We are pleased to announce, Backlight 5 is available now!
Herein, everything you’ll need to know about what’s new, and how to upgrade.
Purchasing Backlight 5
First and most importantly, get Backlight 5 here.
We are sending a newsletter version of this announcement to the TTG mailing list. If you’re on our mailing list, look for it in your inbox within the next few hours (evening of Tuesday, August 9 PST). To owners of Backlight 4, we will also be sending discount codes for upgrading to Backlight 5.
To upgrade, purchase Backlight 5, then follow the instructions below for upgrading from your current version.
Purchase Backlight 5 in our shop. If you have the discount code, be sure to use it during checkout before completing the purchase. We cannot apply the discount retroactively if you purchase without it.
When purchasing, please use the same email address as for previous Backlight purchases.
There is no need to re-purchase owned add-ons. On upgrading to Backlight 5, the latest versions of owned add-ons will also be available to install.
We did a video last year on how to upgrade to Backlight 4; the process is essentially the same, so watch the video if you need the demonstration.
New in Backlight 5
Here are the highlights.
Protected Photos
Photos can now be marked as protected, either via keyword from Lightroom, or via Backlight’s album management. “Protected” means that you can choose to make most photos public, but hide selected photos from the public. There are a range of options for granting access to protected photos. More info.
Smart albums
Smart albums take a set of keywords, then gather matching images from all of your uploaded images. More info.
Keyword Management in Backlight
A “Keywords” field has been added to the Photo view in Backlight’s Publisher. This lets you set the keywords for a photo within the Backlight admin. The keywords field is pre-populated with the existing keywords. Anything submitted will replace the keywords that were saved for that photo. Likewise, republishing a photo from Lightroom will set the keywords according to what Lightroom has.
Shortcodes
Shortcodes can be used to insert links to albums and photos anywhere that Markdown is available, such as in page and album copy areas, email templates, etc. More info.
New “Kookaburra” design modules
Our penchant for wildlife continues as we introduce the new Kookaburra family of design modules. While not yet a full replacement for our stalwart Pangolin modules, Kookaburra is off to a cackling good start.
We’re launching with Kookaburra Page, Album, and Album Set modules, works-in-progress, but with much to offer. See the docs for details on what sets Kookaburra apart from Pangolin. More info.
I will be setting up a roadmap in the community discourse, and soliciting feedback on Kookaburra’s features and ongoing priorities.
Improved Contacts
Managing communication is easier than ever in the reworked Contacts area! The start of the message, and additional fields are now visible in the listing page, making it easier to parse contacts at a glance. New bulk actions are also available for managing your contacts, including spam flagging, marking as read, and archiving.
Improved “Backlight Modules” page
The Backlight Modules page now lists all available add-ons, and allows you to purchase add-ons directly on the page.
Improved Pagination
Pagination now includes links to the first and last page at all times. If there is a gap between the first and subsequent page link (or between the second-to-last and last page pink) then ellipses will be added.
Improved URLs for Single-image Pages
Single image URLs now no longer end in .php. For backward compatibility, links work whether they end in -single.php or just -single.
Improved Two-factor Authentication
Adds option to “Trust This Device for 30 days” for two-factor authentication. This option is only available for sites running on https.
Upgrading from Legacy Products
If upgrading from Backlight 1 or the older CE plugins, please visit the Upgrading page in Backlight documentation.
And now …
… a kookaburra.