RightBooth version 7.7.27 is released today.
The full list of new features and bug fixes is available here.
Watch this video for an explanation of the main new features:

​spacedesk is an amazing app.  It lets you use a tablet as an extended desktop to your main computer.  Then you can show and interact with RightBooth on the tablet.

Here's how:

• On your computer, visit the spacedesk download site:  https://www.spacedesk.net/#products and install the spacedesk driver software for Windows.
• On your tablet, visit the associated app store and install the spacedesk Viewer app.
• Make sure your PC and your tablet are both connected to the same local network, such as your home WiFi network or your own private router network.

Then:

• On the PC run the spacedesk Driver console app.
• On the tablet, run the spacedesk app.  You should then see your computer listed for selection. Select it.
• spacedesk will then connect your PC to your tablet and you will see your computer display duplicated on your tablet screen.
• On the PC you can then use the Windows Display settings to extend the Windows desktop onto your tablet screen.
• You can now run RightBooth and show/interact with it on the tablet.

Watch this video that demonstrates this setup:

RightBooth version 7.7.25 is now released, containing the following new features and bug fixes:

• Can now save preferred colors in the Screen Editor Color Palette by right clicking the mouse on any color box to allow storing the currently selected palette color within it
• Updated the DLLs used for creating video and image thumbnails
• Can now add multiple questions at the same time into the Event Designer Question grid
• Can now add all stamp items into webcam video recordings when they are used on any of the Record video/karaoke/answer screens. E.g text, image, button stamp items. Prior to this, only video stamp items could be added to webcam recordings.  See the video below.
• Stamp items will now be applied if they are placed lower in the Z order than the camera item
• Option to show a 'Wait' screen when switching between playing events that take a significant amount of time to open
• Option to define the 'behind event screen' color. This color might be shown during screen animations
• Allow multiple question rows to be selected in the event question grid, for moving or deleting the rows
• Fix: Prevent mouse clicks or touches from being accepted until an event is fully open and playing
• Fix: Ensure all event questions have a unique ID
• Fix: Event packages now correctly include all question and answer event screens
• Fix: Prevent a video enhancement segment from having the same start and stop value
• Fix: Prevent crash when building the media view item in sharing station events where thumbnails do not exist for video files
• Fix: Unable to register the RightBooth product code on some systems
• Fix: Crash when installing packages that include Question events
• Fix: Crash when the last question Branch is set to Next in a Question event
• Fix: Crash when printing to UNC defined networked printers on some computers

I was recently asked if it is possible to reduce the amount of time it takes for a recording event to process video files, which in turn allows you to have a greater throughput of users at the recording station.
This question seems particularly important when recording videos and then applying video enhancements, prior to showing them on a sharing station.

Let's consider recording videos using a wireless GoPro.  This is a typical workflow:

• Allow 2 instances of RightBooth to run on the same computer. Each instance has its own independent configuration and settings, allowing multiple event files to run simultaneously, ideally on an extended desktop with multiple touchscreens. Example:  
  • 2 recording events each with a different camera  or
  • 1 recording event + 1 sharing station event

Details - see Option 4 here

• New User input setting: 'Mouse as secondary input'. When playing events, this allows the mouse to be used as a User input method in addition to the chosen User input method
• Video conversion settings. Frame rate: Can now select any value up to 60 fps. Or leave the frame rate set at the original recorded value
• QR codes for videos and photos now link to a html wrapper file that includes a Download button for easier downloading of files on phones and tablets
• QR code and clock items can now be added to print layout designs
• Confetti overlay videos added to the Media Library

• Fix: Allow the main camera to return to showing the live preview after cancelling a playing event while a video recording is underway
• Fix: The multiple monitor feature now correctly positions event screens when the Windows Display scale is larger than 100%. e.g. as found on Surface tablets
• Fix: Video thumbnails are now displayed at the correct aspect ratio in the Sharing Station Media Browser item
• Fix: Unicode characters causing problems with QR code scanning and video enhancement when RightBooth is run with the French or Spanish language option
• New colour selector in the Screen editor
• Fix: Recording events containing video enhancements were not processing videos after recording countdown completed if the event was played after performing recording tests in settings
• Fix: GoPro recording events were incorrectly warning about the need for a webcam on computers that did not have any webcam connected
• Fix: Video enhancements not working consistently on non English Windows OS's (e.g. Spanish) or when the current Windows user name contains space characters
• Fix: Entering a new product code could incorrectly warn that the code was already in use

The chosen device can then be used to progress through the event screens and to make choices on various event screens.

Single keyboard key – Selecting this option will require users to interact with events by pressing a key on the computer keyboard. By default this key is set to be the keyboard spacebar, but this can be altered to another key from the Key list.  With this input mode you will need to give users access to the physical computer keyboard during events.

Key list – This setting lets you choose one keyboard key that can be used to control your events when the User input mode is set to Single keyboard key or USB button. By default the control key is set to be Space (i.e. the spacebar on your keyboard). Other valid keys you can use are the function keys 1 – 12, the Scroll Lock key or the Pause key. 

Multiple keyboard keys – When this option is chosen, then during the event each text prompt that accompanies a choice button will also be shown with the associated key required to select the option.  The keys that are associated with the various button actions are listed in the 'Action Key' table (see below).

USB button – Users will be prompted to ‘press button’ during events.  A USB button is an optional peripheral device that connects to your computer via a USB lead and it can be configured to send one or more specific keystrokes to the computer.  By doing this, your users would simply need to press the USB button in order to control the recordings and you can then hide your computer keyboard and mouse out of sight.  When using the ‘USB Button’ input mode, your USB button should be configured to send the keyboard key to the computer that matches the key you have selected in the Key list box (see earlier), which by default is the Space (spacebar).

USB buttons – Users will be prompted to ‘press button’ on various screens during the event.  This mode allows you to control RightBooth with a number of USB buttons attached to your computer. The USB buttons must be configured to send keyboard keys to the computer that match the keys listed in the Action key table.
Compatible, low cost USB buttons can be obtained here: www.usbbutton.com  Details on how to configure a USB button for sending keyboard characters to the computer are provided in the USB button user manual.  However, in order to configure a USB button so that it works with RightBooth, we have included a USB button configuration file (rightbooth.ubn) with our software. This file can be found in the RightBooth program installation folder and can be loaded into the USB Button Configuration utility available from www.usbbutton.com.

Mouse – Selecting this option will require users to interact with events using the computer mouse.

Touchscreen – Selecting this option will require users to interact with events using a touch screen monitor.  You can then hide your computer keyboard and mouse out of sight during events.

Latest video demonstrating the new photo post-processing features introduced in RightBooth version 7.7.10.

The latest version of RightBooth is now released and contains the following improvements:
​

• The app has been fully tested on Windows 11 and has been found to run without problems.
• Improvements have been made to allow for running RightBooth on newer Microsoft Surface graphics tablets.
• Added the 'MS touch keyboard' option in Settings --> User input, to allow you to optionally use the Microsoft touch keyboard in your events, rather than the RightBooth on-screen keyboard, when Windows is running in tablet mode.
• Added the Direct and Indirect webcam integration options to improve webcam compatibility on a wider range of  laptops and graphics tablets.  This setting can be found in Settings --> Cameras --> Webcam video.  Then click the button: Webcam integration and video recording tester
• Added new photo post-processing settings for Brightness, Contrast, Sharpen and Gamma.  These can be found in Settings --> Miscellaneous.  If selected, these settings will be automatically applied to all event photos taken with any camera that is being used. 
• Added new DSLR settings: Av and Tv.  These can be found in Settings --> Cameras --> DSLR.
• Improvements have been made when running RightBooth when Windows large font scaling is in use.  Improvements in the following areas:
  • User interface
  • Event screen layout created by the Event Wizard
  • Screen editor scroll bars now appear correctly
• If any sequence items (video, image or text) are showing files from a folder, they now watch the folder, looking for file changes and they will update their contents accordingly.
• Modifications have been made to the GoPro control interface to improve the Wifi connection reliability.
• Screen editor zooming and screen positioning has been improved
• Fix: Allow the Video Enhancement chromakey and segment settings to work on Windows OS languages where the ',' (comma) character is used to represent the decimal point.

Latest training video explaining how to make use of RightBooth screen animations in order to add animated transitions between your event screens:

Here is a flowchart showing the general process that RightBooth takes when recording videos using different camera types.  Note that the hour glass indicates where RightBooth will display the Busy event screen for the time taken to perform the associated task.

When you install RightBooth it also installs a Media Library.  Part of this includes the Print layout library which (starting with RightBooth version 7.7) contains a number of pre-designed layouts that you can use in your photo capture events.

There are two ways to choose a layout from the Print Layout Library:

1 Choose a Print Layout in the Event Wizard
You can create a new photo capture event by clicking the 'Create' button on the main RightBooth window and choosing 'Create a photo capture event'

You can then work your way through the Event Wizard and at the Printing stage you can choose to  include printing in your event and then browse the Print layout library for your preferred layout.

In this screenshot I have chosen to include printing by selecting 'Ask the user', then I clicked the 'Choose a photo print layout' button and I am browsing for a pre-made layout from within the library:

2 - Choose a Print Layout in the Screen Editor
If you have designed your photo capture event to include photo printing then you can access the event's current Print layout in the Screen Editor.

• From the RightBooth main screen, click 'Edit'
• In the Screen Editor choose 'Print layout' on the screen list to see the current layout being used in the event.
• On the Screen Editor Toolbox, click the 'Open' button to view, browse and select another Print layout to use in your event. In this screenshot I am choosing to replace the current print layout with one from the Birthday folder in the Layout library:

Version 7.7. of RightBooth is now released

It contains a lot of new features, improvements and bug fixes.

The main new feature is the ability to create Sharing Station events.
​Full details can be found here  

This training video shows you how:

Update: 26th May 2022
This article describes the use of the iriun webcam app, but since writing it,  DroidCam has been brought to my attention and in many ways it is more reliable and better performing than iriun. 
So when reading this article, also consider using DroidCam:  https://www.dev47apps.com/

Want to use an iPhone's camera as a wireless webcam input into RightBooth?
This article explains how.
Also note that this solution works with an iPad's camera, or any Android phone or Android tablet's camera.

Note: This is a great solution for wirelessly capturing photos and recording 'talking head' videos. It may not be ideal for fast motion video recording, such as that obtained from a 360 spinner booth.  See Suggestions to improve performance (below).
​
Note 2: If you are looking to record 360 (or fast motion) videos wirelessly in RightBooth, we recommend using a GoPro camera, because the videos are recorded on the camera prior to them being transferred over WiFi to RightBooth for video processing.

Setting Up

​Step 1

• ​Make sure your RightBooth computer and your mobile phone (or tablet) are both connected to the same WiFi network.  Note: you could use your own dedicated router to create your own private WiFi network. Alternatively, you can use any public WiFi network.

Step 2

• Visit https://www.iriun.com  and install the Webcam for Windows app on your RightBooth computer.

Step 3

• Download and install the Iriun Webcam app onto your mobile phone (or tablet).

This is available in both the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store.

Step 4

• Run the Webcam for Windows app on your computer
• Run the Iriun Webcam app on your mobile phone (or tablet).

The two apps will then connect automatically over your chosen WiFi network and you will see the live feed from the camera in the Webcam for Windows app. In this example I am using the camera on a Samsung Galaxy S6 mobile phone to feed into the Webcam for WIndows app:

Working in Portrait Mode
If you prefer to work in Portrait mode, there is an option to switch to Portrait in the  Iriun Webcam app Settings on your mobile phone. 
​You will then need to tick the 'Rotate 90' check box in RightBooth Webcam video settings.

Job done!
You can now capture high quality videos and photos in your RightBooth events, directly from your mobile phone (or tablet).
And because the camera input is treated as a webcam by RightBooth you can also make full use of all RightBooth's webcam features, including Snap Camera overlays, digital props, ink drawing, face detection, video enhancements and video augmentation.

Suggestions to Improve Performance
A number of users have reported that the video recording is not fluent when using iriun and that it can skip frames, especially when recording fast movement, such as that obtained on 360 spinner equipment.

If you are finding this happening, try the following:

• On both your computer and your phone, stop all other apps running that could be making use of the WiFi network.
• Reduce the chosen Video format size on the Webcam for Windows app.  Smaller size equals less processing time and less WiFi bandwidth requirements.
• Match the Video and Photo size in RightBooth to the one chosen in the Webcam for Windows app.
• Avoid using sizes higher than 1920x1080 for video recording.
• Try using a dedicated private WiFi network using your own router, with only your computer and phone connected, and position it in close proximity to your kit.
• Turn off the phone's mobile network.  The easiest way to do this is to remove the SIM card.
• Turn off the phone's Bluetooth and NFC.
• Contact the iriun developers to see if there is a newer version available or if they can  offer further advice.

RightBooth version 7.6.36 (or later) provides the new 'Access code' feature.  Here is a video tutorial showing how to make use of access codes in your events:

In addition to standard text, QR codes have evolved to encode text that has special meanings to QR code scanner apps. When a QR code scanner detects a special encoding it can then instruct your device (e.g. mobile phone) to perform an associated action or run an associated app.  Examples of special QR codes include Skype codes, email codes, URLs and WhatsApp messages.

In this article we are going to consider WiFi QR codes and how to add them onto your RightBooth event screens. Then, when scanned, the code will allow your event users to connect to a WiFi network of your choice without them having to manually select the network or enter the required WiFi password. 

Step 1 - Create a WiFi QR Code Image
RightBooth has a feature that lets you show QR codes on your event screens but it currently doesn't provide the ability to generate WiFi QR codes.  However, there are a number of apps online that can generate WiFi QR code images for you free of charge.  The one I am using for this article is the JS WiFi Code Generator which can be found here:  https://qifi.org/

At this website, simply enter the SSID, Encryption method and Key (password) for your WiFi router.  In this example, I am creating a WiFi QR code for my TP-Link N600 router which uses the WPA2 encryption method:

When you have entered your WiFi details, click the 'Generate' button, then click 'Export' to download the generated QR image to your PC...

By default your browser will download your QR code image into your Downloads folder, so make sure you move it to somewhere more permanent such as your Pictures folder.

Step 2 - Add the QR Code Image onto your RightBooth Event screen

• Run RightBooth and go to the Screen Editor.
• Choose the screen where you would like your QR code image to appear.
• On the Screen Editor Toolbox, click the  'Add items' checkbox
• On the Add Items toolbox, click 'Image'
• On the Image Library panel, click 'More images'
• Browse to the folder containing your downloaded QR code image
• Select the image and click 'Open' to add the QR code onto your event screen

In this screenshot I am adding the TP-Link QR code image from my Pictures folder onto the 'Show photo' screen:

Step 3 - Add a white border to the QR code image
This is required to help improve the ability for QR code scanner apps to detect the QR code.

• On the event screen, click the QR code image to select it.
• On the Editor Toolbox, click the 'Properties checkbox
• On the Image properties toolbox, tick the Border checkbox, then set the border width to 16 pixels and change the Border color to White.

Notice in this screenshot I have also added a label item prompting the user to scan the code to join the WiFi network:

Job done!
Now when the QR code appears on your event screen, users can scan the code using the QR code scanner on their WiFi enabled device (e.g. mobile phone) to join your WiFi network.

So you want your RightBooth users to enter one or more coins into a coin acceptor before they are allowed to use your event. 

What you need to do is to find a coin acceptor solution that can generate and send a chosen keystroke into the Windows keyboard input subsystem, usually via USB keyboard emulation.  With this solution, the keystroke will be sent each time a predefined coin (or combination of coins) are inserted into the coin acceptor.

There are many coin and bill acceptors available, but most of them require additional hardware to allow you to connect them to the PC and generate keystrokes.  However, there are ready made solutions available where others have done the heavy hardware lifting for you, such as this product:

Or if you are feeling more adventurous, you could experiment with solutions like this:

www.casino-software.de/cash-interface2_e.htm#keystroke

or this:

jukeblaster.com/coinkit.html

​
So once you have your coin acceptor working and connected to the PC, here is the change you need to make in RightBooth:

• From the RightBooth main screen, click the Design button.
• On the Event Designer, choose the Event structure tab.
• On the Start section, tick Move on from the Start screen after keyboard key press
• Enter the key that your coin acceptor is generating.  In this example we have chosen key 'A':

Now when you play the event, RightBooth will wait at the Start screen until a coin is inserted into the coin acceptor, at which point it will progress to the next screen in your event, allowing the user to access your event features.  And at the end of each user session, RightBooth will return to showing the Start screen, waiting for the next user to enter a coin into the coin acceptor.

IMPORTANT.  You will need to be using RightBooth version 7.6.28 (or newer) in order to implement the solution described in this article.

I had an interesting email chat with one of my RightBooth users about the consistency of the Voice Recognition feature.  He was simply wanting his event users to say the word 'cheese' in order to trigger the taking of a photo.

So he created a photo capture event and on his event Start screen he added the word 'cheese' as a label item having the action 'Next screen', and then he turned on the Voice Recognition feature.

But when playing the event he was finding that the spoken word 'cheese' was not always being recognised as such, and this led to our email chat.

On testing this myself, I discovered that when speaking the word 'cheese', the recognition engine was occasionally (and incorrectly) recognising my spoken word as one of the following similar sounding words:

• trees
• he's
• she's
• jeez

Now this recognition inconsistency is actually inherent in the Microsoft Voice Recognition system and it makes RightBooth appear to ignore quite a few spoken words.

So here is my suggestion to improve the reliability:

• On the Event Start screen, add a label item and enter the word 'cheese' AND all the similar sounding words that the engine incorrectly recognises. 
• Note that you must add each word on a separate line in the label item (see image below). 
  
• Set the label item's click action as 'Next screen'.
• Finally, move the label item off the edge of the screen so that it isn't visible to the user when the event plays, like this...