DesignSvn Product Blog

Why we migrated our support system

Mon, 04 Jul 2011 17:10:25 +0100

Earlier today we migrated our support system to a new platform and rolled out a minor update which makes it easier for customers and users to provide feedback and get support.

We’ve noticed a lot of activity on DesignSvn and feature requests are constantly growing. In order to accomodate these new needs we have migrated our support platform to offer the ability for all users to request new features and provide suggestions publicly. Other users can view your suggestions and vote on them. Status updates are also provided so all users are aware of what is actually going on.

In addition, we’ve made it easier and faster for users to get support or provide any feedback by adding a small “Feedback & Support” tab which is visible to all logged in users. Clicking this tab will open a widget which allows you to request support or submit any feedback you might have in mind.

Finally, if you have any suggestions or feedback please submit your idea via our support platform. We’re keen in improving the service and would like to hear what you have in mind.

PSD Uploads

Mon, 16 May 2011 11:56:06 +0100

This is just a quick announcement to let you all know that we have updated and upgraded our infrastructure in order to accept PSDs files - you can now upload your PSD files through DesignSvn.

All files currently have a 50MB limit, please bare in mind if your uploading large files it will take slightly longer to process your revision. Your file has to be uploaded to our servers, processed and then re-transmitted to our storage cluster which is hosted by Amazon S3.

As most of you already know, we changed our upload process and as a result we cannot support all the extensions we previously did. If you are attempting to upload a file type that is not allowed please contact us and we’ll add support for it as soon as possible.

Updates to Plans, Uploading Revisions and Uploader Tracker

Tue, 19 Apr 2011 13:58:00 +0100

Over the past two weeks we’ve been busy making changes to DesignSvn based on feedback we’ve received. We’ve rolled out these changes and we have some exciting news to announce along with it.

Updated Plans

We’ve updated our plans and introduced a new plan. The personal, freelancer and studio plans have increased number of workspaces and users. We’ve also increased the personal’s plans storage limit to 2GB. The free account has also had a tiny upgrade, 1 more workspace and 50MB storage.

Along with this update we’ve also introduced a new “Starter” plan which is ideal for individuals who are starting to design and are serious about version control. The starter package comes with a limit of 5 workspaces, 1GB of storage and 3 users, all for $8 / mo.

View updated plans

Updated Uploading Process

We’ve listened to your requests and have been working on changing the way you upload files through DesignSvn. Currently, the uploader requires a light-weight preview and an optional source file. We’ve simplified the process so you’re only required to upload one file, a source or a light-weight preview file. It doesn’t matter which file you upload, DesignSvn will figure out what you’ve uploaded and will take care of the rest.

With this new update we’ve introduced support for more extensions such as PDF, TIFF and BMP. However, this new update comes with a small limitation. The uploader currently support a small list of extensions, we’re working on adding more extensions such as PSD and they will be available soon. When uploading a new revision the list of supported extensions are listed on this page. If the file your attempting to upload is not allowed you can suggest it by using the form located towards the right. We will attempt to add support for your extension as soon as possible.

Upload Tracker

We’ve added a nice little utility which tracks the status of your uploads. Previously, whenever a new revision is uploaded successfully users are presented with a success message along with a notice stating the uploaded file is being processed. In order to check the status of your upload users would have to manually refresh the page. We’ve updated this so whenever you upload a new revision you do not have to refresh the page to check the status. You can stay on the same page and whenever your revision is processed you will be notified, the page will automatically reload with your updates.

Other Updates

With this update we’ve also taken the time to solve a variety of miscellaneous issues and bugs that users have reported. Additionally, any cross-browsers bugs between Safari, Chrome and Firefox should now be solved. If you notice anything strange please contact us by sending an email to support@designsvn.com in order to rectify the issue as soon as possible.

The upload process has also changed the way third-party services upload files to DesignSvn via the API. For those that use the API, you should check the updated documentation to avoid your applications from breaking when uploading new revisions.

New Feature Coming Soon…

As quite a few of you have already suggested, the full preview page used to annotate designs feels separated from the page where a concept is previewed along with the list of revisions. We’re working on integrating these two pages in order to unify them whilst also being able to perform all the actions that are currently available on both pages.

That’s all for now. We appreciate all the support and feedback we’ve received so far and will continue improving the service as time goes on.

Database Issues, Free Plan & Bug Reporting

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 11:21:00 +0000

Earlier this week we opened our doors to the public and launched DesignSvn. However, things didn’t go as smooth as we expected them to - on Tuesday afternoon and again later on that evening our database server stopped responding. As a result, the service was affected, most users couldn’t access their accounts and users who were trying to signup for a free plan were prompted to enter their credit card details.

We thought we should write a little post regarding this situation, what happened and what we learned from it so it doesn’t happen again in the future.

Unresponsive Database

Before launching DesignSvn we were aware of the amount of users that wanted to try DesignSvn because they didn’t get a chance to participate in the beta. Based on that fact we were aware of possible failures and made the necessary plans to implement failover systems along with backups as a measure of security.

Nonetheless, one thing we should have thought about more was the database server. Due to the amount of requests it simply stopped responding, we replicated the database immediately across another server and switched it over. Things should be running a lot smoother now and we’ve implemented additional plans so we can avoid such events in the future.

Free Accounts and Billing Details

When the database server stopped responding many users were trying to signup for a free account and were requested for their card details. We do not require your billing details or card details for a free account, the reason these fields were displayed was because our database was not responding and the system couldn’t detect which account you were trying to sign up for.

The issue was solved when the database server was back up. If you tried to signup for a free account and didn’t manage to do so successfully we would be delighted if you gave it another go.

Bug Reporting

A final point we’d like to touch upon is bugs and reporting them.

No software is perfect and although DesignSvn is out of beta there still might be some areas which don’t work the way they should. If you notice any issues please let us know, the sooner you let us know the sooner we can fix it.

You can report any issues by opening a support ticket (http://support.designsvn.com) or by emailing support@designsvn.com.

Free Plan

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 22:39:00 +0000

We’ve been overwhelmed with the response we’ve received so far and it’s not even been 24 hours since we’ve launched. We’ve got many emails and support requests asking why we do not offer free accounts, and due to the fact that there have been so many requests we’ve rolled out a free plan.

A free plan allows you to quickly get a grasp about how DesignSvn feels and works. The free plan has limited resources and allows you to create up to one workspace, one user (just yourself) and has a storage limit of 25MB.

If you decide to upgrade from a free account to a paid account you will still be entitled to a 14 day free trial.

So what are you waiting for? Sign up for a free account now! (No credit card required)

Cutting the ribbon!

Mon, 21 Mar 2011 13:21:07 +0000

Today is the day we finally cut the ribbon, the day we open our doors to everyone and the day where DesignSvn is officially out of beta. It has taken numerous months of hard work and we’re glad it has finally come to a point where we can share what we have been working on.

Although we have launched today the work doesn’t end here. At DesignSvn we have great ideas and plans for the future, we are truly devoted to improving DesignSvn and providing a high-quality service which you can rely and trust on. Over the course of the next few months we will be enhancing existing features, listening to your requests and releasing a secret little tool which will benefit all Mac users (Hint).

We would also like to take this opportunity to thank all those beta testers who have been working with us by providing feedback and testing the application to make sure it is the way it currently is now. All beta testers get a free 6 months subscription to the Studio package and all of your accounts have been upgraded.

So, what are you waiting for? Head over to the plan’s page to learn more about pricing and signup, all accounts come with a 14 day trial!