Friday, October 18, 2013

New Digital Options for Creative Memories Software Users


If you use the Memory Manager and StoryBook Creator programs, you may be wondering what your options are now that Creative Memories is no longer selling or supporting these great programs.  Earlier this year, I mentioned that there was a good chance that Panstoria, the company that developed the programs and licensed them to Creative Memories to sell, would pick up where Creative Memories left off.  An agreement was reached and formally approved by the court a few weeks ago.

***UPDATE***  Panstoria was acquired by Forever in 2014 and the programs are now sold through Forever.  I am an Ambassador for Forever and if you are interested in learning more, please use this LINK to go to the Forever website so you will be connected to me as your Ambassador.

So what does this mean for you if you own the Creative Memories versions of the programs?

Until December 31, 2013, users of Memory Manager or StoryBook will be able to use the online activation to re-activate their software or activate it on a new computer.  Creative Memories digital artwork that you have purchased can be activated, without an end date, on any computer (no internet connection is needed for content activation).

StoryBook and Memory Manager will no longer be updated by Panstoria.  The programs will continue to work indefinitely but there may come a time when an operating system change causes an issue that will prevent the programs from working as expected (in other words, there will be no updates or bug fixes).  There is no immediate need to change to the Panstoria versions, but I suggest you do it as soon as you can so that you will have the most up to date versions of the programs going forward.

 ***UPDATE*** I would recommend updating to the most current versions of the programs since it has been several years since I wrote this post. These programs are for Windows.  Historian 4 will work with 32 or 64 bit systems but Artisan requires a 64 bit system.


You can purchase the updated versions of the programs from Forever.  They are each priced at $79.95. The price can sometimes be lower with special sales and bundle offers. If you already own Artisan 4, you can upgrade to Artisan 5 for $49.95

https://www.forever.com/ambassador/diane-campbell-payne

The Memory Manager program equivalent is called Historian and it can be installed on one computer.  Historian will open your existing memory vaults from Memory Manager 3 or 4. 

https://www.forever.com/ambassador/diane-campbell-payne

The StoryBook Creator equivalent is called Artisan and it can be installed on two computers.  One big advantage to the Artisan program is that it has the full range of photo editing tools that are in Memory Manager so you won't have to switch back and forth between the two programs to do more sophisticated editing.


Both of the programs are sold by download only on the Forever website.  I have used these programs since they were released and they just get better and better.  I have found these programs to be easy to use but very powerful and perfect for busy people who want to edit and organize their photos and to tell their stories creatively.  I am an Ambassador for Forever and if you purchase the programs through the links on my site I will receive a commission from Forever (your price will be the same).  I will continue to help you with questions, share my projects and explain the techniques that I use and I appreciate your support in purchasing the programs by using the links on my blog.


You may be wondering how to go about printing the projects that you create with the Artisan software. Forever has a printing service that will allow you to upload your projects directly from the software, as easily as you could upload to the CM printing or Panstoria printing service in the past.  There are lots of interesting products in addition to page prints and photo books.  Forever also offers Forever Print - an online option for creating photo books.

Of course, you also have the option to save anything you create in the program as a JPEG, PNG or PDF file and print it at home or at any other printing service. 


When you switch to Artisan, all of the content you have that was purchased from Creative Memories in their proprietary format can be used in Artisan.  Your projects, content, tags and categories can also be transferred.


What if you missed out on purchasing some content that was available from Creative Memories?

Some of the "Legacy" Creative Memories content is available to purchase from Forever.  There are also a large number of new kits and templates available from a variety of digital artists in the Forever digital store.


In addition to the Creative Memories content, there are quite a few free items (click on "free" under the price drop down in the left sidebar of the Digital Art section to see the items).

If you have any questions about the digital programs, be sure to leave me a comment or send an email and I will do my best to help you. 

I have added just a few of my digital pages to this post to break up all of the "wordiness"!  If you have questions about any of the pages, please let me know.  Some have appeared on the blog already but some are new.

I hope you have a great weekend - it is our town wide "ReUsit" day on Saturday.  I wonder what treasures I'll find at the "Drop Off Swap Off" (and I also wonder if anyone will think that the things I drop off are treasures!)

Subscribe to Capadia Designs if you would like to have new posts delivered directly to your email.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you purchase a product using the link I may receive a commission. I only participate in affiliate programs for products that I use or can recommend without reservation. 

25 comments:

  1. Hi- I stumbled across your blog and wonder if you might be able to help me out? I created a 12x12 album in Storybook 3.0 software and printed off one copy of the album through Creative Memories that I love. The album is of a trip my family took to Disney World with my sister's family. She saw the book recently and also loved it and would like me to make a copy for her. Can I still order additional copies of a project I did with CM software? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

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    1. Creative Memories has closed the Digital Center. If you have the book saved on your computer (I hope you didn't delete it after the first printing) you can upload it to the Panstoria Print Shop directly through your SBC3 software (just like you ordered the first book). If you want to order a copy from another printer you can save each completed page as a JPEG and upload them as a full bleed photos in a new book. You will need to be careful to check the edges to be sure nothing is cut off. I hope that helps - let me know if you have more questions.

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  2. Thank you so much, that is a great help! And yes, I do have the project saved on my computer :)

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    1. I am glad you still had the files - I hope your sister enjoys the book!

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  3. If I purchase the Artisan 4 software will my SBC3 products be compatible? I have several years worth of stuff that I have used but never upgraded to SBC4. I am SO thankful to have found your blog and for all of the information you have offered. I do a book once a year for my husband for Christmas, but this year I did not because I didn't know where to go. I LOVE my CM digital stuff and haven't found anything else like it until here. I want to completely switch to the Panstoria stuff if I can be assured that I can use what I have and that it is relatively familiar to the CM stuff in price, etc. Thank you again for sharing your information!
    Rebecca

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    1. Hi Rebecca, Your SBC3 products will all work with Artisan 4 - all of the earlier digital packages work with later versions of the software. There were packages sold that were only compatible with SBC4 so you wouldn't have been able to use them with SBC3. Everything works in Artisan and it just takes a couple of clicks to have all of the artwork you had in SBC3 recognized in Artisan.
      I am happy that you will be able to use the familiar program to do the book for your husband - for last year and going forward. I have never found any other program that is as easy to use and still able to do really sophisticated things.
      If there is CM content that you missed buying before the bankruptcy it is available in the Panstoria store but just until March 2013. Panstoria also has a lot of content from other artists and, of course, you can use digital supplies that you purchase or find as freebies too.
      Please don't hesitate to send my an email at capadiadesigns@gmail.com if you have more questions. I am a Panstoria affiliate and I appreciate the support from people who click on my links (in this post or on the left side column) when purchasing from Panstoria.

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  4. Thank you! I just purchased a new computer and use CM for so many things. I have been thinking I need to purchase a higher end program so that I can create fliers etc. What a disappointment to find out my disc won't download... and then what a blessing to find your blog. I will definitely purchase through here. Thank you for taking the time to put this together to keep CM people informed/up to date.

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    1. Sorry - I am seeing this late - I have been away most of this month and some of the email and comments were hard to keep up with. The program is great for many things in addition to scrapbook pages and books - I love using it and I'm so glad that Panstoria was able to take back the program and sell it directly to the public. Thank you for purchasing through my link. If you have any questions or problems please send me a message and I'll do my best to help.

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  5. Hi - I have both Memory Manager and Storybook 3 - my husband removed the programs from our computer due to some issues we were having, but when I went to reload I couldn't because a lot of it was digital downloads and I need CM to help me with that. Can I get this same help from Panstoria? Thank you Jill

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    1. Hi Jill, Sorry I am late in catching up with this message - I was away for a good part of March. You can no longer reinstall your programs on a new computer because the activation server was shut down at the end of 2013. Panstoria has a download finder tool on their site so if you have the backup list of activation codes for your digital content from your original purchase you can enter the codes and download the packages that they unlock. The codes would be in the confirmation emails you got for your purchases if you didn't do the recommended backup and print it from the Content Manager when you still had StoryBook installed. I hope that helps - if you go to the Help Zone page on the Panstoria site you will find the information you need and the support email address if you have more issues that you need Panstoria to help you with. I hope you can get everything sorted out so you can enjoy creating new projects!

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  6. Hi, glad I found this although I seem a bit late to the gate! I have years of digital CM stuff that is on an old computer that has crashed. I couldn't put the discs on a new computer because CM was out of commission by then. I would still love to create with my CM pages - and am glad to learn of Artisan. How can I get my CM discs to reinstall on a new system, as once they were installed they had a lock devise that prevented them being used again? What do I need to do to start creating books again. I just quit when CM did and haven't found a program I like yet, until I saw Artisan. Bless you!

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    1. Hi Roz, I am sorry that you didn't hear about the changes with CM earlier but I think you can get things sorted out through Panstoria. You won't be able to activate your StoryBook program on a new computer so you will need to buy Artisan - the version available now has some upgraded features that weren't in StoryBook including the ability to use all of the editing functions on your photos while you are in the program. I think you should be able to reinstall the content discs with Artisan - you may need to contact Panstoria to help if there is a problem. As long as you have the activation codes from your original purchases, you can also download the packages and reactivate them in Artisan (see my answer to the comment from Jill directly above). So to start creating again, you will need Artisan and then as long as you have the activation codes for your purchased content you can download it and use it through Artisan. Good luck and please let me know if there is anything else I can do to help you.

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  7. Hi Diane! Just found out today, as I was considering purchasing Photoshop Elements for my new laptop, that there is the new "CM" software Historian! I'm excited about this, but the sad news is that once I purchase Historian for my new laptop, there is not going to be any fast way for me to transfer all 5400 images in the same files I have them in MM4, is there? Just going to have to download them into program and drag them into new files I create in Historian one at a time, I'm assuming? Thanks in advance for your help.

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    1. I have good news - if you have your MM4 memory vault on your computer it will open just fine in Historian - you do not have to redo all 5400 photo files! Historian recognizes the Memory Vaults that are on your computer so you should be all set to start working with your photos again. There are even some new features that you will be able to use with the Historian program.

      I am no longer a Creative Memories consultant (I resigned when they did away with the digital programs) but I am an affiliate for Panstoria so I appreciate it if you purchase using the links on my blog (in the left side column). When you click on the boxes with the names of the programs the sale will be linked to me (you pay the same price either way so it is a win-win situation).

      Please let me know if you have any other questions and I'll do my best to help.

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  8. Thanks so much for the information in your blog. I bought the Artisan software and was able to get almost all my previous content. Your blog made it easy to learn about Artisan and how to get my prior content. I clicked your link today when purchasing so hopefully it will help you out.

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    1. Thank you so much for using my link to purchase. It is very easy to use the Panstoria software if you were already using the Creative Memories versions - they are nearly identical (though the Artisan and Historian programs have some new upgrades). Happy creating!

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  9. If I have previous customers who had purchased Memory Manager 3.0 (and never installed) and StoryBook Creator Plus, can they still be installed on a computer?

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    1. Unfortunately, It is no longer possible to activate the Creative Memories versions of the programs. The server that handled the activations was shut down as of December 31, 2013. They will need to purchase the Panstoria versions. Artisan can be used on two computers and Historian on one. The pricing is lower than the Creative Memories versions so that is some help. These are also updated versions. I had the same thing happen with a different software that I bought and didn't use right away - now I activate and install everything right away!

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    2. Can the digital content CDs be activated then, or no?

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    3. The digital content CDs can be installed and activated without internet access. The code on the back of the CD will unlock the content in Artisan. I just added a couple of CDs that I had on hand and they installed easily.

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  10. I loved my Memory Manager and have over 5000 pics on there, however I would like to update and I am sad that CM isn't supporting updates of this program, but happy I found Historian. I have a few questions that I hope you can answer. I recently bought a new computer that I intend to use strictly for scrapbooking, I would like to install Historian on it...I was reading that Historian could detect Memory Manager vaults and pull the pics in without manually reentering them all. I am wondering if I would would first need to install Historian on my old computer in order for it do that....and than somehow import Historian and the files to my new computer...or if it would just be easier to install Historian on my new computer and then manually import and sort each picture. I hope you can answer these questions. Thanks

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    1. You can install Historian directly on your new computer. When you transfer your existing Memory Vault from Memory Manager to the new computer you will need to open Historian, click on "open another vault" then browse to the location where you placed the Memory Vault when you transferred it to the new computer. Then open the vault in Historian by clicking "select folder" at the lower right (don't double click on the vault or open it). Your "sort boxes" will now be called "categories" and your "folders" will be called "tags." Always be sure to keep a backup copy of the vault before you transfer it to the new computer - there should be no problems but better to be safe! I hope that helps.

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    2. thank you so much. I might be asking more questions as I attempt to do this.

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  11. Hello,

    I am still trying to figure this out, so I apologize if this has already been addressed... If I purchase Historian and I had a CM vault at any time, Historian will be able to link my previous picture file thru Historian? I do have my old CD case with the activation code for MM... I am very interested in the purchase of Historian. Thank you!

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    1. Hi - I am happy to try to help you with this. Memory Manager was developed by Panstoria and licensed exclusively to Creative Memories for sale. Historian is basically the same program (with some new features) and is now sold by Panstoria directly to users. Historian can read existing Memory Vaults that were created in Memory Manager. If you purchase and install Historian, you may have to direct it to the location where your older vault is saved on your computer. The activation code on your old CD case can no longer be used to activate the MM software - the server that did the activations was shut down at the end of last year.
      Here are is some more information that I am copying and pasting with the directions from my answer to the comment above in case you didn't see it:
      When you transfer your existing Memory Vault from Memory Manager to the new computer you will need to open Historian, click on "open another vault" then browse to the location where you placed the Memory Vault when you transferred it to the new computer. Then open the vault in Historian by clicking "select folder" at the lower right (don't double click on the vault or open it). Your "sort boxes" will now be called "categories" and your "folders" will be called "tags." Always be sure to keep a backup copy of the vault before you transfer it to the new computer - there should be no problems but better to be safe! I hope that helps.
      Please let me know if you need more help and thanks for using my affiliate link in this post to purchase the program.

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