Just tried out the collage program. Great idea, but must say I am very disappointed in how the images are handled... 1. Every time you launch the program it starts loading pictures from the last folder that was opened which is very frustrating. Especially since you cannot stop the images from loading (!!!!!). If you happen to accidentally open a folder with hundreds of images you are stuck waiting a long time for it to finish loading. You have to then try and find a folder with few or no images and switch to that. Seems to me that common sense would dictate that you launch the program, and THEN have the option of going to a folder and loading it. 2. The fact that you cannot select individual images to put into the collage is ridiculous. To have to pre-load the images wanted into a new folder is annoying to say the least. In other collage programs, like the CD label program "Sure Thing", you can open the collage feature and then go to any folder on your computer. From there it displays thumbnails from which you simply select the exact ones you want by clicking them, and then click the "add" button. 3. WHY is there a limit of 25 images? Too few for larger projects, like making a full-sleeve DVD cover. 4. WHY is 4x6 the smallest size for photos? 5. WHY does it ignore images that are "too small" ????? I would like to see options for smaller pictures. Other than that, great program, I look forward to future enhancements...
Hi Tloke,
Automatically loading images from the root of the image browser when the application starts was a decision taken to avoid having the user waiting to answer a question before the application starts working. You don't need to wait until all images are loaded to select another folder in the image browser. At any time, just select any other folder or even a new root for the image browser.It is always hard to decide between automating a task and asking the user about what to do. Conversely, there are users asking us to remove the dialog that warns when an AutoCollage that has not been saved is about to be lost.
All your feedback has been registered for upcoming feature packs and versions.
Alisson.Sol
Thank you for your reply. I still find it annoying that the images start loading when the program opens. There is really no reason to do this, it is very distracting. In working with the program today I noticed another annoyance. What is the purpose in having an option to select the number of images? Since the program will not allow you to select specific images within a folder, it's going to load all images in the folder, up to the maximum 25. What's the use of picking say 5, or 8 or whatever number if one cannot choose WHICH photos to load? The disadvantage here is I get an annoying pop-up window telling me that the program is only going to select x number of photos. So everytime I work on a new project I have to remember to set the slider for the number of photos I am using. But there is no reason to do this since I have to have the exact number of photos in my folder that I am going to use anyway. Also, you need to have a wider variety of output size options - there is not a single option for a SQUARE size (such as what would be used on a CD/DVD label). One more option that is needed - the ability to CHOOSE/SET a default "Save to" folder, and of course to have the program remember this folder next time I open the program. Today when working on a collage I saved the finished collage to the folder that had the 10 images in it that I was using. I then wanted to try a few more variations, running the program again to get different results. Problem was, the saved collage image in the folder was now becoming part of the new collage - it now wanted to use 11 images (my 10 pics plus the saved collage). ANOTHER reason for having the ability to select images from within a folder!!
The typical scenario that the application tries to address is that of a user having about a 100 pictures just imported from a digital camera into a single folder. When that folder is selected in AutoCollage, it is then possible to define the number of images that should be included in the AutoCollage (from 7 to 25 at this time).
We took note of this additional request for a different output size. There is already a default "Save to" folder suggested by the application. If you save your pictures there, then it is easier for the application to later show you those collages: just click on the "Saved" button. If you change the location when saving an AutoCollage, then you cannot take advantage of this functionality.
So what you are saying is that a typical person would happen to have around 100 images on their digital camera, they import the folder to their HDD, and then open the folder in AutoCollage. Then, the program will load the number of images chosen (7-25) - but the program chooses the images?? I'm confused here, what is the purpose of loading 100 images only to use 7-25?
Why would anyone want to let the program choose the images? Why would a user want to wait a long time for the program to load the 100 images when a small fraction of them are used? Most images from a camera are shot at high resolution, that's fine when making large collages, but otherwise those images will take a long time to load and process.
I look forward to future updates of this program, it has incredibly potential and although I may have some complaints it does produce some phenominal results.
I mentioned this too in my post. I suspect this portion could be availabe on v1.5 :)
Seems at this moment in time the only way to have some control in it is to say chose 10 of those 100 photos and copy them into a seperate folder. yes i know more work. I personally didnt have 100 pics just about 30 i guess, and instinctively as they loaded in i was seeing some dupes so i simply tried to delete them but alas as we know you can't.
How the decision is made on which 7 - 25 pics are chosen from in your case 100 i dunno, but perhaps letting us chose them might be an advantage.
I personally have found the program seems to chose a mixture, of scenes, faces, etc indeed in some cases a similarly posed pic.
One of AutoCollage's features is automatic selection of a subset of pictures from which to create a collage. In other words, if you have a folder with 100 or 200 pictures, and choose to create an autoCollage with 15 pictures, AutoCollage will use its algorithms to pick which 15 of your 100 or 200 pictures to include.
Choosing the pictures means reading and processing all the pictures in the folder so AutoCollage can choose the best ones. The processing works best with images of a certain size or larger. While AutoCollage is loading the images, it displays them on the screen (displaying the pictures takes very little extra time or computing power). As a side-effect of doing this, you can browse through your pictures while they load, and you can even see detected faces, and add your own manually detected face rectangles, affecting the final collage image selection and shape. .
I hope this helps explain some of the reasons AutoCollage behaves the way it does. Whether you agree with that behavior is a different question :)
Thanks for your feedback!
"AutoCollage will use its algorithms to pick which 15 of your 100 or 200 pictures to include. "
May i ask how are the algorithms devised? As in there must be some rule beit a loose one that it will work by? Does it go on pixels, brightness, a percentage of coverage? I know it doesnt distinguish from scene or people, or does it and hence say 50% of each?
Will manual picking of pics be an option in a future build? essentially so save us having to copy the 7 - 25 pics we actually need into a seperate folder? Or indeed a delete option so we can delete or manually select the few pics to choose from.
Hi palman,
The AutoCollage application site has a section on research topics, and under that section there are links to research sites about automatic collage, face detection, image segmentation and image blending.Under the first link, you may consider looking at the paper entitled AutoCollage, which is the basis for this application.
The AutoCollage application showcases academic research results to enable consumers to automatically generate a collage with the following properties (and here I literally copy from the cited paper):1. The selected images are representative of the set.2. From each selected image, one substantial, coherent region of interest (ROI) is extracted.3. The ROIs should be efficiently packed. Certain objects should be treated with particular respect. In particular, faces should be regarded as preferred material, and should be preserved whole. Sky should be constrained to appear at the top, to avoid sky-like lacunae appearing in the interior of the collage.4. The transition between images in the collage is subtle, visually smooth and uses transparency where appropriate. The effect we seek is that subjects from the images should be captured and displayed on a background that appears more or less seamless with transitions of input images undetectable.
Our incubation team works in close collaboration with researchers as well as listening to valued customer feedback, such as yours.Note that one can easily create a subdirectory of desired images for AutoCollage should one wish to do so.
Thanks.
I am disappointed that there isn't a manual option to choose which pictures to include from a folder, and prioritise what the user feels to be the most important picture in a group. The results of pressing the create button can seem a little random, and are not always satisfactory. I feel that the option to add and delete the pictures used would increase the utility of the product. It would also be nice to see a print option. That said, I am enjoying finding out what the trial version can do.
Polly
I created a folder called _collagehold and before I open the program I simply go into Explorer and "Copy" in the pictures I want in the collage. This is very easy. After the collage is created I save it to a folder call _collagesets. I then clear out _collagehold and start the next set. While this a a slight pain, it works for me.
I'd love to have the program select from 2 to xx, not 7 to xx. Seven can be very busy depending on the pics selected. Perhaps this enhancement will pop uip in a future version upgrade.
I agree that you should be presented with a window showing the pics as a small icon and by pressing or draging the icon, load it into the interface.
Very slick program. Hats off to the developers.
When all the images are loaded, I agree, it is a very slick program, I'm really enjoying using it.
I liked the idea of using a separate folder, so I've tried manipulating images this way. Cropping a larger collage can give excellent reuslts incorporating a smaller number of images, though this can rely a little on luck - multiple copies of the same picture might increase the likelihood of a good outcome - I know this is hit and miss, and it would be ideal for the application to work with smaller numbers of images.
At the moment, when I try to add or remove an image to/from the folder after creating a collage, I get an error message saying that the file is still open. So far the only solutions I have found to this have been to:1) close AutoCollage or 2) load a picture folder that I'm not working on at the time. - Is there a better way around this, or are we likely to see changes to file handling in future?
All of the above have excellent ideas or concerns, however, this is release 1 and I'm sure the development team will take many of our ideas and incorporate them in future versions. I've used a few collage programs in my days and all of them do not even come close to AutoCollage. While the one-click process is a simple one, the coding behind it is not. My hats off to the development team.
I know this was just released and I can't wait for the next update/release.
Rudy Pataky
Toms River, NJ
Hi.
This may have already been said, but the option to choose which image is the dominant and/or centre image would be great. I had a group photo and then individual shots of people and I wanted the group photo to go in the centre, but couldnt do it. Add this to the requests above and then this product would start to take shape.
Grant.
Hi all,
Thanks to all on this thread for your excellent and informative responses. As the development team we try to stay in close contact with our users and we are gathering requirements and issues at all times, which will be reviewed for any future development on AutoCollage.
Once again - thanks for using our product and providing your feedback!
Regards,Chris.