Messages

901

ThumbsPlus v7-v9 Questions / ThumbsPlus 7 (+ older) tech support newsgroup archives

« on: 2012-06-02 23:54:54 »

Until some time in 2010, Cerious Software's developers and staff used to offer technical support through its cerious.news newsgroups. The newsgroups contained a wealth of information on many advanced subjects, which was lost when the newsgroups were replaced by this forum.

For those interested, I have exported my newsgroup archives into 'unix mailbox raw' format, zipped them up and uploaded them to my Dropbox account, from which you can download them. You should be able to import the many thousands of messages into your own newsreader and then browse and search them. Original attachments such as SQL scripts and web wizard templates are included too.

It's a 117 MB download. The link is: [link=http://db.tt/XCpOgxHr]http://db.tt/XCpOgxHr[/link]

The archives are not complete (many older and less relevant messages are missing) but in all, they contain many thousands of messages from these newsgroups:

cerious.webclient.beta
cerious.webclient
cerious.tips-and-tricks
cerious.thumbs8
cerious.support
cerious.suggest
cerious.misc
cerious.capsnapper
cerious.beta.plugins
cerious.beta.old
cerious.beta
cerious.announce
cerious.advanced

For those who have already downloaded my archives when I made them available last year ([msg=67]here[/msg]): these are the same files, so you wouldn't benefit from downloading them again.

I hope that this is useful for many of you!

902

General Discussion / Help please - configure htm and html filetypes?

« on: 2012-03-15 12:27:04 »

Glad to hear that you got it working (for HTML anyway)!

Yes, these instructions were from the XP days - I should have mentioned that. I don't know if they'll work with Windows 7 / IE9, but I think there's a good chance that they will. Please let me know when you get round to it!

903

General Discussion / Help please - configure htm and html filetypes?

« on: 2012-03-14 14:18:38 »

In the past, Internet Explorer supported OLE so it could render a webpage, generate an image of it and pass that on to other applications, like ThumbsPlus. However, it could also be used to render malicious code, and so Microsoft disabled this functionality.

You can re-enable this functionality on your own risk by editing your registry. A ready-made .reg file that does this (when you double-click it after saving it) can be downloaded from line item #162, "Restore HTML, HTM, URL Thumb View", from [link=http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm]http://www.kellys-korner-xp.com/xp_tweaks.htm[/link].

That particular .reg file also enables thumbnails for a few other formats that you may not be interested in though. The lines to keep for .htm, .html and .mht functionality are these:

Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.html\shellex\{BB2E617C [etc.]
@="{EAB841A0-9550-11cf-8C16-00805F1408F3}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\SystemFileAssociations\.htm\shellex\{BB2E617C [etc.]
@="{EAB841A0-9550-11cf-8C16-00805F1408F3}"

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.mht\ShellEx]

[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.mht\ShellEx\{BB2E617C-0920-11d1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1}]
@="{c5a40261-cd64-4ccf-84cb-c394da41d590}"

note that some of the the original lines were too long to copy here, so I edited them with '[etc.]'.
Do not use these (now crippled) lines - use the .reg file linked above.

In ThumbsPlus, your file type definitions (Options | Preferences | File Types, look for .HTM in the Documents category) should be as follows:

For .HTM:


For .HTML:


For .MHT:


When you've done this, reboot and see if it works. If it does not, you may have to change the "Load Using" value for .HTM files from Internal to OLE.

I hope this helps!

904

ThumbsPlus v7-v9 Questions / How Long Does It Take Cerious To Respond? (Need Reg Code)

« on: 2012-02-03 20:10:09 »

If you still have the old machine, go to Start | Run, and type regedit.exe . Regedit will show you Windows' registry and everything that's saved inside it.

Browse to the key named HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Cerious Software Inc.\ThumbsPlus\7.0 and make a note of the values of Usercode, Username and Usercount (character case, spaces, punctuation etc. are all critical).

Then enter those same values during installation of v7 on your new laptop, or enter them afterwards through Help | Enter Registration Info.

905

ThumbsPlus v7-v9 Questions / TP7 won't show full screen files

« on: 2011-12-26 18:32:17 »

> Thanks for your reply.
>
> The plug-in being used is Cerious Plug-in and then plug_digicam.tpp. I've tried changing to the other options (I am using Photoshop CS3) but no improvement, some of them much worse. I don't understand about "built-in preview images embedded in the DNG files." I do notice that my .CR2 files do display full screen making me think it has to do with the DNG files. Is there any solultion to this or should I just stop converting my CR2 files to DNG? I've had to switch to Adobe Bridge to view my DNG files in larger format.
>
> Slideshow settings are set to full screen but it doesn't seem to want to work that way.

Raw files (such as CR2 and DNG) have preview images built into them so that photo viewing applications can display their contents quickly, without having to process all the raw sensor data that's inside these files and turning it into a viewable image (which can easily take 4-15 seconds per image).

So, an explanation for the behavior that you're seeing could have been that ThumbsPlus is using this preview image (rather than the full sensor data) for slideshows, and that the DNG files have smaller previews built in than the CR2 files. If that's not it, I don't know what else could be causing it. But then, raw files are not very suitable for slideshows to begin with, because of that long processing time. If you're one of those users who use the slideshow to view and cull images, I'd suggest using the regular viewer for those purposes instead. In the viewer, you can use Space and Backspace to move back and forth through your images.

Some people convert their original raw files into DNG thinking that the DNG format will be supported for much longer into the future than CR2 files. I doubt if that's true and personally, I'd never do anything to my original files that might lead to a loss of data or that may not be processed as well as my native raw files are by their native applications - in other words, I'd want to keep them in Canon's CR2 format and keep the option to use Canon's software to process them.

906

ThumbsPlus v7-v9 Questions / TP7 won't show full screen files

« on: 2011-12-18 12:32:56 »

Right-click on a .dng file and choose Configure Type. See which plug-in is being used to load them.
Then go to Options | File Plug-ins and go to the relevant plug-in. It may or may not be using the built-in preview images that are embedded in your DNG files. If it does and those preview images are small, that might explain it.

For general slideshow settings, including if and how images will be resized to full screen size, see Options | Viewing | Slideshow.
To experiment with those settings, use Alt-F8 to review the settings and launch the slideshow.

907

ThumbsPlus v7-v9 Questions / Registration Issue

« on: 2011-11-12 01:10:48 »

Also.. be sure to use the exact user name and code as they were communicated to you when you bought your license.

908

ThumbsPlus v7-v9 Questions / Registration Issue

« on: 2011-11-12 01:09:07 »

I didn't try this, but when you run regedit.exe to open and edit your registry (if you're not uncomfortable doing that), there should be an entry for version 7.0 under HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Cerious Software Inc.  

Within that are three fields (keys) that store the name, code and number of users. Maybe you can edit the name there (or delete those keys), then exit regedit, launch TP7 and see if it will let you enter the correct details. I'd make a system checkpoint first so you can restore the system to its current state if things don't work out.

909

ThumbsPlus v7-v9 Questions / almost!

« on: 2011-09-28 17:21:11 »

My pleasure, and I'm glad to hear that things are working now, even if you had to revert to v7. By the way, if you have deleted a lot of records, you may want to run File | Database | Compact to permanently remove them from the database file. With databases, 'deleting' doesn't actually delete records, it just flags them as obsolete (that way, the application that controls the database doesn't have to rewrite the whole database file everytime that you delete a record).

910

ThumbsPlus v7-v9 Questions / 2nd computer

« on: 2011-09-28 13:57:29 »

Hi David,

Well, if you still have a copy of your v7 database, nothing should keep you from reinstalling v7sp2 again and enjoying its reliability! To get rid of that upgrade notice, just go to Help | Program Updates and tag the 'Never' box. Personally, I use v8 only to play and test things with, in its current state I don't recommend it for tasks other than simple browsing, viewing and editing of images. With v7, the methods that I suggested to allow the other computer to work with the database should work just fine.

Best,
-Daan-

911

ThumbsPlus v7-v9 Questions / 2nd computer

« on: 2011-09-27 20:37:21 »

Hi David,

I'm a little dense right now (long day), but I think I forgot to mention one thing about that drag-and-drop operation of orphaned thumbnails: You can't do it with folders that contain sub-folders. First you have to drag and drop each sub-folder (to their corresponding subfolders in Network Places), and when those have been done, you can do the parent folders. Maybe that was the cause of the error that you got. So, please give that a try (also, when doing this on Computer 2, please make sure that you have write-access to the database).

If for some reason this approach does not work in v8 (which is possible..), I'd recommend the 2nd solution that I suggested, where you first move all images to a different, temporary location and then, from there, move them back to the original location but this time through Network Places. This requires a lot of free disk space, and a lot of time, but if you try this first with only a few files, just to see if it works, that should only take a few minutes of your time.

Good luck!

912

ThumbsPlus v7-v9 Questions / 2nd computer

« on: 2011-09-25 23:02:44 »

> So, if I understand you correctly, the thumbsplus database I've maintained for the past 15 years can not be used by another computer in my home?

No. I only explained the problem, I didn't say there are no solutions.

> I thought the .tpdb8 file on David's computer (which accesses and views the photos on a USB drive conntected to David's computer) would work for anyone who could access the .tpdb8 file on the same home network. I don't understand why it wouldn't work (assuming other users can only "read").

If my explanation was not clear enough: in its database, ThumbsPlus holds a record for each image file cataloged. When you double-click on a thumbnail to view and edit the original file, ThumbsPlus has to find the correct matching file; it has to match-up the thumbnail records to the corresponding files. It does so, basically, by looking at the files' full path and name:   .

So, if an image was originally cataloged as "\Photos\Hello.jpg" on a local (non-networked) drive named "Data", and you then take the database to another computer and open it there, ThumbsPlus will expect to find the file locally on THAT computer on a drive named Data in a folder named Photos. It has no way of knowing that the database was created elsewhere on a different system, and that the and were only valid on that other computer.

To avoid this, you have to make sure that all users catalog and browse the image files through the same path, which means they have to access them through the network. David too, even if the files are local to his computer.


Now, as for work-arounds, here are some options:

NOTE: Be sure to keep a backup of your database (and of your image files, for solution No.2)

1. If you can open and edit the database in MS-Access:
- Create a new test database (Database | New). Thumbnail a few images through their network path. Then open this test database from another computer and verify that you can see, browse and open those image files.
- In Access, compare the relevant field values between your original database and this test database to see how the 'local' records differ from the 'networked' records. Then use Search and Replace in your original database to update those field values to make them point to the files' network paths.

OR (easier)

2) In ThumbsPlus, use Drag and Drop to move all your image files to a temporary different location that has enough free space (this may take a while if you have lots of images and have to move them to a different drive). Then, from there new location, drag and drop them back to the original location, but this time access that original location through Network Places. Any keywords and annotations will automatically be moved along with the image files. (note: if you don't see Network Places in the three, the "Do not show Network Neighborhood" option in Options | Preferences | Disks & Folders is likely On (but should be off)).

OR (easier and faster)

3) On the 2nd computer, be sure that Automatically Remove Orphans and Automatically Create Thumbnails (Options | Preferences | Thumbnails) are both off. Open the database, lookup the USB-drive, and note that its folders are greyed-out because the corresponding images don't exist on this 2nd computer (which in fact is your problem). Now, in the tree, open Network Places too (a.k.a. Network Neighborhood on some Windows versions) and navigate to that same USB drive. Note that it doesn't show any thumbnails there yet.
And now for the Big Trick: drag and drop the greyed-out folders, which hold the orphaned thumbnails, onto their corresponding folders in Network Places. So, if a greyed-out folder is named 'Summer2011', drag and drop it onto 'Summer2011' under Network Places. This will magically match-up the orphaned thumbnail records with the corresponding files found in the USB drive's folders, but this time properly addressed through the network. Note: You will need Write access to the database to make these changes stick!
When you are done, you may want to go into Options | Preferences | Disks&Folders and in the "Exclude these drive letters" box, enter the letters of all local drives, e.g. CDE or CDEFG. Do this on both computers to make sure that nobody will ever scan his/her 'local' files into that common database again.
(If you'd prefer to perform this whole operation on the 1st computer instead, so you don't have to fiddle with permissions to the database, you have to 'orphanize' your images first, e.g. by exiting ThumbsPlus and then using Explorer to rename their folder, so that ThumbsPlus won't be able to find them when you next launch it).

I hope this helps!

-Daan-

ps: I have never tried any of these solutions with v8, but they used to work with v7 and I'd expect them to work in v8 too. Still, you should really back-up everything before trying any of them.

913

ThumbsPlus v7-v9 Questions / 2nd computer

« on: 2011-09-25 16:26:38 »

Hi David,

I'm sorry for not being more clear -- how she accesses the database doesn't matter. But once in ThumbsPlus, the way that you browse to your image files is important. Both users should go to these shared image folders through Network Places in the tree panel (or, use the same UNC path, or, both computers could have a drive letter mapped to the same network folder, I guess).

What should be avoided is that one user (you) sees the photos as regular local files and the other has to go through the network. Remember, you're sharing the database. So, if you make a thumbnail for an image named "C:\mypix\holidays\nycity.jpg", that will only work for you. When ThumbsPlus on the other computer sees that record, it won't work because there is no \mypix\holidays\nycity.jpg on ITS drive C: (and if by chance there were, it would still not be the file that's on YOUR drive C:). So, always use a common method of accessing those shared images.

Regards,

-Daan-

914

ThumbsPlus v7-v9 Questions / 2nd computer

« on: 2011-09-25 09:38:38 »

If multiple computers share a database, they have to access their image files using the same paths, in this case presumably through Network Places in the tree. If David has been creating the thumbnails for these images through their local (to him) paths, for instance 'D:\MyPhotos\Holiday.jpg' and Debra tries to view them by that same path from her machine, it won't work correctly. I think that is what is going on here.

915

General Discussion / Can TP8 write iptc captions to a border under every photo?

« on: 2011-09-12 11:59:59 »

> Keeping the original image width and height and quality [..]

..should not be a grave concern if you use the 'rebuild thumbnails at printer resolution'-option. It won't re-sharpen the images, but rebuilding them should go a long way towards preserving their quality. So, maybe this catalog idea has some merit after all.

btw, to use the Print Catalog dialog in a regular tabbed (non-wizzard) fashion, see Options | Preferences | General and turn 'use wizzard dialogs' off.