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Sparkbooth Photo Booth Software News

This update includes:

  • Fix watermark on preview for layout selection
  • Switch off click/touch to start, if start button is displayed
  • Option to select layout with ctrl-J or cmd-J

The previous changes and features for Sparkbooth 3:

  • Added SendGrid to email photos to users. Select this option in Uploaders settings.
  • Added Postmarkapp.com to email photos to users. Select this option in Uploaders settings.
  • Added option to submit emails to MailChimp mailing lists. To turn on this option, go to Settings, select Option tab, select Saving from list and check the "Submit Email to MailChimp Mailing List" option. You will need to also select the Prompt for email option.
  • New touch screen controls. To enable, go to Settings > Options tab > User Controls.
  • New on-screen keyboard used for user prompts.
  • New on-screen photo layout selection and layout preview, so your users can now select the layout to use. Only layouts marked as "Favorite" will be displayed.
  • New on-screen color button so your users can change video filters.
  • New on-screen start button as an alternative to the "Click to start" option.
  • Option to always hide mouse cursor. Useful for touch screen users.
  • Enable Facebook page albums selection.
  • Fixed missing "z" key from on-screen keyboard.
  • Fixed Posterous and SmugMug uploader issues.
  • Other minor fixes

This preview does not include the Canon camera or the native webcam features. These are still under development, but feel free to email me if you want to try it. If you want to use your Canon camera, please read the instructions carefully to get access.

You can use your Sparkbooth license to activate this preview. If you have a Sparkbooth Party Edition license, I will be offering an upgrade to Sparkbooth which will allow you to get Sparkbooth 3. Details coming soon, or please email me if you can't wait.


There is a Windows issue where if you change the username and/or password on your computer, the license component will not be able to access the license data and Sparkbooth will get stuck on start up. This maintenance update will reset license data so it can start up correctly, but you will need to re-activate your license. Please update if you are experiencing this issue.

You can download the latest version from the download page.


Goodbye Adobe InMarket! I would like to thank Adobe for letting me into their beta program 3 years ago for Adobe InMarket. Without Adobe InMarket, Sparkbooth would not have existed. Thanks again, I am sorry to see you guys go - it was great working with all of you.

Sparkbooth's new online store is now open for business. You can now purchase your Sparkbooth licenses directly from me via PayPal or credit card.


Sparkbooth has been updated to use a new licensing system outside of Adobe InMarket. You will be able to purchase and activate installs of Sparkbooth software beyond the close date of Adobe InMarket using the new version of the software.

Everyone who purchased the software through Adobe InMarket will receive license keys for the new version of the software. Emails have been sent out if you purchase the software with details. If you purchased Sparkbooth within the past week through Adobe InMarket, you will receive the email in the next few days.

Any Sparkbooth software that is already installed and activated will continue to run and operating past the closure of Adobe InMarket. So there is no need to update your existing installs.

You only need to use the new version of Sparkbooth if you need to reinstall or update the software on the same computer, or install on a new computer after August 31, 2011.

If you have any questions, please contact me.


Here is an update for the Sparkbooth 3 preview. Changes include:

  • Added option to submit emails to MailChimp mailing lists. To turn on this option, go to Settings, select Option tab, select Saving from list and check the "Submit Email to MailChimp Mailing List" option. You will need to also select the Prompt for email option.
  • Fixed missing "z" key from on-screen keyboard
  • Fixed Posterous and SmugMug uploader issues


I have recently learned Adobe InMarket is shutting down on August 31, 2011. As a result, Sparkbooth will no longer be sold through Adobe after the end of August. According to Adobe:

If users have installed and paid for your application before August 31, 2011, then these users can continue to use the application even after the Adobe AIR Marketplace is shut down. If your application was using try and buy, then applications can be tried or purchased on or before August 31, 2011. Applications cannot be purchased after August 31, 2011.

If you purchased Sparkbooth, it will continue to run after August 31, 2011. Sparkbooth will be migrated to a new purchase and licensing system before this deadline. When the migration is complete, everyone who has purchased Sparkbooth and Sparkbooth Party Edition will be emailed new license keys to use with the new license system.

One benefit of the new licensing system is I can now provide upgrade pricing. Everyone who purchased Sparkbooth Party Edition on or after November 1, 2010 will be automatically upgraded to Sparkbooth 3. Everyone who purchased Sparkbooth Party Edition before November 2010 will have an upgrade path available. Details to come, so please stay tuned.


The preview of Sparkbooth 3 is now avaialble for download. New features in this version include:

  • Enable Facebook page album selection
  • Added SendGrid to email photos to users. Select this option in Uploaders settings.
  • Postmarkapp.com to email photos to users. Select this option in Uploaders settings.
  • New touch screen controls. To enable, go to Settings > Options tab > User Controls.
  • New on-screen keyboard used for user prompts.
  • New on-screen photo layout selection and layout preview, so your users can now select the layout to use. Only layouts marked as "Favorite" will be displayed.
  • New on-screen color button so your users can change video filters
  • New on-screen start button as an alternative to the "Click to start" option
  • Option to always hide mouse cursor. Useful for touch screen users.

The new touch screen features work great with computers like the HP TouchSmart series. If you don't have a touch screen computer, the new features also work with a mouse.

This preview does not include the Canon camera or the native webcam features. These are still under development.


Sparkbooth 2.6.3 and PE 2.5.3 are now available. This is just an administrative update to change the developer name to "JWP, LLC". There are no fixes or changes in this update, so it is not critical to download this update.


Changes for this update include:

  • Add setting to use default camera only. Some Dell computers with an internal Quanta webcam have a bad driver that is not compatible with Sparkbooth and will cause the error "Sparkbooth.exe has stopped working". You can use an external USB webcam instead, but need to disable the Quanta webcam from the computer's Device Manager and enable "Use Default Camera Only" in Sparkbooth Settings > Options tab > Other from list.
  • Fixed ctrl+L lock so password dialog does not add character on display.
  • Lock is not enabled on start up anymore if lock feature is turned on. You will need to press ctrl+L to enable.
  • Other optimizations and fixes.

To update, click on "Check for Updates" in the Sparkbooth About screen.


Maintenance update is now available for download. Changes include:

  • Fix saving of "Hide Buttons" settings
  • Photo layout backgrounds and overlay images are now cached. So you no longer need to keep the image file in the same location from where they were selected.
  • When selecting a save folder, Sparkbooth now verifies that it can save photos
  • New control skins

To update, please click the "Check for Updates" link in Sparkbooth About dialog.