App Suggestions

[pixietrouble]

Hello all. I think it is worthwhile creating a thread where we can suggest features we would like to see added to the app. This way the developers have a pool of ideas to draw from when they have resources to improve the app.

A couple I can think of to get started:

Display the date the photo was taken over the image
Provide options for transitions between photos

[pixietrouble]

I don’t know how possible this one is, but perhaps negotiate write access to Google Photos, so as to be able to delete photos directly from the Soloslides app. I know I have many, many sub-par photos in my collection and it would be great to be able to remove them without having to search through GP to find them.

[tim]

Thanks for the feedback!
Although it wouldn't be possible to delete photos, one thing that was suggested was to simply have Soloslides "mark" the identifier of the image, and never show it again. So not a delete button, but a "never show me this photo again" button. I think I might build that.

Regarding the transitions between photos what are transitions you would like to see? If you have an example app or a video that shows what you're thinking of, that would help

[EJC]

Hi Tim,

Is there a write up on soloslides somewhere? Is it possible for the pictures taken by the camera to show on the TV automatically? Is the TV and Camera or Ipad connected via Wifi?

Just trying to wrap my mind around this intriguing feature.

Thank you!

[tim]

Writeup in the context of wifibooth is here: https://wifibooth.com/help/articles/globalsettings/

Yes, photos taken by the camera can be shown on the TV automatically. Check that link above to see the options.

[jimsco]

If you are already have access to Google Photo albums, why to limit to a single selection???
Can you provide a multiple selection? This will allow users to filter the whole catalog to a subset (i.e. favorites, per year, per location, etc) with a more flexible slideshow source

[jimsco]

In regards the transition, I would suggest you to check how LiveFrame uses Fade and Pan&Zoom

[tim]

Hi Jimsco,

The Google Photos API does not allow requests for multiple albums, or even an album in conjunction with a filter (ie. album + date range).
As soon as Google improves their API to allow this, we'll look into it!
Thanks for the thoughts on the transitions.

[abcde]

Can you add 1 and 2 seconds options in shuffle mode because the minimum option is 3 seconds and when shuffle it show for 3 seconds and then take about 2-3 seconds to load the next image, so total time an image showed is 6 seconds per image which is a bit too long for me. Thank you and nice app btw.

[darkop]

Can you add a view of all photos so guest can quickly select the one they want and share as an option? Rather then changing photos ever couple seconds

[tim]

Hi Darkop,
What's the difference between what you suggested and the existing Google Photos app?
I cannot create anything that looks or behaves like the Google Photos app (forbidden by their terms)

[Romain9000]

Hi all,


Thanks for the work on the app. I missed a random option for so long on my google albums.

A few things missing though:

- option to choose multiple albums
- option to display videos, photos, or both
- a 1 second option on the timer or even better a caching option to forget about loading. I wouldn’t mind waiting a minute before the slideshow begins to have a more accurate timer and seamless slideshow

Also : the support link in the app doesn’t work

Thanks again!

[tim]

Thanks for the feedback.
Which support link do you mean exactly? (there are multiple)

Re multiple albums: Google does not make this possible, I have filed a feature request (ages ago) for them to build this, don't hold your breath
Re displaying videos: it's on my mind yup
Re loading: it's an issue with how much load the app causes on google's servers, am being cautious... if you want to flip thru photos in realtime at full-speed wouldn't you just use the Google Photos app for that? (Genuine question... is it the random you're missing from their app?)

[Romain9000]

Hi Tim,


Thanks for your reply

Glad to hear that videos support are coming. This is the major issue for me.

Yeah when I said I miss « random option », I meant I miss an option to see slideshows of my photos and videos in a random order. Sometimes chronological is fine but sometimes it’s just boring. I can’t believe they didn’t add this option for so long (everyone is asking for it)

[Romain9000]

Hi there,

Any news on the video implementation ?

[pnatel]

Hi Team
I appreciate your application, and its features.
I also have a few suggestions to improve its usability from the "Photo Frame" point of view.

• Save last settings is a must
• Video (muted/or not)
• Choose more than one album would be nice
• different transition effects
• show Weather
• More details about the photo
• For the decorations, can they move around to avoid screen burnout
• For the night mode can we get a bit more granularity? (weekdays/weekends)
• Can it start from sleep on scheduled time?
• a filter of the pictures by orientation (when in portrait show only portrait pics)
• Have more sources like DLNA or a folder in the MAC, or an NAS and other cloud storage (Drive/OneDrive/...)

I hope it helps to improve the tool for the future.
Regards

[seansmyth]

Hi there,

Just downloaded this and it's exactly what I was looking for. However I think I've come across a little bug.

So... a normal album on Google Photos works great. Even if I add new images to the album, it automatically gets pulled in my SoloSlides while a slideshow is running. Exactly what I want.

However, I want to use a shared album on Google Photos so my partner can add photos to the iPad too. If the slideshow is running, new photos that get added or removed don't get updated on SoloSlides.

I'd love if it had the same behaviour as a "normal" album. Is this a limitation on Google's end or something else?

Thanks

[tim]

Hi Sean,
Thanks for the report. I don't think i've seen that behavior... so you're saying that if you pick a "normal" (not shared) album, then it updates correctly as new photos are added to it, but, when you pick a shared album, it doesn't update for you?

That smells like a Google limitation (ie. intentional on their side) but when I have a chance i'll look into it. There could be a bug in our app that causes this, i'll have a look.

[seansmyth]

Yup, that's the issue.

However, now that I've upgraded to Pro, I've found that the "normal" album is no longer dynamic. Doesn't automatically pull in new photos or remove old ones if I've updated the album on Google Photos.

Just to clarify, is that how it's supposed to work? It automatically updates if you make changes to the album on Google Photos?

Thanks!

[tim]

Yes, that's how it works: it automatically pulls in new photos. Please note that there can be a significant delay before new photos are discovered (up to 24 hours): depends on multiple factors.
Upgrading to Pro doesn't change how this works.

[seansmyth]

Ah, that's great. Didn't know about the 24 hour thing. That's great.

[Solmyr]

Hi!
First of all - thank you for the great app, exactly what I was looking for to create a photo frame from my old iPad.
I'm missing one feature that probably might be useful to other users as well. It would be very handy to show not only the date of the photo, but also album name and the location (in the same way as the date, optional). I have more than 30K photos in my google photos, sometimes it's very tricky to determine what is this photo and where it was made.
Thank you!

[brian719]

I just purchased soloslides and the Chromecast feature only finds one of my 5 chromecast devices. Selecting it does not send the photos to the TV so it is not working. I got the mirror on Airplay to work, but many pictures cut off the head. the full screen option does not appear to work either. Please advise that you are aware of these problems and if/when you intend to fix them.

Thanks,
-Brian

[tim]

Hi Brian,
SoloSlides does not support Chromecast (never has).
It does support upnp, which might be how it's working for you to your Chromecast devices.
It the photos are being cutoff, please check the settings on the TV: some TVs automatically "overscan" to make sure there are no edges around the video feed. This is bad for showing photos of course.
Which TV are you using that has this issue, and is this with / without AirPlay Mirroring specifically?

[seansmyth]

Hi Tim,

I don't know if this is an intended feature or something unrelated but if I set my screen brightness to 60%, it stays that way all day. But when it goes to night mode and then wakes up again, the screen returns to 100% brightness.

If it's not your app, would you happen to know what might cause this behavior?

Thanks!