You may create client accounts and assign albums, or publish unmanaged, public or password-protected albums.
Discounts are available for customers upgrading from CE4 Client Response Gallery. You will need to lookup your existing order, where you will find attached a TXT file with your discount.
- For purchases made on the current, SendOwl-powered store (Feb. 2016 or newer), click here to lookup your order.
- For purchases on the older Shopify-powered store, click here to lookup your order.
If you have not yet purchased Backlight, and are upgrading to Backlight from one of our CE4 bundles, submit an application to apply for a discount.
The shop will accept one discount code per order. Therefore, if buying Backlight and the Client Response Add-on, and using discounts for both, you will need to check out twice.
Documentation for the new Client Response Add-on is available, covering installation and basic usage.
You can try things out in our Client Response demo gallery!
Time zones being what they are, it’s very late here. I will probably setup some additional demos tomorrow, as well as get a newsletter together. In the meantime, we hope you early adopters enjoy the new features! Hit us up in the forum if you have questions or problems, and we’ll get back to you.
Once more, you can purchase the Client Response Add-on from the Store page, in the Add-on section.