Album Express 2.0
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(10 November 1999)

Important
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This pre-release version may not be distributed over the Internet, except from the Fookes Software web site, and may not be included on CD-Roms or diskettes for distribution purposes. Please do not link to this pre-release package from other web sites.


Introduction
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Album Express is a flexible and user-friendly Windows program for creating web-based picture albums. The albums are generated as web pages, which you can view through your web browser. Albums can either be stored locally on your hard disk, or can be uploaded to your intranet server or public web site. Album Express uses a wizard-like interface through which you provide the necessary information to produce your albums.

The appearance of albums can easily be altered by using templates. Depending on your album settings and the template you choose, you can show pictures in a slide-show fashion, or on different pages with a navigation bar, or with a thumbnail page and popup windows for each picture, etc.. Several ready-made templates are distributed with Album Express, and more can be downloaded from the program's web site. You can also create your own templates or just modify the ones you're interested in.

Album Express includes an upload command, which makes it very easy to send your album to your web site. All you need to do is enter your web site upload address, your user-name and password, and then click on the Upload button to send all the necessary album files to the remote server.

Album Express also makes it easy to catalog large collections of web design pictures. With the default template, you can show for each picture its file name, pixel dimensions, and size in bytes. Change the page's background color or pattern with a few clicks to quickly test the appearence of your images under different settings.


Installation
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Extract the Setup.exe file from the .zip package and execute it.

How to Uninstall
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You can uninstall Album Express by using the Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs dialog box or the Uninstall Album Express icon in the Start menu.


Quick Start
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After you have installed Album Express, the Samples folder with pictures is selected. To create your first album with minimal effort, just click on the Quick Build button. This will create a page with all the sample pictures displayed in the default layout. To see examples of more sophisticated albums, use the File/Open menu command and choose one of the demo album settings, then click on the Quick Build button.

Most album settings are optional, so you can create albums very quickly. To create an album with your own pictures, all you need to do is select a folder (on the first screen) that contains browser-compatible pictures: .gif, .jpg, .jpeg, .jpe, and .png. Then click on the Quick Build button. Of course, the more information you provide (page title, image descriptions, etc.), the more complete your album will be. You can change the presentation of the pictures by choosing one of the listed templates.

Note that several templates, which are labeled Demo, are designed to work only on the sample pictures provided with the program. When you use those templates, most of your settings in the program will be disabled. You can, however, change this behavior by editing them so that they will also apply to your own files.

Helpful Tips:
1. Right click over any field (the white areas) for features and tools.
2. Grayed fields are set that way by the template you choose or by Album Express, because the field or button is not availble for use in the current context.
3. Move your mouse cursor over fields and areas to display helpful tips in the status bar.
4. You may click through the tabs and fill in or browse for information when using templates.

Please see the Help file for more information.


Technical Support
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Free technical support is available to registered users of Album Express. If you have a problem installing or running your registered copy of the software, you can ask for help by writing to <support@fookes.com>. If you have problems ordering or getting your registered copy of Album Express, please contact the online distributor's customer support (Digital River: <custserv@DigitalRiver.com>), or write to <sales@fookes.com>. Please do not use these e-mail addresses for questions about using Album Express. We provide a free mailing list to help you with all non-customer support issues (see below).


Questions and Answers
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If you have questions about using Album Express or would like to learn some time-saving tricks from other users, then please join the Album Express mailing list (even if it is just for one question). It is free for everyone (registered and non-registered users). Album Express' author frequently answers questions and also uses the list to announce updates and changes to the software. You will find more information about this list on the following web page:

   http://www.fookes.com/album/maillist.htm

To subscribe to the list, just send an empty e-mail to this address:
   <album-express-subscribe@egroups.com>

and to unsubscribe later, send an empty e-mail to the following address:
  <album-express-unsubscribe@egroups.com>

You will also find useful information, links, and other Album Express-related resources (upgrade programs, answers to common questions, etc.) by visiting one of the Album Express web site at:

   http://www.fookes.com/album/


Feedback
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Bug reports, criticism, and comments are very welcome. You can send suggestions to the Album Express mailing list at <album-express@eGroups.com> (note that you will have to first subscribe, as explained above). Or you can write directly to us by sending your e-mail to <feedback@fookes.com>.


I hope you will find Album Express useful.
--Eric G.V. Fookes

_________________________________________________________________
 Album Express™ is a trademark of Fookes Software, Switzerland
      Copyright © 1999, Fookes Software, Switzerland
                 - All Rights Reserved -

Windows is a trademark of Microsoft Corporation registered in the U.S. and other countries.  
All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.
