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Portable Applications (Portable Apps) & USB AutoRun Creator

A menu interface for portable applications (portable apps)

Portable applications – also called portable apps – are small programs that do not require an installation in a computer before they are run; instead they are run directly from a removable drive, for example a USB flash drive. A portable application is usually a utility program, for example a text editor, email client, web browser, antivirus software, backup software, system tool etc, but can also be a game or something else.

One of the biggest advantages using portable apps is that the system itself (for example the Windows Registry) is not affected. All settings are stored in a local folder on the storage device, although there sometimes can be exceptions from this behaviour and some settings can be stored on the computer’s hard disk.

AutoRun menu for your portable applications
If you use our AutoRun tool USB AutoRun Creator in concert with our menu designer tool CD-Menu Creator you can create a menu interface for your portable applications that is automatically opened when the USB stick is inserted into a computer’s USB port – a so called AutoRun menu. This menu interface lets you quickly and easily start a portable app with just one mouse click. The picture in the top of this blog post shows how a menu interface for portable applications can look like. If you press on one of the buttons in the menu, the portable program is launched immediately.

More information
If you want to read more about USB AutoRun Creator, CD-Menu Creator and portable applications, click on the link below:

> Using Portable Applications with USB AutoRun Creator

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The Comeback of AutoRun for USB Flash Drives

(This is SamLogic’s official press release for USB AutoRun Creator)

SamLogic Software has released SamLogic USB AutoRun Creator, a Windows application that lets software publishers add AutoRun functionality to USB flash drives. With USB AutoRun Creator, USB drives can automatically start and launch programs, or automatically open Excel spreadsheets, PDF documents, Adobe Flash animations and other files. USB AutoRun Creator lets software publishers distribute portable programs on a USB flash drive. In addition, software publishers can distribute program updates and upgrades to their customers using USB flash drives, with automatic installation and maximum convenience.

Last year Microsoft removed AutoRun support from the Windows operating system because allowing widespread AutoRun support posed a security risk. SamLogic Software found a way to support AutoRun processing without the security risks. USB AutoRun Creator is not designed for a one-time distribution of information on a USB stick. Rather, it is designed for companies that have an ongoing need to distribute information via USB stick to customers, colleagues, and other stakeholders.

The first time you send a USB stick, your user will have the option to install a small program onto their computer which recognizes USB flash drives distributed by you. After that, the AutoRun feature will only work for files that are created with the USB AutoRun Creator software, and that are distributed on USB drives created by the software. Any attempts by third parties to modify the programs or files on the USB stick will result in the AutoRun process being thwarted. This emphasis on security allows business people to distribute information to stakeholders with the confidence that it cannot be hijacked or infected by malware.

If no data needs to be written to the USB stick, you can increase the security level even more by distributing write-protected USB sticks to your stakeholders. A write-protected USB stick will be read-only, just as CDs and DVDs are read-only.

USB AutoRun Creator is ideal for distributing sales presentations, media-rich reports, vendor price lists, software updates, and any information that needs to be distributed reliably and conveniently. Business people who require a professionally-designed menu system for their AutoRun distribution can use USB AutoRun Creator in concert with SamLogic CD Menu Creator.

SamLogic USB AutoRun Creator runs under the 32-bit and 64-bit versions of Windows 7, Vista, and XP. Two versions of the product are available: one version is adapted for use in small offices and it cost $49. The other version is adapted for commercial use and it cost $99.

For additional information, contact:
SamLogic Software, Box 102, 135 23 Tyreso, Sweden
Phone: +46 8 531 83 900
Email: support@samlogic.com
Internet: www.samlogic.net

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Responsive Email Newsletter Design

Responsive Web Design (RWD) is something that have attracted much attention over the past year, and we at SamLogic Software sometimes get this question from our MultiMailer users: can I implement responsive design also on an email newsletter? The answer is: yes, it is possible.

Responsive Web Design
Responsive Web Design is normally used on web pages that need to be adapted to very different displays widths; for example the display width of a mobile phone / smartphone, the display width of a tablet (like iPad) and the display width of computer’s screen (that can be very wide today). By implementing responsive web design on the web page, the same version of the web page can be used on all displays. There is no need to create different web pages for different display widths.

Responsive Email Newsletter Design
Same techniques that are used on web pages can also be used with email newsletters. If you are familiar with HTML and CSS then maybe you are familiar with the media query rule (@media). By using this rule you can create a responsive web page and HTML newsletter. More information about responsive email newsletter design and the media query rule is available in this article on our web site:

> Adapt a Newsletter for Different Display Width (Mobile Phone etc.)

If you are not familiar with the media query rule, you will find links to pages with more information in the article.

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Free Email Newsletter Templates

There are many web sites on the Internet that offer free email newsletter templates. The templates can be used for email marketing / email campaigns, or for other purposes. A big advantage of using a ready-made newsletter template is that you will save much time. You don’t need to create a complete newsletter from scratch; you only need to make the changes that are unique for your company, for example adding your company’s logotype. Or maybe adjusting some colors or font sizes in the template.

HTML templates
The templates are mostly created with HTML, but plain text templates are also available. HTML templates are preferable for newsletters because they allow you to include images, colors, different fonts etc. If design is important for you, you should choose an HTML template for your newsletter.

Web sites with free email newsletter templates
If you need to find a well-designed email template you should read this article on our web site:

> Free Newsletter Templates for Email Marketing

There we list some good web sites that offer free email newsletter templates. The web sites also sell newsletter templates, but the price is generally quite low. Some of the web sites also offer to design a tailor-made template just for you or your company.

Compatible with our email software MultiMailer
The newsletter templates on the web sites that we list in the article are compatible with our email software MultiMailer. So if you are a MultiMailer user, you can download the email templates and use them directly in the program.

Compatible with Microsoft Outlook etc.
The newsletter templates are also compatible, and can be edited, with email clients like Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes. Some of the templates can also be edited with Adobe Photoshop. And if you are a web designer and have installed software like Adobe Dreamweaver or Microsoft Expression Web, they can be edited also with these programs. Technically, an HTML newsletter template is just an HTML web page.

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What is the open rate for my newsletter?

In our e-mail tool MultiMailer 2012 it is possible to see the open rate for a newsletter (or another type of e-mail) that has been sent to the contacts in your mailing list / contact list. An open rate is the number of contacts that open the e-mail compared with the number of e-mails that were sent, and is often expressed as a percentage.

In MultiMailer 2012 you can also view information about your newsletter’s click-through rate (CTR). The click-through rate (also called click rate) is the number of recipients who clicked on one or more links in the e-mail compared with the number of opened e-mails. Also this is often expressed as a percentage.

Open rate and click-through rate reported in various ways
The open rate and click-through rate for newsletters are reported in various ways in MultiMailer. You can for example view the information in graphical charts (diagrams) in the program or let the program create a detailed report for you, which can be viewed in for example Microsoft Excel.

Video tip – What is the open rate for my newsletter?
In this short video tip we will show how to use the chart functions in MultiMailer to view information about open and click-through rates. The tip video also shows how to compare different e-mail deliveries with each other, so you can compare the number of opens and clicks between different mailings.

The video is best viewed in a quality of 480p. You can change the quality of the video by clicking on the symbol shown to the right in the video window (when video is playing). You can also view the video directly on YouTube.

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SamLogic Software on YouTube

SamLogic Software is also present on YouTube. There we have a video channel that contains tip videos, and other types of videos, about our software and related topics.

Below you will find links to some of the videos we have on YouTube:

CD-Menu Creator
> CD-Menu Creator – Step-by-Step (part 1) – How to create a basic menu
> CD-Menu Creator – Step-by-Step (part 2) – How to create a basic menu
> Learn CD-Menu Creator – Add a PDF document to a button in an autorun menu
> Learn CD-Menu Creator – Specify a unique text color for one button in a menu

MultiMailer
> Learn MultiMailer: Send your first e-mail newsletter
> Learn MultiMailer: Newsletter Wizard
> Learn MultiMailer: How to add an attachment to a newsletter
> Learn MultiMailer: How to add a contact to the mailing list

More videos
Visit SamLogic Software’s video channel to view more videos!

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How to design a newsletter for a smartphone

Many people use a smartphone (an advanced mobile phone) to read their email newsletters nowadays. A smartphone of the latest model is so advanced that it can be regarded as small computer. This means that they can run quite advanced software, for example a feature-rich e-mail client, with almost same capabilities as an e-mail client that is run in a large desktop computer.

One important difference
But there is one difference that is important to consider when designing a newsletter that may be read in a smartphone; it’s the fact that the display in a smartphone is much narrower than a computer’s screen.

Do I need to design my newsletter for a smartphone?
As a first step, you should test your newsletter in a smartphone. How does it look like? Some email newsletters may already look good in a smartphone, but some does not. If you are not satisfied with how your newsletter looks in a smartphone, you should consider doing one of these four things:

  • Add a link in the top of your newsletter that opens a smartphone-friendly edition of your newsletter.
  • Ask the recipient how he/she prefers to read the newsletter (in a smartphone or in a desktop computer) and use two email delivery lists.
  • Design a newsletter that look good in both a smartphone and desktop computer.
  • Add a script in the HTML that adapts the newsletter to a smartphone or desktop computer.

Read our article
In this article on our website we will describe the four options above in more detail:
> How to Create a Newsletter for a Mobile Phone & Smartphone

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MultiMailer 2012: Facebook, Twitter & Google+ in your Newsletter

In MultiMailer 2012 you can add clickable ready-to-use logotypes for Facebook, Twitter and Google+ (Google plus) to your e-mail newsletter. When a newsletter reader clicks on the logotype, the corresponding page on Facebook, Twitter or Google+ is opened in his/her web browser.

Easy to add via MultiMailer’s Newsletter Wizard
You can use the newsletter wizard in MultiMailer to add social media logotypes to your newsletter. The logotypes are placed in the bottom right of your newsletter. You can choose which social media you want to support. Currently logotypes for Facebook, Twitter and Google+ are included in the newsletter wizard, but we will add more in the near future.

Who clicks on the social media logotypes in your newsletter?
In MultiMailer 2012 you can see who of your contacts that clicks on which logotype in your newsletter. So you will always know who visits your social media pages via the newsletter.

More information
You can read more about the social media functions in MultiMailer on this page:

> Social media in a Newsletter: Support for Facebook, Twitter and Google+

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MultiMailer 2012: Statistics & analysis of newsletter deliveries

In the new MultiMailer 2012 there are many powerful functions for statistics and analysis of (e-mail) newsletter deliveries included. With these functions you can for example:

– See how many of your delivered newsletters get opened
– See who of your contacts opens the newsletter that you mailed
– See who clicks on the links in your newsletter
– See which links get the most clicks

View the information directly in the program
Information about opens, clicks, etc. can be viewed directly in the program. For example, in the mailing list in MultiMailer every contact that have opened a newsletter, or clicked on a link in the newsletter, obtains a special graphical symbol (as seen in the picture to the right). So you can in an easy way see who opens your newsletter and who clicks on the links in the newsletter. If you need even more information, you can also see which links in the newsletter the contact clicked on!

Charts
Via different types of charts (for example a pie chart) you can view information about the number of opens and clicks. Statistical data like this can also be viewed in a table.

Easy to send a follow-up e-mail
It is easy to send a follow-up e-mail to those contacts that opened your previous newsletter, or clicked on the newsletter’s links. This will make your newsletter campaigns more effective, because you will know what your customers are interested in and you can response to this in a proper way, and in the right time.

Export the information to other programs
All this information can be exported from MultiMailer, and imported to other programs (for example CRM systems and databases). MultiMailer can also create detailed reports that can be viewed directly, for example in Microsoft Excel.

What is the trend?
With the statistics and analysis functions in MultiMailer you can compare different newsletter deliveries (mailings) with each other, and see what the trend is. For example, is the number of opens and clicks increasing or decreasing over time? Which subject line got the most opens? Which e-mail contents got the most clicks?

More information
You can read more about the new statistics and analysis functions in MultiMailer 2012 here:
> Statistics and analysis of newsletter campaigns

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MultiMailer 2012 – New version of our e-mail marketing software

We have now released a new version of our e-mail marketing software SamLogic MultiMailer. In this version of our software we have added powerful functions for statistics and analysis of e-mail / newsletter campaigns. You can now, for example, see who of your contacts opens your newsletter, who clicks on links in your newsletter, and which links they click on. This information can be viewed directly in the program or exported to other programs, for example to CRM systems.

Improved Export Functions
The export functions in MultiMailer have been improved. For example, you can now export information directly to Microsoft Excel sheets.

Improved Newsletter Wizard
Also the newsletter wizard in the program has been improved. The newsletter wizard now supports Google+ (you can add a Google+ logotype to your newsletter that opens your Google+ page), more header pictures have been added, and you can choose a background (the area outside the outer frames of the newsletter) that fades between two colors. This allows you to create more stylish newsletters.

More Information
You can read more about the news in MultiMailer 2012 on this page:
> SamLogic MultiMailer 2012 – News

More details about the new statistics and analysis functions is available here:
> Statistics and analysis of newsletter campaigns

In coming blog posts we will describe the new features in MultiMailer 2012 in more detail.