Virtual group photos can be incredibly valuable for photographers — but let’s be honest, they have not always been incredibly fun to make!

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Traditionally, creating a virtual group means jumping between multiple tools. You photograph each subject, create cutouts, export files, open design software, place everyone manually, resize and align the group, add names, save the finished image, upload it somewhere else, and then reconnect that image to the right customers.

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That is a lot of steps for one group photo!

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NowCandid’s Virtual Group Builder makes the process much simpler. Photographers can now create polished virtual group images directly inside the NowCandid Dashboard using the same Participants, cutouts, PhotoTags, backgrounds, and Event data already connected to their Event.

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It is fast, flexible, and built to help photographers get virtual groups online and ready to sell with far less hassle. 🎉

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A New Way to Build Virtual Group Photos

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Virtual Group Builder is designed for photographers who want to offer professional group images when a traditional in-person group photo isn't possible.

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That makes it especially useful for sports teams, schools, dance groups, cheer teams, clubs, all-star teams, and any Event where people are photographed individually but still need to appear together in a final group image.

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Instead of needing every participant posed together at the exact same time, photographers can build a finished group photo from individual background-removed cutouts. If someone was photographed later, added after the fact, or missed the original group setup, they can still be included.

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That flexibility can be a big deal for volume photography.

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Built Directly Into the NowCandid Dashboard

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Virtual Group Builder lives directly inside NowCandid. From an Event page, photographers can click Virtual Groups in the sidebar menu and start building using the Event data they already have.

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The builder is not a disconnected design tool. It works alongside our existing tools, including participant data, PhotoTags, background removal, cutouts, custom backgrounds, overlays, logos, and everything else.

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So instead of downloading files from one place, designing in another, and uploading it back to the dashboard afterward, photographers can keep the process inside NowCandid from start to finish.

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Virtual Group Builder also supports the Mobile Dashboard! We don't necessarily recommend making Virtual Groups on your phone - but hey, could be nice in a pinch!

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From Capture to Cutouts to Finished Group 🚀

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Virtual Group Builder pairs especially well with NowCandid’s live-uploading and background removal capabilities.

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A photographer can shoot participants individually, upload images to NowCandid live (or after the event) use NowCandid’s background removal to create clean cutouts, and then bring those cutouts straight into the Virtual Group Builder.

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As a quick note for those unfamiliar with NowCandid's background removal, those same cutouts can also be used for shopping with alternate backgrounds! Making them multi-purpose across the Event.

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For photographers shooting sports, schools, dance, cheer, or other volume Events, this can save a serious amount of time.

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Add the Right Subjects Quickly 👥

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Virtual Group Builder gives photographers a few easy ways to add people to a group.

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You can add one participant at a time, import everyone from a specific PhotoTag, or bring in all participants from the Event. This makes the builder flexible for both small custom groups and larger team or event-wide composites.

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PhotoTags are especially powerful here. If your Event is organized by team, class, club, etc., you can use those PhotoTags to bring the right people into the group quickly.

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For example, a sports photographer could import a single team. A school photographer could import a club or activity group. A graduation photographer could import participants from a specific ceremony.

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Clean PhotoTags can turn what used to be a very manual process into just a few clicks. ✨

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Helpful Safeguards for Missing Cutouts

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Real-world events are messy. Sometimes a participant is missing a cutout. Sometimes a placeholder exists. Sometimes a photographer needs to know what is missing before moving forward.

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Virtual Group Builder helps make that easier to catch.

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When importing from a PhotoTag, photographers can see the participants in that PhotoTag before removing empty subjects. The Remove Empty Subjects option can remove participants with no cutouts as well as placeholders, but the workflow is designed to help photographers notice missing kids, players, or participants before finalizing the group.

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That way, the tool keeps things fast without overlooking potential issues.

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Smart Subject Ordering

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Virtual Group Builder uses a practical ordering system to help preserve the order participants were photographed in.

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Subjects are initially ordered from bottom left to top right based on the alphanumeric order of the first PNG filename. In plain English: if a photographer shoots and names files in a meaningful order, the builder can use that order as a helpful starting point.

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This can be useful for sports teams photographed by jersey number, students photographed alphabetically, or groups photographed in a specific roster order.

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And when the order needs to change, photographers can simply drag subjects into place.

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Drag, Drop, Swap, and Adjust 🖱️

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Reordering subjects is simple. Photographers can drag the cutouts directly on the group image or drag the subject tiles at the bottom of the page.

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When a subject is dragged to a new location, it swaps with the destination Participant. This makes it easy to balance rows, adjust lineups, or move specific people into better positions.

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The builder also includes group-level controls for layout and composition, including rows, global scale, vertical position, background, overlay, text names, crop guides, aspect ratio lines, bottom vignette, and cutout fade settings.

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These controls help photographers quickly shape the whole group while still keeping the workflow approachable.

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Fine-Tune Individual Subjects 🎛️

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Sometimes one participant needs a small adjustment. Maybe they need to be slightly larger, shifted left or right, brightened, or swapped to a different PNG.

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The Subject Inspector gives photographers individual control over each subject.

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Photographers can adjust a subject’s name, scale, brightness, horizontal offset, and vertical offset. They can also reset the subject, change them to a different Participant, change the selected cutout, or remove the subject from the group entirely.

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This is one of the biggest advantages of the builder: it is fast, but still gives you control when the final image needs a little extra polish.

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Choose the Best Cutout for Each Participant 🖼️

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If a Participant has multiple cutouts available, photographers can choose which image works best for the group.

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When adding subjects, photographers can also decide they want their incoming Participants to be using their first PNG or their latest PNG (alphanumerically determined using Folder Name and Image File Name).

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Then subjects can also be selected to have their individual portrait swapped to a different one! This can be helpful when you want a variety of poses in your Virtual Group, or simply to swap a blinking kid's image to a

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Backgrounds, Overlays, Logos, and Product Sizes 🎨

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Virtual Group Builder gives photographers creative control over the final image.

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Photographers can choose from NowCandid default backgrounds, use custom offer backgrounds, upload their own backgrounds, add overlays, and place account logos in the corners. This makes it easy to create anything from a clean traditional group image to a bold sports graphic or school-branded composite.

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The builder supports common product-friendly formats, including 4×6, 5×7, 8×10, and 11×14. Crop guides and aspect ratio lines help photographers preview how the final image will fit the selected size.

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There are also display options for subject names, including toggling names on or off and adjusting their vertical position. For teams, senior groups, school clubs, all-star rosters, or small graduation groups, names can make the final product feel more complete and commemorative.

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Upload the Finished Group Back to the Event 📤

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Once the virtual group is finished, photographers can save it and upload it back to the Event.

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During upload, the group image can be assigned to a PhotoTag. This does two important things: it automatically shows the group image to participants with that same PhotoTag, and it makes the group photo searchable in the Event using that PhotoTag.

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So if a photographer creates a group image for “Varsity Football,” they can assign it to that PhotoTag on upload. The image can then appear for the right participants and stay organized inside the Event.

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That keeps the final product connected to the same Event structure used to build it.

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Why This Is Such a Big Deal for Photographers

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Virtual Group Builder is more than a design feature. It is a faster, more connected way to create and sell group photography products.

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It helps photographers reduce manual design work, use the cutouts they already have, build from PhotoTags and participant data, add missing participants more easily, and get virtual group products online faster.

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For volume photographers, that can mean less time spent assembling files and more time selling finished products. For customers, it means more group photo options. For events, it means group photography becomes more flexible, forgiving, and scalable.

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Virtual Groups, Now Built Into the NowCandid Workflow ✨

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Virtual Group Builder brings together live uploading, background removal, participant cutouts, PhotoTags, drag-and-drop group building, backgrounds, overlays, logos, subject names, crop previews, PhotoTag-based upload, and online selling.

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When an Event is set up cleanly with consistent cutouts and PhotoTags, photographers can create a full virtual group in just a few clicks — then fine-tune it as needed.

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It is simple, powerful, and built directly into NowCandid.

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Whether you are creating a sports team composite, school group photo, graduation image, dance group, cheer team, all-star roster, or custom event product, Virtual Group Builder helps you get polished virtual group photos online faster.

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Ready to try it?

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Open an Event in your NowCandid Dashboard and click Virtual Groups in the sidebar menu to start building. 🎉

Hey photo friends! 👋

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Candy here with a lighter update this week—but still plenty of handy improvements across the Dashboard and Retail site. This week’s changes focus on making participant data faster to work with, improving BGR/AI image visibility, and adding clearer product signals for shoppers.

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Let’s take a look!

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👥 Participant & Contact Improvements

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⚡ Faster participant download sheets‍

• • The participant download sheet on the Event Participant List page now generates much faster, especially for large Events.

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🪪 Scan cards with images but no contact info are easier to find‍

• • If an Event has scan cards that already have images but no contact information, they’ll now appear above the participant table.
• • You can click one to view the images and add contact information, turning it into a full Participant!

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🏷️ PhotoTags in Participant image lightboxes‍

• • On the Participant Details page, image lightboxes now show PhotoTag assignments just like Manage Images does—with the ability to edit them right there.

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📊 Order average on Event Overview‍

• • The Event Overview page now shows order average on the Orders chart.

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🖼️ BGR, AI & Image Detail Improvements

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🔍 Preview Original now works for BGR images‍

• • On Manage Images, you can now use Preview Original in the lightbox for BGR images, not just AI images.
• • Pro tip: use the \ key to toggle original preview.

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📂 Original Folder shown for BGR and AI images‍

• • The lightbox now shows the original image’s folder for BGR and AI images.

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🧾 Image Details now available for BGR images‍

• • BGR images now support the Image Details page anywhere the lightbox previously showed Details, Participants, Logs.

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👥 Original participant list shown for BGR/AI images‍

• • For BGR images and AI images uploaded directly from Candy Image Studio or Auto Editor, Image Details now shows the participants from the original image.

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📍 Face box positioning fix‍

• • Fixed an edge case where face boxes could shift out of place after resizing the webpage or content.

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🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Virtual Group Builder

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🖼️ Improved logo placement‍

• • Logo placement in Virtual Group Builder has been updated so logos fit better within the default crop across supported aspect ratios.

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🧭 Dashboard Navigation & Reports

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🔙 Better browser Back behavior‍

• • When returning to the Event List page with filters applied, browser back navigation should now behave better and reapply your search/filter state.

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📊 Report filters save in the URL‍

• • Report filters now support refreshing, browser history, and shareable filtered views (they're now saved in the URL).

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🏠 Recent Orders count fixed‍

• • Fixed an item count issue in the Recent Orders section on the Home/Landing page.

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🛍️ Retail Updates

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🏷️ New “Customizable” badge‍

• • Products that include meaningful customization (color or style choices available) now show a Customizable badge on the store sheet. Products where the only customization is captions are not included.

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🖼️ Personal Gallery Download wording update‍

• • The Personal Gallery Download sheet now says “Group Photos are not included” instead of “Team Photos are not included” for non-sports Events.

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That’s the week!

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A smaller update, but a useful one—faster participant exports, clearer BGR/AI image details, better filtered navigation, and improved product clarity for shoppers.

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Keep creating magic,

Candy 🍬

Hey photo friends! 👋

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Candy here with a big follow-up from last week: we predicted our Face Matching improvements could make things up to 10× faster... and this past weekend, Face Matching ended up running 28× faster. 🎉

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That is well above what we expected, and it came at a perfect time as image volume continues to hit new highs. We’re going to keep making improvements so NowCandid can better handle those big peak-season spikes.

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We’re also improving parts of our retail support process, and later this month, we’ll be sending surveys to select end customers to learn more about their retail site and shopping experience. The goal is simple: keep improving the customer journey and help you get the most sales possible.

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Now, let’s jump into what changed this week!

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⚡ Face Matching Follow-Up: 28× Faster

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🚀 Face Matching improvements performed even better than projected‍

• Last week, we mentioned updates that could make Face Matching up to 10× faster. This past weekend, those improvements delivered around 28× faster performance.

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📈 Built for peak volume‍

• With more images coming in than ever, this speed improvement helps keep galleries moving during high-volume stretches like graduation season.

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🛠️ More efficiency improvements are still coming‍

• We’re continuing to tune systems behind the scenes so large event volume stays more manageable.

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📣 Marketing Texts Now Support RCS

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💬 Marketing texts now use RCS when available‍

• All marketing texts, including QuicPics image texts, now send through RCS when supported, with SMS/MMS fallback for numbers that don’t support RCS.

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✨ Cleaner, more recognizable messages‍

• Instead of appearing as a random phone number, supported messages can show as coming from QuicPics with a branded-style camera icon. This makes the text feel more familiar and easier for customers to recognize.

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🛡️ Better deliverability potential‍

• With mobile platforms continuing to add stronger spam filtering — including spam folders on iPhones — RCS gives our messages a better chance of feeling legitimate and avoiding the “unknown number” problem that can hurt visibility.

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📱 Still works for everyone‍

• If a customer’s phone or carrier doesn’t support RCS, the message will still fall back to normal SMS/MMS automatically.

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Note: Client Outreach still sends through regular phone numbers for now. This RCS update applies to event marketing texts, 2FA in the Dashboard, the Find Me feature on quic.pics, and QuicPics image messages.

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🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Virtual Group Builder Improvements

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Virtual Group Builder got several upgrades this week:

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⚡ Participant importing is much faster‍

• Large imports should feel quicker and more responsive.

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👨‍👩‍👧 Merged siblings now import properly‍

• If siblings were merged through identical parent contact info, Virtual Group Builder will now pull them in correctly.

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📂 New Subjects pane collapse button‍

• Collapse the Subjects pane to make the preview area bigger. You can also toggle it with Shift + S.

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🖼️ New cutout bottom fade slider‍

• Adjust how strongly subject cutouts fade at the bottom.

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🌫️ “Falloff Intensity” renamed to “Bottom Vignette”‍

• Clearer wording for what the setting actually controls.

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🖥️ Dashboard Improvements

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🧰 More Tools moved out of the popup on Manage Images‍

• Manage Images tools are now more visible instead of tucked away.

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🗂️ Edit Folder is always visible‍

• The Edit Folder button is now easier to find on Manage Images.

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📬 New marketing column on Participant List‍

• Quickly see how much marketing a participant has received.

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👁️ Participant Details groups invisible images at the end‍

• Makes the page easier to scan.

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🎨 One Art Style node per edit‍

• Candy Image Studio and Auto Editor now only allow one Art Style node per edit. This helps avoid confusion when selecting conflicting styles like Anime, Chibi, Action Figure, and Bobblehead together.

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📈 Marketing History chart improved for new Events‍

• New Events should no longer show one giant bar on the first day.

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🏷️ Event Tags improvements‍

• Hidden Event Tags are now hidden by default, and event search when adding Events to a tag is more flexible.

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💰 Auto Editor total cost display fixed‍

• The displayed total cost is now correct. Customers were charged correctly before; only the UI number was off.

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🔢 Participant List now shows key report snapshots‍

• You can now quickly see:
  • Images Per Participant
  • Sales Per Participant
  • % Participants Ordered

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📱 Capture App 5.6.4

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iOS & Android OTA update — Monday, June 1

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🧍 Registered face boxes now show in the strip‍

• When entering a shooting mode, existing images in the strip can show registered face boxes.

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🔄 Restore Session fixes‍

• Fixed Restore Session not loading saved registered participants for Positive ID Events or Face Matching Roster Check-In.

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✅ Face Matching Roster Check-In fix‍

• Fixed an edge case where a registration could fail to save to an image.

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📱 Android tablet UI fixes

• Selfie Check-In Station camera UI fixed in vertical orientation
• Image gallery name text no longer overflows in vertical orientation

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That’s the week!

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The big wins are definitely RCS marketing and Face Matching coming in 28× faster, but the Virtual Group Builder and Dashboard changes should make things easier during busy season too.

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We’ll keep improving speed, support, and the retail experience as we go!

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Keep creating magic,

Candy 🍬