What's New

Background Color

• Change the colors of the full canvas and Artboards from HEX, RGB and Pantone
• Choose from solid and gradient colors, with up to 5 gradient color options, 360 degree angle rotations and gradient reversal
• To keep the color selection window clean and clear, recent gradients will be capped at 3 lines, with the only gradients saved that being ones that stop position, rotate the angle or flip the gradient

• Save your recent color creations to build your own personal color palette
• Save recent color cards created with eyedropper to your recent colors that can be used on backgrounds

• Navigate between different solid, gradient and recent color creations to visualize and experiment with color concepts
• Background colors will be exported in Artboard PNG, PDF and public boards

Text Color

• Choose from solid text colors, with recently colors available in the same way as background colors
• Dark Mode is activated when your background is dark (the composition is 60% a dark color), so text will intuitively default to white, so you'll never loose your story
• This Dark mode will apply to snap to grid lines, public board names and other important text and sit on black backgrounds

Other Updates

• We improved the zoom speed, with the zoom speed accelerating as the zoom % goes up, and decelerating as the zoom % goes down
• Editors can now "leave a board" they are collaborating on, with new enhancement avoiding editors on a broad accidentally deleting the board for everyone when their intention was only for them to remove themselves

New Fabric Search

• We upgraded the entire fabric search experience allowing you to search for any keyword combinations, like:
  • Color+ Fabric Type (Examples: orange cotton, silver knit, pink silk)
  • Print + Fabric Type (Examples: black and white stripes, stripe jacquard)
  • Color or Print + Fiber
  • Product category (Examples: blazer, dress)

• Material search is now x10 quicker than before
• You can now search pattern as a keyword to see all patterned fabrics and solid to see all solid fabrics
• You can also search by specific fabric composition - down to the percentage of the fiber content

General Fabric Library

• To improve your visuals in the fabric library we've auto cropped all swatch images in the library into a square
• We increased the upper range limit on fabric searches, which is now linked to real values in the database
• Loading the fabric list in the library is now x6 quicker than before
• We improved the fabric floating menu by adding spacing on the image / floating menu so it's easier to select the options on iPad
• You now get a "Buy" button directly on every fabric page. This will make it easier for you to purchase the swatch or yardage directly from the supplier.
• You can now search by both SKU ID and description
• Keyboard shortcuts can be used to navigate text in the search bar

Artboard and Canvas Improvements

• You can now select any artboard by holding down the Command (Mac) or Control (Windows) key, this has also been added to the artboard label as a reminder. This is especially useful when you have collages filling the entire artboard area.
• We've also made artboard multi-selection a lot quicker and easier. You can do that by drawing a selection box covering the entire surface area of the artboard, or you can hold down Shift to multi select artboards.
• For all you writers out there, we spent a lot of time improving text. So it's quicker and less glitchy when you're writing
• We have added a new feature suggestion board where you can vote for features that would improve your design workflow: https://makethedot.featurebase.app/
• We have introduced a new Business plan for the product

Bug Fixes

• We fixed tagging for recycled fabrics, so only fabrics that our recycled now appear in the search
• Users can now copy/paste extension images on new accounts
• We fixed the keyboard shortcut for searches within the filter
• We fixed the edge case, where all canvas functions would freeze when clicking on the resizing anchors after using command / ctl key to select artboard
• Fabric search now returns the correct results, and ranks the swatches correctly
• We fixed a scrolling issue in fabric search
• All suppliers can now be searched accurately in the fabric library
• The UI was cleaned up, so there is no whitespace at the end of the scroll and after a search
• Material type is now searchable
• And we fixed the search for country of origin
• Multiple artboard menu is now centered
• Clearing search bar on the filter now clears ok
• We fixed a bug where you're were unable to resize text after resizing and changing font
• Fabric resize is now applied to all fabrics
• You previously cannot continuously create a text card on a desktop web. This has now been fixed.
• Filter returned the same record multiple times is now fixed
• Broken filter combos are now fixed
• Fabric list view now shows full results after clearing search
• The thumbnail in the library now displays the right thumbnail

This week, we've made it clearer and easier to export and share your work from Make the Dot

• We made it a lot clearer on how to share your board internally, and externally on the share pop-up menu
• You can now export your artboard from the share menu
• It's quicker and smoother to bulk upload images

New Share Popup

We made the copy and images on the share menu a lot clearer to understand, so you know exactly who you're sharing your board with, and wether they can edit it or not.

• Avoid the sharing a read-only link to someone you want to edit your board
• Easier for you to know which link is being copied + shared
• Easy to understand what the other person can do to your board when you are sharing the board

Artboard Export

Exporting artboards just got even easier, as this can now be done in the share function.

Bug Fixes

• You can bulk upload 50 or more images in more go, without affecting the speed of your board
• New fix to ensure the image upload creates the 3 copies of images to be used and also aligning the image thumbnails & images on board with smaller images
• We fixed main menu loading issues and improved menu queries, reduced to just one instead of multiple for board/preview cards

Product Updates

• We updated the zoom percentage so that zooming in to your board below 10% (eg 10% and below) is now possible. Allowing you to better zoom into certain details on your board
• The on-boarding flow, banners and usage limitations have now been updated to reflect the new 7-day free trial pricing plan
• Board width has been increased to 80000 px, which is an enhancement to cater for situations larger than that
• Pro users can now update the quantity of Pro subscriptions in the subscription page
• Pop-up copy on the "share" feature has now been updated to distinguish between read-only and editable
• Upgrade confirmation page background has been changed to white

Bug Fixes

• Not auto closing login modal for new user via extension (clicked on sign up again)
• Pinch to Zoom bug - wrong mouse location being picked up

Improvements

• We firstly improved the pinch to zoom speed on Make the Dot, to be slower at the lower % level and relatively faster (or remain the same) at higher % level so it's more intuitive to zooming speed at during the action
• The demo board when you first signup for Make the Dot has been updated with fabric cards
• Users can now select Artboard with keyboard shortcut (Command + Click (Mac) or Control + Click (Windows) to select and move the Artboard even when images cover the whole Artboard
• Use esc to deactivate all tools on tool bar
• New fabrics from Rex and Tannery loaded into the fabric library
• Images are auto-attached to Artboard when the Artboard is resized or when a card (image, color, fabric, AI cutout) is added to an area where there’s an artboard underneath
• The Artboard now has a grey line border, to make it easier to see

Bug Fixes

• Can now export Artboards from Make the Dot regardless of their size

New Features

🔮 AI-Cutout

Bringing magazine cutout to 2024 with the power of AI.

Remove the background of ANY image, simple or complex, to begin creating your collage

Unlike other generic background removal tools, which lets the machine 🤖 decides what the foreground/background is in a photo, our AI Cutout feature allows you to have that control. As a result, we're able to handle complex images with much more flexibility.

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Create silhouette masks by removing the foreground on images

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Select and cut out specific elements from an image, such as faces, hats, or bags

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Crop images to any shape or size

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🫰Object Snapping

A new way for cards to be lined up and snapped to other objects on the board.

Purple dotted lines help users align content on their board, allowing for faster organization.

🐞 Other bugs we squashed and changes

• Keyboard shortcuts for copy/paste logic from the clipboard - Where when a user selects a card or multiple cards, and then uses the keyboard shortcut Ctrl (Windows) / Command (Mac) + X, the selected card(s) would be deleted and copied to the clipboard. When they then use the Paste shortcut (Ctrl / Command + V), they can paste the card(s) from the clipboard

• UI enhancement on the fabric library to improve spacing between the buttons. giving a cleaner UI to users
• Extension improvements to stop it affecting content on other 3rd party websites
• 200 materials added from Rex and Tannery NYC leather providers
• We added upgrade option to Artboard for Start tier users
• Artboard is now no longer counted as a card towards the total card count
• Security upgrades to prevent mail snooping from makethedot.com email domain
• Fix UI text bug on Ipad that was showing the text size outside of the container
• Fixed a bug where the text card was being sent to the top left of the board when undoing spreadout
• Fixed a bug where clicking download single image button from floating menu does not open the upgrade popup for Starter tier users
• Updated the artboard menu UI to fix bugs and improve overall layout and readability
• Improved UI toolbar spacing + remove comment tool
• Bug fixed for users with cancelled subscriptions not being downgraded from Pro to basic
• Fixed a bug around spread out, so it is back fully working again
• Bug fix on crop floating menu on iPad, where the cropping on iPad, where if the user is cropping one of the images and then clicks on another card, they’re able to interact with the other card (e.g. open the Details popup) and the original image is still in crop mode
• Blocked keyboard shortcuts on the canvas when the following actions are taking place; fabric search, fabric record edit/creation page, color search + color name, board name, card details, share popup, zoom %, comment, password reset under Settings
• Bug to fix to allow users to deselect tools on the tool bar
• Bug to fix to allow cropped images that cannot be exported correctly on artboards

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It's been a few weeks since our last new major set of updates, but these in particular iPad users are gonna love.

We spent our energy building a bunch of new ways Make the Dot can be used and loved on iPad and tablets.

Let's check them out.

Long-press to start multi-selecting

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Click to drag and move around the canvas

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A button to scroll back to content

We also did a bunch of bug fixes and updates to make iPad usage even smoother and easier.

New Feature - Artboard

This week we released our brand new, and much-requested Artboard Feature - A way for you to segment and group content in multiple sizes and formats on your board, allowing you to cluster certain themes or elements in a clean, digestible manner, ready for export and assignment submission.

Features include:

1. A tool to help you organize and segment certain themes and elements quicker and easier on your board
2. A way for you to group your content into export-ready sizes like A4 or A3, so you can get to your output quicker and get your school assignment submitted faster
3. Artboard is a  better, cleaner way to visualize certain ideas and sections while you’re in your ideation process, giving you more headspace and idea clarity during your workflow
4. The fastest and easiest way to add structure to the content already on your board, while allowing you to add, delete and customize artboards, and export them as PDF or PNG.

You all requested this feature a lot!

So we're really excited to hear what you think of it, and to see some of your outputs using it!

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iPad and Tablet Improvements

• We fixed an error, where the iPad viewport would get shifted after switching apps and coming back to Make the Dot on the tablet's browser
• The toolbar and header were improved so that after opening export on iPad they now work correctly
• Your iPad board no longer turns blank when you switch tabs half way through the board loading
• Another toolbar and header improvement was to do with undoing the color card name change on iPad, which no longer affected the toolbar
• We improved the canvas view on the Canvas so that it cropped after changing the iPad orientation

Bug Fixes

• We’ve made a load more updates on text, including fixing the resize text mode, which previously got stuck, as well as overall fixing text usage on your tablet
• But we didn’t stop there with tablet improving the overall experience, including some of the most common usage bugs, getting eye dropper and text tool working again, and making sure flipping your board is smooth and easy
• Next, we solved an edge case, whereby the images you added using our Chrome Extension would not be added directly underneath your existing content
• We also improved inviting an editor to your board, which is now no longer case-specific
• We fixed some issues in our backend, so drop and-drop of cards are now updating our database
• Finally, we’ve measurement preferences visible again in the dropdown menu for on the settings console, saving your preferences for you
  

Improvements

• As we’re focusing on providing the best product for fashion schools, only fashion school email domains can sign up to experience our product, using the non-google sign-up flow
• We’ve improved the UI on the browser extension so that it’s easier to understand wether your extension is on or off

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Bug Fixes

• Saving GIFs to your board via the Chrome Extension is now fixed, and no longer corrupts the board
• We've fixed an issue on open and close pop-up, whereby the open & close share pop-up and then press & hold spacebar would open the pop-up again
• There was an occasional bug for changing the name on color cards that has now been fixed
• We've also fixed the Zoom to Fit function on public boards
• As well as details/ comments not closing when clicking panmode
• There was an issue where cards that we already selected would not highlight using Select All - this has been solved, as well as the rest of the Select All function
• Eyedropper now fully works again on resized images
• A few of you reported that there was some glitches on the text function, including the drawing selection - we've changed the way text cards are saved so this has now been resolved
• When on-boarding, if you'd complete the sign-up form and leave the page idle for 5min, there was an error message - this has been fixed
• Finally, you can now fully update your Make the Dot profile picture, if you've created your account using an email (rather than signing via your google account)

Improvements

• We've improved the UI copy on our main menu, to better address your workflow and pain points
• Last but not least, as we know a lot of you are using your board in mobile form we've improved the image upload function, so the flow is smoother and cleaner - allowing you to add content wherever you may be

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