PerfectTablePlan v6 progress
Thank you to everyone that took part in the survey in the last newsletter. We have been through all the responses and are taking them into account as we work on PerfectTablePlan v6.
We have made a fair amount of progress on v6 already. Below is a sneak preview of some of the new features we have been working on. The first 2 images are animated GIFs and may take a little while to load.
Multi-level undo/redo.
A wall/line drawing tool.
The ability to add/remove single seats to/from a table. We expect this to be particularly useful for large E-shaped tables.
The ability to remove all empty tables and seats in a single operation.
The ability to ask PerfectTablePlan to suggest the best person to place in a seat (according to their proximity settings). The suggestions are ranked according to how much they improve the overall seating score.
Group items in the Groups pane are now shown according to whether their members are assigned or locked. This is particularly useful for showing which groups have unassigned guests.
Serpentine tables have been added. They can be used together with banquet or custom tables to create a horseshoe-shaped table.
There is a new table layout tool that allows you to quickly create table layouts. You can specify aligned or offset grids in a range of ordering sequences.
The release is very much a work-in-progress, so none of these features are finalized yet. And there are lots of additional improvements on the way.
V6 upgrade FAQ
What other features do you plan to add?
It's a secret. Watch this newsletter for details.
Can I buy v6 now?
No. It isn't yet available to buy.
When will v6 be available?
Hopefully some time in Q3/Q4 this year. We make no promises. We aren't going to rush anything to meet an arbitrary deadline. It's ready, when its ready!
Will I be able to try v6 before then?
We plan to release a 'beta' version that newsletter subscribers with v5 licences can use free for a limited period. This will allow you to try out a fully functional v6 trial and also report any issues that need fixing. Watch this newsletter for details.
How much will it cost to upgrade?
If the v6 release date is 3 months or less after you purchased your licence, then you get it for free.
If the v6 release date is more than 3 months after you purchased your licence, then you get a 60% discount on the price of a new licence.
As with previous releases, we may give out some free upgrades to customers that find bugs in the beta release.
Do I have to upgrade?
No. If you have a valid licence for v5 or earlier, you can keep using PerfectTablePlan forever. But hopefully the many improvements will entice you to upgrade.
Payment processing change
We have done our online payment processing through Avangate for some years now. Avangate are in the process of merging with and renaming themselves to "2Checkout". So you will see that change reflected in our payment page in due course. It shouldn't affect us otherwise.
And finally...
We feel there just aren't enough tables plans in Hollywood blockbusters. Judging by the trailer, Oceans 8 might go some way to addressing that deficit.
Andy Brice
Oryx Digital Ltd
15-Jun-2018