By Amy Krauss, Story Saver 

I was eagerly anticipating the release of Creative Memories Storybook Creator 4.0 the moment I heard its announcement.  I have loved Storybook Creator 3.0 since I began using it and consider myself a "power user".  While 3.0 is a fantastic program, it does have some areas which could be improved.  I made the assumption 4.0 would address these shortcomings as well as add additional cool features.  Well, I was wrong.  Once I installed 4.0 I realized it was actually a huge step backwards from version 3.0.

Here are 10 reasons NOT to upgrade to Storybook Creator 4.0:

1. Saving a page takes TWICE as long.  I had seen the Creative Memories introduction video and it talked about how page saving was improved in 4.0.  After using the software for over 5 hours and becoming frustrated with page saving, I finally decided to do a side-by-side test.  My test was on the same computer and in the same page of the same project.  I applied a simple text edit to the page by changing the spelling of a word and then saved the page.  The results?  In Storybook Creator 3.0 it took 7 seconds to save the page.  In 4.0 it took 13 seconds.  That's nearly twice as long!  How can this be considered an improvement?
    
2. It takes nearly TWICE as long to perform basic functions.  Using 4.0 seems to require an awful lot of clicking.  There is a never-ending parade of pop-up menus and windows.  Everything is much more complex.  Time for another side-by-side test.  This time I decided to place a simple black square on a page in both 3.0 and 4.0 and I counted my mouse clicks as I did so.  The results?  In Storybook Creator 3.0 it took 8 clicks to make my black square.  In 4.0 it took 14 clicks.  Not quite twice as long, and definitely not an improvement.  To be fair, once I created my black square in 4.0, the software remembered many of my selections so putting black square #2 on my page "only" required 11 clicks.  Dreadful performance for an upgrade!
    
3. EVERYTHING placed on a page defaults to having the aspect ratio unlocked.  Normally, when I work on a project I simply drag and drop photos and elements onto my page.  Then I resize these to my tastes by dragging the little corner handles.  When the aspect ratio is defaulted to "unlocked" everything begins to look askew or stretched as I resize.  Now, when working in 4.0 I need to drag everything I think I might need onto the page and do a "select all" to set all items to a "locked" aspect ratio.  Yuck!
    
4. The program operates less efficiently on your computer.  In the Creative Memories YouTube video it talked about the improved tabbed workspace.  While this is a nice feature, it isn't much different from 3.0.  In 3.0 I could access other open projects via the home button.  I am using Windows 7 and with 4.0 there are actually new instances of the software being opened for each project!  So the tabs aren't really doing anything other than switching between open windows.  This is an inefficient way of managing system resources.
    
5. The pages view in the right side well is less efficient.  With 4.0, an image of my project's cover is continually floating at the top of the view.  This is locked here so as I scroll through my pages I can always see the cover.  First of all, I don't need to see my cover that often.  I know what it looks like, and I often don't design it until the project is nearly complete.  Second of all, having the cover up there all the time reduces the number of pages I can see at one time.  Definitely a step in the wrong direction!
    
6. "Shadow" and "Glow" buttons are no longer functional.  What I mean is these commands are no longer buttons - they only function as drop-down menus.  With 3.0 I can set my shadow or glow and then the button is set to that preference.  To apply a shadow or glow I simply click on the button.  In 4.0 the "button" only produces a drop-down menu requiring me to make a selection from all the shadows and glows available.  More clicks.
    
7. The backgrounds of all the pages in my project default to being "locked".  In 3.0, once I found the perfect paper to use as a page background, I could use the drop-down menu to "set as background" and the paper would automatically fill my page.  In 4.0, if I do this I get an error message saying the background is locked and I must first unlock the background before I can complete the command.  So again an extra click has been added to my workflow.  I must always unlock the page background before starting.  Why would I want my background locked in the first place?
    
8. A few buttons are a bit too stylish.  Creative Memories was right on when they decided to give a fresher look to the colors and appearance of the software.  Many of the buttons now have a nice blue and green look that is indeed nice.  However, on the "Arrange" ribbon some of these buttons have become just a bit too stylized.  It is harder to see at a glance which button is which because all of the arrange buttons are so similar.  Trying to see where the tiny dotted line is on the button is slightly difficult.  I have to either look carefully or rely more heavily on tool tips.  Not a huge deal, but still not an improvement for an upgrade.
    
9. The right side well no longer shows a two page layout, two photos, or two content pieces.  The good news is the side well has two choices for viewing.  You can expand it out to view four items side-by-side, or if you want more workspace you can collapse it down to show just a single item.  The bad news in 4.0 is you can no longer have the standard two page layout view that is the default in 3.0.  While it is nice to have these two new options, I don't understand why they could not have offered all 3 views as options.
    
10. The color-coordinating feature isn't for everyone.  A new feature in 4.0 is the color-coordinating feature.  This allows you to change the look of your entire page easily.  You can select a photo or element to coordinate and voila! Instant beauty!  However, there are limits to the functionality of this feature.  It works really well with pre-designed pages or other layouts that rely entirely on content.  However, if you have any elements on a page you have created yourself, it will not color-coordinate these items.  An example would be if you put a solid color mat around your photos - the mat color will not change with the color-coordination tool.  This seemed a bit limiting to me and I was disappointed it didn't transform any page.

So there you have it.  You can tell I'm not happy with the 4.0 upgrade.  I don't see any of the features as justifying the price of an upgrade.  If anything, the "upgrade" seems like a step backwards for Creative Memories.  So I would advise any users of 3.0 not to upgrade.

 
However, I still believe the Storybook Creator product is an excellent product and I would encourage any folks new to digi-scrapping to buy the software.  If you haven't used 3.0 in the past, 4.0 will still be an easy-to-use software program for digi-scrapping.  But, if you are a 3.0 user, I suspect you will be disappointed in the upgrade.

 
Have you upgraded?  Did you experience the same disappointments as I did?  Perhaps you really enjoy the new features of 4.0?  Either way, we would love to hear from you.  Make a comment here to join in the dialog.

Founded by Amy Krauss and Pamela Grover, The Future of Scrapping, Inc., is dedicated to instructing and encouraging scrapbookers to bring out the best in their digital creativity. We provide hands-on learning opportunities in digital scrapbooking through 1-on-1 training and group classes, and online learning webinars. Exclusively using Creative Memories' software, our instruction is fun, personal and easy to follow.

Tu Storia is our newly branded division that offers you concierge-level service for all your photo needs. Preserve, share and remember your stories with custom-made photo books. And if you need solutions for organizing your photos or displaying them, we can help you with that too!