NOTE: This feature is available in the Professional and Enterprise versions of both Spectra and Stratus Desktop.

*All documentation is designed for StudioPlus customers' use only. Any information regarding Express Digital Darkroom is provided for the convenience of StudioPlus customers. For technical support on Express Digital Darkroom, including setting up and using the Spectra/Stratus Desktop integration in the Express Digital Darkroom software, please contact your Express Digital Darkroom representative.

Requirements

• StudioPlus [Spectra] version 2008 or newer or Stratus Desktop

• Express Digital® Darkroom® Pro version 8.9 or greater

HERE'S A FLASH FOR YOU! With the release of Spectra 2014, Darkroom no longer has the ability to automatically create invoices in Spectra/Stratus.

Setting up the Integration

We recommend first setting up and using Spectra/Stratus and Express Digital Darkroom independently before setting up the integration.

Single User Spectra/Stratus and Single User Darkroom:

1. On the computer that has Spectra/Stratus Desktop and Express Digital Darkroom installed, open Spectra/Stratus and go to Maintenance > Preferences > Company (Studio) Preferences.

2. Open the Integration tab and click Express Digital Integration.

3. Select how you want Spectra/Stratus to Add Catalogs to Express Digital Darkroom, either “By Date,” which will create a date folder for the catalog, or “By Client Name,” which will create a client folder for the catalog. Then close Company (Studio) Preferences.

4. Go to Maintenance > Preferences > Workstation Preferences and set the Express Digital Darkroom Application Data Path (e.g., C:\Program Files\ExpressDigital\DarkroomPro\).

Multi-User Spectra/Stratus and Multi-User Darkroom:

1. Install Express Digital Darkroom Pro on every computer that has Spectra/Stratus Desktop installed. Even though you may not be using Express Digital Darkroom  on every computer, components of the software needs to be installed in order for the integration to work correctly.

2. On one computer that has Spectra/Stratus Desktop and Express Digital Darkroom installed, open Spectra/Stratus and go to Maintenance > Preferences > Company (Studio) Preferences.

3. Open the Integration tab and click Express Digital Integration.

4. Select how you want Spectra/Stratus to Add Catalogs to Express Digital, either “By Date,” which will create a date folder for the catalog, or “By Client Name,” which will create a client folder for the catalog. Then close Company (Studio) Preferences.

5. On every computer that is running Spectra/Stratus Desktop, go to Maintenance > Preferences > Workstation Preferences and set the Express Digital Darkroom Application Data Path (e.g., C:\Program Files\ExpressDigital\DarkroomPro\).

Workflow

HERE'S A FLASH FOR YOU! With the 2014 release of Spectra/Stratus, Darkroom no longer has the ability to automatically create invoices in Spectra/Stratus.

Once you've got things set up in Spectra/Stratus Desktop and Darkroom, here are the workflow steps for the integration:

1. Enter client information and book sessions in Spectra/Stratus.

2. Once a session has been created in Spectra/Stratus, a catalog will be automatically entered in Darkroom (see Studio Preferences - Integration for catalog creation preferences).

3. On the day of the session, go into Darkroom and find the appropriate catalog.  

4. If you don't see the catalog, you can open the session in Spectra/Stratus and click Express Digital on the Action tab of the ribbon.

5. Import and Present the images in Darkroom. Then create an order (refer to your "Darkroom User Guide" for questions about the ordering process).

6. If you want the images to come back into Spectra/Stratus, open the session and select Action > Create Previews.

7. The Copy From folder should already be selected with the appropriate Darkroom folder containing the images.

8. Click Acquire Images to create previews for Spectra/Stratus. See the Workflow How To's  section for more about digital workflow in Spectra/Stratus.

9. Open the Images tab on the session to view the preview images in Spectra/Stratus.