Knowledge Base

FIX: SQL Server Express cannot be installed on Windows Server 2012

Wed, 17 Apr 2013 16:06:11 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWeb 7.0 Service Release 6 build 555
Windows Server 2012

SYMPTOMS

When installing FotoWeb 7.0 Service Release 6 on a Windows Server 2012, I get an error message that SQL Server Express is not compatible with my version of Windows.

CAUSE

The SQL Server Express that is included in the FotoWeb installation is too old to work with Windows Server 2012

RESOLUTION

Because SQL Server Express is an optional module in the FotoWeb installation, you can choose No when asked if you want to install it. You can then configure FotoWeb to use another in-house SQL server, or you can download Microsoft SQL Server Express 2008, which will work with Windows Server 2012.

PRB: FotoWeb installer insists I need Internet Explorer 8 when installing on Windows Server 2003

Mon, 11 Mar 2013 08:57:22 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWeb 7.0
Windows Server 2003

SUMMARY

When installing FotoWeb on a Windows Server 2003, the installer says I need to install Internet Explorer 8 and quits.

Also, when trying to download IE8 and install it, the installer will tell you that IE8 is not supported on your operating system.

SOLUTION

Install Windows Server Service Pack 2
Install all security updates from Windows Update. This will auomatically install Internet Explorer 8
Now install FotoWeb.

ERRDOC: Photoshop CS6 for Mac crashes with FotoWeb Desktop

Tue, 05 Feb 2013 16:13:38 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWeb Desktop
Adobe Photoshop CS6 update 13.0.4 for Mac

SYMPTOMS

Photoshop CS6 will crash a) when an image is double clicked to open or b) when a dialog for check-in or preferences is opened.
The crash will cause any unsaved work to be lost.

The FotoWeb Desktop Extension does not work with the latest update of Photoshop CS6 Mac. This update is version 13.0.4
There is no known workaround for this version.

We recommend all customers to stay with version 13.0.3 or older if possible, and we are waiting for information from Adobe on how this problem will be solved in the next update of Photoshop CS6.

RESOLUTION

The only known solution is to revert from Photoshop 13.0.4 back to 13.0.1. This can be done as follows:

Uninstall Photoshop CS6. Install Photoshop CS6 again. Install the 13.0.1 update.
Version 13.0.1 can be downloaded here: http://www.adobe.com/support/downloads/detail.jsp?ftpID=5407

REMARKS

As there is currently no other workaround for the issue, and we are not the only developer affected by this fault, we are awaiting a response from Adobe on how soon they can address the problem. Updates will be posted here.

FIX: No "From FotoWeb" button in Office 2007 / 2010

Fri, 04 Nov 2011 13:49:41 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWeb Desktop 7.0
Microsoft Office 2007 and 2010

SYMPTOMS

After rolling out or installing FotoWeb Desktop, the "From FotoWeb" button is not available on the Insert Ribbon in Word and Powerpoint.

CAUSE

"Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Office" have probably not been installed on the client.

During a regular client installation, the installer takes care of downloading all required components, but this is not the case when deploying software using Group Policy, for example. The above package will therefore have to be installed on the client before FotoWeb Desktop will work properly.

RESOLUTION

Download and install "Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Office" on the client. It can be downloaded from this link:

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2525428

(Note that there are separate downloads for 32- and 64-bit client systems)

The FotoWeb Administration manual explains how this package can also be deployed using Group Policy if you need to prepare it on several clients.

Important note to users of Office 2007 Service Pack 2 or older:
If, after installing Microsoft Visual Studio 2010 Tools for Office, the "From FotoWeb" button still does not appear on the Word and/or PowerPoint Insert ribbon, we recommend installing all the available updates for your Office installation as this will fix the problem.

However, if updating the Office installation is not feasible, Microsoft has released a hotfix that addresses this particular issue with VSTO plugins in Office 2007 Service Pack 2 or before. If you are running Office 2007 with Service Pack 3, the hotfix does not apply to you. The hotfix can be downloaded from this address:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/976477

INFO: Connect does not support HTML email body text from Exchange 2010 over IMAP connections

Mon, 03 Dec 2012 14:13:42 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

Connect 7.0

SUMMARY

Connect does not support HTML emails from Exchange 2010 over IMAP connections.

MORE INFORMATION

The solution to this problem is to change the properties of the Exchange mailbox to use text-formatted emails only for IMAP connections:

You change this by doing the following:

Open the Exchange Management Console, go to Recipient Configuration, and Mailboxes.

Right-click on the user that you use to import emails from and go to "Properties".

Go to the "Mailbox Features" tab and select "POP3/IMAP" and then choose "Properties".

Uncheck the "Best format" option and select "Text" from the drop-down menu and hit "OK".

"OK" your way out of the rest of the windows.

INFO: Supported file formats in FotoWare Version 7.0 applications

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 12:34:31 +0100

Updated 08 May 2012 (for Service Release 4)

XMP Metadata can be added to or changed in any file (format). When possible, the XMP metadata will be written into the file itself, otherwise it will be written to a ‘sidecar’ file with “.xmp” extension. The sidecar files are hidden from view in all FotoWare products but will be included in any file operation such as copy, move or delete.

The following file formats can be read and presented with a visual representation (thumbnail, preview or high resolution):

File format	Remark
JPEG	EXIF Header Read/Write
TIFF	EXIF Header Read
Photoshop PSD
Photoshop EPS
GIF	Animated GIF is treated as a movie
PNG
BMP
Nikon NEF	EXIF Header Read. See note 1 for more information
Canon CRW,CR2	EXIF Header Read. See note 2 for more information
DNG	EXIF Header Read
Other raw formats	See note 3 for more information
Video	See note 4 for more information
Targa
PPM
JPEG2000
PICT
Photo CD	Read (Windows only)
Adobe Illustrator (AI)
Generic EPS
Adobe PDF

Remarks for FotoStation 7.0

File format	Remark
JPEG	Read/Write. EXIF Header Read/Write
TIFF	Read/Write. EXIF Header Read
Photoshop EPS	Read/Write
Video	Selectable thumbnail. Plays in grid. See note 4 for more information.

In archives created by FotoWare Index Manager 7.0 additional formats can be viewed. See Index Manager 7.0 Supported file formats for more information.

Audio files are supported via QuickTime and play in the thumbnail grid.

Remarks for Index Manager 7.0:

Any file (format) is able to store XMP Metadata either embedded or in a sidecar .xmp file. Metadata will be indexed for all indexed files. Both XMP and IPTC metadata is supported when available.

Note: The table below only contains formats with some kind of remark. Formats not included in the table are always supported with Metadata indexing.

File format	Remark
JPEG	EXIF Header Read
TIFF	EXIF Header Read
Nikon NEF	EXIF Header Read
Canon CRW,CR2	EXIF Header Read
MS Word (DOC,DOCX,DOT,DOTX )	Text content indexed and preview generated. Microsoft Word required for docx format. See comment below for details.
MS PowerPoint (PPT,PPTX)	Text content indexed and preview generated. Microsoft PowerPoint required for pptx format. See comment below for details.
Adobe Indesign (INDD)	See comment below.

Generic EPS	Text content indexed and preview generated. See note below.
Adobe PDF Adobe Illustrator (AI)	Text content indexed and preview generated. Text content indexed and preview generated. See note below for more info.

InDesign Documents: Text content will be added to the Content preview field in the Metadata. This will cause the metadata to be updated and may create a sidecar file.

If FotoWare 6.0 client compatibility is enabled, image previews will be stored in the Macintosh resource of the file. The preview is accessible from Windows clients provided that the indexed files are stored on an NTFS file system. Macintosh clients can only see the preview when using the AFP file sharing protocol. Note that this is not the case when running in a native FotoWare 7.0 environment, where clients to not require physical access to the archived files and all thumbnails and previews are server using the FotoWare protocol (fwp).

Note on RTF documents: No thumbnail or preview is created for RTF files, nor is their content indexed and made searchable.

Office documents (Word and PowerPoint): Indexing of Office documents requires an installation of Microsoft Office on the server running Index Manager. If you run Index Manager on a Windows Server 2008 R2, you will need Microsoft Office 2010 (32 bit version required). With a Windows Server 2003, you can even use Microsoft Office 2007 (32-bit version only).
Make sure you enable Windows Update for your Office installation as well to receive all critical updates and patches.

Special note for Adobe Illustrator files:

The support for Adobe Illustrator files has been improved in FotoWare 7.0. Index Manager and Color Factory supports content extraction for indexing and preview generation of Adobe Illustrator documents, provided support software is available on the server.

Files from different versions are handled differently due to variations of the Adobe Illustrator file formats:

Documents from version 8 and higher will be natively handled by FotoWare (requires enabling of the 'Create PDF Compatible File' option when saving the document). In this case, no additonal support software is required.
Documents from version 8 and higher that have been saved without the 'Create PDF Compatible File' can be handled if Adobe InDesign Server is available (support for this will be introduced in Service Release 2, release date will be announced later).
Documents from version 7 and lower will require Adobe Distiller Server or PSStill on the server.

EPS Vector support in FotoWare 7.0

In order to support indexing of document content and generation of high-quality thumbnails and previews of EPS vector graphics in FotoWare 7.0, we support two options for our customers:

Adobe Distiller Server is used by Index Manager and Color Factory in the process to convert EPS files to PDF, which are then natively indexed by our applications. Adobe Distiller Server must be installed on each server where Color Factory and Index Manager work with EPS files. More information, license terms and prices can be obtained from Adobe Systems.

PStill will be used by Index Manager or Color Factory if Adobe Distiller is not found on the server. PStill can be licensed for server use, provided that a license is purchased for each user of the system. More information, license terms and prices can be obtained from PStill's web site.

Customers that need support for EPS vector graphics must purchase a license for one of the above mentioned applications and install them on the FotoWare server(s) that process these files.

InDesign support notes

With the latest releases of Adobe InDesign, users are prohibited from running these applications on a server by the Adobe licensing terms. In the current version of FotoWare 7.0 it is possible to use Adobe InDesign Server to index InDesign files. The license for Adobe InDesign server must be purchased separately.

Remarks for Color Factory 7.0:

File format	Remark
JPEG	Read/Write, EXIF Header Read/Write, Photoshop resource Read/Write
TIFF	Read/Write, EXIF Header Read, Photoshop resource Read/Write, 8 and 16 bits
Photoshop PSD	Read/Write, Layer information Read/Write, Photoshop resource Read/Write, 8 and 16 bits
Photoshop EPS	Read/Write, Photoshop resource Read/Write. DCS 1 and DCS 2
GIF	Read/Write, Only 8 bit Gif written, Transparency supported
PNG	Read/Write, 24 or 8 bits written. Transparency and Alpha channel supported
BMP	Read/Write
PPM	Read/Write
Video	Conversion to animated Gif supported
MS Word (DOC,DOCX,DOT,DOTX)	Bitmap and preview generated. Requires MS Word 2003. Word 2007 required for dotx format.
MS PowerPoint (PPT,PPTX)	Bitmap and preview generated. Requires MS PowerPoint 2003. PowerPoint 2007 required for pptx format.
Adobe Indesign (INDD)	Bitmap and preview generated. Requires Adobe Indesign CS2.
Macromedia Freehand (FHnn)	Bitmap and preview generated. Requires Macromedia Freehand MX.
Generic EPS	Bitmap and preview generated. Requires Adobe Distiller Server or PStill.
Adobe PDF Adobe Illustrator	Bitmap and preview generated. See information listed in Index Manager section above.
Quark Xpress (QXD,QXP,QXT)	Bitmap and preview generated. Requires Quark XPress 5.0.

Note 1: Nikon NEF camera models

In Windows, the following models are supported:
D1, D1X, D1H, D2X, D2Hs, D2H, D100, D70, D70s, D50, D200, D2Xs, D80, D40, D40X, D3, D300, D60, D700, D90, D3X, COOLPIX8700, COOLPIX8400, COOLPIX8800, COOLPIX5700, COOLPIX5400, COOLPIX5000

In Mac OS X, support depends on the OS version.
The following URL lists models supported in 10.5.1 (Leopard):
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306835

The following URL lists models supported in 10.6 (Snow Leopard):
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3825

Note 2: Canon CRW/CR2 camera models

In Windows, the following models are supported:

EOS-1D Mark II, EOS-1D Mark II N, EOS-1D Mark III, EOS-1Ds Mark II, EOS-1Ds Mark III, EOS 20D, EOS Kiss Digital N/350D/REBEL XT, EOS 30D, EOS Kiss Digital X/400D/REBEL Xti, EOS 40D, EOS DIGITAL REBEL, Xsi/450D/ Kiss X2, EOS DIGITAL REBEL XS/1000D/ KISS F, EOS 50D, EOS 5D, EOS 5D Mark II

In Mac OS X, support depends on the OS version.
The following URL lists models supported in 10.5.1 (Leopard):
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306835

The following URL lists models supported in 10.6 (Snow Leopard):
http://support.apple.com/kb/ht3825

Note 3: Other RAW format camera models

Both in Windows and Mac OS X, DCRAW written by Dave Coffin is used for raw decoding of other formats.
A list of supported camera model can be found on this page:
http://cybercom.net/~dcoffin/dcraw/

Note 4:

Video formats in FotoWare 7 applications

FotoWare 7 applications support QuickTime, DirectShow and Flash video.

The following URL lists all formats natively supported in QuickTime:
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/extending/components.html

Note that MPEG-2 playback requires an extra plug-in that can be purchased from Apple.

IMPORTANT: QuickTime and DirectShow are plug-in architectures, which means that you can install additional 3rd party codecs to allow playback and generation of thumbnails and previews.

FotoWeb supports playback of Flash video files as well as QuickTime files (.mov) and DirectShow compliant formats. However, since many video file types can be encoded using a number of different codecs, the local clients require the correct codec to allow playback. Hence, it is generally a good idea to transcode all video material on a public FotoWeb site to a format that most browsers support.

HOWTO: Installing an earlier version of FotoStation 7.0 for Macintosh

Mon, 22 Nov 2010 10:19:29 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

FotoStation 7.0 for Macintosh
Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard), 10.6 (Snow Leopard), 10.7 (Lion) and 10.8 (Mountain Lion)

SUMMARY

To remove your current version of FotoStation and install an older version it is not enough simply to remove FotoStation from the Applications folder.

MORE INFORMATION

If you need to install a previous version of FotoStation for Macintosh, you must start by removing FotoStation from the Applications folder and putting it in the Trash. You may need to type your administrator password to perform this operation.

However, the operating system also keeps a separate installation receipt that tells which is the most recent version of FotoStation installed. Before you can start installing an older version of FotoStation, you need to remove this receipt before the system will allow you to install an older version.

HERE'S HOW

In Mac OS 10.5 (Leopard) the receipt is located in /Library/Receipts.

In Mac OS 10.6, 10.7 and 10.8 the receipt is stored in /var/db/receipts. This is a hidden folder, so to get to it we advise using the Finder and opening the Go menu and then choosing Go to folder (Keyboard shortcut: Shift-Command-G)

The install receipt that you will need to delete consists of two files:
com.fotoware.pkg.FotoStation7Installer.bom
com.fotoware.pkg.FotoStation7Installer.plist

Delete these two files, then run the FotoStation installer to install an earlier version.

HOWTO: Enabling maps in FotoWeb

Thu, 27 Sep 2012 12:33:45 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWeb 7.0 with template set for public sites

SUMMARY

This article explains how you can enable maps in FotoWeb's templates for public sites.

MORE INFORMATION

The FotoWeb template set for public sites supports maps that show the location where
a picture was taken, either based on GPS data in the file or the city/country location
in the metadata.

This functionality requires a valid license from Google or Microsoft to use Google
Maps for Business or Bing Maps respectively. Please note that depending on how you
plan to use your FotoWeb system, Google or Microsoft may charge a fee for use of
their map services.

Having obtained an API key from Google or Microsoft, you must enable the maps functionality
by modifying the settings.inc file located in your FotoWeb site’s Documents folder.
(This is typically located in C:\Programdata\FotoWare\FotoWeb\Site Settings\<Site
Name>\Documents)

Open settings.inc in Notepad or another plain text editor and look for the following
section:







<%$ SetCondition name="GoogleMapEnabled" value="false" /%>

<%$ SetCondition name="BingMapEnabled" value="false" /%>



<%$ SetVariable name="mapsApiKey" value="" /%>



<%$ SetVariable name="mapZoomLevelLookup" value="4" /%>



<%$ SetVariable name="mapZoomLevelAccurate" value="15" /%>



To enable Google Maps, change the above value marked in blue to “true”

To enable Bing Maps, change the above value marked in green to “true”

Finally, paste in the Google Maps or Bing Maps API key between the quotation marks
in the line marked in red, so that the line reads as such:

<%$ SetVariable name="mapsApiKey" value="1234567890" /%>

After you have saved the settings.inc file, the maps plugin you chose should show up on the preview page on your FotoWeb site.

INFO: Location of Configuration Files in FotoStation for Mac OS X

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 13:12:57 +0100

This document describes where the configuration files are stored in FotoStation 6.0 and 7.0.

All folder names refer to the English version of Mac OS X. A document on file locations in FotoStation 6.0 for Windows can be found here: http://www.fotoware.com/kb/article.aspx?id=10237

To simplify the document, we replace the following base folders with some abbreviated names:

ALLUSERS_FOLDER =

/Library/Application Support/FotoWare

PRIVATE_FOLDER =

/Users/<Username>/Library/Preferences/FotoWare

Configuration files

The base folders for the different configuration options are:

‘Use a common configuration for all users of the computer’

ALLUSERS_FOLDER/FotoStation/Configuration

‘Use a separate configuration for each user’

PRIVATE_FOLDER/FotoStation/Configuration

‘Log on and load configuration from a server’

PRIVATE_FOLDER/FotoStation/Server Configuration[1]

Localized configuration

Parts of the configuration (like web export and print templates, metadata editors/macros and templates, etc..) that are localized will now reside in the subfolder
…\localized\<your language>.[2] When you change the program language, FotoStation will access these folders directly in the language folder.

We have also decided to put more of the configuration in the localized folder. A side effect of this is that when you change language, changes made in the localized configuration will not be visible in other languages. For example, if you change the layout or add new metadata editors, these will not be available after changing the language. In this case you should first export the components that have been changed and then import them after changing the language.

Metadata configuration

The Metadata Configuration (MDC) is stored in a folder where it is accessed by all FotoWare applications, ALLUSERS_FOLDER\Metadata

This location is not influenced by the options selected in the configuration dialog discussed above.

Local file cache

The local file cache is now always stored per user, in the folder PRIVATE_FOLDER/FotoStation/Cache

Projects and jobs

Projects and Jobs will have a similar location beneath the respective base folder when you install FotoStation on a ‘clean’ machine.

Server configurations

This configuration will be independent of language selection and will not contain the subfolder ‘Localized\<your language>.

The file that contains the “logon path”, locationData.xml, is always stored in ALLUSERS_FOLDER\FotoStation\Configuration.

The consequence of this is that all users on the same machine will always use the same “logon path”. It is possible however to copy locationData.xml to PRIVATE_FOLDER\FotoStation\Configuration in order to personalize the “logon path”. This is can be useful when running FotoStation on a Citrix server.

For detailed information about the location of configuration files when using a server-based configuration, please download the attached file.

[1] Local copy of the configuration downloaded from the server.

[2] When using a server configuration, the ‘Localized/<your language>’ is skipped. See the section Server configurations for further details.

INFO: Location of Configuration Files in FotoStation for Windows

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 14:13:05 +0100

This document describes where the configuration files are stored in FotoStation 6.0 and 7.0 for Windows. A document on file locations in FotoStation 6.0 for Mac OS X can be found here: http://www.fotoware.com/kb/article.aspx?id=10233

To simplify the document, we replace the following base folders with some abbreviated names:

ALLUSERS_FOLDER =

In Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\FotoWare

In Windows Vista/Windows 7: C:\ProgramData\FotoWare

PRIVATE_FOLDER =

In Windows XP: C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\FotoWare

In Windows Vista / Windows 7: C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Roaming\FotoWare

COMMONFILES_FOLDER =

C:\Program Files\Common Files\FotoWare

Configuration files

The base folders for the different configuration options are:

‘Use a common configuration for all users of the computer’

ALLUSERS_FOLDER\FotoStation\Configuration

‘Use a separate configuration for each user’

PRIVATE_FOLDER\FotoStation\Configuration

‘Log on and load configuration from a server’

PRIVATE_FOLDER\FotoStation\Server Configuration[1]

Localized configuration

Metadata configuration

The Metadata Configuration (MDC) is stored in a folder where it is accessed by all FotoWare applications, ALLUSERS_FOLDER\Metadata

This location is not influenced by the options selected in the configuration dialog discussed above.

Local file cache

The local file cache is now always stored per user, in Windows XP typically in the folder C:\Documents and Settings\<Username>\Local Settings\Application Data\FotoWare\FotoStation\Cache

In Windows Vista and Windows 7, the cache is stored in a folder not affected by roaming profiles, typically C:\Users\<Username>\AppData\Local\FotoWare\FotoStation\Cache

Projects and jobs

Projects and Jobs will have a similar location beneath the respective base folder when you install FotoStation on a ‘clean’ machine.

Server configurations

When using the option ‘Log on and load configuration from a server’, when you log on the server configuration will be copied to the local folder, PRIVATE_FOLDER\FotoStation\Server Configuration. This configuration will be independent of language selection and will not contain the subfolder ‘Localized\<your language>.

The file that contains the “logon path”, locationData.xml, is always stored in ALLUSERS_FOLDER\FotoStation\Configuration. The consequence of this is that all users on the same machine will always use the same “logon path”. It is possible however to copy locationData.xml to PRIVATE_FOLDER\FotoStation\Configuration in order to personalize the “logon path”. This is can be useful when running FotoStation on a Citrix server.

For detailed information about the location of configuration files when using a server-based configuration, please download the attached file.

[1] Local copy of the configuration downloaded from the server.

[2] When using a server configuration, the ‘Localized\<your language>’ is skipped. Se the section Server configurations for further details.

INFO: Alternatives to regular online activation of FotoWare software

Tue, 31 Jul 2012 10:47:52 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

All FotoWare products that require activation

SUMMARY

This article outlines the available activation alternatives for envirnments where online activation of FotoWare software is not available.

MORE INFORMATION

All FotoWare products require license activation to run.

Regular activation of a FotoWare product involves creating a secure connection to FotoWare's activation server (activate.fotoware.com) directly from the computer where the software is installed. The FotoWare Activation Wizard utility normally helps you with the activation process the first time you start the software.

For environments where online activation is not possible, such as closed or high-security networks, there are other ways of activating the software:

- Offline Activation

- Activation using a license file

- Activation using a license server

Offline Activation is the default alternative method when an online connection to FotoWare's activation server fails.

Read more about the procedure for performing an offline activation in this knowledge base article.

License File activation implies that a file with a license is placed on the machine where the software runs, or on another machine that can be reached over the network. To obtain a license file for this kind of activation, please contact your FotoWare Partner.

The article below outlines how license file activation is performed in practise.

Activating a FotoWare license with a license file or license server

License Server activation
A third option is to use a license server for handling licenses. In this case, the FotoWare License Server software is installed on a machine in the network and a license file is registered on that server. Network clients running FotoWare software then check out licenses from the server when starting up.

Learn more about License servers in this Knowledge Base article.

The below article explains how to configure your clients to use the license server:

Activating a FotoWare license with a license file or license server

HOWTO: Activating a FotoWare license with a license file or license server

Wed, 12 Dec 2007 14:10:48 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWare products that require activation in Windows or Mac OS X

SUMMARY

If you have received a license file to activate your FotoWare software product, or if you are connecting to a FotoWare License Server, follow the procedure outlined below.

MORE INFORMATION

Instructions for Windows client systems
Mac users - see instructions further down.

1. Store the license file somewhere on your machine (e.g. C:\LicenseFile.lic). If you have received multiple license files, concatenate them to a single file, making sure you only have one comment at the top of the file and no extra lineshifts between the license sections.

2. Right-Click ‘My Computer’ and select ‘Properties’

3. Switch to the ‘Advanced’ tab and click ‘Environment Variables’

4. Under the ‘System Variables’ section (bottom), click the ‘New’ button

5. Type in the following values:

Variable name: LM_LICENSE_FILE

Variable value: C:\LicenseFile.lic (or the path to the location where you stored the file)

Note: If you are using a license server, enter @servername or portnumber@servername as the variable value.

6. Click OK three times to close all the dialogs

7. Start the application, which will now be licensed for this computer

The attached license file replaces any already issued product key.

NOTE: A working connection to the license server is required for subsequent program startups. If the license server cannot be reached, the activation wizard will be started and a product key must be filled in before the program will start.

License File Usage Instructions for FotoStation in Mac OS X

The below procedure is intended for users running a version of FotoStation 7.0 older than Service Release 5 (build number lower than 525). If you are running the Service Release 5 of FotoStation 7.0, jump to the section below.

1. Download the environment.plist file attached to this KB article.

2. Open the Terminal app, go to your user folder and then create a folder inside it called .MacOSX
(the folder will automatically be hidden by the system)

3. Copy the environment.plist file that you downloaded to the .MacOSX folder. The environment.plist file contains the path to the license file. If you are acquainted with editing xml files you can edit it and change the value of the LM_LICENSE_FILE key to the path to the license file. If you do not wish to do this, the license file must be called LicenseFile.lic and be stored in the root folder of your hard drive (NOT in your user folder). If you received several license files, they may have to be renamed.

Note: If you are using a license server, enter @servername or portnumber@servername instead of a physical path.

5. Log out and back in again. You can now start FotoStation.

NOTE: On the Mac, registering FotoStation using a license file is user-specific. Logging in with another user will require completing the above steps for each user before FotoStation will start. Also the LicenseFile.lic file must not be moved or deleted.

Procedure for FotoStation 7.0 Service Release 5 and users of Mac OS 10.8 (Mountain Lion)

With FotoWare 7.0 Service Release 5 a new version of the activation software was introduced that makes it easier to connect Mac OS clients of FotoStation to a license server or a license file.

Mountain Lion no longer supports the setting of user environment variables using the environment.plist file. However, you can create a plain text file inside your user folder that the activation tools will use to locate the license file or license server.
If you have already started a trial mode of FotoStation on your Mac, the file will already be present in your user folder.

The file is stored in the user's home folder and is called .flexlmrc
It is hidden, but you can find it in the folder using the ls -al command in the Terminal application.

The file can be edited with any plain text editor such as vi or pico, or even TextEdit.
(Tip: If you're using TextEdit to open the file, you may have to press Command-Shift-period in the Open dialog box to display hidden files.)

The file typically contains one line per vendor using the FlexNet activation tools.

Look for this line:

FOTOWARE_LICENSE_FILE=

Typically, the value following the equal sign will point to a local folder. You can change it to the location where the license file is stored, or to the license server address.

Examples:
With a license file, the line may read: FOTOWARE_LICENSE_FILE=/license.lic
This would indicate that the license file, called license.lic, is stored on the root of the system volume.

With a license server, the line could for instance read: FOTOWARE_LICENSE_FILE=@licserver

This would indicate that the license server software runs on the server called licserver, and that the service communicates on the default port.

If your license server is configured to use an alternative port number, you can specify this in the connection string, as such:
FOTOWARE_LICENSE_FILE=2000@licserver

This will try to locate a license by accessing licserver on port 2000.

Save the changes to the .flexlm file and start FotoStation to test that it runs.

Note: If a trial of FotoStation has been initialized, the trial will keep on running until it times out (30 days), at which point a regular license will be checked out from the license server.

Because the license file/server connection is stored per user, you will need to copy the .flexlmrc file to the home folders of all the users of the Mac that need access to FotoStation.

HOWTO: Setting up a FotoWare License Server - Quick Start

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:20:14 +0100

This document explains how to install and set up the FotoWare License Server and install a license certificate. You will need a license server for the following scenarios:

You have a redundancy license of a server application
You have licensed a client application for use in a Terminal Server or Citrix environment
You have a concurrent usage license for a client application

The process of installing and setting up the license server consists of the following steps:

Obtaining one or more license certificates
Merging the license certificates (if more than one)
Installing the FotoWare License Server
Installing the license certificate
Testing the license server
Configuring the clients to access the license server

Getting a license certificate

If you have not already received a valid license certificate from FotoWare, contact us to get one. FotoWare will require the Ethernet ID of the network card on the machine that will work as the license server in your network. The license server can be installed on Windows Server 2003 machines. The server's Ethernet ID (aka. a MAC address) can be found by running ipconfig / all from the command line.

Merging license certificates

A typical license file looks like this:

SERVER localhost 0A1B3C4D5E
VENDOR fotoware
FEATURE ColorFactoryBase fotoware 1.0 permanent 1 SIGN="11E0 CD95 4F5E \
   8553 8664 265E 6B05 4FE3 C140 097D 6D00 96C3 4B17 E30E C32A \
   038C CE7D 8C3A 1501 A513 33C1 912A 8CA7 E43C 669E 5A12 CEED \
   250A 3AE2 4CC9"

A merged license file consists of a single header, followed by all the FEATURE lines combined:

SERVER localhost 0A1B3C4D5E
VENDOR fotoware
FEATURE ColorFactoryBase fotoware 1.0 permanent 1 SIGN="11E0 CD95 4F5E \
   8553 8664 265E 6B05 4FE3 C140 097D 6DE0 96C3 4B17 E30E C32A \
   038C CF7D 8C3A 1501 A593 33C1 912A 8CA7 E43C 669E 5A12 CEED \
   250A 3AC2 4CC9"
FEATURE IndexManagerBase fotoware 1.0 permanent 1 SIGN="11E0 CD95 4F5E \
   8553 8664 265E 6B05 4FE3 C140 097F 6DE0 96C3 4B17 E30E C32A \
   038C CF7D 8C3E 15A1 A514 33C1 912A 8CA7 E43C 669E 5A12 CEED \
   250A 3AC2 4CC9"

DO NOT CHANGE ANYTHING in the license file, as this will render the file unusable. If you need to replace the license server, you must perform a Rehost operation from the activation server. (Contact FotoWare Support for assistance.)

Installing the FotoWare License Server

The FotoWare License Server can be downloaded from the Update Center (http://www.fotoware.com/Support/UpdateCenter/Utilities/LicenseServer). The password to download the file is 143276.

The license server uses the TCP Port 27000. It is possible to change this to avoid collisions with other applications. See ‘Configuring the License Server port number’ below.
The application is installed in C:\Program Files\FotoWare\License Server 11.4. It runs as a service, which is registered with short name FWLICSRV and is listed as FotoWare License Server in the Services Control Panel applet.

Configuring the License Server port number

To run on another port than the default (27000), the LicenseFile.lic file must be updated. The file can be opened in Notepad. Change the first line of the file as indicated below:
SERVER localhost 0A1B3C4D5E
To:
SERVER localhost 0A1B3C4D5E 8000
The service must be restarted in order for this change to take effect, and will then run on port 8000. Make sure you select a port number that is not already in use.

Installing the license certificate

Use a text editor to copy the content of the merged license certificate into the file C:\Program Files\FotoWare\License Server 11.4\LicenseFile.lic, replacing all the content of the file. Restart the service.

Testing the license server

You can test the license server by issuing the following command from a terminal:
lmutil lmdiag

This will display the features that can be checked out from the server. You can also use lmtools to further diagnose and configure the server. Note that if you change the configuration using lmtools, the uninstallation may not be able to completely uninstall the application.

Configuring the clients to access the license server

It is necessary to configure the client computers to access the license server by setting up an environment variable.

For detailed instructions on configuring your Windows and Mac clients to use the license server, please study this Knowledge Base document.

HOWTO: Offline activation procedure for FotoWare software

Mon, 04 May 2009 16:09:15 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWare applications that require activation to run

SUMMARY

FotoWare software uses an activation system that relies on a working Internet connection to function properly. However, if your system is behind a restrictive firewall or has limited connectivity for other reasons, there is a manual activation procedure to allow you to run the software even on such systems.

MORE INFORMATION

Performing offline activation

The offline activation procedure only becomes available if the FotoWare Activation Assistant fails to establish a connection to the Internet. When this happens you get the option of doing it the manual (offline)way.

From a technical point of view, the manual activation procedure works just like the online one. The first step is to create a file that contains a binary “fingerprint” of the computer where you want to activate the software. This file is created when you click the corresponding button in the Activation Assistant. The file must then be copied to a computer with a working Internet connection, for example using a USB memory stick.

Using the computer with an Internet connection, go to www.fotoware.com/mact

Type in your email address – the response file needed to activate will be sent to this address, so you should make sure it is entered correctly.

Attach the fingerprint file and click Submit.

FotoWare will process the file and return the Activation Response File. This file is only valid for activating the software on the machine where you originally created the fingerprint file.

Copy the Activation Response file back to the machine where the software should be activated. From here, the procedure differs based on whether you have a Windows or a Macintosh system:

Windows

Having copied the file to e.g. the desktop, simply double-click on the file to activate the software.

Macintosh

• Open the Applications folder.
• Right-click on the FotoStation application icon and choose Show Package Contents
• Expand the Contents folder and then expand the MacOS folder.
• Start the Terminal application
• Drag the FotoWare-Activation-Assistant into the Terminal window.
• Drag the Activation Response file from FotoWare into the terminal.

This should produce this syntax in the Terminal window: (The path to and name of the Activation Response file may differ based on where you have stored it)

/Applications/FotoStation.app/Contents/MacOS/FotoWare-Activation-Assistant /Users/oaf/Desktop/Activation-response.fwar

• Press Enter / Return to execute the command and activate the software.

If, when following the above procedure for Mac, you receive an error message saying that the file is already open, perform the offline activation this way:

Start the Terminal application

Type cd /Applications/FotoStation.app/Contents/MacOS/ and press Enter
Type ./FotoWare-Activation-Assistant /Users/username/Response.fwar
(where /Users/username/response.fwar should be replaced with the path and filename of the activation response file) and press Enter

PRB: Operations Center crashes on the Mac

Wed, 27 Jun 2012 09:11:05 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

Operations Center on Mac with Silverlight 5.0

SYMPTOMS

The Operations Center crashes when running in a web browser on a Mac computer

CAUSE

Silverlight 5.0 contains a bug that causes the crash.

RESOLUTION

Download Silverlight version 5.1 for Mac. It can be found at this address: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?linkid=149156

PS: The link must be opened on a Mac - otherwise the Windows version of Silverlight will be downloaded.

INFO: FotoStation incompatibility with X-Rite Color Management profiles

Wed, 13 Jun 2012 10:09:54 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

FotoStation 7.0

SYMPTOMS

FotoStation creates thumbnails and previews very slowly on systems that have been calibrated with X-Rite color management tools.

CAUSE

FotoStation has a known incompatibility with X-Rite color management profiles. Hence, if FotoStation is set to use any X-Rite color management profile or is configured to use the system default profile (which, after X-Rite calibration would be an X-Rite profile) for thumbnails and previews, the generation of thumbnails will seem very slow.

RESOLUTION

Configure FotoStation to use a different color management profile for thumbnails and previews.

To do so:

Open the File menu and choose Configuration. (FotoStation - Configuration on the Mac)

Expand the General node and choose Color Management

Disable Use FotoWare Default Profile for thumbnails and previews and choose another, non-X-Rite profile from the list.

Click OK to save the changes and close the configuration window.

INFO: SSL and SSO Compatibility Chart for FotoWare 7.0 SR5 (Beta)

Wed, 30 May 2012 12:14:08 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWare products version 7.0 Service Release 5

SUMMARY

This document outlines support for SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) and SSO (Single Sign-On) in FotoWare 7.0 Service Release 5

Program Feature SSL SSO SSL+SSO

FotoStation Windows

IM Archive OK N/A N/A

FW AA Archive OK NOT OK NOT OK

Web Upload NOT OK NOT OK NOT OK

FotoStation Macintosh

IM Archive OK N/A N/A

FW AA Archive OK NOT OK NOT OK

Web Upload NOT OK NOT OK NOT OK

FotoWeb Desktop Windows

Office Plugin OK OK OK

Uploader OK OK * OK *

CS Extension OK OK * NOT OK

FotoWeb Desktop Macintosh

Uploader OK NOT OK NOT OK

CS Extension OK NOT OK NOT OK

Connect

IM Source OK NOT OK NOT OK

FW AA Source OK NOT OK NOT OK

FW Upload OK NOT OK NOT OK

Color Factory

IM Source OK N/A N/A

FotoWeb

IM Archive OK N/A N/A

* SSO with authentication dialog

INFO: Storage architecture considerations for FotoWare systems

Thu, 24 May 2012 14:03:10 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWare 7.0 applications

SUMMARY

About FotoWare support for different storage solutions (including NAS), and SMB/CIFS considerations.

MORE INFORMATION

FotoWare do not test their software with or recommend specific NAS systems, but many FotoWare customers work successfully with NAS devices. Below are some general guidelines that should be taken into consideration when planning your storage architecture.

FotoWare applications depend on a feature in Windows that allows instant detection of file changes. This allows Index Manager to detect a change done by any other application, whether it is a FotoWare or third-party application, and is essential for the FotoWare system to show up-to-date information to users. Examples of such operations are metadata updates from FotoStation, copying a file to a new location using FotoWeb, resaving a file from Photoshop, reorganizing files in the Macintosh Finder or restoring files from backup on the server.

Instant detection of file changes may or may not work depending on support in the vendors implementation of SMB (CIFS). Also, many devices support alternative protocols such as HTTP/FTP/NFS/AppleTalk. If used, they do not work with instant detection, and Index Manager can therefore not detect changes done via these protocols through other means than background scanning. Background scanning in Index Manager is run continuously, and the volume of data on the share IM is accessing will determine turnover time (and thereby detection time).

Windows is the only platform that supports instant detection natively, and supports this for changes through all protocols (changes are only communicated to clients via SMB, though).

Some devices automatically migrate data from fast to slower storage areas depending on use. Index Manager cannot work with systems that migrate data onto slow storage such as tape, optical media, or cloud storage. Systems using a mix of fast and slower hard drives will typically work (e.g. from SSD via SAS to SATA). However, since Index Manager and other FotoWare applications frequently need access to the high-resolution file for metadata updates, image processing and download, files will typically be kept in the faster areas of the disk system and never/seldom be candidates for migration to slower storage (e.g. a reindex operation in Index Manager will access all file data of all files in the archive).

FotoWare does not support storing data in Object-based Storage Systems that only offer API/HTTP REST access (also known as BLOB storage).

In general, FotoWare recommends using local storage on a Windows Server for all archives with a high turnover of files, while static archives with mostly read-only access work fine on most high-end NAS devices.

INFO: What cookies does FotoWeb use and what exactly are they for?

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 12:53:21 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWeb 7.0

SUMMARY

This article lists all the different cookies that FotoWeb uses and what they are for.

MORE INFORMATION

Name: FWFV
Content:       Mon, 27 Feb 2012 18:51:07 GMT
What it does: Stores the first the this page was visited
Why it is used: Used to see if you have been on the site before

Name: FWSession
Content:       4ca8c20a2fbc69bc77856e126f4a0ecc
What it does: Stores the encrypted session id
Why it is used: Used to identify that the user is valid

Name: ImageScale
Content:       240
What it does: Stores the currently used thumbnail size
Why it is used: Helps so you do not have to rezise the thumbnails to preferred size every time you go to a new page

Name: InfoContainers
Content:          infoBasic%3Dfalse%7CinfoCategory%3Dfalse%7CinfoNotes%3Dfalse%7CinfoLocation%3Dfalse%7CinfoReference%3Dfalse%7CinfoCustom%3Dfalse
What it does: Saves which metadata sections that should be visible for the user in preview.fwx
Why it is used: Helps so the user do not have to modify his/her shown/hidden metadata sections every time preview.fwx is refreshed

Name: PreviewInfoContainerStatus
Content:       0%7C0%7C0%7C0%7C0%7C0
What it does: Stores which metadata section that was open the last time the user visited preview.fwx
Why it is used: Helps so the user do not have to modify his/her opened/collapsed metadata sections every time preview.fwx is refreshed

Name: cols
Content:       4
What it does: Stores how many colums og files that should be shown in the grid
Why it is used: Works together with the cookie ‘rows’ to determine the total amount of files that is shown in the grid (or any other page that has page navigation), and remembers it so that the user do not have to set it up every time the page is refreshed.

Name: rows
Content:       5
What it does: Stores how many rows og files that should be shown in the grid
Why it is used: See ‘cols’

Name: directPreview
Content:       1
What it does: Stores if the user should see a preview on when hovering over a thumbnail
Why it is used: helps so the user do not need to set this setting every time he/she refreshes the page

Name: extendedInfo
Content:       0
What it does: Stores if the user should see a extended info under each thumbnail
Why it is used: helps so the user do not need to set this setting every time he/she refreshes the page

Name: showRating
Content:       0
What it does: Stores if the user should see a rating control under each thumbnail
Why it is used: helps so the user do not need to set this setting every time he/she refreshes the page

Name: sorting
Content:       ModifiedTimeAsc
What it does: Stores the sorting set on the thumbnails
Why it is used: helps so the user do not need to set this setting every time he/she refreshes the page

Name: Panel_0_status_on_fotowebGrid.fwx
Content:       closed
What it does: Stores if the Action Panel on Grid.fwx was open or closed the last time the user looked at the page.
Why it is used: Helping so that the user do not have to open or collapse the panel everytime he/she goes to the page.

Name: Panel_0_status_on_fotowebPreview.fwx
Content:       open
What it does: Stores if the Action Panel on Preview.fwx was open or closed the last time the user looked at the page.
Why it is used: See Panel_0_status_on_fotowebGrid.fwx

Name: Panel_0_status_on_fotowebSearch.fwx
Content:       open
What it does: Stores if the Action Panel on Searchfwx was open or closed the last time the user looked at the page.
Why it is used: See Panel_0_status_on_fotowebGrid.fwx

Name: Panel_1_status_on_fotowebGrid.fwx
Content:       open
What it does: Same as Panel_0_status_on_fotowebGrid.fwx, but for the selection panel
Why it is used: See Panel_0_status_on_fotowebGrid.fwx

Name: Panel_1_status_on_fotowebPreview.fwx
Content:       open
What it does: Stores if the Preview Sizes on Preview.fwx was open or closed the last time the user looked at the page.
Why it is used: See Panel_0_status_on_fotowebGrid.fwx

Name: Panel_2_status_on_fotowebGrid.fwx
Content:       closed
What it does: Same as Panel_0_status_on_fotowebGrid.fwx, but for the structure panel
Why it is used: See Panel_0_status_on_fotowebGrid.fwx

Name: Panel_3_status_on_fotowebGrid.fwx
Content:       closed
What it does: Same as Panel_0_status_on_fotowebGrid.fwx, but for the datamining panel
Why it is used: See Panel_0_status_on_fotowebGrid.fwx

Name: Panel_4_status_on_fotowebGrid.fwx
Content:       open
What it does: Same as Panel_0_status_on_fotowebGrid.fwx, but for the searchtree panel
Why it is used: See Panel_0_status_on_fotowebGrid.fwx

Name: Panel_5_status_on_fotowebGrid.fwx
Content:       closed
What it does: Same as Panel_0_status_on_fotowebGrid.fwx, but for the keyword list panel
Why it is used: See Panel_0_status_on_fotowebGrid.fwx

INFO: FotoStation does not support dates before year 100

Wed, 07 Mar 2012 09:59:19 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

FotoStation, all versions
FotoWeb, all versions

SUMMARY

When using a standard date field or creating a custom one you cannot set a date before year 100.

MORE INFORMATION

If you type in year 99 in a date field, it will be automatically converted to 1999. Similarly, 21 will be converted to 2021.

SUGGESTED WORKAROUND

A possible workaround will be to use a text-formatted field for storing such dates.

INFO: Connect fails to transfer files with Ö character to and from certain FTP servers

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:34:03 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

Connect 7.0

SUMMARY

For historical reasons, some FTP servers construe the Ö character as a backslash "\". This may affect channels that download or upload files to/from certain types of FTP servers

MORE INFORMATION

Since the problem lies in the way that some FTP servers interpret the Ö character, your best option to remedy the situation is to rename your files to avoid the Ö character completely. Not all Connect users will experience this problem though, since only certain FTP servers exhibit this behavior.

INFO: Supported file formats in FotoWare applications version 6.0

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 13:25:01 +0100

FotoWare 6.0 supported file formats

Updated 23 sept 2009

The following file formats can be read and presented with a visual representation (thumbnail, preview or high resolution):

File format	Remark
JPEG	EXIF Header Read/Write
TIFF	EXIF Header Read
Photoshop PSD
Photoshop EPS
GIF	Animated Gif is treated as a movie
PNG
BMP
Nikon NEF	EXIF Header Read. See note 1 for more information
Canon CRW,CR2	EXIF Header Read. See note 2 for more information
DNG	EXIF Header Read
Other raw formats	See note 3 for more information
Video	See note 4 for more information
Targa
PPM
JPEG2000
PICT
Photo CD	Read (Windows only)
Adobe Illustrator (AI)	Read embedded thumbnail only
Generic EPS	Read embedded preview only
Adobe PDF	Read embedded preview/thumbnail only

Remarks for FotoStation 6.0:

File format	Remark
JPEG	Read/Write. EXIF Header Read/Write
TIFF	Read/Write. EXIF Header Read
Photoshop EPS	Read/Write
Video	Selectable thumbnail. Plays in grid. See note 4 for more information.

In archives created by FotoWare Index Manager 6.0 additional formats can be viewed. See ‘Index Manager 6.0 Supported file formats’ for more information.

Audio files are supported via QuickTime and play in the grid.
See http://www.apple.com/quicktime/player/specs.html for more information.

Remarks for Index Manager 6.0:

Any file (format) is able to store XMP Metadata either embedded or in a sidecar .xmp file. Metadata will be indexed for all indexed files. Both XMP and IPTC metadata is supported when available.

Note: The table below only contains formats with some kind of remark. Formats not included in the table are always supported with Metadata indexing.

File format	Remark
JPEG	EXIF Header Read
TIFF	EXIF Header Read
Nikon NEF	EXIF Header Read
Canon CRW,CR2	EXIF Header Read
MS Word (DOC,DOCX,DOT,DOTX )	Text content indexed and preview generated. Requires MS Word 2003. Word 2007 required for docx format.
MS PowerPoint (PPT,PPTX)	Text content indexed and preview generated. Requires MS PowerPoint 2003. PowerPoint 2007 required for pptx format
Adobe Indesign (INDD)	Text content indexed and preview generated. Requires Adobe Indesign CS2.
Macromedia Freehand (FHnn)	Text content indexed and preview generated. Requires Macromedia Freehand MX.
Generic EPS	Text content indexed and preview generated. Requires Adobe Acrobat and Distiller 7.0.
Adobe PDF Adobe Illustrator (AI)	Text content indexed and preview generated. Requires Adobe Acrobat 7.0. Text content indexed and preview generated. Requires Adobe Illustrator CS2 or Acrobat 7.0. See note below for more info
Quark Xpress (QXD,QXP,QXT)	Text content indexed and preview generated. Requires Quark XPress 5.0.
AutoCad (DWG)	Preview generated. Requires Adobe Illustrator

Text content will be added to the Content preview field in the Metadata. This will cause the metadata to be updated and may create a sidecar file. Image previews will be stored in the Macintosh resource of the file. The preview is accessible from Windows clients provided that the indexed files are stored on an NTFS file system. Macintosh clients can only see the preview when using the AFP file sharing protocol.

Special note for Adobe Illustrator files:
Illustrator files are now processed with Acrobat (files created with AI 8.0 or newer) or Distiller (AI 7.x and older). For newer files (8.0 and newer) "Create PDF compatible file" must be checked when saving in AI. If Adobe Illustrator is installed on the server, it will be used rather than the Acrobat instance. Note that Illustrator CS3 cannot be installed on a Windows Server.

Remarks for Color Factory 6.0:

File format	Remark
JPEG	Read/Write, EXIF Header Read/Write, Photoshop resource Read/Write
TIFF	Read/Write, EXIF Header Read, Photoshop resource Read/Write, 8 and 16 bits
Photoshop PSD	Read/Write, Layer information Read/Write, Photoshop resource Read/Write, 8 and 16 bits
Photoshop EPS	Read/Write, Photoshop resource Read/Write. DCS 1 and DCS 2
GIF	Read/Write, Only 8 bit Gif written, Transparency supported
PNG	Read/Write, 24 or 8 bits written. Transparency and Alpha channel supported
BMP	Read/Write
PPM	Read/Write
Video	Conversion to animated Gif supported
MS Word (DOC,DOCX,DOT,DOTX)	Bitmap and preview generated. Requires MS Word 2003. Word 2007 required for dotx format.
MS PowerPoint (PPT,PPTX)	Bitmap and preview generated. Requires MS PowerPoint 2003. PowerPoint 2007 required for pptx format.
Adobe Indesign (INDD)	Bitmap and preview generated. Requires Adobe Indesign CS2.
Macromedia Freehand (FHnn)	Bitmap and preview generated. Requires Macromedia Freehand MX.
Generic EPS	Bitmap and preview generated. Requires Adobe Acrobat and Distiller 7.0.
Adobe PDF Adobe Illustrator	Bitmap and preview generated. Requires Adobe Acrobat 7.0. See information listed in Index Manager section above.
Quark Xpress (QXD,QXP,QXT)	Bitmap and preview generated. Requires Quark XPress 5.0.

Note 1: Nikon NEF camera models

In Mac OS X, support depends on the OS version.
This following URL lists models supported in 10.5.1 (Leopard):
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306835

Note 2: Canon CRW/CR2 camera models

In Windows, the following models are supported:

In Mac OS X, support depends on the OS version.
This following URL lists models supported in 10.5.1 (Leopard):
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=306835

Note 3: Other raw format camera models

Both in Windows and Mac OS X, DCRAW written by Dave Coffin is used for raw decoding of other formats.
A list of supported camera model can be found on this page:
http://cybercom.net/~dcoffin/dcraw/

Note 4: Video formats

Video decoding and playback is done via QuickTime. The following URL lists all supported formats.
http://www.apple.com/quicktime/player/specs.html
Note that MPEG-2 playback requires an extra plug-in that can be purchased from Apple.

INFO: Where does FotoWeb Desktop store its files?

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 10:30:05 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWeb Desktop 7.0

SUMMARY

This document explains where you can find FotoWeb Desktop's control files and where checked-out files are kept

MORE INFORMATION

The settings file that is used by the Uploader, Office Plugin and the Adobe Extensions is found at:

%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\FotoWare\FotoWeb Desktop\SitePreferences.xml

Files that are checked out are stored in:

%USERPROFILE%\AppData\Roaming\FotoWare\FotoWeb Desktop

When using the Upload tool, files are copied to “%TEMP%\FWDT” before uploading. Any metadata changes and client side resize is applied here.

The settings file with server and proxy settings may be included in a deployment scenario.

INFO: Data Mining in Index Manager 7.0

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 09:58:10 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

Index Manager 7.0

SUMMARY

Index Manager 7.0 handles data mining tables differently from Index Manager 6.0.

MORE INFORMATION

For most fields, every single word in the field is listed as a separate entry in the data mining tables. For instance, if you have added the text “The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog” to the Caption field (#120) of a file in your indexed archive, FotoStation and FotoWeb would display a separate entry for every word in the sentence. (Note that “the”, being defined as a noise word by default, will not be listed.)

This, however, can cause problems for special fields such as Byline, City and some other fields where you would typically want the content of that field to be listed as an entity, a string. For example, if you typed New York in the City field, you would most likely want to be able to search for “New York” using Data Mining by clicking on that single entry, not New and York separately.

To make this possible, the following fields are now handled as containing multiple words making up a unit:

Supplemental Category
Keywords
Byline
Byline Title
City
State
Country
Credit
Image ID (FotoWare Unique Document ID - Field #187)
Job ID
ICC Profile

Service Release 4 update (build 500 and newer)

Starting with Service Release 4, multi-word entries in the above fields will appear both as a string (e.g. "New Yord") in the data mining tables, and as separate entries ("New" and "York")

INFO: Job Request File description

Thu, 13 Jan 2005 12:26:58 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

Color Factory 6.0 and 7.0

QUESTION

What are the specifications for the JRF file and which programs can create these?

ANSWER

It does not matter which program that created these JRF files. As long as the content is correct, according to the specification, the file can be created by a database export, special created program, InDesign or Quark.

Specification for FotoWare Job Request File.

The Job Request File (JRF) is an ascii file that containes the full local or UNC (Universal Naming Convention) path for an image file that is to be processed by Color Factory. It also containes the full path of the resulting output file.

The moment a JRF is saved in a Color Factory hotfolder it is read and the processing starts. This means that the file to be processed must be in place before the JRF is created.
The output file will be given a temporary name during the processing and renamed to the proper name when the output file is complete. If a file with the same name already exists it will be overwritten. The input and output filenames can be the same.

Color Factory can generate a result file that will contain the name of the output file and an error code with description. The result file will have the same name and path as the JRF but with the extension PRF (Process Result File).

The JRF file is always removed by Color Factory.

The syntax of the files is the same as a Windows “INI” file. This will give us the possibility to extend the functionality at a later stage.

A JRF is recognized by Color Factory as such if the file begins with the string “[JRF]”.
JRF´s version 2 are supported by Color Factory Version 5.0

B: The complete specification for a Job Request File:

[JRF]
/* section name and magic string */

M_VERSION=2
/* Current version */

M_INPUT_FILE=\\SERVER1\OPI\HIRES\Nice Image.jpg
/* Full path and filename of input file */

M_OUTPUT_FILE=\\SERVER1\OPI\HIRES\Nice Image.jpg /* If left empty, the channel output folder will be used

M_REMOVE_INPUT_FILE=1
/* 0 =do not remove input file, 1 =remove input file */

M_SET_EXTENSION=1
/* 0 = use exact filename in M_OUTPUT_FILE, 1 = Set Extension depending of file format */

M_RETURN_PRF=1
/* 1 = ON , 0 = OFF */

O_INPUT_UID=xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
/* Search for image with this UID. If UID is present and found it is used instead of M_INPUT_FILE*/

O_INPUT_OID=xxxx
/* Owner ID. Can be used for HTTP search*/

O_OUTPUT_IMAGENAME=Image.jpg
/* Name to use on output file if M_OUTPUT_FILE is left empty */

O_COPY_INPUT_FILE=\\SERVER1\OPI\BACKUP\Nice Image.jpg
/*Copy the input file to this location */

O_OUTPUT_COLOR=CMYK
/* can be CMYK , RGB or BW */

O_OUTPUT_RES_DPI=180
/* output resolution in DPI */

O_AUTOCONTRAST=1
/* 1 = ON , 0 = OFF */

O_UNSHARPMASK=1
/* 1 = ON , 0 = OFF */

/* Crop and Width values can also be given as floating point
values. Note that when FP is used a dot ‘.’ must appear in the
value string. FP values must not be multiplied by 100 or 1000. Max values
for Crop is 100.0 and width values are given in inch or cm.*/

O_CROP_LEFT=1500
/* left crop 0 - 10000. 10000 = 100% of width */

O_CROP_TOP=1500
/* top crop 0 - 10000. 10000 = 100% of height */

O_CROP_RIGHT=5000
/* right crop 0 - 10000. 10000 = 100% of width */

O_CROP_BOTTOM=5000
/* bottom crop 0 - 10000. 10000 = 100% of height */

O_WIDTH_INCH=4500
/* width of crop area in Inch * 1000 */

O_WIDTH_CM=4500
/* width of crop area in cm * 1000 */

O_HEIGHT_INCH=4500
/* Height of crop area in Inch * 1000 .*/

O_HEIGHT_CM=4500
/* Height of crop area in cm * 1000 */

O_ROTATE=90
/* rotation in degrees, values between 0-360 */

The specification for a Process Result File:

[PRF]
/* section name and magic string */

OUTPUT_FILE=\\SERVER1\OPI\HIRES\Nice Image.jpg

ERROR=1
/* O = no error, 1 = process failed */

ERROR_STRING=Invalid Path
/* Error description generated by Color Factory */

INFO: Caching mechanisms in Index Manager 7.0 Service Release 4

Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:29:37 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

Index Manager 7.0 Service Release 4 (build 500 and newer)

SUMMARY

This document aims to explain how the caching mechanisms in Index Manager 7.0 SR4 work. It is intended for system administrators, not users of FotoWare client software.

MORE INFORMATION

A FotoWare system requires Index Manager to generate browseable thumbnails and previews of the files in your indexed archives.

To increase the speed with which FotoWare clients can access and display the thumbnails and previews, Index Manager uses a caching mechanism. You can set the location of the cache folder in the Index Manager’s Service Options in the Operations Center.

The index folder should be stored on the fastest disk available in your system, and that disk should have a large cache to improve performance. You should never store the cache on a volume that the Index Manager needs to access over a network.

When a user requests a file that is not available in the cache, Index Manager generates a thumbnail and preview of that file, whether it’s an image file, a PDF or an Office document, and serves it to the client over the FWP protocol. It will also store a copy of the thumbnail and preview in the cache folder for future use. Up until Service Release three, this was the only caching mechanism in Index Manager, and it could result in thumbnails taking a little while to display at a client’s workstation. All in all, it depended on the time it took for Index Manager to generate the thumbnail.

With Index Manager 7.0 Service Release 4 (builds 500 and newer) the caching mechanism has been improved further. When the service starts up, it will initialize the indexes and make them available to the clients, after which it starts a cache warming process. This implies that Index Manager scans the index’ document folders and pre-generates thumbnails and previews and stores them in the cache. Thus, chances are Index Manager can use a cached copy of a file that a client requests without having to generate it on-request. This has proven to greatly improve the speed of most systems, even ones that don’t have a great deal of traffic, although high-volume systems will notice the biggest performance boost.

In Index Manager’s Service Options, you find a setting that controls the size of the cache per index. This setting relates to the caching outlined above. It sets the maximum size that Index Manager will let the cache expand to before it shuts down the cache warming, i.e. the pre-generation of thumbnails and previews. When clients request files that are not cached, Index Manager will still cache them on-request for future use, so the cache folder may still expand beyond the preset size that you have defined. Then, when the index is optimized (typically at non-operating hours using a preset optimization schedule), Index Manager deletes the cached items for files that have been deleted from the document folders. If at this point the cache folder size still exceeds the maximum size set in the Service Options, the cache will be reduced to 80% of that volume by purging the oldest items from the cache.

A note to updaters from Service Release 3

When you update from an Index Manager 7.0 Service Release 3 to Service Release 4, you will notice that the cache from the SR3 installation remains even after the SR4 version has run its cache purging routines as described above. Hence, it’s good practice to delete the contents of the cache folder after updating to SR4 and then letting the new Index Manager build its cache automatically.

HOWTO: Changing the location that FotoWeb Desktop is downloaded from

Tue, 04 Oct 2011 10:56:49 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWeb Desktop 7.0

SUMMARY

By default, FotoWeb directs users to download the FotoWeb Desktop installer files from FotoWare's servers. If you, as an administrator, should want to control exactly what version is made available to your users, or if want to make the download available from your own servers, you need to make a few changes.

MORE INFORMATION

Before you start, make a backup of FWDTInstaller.fwx, in case things should go wrong.

You will first need to download the installers for both Windows and Mac OS, and make these available on a server, using HTTP. The FotoWeb Desktop installers can be found on the FotoWare Update Center.

Then, find the file called FWDTInstaller.fwx. It is located in the Documents folder of the FotoWeb site. Open it in Notepad, or your editor of choice. Find the two following lines in the code, and change the URLs:

<%$ SetVariable name="fwdtUrlWin" value="http://cdn.fotoware.com/fwdt/7.0/FotoWeb%20Desktop.exe" /%>
<%$ SetVariable name="fwdtUrlMac" value="http://www.fotoware.com/fwdt/6.0/FotoWeb%20Desktop.dmg" /%>

Note: You will have to create a published area on your webserver for storing the FotoWeb Desktop installers and allow access to the Internet Guest user on that area to allow downloads.

Typically, one of the new strings could look like this:

<%$ SetVariable name="fwdtUrlWin" value="http://myfotoweb.com/fwdtinstall/FotoWeb%20Desktop.exe" /%>

assuming that you named the published area fwdtinstall.

Please also note that you will need to make sure that the version of FotoWeb Desktop you make available is compatible with your version of FotoWeb.

HOWTO: Configure Project Server using an other instance of SQL server

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 13:32:55 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

Index Manager 7.0 Project Server SR4

SUMMARY

If you opted not to install the included SQL Server Express 2005 that came with Index Manager and want to use an other instance of SQL Server instead, you have to perform the following steps:

1) Create the "FotoWareProject" database

2) Run the following SQL scripts to create the tables:

/****** Create the projects table ******/

USE [FotoWareProject]
GO

SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO

SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO

CREATE TABLE [dbo].[projects](
[id] [int] IDENTITY(1,1) NOT NULL,
[parentId] [int] NOT NULL,
[projectName] [nvarchar](128) NOT NULL,
[isFolder] [bit] NOT NULL,
[createdDate] [datetime] NOT NULL,
[modifiedDate] [datetime] NOT NULL,
[status] [int] NOT NULL,
[isReadOnly] [bit] NOT NULL,
[allowDelete] [bit] NOT NULL,
[xmp] [xml] NULL,
CONSTRAINT [PK_projects] PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED
(
[id] ASC
)WITH (PAD_INDEX = OFF, STATISTICS_NORECOMPUTE = OFF, IGNORE_DUP_KEY = OFF, ALLOW_ROW_LOCKS = ON, ALLOW_PAGE_LOCKS = ON) ON [PRIMARY]
) ON [PRIMARY]

GO

ALTER TABLE [dbo].[projects] ADD CONSTRAINT [DF_projects_status] DEFAULT ((1)) FOR [status]
GO

ALTER TABLE [dbo].[projects] ADD CONSTRAINT [DF_projects_isReadOnly] DEFAULT ((0)) FOR [isReadOnly]
GO

ALTER TABLE [dbo].[projects] ADD CONSTRAINT [DF_projects_allowDelete] DEFAULT ((1)) FOR [allowDelete]
GO

/****** Create the files table ******/

USE [FotoWareProject]
GO

SET ANSI_NULLS ON
GO

SET QUOTED_IDENTIFIER ON
GO

CREATE TABLE [dbo].[files](
[id] [int] IDENTITY(1,1) NOT NULL,
[projectId] [int] NOT NULL,
[fileName] [nvarchar](260) NOT NULL,
[fullPath] [nvarchar](max) NOT NULL,
[posX] [real] NULL,
[posY] [real] NULL,
[width] [real] NULL,
[height] [real] NULL,
[rotation] [real] NULL,
[iOrder] [int] NOT NULL,
[iZorder] [int] NOT NULL,
CONSTRAINT [PK_files] PRIMARY KEY CLUSTERED
(
[id] ASC
)WITH (PAD_INDEX = OFF, STATISTICS_NORECOMPUTE = OFF, IGNORE_DUP_KEY = OFF, ALLOW_ROW_LOCKS = ON, ALLOW_PAGE_LOCKS = ON) ON [PRIMARY]
) ON [PRIMARY]

GO

ALTER TABLE [dbo].[files] WITH CHECK ADD CONSTRAINT [FK_files_projects] FOREIGN KEY([projectId])
REFERENCES [dbo].[projects] ([id])
GO

ALTER TABLE [dbo].[files] CHECK CONSTRAINT [FK_files_projects]
GO

ALTER TABLE [dbo].[files] ADD CONSTRAINT [DF_files_iOrder] DEFAULT ((-1)) FOR [iOrder]
GO

ALTER TABLE [dbo].[files] ADD CONSTRAINT [DF_files_iZorder] DEFAULT ((-1)) FOR [iZorder]
GO

3) Connect Index Manager to the roject server by setting the database name on the Project Server tab in the Operations Center.

HOWTO: Upgrading from FotoWeb 6 to FotoWeb 7 SR4

Thu, 24 Nov 2011 10:55:53 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWeb 6

SUMMARY

An upgrade from FotoWeb 6 to FotoWeb 7 SR4 needs to be done in a few steps, in order to ensure that all databases are updated correctly.

MORE INFORMATION

In order to keep all information contained in FotoWeb's database, the upgrade to Service Release 4 of FotoWeb 7 neds to be done in a few steps:

Upgrade from FotoWeb 6 to FotoWeb 7 Service Release 3 (build 7.0.463)

Uninstall FotoWeb 7 Service Release 3

Install FotoWeb 7 Service release 4

HOWTO: Backing up and restoring license files for FotoWare applications

Tue, 12 Feb 2008 08:47:45 +0100

Backing up and restoring license files for FotoWare applications

When activating a FotoWare application, a license certificate is downloaded from FotoWare’s server and installed in trusted storage on the machine. Trusted storage consists of two encrypted files that contain binding information to the hardware on the current system.
It is strongly recommended that these license files be included in the backup schedule. In the event of a crash on a server, these files can be restored so that the software can continue in licensed mode.

Which files should I back up?

The files are stored in different locations depending on your operating system:
In Windows XP / 2003 Server: C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\FLEXnet
In Windows Vista / 7 / 2008 Server, you find them in C:\ProgramData\FlexNet
In Mac OS the files are stored in /Library/Preferences/FLEXnet Publisher/FLEXnet

The files can be backed up to any media, such as tape systems, memory sticks or floppy disks.

Restoring license files

Follow this procedure to restore the license files. The files can be restored on the original system, or if the original hardware is broken, on a replacement system. The procedure requires an Internet connection.

Restore the system or install FotoWare applications on a new system
Restore the license files to the FLEXnet directory
Run fwappactwiz –list to see if the licenses are valid. If your hardware environment has changed substantially, you will most likely not see the licenses, and you must proceed to the next step.
Each license must be repaired by using the following command:
fwappactwiz –repair PRODUCT_KEY
FotoWare’s license server will be contacted, and a new certificate will be installed.

For information about how to repair a license file on the Mac, please see the related article below.

Can I restore the files to new hardware?

If the original hardware is broken and replaced with new, you can still restore the files to the new hardware. The procedure above still applies, but you will always be required to repair the license.

What if repair does not succeed?

Check if you have received a new product key for this license. (Keys are replaced every year when your SMA is renewed.) Use this new product key to activate the software using the GUI. Otherwise contact FotoWare Support for assistance.

What if I don’t have a backup of my license files?

In this case you must contact FotoWare Support who will help you to reactivate your license.

INFO: No previews in FotoWeb Desktop or 404-page in Archive Agent

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:24:47 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWare FotoWeb 7 Service Release 4

SUMMARY

A solution for issues with Preview in FotoWeb Desktop (displays no previews) or Archive Agent (displays a 404-page).

MORE INFORMATION

In both cases, the issue is caused by two settings in IIS. Here's how to resolve the issue:

1: Open IIS, and browse to %SERVERNAME%/Sites/fotoweb/cache. Find the Error Pages entry under IIS, and double click it.
2: Find the entry for the 404 error page, and double click it to edit.
3: Change the entry to use the "Execute a URL on this site" option, and enter the following in the text box: /fotoweb/fwbin/fotoweb_isapi.dll
4: Click OK, then, on the right hand side, of the IIS Window, click "Edit Feature Settings".
5: Change the setting to "Custom error pages"

Screenshots are available in the attached Word document

HOWTO: FotoWare Connect displays an error when trying to uninstall it

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 14:53:29 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

Connect 7.0 SR3

SYMPTOMS

An error occurs when trying to remove Connect SR3 and the program cannot be completely uninstalled.

CAUSE

This is caused by an error in the cached MSI installer file.

RESOLUTION

Please download and follow the instructions in the attached PDF to be able to completely remove Connect from the system.

INFO: Unable to start FotoWare SR4 services after upgrade from previous version.

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 13:14:33 +0200

Applies to: FotoWare SR4

Symtom: FotoWare SR4 services crash immediately after being started.

When upgrading to FotoWare SR4 from previous versions, you may experience that the various services crash immediately after being started. This is caused because of the stille present Web Site node named FotoWare in IIS.

Since SR4 is no longer using this node for Operation Center, it may be safely deleted.

Solution: The issue is resolved by right-clicking the node, then deleting it. The services should then start and keep running.

INFO: Comparative speed test of Connect 7.0 SR4 and Distribution Manager

Thu, 09 Jun 2011 13:31:20 +0200

The below table shows the results of a comparative tranfer speed test of Distribution Manager and Connect 7.0 (Service Release 4)

The software was tested on an under-specced server that does not meet the minimum requirements for Connect, but the figures still speak for themselves. The speed difference will become even more pronounced when running on a top-spec server, due to the multithreaded architecture of Connect 7.0.

Performance figures from a test system running on a virtual Windows Server 2003 SP2 with an Intel Core 2 CPU and 384 MB of RAM:

No Of Files	Distribution Manager	Connect SR4	Remarks	Total file size transferred
100	3 min 49 sec	15 sec	15 times faster	31.8 MB
1.000	39 min	3 min 22 sec	11 times faster	318MB
10.000	8hr 14 min 18 sec	42 min	11 times faster	3180MB

HOWTO: How to write the FotoWare event log to a database

Fri, 20 May 2011 09:49:38 +0200

How to write the FotoWare event log to a database

This is a step-by-step guide on how you can get FotoWare’s log server to write its log data to a database.

Basic information

By default, the log files are written to this location:

Windows 2008 server - C:\ProgramData\FotoWare\Log Files

Windows 2003 server - C:\Documents and settings\All users\Application data\FotoWare\Log Files

The latest log file is called FWEvents.txt

In the ‘History’-folder at the same location as mentioned above, you can find old log files. They are separated per day (or per 500 MB).

Prepare your database server

Before we start configuring the log server, you will need to prepare your database server. In my example, I am using FotoWeb’s default SQL server.

To be able to set this up at all, you will need a database management tool. For example ‘Microsoft SQL Server Management Studio’ (you will need a full Microsoft SQL version to get this tool).

1. Start by creating a new database. I have created one called ‘FWLog’

2. Now you need to create the right tables. To create them, write this query to your new database:

CREATE TABLE FWLog

(EventID INT IDENTITY(1,1) NOT NULL,

Application VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,

EventCode VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,

Date VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,

Time VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,

Message VARCHAR(Max) NOT NULL,

Computer VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,

UserName VARCHAR(50) NOT NULL,

FileName VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,

FilePath VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,

FileObjectName VARCHAR(255) NOT NULL,

)

The only change you will need to do to this query is in the first line where I have written ‘FWLog’, which is the name I gave to my database.

Ok, now we are done preparing our database. Let’s move over to setting up the log server.

Configuring the log server

The configuration file for the log server is located at:

C:\Program Files\FotoWare\Log Server 7.0

The file is called nlog.config and basically is an XML file.

Open the nlog.config file in a text editor of your choice. Then, inside the <targets> node add the following (below the last <target> node):

<dbprovider>sqlserver</dbprovider>

<dbhost>JVBTEST\FOTOWARE</dbhost>

<dbdatabase>FWLog</dbdatabase>

insert into FWLog(application,eventcode,date,time,message,computer,username,filename,filepath,fileobjectname) values (@application,@eventcode,@date,@time,@message,@computer,@username,@filename,@filepath,@fileobjectname);

</commandText>

</target>

You will need to do the following changes to the code mentioned above:

In the <dbhost> tag, you will need to write your own SQL server name.

In the <dbdatabase> tag, write the name of the database you created earlier.

<dbusername> and <dbpassword> should contain your ‘sa’-users username and password.

Then inside the <rules> tag, add the following:

Completion

Now, all you need to do is to restart all FotoWare services (including the Operations Center and the FotoWare log server). And you should be ready to go.

HOWTO: Special User Access Control considerations when installing server applications on Windows Server 2008

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 10:29:58 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWare 7.0 Server Applications when installing on Windows Server 2008

SUMMARY

When installing FotoWare server software on a Windows 2008 server, the default User Access Control settings on the server may need to be modified by changing a setting in the Local Security Policy.

MORE INFORMATION

As outlined in the System Requirements, the process account that is used for accessing files on the server or domain needs to be a member of the local Administrators group on the server where the FotoWare software is installed. It also needs to be a member of the FotoWare Administrators group that is created on the server during installation of the Operations Center. (The Operations Center installer will automatically put all members of the Administrators group into the FotoWare Administrators group. You can remove users that you do not want to be able to configure FotoWare services by manually removing them from the FotoWare Administrators group after installation.)

However, Windows Server 2008 has different User Access Control settings for the built-in Administrator account than other users that are subsequently added to the Administrators group. Specifically, the built-in administrator does not need to validate administrative tasks (what Microsoft calls "Admin Approval Mode"), while users that you manually add to the Administrators group will need to do so by default.

Hence, if you create a new user on the local server, or a domain user for that matter, that you add to the Administrators group and the FotoWare Administrators group, this user will by default have Admin Approval mode switched on. This will interfere with the FotoWare services causing them to malfunction, so you will need to modify the Local Security Policy on the server to disable Admin Approval mode for all administrators. A step-by-step explanation follows. You can change this setting either before you install the FotoWare software or after, but you will not be able to configure or successfully run the FotoWare services until you have done so.

Open the Windows Menu (Start Menu) and choose Administrative Tools | Local Security Policy

Expand Local Policies, then click on Security Options.

Scroll down to near the bottom of the list where you find an entry called User Access Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval Mode.

Double-click this entry and change its setting to Disabled. Then click OK to save the changes.

Restart the server for the changes to take effect.

INFO: Notify administrator when a user registers to the site.

Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:51:30 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWeb 7.0

SUMMARY

It is possible to set up automatic notification of a site administrator when a user registers to the site.

MORE INFORMATION

In order to enable automatic notifications being sent to a site administrator when a new user registers on the site, follow these steps:

Open the FotoWeb administrator console, then go to the Settings tab

Go to Site -> Smtp

Under Smtp Settings, in the Sender email address field, input the email address you want to receive the notification

INFO: How to contact FotoWare Support

Wed, 04 Feb 2004 10:20:50 +0100

SUMMARY

This document explains the procedure FotoWare Partners should use to get support.

FotoWare does not offer direct phone support for customers - they should contact their local FotoWare Partner for support.

MORE INFORMATION

All support requests must go through FotoWare's Support Department. They can be contacted via the following means:

Email: support@fotoware.com

Phone: +47 22 03 24 40 (09.00 to 17.00 CET)

Do not send support requests to individual people in FotoWare. You are only guaranteed a timely response by contacting support through the means mentioned above.

Multiple recipients: Please do not send your emails to multiple recipents at FotoWare. Your mail will be handled faster if you only send to the mail address above. You can send a CC to other people who should be informed about the progress on the case, in which case the FotoWare support system will send copies of all case correspondence to the people on the mailing list.

Urgent issues: If you have an urgent issue and require immediate feedback, you should always phone us.

When a person is handling your issue, either a support person or a developer, you should keep contact with this person through phone or email until you are asked to do otherwise. If a new, unrelated issue arises you should send a new email to support to create a new, unique case for this issue.

Providing relevant information

You can do a lot to help us in assisting you. Before contacting support, please try to gather as much information about the issue as possible. If you have been contacted by the customer, it is a good idea to ask them to reproduce the problem while you are talking to them, making notes of as much information as possible.

The following information is required to get the best possible assistance:

The customer's SMA number or product key. The support system is automated and requires this information to correctly identify the customer and create a case for you.

EXACT error messages. Write down the error message exactly as it appears. Small differences in an error message may make no difference to you, but a great difference to us. If you do not provide exact error messages, in most cases we are unable to help you.

System information. Make notes of as much information about the system as possible. Amount of memory, available harddisk space, number of processors, type of video card, operating system version, service pack level, recently applied hotfixes, other software installed and so on.

Log files. Many FotoWare products write detailed log files. If you do not have detailed logging on, change the settings and reproduce the problem. Send the complete logs to us.

ERRMSG: Error message followed by garbled text across several lines

Fri, 07 Jan 2011 13:05:26 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWeb 7.0 on Windows 2008 Server

SYMPTOMS

FotoWeb displays an error message followed by a lot of cryptic characters across several lines.

CAUSE

This is caused by a setting in the IIS Error page configuration. By changing this setting you can make FotoWeb produce a more meaningful error message to help you troubleshoot the problem.

RESOLUTION

Open the IIS Manager

Expand the Sites node

Expand the website where FotoWeb is running

Click on the FotoWeb application pool and double click on Error Pages

Click on Edit Feature Settings... in the right pane.

Change the radio-box from Detailed error reports for local requests and custom error pages for remote requests to Detailed errors and click on OK.

FotoWeb should now display a more meaningful error message that explains the cause of the problem.

HOWTO: Disabling the Active X installer for FotoWeb Desktop

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 10:33:30 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

Internet Explorer web browser
with
FotoWeb Desktop installer in FotoWeb 7.0

SUMMARY

This article explains how you can modify the FotoWeb templates to disable the Active X installer for FotoWeb Desktop in Internet Explorer browsers. This way, Internet Explorer users will be presented with the same manual download and install procedure for FotoWeb Desktop as other browsers that are not Active X compliant.

MORE INFORMATION

Caution: The below procedure involves editing of the FotoWeb templates. We strongly advise backing up the template in question before continuing.

Also, if you're not familiar with HTML editing you should ask someone knowledgeable for assistance. Incorrectly modifying the templates may render your system unusable!

On the system drive on the FotoWeb server, go to ProgramData\FotoWare\FotoWeb\Site Settings\Documents

The template you need to modify is FWDTInstaller.fwx.

Scroll down to line 81, where the following paragraph begins:

<%$ SetCondition name="useActiveX" value="false" /%>
   <%$ if browser.isExplorer %>
    <%$ SetCondition name="useActiveX" value="true" /%>
    <%$ if browser.isWin64Bit %>
     <%$ SetCondition name="useActiveX" value="false" /%>
    <%$ endif %>
   <%$ endif %>

The area marked in red controls how Internet Explorer browsers are handled. By changing "true" to "false"<%$ SetCondition name="useActiveX" value="true" /%> to you are effectively diabling the Active X plugin for Internet Explorer users. Thus, a user logging in to FotoWeb through an Internet Explorer browser will be directed to the page for manual download and installation of FotoWeb Desktop.

Note: The user will still need the required privileges on the client machine to be allowed to download and install the application.

INFO: Why does FotoWeb always use the built-in homepage?

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 13:33:32 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWeb 7.0 Standard

FotoWeb 7.0 Enterprise

SYMPTOMS

FotoWeb always displays the built-in homepage. Why?

CAUSE

FotoWeb will fall back to displaying the built-in homepage if the guest account has been disabled, or if you have explicitly chosen to use the built-in homepage instead of the standard one.

RESOLUTION

1. Verify that the guest account has not been disabled

2. Check whether you have explicitly set FotoWeb to always use the built-in homepage:
Go to Settings | Themes| Home page and make sure the Home page button is not selected.

HOWTO: Change the date formatting in FotoWeb 7.0 templates

Mon, 27 Dec 2010 10:41:24 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWeb 7.0

SUMMARY

This article explains how you can change the way date stamps are presented in the FotoWeb 7.0 templates.

MORE INFORMATION

To change the way FotoWeb formats the date stamps in its templates, you have to change the Regional settings on the Windows server.

Windows Server 2008 procedure:

1. Open the Region and Language control panel

2. On the Formats tab, choose the date format you would like to use from the drop-down list or create a custom date format.

3. Click on OK to store the changes and close the control panel.

Windows Server 2003 procedure:

1. Log on to the server using the FotoWeb process account (the one you have set in the Operations Center)

2. Open the Region and Languages Options control panel

3. Set the date format you would like to use.

4. Go to the Advanced tab and check the box labeled Apply all settings to the current user account and to the default user profile.

5. Click on OK to store the changes and close the control panel.

ERRMSG: Unhandled Error in Silverlight 2 Application [Async_ExceptionOccurred]

Mon, 27 Dec 2010 10:28:46 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

Product and version one
Product and version two
Product and version three

SYMPTOMS

When opening the operation center, it hangs while displaying "logging in".
In the bottom right hand corner, you will notice that there is a browser script error with the error message: Unhandled Error in Silverlight 2 Application [Async_ExceptionOccurred]

CAUSE

The server folder, "C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\FotoWare\Server Settings", does not have the "built in" permission "NT_Authority\Authenticated Users". This is normally part of the USERS group, which may been removed for security reasons.

RESOLUTION

Add the "built in" permission "NT_Authority\Authenticated Users" to the folder.

ERRMSG: Index Manager log reports "Http AddUrl Failed"

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 11:56:08 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

Index Manager 7.0 installed on Windows Server 2008

Problem: The Index Manager log in the Operations Center reports "Http AddUrl Failed"

Cause: The process account does not have built-in administrator privileges

Solution: Change the local security policy to allow all administrators on the server to run without Admin Approval mode.

Explanation: Although the process account used by Index Manager is a member of the local Administrators group on the server, Windows server 2008 distinguishes between the built-in administrator account and users that are subsequently added to the Administrators group. Any operations performed in the context of these users will have to be approved, and this can cause problems for Index Manager.

To change this setting:

1. Click on Start | Administrative Tools | Local Security Policy.

2. Expand Local Policies and click on Security Options.

3. Locate the entry User Account Control: Run all administrators in Admin Approval mode and change it to Disabled.

4. Reboot the server for the changes to take effect.

HOWTO: Moving your copy of FotoStation to another computer

Mon, 20 Dec 2010 16:55:23 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

FotoStation 7.0

SUMMARY

This article explains how you can move your license of FotoStation from one computer to another.

MORE INFORMATION

FotoStation is licensed on a per-computer basis. This means that any single license
of FotoStation can only be run on one computer at the time.

If you buy a new computer and want to install and run FotoStation on that machine,
you will first have to deactivate FotoStation on the old machine, and then activate
your license on the new one.

Important: A FotoStation Single User license can be activated maximum three times
per year. This means that when FotoStation has been installed and activated the first
time, you can "move" the license to a new computer maximum two times in that calendar
year. A FotoStation Client, on the other hand, can be activated and deactivated without
any limitations. (FotoStation Client is the version that can connect to Index Manager
archives.)

Follow the directions below to deactivate FotoStation on your old hardware and activate it on the new machine:

Deactivate FotoStation on your old computer. To do so, start FotoStation, then open
the Help menu and choose Deactivate...

In the deactivation window, select your license and click on Next to continue to
deactivate the software. FotoStation will exit when the deactivation is complete.

Install FotoStation on your new computer. If you need to download FotoStation again
from the FotoWare website, go to http://www.fotoware.com/support/updatecenter and
log in to find the versions that are available to you. If you have lost your product
key for activation, you can find that in the License Center on the website: http://www.fotoware.com/en/Support/License-Center/Account-Details/

When you start FotoStation on your new machine, you will be asked to activate your
copy of FotoStation. Fill in the product key exactly as it appears on your license
card, in the email you received or as it is listed in the license center (you can
copy and paste the key for easy entry). A green checkmark will indicate that you
have entered a valid product key.

FotoStation will start when the activation completes.

What to do if I fail to activate or deactivate FotoStation?

Failure to deactivate or activate FotoStation may be caused by a number of things:

First off, if you have a valid Software Maintenance Agreement (SMA), it may be that
you have fulfilled this agreement on the FotoWare Website, at which point new keys
have been created for you. If you know for a fact that you have an SMA, we recommend
checking the FotoWare License Center to make sure you are using the most recent,
valid key.

If you have an active Software Maintenance Agreement with FotoWare and you have recently
received new product keys following a license fulfilment on the FotoWare License
Center website, there is a possibility that you cannot deactivate your old installation
of FotoStation. If that is the case, simply try to use the new product key to activate
FotoStation on your new hardware.

If you try to activate FotoStation and receive an error message saying that "the
maximum amount of activations has been exceeded", you may have tried to activate
FotoStation on a new computer before you deactivated it on the old machine. If there
is no way that you can deactivate FotoStation on the old machine (for instance if
you formatted the hard drive) you will need to contact FotoWare International Support
for activation help. You can email support at support@fotoware.com. Make sure to
include any SMA number that you have and the License ID and Product key if you have
them at hand. Also describe what you think caused the problem and make a note of
the error message you are getting when trying to activate.

If you are certain that you are using the most recent product key to activate and
you have tried all the above, contact FotoWare International Support for help. You
can email support at support@fotoware.com. Make sure to include any SMA number that
you have and the License ID and Product key if you have them at hand. Finally, try
to describe the problem and any error messages you are getting.

INFO: Archive Agent Documentation

Mon, 26 Apr 2004 11:17:54 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWeb 7.0
FotoWeb 6.0
FotoWare Archive Agent

SUMMARY

The FotoWare Archive Agent can be used to integrate an FotoWare archive with third party applications. Technical documentation about the Archive Agent can be found on this URL: http://www.fotoware.com/Documents/Archive_Agent_Spec_6_0.pdf?epslanguage=en

FIX: Operations Center hangs when logging in

Tue, 04 May 2010 12:47:18 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWare Operations Center for FotoWare applications version 7.0

SYMPTOMS

When accessing the Operations Center, it appears to hang for a very long time while displaying the "Logging in" message.

CAUSE

(The below explanation is copied from Microsoft's knowledge base: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/936707)

---

This problem occurs because a .NET Framework 2.0 managed assembly that has an Authenticode signature takes longer than usual to load. The signature is always verified when the .NET Framework 2.0 managed assembly that has an Authenticode signature is loaded.

Additionally, the .NET Framework 2.0 managed assembly may take longer than usual to load because of various other settings. For example, the .NET Framework 2.0 managed assembly may take longer than usual to load because of the network configuration.

---

RESOLUTION

- Go to: C:\Windows\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\
- Open the file Aspnet.config
- Below the <runtime> tag enter this line:
<generatePublisherEvidence enabled="false"/>
- Save the file
- Run an iisreset
- The Operations Center should now be fast again.

HOWTO: Using Adobe Indesign Server CS4 to index .INDD documents with Index Manager 7.0

Thu, 06 May 2010 08:43:28 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

Index Manager 7.0

SUMMARY

Index Manager 7.0 (SR2 Build 432 and later) can index content of and create previews for INDD files provided that an Indesign Server is installed on the network.

Indesign Server (IDS) can be installed on any server in the network. The server name is configurable in Index Manager on the Service Options page. Running IDS on the same server as Index Manager gives a performance advantage, but this should be weighed against the extra load this puts on the server. IDS will typically take up 100% of one system CPU for 5 to 15 seconds when processing a document. Index Manager uses a helper application called ”Ids Handler” that has to be installed on the IDS server.

The following steps are necessary to use IDS with Index Manager:

1.       Open the Index Manager program folder. This is typically ”C:\Program Files (x86)\FotoWare\Index Manager\”

2.       In this folder copy the file ”Ids Handler Setup.Exe” to the server where IDS is installed.

3.       On the IDS server console, run ”Ids Handler Setup”.

4.       Open the Service Manager on the IDS server and start the Ids Handler Service. The service is set to start automatically if the server is restarted.

5.       In the Index Manager configuration, enable INDD indexing and set the Network Name of the IDS server on the Service Options page. If the IDS runs on the same server as Index Manager, set the IDS server name to localhost.

6.       Rebuild any index with previously indexed INDD files.

ERRDOC: Failure during offline activation

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 09:44:30 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

Offline activation of FotoWare products (version 6.0 and 7.0)

SYMPTOMS

You have received an offline activation response file (.fwar), but when trying to activate with the file, the FotoWare product still fails to activate.

CAUSE

The product key you are trying to use has expired after you have run a fulfillment process and been issued new product keys. The automated system that handles offline activation requests does not recognize this and returns an activation response file that contains an error message. You can verify this by opening the activation response file in Notepad or another plain text editor and looking for the error message 'Only deployed entitlement line item can be fulfilled'.

RESOLUTION

Log on to the license center and obtain your new product keys. Then generate a new offline activation request file using that key.

HOWTO: Installing FotoStation on a Terminal Server or Citrix servers

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 15:12:25 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

FotoStation 6.0 and 7.0

SUMMARY

Important note: You don't need a terminal server license when using Remote desktop to connect to FotoStation on a Windows XP or Vista machine. However, when FotoStation is installed on a Windows Server 2003/2008, it will not start without a valid terminal server license.

To install FotoStation on a Terminal Server or in a Citrix environment, follow these steps:

1. Obtain a license for running FotoStation in this environment from your FotoWare Partner.
a. Fill out an ‘Application for Terminal Server License’ (attached to this article) and send to your partner. Note that a Terminal Server License is ONLY available if your software is covered by a valid Software Maintenance Agreement.
b. Send the MAC address of a server to run the ‘FotoWare License Server’. (This must be a Windows Server system.)
c. You will receive a license file from FotoWare.

2. Install the FotoWare License Server and the license file. See ‘FotoWare License Server Quick Start’ (attached to this article).

3. Install FotoStation on the terminal server where you want to run the application. Activate the application over the internet using a normal product key. After activation, you will receive a message saying that you are not licensed to run the application in a Terminal Server environment.

4. Set up a system wide environment variable for all users, LM_LICENSE_FILE=port@servername, that point to the license server. The default port is 27000. You can use the server’s DNS name or the IP-adress of the license server. It may be necessary to reboot the server for this change to take effect. See the License Server Quick Start for more information.

5. Start FotoStation. It will now use both the activated license on the machine, and check out a license from the license server.

6. Configure FotoStation to use separate configurations per user or a server based configuration.

The license file running in the License Server must be renewed every 13 months. You can contact sales@fotoware.com for an updated license file up to 60 days prior to the expiry.

INFO: Manually adding required components to run FotoWare 7.0 server applications

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 10:34:02 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWare 7.0 server applications - Service Release 2 (SR2)

SUMMARY

FotoWare 7.0 applications require Internet Information services and a number of components to run correctly. Since SR2, however, the software installers will automatically handle the installation of all required components. This document explains how you can manually install all required components prior to installation if such is required.

The sections in this document:

Adding required components to a Windows Server 2008

Installing IIS 6 in Windows Server 2003

Special considerations when installing on a 64-bit server

Adding required components to a Windows Server 2008

If you're installing on a Windows Server 2008, there are several roles and features
that have to be added to make the FotoWare installation work flawlessly. The below
procedure is an aid to installing Internet Information Services 7 and other required
components. If you're installing the applications on a Windows 2003 Server, go to
the heading below.

Installing Internet Information Services 7

Click on Start -> Administrative Tools, then click Server Manager

In Server Manager scroll down to Roles Summary, and click on Add Roles

The Add Roles Wizard starts and warn you that you have to verify the following:

The administrator account has a strong password

Network settings, such as static IP addresses, are configured

The latest security updates from Windows Update are installed

Click Next to go the Add Server Role page. Place a checkmark next to Web Server (IIS).
When marking the Web Server role you will be prompted to add required features.

Click Add Required Features

After the required feature is added, check that the Web server role is marked and
then click Next

The next page will give you some basic information on IIS Web Servers and a few links
with extra information if needed. Click on the Next button to continue.

This next page give you the option to add roles. For FotoWare applications to work
we need some additional roles (assuming clean install):

Under Web Server | Application Development:

- ASP.NET
     - .NET Extensibility
     - ISAPI Extensions
     - ISAPI Filters

Under Health and Diagnostics:

- Tracing (optional but gives better IIS error message if something should go
wrong)

Under Security:

- Basic Authentication
- Windows Authentication

Under Management Tools:

- Management Service

Note: Once you select the ASP.NET role service you will be prompted with a dialog
that informs you about other services required by ASP.NET. Click Add Required Role
Service to continue

Check that the required modules are selected and then click Next.

Confirmation page. Confirm the specific modules and click Install

After installation you will get an Installation Result page. Click Close.

Note: If you have not Automatic Update enabled you will get a warning message. This
has nothing to do with the installation of Web Server role where you can see that
you have the result ”Installation succeeded"

In the Server Manager window, under Roles Summary, you should now see Web Server
(IIS)

Installing Additional required server features

Next you need to add an additional feature to your system, namely the .NET 3.0 Framework
and WCF Activation.

In the Server Manager, click on the Features node in the left panel and then choose
Add Features.

Expand the .NET Framework 3.0 Features node and select the WCF Activation feature.
This will require you to add the .NET 3.0 Framework as well. Then click Next to add
these features also.

Further down in the features list you will find Desktop Experience. This should also
be enabled. Then click Next to add these features. Installing the Desktop Experience
feature may require you to restart the server.

Configure Internet Explorer for use with the Operations Center on the server console

To be able to use Internet Explorer locally on the Windows Server 2008 console to
configure the FotoWare applications you will also need to disable Internet Explorer
Enhanced Security Configuration for administrative users. To do this, open the Server
Manager and expand the Server summary. Then, under Security Information, click on
Configure IE ESC and make sure ESC is set to for administrative users.

Next, you should add the local server to your local intranet zone in Internet Explorer:
Click on Start | Control Panel | Network and Internet | Internet Options. Go to the
Security tab and click on Local Intranet, then click on the Sites button, then the
Advanced button and add the local server name to the list of local intranet servers.

Installing IIS 6 in Windows Server 2003

If you're installing your FotoWare applications on a Windows Server 2003, you need
to install Internet Information Services. This is a very straightforward procedure:

Click on Start -> Add / Remove Programs

Click on Add/Remove Windows Components and select Application Server, then click
on the Details button

Select ASP.NET and Internet Information Services (IIS) and click OK

Finally, click Next to start the installation

Special considerations when installing on a 64-bit server

Since the FotoWare applications are themselves 32-bit they rely on the 32-bit subsystem
that Microsoft includes in its 64-bit operating systems, known as WOW64 (Windows-32-on-Windows-64).

More information about Microsoft’s WOW can be found in this article by Microsoft:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WOW64

What’s more, it should be noted that you cannot mix 32-bit and 64-bit web applications
on the same server. IIS (Internet Information Services) must be run in either 32-bit
or 64-bit mode, and since FotoWeb 6.0 is a 32-bit application, 32-bit code emulation
must be enabled in IIS. Thus IIS cannot simultaneously run 64-bit applications. More
information about this can be found here: http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/WindowsServer2003/Library/IIS/0aafb9a0-1b1c-4a39-ac9a-994adc902485.mspx?mfr=true

Requirements

Microsoft Windows Server 2003 x64 or Microsoft Windows Server 2008 x64

Microsoft IIS 6.0 (IIS 7.0 on Server 2008)

Microsoft .NET Framework 3.5 32-bit

Procedure (For Windows Server 2003 before Service Pack 2)

Install IIS on the server through Control Panel | Add / Remove Programs | Add or
Remove Windows Components

Open a command prompt and navigate to the %systemdrive%\Inetpub\AdminScripts directory

Type in the following command and press ENTER: cscript.exe adsutil.vbs set W3SVC/AppPools/Enable32BitAppOnWin64
“true”

In the command prompt, navigate to %systemdrive%\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727
directory.

Type in the following command and press ENTER: aspnet_regiis.exe -i

Install and configure your FotoWare software according to the directions below.

Procedure (For Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 2 or later)

Install IIS by adding the server roles

Open a command prompt and type in the following command and press ENTER: %windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd
set config -section:applicationPools -applicationPoolDefaults.enable32BitAppOnWin64:true

Open a command prompt and navigate to the %systemdrive%\Inetpub\AdminScripts directory.

Type in the following command and press ENTER:
cscript.exe adsutil.vbs set W3SVC/AppPools/Enable32BitAppOnWin64
true

In the command prompt, navigate to the %systemdrive%\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727
directory.

Type in the following command and press ENTER:
aspnet_regiis.exe -i

Install and configure your FotoWare software according to the directions below.

Procedure (For Windows Server 2008 with IIS 7.0)

Precondition: Web server role installed on the server.

Open a command prompt and type in the following command followed by ENTER:
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config -section:applicationPools -applicationPoolDefaults.enable32BitAppOnWin64:true

Install and configure your FotoWare software according to the directions below.

HOWTO: Downgrading to an earlier version of FotoStation 6.0

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 11:00:57 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

FotoStation 6.0

Synopsis:

If you have updated to a version of FotoStation that is newer than your product key allows you to run, you will not be able to start the it. Instead, the activation wizard will pop up and prompt you for a valid product key over and over again.

Solution:

Alternative 1:
Go back to an earlier version of FotoStation.

Alternative 2:
If you have a valid SMA, get the new product keys by logging in to the FotoWare License Center and running the license fulfillment process. Otherwise, contact FotoWare Sales to purchase a warranty extension/SMA.

The below procesure outlines how you can go back to using an older version of FotoStation that will run on your current product key.

Windows:

1. Quit FotoStation.

2. Uninstall the version of FotoStation that refuses to run using the Add/Remove Programs Control Panel. Your configuration files will not be affected by the uninstallation.

3. Install the previous working version of the software.

Mac OS X Leopard (10.5):

1. In your Applications folder on the hard drive, move the FotoStation application to the Trash.

2. Go to the folder /Library/Receipts and move the FotoStation 6.0.pkg file to the trash.

3. Empty the trash

4. Install the previous working version of FotoStation.

Mac OS X Snow Leopard (10.6):

1. In your Applications folder on the hard drive, move the FotoStation application to the Trash.

2. Go to the folder /private/var/db/receipts/ and delete these two files:

com.fotoware.pkg.FotoStation<n>Installer.bom
com.fotoware.pkg.FotoStation<n>Installer.plist

Where <n> is the version number.

Note: If you cannot find the specified folder on your hard drive, press Command-K in the Finder and type in the path to the folder. It may be hidden, so this may be the only way to access it.

3. Empty the trash

4. Install the previous working version of FotoStation.

INFO: FotoStation 6.0 does not support Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 12:47:40 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

FotoStation 6.0 in Max OS X 10.6 (Snow Leopard)

SUMMARY

FotoStation 6 and earlier versions are not compatible with Mac OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard.

Existing users of FotoStation 6 are advised to postpone the upgrade to Snow Leopard until FotoStation 7 becomes available. Users who are covered by a software warranty or SMA (Software Maintenance Agreement) can download FotoStation 7 free of charge at the FotoWare update center at http://www.fotoware.com/support when it becomes available.

This article will be updated when a release date for FotoStation 7 has been determined. Feel free to bookmark this page and check back later.

PRB: PICT preview for EPS files is not created

Thu, 22 Apr 2004 10:09:44 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

ColorFactory 6.0 all versions and builds

SYMPTOMS

When specifying EPS file format with PICT preview, no preview is created.
A warning is issued in the Log file: "Macintosh PICT resource not saved"

CAUSE

This is caused by a failure to convert the CMYK EPS image to an RGB preview. When no ICC profile has been specified in the "Thumbnail & Preview" page of the Color Management feature, the conversion can not be done.

RESOLUTION

Open the Admin console and select the "Thumbnail & Preview" page of the Color Management feature.
Select the proper ICC profile for the preview. Use the Adobe RGB as a default profile.

PRB: Channel 49 fails. Hotfolder Setup Failed - Maximum number of channels with "Run always"

Thu, 07 Apr 2005 10:17:30 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

Color Factory 6.0

SYMPTOMS

After 48 channels the input is not processed. Channel 49 seems to be dead.

CAUSE

There is a limit of 48 channels using the hotfolder ("Run Always") method when using input folder on a different machine or using UNC paths to a local folder. This limitation exists in Windows 2003 and Windows 2000.
Read the microsoft KB article here: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=810886

RESOLUTION

Use "Run with delay" setting on the channels that does not work. This setting is found in the "Input Options" feature.

INFO: Color Factory 6.0 process sequence

Tue, 24 Aug 2004 21:24:05 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

Color Factory 6.0

SUMMARY

To create a workflow it can be of importance which sequence each different processing in the channels are executed. The sequence below is valid for bitmap images only, like jpeg, bmp, tiff and bmp. ( Other formats like pdf, vector and movies use a different sequence ).

SEQUENCE

Open file

Unique ID processing

IPTC Processing conversion and stripping

Curves before Color Management for CMYK file only

Color Management for CMYK files only

Apply soft crop etc.

Flip mirror

Resize

Pixel edit

Contrast

Filter USM etc.

Curves before Color Management for RGB and Grayscale images

Color Management for RGB and Grayscale images

Curves after Color Management

Hue Saturation and Luminace filter

Auto routing and file name generation

IPTC Processing templates and export

Unique ID generation

Remote layout Low-res generation

Auto printing

Generating image file

Generating FS thumbnail and preview

Copy file to final destination

INFO: Test running FotoWare application deployment with product key activation

Tue, 23 Nov 2010 13:44:18 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

Deployment of FotoWare 7.0 client applications (FotoStation and FotoWeb Desktop)

SUMMARY

FotoWare client applications such as FotoStation and FotoWeb Desktop can be deployed in a large user environment by modifying the MSI installer package and rolling it out to a host of network computers for example using Active Directory Group Policy.

MORE INFORMATION

Other articles in this knowledge base explain how Active Directory Group Policy can be used for deploying e.g. FotoStation. However, when testing deployment it may be a good idea NOT to use your production product keys since that could easily use up your available activation count.

To this end, we have created a special dummy key that you can use instead of your production keys when modifying the MSI package at the time of testing. Then, when you have verified that the installer works as it should and performs the activation as expected, you can simply replace the dummy key with your currently valid product keys. Your most recent keys can be downloaded from the FotoWare License Center.

When testing your deployment package, use the key below to verify that you can activate online:

FC00AD-54EBD8-90E63A-F31F8C-1176A0-47462F

When listing the activated products on a machine, the above product key will create an entry called FWTrustedStorageInit (Version 1.0)

You can deactivate this key either manually or by creating a script that runs fwappactwiz –deactivate FC00AD-54EBD8-90E63A-F31F8C-1176A0-47462F with an optional -silent parameter

ERRMSG: FotoWeb 6 reports No valid license found when accessing site

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 12:19:00 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWeb 6.0 servers where a FotoWare 7.0 application has been installed to run alongside FotoWeb 6.0

SYMPTOMS

After installing a FotoWare 7.0 application, FotoWeb 6.0 reports that no valid license can be found when accessing the home page.

CAUSE

This is caused by an incompatibility between the licensing services used in FotoWare 6.0 and FotoWare 6.0 applications, and as such is beyond FotoWare's control.

RESOLUTION

Your first possibility is to upgrade FotoWeb to version 7.0, as this will fix the problem. If that is not an option, follow the procedure below:

You will have to use a utility to remove the FLEXnet Licensing Service, then remove all flexnet and fotoware program files related to activation, then reinstall FotoWeb. A detailed explanation follows:

Before you start, make sure you have the FotoWeb 6 installer available.

1) Stop the FlexNet Licensing service in the Services control panel

2) Download sc.zip attached to this article and run sc.exe as follows:
sc delete "FLEXnet Licensing Service"
This will remove the flexnet service from the services control panel and unregister it from the system

3) Uninstall the FotoWare 7.0 application(s) from the system

4) Remove folder C:\Program Files\Common Files\Macrovision Shared and contents

5) Remove folder C:\Program Files\Common Files\FotoWare\Application Activation Wizard 1.1

6) Repair FotoWeb 6.0 through the control panel

7) Hit Start | Run fwappactwiz -installservice

8) Uninstall FotoWeb through the control panel

9) Reinstall FotoWeb

10) Verify that you can access the FotoWeb site through the web browser.

BUG: Cannot change configuration type in FotoStation 7.0 for Mac

Fri, 08 Oct 2010 11:16:53 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

FotoStation 6.0 and 7.0 for Macintosh

SYMPTOMS

When trying to change the configuration type from per-computer to per-user or "logon to server", the setting is not saved, and restarting FotoStation accomplishes nothing.

CAUSE

The problem lies in an earlier FotoStation installer which did not set the correct permissions on the folder where teh configuration files are stored.

RESOLUTION

Here's how to fix the problem:

1. Exit FotoStation if it's currently running.

2. In the Macintosh Finder, go to the folder /Library/Application Support/FotoWare/FotoStation

3. Click on the locationData.xml file and press Command-I to open the File Info window.

4. Expand the Sharing & Permissions node and change the everyone permission to Read & Write.

(You may need to click on the padlock icon and validate with your password to be allowed to change the file permissions.)

4. Close the File info window and restart FotoStation.

INFO: Configuring Virus scanning for FotoWare Connect 7.0

Thu, 23 Sep 2010 11:09:40 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWare Connect 7.0

SUMMARY

FotoWare Connect 7.0 supports virus scanning of all the files it transfers using an external virus scanner. You will need a virus scanner that supports command-line options and that will run on a Windows Server 2003 or 2008. After installing the virus scanner, you should make sure it is configured to download virus definition updates automatically.

SETTING VIRUS SCANNER OPTIONS

If Connect finds a virus, it can be set to behave in one of three ways:

1)      It can delete the file

2)      It can quarantine the file in a preset folder

3)      It can transfer the file as normal and add an entry in the log to indicate that the file is infected.

Configuring Connect to use the virus scanner is pretty straightforward. You first need to set global virus scanning options on the Service Options tab in the Connect configuration. There you can type in or browse to the virus scanner executable file and set the scan command that Connect should invoke when files should be scanned.

Different virus scanners require different syntaxes, so you should consult your virus scanner documentation for help on getting the syntax correct. Use the %1 variable to substitute the filename.

An important thing to remember is that many virus scanners will perform a memory check every time they run. This can usually be avoided by specifying a flag in the scan command. If you do not do so, you may find that the system appears very sluggish, since a full memory scan is run every time a new file is scanned.

Connect also lets you specify a quarantine path where infected files can be stored.

Choosing which sources to scan

After you have followed the above steps to configure the global virus scanner options, you can selectively choose which sources you wish to scan by going to the Servers tab and highlighting the source folder you want to scan. Then, on the Options tab you can enable virus scanning for that source and choose how to treat infected files.

HOWTO: Reinstalling FotoWeb Desktop

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 08:58:18 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWeb Desktop 7.0

SYMPTOMS

I uninstalled FotoWeb Desktop, but now I want to install it again. However, when logging on to the FotoWeb site I am not given the possibility to install it again.

CAUSE

This happens because your browser keeps a cookie that indicates that FotoWeb Desktop is still installed. This cookie cannot be removed by the uninstaller.

RESOLUTION

Clear your browser cookie cache and restart the browser, then log on to the FotoWeb site again.

HOWTO: How can I reset the password to the FotoStation configuration?

Fri, 20 Aug 2010 16:48:10 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

FotoStation 6.0 and 7.0 - Mac and Windows

SUMMARY

If you have password protected the FotoStation configuration and forgotten the password, the information below will help you reset the password.

MORE INFORMATION

The configuration file that contains your password in encrypted form is called fsSystemData.xml.

In Windows, this files is usually found in your user profile folder.
(Typically C:\Users\[Your username]\AppData\Roaming\FotoWare\FotoStation\Configuration\General)

On the Mac you will find it in [Your Home Folder]/Library/Preferences/FotoWare/FotoStation/Configuration/General

To reset the password, quit FotoStation, then delete the fsSystemData.xml file, then restart FotoStation. Your configuration will be preserved, but you will lose such information as your recent quicksearch history and other logged information.

INFO: FotoStation cannot connect to Index Manager with a user without a password

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 16:10:14 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

FotoStation 7.0
Index Manager 7.0

SUMMARY

You will not be able to connect a FotoStation 7.0 to an Index Manager 7.0 if you authenticate with a user account that has no password.

MORE INFORMATION

For the autentication to work, the user account must have a password set. An alternative route will be to enable guest access on the Index Manager server, in which case no user authentication in required.

It is possible to get around this problem by changing the local security policy on the server - however, this can be a potential security threat, so we advise caution if you choose to do so. We also advise you to read this Microsoft Technet document to learn more about the procedure and implications of doing so:

http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc737553(WS.10).aspx

ERRMSG: FotoWeb log reports 'Warning: Thesaurus not loaded. Search word highlighting may not work properly."

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 09:55:16 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWeb 7.0

SYMPTOMS

FotoWeb displays a warning message in the logs and in the Operations Center saying:
'Warning: Thesaurus not loaded. Search word highlighting may not work properly.'

CAUSE / EXPLANATION

This warning is in no way critical, but it can easily be resolved.
When you perform a search in FotoWeb, the words you search for are highlighted in the metadata in your search hits. However, Index Manager, which powers the FotoWeb searches, can also be configured to search for synonyms, so that when you search for "fast food", for example, Index Manager will also return files containing "hamburger" and other words that are configured as synonyms to the main search word or phrase.
By default, FotoWeb will not highlight these synonyms. In order to get it to do so, you will have to make a copy of the synonym configuration file that you use in Index Manager and place it in the site settings folder in FotoWeb. See below for details.

RESOLUTION

Make a copy of the THESAUR.xml file in Index Manager's programdata folder. If synonym searching is not in use in Index Manager, it will be called Sample_THESAUR.xml.
(In Windows 2008 it's stored in in C:\ProgramData\FotoWare\Index Manager\Index Control)
Store the THESAUR.xml file in the FotoWeb site's configuration folder and restart FotoWeb.
(In Windows 2008 the path to the folder is typically C:\ProgramData\FotoWare\FotoWeb\Site Settings\[SITENAME]\Configuration)
After restarting FotoWeb you should no longer receive the warning about the missing thesaurus file.

HOWTO: Creating a 32-bit System DSN on a 64-bit Windows server

Tue, 18 May 2010 10:48:55 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

Color Factory 7.0 and FotoStation 7.0 running on a 64-bit Windows server

SUMMARY

This article explains how you can create a 32-bit System DSN on a 64-bit server for use with FotoWare Color Factory or FotoStation.

MORE INFORMATION

The Data Sources (ODBC) control panel on 64-bit servers will only let you set up 64-bit system DSN's. Since FotoWare 7.0 applications are 32-bit they cannot connect to these DSN's. To set up a 32-bit System DSN you will need to use the 32-bit version of the ODBC Administrator tool.

STEP-BY-STEP PROCEDURE

Start the command prompt on the server and go to C:\Windows\SysWOW64, then start odbcad32.exe. This will open the 32-bit version of the ODBC control panel which lets you create 32-bit DSN's that can be used by FotoWare applications.

EXTERNAL LINKS

More information can be found in this Microsoft support article: http://support.microsoft.com/kb/942976

FIX: FotoWeb grid appears distorted

Thu, 06 May 2010 10:52:03 +0200

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWeb 7.0 up to build 432

SUMMARY

The grid layout gets distorted. Filenames appear above or behind the thumbnails. Hovering the mouse over one image selects all the images in the grid.

REASON

One or more files shown in the grid contain some special characters in the metadata field 120 (caption).

RESOLUTION

Open the template ThumbContainer.

Locate the string <img class="Thumbnail".

Make sure that the alt and title attributes of the img tag are properly encapsulated in quotes as follows:

alt="<%$ InsertVariable encoding="html" name="image.iptc.iptc120" /%>"

ERRMSG: FotoWeb configuration module reports "Value was either too large or too small for an Int32

Thu, 29 Apr 2010 11:56:21 +0200

Problem:
When you click the FotoWeb tab in Operations Center, you get this error:

Workaround:
2008 server:
Go to C:\ProgramData\FotoWare\FotoWeb\Server Settings\Configuration and open the file LicenseInfo.txt

2003 server:
Go to C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\FotoWare\FotoWeb\Server Settings\Configuration and open the file LicenseInfo.txt

The file should look something like this
16|5|1|4294967295|<Company Name>|

Change the large number (4294967295) to a smaller two digit number (for example 20).
After this is done, save the file and make sure that the FotoWare account (the main account for all FotoWare application) does not have write access on the file.
Then try restarting the Web configuration again, and the problem should be solved.

ERRMSG: FotoWeb 7.0 fails to start after upgrade from version 6.0

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 13:03:40 +0200

Information in this article applies to

· FotoWeb 6.0

· FotoWeb 7.0

Symptoms:

After upgrading from FotoWeb 6.0 to FotoWeb 7.0, the FotoWeb services do not start. The Service Control Manager reports in the Windows System event log reports that the services could not be started due to a dependency failure.

Cause:

The "FotoWare Log Server" service that is required by all FotoWare server applications is missing.

Resolution:

There are two possible solutions to resolve this issue:

Solution 1: Uninstall all FotoWare 6.0 applications that you plan to upgrade to version 7.0 first, then upgrade to FotoWeb 7.0.

Solution 2: After upgrading to FotoWeb 7.0, open the Windows Control Panel and select FotoWare Operations Center. Click the Repair button to repair the applications.

ERRMSG: FotoWeb reports that it cannot find a valid license after an upgrade from version 6.0 to version 7.0

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 13:15:21 +0200

Information in this article applies to

· FotoWeb 6.0

· FotoWeb 7.0

Symptoms:

FotoWeb is inaccessible after upgrading from FotoWeb 6.0 to FotoWeb 7.0. The FotoWeb system log reports that FotoWeb cannot find a valid license.

Cause:

FotoWeb background service cannot read the license information.

Resolution:

There are two possible solutions to resolve this issue:

Solution 1: Add “FotoWeb Admin Account” to local administrators group before the upgrade to FotoWeb 7.0.

Solution 2: If you already have upgraded to FotoWeb 7.0, then stop all FotoWeb services and add “FotoWeb Admin Account” to local administrators group. Next, start FAC and for each site, run “Setup IIS” from the context menu of the site node. Restart IIS and the FotoWeb services.

HOWTO: Changing the communications port for FotoWare 7.0 applications

Fri, 23 Apr 2010 12:07:11 +0200

Description: The Operations Center lets you change the port that FotoWare applications use for communications. The default port is 7000, but this can be changed as required.

The change of ports may not work as expected if IIS 6 Management compatibility has not been added to a Windows Server 2008. This gives way to two workarounds:

1. You can install the IIS 6 Management Compatibility Role Server for IIS and then retry changing of ports in the Operations Center.

2. You can manually change the port in the IIS Manager as follows:

Choose Start | Administrative Tools | Internet Information Services (IIS) Manager

Locate and highlight the FotoWare website, then click on Bindings... in the right panel

Select the HTTP binding and click Edit...

Change the port to the desired value

PRB: Problems uploading files larger than 30MB to FotoWeb

Fri, 16 Apr 2010 11:59:18 +0200

Symptoms:

The server returns HTTP status 404 if you try to upload files larger than 30MB to FotoWeb.

This happens in Windows Server 2008 with IIS 7.

Reason:

By default, IIS 7 on server 2008 sets the maximum allowed size of files to be uploaded to a little less than 30MB.

Resolution:

Open the “web.config” file in “C:\Program Files\FotoWare\FotoWeb” in a text editor and add the following section in the “system.webServer” node:

</requestFiltering>

</security>

FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions about upgrading to FotoStation 6.0

Wed, 28 Nov 2007 14:10:18 +0100

IMPORTANT INFORMATION:

Activation codes were released to upgraders with a valid SMA or warranty on Monday, 3 Dec.
Log on to the FotoWare website to obtain your activation code.

Q: Where do I download FotoStation 6.0?

A: Existing users of FotoStation can log on to the update center at http://www.fotoware.com/Support/UpdateCenter/ to obtain the latest version of the software. New users can download a 30-day trial version by following the link at http://www.fotoware.com. Should you choose to buy FotoStation you can activate the trial version to unlock the non-timelimited version.

Q: Which operating systems does FotoStation 6.0 support?

A: FotoStation 6.0 runs in Windows XP and Vista and in Mac OS X Tiger (v. 10.4.6) and Leopard (v. 10.5)

Q: My FotoStation 5.x serial number doesn’t work with FotoStation 6.0

A: FotoStation 5.x users who are covered by an SMA or the one-year software warranty can obtain a new activation number by logging onto the FotoWare Update Center. Users without an account can register on the update center and add their license to obtain their new activation key. (Service is available from Monday 3 December.)

In the meantime it is possible to run FotoStation in a fully functional 30-day trial mode by choosing this option in the activation wizard. Detailed information about how you can retrieve your product keys can be found here: http://www.fotoware.com/en/Support/kb/View-Knowledgebase-Article/?articleId=10252

Q: I don’t have an activation number for FotoStation 6.0

A: SMA customers and customers with a valid warranty can log on to the FotoWare update center and obtain their activation number starting Monday 3 December. In the meantime it is possible to run FotoStation in a fully functional 30-day trial mode by choosing this option in the activation wizard. Detailed information about how you can retrieve your product keys can be found here: http://www.fotoware.com/en/Support/kb/View-Knowledgebase-Article/?articleId=10252

Q: I have recently purchased FotoStation and was promised a free upgrade to version 6.0 when it was released. Where can I find it and how do I get my serial number?

A: Users of FotoStation who are covered by a warranty or have a valid SMA (Software Maintenance Agreement) can obtain FotoStation 6.0 by registering their license on the FotoWare website. To register your FotoStation license, go to http://www.fotoware.com/support, click on Manage Licenses and follow the directions. This way, you can get access both to FotoStation 6.0 and a required activation code. Without the activation code you can only run FotoStation in a 30-day trial mode (with the same functionality as the full version). Activation codes will be released to upgraders with a valid SMA or warranty on Monday, 3 Dec. Log on to the FotoWare website to obtain your activation code. Detailed information about how you can retrieve your product keys can be found here: http://www.fotoware.com/en/Support/kb/View-Knowledgebase-Article/?articleId=10252

Q: Can I use a single FotoStation 6.0 license both on my work computer and my laptop?

A: No, FotoStation 6.0 can only be activated on a single computer. You can, however, deactivate your software and reactivate it on another up to two times a year.

More information ca be found here: http://www.fotoware.com/en/Support/kb/View-Knowledgebase-Article/?articleId=102523

Q: I upgraded to FotoStation 6.0, but now I can’t find my templates. Where are they now?

A: FotoStation 6.0 has a slightly different folder structure than earlier versions. Though you should have access to all your existing templates from within FotoStation 6.0, the files are stored in different folders on the disk than they used to. Two Knowledge Base articles have been posted to inform of these changes, one that applies to the Windows version and one for Mac OS X. (Click on your platform to be redirected.)

Q: I’m running a number of FotoWare applications in a network environment. Are there any considerations that should be taken into account before I upgrade to version 6.0?

A: Yes, there are certain considerations and potential pitfalls that you should be aware of. A Knowledge Base article on the deployment of a FotoWare 6.0 system has been posted at this link: http://www.fotoware.com/en/Support/kb/View-Knowledgebase-Article/?articleId=10235

Also, you may want to contact you local reseller to get help setting up the system.

Q: Which file formats are supported in FotoStation 6.0?

A: A complete list of supported file formats in all FotoWare applications can be found on this link: http://www.fotoware.com/en/Support/kb/View-Knowledgebase-Article/?articleId=10234

Q: How can I convert a FotoStation 5.x configuration that is stored on a server to work with FotoStation 6.0?

A: The following two documents go into the details of the new file locations in FotoStation 6.0 and include a step-by-step procedure for updating a FotoStation 5.x configuration stored on a server to version 6.0:

Mac OS X procedure: http://www.fotoware.com/en/Support/kb/View-Knowledgebase-Article/?articleId=10233

Windows procedure: http://www.fotoware.com/en/Support/kb/View-Knowledgebase-Article/?articleId=10237

Q: Can I run FotoStation 5.x and 6.0 side by side on the same computer?

A: No. FotoStation 5.x and 6.0 require different versions of Apple QuickTime, so while you may be able to make it work it is not advisable. When installing and running FotoStation 6.0, your existing FotoStation 5.x configuration will be moved to a new location because FotoStation 6.0 uses a new folder structure for its files for better compliance with Microsoft's standards. The same goes for the Mac OS X version of FotoStation 6.0, where the folder structure has also been changed. Knowledge Base articles on the new folder structure in FotoStation 6.0 can be found here: Windows, Mac OS X

HOWTO: What to do if FotoStation crashes

Wed, 11 Feb 2009 13:27:25 +0100

What to do if FotoStation crashes

As with other software, you may occasionally experience that FotoStation crashes quite unexpectedly. Below is a step-by-step procedure to help you isolate the cause of the crash to be able to troubleshoot it.

1. Restart FotoStation

Most of the time, simply restarting the program will solve the problem and you will not experience it again. However, you may try performing the same operation that made the program terminate the last time to see if the same happens again.

2. Restart computer

If the above doesn't work, try to restart the computer and then start FotoStation again.

3. Delete the image cache manually

If the problem persists, you may try to delete the image cache manually. The location of the cache will vary depending on your program version (Mac/Win) and type of configuration. To locate it, please consult either of these documents:

Location of files in FotoStation 6.0 for Mac OS X

Location of files in FotoStation 6.0 for Windows

4. Check your archive

If FotoStation termiates when trying to read the contents of a certain archive, chances are there is a corrupt file inside that archive. Using the Mac Finder or Windows Explorer you can e.g. manually move the contents of the archive to another folder a bit at a time to see if that can help you locate a corrupt file. This process can be time consuming with a large archive, but it may be the only way to identify a file that has been corrupted.

5. Check if a program update is available

If, having tried suggestion 4 above, you find that FotoStation crashes when trying to read a certain file - for example a RAW file from a digital camera and you know for a fact that the file is not corrupt, it may simply be that the version of FotoStation that you are running does not support the camera model in question. In this case, we advise you to visit the downloads area on the FotoWare website to download the latest version of the software. FotoWare continually implements support for new camera models and it may well be that your camera model is supported in the newest release. Make sure you check the release notes to find out.

Even if the file causing problems is not a camera raw file, it may be that the latest program version addresses bugs and issues in previous versions that may be the cause of the problems you are having.

6. Uninstall FotoStation, clean up all configuration files and reinstall

This should only be used as a final resort. It involves uninstalling FotoStation and manually removing all configuration files associated with the installation.

It is strongly advisable to make a backup of your configuration before performing this step!

In addition to running the uninstaller in Windows (or throwing the Fotostation application in the Trash on the Mac) you will have to manually locate and delete all folders containing the FotoStation configuration files. The below articles outline the location of these files:

Location of files in FotoStation 6.0 for Mac OS X

Location of files in FotoStation 6.0 for Windows

HOWTO: Running FotoWare applications in 64-bit Windows

Mon, 10 Dec 2007 14:26:10 +0100

Can I run FotoWare 6.0 applications in 64-bit versions of Windows?

The short and simple answer is yes, but you should read on for some additional remarks.

Since FotoWare 6.0 applications no longer rely on a physical hardware protection key (‘dongle’) that was only available with 32-bit Windows drivers, it is now possible to run all these applications in a 64-bit Windows environment. First of all it should be noted that since the FotoWare applications are themselves 32-bit they rely on the 32-bit subsystem that Microsoft includes in its 64-bit operating systems, known as WOW64 (Windows-32-on-Windows-64).

More information about Microsoft’s WOW subsystem can be found in this article by Microsoft:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WOW64

What’s more, it should be noted that you cannot mix 32-bit and 64-bit web applications on the same server. IIS (Internet Information Services) must be run in either 32-bit or 64-bit mode, and since FotoWeb 6.0 is a 32-bit application, 32-bit mode must be enabled in IIS. Thus IIS cannot simultaneously run 64-bit applications.

More about this here:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/WindowsServer2003/Library/IIS/0aafb9a0-1b1c-4a39-ac9a-994adc902485.mspx?mfr=true

HOWTO: Running FotoWeb on Windows Server x64

Thu, 29 May 2008 11:34:28 +0200

Information in this article applies to

Windows Server 2003 x64
Windows Server 2008 x64
FotoWeb 6.0 and above

INTRODUCTION

Since FotoWeb 6.0 no longer relies on a physical hardware protection key (‘dongle’) that was only available with 32-bit Windows drivers, it is now possible to run FotoWeb in a 64-bit Windows environment.

It should be noted that FotoWeb itself is still a 32-bit and relies on the 32-bit subsystem that Microsoft includes in its 64-bit operating systems known as WOW64 (Windows-32-on-Windows-64).

More information about Microsoft’s WOW64 subsystem can be found in this article:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WOW64

Furthermore, it should also be noted that since FotoWeb requires IIS (Internet Information Services) to run, 32-bit mode must be enabled in IIS. By doing so, IIS will no longer be able to run 64-bit web applications. This is due to the fact that you cannot mix 32-bit and 64-bit web applications on the same server.

More information about running 32-bit applications on a 64-bit server can be found in this article:
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/WindowsServer2003/Library/IIS/0aafb9a0-1b1c-4a39-ac9a-994adc902485.mspx?mfr=true

REQUIREMENTS

Latest FotoWeb 6.0 installer
Microsoft Windows Server 2003 x64 or Microsoft Windows Server 2008 x64
Microsoft IIS 6.0 (IIS 7.0 on Server 2008)
Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 32-bit

PROCEDURE (For Windows Server 2003 before Service Pack 2)

Install IIS on the server through Control Panel | Windows Components.
Open a command prompt and navigate to the %systemdrive%\Inetpub\AdminScripts directory.

Type in the following command and press ENTER
cscript.exe adsutil.vbs set W3SVC/AppPools/Enable32BitAppOnWin64 “true”

In the command prompt, navigate to %systemdrive%\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727 directory.

Type in the following command and press ENTER
aspnet_regiis.exe -i

Install and configure FotoWeb according to the manual.

PROCEDURE (For Windows Server 2003 with Service Pack 2 or later)

Install IIS by adding the server roles
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config -section:applicationPools -applicationPoolDefaults.enable32BitAppOnWin64:true
Open a command prompt and navigate to the %systemdrive%\Inetpub\AdminScripts directory.

Type in the following command and press ENTER
cscript.exe adsutil.vbs set W3SVC/AppPools/Enable32BitAppOnWin64 true

In the command prompt, navigate to %systemdrive%\WINDOWS\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727 directory.

Type in the following command and press ENTER
aspnet_regiis.exe -i

Install and configure FotoWeb according to the manual.

PROCEDURE (For Windows Server 2008 with IIS 7.0)

Precondition: Web server role installed on the server
Open a command prompt and type in the following command followed by ENTER:
%windir%\system32\inetsrv\appcmd set config -section:applicationPools -applicationPoolDefaults.enable32BitAppOnWin64:true
Install and configure FotoWeb according to the manual.

HOWTO: Importing the DICOM editor to FotoStation 7.0

Sun, 31 Jan 2010 13:04:33 +0100

In FotoStation 7.0 build 410 (SR1) – the XMP namespace DICOM (http://ns.adobe.com/DICOM/) has been added. A new metadata editor has also been added to the default configuration. This editor however, will NOT be available when you upgrade an earlier version of FotoStation unless you clear all existing configuration.

If you want to migrate the DICOM editor into your current configuration , please follow these steps:

1) Download DICOM.editor from here (see attached file)

2) Open the configuration dialog in FotoStation File > Configuration

3) Expand “Metadata” and select “Dialog builder”

4) Click the “Import” button

5) Select the downloaded file

FIX: FotoWare 7.0 CD-ROM Installers will attempt to download .NET 3.5 from the Internet

Fri, 29 Jan 2010 12:24:14 +0100

Symptom: When installing a FotoWare 7.0 server application from CD-ROM, the installer will still try to attempt to download the .NET framework from the Internet and thus requires a working internet connection. Shouldn't it be possible to install the software from a CD without requiring a working connection to the Internet?

Cause: This is incorrect behavior that will be fixed in a future release.

Solution/workaround:

1. Download the .NET framework from Microsoft's Download site. (http://www.microsoft.com/download)

2. Copy the installer to a memory stick or CDROM and transfer it to the server where you will install the FotoWare software.

3. Install the .NET framework on the server.

4. Run the FotoWare server application installer.

INFO: Can I run a FotoWare system on a NAS

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 14:57:38 +0100

The files in a FotoWare system are stored in a simple file system structure. This has several benefits, especially as far as backup and easy connectivity is concerned. It also means that any third-party product can directly access and modify a file in the system. For example, you can use Photoshop to change the metadata of a file, after which Index Manager will immediately see that the file has changed and update the index accordingly.

This automatic notification when a file is changed relies on a function that is only provided on Windows Server platforms. It is a function that lets the operating system inform Index Manager the moment a change occurs in the indexed file areas. Unfortunately, this function does not exist on NAS systems, which means that Index Manager will not be able to immediately update. Instead, it will have to scan the entire NAS with regular intervals to detect changes. What’s more, many NAS systems do not manage folder and file dates correctly, which means that Index Manager will not be able to see the changes at all.

A NAS may in certain scenarios be acceptable for static, long-term archives, but is not a viable solution for a workflow system or an archive where users are allowed to change files. Additionally, most NAS systems do not provide sufficient performance, and the overall system performance of the FotoWare solution will suffer accordingly. Hence, we advise against using a NAS as your file repository in a FotoWare system.

INFO: ASP.NET Workflow module removed from FotoWeb 7.0

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 13:15:16 +0100

ASP Workflow modules have been removed from FotoWeb 7.0. This implies that only the FWX-based workflow modules are available in version 7.0.

Current users of the ASP.NET workflow modules in version 6.0 or 6.5 will have to evaluate whether upgrading to version 7.0 will severely affect their workflow possibilities.

HOWTO: Configuring Windows Server 2008 for FotoWare 7.0 Applications

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:25:48 +0200

SUMMARY

Starting with FotoWare Version 7.0, several server applications require Internet Information Services for its configuration systems. Some additional server features are also required to run the applications. Below is a step-by-step procedure outlining how to install and configure IIS 7 and other required features in Windows 2008 before installing FotoWare 7.0.

ALSO APPLIES TO

This guide can also be used to set up IIS 7 if you plan to install FotoWeb 6.0 on a Windows Server 2008.

INSTALLING INTERNET INFORMATION SERVICES 7

· Click on Start -> Administrative Tools, then click Server Manager

· In Server Manager scroll down to Roles Summary, and click on Add Roles

· The Add Roles Wizard starts and warn you that you have to verify the following:

o The administrator account has a strong password

o Network settings, such as static IP addresses, are configured

o The latest security updates from Windows Update are installed

· Click Next to go the Add Server Role page. Place a checkmark next to Web Server (IIS).

· When marking the Web Server role you will be prompted to add required features.

o Click Add Required Features

· After the required feature is added, check that the Web server role is marked and then click Next

· The next page will give you some basic information on IIS Web Servers and a few links with extra information if needed. Click on the button Next to continue.

· This next page give you the option to add roles. For FotoWare applications to work we need some additional roles (assuming clean install):

Under Web Server | Application Development:
- ASP.NET
      - .NET Extensibility
      - ISAPI Extensions
      - ISAPI Filters

Under Health and Diagnostics:

- Tracing (optional but gives better IIS error message if something should go wrong)

Under Security:
- Basic Authentication
- Windows Authentication

Under Management Tools:
- Management Service

o Note: Once you select the ASP.NET role service you will be prompted with a dialog that informs you about other services required by ASP.NET. Click Add Required Role Service to continue

· Check that the required modules are selected and then click Next

· Confirmation page. Confirm the specific modules and click Install

· After installation you will get an Installation Result page. Click Close.

· Note: If you have not Automatic Update enabled you will get a warning message. This has nothing to do with the installation of Web Server role where you can see that you have the result ”Installation succeeded

· In the Server Manager window, under Roles Summary, you should now see Web Server (IIS)

INSTALLING ADDITIONAL REQUIRED SERVER FEATURES

Next you need to add an additional feature to your system, namely the .NET 3.0 Framework and WCF Activation.

In the Server Manager, click on the Features node in the left panel and then choose Add Features.
Expand the .NET Framework 3.0 Features node and select the WCF Activation feature. This will require you to add the .NET 3.0 Framework as well. Then click Next to add these features also.
Further down in the features list you will find Desktop Experience. This should also be enabled. Then click Next to add these features. Installing the Desktop Experience feature may require you to restart the server.

Now you should be set to install and configure your FotoWare 7.0 applications in Windows Server 2008.

INFO: All FotoWare Services are stopped when installing, upgrading, or uninstalling one application

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:47:23 +0100

The FotoWare applications share common components, and it is therefore necessary to stop all services during the installation process in order to upgrade these without requiring a reboot of the server to complete the installation.

The services are not automatically started again by the installation program, and must therefore be manually started by the administrator once the required updates/changes have been applied to the server.

ERRMSG: FotoWeb Script Processing reports that not license could be found

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:59:35 +0100

Applies to:

FotoWeb 7.0 – all builds

Symptoms:

FotoWeb Script Processing reports that not license could be found, while FotoWeb Administration Console reports the license correctly.

Cause:

The FLEXnet Licensing Service is reports incorrect license information to processes that are not started by administrative users.

Resolution:

Add FotoWeb Administrator user to the Administrators group on the server.

HOWTO: How to Monitor the FotoWare 7.0 Application Log without using the Operations Center

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:01:50 +0100

If the FotoWare Operations Center is not working correctly, the FotoWare Application Log can still be monitored on the server by following the procedure below:

1. Click Start | Run

2. Type ‘FotoWare.LogServer.exe –client’ without the quotes

3. A command prompt will open and display the log. New log events are written every second.

4. Hit the ENTER key to stop the monitor.

The FotoWare Application Log is written to a file on disk called ‘FWEvents.Log’, which is compatible with the log file written by FotoWare 6.0 programs. A new log file is created each day. The log files are stored in the following location:

· Windows Server 2003: C:\Documents and settings\All Users\Application Data\FotoWare\Log Files

· Windows Server 2008: C:\ProgramData\FotoWare\Log Files

Log files from the log server process itself is written to the ‘Log Server’ subdirectory in this location. Additional log files are also written to this location during installation/uninstallation of FotoWare applications to aid troubleshooting of errors in these processes.

HOWTO: How to test that FotoWare Log Server 7.0 is working correctly

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:07:06 +0100

An administrator can test that the FotoWare Log Server 7.0 is correctly writing to the log file by following the procedure below:

1. On the server, click Start | Run

2. Type ‘FotoWare.LogServer.exe –testDispatch’ without the quotes

3. Open the log file in Notepad (see location below)

4. Verify that test events are written to the file

5. Hit CTRL-C in the command window to stop the test event dispatcher

The log file is stored in the following locations:

· Windows Server 2003: C:\Documents and settings\All Users\Application Data\FotoWare\Log Files\FWEvents.log

· Windows Server 2008: C:\ProgramData\FotoWare\Log Files\FWEvents.log

INFO: Running FotoWare Log Server 7.0 on a server with both FotoWare 6.0 and FotoWare 7.0 applications

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:07:54 +0100

FotoWare Log Server 7.0 supports events sent from both FotoWare 6.0 and FotoWare 7.0 applications, and events will be combined in the same log file:

· Windows Server 2003: C:\Documents and settings\All Users\Application Data\FotoWare\Log Files\FWEvents.log

· Windows Server 2008: C:\ProgramData\FotoWare\Log Files\FWEvents.log

FotoWare Log Server 7.0 will be installed with the FotoWare Operations Center, and will replace the old version of the Log Server.

The FotoWare Log Viewer 6.0 can be used to view the log file (as the Operations Center does not provide log filtering for Version 6.0 applications). Please note that the Log Viewer opens by default in the location used by FotoWare 6.0 applications, and the user must manually switch to the directory containing the Version 7.0 log file.

If a FotoWare 6.0 application is upgraded, repaired, or reinstalled after a 7.0 application, the FotoWare Log Server 6.0 will be reinstalled and replace version 7.0. The Operations Center will no longer be able to display log events, and events from Version 7.0 components will not be written to the log file.

To fix this, follow the procedure below:

1. Go to Add/Remove Programs (Windows Server 2003) or Programs and Features (Windows Server 2008) in the Control Panel

2. Locate FotoWare Operations Center 7.0

3. Repair the installation

INFO: Why is Internet Information Services required by FotoWare 7.0 server applications?

Mon, 16 Nov 2009 18:45:40 +0100

The FotoWare Operations Center and the administration interfaces are now available as web applications, which make it possible for administrators to monitor and configure the FotoWare system from anywhere as long as they have access to a browser.

This implies that the Windows server(s) that run FotoWare server applications must be configured with IIS to allow system confguration and maintenance.

Since the procedure for installing IIS varies on Windows Server 2003 and 2007, we have put together two knowledge base articles that describe how to do this step by step. This is especially useful when installing IIS 7 on a Windows Server 2008, which requires configuration of some additional components to work properly.

Setting up IIS 7 on a Windows Server 2008: http://www.fotoware.com/en/Support/kb/View-Knowledgebase-Article/?articleId=10293

Setting up IIS 6 on a Windows Server 2003: http://www.fotoware.com/en/Support/kb/View-Knowledgebase-Article/?articleId=10294

INFO: Color Factory 6 allocates nearly 4GB of memory seemingly for no reason

Fri, 23 Oct 2009 13:51:51 +0200

Symptom:

Color Factory running on a virtual server appears to hang when the service is started.

Cause:

Color Factory memory defragmentation is probably enabled. This will make Color Factory allocate a big chunk of memory when the service starts before releasing it again. Since VMWare does not release the memory, it will remain allocated and could slow down other virtual servers on the host.

Solution:

Disable memory defagmentation in Color Factory when running on a virtual server:

1) Open the FotoWare Administration Console

2) Click on the Color Factory node and go to the Process environment tab.

3) Select the checkbox labelled Disable memory defragmentation.

4) Save the configuration (Ctrl-S) and restart the Color Factory service.

PRB: Downloading in 6.5.290 causes error "A required privilege is not held by the client"

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:15:43 +0200

Information in this article applies to

FotoWeb 6.5.290

SYMPTOMS

The downloads fail in this build and the FotoWeb system log dispplays a set of error messages coming from the download dll. Among these messages, the Windows error message is found:

"A required privilege is not held by the client" 1314

CAUSE

In order to secure the processing, the download.dll now starts an external process to prepare the downloads before they are delivered to the clients. On some systems, the download.dll is simply not able to start this external process due to lack of NT rights. The download.dll runs under FotoWeb application pool in IIS that uses to FotoWeb Request account. It is this account that needs additional NT privileges to start the external process in the context of IIS.

RESOLUTION

FotoWeb Request account needs to (2) more NT privileges:

Adjust memory quota for a process
RReplace a process level token

Perform the following steps to assign these privileges:

Go to Control Panel | Administrative Tools | Local Security Policy
Then go to Security Settings | Local Policies | User Rights Assignment
Double click the above policies and add FotoWeb request account to them

HOWTO: Installing IIS 6 for FotoWare 7.0 products

Mon, 21 Sep 2009 10:03:21 +0200

SUMMARY

Starting with FotoWare Version 7.0, several server applications require Internet Information Services for its configuration systems.

Below is a step-by-step procedure outlining how to install and configure IIS 6 in Windows 2003.

ALSO APPLIES TO

This guide can also be used to set up IIS 6 if you plan to install FotoWeb 6.0 on a Windows Server 2003

PROCEDURE

Click on Start -> Add / Remove Programs
Click on Add/Remove Windows Components and select Application Server, then click on the Details button
Select ASP.NET and Internet Information Services (IIS) and click OK
Finally, click Next to start the installation

FAQ: Can I use new (version 6.0) and old FotoWare software on the same server?

Fri, 14 Dec 2007 11:56:10 +0100

Can I use new and old FotoWare Server Products on the same server?

Color Factory 5.5, Index Manager 4.5 and FotoWeb 3.0 require Apple QuickTime 6.4. These products do not work correctly with version 7.1.6, which is the version required by the FotoWare 6.0 server programs. It is therefore strongly recommended that you upgrade all the products at the same time, or split the different versions on different servers. Running old and current versions in the same network is supported, as long as you follow the best practices for upgrading to 6.0 outlined here: http://www.fotoware.com/en/Support/kb/View-Knowledgebase-Article/?articleId=10235

HOWTO: Adding drag and drop functionality to FotoStation's multi search views

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 13:44:02 +0200

Synopsis

You may have noticed the News Agencies view in FotoStation (under Multi search views). This view is configured to search for image agency information in the Credit metadata field. This article explains how you can assign metadata macros that are run on files that are dropped into a column so that the agency information is updated and the files sorted in the correct columns.

This functionality can naturally also be used with your own custom multi search views, so the below outline is only a cookbook recipe that can be reused for any multi search view where you would like to implement drag and drop functionality to add or change metadata. (Say, to add categories to your archived pictures, for example)

How to do it

In the program menu, choose File | Configuration to open the configuration screen.

Expand the Views node, then the Multi search views node.
Click on the News agencies view.
Now click on the AFP entry in the list and click on the Edit button.
Enable Allow drop into his column and click on Edit text macro.

Now you are in the metadata macro editor, where we will create the macro that adds “AFP” to the credit field of files dropped into this column.

Click on Add Field.
In the Field to Add dropdown list, choose field #110 Credit.
As the action, choose to Replace all previous content.
In the Field Content field, type AFP.
Click OK to save the macro entry.
Click OK to save the macro, then OK again to store the changes to the column settings.
Repeat steps 4-11 to add similar macros to the AP, Reuters, EPA and DPA columns.
Finally, click OK to store the program configuration.
Now change the view of your archive to Thumbnail view, then back to Multi search | News Agencies. (This is done to update the view to allow drag and drop and only has to be done once.)

Now you can try dragging and dropping files from one column to the other. Note how the information in the Credit field is changed using the macro when a file is moved to a new column.

ERRMSG: Getting error message after installing Service Release 5

Tue, 10 Mar 2009 14:02:29 +0100

Symptom:

After I updated to Service Release 5, my FotoWare application (FotoStation, Index Manager, Color Factory and/or FotoWeb) produces an error message during startup:

"Unable to locate component - The application has failed to start because WindowsCodecs.dll was not found. Re-installing the application may solve this problem."

"The Nikon Raw format libraries are not properly installed. Raw format support will be limited."

Cause:

FotoWare Service Release 5 uses a new NEF raw file library from Nikon. This library relies on the Windows Imaging Component (WIC), a piece of Microsoft software that interacts with the NEF library.

WIC is part of Service Pack 3 for Windows XP and the .NET Framework 3.5, so if you have installed either of these on your system you are not affected by the above error message.

Solution:

Microsoft offers WIC as a separate download for users who don't want to install Service Pack 3 or .NET Framework 3.5. Please follow one of these links download it directly (approx. 1.2 MB download):

Windows Imaging Components for 32-bit Windows versions: http://www.microsoft.com/Downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=8e011506-6307-445b-b950-215def45ddd8&displaylang=en

Windows Imaging Components for 64-bit Windows versions: http://www.microsoft.com/Downloads/details.aspx?familyid=F64654AC-6E26-41D9-A90A-0E7783B864EE&displaylang=en

If you don't need NEF support in the server applications and want to avoid the error message, simply rename the NkImgSDK.dll file in C:\Program Files\FotoWare\<Product name>.

INFO: Optimizing JPEG Copy channels in Color Factory 6.0 Service Release 5

Wed, 11 Mar 2009 09:01:49 +0100

In situations where the flow of images is very high, the speed of a JPEG Copy channel can be important. Here are three things you can check to make sure the channel runs as smoothly as possible:

1. Thumbnail and Preview generation

Version 6.0 has been slower than earlier version up until Service Release 5 (SR5) because the thumbnail was always generated. In SR5 the thumbnail is not generated when the thumbnail feature is disabled, but it will still copy any existing thumbnail from input to output file.

2. Image similarity index

The Image Similarity index has always been enabled in version 5.0, 5.5 and 6.0 up to SR5. This is also a time consuming function and may not be needed in most JPEG Copy channels. Hence, it can now be disabled by clicking on the Metadata node, selecting the General page and unchecking the option labelled Generate Image Similarity value.

3. Disable memory defragmentation if the channel only processes relatively small files

Memory defragmentation is important when very large files are processed. If this is not the case, it can safely be turned off.

PRB: FotoWeb COM components crashing in ASP.NET 2.0

Thu, 05 Mar 2009 10:23:23 +0100

Information in this article applies to

FotoWeb 6.0 and above
Microsoft .NET Frawork 2.0 and above

SUMMARY

There have been multiple reports of various random errors when using FotoWeb COM objects in ASPX pages.

These custom ASPX scripts seemingly run fine for a while and then, out of nowhere, start to fail with error message such as:

Access violation
Corrupt memory
Etc.

The same objects and their equivalent scripts worked fine in ASP, and most of the time also in .NET 1.1. All the failures reported so far occurred when these COM object were used in .NET 2.0 environments.

Obviously, the way COM components work in .NET 2.0 is different than in .NET 1.1 and ASP environment. Some of FotoWeb's COM components are designed for single-threaded apartment (STA) while others are designed for multi-threaded apartment (MTA). Hence, our first concern is in which environment these components are initialized.

WORKAROUND

Microsoft has some suggestions that may assist overcoming many of issues related to COM components and interop.

Suggestion #1 (ASPX pages):

Include AspCompat="true" attribute to the page directive where the COM objects are being used.

Please see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/zwk9h2kb.aspx for more details.

Suggestion #2 (.NET appliactions):

Explicitly set the apartment sate of the current thread to STA with Thread.CurrentThread.ApartmentState = ApartmentState.STA; where the COM components are being used.

Please see http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/5s8ee185(VS.71).aspx for more details.

Suggestion #3:

Once you are done using the COM component, free it immediately rather than waiting for the .NET's garbage collector to do the job.

The object can be freed using the Marshal.ReleaseComObject() method:

FWCONFIG.FWSystemSettings systemSettings = new FWCONFIG.FWSystemSettings();
systemSettings.Load();
Marshal.ReleaseComObject(systemSettings);

Suggestion #4:

Some of the objects can be created once a reused later. Consider caching objects like FWCONFIG.FWSystemSettings, FWCONFIG.FWSiteSetting, FOTOWEB.FileListCache and FOTOWEB.ImageInformationCache.

Do not cache these objects in the session object, but rather in the application cache such as Page.Cache.

INFO: EXIF

Mon, 02 Mar 2009 08:38:54 +0100

Information in this article applies to:

FotoWeb 6.0 build 277 and above

SUMMARY

A new tag "EXIF" has been introduced to retrieve EXIF information in files. The tag can be used both as an open and closed tag. The tag will only display information if the specified EXIF field exists in the file.

DETAILS

The tag has the following attributes:

field
EXIF field to retrieve. The id can be specified either as plain digits (829D) or in HEX-format (0x829D).
filename
If the tag is not used inside the "Image" tag, then full path of the file must be specified of which EXIF information is requested.
storeResults
Set to 'Yes' if the results should be stored in variables instead of being immediately displayed. The default is 'No' if this attribute is not provided. If set to 'Yes', then the results can be read from the given variables.
maxLength
Maximum length of value contents to display. Default is unlimited.
abbreviator
A postfix string to add if the value contents exceed the 'maxLength' value. Default is '...'.
encoding
Type of encoding to apply to inserted data. Choose among 'html', 'url', 'javascript' and 'none'. Default is 'none'.
highlightSearch
If set to 'Yes', the text is highlighted with respect to the search string entered by user. Default is 'No'.

If the tag is used as an open tag and 'storeResults' is set to 'Yes', then the following variables can be read in its context:

exif.field
Id of the exif field.
exif.label
Label of the exif field.
exif.value
Value of the exif field.

FIELD SUPPORT

FotoWeb does not support retrieval of all EXIF fields, but only the most relevant ones. These fields are listed below:

Document Name (field: 0x010D)
Description (field: 0x010E)
Make (field: 0x010F)
Model (field: 0x0110)
Orientation (field: 0x0112)
X-Resolution (field: 0x011A)
Y-Resolution (field: 0x011B)
Resolution Unit (field: 0x0128)
Software (field: 0x0131)
Artist (field: 0x013B)
IOP-Index (field: 0x5001)
Serial Number (field: 0x5002)
Lens Info (field: 0x5003)
Battery (field: 0x828F)
Copyright (field: 0x8298)
Exposure Time (field: 0x829A)
F-Number (field: 0x829D)
Exposure Program (field: 0x8822)
Spektral Sense (field: 0x8824)
ISO Speed (field: 0x8827)
Exif Version (field: 0x9000)
Date and Time (field: 0x9003)
Dig Date and Time (field: 0x9004)
Quality (field: 0x9102)
Shutter Speed (field: 0x9201)
Aperture Number (field: 0x9202)
Brightness (field: 0x9203)
Exposure Bias (field: 0x9204)
Max aperture (field: 0x9205)
Distance (field: 0x9206)
Metering Mode (field: 0x9207)
Light Source (field: 0x9208)
Flash (field: 0x9209)
Focal Length (field: 0x920A)
Subject Area (field: 0x9214)
Maker Note (field: 0x927C)
User Comment (field: 0x9286)
Sub Seconds (field: 0x9290)
Sub Seconds Org (field: 0x9291)
Sub Seconds Dig (field: 0x9292)
Colorspace (field: 0xA001)
Pixels per Line (field: 0xA002)
Number of Lines (field: 0xA003)
Sound File (field: 0xA004)
Flash Energy (field: 0xA20B)
X-Focal Resolution (field: 0xA20E)
Y-Focal Resolution (field: 0xA20F)
Focal Resolution Unit (field: 0xA210)
Subject Location (field: 0xA214)
Exposure Index (field: 0xA215)
Sensing Method (field: 0xA217)
Custom Rendered (field: 0xA401)
Exposure Mode (field: 0xA402)
White Balance (field: 0xA403)
Digital Zoom (field: 0xA404)
Focal Length 35 (field: 0xA405)
Scene Capture Type (field: 0xA406)
Gain Control (field: 0xA407)
Contrast (field: 0xA408)
Saturation (field: 0xA409)
Sharpness (field: 0xA40A)
Subject Distance (field: 0xA40C)
UID (field: 0xA420)
GPS version (field: 0xFF00)
GPS North South (field: 0xFF01)
GPS Latitude (field: 0xFF02)
GPS East West (field: 0xFF03)
GPS Longitude (field: 0xFF04)
GPS Altitude Ref (field: 0xFF05)
GPS Altitude (field: 0xFF06)
GPS Timestamp (field: 0xFF07)
GPS Satellites (field: 0xFF08)
GPS Status (field: 0xFF09)
GPS Measure Mode (field: 0xFF0A)
GPS DOP (field: 0xFF0B)
GPS Speed Ref (field: 0xFF0C)
GPS Speed (field: 0xFF0D)
GPS Track Ref (field: 0xFF0E)
GPS Track (field: 0xFF0F)
GPS Img Direction Ref (field: 0xFF10)
GPS Img Direction (field: 0xFF11)
GPS Map Datum (field: 0xFF12)
GPS Dest North south (field: 0xFF13)
GPS Dest Latitude (field: 0xFF14)
GPS Dest East West (field: 0xFF15)
GPS Dest Longitude (field: 0xFF16)
GPS Dest Bearing Ref (field: 0xFF17)
GPS Dest Bearing (field: 0xFF18)
GPS Dest Distance Ref (field: 0xFF19)
GPS Dest Distance (field: 0xFF1A)
GPS Proc Method (field: 0xFF1B)
GPS Area Info (field: 0xFF1C)
GPS Date Stamp (field: 0xFF1D)
GPS Differential (field: 0xFF1E)

EXAMPLES

The follow is an example of a closed tag used inside the "Image" tag:

<%$ EXIF field="0x010D" /%>

The follow is an example of an open tag used inside the "Image" tag:

<%$ EXIF field="0x010D" storeResults="Yes" %>
    Field: <%$=exif.field%><br />
    Label: <%$=exif.label%><br />
    Value: <%$=exif.value%><br />
<%$ /EXIF %>

INFO: My software asks me for activation after I updated to a new version - even though I have successfully activated

Fri, 30 Jan 2009 10:26:33 +0100

Problem:
After I downloaded and installed an updated version of my FotoWare software, the program will not start. It keeps asking me for activation even though I have already done so.

Cause:
The most likely cause of this problem is that you have installed a newer version than your current product key allows you to run.

When you buy a FotoWare application, the included one-year warranty entitles you to free updates for one calendar year. You may extend the warranty by purchasing a Software Maintenance Agreement, which gives additional benefits such as prioritized support.

However, if you download a newer version than your product key allows, the program will keep asking for the activation key and refuse to start. Even though the key itself is valid, the program version will not run if it was released after the warranty period or SMA expired. (The program performs a date check on the license against its own hard-coded version date.)

Solution:

IMPORTANT NOTE: The actual product key never expires. You can still go back to using an older version of the software for which the product key was made. See link to procedure in Related Articles section below.

Customers who have a valid Software Maintenance agreement should log on to the FotoWare License Center and run the license fulfillment process there. They will then receive their new keys by email which will allow them to run the latest version of the software.

Customers who don't have a Software Maintenance Agreement and whose warranty has expired should contact FotoWare Sales to purchase a Maintenance Agreement to be able to run new versions of the software.

INFO: Getting updated software and product keys

Tue, 18 Dec 2007 13:43:20 +0100

Getting updated software and product keys

Users who have a valid SMA can register it on the FotoWare website and download software updates. (Proceed to point 1 below.)
Customers who have already registered their SMA and only want to get new, valid product keys should proceed to point 6 below.
Customers who are covered by the one year software warranty (and who don’t have an SMA) should contact FotoWare sales for further assistance (sales@fotoware.com) as this document does not apply to them.

1) Go to http://www.fotoware.com/support and click on Download updates.

2) Log in with your existing username and password or create an account if you don't already have one.

3) Click on the link labeled "Please register all your licenses and Software Support Agreements to ensure that all the latest versions are available for you to download." You may have to re-enter your email address and password.

4) Choose Register SMA and type in the SMA number (10 digits).

5) Verify that the company name is correct and proceed.

6) Click on the Maintenance Agreements tab, then click on the Fulfill button to obtain your product keys.

7) Read the notes about fulfillment to make sure you understand what the implications for your existing licenses, then start the fulfillment process.

8) Read through the license agreement and tick the boxes below to certify that you accept the terms of the agreement.

9) Verify that the product details the number of licenses are correct. Tick the checkbox to certify and click Finish.

10) The fulfillment is now finished, and your product keys will be sent to your email address.

HOWTO: Setup Custom Server Processing (ASP Processing) on a site

Mon, 20 Dec 2004 12:29:03 +0100

This information in this article applies to:

All FotoWeb versions

Custom Server Processing (ASP Processing) is a practical and powerful feature in FotoWeb that has som limitations as well. Enabling custom server processing on a site affects FotoWeb server in the following manners:

Server load is doubled (as each request is first processed for FWX scripts and then for ASP/ASPX/PHP scripts)
Server security is compromised (as FotoWeb has no control over the ASP/ASPX/PHP code being executed and thre results of that execution)
Server performance is degraded (mainly due to double processing of the requests)

The performance degration can be compensated for with adequate hardware. The security, on the other hand, is a different issue. To process custom script code, the FotoWeb Admin account must write som temporary files on the disk during the operation, which is not desired in terms of security. In addition, these writable areas must also be protected from any outside exposure.

By default, FotoWeb Admin and Request accounts have only "Read & Execute" permissions to the site's documents folder where all the scripts are located. To maintain the current protection level of this folder, the FotoWeb writes to a temporary "~asp" folder parallell to the files that are using custom server processing. These "~asp" folders must be created and configured by the system administrator. In addition to that, the website in IIS must also be configured to secure these folders from outside access.

Configuring "~asp" Folders

Navigate to the FotoWeb site's documents folder.
For each "fwx" and "inc" file that utilizes <%$ EnableServerProcessing /%> tag, create a folder named "~asp" parallell to the files.
Assing "Modify" permissions to FotoWeb Admin account on these folders.

Configuring IIS

Make sure that compression is turned off in IIS

Configuring Website in IIS

Start Internet Services Manager and navigate to the website connected with FotoWeb site using custom server processing.
For each "~asp" folder, right-click the folder and select Properties | Directory Security | Edit… (for IP address and domain name restrictions).
Select "Denied Access".
Click on "Add…" button to add the IP address of the server as "Single Computer".

FotoWeb Admin account will now create temporary script files in these folders during the operation. The contents of these folders are automatically cleared every night by FotoWeb services.

It must be noted that this suggested setup will only minimize the security risks, but not completely eliminate them.

HOWTO: Ensure codepage is correct in FotoWeb quicklists

Tue, 11 Nov 2008 10:29:51 +0100

The information in this article applies to:

FotoWeb 6.0 build 273

SYMPTOMS

The quicklists are not shown correctly in FotoWeb when using non-english characters.

CAUSE

There are quite a few places that will encode the quicklists. In earlier versions FotoStation would save the quicklists with "local" codepage for the machine it was running on.

FotoWeb would not show the non-english characters if the lists were not modified to UTF-8.

RESOLUTION

In the latest version of FotoWeb this issue is resolved so you can now export the quicklists directly from FotoStation.

To get this to work correctly you have to make sure that all codepages are correct in the different software (FotoStation, Fotoweb and the browser of the client).

Example:

If the FotoStation that created the quicklists run codepage Windows Western Europe (1252) you have to ensure the quicklist is also Windows Western Europe (1252) when stored in FotoWeb.

The Metadata Character set on site properties must also be set to Windows Western Europe (1252)

The Http Character Set codepage on site properties should be set to UTF-8

For best results the clients should use UTF-8 encoding in browser.

ERRMSG: FotoStation stopped working after I updated to Service Release 4

Thu, 06 Nov 2008 12:12:22 +0100

Problem:

FotoStation displays an error message when I start it :

This version of FotoStation is newer than your product key allows!

The reason for this is probably that your warranty period has expired. Sign up for an SMA to be entitled to run the latest version.

If you already have signed an SMA, download your latest license key from the license center and complete the activation.

Cause:

You have installed a new version of FotoStation (typically SR-4 or newer), for which your current product key is not valid.

Solution:

If you do not have a valid Software Maintenance Agreement (SMA) and your warranty has expired, contact you local FotoWare representative.

If you do have a valid Software Maintenance Agreement (SMA), you can obtain a new key on the FotoWare License Center. do the following:

Go to http://www.fotoware.com/support and click on Manage Licenses
Log in using your fotoware.com account information.
Having logged in, click on the Maintenance Agreements link, then click on Fulfil and follow the on-screen instructions. After completing the fulfillment process, your new product key will be sent to your email address.

Program	Feature	SSL	SSO	SSL+SSO
FotoStation Windows
	IM Archive	OK	N/A	N/A
	FW AA Archive	OK	NOT OK	NOT OK
	Web Upload	NOT OK	NOT OK	NOT OK

FotoStation Macintosh
	IM Archive	OK	N/A	N/A
	FW AA Archive	OK	NOT OK	NOT OK
	Web Upload	NOT OK	NOT OK	NOT OK

FotoWeb Desktop Windows
	Office Plugin	OK	OK	OK
	Uploader	OK	OK *	OK *
	CS Extension	OK	OK *	NOT OK

FotoWeb Desktop Macintosh
	Uploader	OK	NOT OK	NOT OK
	CS Extension	OK	NOT OK	NOT OK

Connect
	IM Source	OK	NOT OK	NOT OK
	FW AA Source	OK	NOT OK	NOT OK
	FW Upload	OK	NOT OK	NOT OK

Color Factory
	IM Source	OK	N/A	N/A

FotoWeb
	IM Archive	OK	N/A	N/A

* SSO with authentication dialog