What's New

New updates and improvements to Make the Dot.
AI-cutout

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.

Crop mask silhouette of image

Create silhouette masks by removing the foreground on images

AI Cutout background

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

Crop certain areas of i

Crop images to any shape or size

Crop image to any shape or size

🫰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.

object alignment

🐞 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
  • Updated pricing plan copy Pricing plan copy needs updating:1. 3000 fabrics instead of 10002. Save to Make the Dot browser extension3. 3 Credits for AI Cutout4. Personal fabric library5. High definition artboard exports6. :crystal_ball::sparkles: AI Cutout

Ipad Enhancements

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

Click to drag and move around the canvas

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.

Artboard and iPad Improvements

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!

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 and Improvements - Text and Tablet

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

Before

After


Bug Fixes and Improvements

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

Bug Fixes

Bug Fixes

  • Zoom to Fit is now working on public boards either from the zoom menu or via keyboard shortcut Command / Control + 0
  • After opening and closing the Share popup, you can pan the canvas by holding down the spacebar on your keyboard
  • Eyedropper is now working on resized images
  • Undo/redoing color updates including changing either the color or the color name is working correctly now
  • Fixed a bug where some cards have been selected on the board and pressing Command / Control + A to select all didn't select everything on the board
  • When you have the Card Details or Comments opened and then proceed to hold down spacebar or mousewheel to pan the canvas, the Card Details or Comments would automatically close
  • The sign up onboarding form has now been improved where the Continue button is greyed out after clicking on it to prevent running into signup errors
  • Changing profile pictures for email/password accounts is now working correctly
  • After turning on the Text tool, we have now disabled clicking and drawing selection box to prevent error scenarios from happening. To create a new text, simply click anywhere on the canvas to start typing
  • Fixed a bug where the above error scenario used to happen, the newly saved text would shift in position
  • Fixed a bug to prevent accidental highlights across elements on the toolbars
  • Fixed a bug where when you create a text if you scroll elsewhere on the canvas, the text would vanish
  • Fixed a bug where after saving the first text, it would be unresponsive when you click on Text tool again to create the 2nd text
Fabric Library

This week we released a brand new fabric library - allowing you to look for supplier's fabrics, manage your own as well as add them to your board.

Features include:

  1. 1000+ built-in supplier fabrics - With over 160+ fabric types and 35+ pattern types for you to choose from. All fabrics are delivered to the US. Deadstock and recycled fabrics available.
  2. Buy direct or contact the supplier - We have listed the supplier's name and specific product website for you to directly buy from. Want to ask them questions? There's a Contact Supplier function right within the app.
  3. Filter, Sort & Search - Easily find what you're looking for using our filter, sort and search functions.
  4. Mange your own fabrics - For Pro members, you can member your own fabrics under your library.
  5. Use supplier's fabrics as a template - For Pro members, you can save the supplier fabrics you like to your own library. You can also use it as a template to build your own library.
Fabric library on Make the Dot
Auto Image Highlight from 'Save to Make the Dot'

Auto Image Highlight from 'Save to Make the Dot'

Image highlight via Save to Make the Dot

Today we released a new UX improvement to help you instantly find any images that you save via our Chrome Extension Save to Make the Dot.

Instead of sending the extension images to the same location on the board every time, they will now be placed underneath your existing cards on the board. Regardless of whether you have your board open when you're using the extension, new images will be highlighted and zoomed so it will be hassle-free when you use them to build your board. You've seen the highlight and no longer want it visible? Just click anywhere on the canvas and it will be gone.

Other bug fixes:

  • Copying and pasting email addresses to the Share popup is now working normally for inviting editors to the board
  • When using the Chrome extension, right-clicking on an image to 'Save to Make the Dot' is now correcting adding it to the extension panel
18 Little Big Updates

18 Little Big Updates

This week, we have just released a series of new updates - many of which were feature / design suggestions from you 💜

1. Card Rotation

Rotate images, colors and texts

Card Rotation

2. Multi-card resizing

All card types would resize proportionally. For text, the font size changes as you do multi-resize.

Multi-card resizing

3. Copy from any website, paste to upload

You can copy either text or image from any website, paste in Make the Dot to create a card

Copy from any website, paste to upload

4. Copy and paste across boards

Copy 1 or many cards from one board to another - across all card types with the layout retained

Copy and paste across boards

5. Keyboard Shortcuts ⌨️

On top of the existing copy/paste/duplicate and undo/redo shortcuts, we’ve added the followings:

  • Turn Text tool on/off
  • Turn Eyedropper on/off
  • Zoom to fitUp / down key to move card
  • Select all
  • Bring to front
  • Bring Forward
  • Send to Back
  • Send Backward
  • Hold shift to proportionally resize color cards
  • Holding Command/Ctrl to open board or main menu in new page

Full list of keyboard shortcuts can be found here.

6. Improvements 🎁

  • UX update: duplicated cards now appear slightly to the bottom right of the original cards, so you can tell that it’s been copied
  • UX update: when you activate Move, you can pan the canvas without accidentally dragging any of the images
  • UX update: we would automatically calculate the width of the selection frame for text. Text editor also comes with a predefined line break, so when you’re copying a large text, it’ll be easier to read the pasted text
  • Fix: copy Pantone code to color name
  • Fix: browser extension display issue on external websites
  • New loading animations

7. Changes to the Pro✨ Plan

  1. We’ve added a higher quality export level for Pro plan users and now exports from the free plan accounts will contain a watermark
  2. The image download feature is now a Pro Plan feature
  3. For new users, the card limit will be 60 cards. There are no changes to existing users' card limits.
Make the Dot Pro

Note: While GIF files are supported, we will no longer support webp fomat files.

Sleep Mode

This week, we have just released a new Sleep Mode on the browser extension for you to control the display of the Save Button that appears on top of images. This would be handy when you're not actively doing research.

Sleep Mode on Save to Make the Dot chrome extension

When the Save Button is hidden, the extension will still be installed and you can still save images by right-clicking on an image to add it to the panel or use the Save in Bulk option.

We have also improved the extension installation experience.

Save to Make the Dot - Sleep Mode Demo