Latest iPool Features (Archive)

Version 3.5

In this new version of iPool you will discover many new and well-thought-out features that are especially useful in perfecting the way you prepare and distribute your newsletters.

E-Mails with Graphic Elements

Quickly and easily send attractive newsletters to your media and business partners.

From now on you can use iPool to integrate graphic elements, such as logos, cover artwork, headlines and key facts, in your newsletters. Here’s the best part: Normally, designing a professional HTML newsletter that is compatible with all major e-mail programs is the sort of highly time-consuming task that takes days for even the savviest web designer to get done. Now iPool does all this work for you, given that the newsletter layout has been thoroughly tested using all the major e-mail programs. You can be absolutely certain that your newsletter will look perfect every time your recipients open it.

Duplicate E-Mail Templates

Effortlessly duplicate existing e-mail templates.

This feature is especially useful for creating a new e-mail template on the basis of an existing template. All you do is first duplicate an existing e-mail template and then simply edit the copied version.

Preview Function for Sending E-Mails

See how your newsletter will look to your recipients before you do a mailing.

iPool already replaces placeholders such as #artist#, #title# and others with the actual values or appropriate sample values.

Other Improvements

From now on, your releases are preset to be displayed sorted by release date. This makes it easier than ever for you as the administrator to control the order of the displayed releases.
Now you can simply drag and drop your audio files into the iPool Watermark Container to prepare them for watermark-protected delivery.
And, we have again improved iPool’s stability and speed.

Version 3.4

Automatic ID3 Tags for MP3 Files

Make it easier for your recipients to organize their music collections.

iPool now automatically integrates all the important meta data of a track as an ID3 tag into each downloaded MP3 file. With no additional effort, each MP3 file now contains all relevant meta data, such as the artist, title, cover image, ISRC and much more.

This new feature lets your media and business partners organize and find your music in the media player much more quickly. Additionally, your MP3s will be shown using their cover images in many media players, Windows Explorer and the Mac OS X Finder. Another benefit: You can save a lot of valuable time now that you do not have to go through the effort of creating ID3 tags yourself.

Enhanced Protection against Hacker Attacks

No need to worry.

iPool has always offered you a high degree of security. Now this new version protects your data even more effectively thanks to these two additional security features:

iPool now actively defends against brute force attacks. A brute force attack is a malicious attempt by someone using a computer program to gain access to your iPool by trying thousands of different user names and passwords. iPool now recognizes these attacks and automatically and immediately blocks the attacker’s IP address for a given period of time.
The login reminder now checks requests to ensure that they originate from a real person. iPool successfully wards off automated requests from computer programs.

Import and Export Releases

Seamlessly integrate iPool into your existing IT infrastructure.

Are you managing your music catalog in some different software? A new and ingenious import function now gives you a means of rapidly and directly importing your existing music catalog into iPool. In the process, iPool imports audio files, cover images and all meta data in iPool XML standard.

Or you can simply manage your music catalog efficiently in iPool. And should you want to use your iPool data in other programs, you can now export individual releases or even your entire music catalog in iPool XML standard any time you like.

Other Improvements

You recipients can now preview releases with multiple tracks with just one click of the mouse.
Starting now, iPool can also generate preview tracks in full length.
Recipients can directly change their password any time they choose and without you as administrator having to confirm this update.
Stylish icons are now used in the system overview to show the monthly traffic, watermark allowance and how much storage space is currently being used.
Now it is easier for your media and business partners to find and understand the automatic podcast download function. We have given the menu item a new name and moved it to a more prominent position.

New in October 2009

Enable Additional Download Attempts

Now you can easily authorize and enable additional download attempts.

You can restrict the number of download attempts per track and recipient as needed. In this case, a recipient will be unable to download a track an unlimited number of times, but instead only as often as you specify. Once a recipient has used up all his download attempts for a given track, then it will not be possible to make further downloads of that track until you take further action. Starting right now you can authorize and enable additional download attempts for specific users and tracks as needed.

Administration Log

Make teamwork even easier.

iPool now maintains a record of all changes made by content and system administrators. You will be able to view these changes in the Administration Log. This feature will help you understand and track not only which data your colleagues changed in your iPool, but also when they did it.

New in July 2009

Export Download Logs

Starting now you can export the download log as a CSV file so that you can conveniently use it in different software.

You can use this feature to export the entire download log. Additionally, you can also export the download log for a specific release.

Even More Information in the Download Log

The download log now gives you even more information about your iPool downloads.

It includes the added columns ”Company Name”, ”Last Name” and ”First Name”. You can also specify the columns that content administrators are allowed to see in the download log. System administrators may view all columns at all times.

Features Since May 2009

Current Usage Always Under Control

Starting now you can check your latest usage status in the "Current Usage" box right after you log in as a system administrator. Not only does iPool show how much traffic there has been thus far, but the latest number of MP3 downloads with watermarks for the current month as well. This feature lets you keep an even closer watch on your usage to date. In addition to all that, iPool also shows you an estimate of the traffic and the MP3 downloads with watermarks for the month as a whole. From now on a warning will appear if you exceed your allowance or if iPool projects that your current rate of usage will exceed your monthly allowance.

Unmistakable Passwords

iPool now generates random user passwords that contain no easily confused characters (such as the number "0" that looks almost identical to the capital letter "O"). Now there is even less of a risk that recipients will type in the wrong characters when entering their passwords and be unable to log in.

Expanded Users and Applicants Overview

On the right side of the applicants overview ("Applicants > View") you will now find a column selection box like those that you are already familiar with on other iPool pages. This selection box lets you customize the displayed columns of the applicants overview as you would like. Along with that you can now select numerous additional columns within the overview.

Improvements for Your Media and Business Partners

Not only can your recipients now see the total length of a release below a track listing, they can also sort the releases by release date.

Perfected Login Function

Occasionally extra spaces can get added when recipients copy their user names or passwords from an e-mail and paste them into the login box. In the past this has led to an unsuccessful login. Now, however, iPool automatically identifies and eliminates any leading and trailing spaces.

Features Since March 2009

Download All Tracks with One Mouse Click

From now on your recipients can download all the tracks of a release as a ZIP file with one mouse click. The really clever part of this is how iPool generates the ZIP file “on the fly” during the transmission, which means it consumes no additional storage space.

New Features for Applications

Now you can also export the contact data of your applicants so that you can work with the data in a different program or software. Moreover, you can now also delete an application without iPool informing the applicant.

Track Index in File Name

The file names of audio files now include a track index. This makes it easier for your recipients to play the tracks of an album in the correct order.

Display of File Sizes for High-Resolution Cover Images

iPool now also shows your media and business partners the file sizes of any high-resolution cover images.

Enhanced Download Log

The download log now includes an additional column that shows you the type of each download that was made: Via the browser (as a single track), via browser (all tracks in a ZIP archive), or as a podcast. What’s more, the download log now has a column selection box that you can use to indicate which columns you want displayed in the download log.

Download Link Inactive after One Click

A download link will become inactive immediately when clicked by the recipient. This prevents the same download from being started twice (for example by double-clicking the download link).

New Features Info Box

Whenever you log in, the "New Features" info box will let you know about any recently added functions that are now available in iPool. Entries will disappear from this box automatically after two weeks.