• PURPLE DS MANAGER

• PURPLE DS COMPOSER

• FURTHER UPDATES

Purple DS Manager

A summary of the changes from Release 2.0 is available here.

We have introduced many new intuitive features in Release 3.0 in order to make it even easier for you to create engaging apps and to make your apps  more attractive to your users. Our new features now allow you to fully customize your app and make it easier to link your app with existing systems such as user databases.

We have summarized the most important changes in Release 3.0 for you here:

Quick Color Editing for Apps: Create A Customised Corporate Design In The Blink Of An Eye

Purple DS Manager contains over 130 individual colour scheme settings for text, buttons, and backgrounds to help you create unique apps featuring your corporate design. A dashboard of 7 primary app elements enables you to quickly and easily define the 130 individual elements. You also still have the option of making changes to the individual elements whenever you choose. More information on quick color editing is available here.

Configuration of Entitlement / User Databases: Flexibility In User Management

In order to link your existing user databases or entitlement servers, we offer the option of using our own entitlement server as well as a range of standard interfaces, such as CDS, Palm Coast and ADOBE DPS®. This enables you to use different servers for your preview and release apps according to your requirements, or to link multiple databases at the same time. Control of the configuration is in your hands via Purple DS Manager.
You also have the opportunity to fully customise the user log-in page of your app on HTML basis. In addition, the new features include entitlement / user databases not only for apps but for the web as well, enabling you to manage different contents in the web kiosk via your entitlements.

Role / Rights Management: Flexibility And Efficiency For Your Content Management

To make it easier for you and your teams to work on apps and publications, we have expanded the existing role categories of “App Admin” and “Editor” to also include “Account Admin”. The “Account Admin” is able to independently manage all rights and adapt them for all roles as necessary for each app or publication. This means it is now possible for one employee to edit a publication that is used in multiple apps, for example.

Adapting Texts In The App Front-end: Easy Internationalisation

Your business may be expanding into new markets or target groups and as a result you may require new languages or wording refinements for your apps. Release 3.0 offers you the option to make changes to the language or content of all texts in the app front-end, such as buttons or menus, via simple Excel spreadsheets. All of these changes can be made without any programming knowledge. “Kiosk”, “Archive”, “Newsstand” or even simply “Home” - the names of the buttons and menus are entirely up to you.

Your Individual App Menu: Offer Your Customers A Consistent Look & Feel

The design of burger icons and menu entries is now in your hands and can be changed according to your individual corporate design. For example, by using the icons from your corporate website in your app, you will increase your brand recognition and customer loyalty. This feature allows you to make quick and dynamic changes or additions to sub-entries in the app menu without needing to reload the app into stores. The changes to the app will be directly visible to your users.

Purple DS Composer

I. Simply & Easy To Use

User Interface: New Design For Better Overview

We know that a tidy desk stimulates creativity and helps you keep an overview of all your projects, so we’ve cleaned up the Page and Scene Settings. We have reduced the menu on the right-hand side (the Inspector) from 7 to 4 tabs and integrated some of those functions into the corresponding tabs on the Page list (on the left-hand side). We have made it easier for users to navigate through the Purple DS Composer by simplifying the icons in the menu and making them easier to understand. We have also improved the contrast within the application so it’s easier to focus on the work area. All of these changes are geared towards providing users with a better overview and making their work more efficient.

Gridlines: Align All Your Objects Precisely

Purple DS Composer now comes with the option of displaying gridlines (guide) in the work space. So now it is easy to align your elements precisely.

Table Of Contents: Easier Editing For Improved Usability

We figured that reworking the design also presented a good opportunity to update relevant processes and features. The menu for creating tables of contents (TOC) is now located on the left side, directly in the Page list that is visible when you are building individual pages within your app. You can now download customized thumbnails for the display in your app TOC.

Image-Sound-Synchronization: Match Sound With Perfect Precision

Often animations are not fully effective until they are accompanied by the right sound. In the new version of Purple DS Composer, mp3 audio files are displayed in wave format. Now you can enhance an in-app effect or animation with the perfect sound. The wave format makes it possible to match animations and audio files with great precision: a perfect user experience.

Preview App Content: Preview The App Content For Different Devices 

With the new release you have the option to preview your interactive app content for the most popular mobile devices directly in the Purple DS Composer. Thus you have the opportunity to adjust it accordingly and to provide the best possible user experience.

II. Efficient & Smart

Synchronize Contents To Your App: Done With A Single Click

We have fully revamped the synchronisation process for you. You do not need to export your content from the Purple DS Composer and upload it to the Purple DS Manager anymore. One click and this is done. In the new Purple DS Composer, at the top left of the interface you will find a SYNC button that delivers the contents directly into your app in the Purple DS Manager. This shortens the process and lets you work more quickly and efficiently.

Sample Templates: Quick Start For Your Own App Design

We have loaded more than 10 templates into the Start dialogue of the Purple DS Composer to make it even easier for you to start building your own app.
We’ll continually add new sample contents to provide you with inspiring examples to help you improve your app or come up with entirely new and creative ways to use apps.

Integrated Tutorials: Get Help Quickly “On The Spot”

We know that questions often come up right in the middle of a project or task. To help you find the answer as quickly and easily as possible, we’ve created a series of tutorial videos about the main features of Purple DS Composer. You will find them in the Start menu. More detailed explanations of all features are available in our Knowledge Base.

Responsive Content: New Content-Fit Strategy For HTML Contents

Besides content-fit strategies for PDF and magazines, we now also offer this feature for HTML (Fit Device). This allows you to display your embedded HTML content (e.g. websites, animations, forms) in responsive format, meaning that the content will adapt to the type of device on which the app is displayed. Whether that is a single page, or an HTML element in a scene or composition, your content will be displayed in a perfect format. This content-fit strategy provides you with maximum flexibility.  

Deep-Linking: Easily Jump From One Issue To Another In Your App

With the use of Action URL, you can easily link issues, articles or entries in the app menu (e.g. newsfeed, newsstand) with each other. This allows users, for example, to easily “jump” directly from an aricle in the newsfeed to a specific article of an issue within the newsstand. A link from free content to paid content can easily encourage the user to perform in-app purchases.

Asset Folder: All Your Reusable Data In One Spot

To simplify the use of all your media (e.g. images, videos, HTML-content) you can now save these in a newly available asset folder. You can directly link to your media in the folder; thus your media needs to be integrated only once and can easily be reused as many times as necessary. This saves time and storage space in particular.

Graphical Gimmicks: Additional Features For Improved User Experience

The new generation of the Purple DS Composer allows you to display full-screen popups and to automatically close them.
In addition, we also improved the use of scene looping. You will be surprised about all the new features available to you.

PDF import: Automatic Recognition Of All Links

When you import a PDF as the basis for an app, the Purple DS Composer now recognises all links and displays them in clickable form. No more time spent adding in links by hand!

Compatibility: Recent Adobe InDesign® And iOS Updates Well Compatible With Purple DS

* Enhanced InDesign® plug-in for CS6/CC as well as CC2015 and CC2017 (Update includes minor bug fixes, performance improvements and the option to select the size of your images when exporting your layouts to Purple DS Composer, etc.)

* Compatible with iOS Sierra

Further Updates

User-friendliness: Your Users Will Love It

From now on, your app will memorize the last position of the user.
Thus, the user can easily continue reading exactly where he/she stopped. When setting bookmarks, your app memorizes scroll-position, scene, and even zoom-level.
We also fixed smaller bugs, and enhanced the performance of our apps including for example the improvement of the swipe behaviour in image galleries, compositions or for paging.

Migrating From Other Publishing Platforms: Switching To Us Is Child’s Play

The new version of the Purple DS Migration Tool allows you to easily migrate your existing content from Adobe DPS®, Pugpig and Oomph.
Your content will be transferred to Purple DS – all interactions will be preserved. You can re-open and adjust your content anytime in our Purple DS Composer.

Purple DS Templating Client: Structuring And Automating Processes To Streamline Your Digital Production Process

The revolutionary Purple DS Templating Client allows you to easily convert print-2-mobile layouts. In addition, it structures your InDesign® content. Once structured, contents can be moved directly into app templates or into a CMS. Automatic publishing is easily possible.
Our new generation has been updated with regards to performance and user-friendliness in particular.