In response to client feedback, we’ve introduced a series of enhancements for BrandDirector 4.3:

• Manual or automatic critical path management
• ZoomAnnotate™ for artwork approvals
• Active Directory integration and single sign-on
• Unified menu for managing campaigns, projects and ranges
• Full user and administrator documentation
• Configurable upload limit
• SQL 2008 database support

Critical path management

You can manage critical paths manually by selecting the most important tasks and assigning start and end dates to them. The remaining tasks are undated and fit in between the dated tasks.

Alternatively, you can let BrandDirector™ manage critical paths automatically. In this case, you need only peg a particular task at a particular date and the start and end dates for the other tasks are calculated from that date, using their recommended durations.

ZoomAnnotate™

BrandDirector now includes ZoomAnnotate™, a tool for collaborative artwork approvals. When multiple signatories need to provide input on a PDF document or a JPG image, they can use ZoomAnnotate™ to attach comments and make markings directly on the document as if it were printed out. The other signatories can see these annotations, and they can respond with annotations of their own.

ZoomAnnotate™ has built-in version control to keep track of multiple annotations. Users can zoom in to see a part of an image in detail or zoom out to view several pages of a PDF at once. What is more, the tool is integrated with BrandDirector's email notification system, so signatories can open the submitted artwork in ZoomAnnotate™ by simply clicking a link in their notification emails.

Active Directory integration

BrandDirector can now be integrated with Windows Active Directory so that users log in to BrandDirector with their Windows network password. Optionally, this can include a single sign-on solution that performs the BrandDirector login automatically and invisibly so that users no longer have to log in to BrandDirector at all.