Voila is not just a Screen Capturing and Editing tool that also lets you share your work, but an application that allows you to neatly organize your images and videos. That’s what the rule-based Smart Collections and Collections are for. Using these you can organize related images and videos, allowing you to easily access your files when you need them and know where to find them.

As you glean through the Voila interface, you will find a few Smart Collections created by default. A Collection will appear as soon as one is created.

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Smart Collections:

As mentioned earlier, Smart Collections are rule-based folders. That is, you can assign specific rules for the kind of images or videos you want to be placed there. Thus, any file that satisfies either one or all the rules of a specific Smart Collection is automatically placed there. This is a great feature that lets you organize your files without you having to specifically drag and drop the files there. This lets you smartly organize related tasks and helps you focus more on your work. To create a rule-based smart collection, hit the Add symbol at the bottom of the app and select Create New Smart Collection. Now you can assign more than one rule to the kind of files you want placed there.

For example, I wanted to create a folder containing all the screenshots I have created for say, a UI re-work. We followed a particular naming convention, assigned the rules and created a Smart Collection. This was when we were planning the re-vamp of the Camera Plus Pro UI. We received a couple of screenshots from our designers and were required to provide our comments. Using Voila it was much easier to put in our comments using the Annotations and organizing them in a single folder. All the files satisfying the rules assigned, would automatically be placed in this folder, making it easier to track the screenshots too.

Creating a rule-based Smart Collection/Collection:

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Assigning the rules in case of a Smart Collection:

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Information Panel showing the contents that satisfy the rules of the Smart Collection:

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Of course, there is another way to organize your screenshots or screen-casts. You can create a Collection. The steps to create a Collection are similar to the Smart Collections, but without the rules. This means you must manually move the files that you wish to place in this folder.

I’m sure you’ll find more uses with this feature. Explore it further and do let us know how you make use of it.

Voila is a comprehensive Screen Capturing app that lets you capture still shots and videos of your desktop. Not just that, you can also edit and annotate your still shots with Callouts, Text, Filters, Arrows and more to make them more meaningful. The built-in organizer lets you manage your files smartly and also lets you share your work instantly via YouTube, Flickr, FTP, SFTP and Mail.

And you even have a better reason to try Voila. Celebrating the 1st Anniversary of the release of Voila v3 we have slashed the price of Voila by almost 17%! That’s right! You can grab your copy of Voila from our Global Delight Store, or the Mac App Store at just $24.99 for a limited period. Hurry!

You’re reading the 5th post in our series, Voila Tips 101: a list that will cover features in Voila, both known and lesser known, that can help you in your work and lets you enjoy all the features of the app. Read the entire list here.

-Vaishnavi

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Voila has completed 2 years today, helping each and every one of you Mac users, capture and record anything and everything off your desktop. As a birthday treat, we have slashed the price of Voila by 33%! That’s right, you can now grab your copy of Voila at just $19.99 USD! This special discount is available only for a limited period, so be sure to grab it soon. This offer is available on the Global Delight Store as well as the Mac App Store. So hop over to the most convenient spot for you to make your purchase.

Mac App Store features Voila under the Staff Favorites:

Voila is indeed celebrating a special birthday this year. Just as soon as it turned 2, the Mac App Store was released, and featured Voila under the Staff Favorites!

-Vaishnavi

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Hope you have hung some really huge stockings over the fireplace, ‘cos this year Santa is being extra generous! After the awesome Photo Delight for the iPad update, featuring an intuitive option called Smart Touch that lets you finger-paint only on a particular color and the Camera Plus Pro major release, we have great news for all you Mac users! Screen capturing and recording is almost second nature to most of you while working on your Mac. See something interesting, and you feel the instant urge to capture it, or create great shots for your presentation and manuals or record tutorials off your desktop!

Voila Mac Screen Capture Tool lets you do just that, and now you have more reason to grab it today. As a special holiday offer, we have slashed the price of Voila by 25% from the original price of $30 for a Single User license. And for our existing Voila 1.x and 2.x users who have not upgraded yet to the latest version, you can do so now, as we have slashed the upgrade price by 50%, i.e., now you would pay only $9 for Single User License upgrade! You can check the prices for the other types of licenses in the Store. So what are you waiting for? Grab your copy of Voila today, before Santa leaves for the North Pole!

P.S.: Keep watching this space for more updates on this year’s holiday offers and surprises!

-Vaishnavi

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What do you do when you have to explain something? You could do a few things; give a lengthy explanation, type a lengthy mail; or use Voila to quickly and easily capture a screen-shot or record your screen. Yes I did just say that! Voila has been integrated with the screen recording feature allowing you to record amazing videos of all your on-screen activities. This version also sports better capturing and file management options, additional tools, filters and sharing options. Read on to know more..

The Screen-recording feature enables you to record all your on-screen activities along with audio in full screen or a selected area. You will be amazed with the High-Quality resolution videos of your screen, recorded with Voila.  You can then instantly upload these videos via YouTube, FTP or SFTP. Frequent requests for the ability to capture the Menu with Title, supporting Firefox and capturing web-pages which retain the URL in-case you want to revisit the web page, were considered and included in this version. Tools such as Marquee lets you select an area within a screen capture in various shapes and Eraser helps in removing sensitive information from your screen captures.

Most of you would rather use the short cut keys to take a quick capture and this version provides you with the flexibilty to assign a Function Key or any single key as a shortcut. Regarding FTP upload, many users found it a bit confusing. Thus we have made FTP and SFTP uploading more flexible and easy. The Search has been optimized in such a way that you can now search for your image files or videos by  their Name, Title, URL, Tags or Description.  There are a whole lot of more changes made in this version. You can read more about them from here.

However, what you must keep in mind is that this is a Beta version of Voila. Your feedback on its features and functionality at this stage is very important. Your feedback from this beta will be incorporated into the final release. Also Voila v3.0 Beta is an Upgrade. If you are an existing registered customer of Voila, then you need to install the new Beta v3.0 of Voila in a separate location for testing purposes.

In case you do replace your older version of Voila with the current Beta, then you can download the old version from here. Delete the existing Voila application and install the old version. You can register the old copy with the registration code that you already have. Always ensure to take a backup of your Voila Images Database before upgrading/replacing/deleting the application. You can check the database location from the Preferences > General window.

Download Voila v3.0 Beta from here.

This version was planned keeping in mind the feedback that we received from all of you. You have supported us all this while and we know you will in the future as well. Hope you have a great time exploring the Beta version. Looking forward to your feedback!

P.S.: If you have purchased Voila v2.5 after December 2009, you will receive the upgrade to v3.0 absolutely free! So If you haven’t bought Voila yet, here is your chance to do it!

-Vaishnavi

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As a kid I was fascinated with the Stamps used by Teachers at school, Shopkeepers and others. Whenever I could get hold of one, I’d be in ‘Stamp Paradise’, applying those stamps on anything I could find, including yours truly . I guess a lot of you must have had similar fantasies. We have a host of similar stamps in Voila, Mac Screen Capture tool as well. And yes, I do indulge in those childhood whims once in a while on Voila too.

Stamps are pretty convenient in explaining a lot of things at one go. A ‘Private’ Stamp would mean, “Yeah that’s right it’s private and you shouldn’t be seeing it”, ‘Sold’ would mean, “Ha Ha, you are late, it’s gone”. Ok, not in the same words but still. Voila provides you with around 19 Stamps. These graphic elements greatly enhance your screen captures, making your documents and presentations more professional and presentable.

Now we would like to know what kind of Stamps do you use frequently or are looking for. You might be using a host of Stamps or Buttons on your Blogs, Presentations, Manuals and so on. Do post your ideas here. While providing your suggestions do mention:

1) The specific image or text on the Stamp

2) The color

3) The shape of the Stamp

This will provide us with a clear idea of what you are looking for. We hope you are having a great experience using Voila, as much as we have had developing it. We are always open to your suggestions and feedback. Keep watching this space as we have some great news coming up, Soon!

-Vaishnavi

Voila Mac Screen Capture tool, stamps, Voila