Sytist Update 1.3 Now Available - Updated To 1.3.1

############### Update 1.3.1 #################
See the change log for the 1.3.1 changes
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A new Sytist update, 1.3, was released today with a couple of new things.


Calendar / Booking Calendar System (About Manual)

Automated sending gallery expiring emails (Manual)

Sisow payment option for iDeal payments.

And a few other things.

See the change log for all additions and changes

If you have any questions to comments about this update, post them here.

How to update:
The first time each day you log into the admin it will check for the update. If you have already logged into your admin today , then you won't get the notice until tomorrow.

If you are currently using version 1.0.0, you can have it check for the update again by clicking on Settings in the main menu. Then scroll down and below the left menu, click MySQL query. Copy the following line of code, paste it in the query box and click run.

UPDATE ms_history SET upgrade_check='';

Then return to your admin home page.

If the auto update feature won't work for you for some reason, you will have to manually update.

Edited Tue Jun 14, 16 11:11 AM by Tim - PicturesPro.com

Thanks for pushing out the update so quickly!!!! Is there a way to set the time that a 'once per day' event takes place so it blocks time on the calendar? I don't see one. With the example of sunset shoots, can we set the calendar to block off the time around sunset?

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Currently the once per day option doesn't take the time off the calendar, but I will see what I can do.

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Looking fantastic, well done.
With the calender you can set the lead time, which is great, but the other thing that would be great is being able to set the distance out some one can make a booking. Ie I don't want some one to make an appointment for a head shot 6 months out only to stop a wedding booking. Each type of appointment needs this feature.

I currently am running a separate booking system running parallel to my site but am looking forward to bringing them all under one site as it will make life so much easier.

Does the reminder email get automatically sent or do we have to do it manually? If it is Automatic when does it get sent?

Thanks

Steve

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I had considered making an option how far out someone can book and may add that at some point.

If you enable the automated emails then you can enable the reminder to be sent automatically.
https://www.picturespro.com/sytist-manual/settings/automated-emails/

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Just sent emails to close to 300 to explain that early bird discount ending via the CRON email system, no issue with server email limits anymore. Many thanks Tim, another really useful feature added.

Mike

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Glad to hear Mike, thanks for letting me know.

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Tim, do you know if Saratoga hosting allows cron jobs? There is no icon on my cpanel and I am waiting on Dave to get back to me. If not is there a work around to be able to send out appointment reminders either automatically or manually. (I can not figure out how to do it manually as the reminder email is linked to the appointment type and not listed in the default email section.

Thanks
Steve

Edited to add 14.06.2016 All sorted Dav Just had to add the option, whole system seems to be working well now. thanks Time

Edited Mon Jun 13, 16 6:05 PM by Stephen Jorgensen

These are great updates! I have 2 main questions -

1) For the cron gallery/page expiration email - Does it only send out expiration notifications for the client proof galleries? I really don't want to send out email to people when other site content type pages (e.g. Services) are about to expire. Also, I need "disable cron notifications" option checkbox on the Client Galleries settings page to prevent expiration notifications from being sent for certain galleries.

2) For the Calendar - I manually added an event for an existing session I have scheduled to see how it works and added the correct client to it in the "who" field. I can see the session on the calendar. But, when I logged in as the client to check it out, I don't see any reference to the calendar event. It would be great if clients had a "View Upcoming Events" link in their "My Account" areas. Also, will the cron appointment reminder be sent to everyone on the calendar like the one I manually added or to only those that use the new Booking Calendar content types? I'm hoping it's to everyone???

Edited Sat Jun 11, 16 8:12 AM by Paul M

I have a couple of suggestions regarding the cron email. It might make sense to have a single admin "digest" confirmation email that lists all of the automated email that were sent out that day versus sending individual email out. The admin inbox could get bombarded each day with notifications if there are a lot of gallery expiration notices being generated. Also, I suggest allowing us to specify the email address to be used for the these confirmation email. I use a "no-reply" reply-to email address for my gallery expiration notices since I don't want people to reply directly to them. As a result, I'm not receiving the cron admin confirmation email that are sent out ... they are going to the "no-reply" address that's used for the individual expiration email messages I set up.

As always, great job with the update! Thanks!!

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In general, my scheduling won't allow people to simply go online and book a specific date and time because I travel all over SE Michigan for on-location sessions. There's no way to automatically account for the appropriate travel time. But, I would like to be able to offer mini-sessions on a specific day at a specific selected location. So, I would like to be able to use the booking calendar for this type of session. However, in order to do so, I need to set up a general calendar which would display a large number of open times I don't want people to book.

Is there a way to limit the window of available dates/times for a specific booking calendar session/service? For example, is there a way to offer 4 special 30min sessions on Saturday during a 9-11am window of time? If not, please consider adding this type of functionality. I can't really use the booking calendar the way I understand it to work; although, it seems like it would be great for studios that have more of a set schedule.

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Paul, you can set the from email address for the gallery expiring emails in Settings -> Default Emails.

I wouldn't think one would have standard pages and pages like services have an expiration date.

The automated reminder email for bookings will be sent out to anyone with an appointment with or without an account including those you manually add.

You can create "Special 1 day events" which you can use for the mini sessions.

Special 1 Day Event
This option is if you have a special event for one day and offer different time slots for the event. Example, have a day of mini sessions with the Easter Bunny or something like that that is only for that day. Nothing else can be booked on the same day as the special event.

You will need to select the start time and end time for the day and also set the Length option for how long each slot is.

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Tim I am excited about both the email and calendar options.

We run a multi-photographer studio, is there a way to assign a photographer to a calendar entry? We will primarily be using the calendar on the back end only as we don't allow customers to book without speaking with us (with the exception of high school seniors). Being able to assign a photographer to each entry would be amazing.

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There isn't an option to add a photographer to a event unless you just add their name to the event name.

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Tim, that's exactly what I needed. Thanks!

Is there a way to add a break between each session for the 1 day special sessions? (e.g. 15 min break between 90 min sessions)

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You can just enter that break time for that day in the calendar in the admin.

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Hi Tim,
It looks really good!
I've already used the calendar feature for one day events.

I've got a use where I'm scheduling multiple events on a single day without taking a deposit. Would you please consider adding the option to auto-confirm when there is no deposit?

Thanks!

Jim Whitesell

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Tim,

great update, really appreciate the setting to not send to those already sold to along with the end of the early bird notification. If I have an expiry date of 19 June 2016 (Sunday) and set it to start sending at 4 pm and 2 days before, will it send on Friday or Saturday?

Regards

Mike Weeks

Edited Wed Jun 15, 16 2:17 AM by Michael Weeks

I'll make a note of it Jim.

Mike, it would send on Friday.

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Thanks Tim,

Automating my #FollowUpFriday is a fantastic help and one less thing to have to think about

Mike

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Really fast update - thanks for getting the 'once per day' items a time-slot!

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Hi .. have always managed to use the super auto update feature which has been great - but this time it just hangs on "fetching update zip" ....

I presume I may be back to manual updates ?? (gulp)

any tips welcome ..

Mike

Edited Thu Jun 16, 16 2:42 AM by mike norman

Thanks for the automated email option. This will prove very useful and hopefully help to add more to the bottom line.

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Is there a way someone can book a time and be able to go back to the calendar to cancel/change their time? I currently use mysignup.com which allows me to create a set of time slots in tabular form. My clients can see all time slots (ones that are open and ones that are taken). When they book a time slot they create a password so they can go back at any time and cancel/change the time slot. I also have a master password that I can use to edit the sign ups. I use this for mini session signups and it it's really convenient to give people the ability to change times.

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Mike, try at different times. Some people have experienced the same problem but would finally work. Most likely some sort of network issue.

Joe, there is currently not an option for someone to change or cancel an appointment form their account.

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