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Video Mill Changelog

What's new in Video Mill 2.44 Version 2 Release 44

Nov 14, 2023
  • New feature - PowerKeys expands the operations possible with automation scripts. (Ultimate edition) (Learn more )
  • New feature - Automator - Window Focus menu item added to Tools menu. (Learn more )
  • New feature - WMP Check - Windows Media Player installed check added. Go to Tools > Diagnostics. Useful check if program is not working after installing on a new computer. Not enabled on Win11 by default. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Toggle Screen Mode menu item is now 2 sub-menu items for changing between Single/Multi-Screen mode. The toggle approach was prone to inadvertent changes to the mode.
  • Info - Actions Apply-To Mode - Has a new icon. No change to its functionality. The old icon was confusing because it was also used on the 'Apply Live' buttons. (Learn more )
  • Bug fixed - Setting a new play position for Image type Media Items was not working as designed in all cases. See expected Play Behavior when Changing Play Position.
  • Bug fixed - Automator Ad Hoc Shortcuts and Actions Shortcuts - Some triple key combinations were not working (ex. Ctrl+Shift+D1).

New in Video Mill 2.42 Version 2 Release 43 (Oct 9, 2023)

  • New feature - Subtitles - New option to 'Word Wrap text lines to fit display size'. Words will automatically automatically moved onto a new line when a line is longer than the screen width. You won't have to edit the SRT file to make lines fit the screen if you change font size or move to a different size display. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Subtitles. - New option to 'Word Wrap - Adjust Maximum Characters per Line'. The width of Subtitles is calculated by display width and current font size. This allows you to adjust the width if calculated width is not optimal for your needs. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Subtitles - 'Save Subtitles Style as a Favorite' saves your current Style for future use. Can now set a descriptive Style name if desired. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Subtitles - Html break tag ( <br> ) can now be used to produce a line break in a subtitle text.
  • Enhancement - Subtitles - Subtitles can now be used with Image based Slideshows or Text Screens. (Learn more )
  • Bug fixed - Subtitles - When dragging the video Play Position scrubber bar, Subtitles were not displayed correctly for new time position.
  • Bug fixed - Automator - When changing a script's Name in the Script Editor, other scripts that reference it with RunScript steps were not displaying the new name until the Media list was closed and reopened. Did not cause a runtime error, but was confusing to users.

New in Video Mill 2.42 Version 2 Release 42 (Oct 2, 2023)

  • New feature - Subtitles - Menu items are added to do quick changes to Subtitles Style: Font (family, style, size), Colors (text and background, opacity), Location (top, bottom of screen, etc). Menu items added to do advanced editing and save current Subtitles Style as a favorite for later use. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Subtitles - Default Style for Subtitles is changed to look similar Youtube CC (closed captions) subtitles (similar in text size, background color). Click 'Reset Subtitles to Factory Default Style' to use the new default. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - File Entry Dialog - A File Open button is added to the dialog toolbar. Opens the specified File with the app associated with the file extension type (set in Windows). (Learn more )
  • Bug fixed - Subtitles - When multiple SRT subtitles are displayed, a visible artifact (small rectangle) was showing between subtitles. Only appeared when a Padding is added to the Line Style.
  • Bug fixed - Subtitles - In an edge case, a subtitle could be missed due to a timing issue (race condition).

New in Video Mill 2.41 Version 2 Release 41 (Aug 4, 2023)

  • New feature - Import/Export Load Templates - A selection of Load Templates can be saved to a file. Useful to copy to a new computer or manage a large array of templates for different purposes. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Media Screen - Location, Size Edit Dialog enhanced so you can paste: 1) all values, 2) Location only or 3) Size only values. (productivity)(Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Filename Entry Dialog now allows you to clear (delete) a filename from various textboxes. (productivity) (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Marquee on Media Screen with Screen Layout > Gradient Colors C1/C2 now possible. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Static Image handling improved for transparent images (png, gif).
  • Bug fixed - When a Media Item was deleted from the Media List while it was playing, the associated Media Screen was not being unloaded.
  • Bug fixed - Video Geometry > Video Dimensions were not applied in all cases when Fit To Media Screen was unchecked.
  • Bug fixed - When a Media Item load failed after a Media Screen was created, the Media Screen could get orphaned and not respond to the Unload command (rare edge condition).

New in Video Mill 2.40 Version 2 Release 40 (Jun 9, 2023)

  • This release provides support to enable running VideoMill using an Elgato Stream Deck (button panel device). (Learn more )
  • New feature - Pause All and Resume All Script Step commands have been added to the Automator. There are also Key shortcuts added to the associated menu items in the Actions menu (Alt+P and Alt+R respectively) so you can execute them from any remote device that sends key commands (ex. handheld remotes, Elgato Stream Deck, etc.) (Learn more )
  • New feature - Open Automator window at Program Startup - When option is checked, the Automator window will open at program start-up and become the focused app window. (Learn more )

New in Video Mill 2.38 Version 2 Release 38 (Nov 8, 2020)

  • November 08, 2020
  • New feature - ( Remote Media Manager (RMM) interoperability - RMM is a new program that provides remote management of Soundmill and Videomill over a network (using IPC). RMM replaces Net Comms which is now transitioned to legacy. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Create Cue List for Remote Media Manager - Soundmill and Videomill can create cuelists for use with RMM. Under Tools > Automation. (Learn more )
  • New feature - IPC Client > Subscribe to Media Events - New checkbox in the IPC Client Profile Editor to designate that a remote client should be sent Media Events (such as Play started or ended, etc. Used with RMM) . (Learn more )
  • New feature - IPC Client > Disable Client - New checkbox in the IPC Client Profile Editor to designate that a remote client should not be included when IPC is started. Previously clients all defined clients were always made active. Disabling a client that is not in use can help save CPU and unnecessary network traffic. (Learn more )
  • New feature - IPC Toolbar added for quicker access to IPC functions. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Remote Tools - Multiple Remote Tools functions were added under the Tools > Automation menu (also a toolbar). Provides some basic management of remote client apps (using IPC). (Learn more )
  • New feature - IPC Port Client Definitions - New menu item added to Import or Export IPC Client Definitions. Useful if moving a setup to a new venue. (productivity) (Learn more )
  • New feature - New IPC Commands available - IPC Commands were added to facilitate remote app management by third party tool integrators. (Learn more )
  • New feature - New IPC Connect Tool (Free tool, intended for System Integrators) - This provides a two way communication method to send IPC commands to a third party app and for some commands to recieve a response back. Can be used with Sound Mill and Video Mill. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - IPC Reliability - Improved auto-recovery from cases when a remote app does not accept an IPC connection (usually associated with this message: "An existing connection was forcibly closed by the remote host"). Previously required that IPC be manually restarted.
  • Enhancement - About dialog now shows the license id (activation code).
  • Bug fixed - When opening Media Screens with the window Titlebar visible, the ability to resize the Media Screen using the mouse was not possible ( window border grip handles were not active.
  • Bug fixed - Progress bar was not being updated correctly in some cases when playing image and text-screens.
  • Bug fixed - When using 'Full Screen Toggle', incorrect Media Screen size was set (in a special case) when changing from Full Screen to Normal size.

New in Video Mill 2.37 Version 2 Release 37 (May 1, 2019)

  • Enhancement - Common Dialogs - Several edit dialogs have been enhanced with new productivity tools. (minor updates)

New in Video Mill 2.36 Version 2 Release 36 (Sep 12, 2018)

  • Prerequisite .Net Framework Upgrade - This version upgrades to .Net Framework 4.7.2. This version of .Net should have been installed via Windows Update by the 2018 May-June timeframe on most systems. If for some reason it was not installed on your system, see this User Forum article, Upgrading to .Net Framework 4.7.2 .
  • New feature - Persist Video Frame After Play Ends - You can now choose to persist either the First Frame or Last Frame of the video. Previously only First Frame was available

New in Video Mill 2.35 Version 2 Release 35 (May 7, 2018)

  • New option - Hide Marquee on Expiration - When checked, when a Timer or Counter reaches the end of its time/count range (ie expires), the Marquee will be hidden. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Marquee Edit buttons are added to the Media Screen Dimensions panel. The Marquee Name makes it easy to quickly identify the Media Item's Marquee. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Marquee > Start Element On Screen Load/Play Will now restart a timer or counter when a Media Screen is replayed. Previously only started the element on Load. For Timed Messages Marquee, the message is reset to message #1 on replay.
  • New feature - Set to Basic Template Dimensions - Provides an easy way to reset the Dimensions of multiple Media Items to a Basic Template Styles (Location/Size). (editing productivity)

New in Video Mill 2.34 Version 2 Release 34 (Apr 24, 2018)

  • Redesign of Marquee System. This release contains a significant upgrade for Marquee operational capabilities and enhanced visual presentation. ?Change - Separation of Marquee and Marquee Style - Visual styling (fonts, colors, etc) and screen location of the Marquee has been separated out into a Marquee Style class. This should increase editing productivity by eliminating duplicate work. The Marquee itself holds the text content and some operational settings. And changes to a Marquee Style will be inherited by all Marquees that reference the style. (Learn more )
  • New features - Visual Presentation - The look/feel of Marquees is significantly enhanced with new Marquee Style defintions (Learn more ).
  • Key styling improvements: ?Opacity allows for the video behind the Marquee to show through to varying degrees.
  • Marquee box can now use color gradients or images. Also can be transparent or translucent.
  • Marquee Text now can use: Outline, Drop Shadow, Opacity, color gradients, and more.
  • Marquee Border can now apply rounded corners and use Opacity.
  • Marquee content formatting allows for aligning content to left, right or center.
  • Marquee content spacing is enhanced with Padding settings. Allows for exact pixel distance positioning of content if needed.
  • Check out the visual sample images at this link. Learn more.
  • Enhancement - Reuse - All Marquees and Marquee Styles are available across all Media Lists. Eliminates duplicate work.
  • Quick Start Instructions - See this link for step by step instructions on using the new Marquee design. (Learn more )
  • Migration - Existing Marquees will be migrated to the new design. However, old Marquee styling attributes (fonts, colors, etc) cannot be translated to the new format. Review migrated Marquees before using them at a live event. You will likely need to create one or two new Marquees Style definitions and apply them to existing Marquees. Recommend: Take screen shots of your existing Marquees before upgrading so that you know the styling each will need. We regret any inconvenience due to migration neccessities.
  • New feature - Video Subtitles are now supported for the popular SRT Subtitle file format. This is designed to use with any Marquee Style you create. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Timed Messages - This is a special form of Marquee that can display sequential, multiple messages to the Media Screen at a timed interval. The messages are sourced from a simple text file. Each line in the file is treated as a new message. (Learn more )
  • New features for Playlists (M3U) Import/Export . ?New feature - Create a Playlist in Automator on Import - when importing an M3U Playlist, you can optionally have VideoMill create a new playlist in the Automator (as an automation Script ready to be played). (Learn more )
  • New feature - Export Scripts to M3U Playlists . Either 1) One script via File Save dialog for complete control; 2) Or for productivity, use Quick Export for multiple scripts in just a couple clicks. See Automator > File menu. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Name Default for Playlist. Helpful for national language customization. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Miscellaneous user interface improvements.
  • Removed feature - Synchronize by 'Time of Day' - This feature is removed with this release (not compatible with new Marquee design). It allowed for syncing multiple videos based on the 'time of day' the videos were recorded (creation date/time stamp). Users of this feature should not upgrade to this release. The related menu item Create Play Position Readout Media Item is removed from the Edit Media Item menu. If this is a critical need, please contact support for potential future plan.

New in Video Mill 2.33 Version 2 Release 33 (Mar 14, 2018)

  • New feature - Import/Export Playlists (M3U, M3U8 or WPL) added - These playlist files can now be imported either by File Browse dialog or drag/drop. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Automator > Create Simple Playlist - New menu item creates a Script of Play Steps from a selection of Media Items. You can then edit it like any other Script. (productivity) (Learn more )
  • New feature - Import Folders - Search Subfolders - You can now specify the search option when importing folders -- to either include Subfolders, or not. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Miscellaneous IPC UI and log improvements.
  • Enhancement - Some UI dialogs have productivity improvements.
  • Enhancement - Automator Menus - Toggle (show/hide) menu strip added to View menu.
  • Enhancement - Import media files no longer imports hidden files. (typically album art files.)
  • Bug fixed - Error occurs when Media List is empty and Windows Desktop is then extended (from non-extended mode).

New in Video Mill 2.32 Version 2 Release 32 (Dec 27, 2017)

  • Text Screens Enhancments - This release provides significant new functionality in visual presentation of Text Screens. (all editions)
  • New Text Screen visual features for Text - Filled with 2 or 3 color gradients, outlined text, softer drop shadow with opacity, and more. See Text Samples at this link.
  • New Text Screen visual features for Screen Background - Filled with 2 or 3 color gradients, linear or radial gradients, outlined Background, screen rotation and scaling, and more. See Screen Background Samples at this link.
  • Updated feature - Text Screen Theme Editor. - New settings for new function mentioned above.
  • New feature - Render Attributes Editor - Provides controls to select visual rendering attributes.
  • New feature - Tri-Colors Editor - New rendering gradients are applied using a Tri-Color group (set of 3 colors). You can create and save Favorite Tri-Color for reuse.
  • Migration of old Text Screen themes is done automatically. Some old formatting technics have been replaced with new cleaner approaches (ex Outlining). It is recommended that you test any migrated Text Screens before a live event.
  • New feature - Preview Text Screen Theme - You can now preview a theme without leaving the Text Screen Theme Editor. (productivity)
  • Option removed - Default Text Screen Size is removed from the Media Items Options. No longer needed.

New in Video Mill 2.31 Version 2 Release 31 (Nov 17, 2017)

  • November 17, 2017
  • New feature - Ad Hoc Shortcuts for hand held remote controller devices. Each of these shortcuts plays/runs a specific Media Item or Script so you can kick off various automation sequences using a remote controller. (Ultimate edition, using the Automator) (Learn more )
  • New feature - Enable/Disable Shortcuts - Can now turn on/off Actions Shortcuts and/or Ad Hoc Shortcuts. (Behavior menu - Learn more)
  • New feature - Enable Remote Controller Special Keys Some keys need special handling because Windows uses them for navigating controls (ex. Arrow keys Up, Down, Left, Right and a few others). You can enable processing these with this menu item. (Behavior menu - Learn more )
  • UI change - Menu Items Shortcut Keys items have been moved to a separate sub-menu to avoid confusion with other Shortcut types. (Behavior menu - Learn more )
  • UI change - "Favorite Actions Shortcuts" is renamed/simplified to "Actions Shortcuts" in menus and Help files.
  • New option - Escape Key (Esc) Toggles Full Screen Mode - when checked, if you mouse select a Media Screen (or it is currently the focused window), pressing the Esc keyboard key will toggle the screen between full screen and normal mode. Previously, this was always enabled. Now it can be disabled. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Bring to Front automation step type added for use in Scripts. The step will bring the specified Media Screen to the front of other stacked Media Screens. (Learn more )
  • New option - Keep Record of Recent Displays - This allows you to keep or remove recent extended displays from the saved list of known displays. (Learn more )
  • Bug fixed - In the Automator, Actions Shortcuts would stop working after pressing any of the Automator large Run control buttons. When these buttons had focus, they consumed the remote controller key signals.
  • Bug fixed - A Media Item marked to Loop or Use Multi-Play would not end when the Stop button was pushed. It would only stop the current playback iteration, then replay the video.
  • Bug fixed - When using Auto-Fade-Out, Videos set to Repeat Loop or Multi-Play could intermittently stop looping due to race condition.

New in Video Mill 2.30 Version 2 Release 30 (Oct 9, 2017)

  • New feature - File Entry Dialog is added that allows you to paste a File Path or Web Link from the Windows clipboard. It also has a Browse toolbar button to open a File Browse dialog. This replaces most file edit buttons that previously only opened a File Browse dialog. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Slide Show Setup - Settings for running the Automator as a slide-show app (similar to MS PowerPoint) are automatically set via this new menu item. (Learn more )
  • New option - Link Background Video/Audio Position to Scrubber Bar and Go-Tos - Syncs a Media Item's Background Video (if any) with the Play position scrubber bar and the Go-To buttons. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Set Image/Text-Screen Post-Delay to Background Video/Audio Length menu item. A productivity function that supports the previous new option. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Adhoc Audio, Volume buttons are added to the Adhoc Audio toolbar: Mute Audio Toggle, Volume Change. This makes volume control for Adhoc Audio totally separate from Media Screen volume control -- for easier management of both. (Learn more )
  • Bug fixed - In a certian case when the Media fails to open, the Media Screen did not close and could not be manually closed with the Unload button.
  • Bug fixed - Display Mirror Tool crash on tool open when previously mirrored display is not extended and Auto-Start mirror is checked.
  • Bug fixed - Audio file (ie Mp3, etc) would not load/play after the first time it was played. Only applied to web linked audio (ie http ) or network link files.
  • Bug fixed - Image file that is sourced from a web link (ie http ) did not display on first playback (image size was not acquired early enough in the display process).

New in Video Mill 2.29 Version 2 Release 29 (Sep 18, 2017)

  • New feature - Adhoc Audio - provides a quick and simple utility to play frequently used sound effects (ex. buzzers, chimes, canned applause etc.) or common announcements or theme music -- Really any audio files that you commonly use. (All editions) (Learn more )
  • New feature - Marquee - Numeric Counter - The counter displays simple numbers. Example "Items remaining: 25". The counter can be operated manually or can count automatically (at any specified speed). (Ultimate editions) (Learn more )
  • Bug fixed - Marquee Clock/Timer was not always located in correct position when aligning the Marquee along the right side of display/screen.
  • Bug fixed - Automator, when using a Load Template or Cross-Fade, program focus was not returning to the Automator window which disabled the use of Script keyboard shortcuts for Next or Previous Step.

New in Video Mill 2.28 Version 2 Release 28 (Aug 30, 2017)

  • Enhancement:
  • Net Comms support - This release adds support for the new Net Comms Tool add-on. This release is required if you want to use Net Comms with Video Mill.
  • IPC Commands - Three new commands added for IPC usage: StopScript, PauseScript, ResumeScript.
  • New feature:
  • Create Cue List for Net Comms menu item added to Tools > Automation > IPC menu. (Learn more )
  • Bug fixed:
  • IPC message receive exception caused when the IPC command had leading space(s) (ex. " Play" instead of "Play").

New in Video Mill 2.27 Version 2 Release 27 (Aug 7, 2017)

  • New option - Make Video Frame-1 Visible when Play Ends or when Stop button is clicked. When un-checked, the Media Screen will go to a blank screen at end of play which is the previous behavior. (Learn more )
  • Change - Make Video Frame-1 Visible On Pre-Load Screen is moved to the Screens(1) Options > Visibility section.
  • New feature - New Media Item - New menu items added: 1) Media Item From Existing Media File (via File Browse dialog); 2) New Text Screen and Create New Text File (creates a new Text Screen Media Item and creates/opens its associated text File). (Learn more )
  • New feature - Text Screen Theme Margins - This setting makes it much easier to position the block of text within the Text Screen and provides for pixel point accuracy in the text block placement. (Learn more )
  • New option - Text Screen Default Size and Default Theme Margins used when a new Text Screen Media Item is created. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Text Screen Drop Shadow Type - Single or a new Solid shadow can be selected. Previously, only the Single shadow was available. (Learn more )
  • UI change - Text Screen > Multiple Item Edit menu item has been removed. This operation can now be done with the Paste Attributes Selection into Media Items Selection menu item.
  • New feature - Open Media Item File with Associated App - This menu item will open the media file linked to a Media Item with whatever App you have associated with its file type. For example, you may want to edit the text file linked to a Text Screen. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Create Basic Load Templates - You can now create any number of the Basic templates in one operation. Previously creation of each style of template was a separate set of mouse clicks. (productivity)
  • Enhancement - Some productivity buttons added to edit dialogs..
  • Bug fixed - Text Screens were not preserving the Media Screen Dimensions Location/Size after playing the Media Screen.

New in Video Mill 2.26 Version 2 Release 26 (Jul 12, 2017)

  • New feature - Load Sync Interval - This setting provides a smoother Load/Play experience. You can tune the Load process to eliminate a momentary 'stagger' (slight pause) during the first second of video playback. It can be adjusted to match your system speed. (All Editions) (Learn more )
  • Behavior Change - Make First Video Frame Visible On Pre-Load checkbox is moved to the Media Screen Load section of the Options > Screens(2) tab (more logical placement). When unchecked the entire Media Screen is invisible on Load. Previously the only the Media Screen video was invisible but the Media Screen background would be visible. (Learn more )
  • Behavior Change - Clicking the Load button when Options Screens(2) > Resume Video On Fade-In is enabled would start video playback. It no longer begins playback. Now simply use the Play button for this behavior.
  • UI Change - Start-At/End-At controls are now disabled for Image and Text Screen Media Items. These values were always ignored for these Screen types anyway so disabling the set controls simply avoids confusion for the Media List designer.
  • Enhancement - A few minor user interface refinements.
  • Bug fixed - Cross-fade when used with an Automator playlist caused a program exception in certian cases.
  • Bug fixed - Use of Background video or image file caused a program exception in certian cases.
  • Bug fixed - When clicking the Load or Play button, the video was not always aligned on frame 1 of the video.
  • Bug fixed - Play position readout not always reset to :00 at end of media or when unloading Media Screen.

New in Video Mill 2.25 Version 2 Release 25 (Jul 3, 2017)

  • New feature - IPC Encryption Password - This adds more protection from network hackers trying to interfere with IPC network communications. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Identify Displays - Opens an Identifier popup on each display that you select. This will help you map VideoMill display identifiers to physical displays. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Media Screen Dimensions - Two new quick set buttons are added to set Location,Size: Set to Set to Natural Media Size and Set to Target Display Size. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Show Both Time Remaining and Play Position - menu item was added to the View menu. Toggles between show both readouts or just one. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Time and Date Edit Dialogs now have Copy and Paste buttons so you can set an attribute value from a copied value. (productivity)
  • Enhancement - Text Edit Dialogs now have Copy and Paste buttons. (productivity)
  • Enhancement - Numeric Edit Dialogs now have Copy and Paste buttons. (productivity)
  • Enhancement - Marquee Editor timer settings have changed to add more flexibility for controlling time formats displayed by the Count Up/Down timers. Two additional Time Formats are added. Checkboxes for Suppress Zero Hours and Suppress Zero Minutes are replaced with one checkbox named Suppress Leading Zeros. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Display Mirror Tool now has an auto-start option. When enabled, the mirror will start mirroring as soon as the tool window is opened. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Play-on-Double-Click - Changed the app refocus code so that when a user is using Play-on-Double-Click, the MediaList selector panel is refocused after playing a Media Item. So the Spacebar or Enter Key will continue to work without having to mouse-click the MediaList selector panel. Requires that you check the Screens(2) Options > "Refocus Program Window After Media Screen Loads". (Learn more )
  • Bug fixed - Several issues related to use of the Move Screen To Display-X, Full Screen Toggle, and Restore Normal Window Size buttons. Issues generally related to starting video Play is in full screen mode, then using these function buttons.
  • Bug fixed - With certian conditions, Media Screen could get resized to a 1x1 size (single pixel). Thus the Media Screen was virtually invisible to the viewer, but video/audio would continue to play.

New in Video Mill 2.24 Version 2 Release 24 (Jun 9, 2017)

  • New feature - Virtual Displays provides MediaList portability from venue to venue. It allows you to create Virtual Displays that map to physical displays. The mapping can be changed at any time. Virtual Displays can be used where ever you select a Target Display. (Ultimate Edition).
  • New feature - Screen Swap - New behavior option, Swap Brings Screen to Front.
  • Enhancement - Media List Validation now checks for Media Item Target Displays that are not extended on the Windows Desktop.
  • Enhancement - Report Options, MediaItem Attributes can now be selected in a more granular way. You can now select individual MediaItem Attributes Groups to print in a report. Previously all MediaItem Attributes would print making for an extremely verbose listing.
  • Change - Primary Display has been removed from the Target Display selector list. If you used Primary display in a MediaItem, reassign the Target Display to a physical display or a Virtual Display.
  • Change - Load Templates > Multiple Item Edit menu was removed (as redundant). This operation can be done via Edit Media Item > Paste Attributes into Media Item(s).

New in Video Mill 2.23 Version 2 Release 23 (May 22, 2017)

  • New feature - Encrypt Messages - When option is checked, IPC messages sent across the network will be encrypted. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - New IPC commands supported: Play, Stop, Pause, Resume, StopAll, Msg, and Ping. Previously only the RunScript command was supported. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Send Adhoc IPC Command tool now has a picker dialog to select commands. (Learn more )
  • New feature - IPC Log - A separate IPC Log can be viewed to see Send/Receive traffic and errors. Useful as a debug aid if IPC is not working as expected. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - IPC Restart - The Start IPC action now handles restart in one action. It no longer requires that you Stop IPC, then Start IPC.

New in Video Mill 2.21 (May 9, 2017)

  • Feature Modification - New Methodology For Target Display - The old method of assigning secondary names (Secondary.1, Secondary.2 etc) to Target Displays has been replaced. The old method had an issue of losing its binding to extended displays in some cases. (Learn more )
  • Migration Consideration for Target Display - Each Media List will be automatically migrated to the new method when you open it. Check the Target Display setting for all your Media Items and Load Templates to ensure they were migrated as needed. Because of the flaw in the old method, some Media Items may not be set to the Target Display you need. There is a new feature added (next item below) that will allow you to reset Target Display on multiple Media Items in just a few clicks. (Instructions here )
  • New feature - Paste Attributes Selection into Media Items Selection. You select several attributes, then select a set of Media Items to recieve the attributes. Previously it was only possible to set all attributes in this manner. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Display Editor allows you to set a logical name for each display device. These names are used for menu selection dialogs. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Abort Load if Target Display is not found. Previously load would always default to Primary display when the Target Display was not found. (Learn more )
  • New feature - On Media Item selection, show media info option. When checked, the Media Item's media file is shown on the status bar with its size and time duration. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - View Extended Displays now shows more display information. (see menu Tools > Displays)
  • Enhancement - Stretch Across Displays - Video can now be stretched across multiple displays horizontally and vertically. The Stretch Editor has been simplified and has more error checking. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Go-To Markers have been significantly enhanced. You can now set as many Go-To Marks as desired and manage them. A button is added to the Go-To toolbar to give you click access to all Go-To marks. The first 5 Go-To Marks are applied to the A-F buttons for convenience of frequently used marks. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Full Screen Toggle icon was changed to a Microsoft standard icon.
  • Enhancement - Streaming media indicator has been replaced with an industry standard icon.
  • Enhancement - Time remaining indicator has been replaced with an hour glass symbol. Previously it was the letter "R".

New in Video Mill 2 Release 12 Build 2.12.0.0 (Dec 16, 2015)

  • .Net Framework 4.6 upgrade:
  • .Net Framework 4.6 upgrade - With this release, the program has been migrated up to .Net 4.6 (latest version). This should provide improvements in RAM memory management and performance (especially on 64bit OS versions). It also expands the capabilities for future program feature additions and improvements. .Net 4.6 comes preinstalled on most Windows 10 systems. If you are on another Windows version (8/7/Vista), you may need to install it.
  • Windows XP, End of Development - .Net 4.6 cannot be installed on Windows XP. Therefore, there will be no new development for XP. Video Mill V.r 2.11 is the last release that can be installed on XP and will remain available to customers with XP machines.
  • Automator Updates:
  • New feature - Script Groups - You can now perform actions on multiple Scripts simultaneously with Script Groups. Actions such as Run-Script, Pause, Resume, Stop, etc. This adds signifcant new power and flexibility to the Automator.
  • New feature - Steps List Selector is added that allows for playing steps out of order. See Steps List Selector Behavior details.
  • New feature - Step Actions tool bar added. Some Step action buttons were moved to this toolbar from the Run Script toolbar. Includes a new Stop Step action.
  • New feature - Script Run Behavior. New selectable behaviors are added to change the way the Automator executes Scripts. Modes include media player behavior (like Windows Media Player) or slide presentation mode (like PowerPoint). See Behavior menu.
  • New feature - Wireless Remote Controller Operation. The Automator is now enabled to operate via PC Remote Control devices. Virtually any PC Remote Control device can be used.
  • New feature - Tablet and Touch Screen Operation. The Automator is now enbaled to operate via Touch Screen devices.
  • New feature - New Toolbars are added for sound Volume and Script List Item Selection.
  • New feature - User Interface. The various main control panels of the Automator can now be customized (scaled in size, set fonts, and show/hide panels. See Automator View menu.
  • New feature - UI Favorites. UI customizations can be saved as favorites and restored with a couple clicks. Makes it easy to swap between touchscreen mode and standard mouse/keyboard mode.
  • New feature - Script List Item Selection tool bar added. Moves selection cursor in the Script List to facilitate touchscreen usage.
  • New feature - Volume. You can now select how volume changes are applied: 1) To selected Script only; 2) To all running Scripts. See Actions > Volume menu.
  • New feature - Run Script button. Run button can now be set to perform Run/Pause/Resume. Useful for remote control operation. See Behavior menu. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Actions Shortcuts. This is a way to assign keyboard shortcuts to functions of the actions menu. It enables the remote control operation support. See Tools menu.
  • New feature - Run Multiple Scripts menu item is added to the Actions menu. You select the scripts to run via popup dialog.
  • Bug fixed - Automator Toolbars - Show All / Hide All was not working in all cases.
  • Bug fixed - Automator, A Script with two Play steps that play the same Media Item may end before all Steps are executed.
  • Scheduler Updates:
  • New feature - Scheduler Plan Editor has more toolbar functions for setting schedule date and time; enable/disable a plan item. (productivity)
  • New feature - Scheduler Run Modes - The Scheduler can now be operated in several run modes. Each modes changes the way the Scheduler selects plan items to run based on date and time. Previously the Scheduler worked in only 24 hour mode.
  • New feature - Scheduler Log is added. Scheduler Log has time stamped messages from the Scheduler runtime events. It shows what items are scheduled and which items did not get scheduled with a reason message.
  • Enhancement - Scheduler - It can now run for multiple days without needing a restart (up to 24 days). Previously, it needed to be restarted every day.
  • General Updates:
  • New feature - Stretch Across Displays has been added to make it easy to stretch a video across two or more displays.
  • New feature - Master Enable Video Filters - This will will allow you to enable/disable all video filters with one click without having to edit multiple Media Items.
  • New feature - Behavior tool bar was added as a productivity aid. It provides on click access to the features of the Behavior Menu.
  • Enhancement - Date/Time Edit Control - Improved Date/Time Edit Controls provides better globalization support. International users are encouraged to report any time/date controls in the program that do not allow data entry in your customary local format; or display dates and times in local format. (ex. Date format mm/dd/yyyy vs dd/mm/yyyy ; Time formats - 12 hour AM/PM vs 24 hour times.)
  • Enhancement - Streaming Media - Improvements to support more Web stream sources.
  • Enhancement - Auto-Fade-In / Auto-Fade-Out now fades in/out when you click the Pause, Resume or Stop buttons. Previously it only did fades at play begin (Play button clicked) and end of play. (Renamed, formerly called Fade-In All and Fade-Out All)
  • Enhancement - Play Position Scrubber Bar - Improved user control. Video Play position is not changed until the mouse button is released or if using the keyboard (right/left arrow keys) when the key is released. Scrubber Bar time position readout is updated as the mouse is dragged. This readout is located just below the scrubber bar.
  • Enhancement - Go To Toolbar on the Media List Editor now works with Apply To modes: Apply to Loaded Screens; and Apply to Group. Previously it only worked on the selected Media Item.
  • New feature - Images and Text Screens - A new option (Persist Image and Text Screen After Play Duration Ends) is added so you can either hide or persist an Image after its play duration has expired.
  • Bug fixed - Screen flicker - In some cases using full screen video, a flicker effect would occur between video plays exposing the Windows Desktop as a video ends.
  • Bug fixed - Certian Weblink urls that do not have valid media sources could cause a program error.

New in Video Mill 2 Release 11 Build 2.11.0.0 (Nov 26, 2014)

  • New feature - Text Screen added. It is a special type of Media Screen that displays multiple lines of text from any standard Text file. It provides a quick method to compose an audience message and present it on a visually interesting screen with minimal effort. (All editions)
  • New feature - Automator Step Advance buttons added for Previous Step, Replay Step and Jump To Step(x). See special consideration when using Fade-In/Fade-Out.
  • New feature - Run Script at Step(x), new Automator menu item let's you pick the step to execute when a script is started.
  • New feature - Media File Tasker is a productivity shortcut to quickly load the media file of a selected Media Item into a favorite program.
  • New feature - Two new Color Methods added for the Color Tone filter: Three Tone Tint and Two Tone Colorize - Preserve Medial.
  • New feature - Play On Double-Click mode added. When enabled, selected Media Item can be played by double clicking it with the mouse, or by pressing the Enter key or Space bar.
  • New feature - Focus List Items menu item, Program cursor focus jumps to the listbox of Media Items. Most useful when in Play On Double-Click mode.
  • New feature - Image and Text Screen - Default Duration added. This time Duration is used when an Image and Text Screen Media Item has not been assigned a custom Post-Delay time.
  • New feature - Streaming Media - Default Duration used for streaming media until actual duration is discovered at Load/Play time.
  • New feature - Controls Section Headers Colors can now be customized to any preference. Default colors are set to white text on a dark gray header for enhanced contrast to visually separate the panels.
  • New feature - Load Templates management is improved. You can now create New Basic Template, and Edit the basic settings of an existing template.
  • Enhancement - Image Media Items (where the media file is a static image, ie. Jpg, Png, Bmp, etc) now support Fade-Out.
  • Enhancement - Behavior menu is added. All behavior mode menu items that resided in the Actions menu, are moved to the Behavior menu for logical grouping of mode settings.
  • Enhancement - Cross Fade now uses the Master Fade Durations found in the Media Item Options.
  • Enhancement - Fader Bar now uses the Master Fade Durations found in the Media Item Options. This allows Fade-In and Fade-Out to have different durations if desired. The Fade Time Set button has been removed from the Fader Bar.
  • Enhancement - Automator- Step time remaining now displayed on progress bar for a more useful operator metric.
  • Enhancement - Automator - Script Total Time Effective now considers Offset Time Steps and Script Repeat setting when calculating total expected run time.
  • Enhancement - Media Lengths of Drag and Drop files are now acquired when dropped. This task may take a few seconds to complete depending on how many files are dropped. You should wait for the "Acquisition Completed" status message before playing the dropped files. Streaming media is excluded, for performance reasons, and is acquired when you Load/Play a stream Media Item .
  • Enhancement - Retry on Video Codec error is improved. Better recovery from error and smoother visual handling.
  • Enhancement - Audio files, improved handling of audio screens.
  • Enhancement - Media Information button on the Edit Media Item tool bar now displays info for the selected Media Item via pop-up dialog. Detail level is set in the Report Options dialog.
  • Enhancement - Reacquire Media Information menu item is added that lets you Reacquire the media length (time duration) for one or multiple Media Items. Useful if you have edited a video after you created the Media Item.
  • Enhancement - View Loaded Screens Dimensions button added to Screen Manager tool bar, for one click access.
  • Enhancement - Performance, some minor design changes to improve performance and reliability.
  • Enhancement - Open/Close Controls Panels Toolbar behavior has been modified. Single-Click will now Open the control section associated with the clicked button and will bring the section into view for editing. Double-Click closes the control section associated with the clicked button. This change should greatly reduce the need to scroll to find a control panel.
  • Enhancement - Scroll To Top (or Bottom) menu items added to View menu for easier navigation of the user interface. Scrolls the user interface to the top or bottom control panel section; includes keyboard shortcuts.
  • Enhancement - Maximum Number of Recent Files can now be changed in the General Options dialog.
  • Enhancement - Edit Media Screen Background Colors, C1/C2 is modified so you can now set them from your saved Favorite Colors.
  • Bug fixed - YouTube streams was corrected for a recent YouTube format change. Also Load/Play would perform too many retry attempts when stream could not be opened. Not an officially supported feature and may require a codec tweak to work. Contact Support if you want usage instructions.
  • Bug fixed - Fade-In-All and Fade-Out-All durations were not being set correctly from Media Item Options dialog.
  • Bug fixed - Duplicate Step button was not assigning a unique id to the duplicated step. Check the ids on Script Steps to make sure each step has a unique id. Delete and re-duplicate any steps if necessary.
  • Bug fixed - Media Length of a Media Item was getting reassigned incorrectly in a certian edge condition when using Cross-Fade mode. Use Edit Media Item > Reacquire Info for Multiple Items to reset to correct length.
  • Bug fixed - Miscellaneous minor bug fixes.

New in Video Mill 2 Release 10 Build 2.10.0.0 (Sep 13, 2014)

  • New feature - Three Tone Colorize Method added to Color Tone filter.
  • Enhancement - Audio Muted Indicator added to the Volume control panel. Indicates mute status of the selected Media Item.
  • Enhancement - Screen Audio Volume and Mute status is added to the Screens > View Loaded Screens Dimensions dialog. Allows you to check audio status of all loaded screens at a glance.
  • Enhancement - Screens > Size to Reference Dimensions menu item restored by request. It was Deprecated in the v2.4 release.
  • Bug fixed - Video was not rendering correctly (size/location within the Media Screen), when reloading a Media Item after changing Video Dimensions in the Video Geometry control panel. Bug condition appeared only when Fit to Media Screen checkbox was unchecked.

New in Video Mill 2 Release 9 Build 2.9.0.0 (Aug 16, 2014)

  • New feature - Display Mirror Tool, Always On Top option. When checked, the Mirror Tool window will stay in front of other program windows. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Program Start-Up by Batch File is available including passing parameters to: 1) Open a Media List file; 2) To run a Script. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Scheduler - Start At Program Startup, this option auto-starts the Scheduler when the program starts. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Scheduler menu items are added to Tools > Automation menu. Some have associated keyboard shortcut keys.

New in Video Mill 2 Release 8 Build 2.8.0.0 (Jul 25, 2014)

  • New feature - Cross Fade mode: Fades a video into the next video. Current playing video fades-out while the new video fades-in. One click to change from cross-fade mode to standard play mode -- linking videos is not required. Fade duration is configurable. (requires Ultimate edition) (Learn more )
  • New feature - Two Tone Colorize filter method is added using the Color Tone filter. See the Renaissance Movie Trailer for an example of a similar type of video effect. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Link Background Video with Main Play Controls option is added for Green screen use. When checked, the main Play Control buttons, effectively sync play of both the foreground and background video. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Video Visibility Toggle button - The Media Screen(s) video Visibility is toggled between visible/hidden. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Go-To End-At Time Proximity, this allows you to set the Go-To End-At button so that it jumps play position to a predetermined amount of time prior to the end of any selected video (ex. 10 seconds before video end). (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Fade-In/Fade-Out has new, smoother fade transition method.
  • Enhancement - Pass video filename of the selected Media Item to an external program. Specify %MediaItemFilename% as the variable. (Learn more )
  • Bug fixed - In certain cases, when using Pre-Delay time on a video or image Media Item, the media screen would not become visible when the delay time expires.
  • Bug fixed - Descriptors panel in the Media List Editor was not fully exposed when all control panels were opened.
  • Bug fixed - When using a Load Template and running a Script, a Media Item with an image (png, jpg etc) was not displaying for the full duration of the Media Item Post Delay time.

New in Video Mill 2 Release 7 Build 2.7.0.0 (Jun 14, 2014)

  • Enhancement - Arrange Toolbars menu item added to View > Toolbars.
  • Bug fixed - V.r 2.6 bug reported about "using a background video for Green Screen". This is a mitigation of the error by removing the option "Link Background Video with Main Play Controls" checkbox in Options > Screens(2). This means that a background video needs to be started separate from the Media Screen's top video using the Background Video Controls panel. Our plan is to restore the option in the next/later release.
  • Bug fixed - Some system configurations were getting an error on program start-up (error message: "-1 is not a valid property for Width" ).

New in Video Mill 2 Release 6 Build 2.6.0.0 (Jun 9, 2014)

  • New feature - Video Filters, a wide range of filters (20+) can now be applied to adjust video color, lightness, darkness and achieve various effects. see the Video Filters Gallery for screen shots of all effects.
  • New feature - Green Screen (or Blue Screen) capability is now available by using the new Chroma Key Filter.
  • New feature - Video Filters Controls are added to the program control sections to manage filter use per Media Item.
  • New feature - Video Filter Edit Tool is added to customize filter settings per Media Item.
  • New feature - Background Video capability is added for use with Green Screen technology and other filters that allow transparency.
  • New feature - Enable Video Filters checkbox in the Options dialog must be checked to use filters.
  • New feature - Time Remaining count down time added above Play Position progress bar.
  • Enhancement - Play Position Scrubber Bar, has much improved responsiveness to scrolling.
  • Bug fixed - When "Fit to Media Screen" checkbox was checked, video size was not recalculated in all cases.
  • Bug fixed - "File Save" would not prompt with Save-As dialog the first time a new Media List was being saved.

New in Video Mill 2 Release 5 Build 2.5.0.0 (May 19, 2014)

  • Note - You may need to reset tool bars (View > Toolbars > Reset) if any toolbar buttons appear out of sequence.
  • New feature - Display Mirror Tool, If you do not have a direct line of sight to a secondary display, you can use this tool to monitor video on one or multiple secondary displays. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Fader bar, Performs adhoc fade-in, fade-out of video/volume. Will optionally pause/resume video on fade-in, fade-out. Useful to interrupt show videos to make a PA announcement. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Fade-In, Fade-Out , Individual Media Items can be set to fade-in, fade-out automatically on Play start and end. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Fade-In All, Fade-Out All, When enabled, all Media Items will fade-in, fade-out automatically on Play start and end. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Go-To Play Position toolbar, Jumps to preset positions within a video. Useful tool for rehersals when you need to reposition a video to a starting position repeatedly. Go-To Start-At/End-At times, plus five configurable Go-To buttons. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Media Item Start-At/End-At, Delay settings moved to a separate control panel (formerly in Play Modifiers). Buttons are added to set these from the current Play Position for productivity. The button previously on the Play Position panel to set Start-At to current Play Position was moved to this new control section. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Retry when Open Media Fails option, if a Media Item fails to load to a Media Screen when Play or Load is requested, the program will automatically attempt to retry the load. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Load Time-Out Interval, this will time-out a video load operation after a specified number of seconds. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Make First Video Frame Visible On Pre-Load lets you control video visibility when clicking the Load button to pre-load a video. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Media Information button is added to the Edit Media Item toolbar. Displays Media Info on the program status bar. Includes: Filename and path; Media Length; Media Natural Size. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Media Screen Load Performance Tuning will result in faster video loads in some cases.
  • Enhancement - Media List Report is improved when including Media Item Details. Now attributes are grouped to match user interface attributes sections.
  • Enhancement - Media List Validation, added more validation checks.
  • Bug fixed - Media Screen would sometimes "blink" when the Apply Live button was clicked in the Media Screen Dimensions panel (usually when the Media Screen was in full screen mode.
  • Bug fixed - When using an End-At position, video was not replaying if Play button was clicked a second time for replay.
  • Bug fixed - Playing an audio file (when first item played after program start up), load would take too long.

New in Video Mill 2 Release 4 Build 2.4.0.0 (Apr 26, 2014)

  • This is a major release with significant new function and is a recommended install for all users. However, do not install this release on the day of a performance. Read the Deprecated features item below to understand what is changing. You will need some time to assimilate the design changes and understand how it may affect your existing Media Lists.
  • See Feature Comparison by Edition page to see which editions support each new feature.
  • New feature - Open/Close Controls Sections Toolbar, The control sections of the user interface now open and close with a new tool bar. This saves space when sections are closed. (Learn more )
  • New feature - A new, three column user interface is introduced for more optimum use of display space (See screen shot) .
  • New feature - Load Templates, Create Load Templates that feature your own themed signage to wrap around videos. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Exclude from Load Templates, New checkbox was added to Play Modifiers > Screen Load Behavior. You can exclude individual Media Items when Load Templates are active. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Apply Live button, Some of the program control sections allow you to turn On/Off the connection to a Media Item's live Media Screen. Can be useful in cases where you want to edit a Media Item and have the new value propagated to its Media Screen immediately without having to reload the item. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Video Crop, Crop your video to visually interesting shapes: Rectangle, Ellipse, Diamond and Parallelogram. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Video Stretch, Stretch the video to completely fill the Media Screen or fit to the Media Screen while maintaining video aspect ratio. (Learn more. )
  • New feature - Video Resize/Zoom, do a custom resize including Zoom-in. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Resize / Relocation Tool, was added as an alternative to using Windows Title Bars to drag Media Screens to resize and relocate. It is also used to size Crop Area and do custom video size within the Media Screen. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Audio Balance, Balance the audio across Left and Right channels as desired via simple slider control. (Learn more. )
  • New feature - Video Speed, Speed up or slow down the video as desired by any amount. Usually used for scanning a video during editing but can be used for special effect during performance as well. (Learn more. )
  • New feature - Playback Position Buttons, Buttons are added to the Play Modifiers panel to set Start-At and End-At times from the Playback Position Progress bar. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Copy/Paste Attributes from Media Item , this copies all attributes (except the Media File name) from one Media Item so you can paste them into another Media Item. (Learn more )
  • New feature - The Media List editor can now be configured for touch screen devices during performances. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Toolbars can now be scaled in size for easier mouse access or to enable a touch screen interface. (Learn more )
  • New feature - A new toolbar is added with List Item Selection buttons. Use for navigation when useing the program in touch screen mode. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Easier toolbar management to show or hide toolbars via selection list.
  • Enhancement - Volume functions are moved to a separate toolbar.
  • Bug fixed - In some cases, Play Position scrubber was not working in Single Screen mode when a video was paused.
  • Deprecated features:
  • With the introduction of Load Templates, a more powerful and flexible design, the Load: Default Size and Location for Media Screen settings in the Screens(2) Options have been deprecated.
  • The following features are now obsolete and removed with this release:
  • Display Reference Dimensions; Default Size and Location for Media Screens from the Screens(2) Options.
  • Size Modes no longer available: Display Reference Dimensions; Current Reference Dimensions.
  • Location Override and Size Override from the Media Screens Dimensions control section.

New in Video Mill 2 Release 3 Build 2.3.0.0 (Mar 22, 2014)

  • New feature - You can now use a Dongle Key to unlock the program on computers other than the computer where you activated the program. (Service Fee applies) (Learn more)
  • New feature - New feature - Options Import/Export functions are added to the Tools menu. This allows you to Export your current Options to a file and restore them to another computer by Import. Useful for Dongle Key use

New in Video Mill 2 Release 2 Build 2.2.0.0 (Mar 18, 2014)

  • New feature - You can now use a Dongle Key to unlock the program on computers other than the computer where you activated the program. (Service Fee applies) (Learn more)
  • Enhancement - The program now supports scaling of the user interface up to 200% on high-resolution displays (high DPI/PPI dots/pixels per inch). Choose scaling factor in Windows Control Panel > Display.
  • Bug fixed - Media Screen Titlebars visibility was not always being set to current visibility mode when exiting Full Screen mode back to Normal window state size.

New in Video Mill 2 Release 1 Build 2.1.0.0 (Feb 24, 2014)

  • New feature - Added new Step types for automation Scripts: 'Stop Script', 'Pause Script', 'Resume Script'. So now, one Script can perform these acitons on: another Script; or on itself via Timed Offset steps. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Marquee Easy Location is renamed to Marquee Alignment and now uses the Alignment Tool dialog for easier editing. After installing this release, check your Marquee Alignment setting in the Marquee Editor to confirm it is correct. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - IPC Sender External Program now has the option to Restore active window focus after starting. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - In Options > Screens(2), the Target Display selection was reverting to Primary display when no Secondary display was detected. The value now remains as Secondary display, even when no Secondary is detected. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Program windows now restore their last display location and size when opening a window at program start-up.
  • Enhancement - If displaying program windows on a Secondary display and the display is disconnected, program windows are automatically moved back to the Primary display.
  • Bug fixed - When playing a video from a Script Play step, then stopping the video by clicking Stop button in the Media List Editor (or other external Stop method), the Script was not getting a media ended notification.

New in Video Mill 2 Release 0 Build 2.0.0.0 (Feb 17, 2014)

  • Enhancement - Media Screen location is now saved as a relative offset from the display origin (upper left corner). Absolute display coordinates were used in V1. By saving relative offsets, the Media List becomes portable to any extended display making it easy to plug into display systems at virtually any new venue. It also eliminates the tricky aspects of extending displays on the windows desktop that were associated with using absolute display coordinates (ie display orientation).
  • Enhancement - Play will now Load a Media Item if it is not already Loaded. This eliminates the need for the two step Load then Play operation. You can still pre-Load a Media Item with the Load button if desired.
  • Enhancement - Media Screen Dimensions (location and size) are no longer automatically saved when you close a screen. A Save Screen Dimensions to Media Item function is added to the Screens menu and a button on the Screen Manager tool bar. This gives you a finer degree of control over Dimensions.
  • New feature - Screens Mode feature was added. Single Screen mode: Uses only one Media Screen for simpler screen management when you only want to play one video at a time; Multi-Screen mode: Allows for multiple Media Screens (same as V1 screens mode).
  • New feature - Default Size and Location for Media Screen on Load options were added. These values will determine Media Screen load location and size for ALL Media Item when loaded or played. They include: Target display, location or alignment on display, and screen size.
  • New feature - Override Media Screen Location and Size on Load option was added to the Screens Dimensions attributes. Used when you want to override the Default Size and Location specified in the feature above.
  • New feature - Screen Alignment Tool was added to the Screen Manager tool bar. Allows you to quickly align a Media Screen within a display.
  • New feature - Resize Screen by Size Mode function was added to the Screen Manager tool bar. Allows you to quickly change sizes of Media Screens.
  • New feature - Skip Rendering of Layout Attributes option was added. Use this if you don't want borders or backgrounds created on a Media Screen.
  • New feature - Render in Software option was added to Modifier Attributes. If you don't have a codec that supports a media file type, it may be possible to be rendered by software.
  • New feature - Scale All Media Items Dimensions was added. It will scale all Media Item Screens Dimension by a factor you specify. Useful when the performance system display has a different PPI/DPI (pixels/dots per inch) than the display you developed the design on.
  • New feature - Windows Desktop Color was added as a Media Screen background color. The screen Background Style is set to a solid color matching the current Windows Desktop Color. Useful when you want the background of the Media Screen to be 'invisible' against the Windows Desktop.
  • New feature - Restore Window to Normal Size function was added. Works on both full screen and minimized Media Screens.
  • New feature - Media Screen Visibility Behavior options now apply to all Media Screens. In V1 they only applied to the Screen Swap tool bar.
  • Enhancement - Title Bars Toggle behavior has been changed. It will show/hide title bars on all Media Screens. Any newly loaded screens will adhere to the current mode. The title bars attribute was removed from the Screen Layout Attributes (now obsolete).
  • Enhancement - Window title bar never shows on full screen Media Screens. Eliminates the need to hide title bar before entering full screen. Screens Options for Full Screen Load Behavior options were removed. (now obsolete)
  • Enhancement - Scale Screen Size by Factor moved to Screens > Size menu from the Screens Manager tool bar.
  • Enhancement - The Scheduler now Plays a Media Item rather than doing a simple Load. There is no longer a need to set the Play on Load attribute for scheduled Media Items.
  • Enhancement - The Escape key (Esc) will now escape a Media Screen out of Full Screen mode back to Normal window size.
  • Enhancement - The comparison tool to compare current extended displays to previous session extended displays is removed; Now obsolete with change to Media Screen location as a relative offset.
  • Enhancement - Media Screen Attributes Restore Previous Size and Auto-size to Video have been removed. (Obsolete with new Size Override attributes).
  • Bug fixed - Eliminated window ghosting (flicker) when loading a media screen.
  • Bug fixed - Media List Editor window was losing focus after loading a Media Screen. Required an extra mouse click to reactivate the window.
  • Bug fixed - Some image media (png, jpg) was being mislabeled with streaming media attribute.
  • Bug fixed - Saved volume values were not being used at Play start.

New in Video Mill 1 Release 15 Build 1.15.0.0 (Jan 14, 2014)

  • New feature - Integration with Sound Mill - Send and receive automation commands between Sound Mill and Video Mill for a complete audio/visual tool suite. Provides split second timed automation of audio and video programming. The programs can reside on the same computer or separate computers on a wired or wireless network. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Paused Indicator added to Play Position Controls panel indicate when the media is paused. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Streaming Media Indicator added to Play Position Controls panel. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Added Set Streaming Media Indicator menu item. The program generally can determine when a file URI is a stream. This allows you to manually set it if the program fails to determine it correctly. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Added Edit Screen Dimensions button to Screen Layout Attributes panel for instances where you want to manually edit the Media Screen location and size when the Media Screen is not loaded. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Added Toggle Titlebar Visibility button to Screen Layout Attributes panel for instances where you want to change the Media Screen Titlebar Visibility when the Media Screen is not loaded. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Added Move Screen to Display(x) menu item to Media Screens menu. It will move Media Screen to one of the current extended displays. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Added Set All Screen Locations to (0,0) menu item to Edit Media Item menu. It will move all Media Screen Locations of all Media Items to location (0,0) which is the upper left corner of the Primary display. It's basically a total reset of all Media Screen Locations. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Added two new Options that hide and restore the Media Screen window title bar when entering and exiting full screen mode. See Full Screen Behavior on the Screens Options. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Added two new menu items for saving your current extended displays configuration, then comparing that to extended displays in a future session. See the Extended Displays seection of the Tools menu. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Added a Change Referenced Item button to the Step Editor which allows you to change the referenced Media Item of the Script Step. (Learn more )
  • Replaced feature - The Option > Auto correct when screen coordinates are out of bounds was replaced by the new Media Screen Locations above which provide more user flexibility.
  • Replaced feature - The Move to Top, Left (0,0) was replaced by the new Media Screen Locations above which provide more user flexibility.
  • Enhancement - Improved handling of Web links URIs.
  • Enhancement - Improved Media List Validation.
  • Bug fixed - When creating a New Media Item, the media file name was being filled in with the media file from the default attributes.

New in Video Mill 1 Release 14 Build 1.14.0.0 (Dec 23, 2013)

  • New feature - Automation Manager (for Ultimate edition). Create automation Scripts to Load, Play and control multiple Media Screens . An Automator menu item is added to the Actions menu to open the Automator window.
  • New feature - Automation provides 11 different functions (Automation Steps). See this link for an overview of how Automation Scripts work.
  • New feature - Scheduler can now execute automation Scripts .
  • New feature - Script Editor provides easy to use Graphical User Interface to author automation Scripts .
  • New feature - Start External Programs from Automation Scripts .
  • New feature - A Refresh Media Screen button is added to the Play Controls panel. It will force a reload of a Media Screen using any changed Media Item attributes. The Load button behavior is changed to ignore load requests if a Media Screen is already loaded (it used to force a reload).
  • New feature - Added a Load behavior option to have the program auto-correct Media Item screen coordinates are outside the bounds of the extended desktop displays.
  • New feature - UnLoad All Screens function added to Media List Editor > Actions menu and Play Controls tool bar.
  • New feature - Automation menu item added to Media List Editor > Tools menu. Provides access to define and view External Programs definitions.
  • New feature - Added option to check (or skip check) for existence of remote files during Media List Validation. This check can slow Validation and may not always be necessary.
  • New feature - Added ability to change internal resource ids of Media Items and Scripts. This is an aid to fix orphaned references in the case of deleting a resource.
  • Enhancement - Media List Validation now checks to see if Media Item screen coordinates are within the bounds of the extended desktop displays.
  • Enhancement - View All Loaded Screens Dimensions provides more Dimensions information and now lists the screen coordinates of all extended desktop displays.
  • Enhancement - Load logic has been streamlined and should provide faster Media Screen load time in most cases.
  • Enhancement - Improved validation of media file Urls and file specifications with the Web Link button on the Descriptors panel.
  • Bug fixed - A few minor bug fixes mostly related to enhancements above.

New in Video Mill 1 Release 12 Build 1.12.0.0 (Jan 28, 2013)

  • New feature - New productivity menu item to "Open the Folder of the Selected Media Item" in Windows Explorer. (under Edit Media Item menu)
  • New feature - Added code to allow Migration of program settings to a new computer.
  • New feature - File menu - New item to Clear Recent Files List.
  • New function - Improved validation checks for "Tools > Media List Validation Check".

New in Video Mill 1.11.0.0 (Dec 10, 2012)

  • New feature - New option added "Create New Group for Dropped Files". If checked, when you drag and drop new Media files into Video Mill, a new Media Group is created which contains all the dropped files. And the Media Group is set as the Current Media Group. (Learn more )
  • Enhancement - Improved handling for saving and restoring placement of program toolbars. Will force a one time reset of all toolbar visibility and locations.
  • Bug fix - Fixed intermittent issue where certian audio format files sometimes take extra time to buffer on first Load attempt.

New in Video Mill 1.10.0.0 (Dec 3, 2012)

  • New function - Play Position scrubber bar has been improved so that if you move the scrubber bar to a new position while the video is Paused, you will see the video's image at the new location.
  • New function - Play Position scrubber bar and position buttons can now be applied to 'Current Group' or to 'All Loaded Screens' based on the 'Action Apply Mode' setting. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Play Position Synchronization of Multiple Screens can now be done in two modes: Absolute Synchronization Mode or 'Time of Day' Synchronization Mode which allows you to Synchronize multiple videos based on a wall clock time setting. (Learn more )
  • New feature - Marquees have been updated with a new Timer type that allows you to track the Play Position of the current selected Media Screen. You can create a Media Item in one click which has a Marquee pre-configured for this new timer. (Ultimate edition) (Learn more )
  • New feature - A new Play Position is added that allows you to set a Media Item's Start-At position from the current Play Position. (Learn more )
  • New feature - A new attribute is added to the "Descriptors Attributes" section for 'Date/Time Encoded'. This is generally the Date-Time that the media was recorded. It is used with the new Play Position Synchronization above to sync multiple media screens by 'Time of Day'. (Learn more )
  • New function - When you move the Play Position scrubber bar to a new position, then click the Play button, play will start at the new position. Previously the Play button would always start play at the beginning of the video (00:00:00).
  • New feature - Now select a Default Media file and add it to any Media Item with one click. Useful if you frequently create Media Item's that always use the same Media file such as a background video or image for advertizing Marquees.

New in Video Mill 1.9.0.0 (Jul 16, 2012)

  • New function - Load Scheduler has been improved to allow creation of reuseable Scheduler plans. Just pick a schedule from saved plans and start the Scheduler. Much more flexible design than the previous one. (Learn more. ).
  • New feature - A new Scheduler Plan Editor makes it easy to add Media Items to a plan. You can select multiple plan items to perform actions on. Actions include: Set start time to specific time; Add (or Subtract) an amount of time to the start time (effectively moving the time); Delete multiple items.
  • Bug fix - Media Items with Pre-Delay or Post-Delay Time sometimes froze the user interface for the duration of the delay (in some cases).

New in Video Mill 1.8.0.0 (Jul 9, 2012)

  • New feature - Load Scheduler (for Ultimate edition) - The Load Scheduler (24 hour scheduler) provides a convenient way to schedule the Load and Start of a Media Screen. Assuming you have preset the Media Screen size and location on the Windows extended desktop, just start the scheduler and walk away -- let the automation do all the work. Videos will load, play and the screen will close when the video is completed. (Learn more. ).
  • New feature - "UnLoad When Media Ends" - The Media Screen is automatically UnLoaded (closed) when the media reaches its end (ie end of video play). Useful in conjunction with the new Load Scheduler.
  • New feature - Align Screens - These functions control locating Media Screens in relation to the current Reference Dimensions. Align Tops, Bottoms, Lefts, Rights, Centers, and Middles.

New in Video Mill 1.7.0.0 (Jul 6, 2012)

  • New feature - Ultimate edition - Marquees feature added - Overlay Playing Video with Informational Signage. When projecting to a large screen, pop-up a multi-line text and/or image box to inform the audience of important information and advertisements or display a logo. Also, create compelling, full screen signage to announce events or services. (Learn more. ).
  • New feature - Added Favorite Fonts and Colors so you can save your favorites and reuse with a couple clicks. Works with Marquee Editor.