This is beta software. Do not expect it to be complete, and do not use it for production work!

Please use the Beta 8 Problem Report Form to report problems. Be assured that while I do not respond to everything, I do read the reports. You can discuss the beta with other users on the cerious.thumbs8 newsgroup, but do not expect replies to problem reports there.

Please read the Known Problems; there is no need to generate problem reports for these!

Be sure to join the beta mailing list! Important information, such as the Beta 1 extension patch, is sent there. I simly don't have time to respond to 500 people asking the same question.

Beta 5

• Restarts the trial period at 30 days for unregistered users.
• On first run, beta 5 resets the toolbars, menus and docked panes to a default state because of user interface changes and fixes. You'll need to redo any desired customizations, including external programs (File - Open With - Add Program).
• On first run, beta 5 turns off any selected skin and selects the default user interface theme planned for release. Use Window - Theme to customize this.
• Fixed several issues (including a crash) with a non-existent startup database.
• Fixed a problem double-clicking .tpdb8 or .tpdb8s files in Explorer to start ThumbsPlus.
• Fixed several problems with printing images and catalogs.
• Set default monitor to "Same" on first run or number of monitors changed.
• Fixed wallpaper.
• Fixed some issues with automatic keyword generation.
• Changed the way line breaks are handled in displaying error messages.
• Fixed the database extension and database options when creating database.
• Fixed loading ICC color profiles from JPEG files.
• Changed database row ID sizes to 64 bits on databases that support it. Converted databases will still use 32-bit IDs.
• Fixed a problem where the converted database was sometimes not opened.
• Several database upgrade fixes.
• Fixed problems upgrading several client/server databases (MySQL, Firebird, SQL Server, Postgres). Note that even a successful conversion may list some SQL errors that you can ignore (I plan to supress the display in a future build). The last output line will report whether the conversion failed.
• Fixed display of color profile information for Unicode.
• Fixed errors when processing XMP updates.

Beta 4

• Build 3415 restarts the trial period at 30 days for unregistered users, fixes a problem with the database name on first run and database type selection in Database - New, and includes the Sqlite3 template database that I left out of build 3414.
• SQLite3 is now a supported database type, and it's built-in like Access, so you can create a new database directly (rather than having to worry about SQL scripts and ODBC data sources). Just use Database - New and select ThumbsPlus Database (Sqlite3 format .tpdbs) in the drop-down.
• You can now convert client/server databases within ThumbsPlus. Use Database - Convert Client/Server. Make sure you convert a copy or have a backup, as the process is not reversible!
• Very many user interface issues have been corrected, and there are a lot of new toolbar and menu icons.
• External programs (File - Open With - Add Program) are implemented, and during toolbar customization, you can drag them to the toolbar.
• Creating thumbnails with lots of automatic keywords is now considerably faster.
• Slide shows and movies work now. I'm sure there are still some issues, though, so please let me know!
• I implemented the Metadata Batch Editor (XMP/IPTC/EXIF), File - Edit Metadata.
• The default layout now puts the Info and Tasks panes on the right, rather than stacked as tabs with Preview/Keywords/Python. (You can drag the panes and tabs to organize the layout as you prefer.)
• Beta 4 still accepts Version 7 codes. If it doesn't automatically see your v7 code, use Help - Enter Registration Info to enter.
• Windows 7 support.
• Proper volume matching for network drives. If you have previously thumbnailed network shares, I would recommend creating a new database.

Beta 3

• There have been an enormous number of fixes and changes. Please check if problems you reported before have been fixed and resubmit if not. I have been reading the problem reports, but have not responded to many -- I preferred to spend the time actually fixing the problems.
• Beta 3 still accepts Version 7 codes (and it works properly now!). If it doesn't automatically see your v7 code, use Help - Enter Registration Info to enter.
• I am working on database creation and upgrade scripts for all supported databases, including Sqlite3. I hope to make these available within a week or two and will announce them on the beta mailing list.
• Thumbs8 always installs with shared database/shared settings. This will be changed in a subsequent installer.

Beta 2

• There have been an enormous number of fixes and changes. Please check if problems you reported before have been fixed and resubmit if not. I have been reading the problem reports, but have not responded to many -- I preferred to spend the time actually fixing the problems.
• The Thumbs.typ and Thumbs.flt files have been renamed to Thumbs8 because of conflicts when version 7 and version 8 were both set to use shared settings, especially with regard to file associations.
• Thumbs8 always installs with shared database/shared settings. This will be changed in a subsequent installer.
• I had planned to start using SQLite3 as the default database, but ran out of time. I need to complete the conversion process to handle Access to SQLite3, and plan to for beta 3.
• Beta 2 still accepts Version 7 codes (and it works properly now!). If it doesn't automatically see your v7 code, use Help - Enter Registration Info to enter.
• ThumbsPlus will now read ratings from the file's metadata; however, modifying the rating is not connected, you have to modify both the database rating (in the "Info" section) and the XMP rating (in the "Metadata" section). The same is true for Date Taken (original date/time).
• The default display layout, menus, and toolbars have changed. If you have customized, you will need to do that again.
• The multi-file (batch) metadata editor is currently broken (and thus disabled). It will be fixed in beta 3. You can edit single-file metadata directly in the Info pane.
• Movie files are still not working properly. I am busy rewriting most of the movie handling code, and things should be much improved in beta 3!

General Notes

ThumbsPlus 8 is a Unicode application, and thus supports folder names, file names and data in any language regardless of the edition of Windows on your computer. This also makes version 8 incompatible with 95/98/ME, which should have been retired about 5 years ago.

Most parts of ThumbsPlus are now ready to be built as a 64-bit application, which will allow much larger images to be loaded and handled. Some parts will have to remain 32-bit in order to call 32-bit libraries from other vendors (at least until those are available in 64-bit form).

The database schema has been reworked to incorporate the most requested features, including support for Date Taken as a primary (rather than user) field, and addition of a Rating field, which can be loaded from XMP or Vista metadata. Additional changes to the schema include:

• Storage of user settings within the database rather than in .TDO files.
• Support for longer file and path names in databases which support them (400 characters).
• Tracking of which user and system made or updated each thumbnail. (A history log will be added in a future release).
• All dates and times are now stored (and handled internally) in ISO 8601 standard format for easier collation and readability. As in previous versions, dates and times are stored internally as UTC and converted to and from the user's local time zone for display and searching.
• Some important database-related information that was previously stored in the INI file is now stored in the database, preventing accidental changes by users.
• As an option, all XMP metadata (including standard EXIF fields) may be copied to the database. In databases which support it (i.e., SQL Server), this information may be directly searched.
• The JET database engine (Access format) will continue be supported for a while; SQL Server Express, however, offers better performance and reliability, especially for multi-user configurations, and a larger database size.
• As far as I know, all databases we have previously supported will continue to be supported. For MySQL and SQL Server, a conversion utility will be ready during beta (but not in the first beta).
• Lengthened keyword size to 255 characters, with the ability to define categorical keywords, such as "Animal\Dog". The keyword list will be available in tree format easier handling during assignment.
• When using a file database, such as the default Access (now .tpdb8 rather than .td4), you can store thumbnails outside of the database, in a folder tree (i.e., d:\Thumbs8\thumbs.tpdb8.thumbnails\...). This will allow almost unlimited thumbnails within a database and alleviate the problem of reaching the maximum database size.

Many changes have been made to ease future internationalization of ThumbsPlus, thus speeding German and Spanish releases (and hopefully prompting translation to other languages as well).

Python has been added to ThumbsPlus for use as a scripting language. This will enable both Cerious Software and our users to extend the capabilities without having to release new versions. More parts of ThumbsPlus will be moved to Python in the future to allow easier customization, either by ourselves or by you!

The user interface has been given an updated look, with support for themes and skins. Additional panes in the main window are provided for easier keyword assignment, searching, and metadata editing. All menus, toolbars and keystrokes are now customizable. Any menu selection or list may now be placed on the toolbar.

Support for XMP metadata (read and edit), and the addition of support for editing EXIF data.

Improved color adjustment, including levels and curves.

Incomplete items, limitations, and known issues

• The help file is still the version 7 help file.
• The Keyword tab, designed for assigning one or more keywords to images, is not yet complete.
• Scripts for new database creation in client/server database are not yet available; however, since conversion database works, you can use the version 7 script, then convert the database to version 8 format!
• Because of the amount of in-house database changes required for new codes, Beta 4 still accepts Version 7 code. I do plan to implement new codes in Beta 5.
• While a lot of toolbar images have been updated, there are more to do. Scan Tree is particularly ugly, but I will definitely be replacing it!
• I just realized that the Transform - Trim functions in the view window are still not implemented.
• I also noticed that he Metadata Batch Editor is not working correctly, but you can see the interface now.
• The new crash handling does not yet automatically sumit a problem report. Please use the online report form and attach any files.

ThumbsPlus and Cerious are registered trademarks of Cerious Software Inc.
Microsoft, Windows and Vista are registered trademarks of Microsoft Coroporation.