LiveSide - News blog : Deep Zoom Composer

Seadragon.com – Convert Any Image On The Web Into A Deep Zoom Image!

Sunshine — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:35:09 GMT

Ever wanted a deep zoom image of a huge image already uploaded to the web? Now you can. The Seadragon team in Live Labs has released a service that lets you easily turn those pictures into nice zoomable UIs: Seadragon. Seadragon is built on Azure and gives you the following benefits:

Images always load up really fast, no matter how big the image is
You can zoom and pan smoothly to every detail of the image

Furthermore it is so smart it even determines if it is being watched on a computer/device with Silverlight installed or not because it uses parts of Seadragon AJAX for its rendering. If no Silverlight is found it will default to using AJAX.

The usage is simple, you just type in the URL to the image and it will be converted for you. Next you can share the result on Delicious, Digg, Facebook or Twitter. Want to embed or just need the URL to the image, the embed code and URL is also given after completion of the conversion.

Now this is a very nice service for single images. If you want to make complete albums there is still DeepZoomPix (hosting, until December 31st 2009) and the Deep Zoom Composer, which allows you to either upload to DeepZoomPix or export.

Deep Zoom Composer Updated To Fix An Export Related Bug

Sunshine — Fri, 31 Jul 2009 10:08:16 GMT

To all you Deep Zoom Composer users out there, please uninstall your current version and get the latest:

Download Deep Zoom Composer

This version fixes a fairly serious bug related to the image paths generated during export. More information on this bug can be found in the team’s blog post.

Deep Zoom Composer Released!

Sunshine — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 10:47:12 GMT

Little over a week ago Deep Zoom Composer RC got released. Today we can tell you that the Deep Zoom Composer is now final. This to coincide with the final release of Expression Studio 3. As always, uninstall all existing versions of Deep Zoom Composer before installing the new version.

Download Deep Zoom Composer

With Deep zoom Composer you can easily create interactive Deep Zoom experiences. In this final version you will find that the UI has been revamped, and that there is support for Smooth Streaming and analytics tracking. Furthermore you will find that the enhanced player Deep Zoom Composer uses has been ported over to the online DeepZoomPix service (upload to DeepZoomPix directly from the composer) and that there are more templates that contain source files.

Howto’s and Documentation

To make it easier to provide you with direct access to more frequently updated content, the team has decided to point users to online documentation. The documentation on the new features has not been published yet, but will be soon. In the meantime you can check out Janete’s blog posts on Slideshow Support, Creating Menus, and Adding Links and/or, if you want to find out more about the new exporting features, Kirupa’s blog posts about Extensible Templates in Deep Zoom Composer and Improved Collection Support in Deep Zoom Composer. They will continue to blog more about some of these new features, so keep an eye on the team blog for more!

Deep Zoom Composer Updated – July 2009 / Release Candidate

Sunshine — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 09:59:18 GMT

Deep Zoom Composer has yet again been updated, this to coincide with the release of Expression Blend + SketchFlow RC and Silverlight 3.

Download Deep Zoom Composer

As always, please uninstall all existing versions of Deep Zoom Composer before installing the new version. This release contains improvements to a handful of the existing features based on feedback many of you provided.

Bringing back the Blend / Visual Studio projects for certain templates was one of the changes made (see earlier team post). Furthermore the interacting with the Deep Zoom player has been made smoother by removing the constraints that often led to some odd/jagged zooming and panning. The final change of note has to do with Exporting where it has been made extensible as well as possible for you to create composition-less collection exporting. Say what? Don’t worry, the team will provide more explanation of that in a new series of blog posts.

Deep Zoom Composer – June Preview Features Explained

Sunshine — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 11:01:31 GMT

The latest release of Deep Zoom Composer contains a lot of new features, but how do they work? There is nothing in the documentation due to time constraints. Luckily Janete Perez has written some blog posts highlighting some of these new features, including how to integrate the results into your website.

Adding Links

Creating Menus

Slideshow Support

Go on, have a read, you don’t have to figure it all out for yourself! Of course the documentation in Deep Zoom Composer will be updated eventually too, but not yet in the next release according to Kirupa.

Deep Zoom Composer - June 2009 Preview Available

Sunshine — Sat, 20 Jun 2009 07:52:22 GMT

The Deep Zoom Composer June 2009 Preview is now available for download. The Deep Zoom Composer now uses way less memory than it did before, so you can work with more images in your composition. Furthermore there are new ways to navigate, the possibility to link images to external URLs, updated Collection Exporting and more…

Download Deep Zoom Composer

As always, please uninstall all existing versions of Deep Zoom Composer before installing the new version. A lot of the features that were introduced are a bit rough on the edges, so the team is going to be investing heavily in the UI/styling/usability of them for upcoming releases. So feel free to comment on things you like or don’t like in comments on their post here.

Deep Zoom Composer Updated To Support Publishing To DeepZoomPix!

Sunshine — Sat, 18 Apr 2009 09:34:26 GMT

Just two days ago, we were wondering if the Deep Zoom Composer will be updated for use with DeepZoomPix, as it previously supported uploading to PhotoZoom. Wonder no more! It has indeed been updated and you can download it, right here, right now!

Download Deep Zoom Composer

As always, please uninstall all existing versions of Deep Zoom Composer before installing the new version. You can leave any feedback you have on the forums or in a comment to this team post.

Thanks team for updating so quickly!

PhotoZoom Is Now DeepZoomPix

Sunshine — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 20:27:09 GMT

Did you spend a lot of time creating your PhotoZoom albums, as I have? Then take note of the following:

PhotoZoom is now DeepZoomPix!

PhotoZoom got released in March 2008 and can be seen as the initial incarnation of DeepZoomPix. DeepZoomPix is a technology demonstration designed to show three technologies: use of Microsoft Silverlight to create a rich interactive UX for exploring images, the Silverlight Deep Zoom technology and Windows Azure Services Platform.

Now what does this transition mean? Don’t worry about your PhotoZoom albums (yet), they are still there, be it that you need to update your embed code/album URL if you integrated it into your site.

[click to see larger]

There are lots of cool new features:

- Seamless navigation:
DZP enables the seamless exploration of albums of photographs. Users can navigate the photographs using mouse or keyboard and zoom into them to see them at their highest resolution. Users never wait to reload a page – the entire experience is fluid.
- Layout options:
Arrange images in different ways including by in a calendar style view by date.
- Dynamic filtering:
Tagged images can be filtered interactively with live updates to the displayed set of images and you can add your own tags to images.
- Interactive slideshow:
Users can zoom into and pan around images while they are playing a slideshow. Slide timings are customizable and navigation can be controlled using the keyboard.
- Import photos from the web:
DZP can access images stored in other services on the web. If you are a Facebook user, the DeepZoomPix Facebook application enables you import your public Facebook galleries into DZP. If you are a Flickr user, DZP can use the Flickr API to import your Flickr photos. Finally, if your photo service provides RSS feeds containing JPEGs, DZP can use those too.
- Shareable mini-viewer:
Embed your slideshow in your blog or website, or send to a friend using the DZP mini-viewer.

Sounds good, no? One thing I don’t like is the fact that when you embed the viewer you can’t see the whole album at once, as you could with PhotoZoom, only a slideshow now. Unless I overlooked of course, if you find a way to embed the whole, please let me know! And there’s another catch you won’t like: on December 31st 2009, when this technology demonstration is closing, your albums will be gone too! Look at point 4 of the DeepZoomPix rules you have to agree on when you get started:

[click to see larger]

Can’t say I’m happy with that, can you? Sure, showing off technology is nice, but then to take it away? You can’t download your pictures from it either, so make sure you back up your pictures elsewhere.

And what is going to happen after December 31st? Will this technology be solely for developers, the DeepZoomPix FAQ clearly states there is no intend to turn DZP into a product or a service, or will we see it integrated into Windows Live Photos? And what about the DeepZoom Composer, will this be updated to work with PhotoZoomPix? May we see this integrated into Windows Live Photo Gallery perhaps (if this technology is extended to WL Photos)? I sure hope for both, dev stuff and the Windows Live Photos/Windows Live Photo Gallery integration as in my opinion this technology should be available to everybody, not just the very techsavy ones.

Deep Zoom Composer – February 2009 Preview Released

Sunshine — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 10:30:35 GMT

Another update to the Deep Zoom Composer has just been released. This release only contains fixes to issues that were reported to the team. More information on these fixes can be found on the Expression Blend and Design team blog.

Download Deep Zoom Composer

Not sure on how to use Deep Zoom Composer? Check out the User Guide. You can access this by going to Help > User Guide or by pressing F1. Any ideas for future Deep Zoom Composer releases? Let the team know here!

Deep Zoom Composer Forum
Previous Deep Zoom Composer articles

Deep Zoom Composer Has Been Updated: Documentation And Bug Fixes!

Sunshine — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 13:08:54 GMT

When I found that I couldn’t open previous projects, I headed over to the Deep Zoom Composer Forum to let the team know of this problem. Kirupa was quick to respond to me and I’ve sent him one of the non-opening .dzprj files for investigation, as did others.

As a result there now is a new Deep Zoom Composer release which no longer has this problem, at least not for me. I sure hope you didn’t delete your old project files! Should you still have said problem, please send your non-opening .dzprj files to Kirupa (address can be found in their blog post), so they can look into it.

Besides this improved project support the memory handling has also been improved, the Seadragon Ajax Templates have been updated again and various other tweaks were done.

Download Deep Zoom Composer

NOTE: Please uninstall any older versions of Deep Zoom Composer prior to installing this new version.

Don’t forget to check out the updated documentation! It has become a true User Guide with topics ranging from what Deep Zoom is to how to actually use Deep Zoom Composer. You can access the User Guide inside Deep Zoom Composer by going to Help > User Guide or by pressing F1.

Feel free to post your questions or comments over at the team blog or at the Deep Zoom Composer Forum. They do listen!

Deep Zoom Composer Updated: Seajax Support, New API, And More!

Sunshine — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 11:04:00 GMT

The Deep Zoom Composer got an update.

What’s new in this release:

- Seadragon Ajax Support, you can now export your compositions as a Seadragon Ajax project
Seadragon AJAX is a JavaScript-based implementation of the Deep Zoom functionality found in Silverlight. This can be used if you don’t want to “force” your readers to install Silverlight and still want to offer zoom capabilities.
- New and Improved API, easier integration of Deep Zoom tiling functionality into your own applications through a .NET/managed DLL
- Updated Project Templates for both Silverlight and Seadragon AJAX

Besides these there are numerous bug fixes.

Note: uninstall any previous version you might have of the deep Zoom composer before installing this new version.

Unlike previous versions this version is not backwards compatible: you will not be able to open your previous compositions! Instead you will be presented with the following prompt:

Install a new version eh? You can check if you have the latest version by opening up Deep Zoom composer, then navigate to Help > About Deep Zoom Composer and check if it says November 2008 Release. Of course you have the latest, you just installed it!

Don’t delete those old projects just yet, this may just be a mistake. We’ll keep you posted!

Download Deep Zoom Composer
Deep Zoom Composer Forum

Deep Zoom Composer And PhotoZoom Site Updated For Silverlight 2

Sunshine — Wed, 15 Oct 2008 10:03:00 GMT

We already told you that Microsoft Released Silverlight 2, but along with that a new version of the Deep Zoom Composer has also been released.

Nothing new in this version besides reliability improvements and that it now works with the newly released Silverlight 2. The team is focusing on improving existing features as they are getting close to wrapping up work on version 1 of this powertoy. Details on some of those under the hood changes will be posted on their Blog in the upcoming months.

As you already know, via the Deep Zoom Composer you can upload to PhotoZoom, so this site has also been updated to work with the new Silverlight 2 release.

Download Deep Zoom Composer

You can leave your feedback here or on the Deep Zoom Composer Forums.

Did you know: you can launch the Deep Zoom Composer by double-clicking on the project file (.DZPRJ) itself.

Previous LiveSide articles:
Deep Zoom Composer
Photo Zoom

Windows Live On Facebook

Sunshine — Wed, 27 Aug 2008 04:20:00 GMT

On Facebook there are some applications about making use of Windows Live Services. I’d like to take a moment to highlight some of them.

Windows Live Messenger
With over a million users just 4 months after its launch, probably the most known of all. This one recently got a big upgrade. One of the most exiting new features is the possibility to update your Facebook status message from Windows Live Messenger! You can now set your Facebook status with your Messenger personal message. All you have to do for that is to allow this in the Messenger application's setting page:

I seem to have some problems with this feature, as in it’s not working on the new Facebook….could be just me, let me know your experiences with it….

The chat box, so people can chat with you from your Facebook profile, isn’t added automatically in the new Facebook either. To get the box (in “Boxes” tab by default) you will have to navigate to Applications > Edit All Applications, click All Applications in the left pane, then click the pencil icon behind the Messenger application an choose “Edit Settings” and on the Profile tab click “add”:

Quite some workaround…..Facebook hasn’t gotten any easier with its new lay-out :(

Photozoom
Make your Photo Albums Zoom. PhotoZoom creates zooming albums from your photos, using Microsoft Silverlight Deep Zoom technology. PhotoZoom automatically imports your Facebook photo albums each time you visit the settings page. On this settings page you can also tell the application which albums you would like to show on Facebook. You can create additional albums, upload high resolution pictures, import your photos from other photo sites and more at the PhotoZoom website or you can be in control of the layout and create your album with the Deep Zoom Composer (which also uploads to the Photozoom website).

MapMate
MapMate utilizes Virtual Earth and allows you to see where your friends are based on where they say they are, right down to street level! In order for this to work your friends, who also have Mapmate, will need to specify where they are. So no, it doesn’t use reverse IP or anything of that sort. How to specify your location: on the map navigate to where you are and right click on your location, a red pin with a pop up will then ask you if you wish to update your status. Click save and that’s it, all done..now your friends can find you! Don’t forget to update your location when you move again, else your friends might just turn up there and find you are not there anymore…. Beware of stalkers!

Aerobis, Train social
Another app that makes use of Virtual Earth, this time to organize and analyze your sport. With a route planner, a Sport-log and a Sport-Report. The sport profile uses the metric system (kilograms, centimeters), so that might take some calculation. An easy way to do this is to use an online converter such as Common Lenght and Distance Converter and Common Weight and Mass Converter. Even without the profile you can upload a route (KML or GPX) or create one by clicking on the map and have the application draw the route and calculate the distance for you. You can also allow others to see your routes and search routes that have been published by others. More info at the Aerobis web site.

StarFactor
Check your StarFactor. This Facebook Application created by Microsoft will tell you if you are you a Mr/Ms. Nobody or real star material! The more gossip you create on Live Search, the higher your score. Try to beat your friends, boost your buzz and enter the world of Glitz ’n Glam.

More read of interest:
Windows Live Messenger Developer Blog
Matt Augustine Tech Blog (Photozoom)
Virtual Earth Blog - Virtual Earth Applications on Facebook

For all previous LiveSide posts about these subjects and more, take a look at The List.

Have you noticed we are also on Facebook?

Edit: added StarFactor, thanks Kris Hoet for reminding me :)

Deep Zoom Composer Updated (Again!)

Sunshine — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 18:27:12 GMT

Just a few days after the last Deep Zoom Composer update, it got updated again. This to address many of the issues that arose with the previous version.

The Export tab has changed to make clear you need to create an account on PhotoZoom before you are able to upload via Deep Zoom Composer
Time-out for uploads has been increased

Before you install this new version you need to uninstall the previous one first!

If you are unsure if you have the latest version you can check by going to Help > About, make sure it says build date 3 August 2008.

Download Deep Zoom Composer

Should you still run into problems let the team know on their forum.

Deep Zoom Composer updated; now with photo stitching

Kip Kniskern — Sun, 03 Aug 2008 13:21:00 GMT

The Expression Blend and Design blog has announced an update to the Deep Zoom Composer, now available for download. In addition to bug fixes and performance improvements, the Deep Zoom Composer will now upload to PhotoZoom. Now you can store and serve Deep Zoom photo albums you create on PhotoZoom, or upload photos from the Deep Zoom Composer.

We’ve been telling you about Deep Zoom Composer and PhotoZoom, check out our posts for a quick refresher. You can also read more about Deep Zoom Composer in this User Guide.

The Deep Zoom Composer now also includes the same photo stitching technology from Microsoft Research that powers photo stitching in Windows Live Photo Gallery.