Frequently Asked Questions

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1. Rating: +0

   

   What are the minimum hardware requirements for running PSM?

   ProStockMaster is a Java application and together with JVM it needs at least 1 GB RAM for proper images handling. We recommend 2+ GB RAM and Intel Core Duo / Duo 2 CPU @800+ MHz

2. Rating: +0

   

   I am not sure that I have any Java installation on my computer. Will ProStockMaster run on my system?

   Mac: Download now, any Mac Os X works
   Windows: First, download and install the latest Java.

3. Rating: +0

   

   I just have installed ProStockMaster on my Vista / Windows 7 machine, but at the first run attempt I am getting "Access denied" / "Application failed" / "Application Failed Prostockmaster.properties access is denied" message. What I do now?

   Execution of programs on Vista and Windows 7 OS-es heavily depends on permissions set in Windows User Access Control (UAC) panel.
   If you get this error, do follow:
   

   • locate ProStockMaster.exe or ProStockMaster_njvm.exe file in PSM installation directory (typically, "C:/Program FilesProStockMaster" on 32-bit systems, "C:/Program Files (x86)" on 64-bit systems)
   • right-click on that file and open "Properties" dialog
   • open 'Compatibility' tab and select "Run as administrator", then click OK
     
     
   • start ProStockmaster and verify that it works properly now

   And if it still does not... Just create a one-line batch file and run it instead of the EXE. Here is how to do that:
   

   • Open Notepad and copy there the following line (you need an installed Java to make it work):
     javaw -Xmx512m -jar lib/prostockmaster.jar
   • Save this file as "prostockmaster.bat" in the PSM installation directory (typically, "C:Program FilesProStockMaster")
     and point you Windows menu to this file instead of the default EXE file, selecting "Run as Minimized":
     
     
   • Hit OK button when you are done.

4. Rating: +0

   

   I can not see thumbnails. All I get are just the files names!

   There are two things that you can try:

   • If you are viewing a new folder with images just wait a bit.
   • Open "View->Skins" menu, select the "Native" skin and restart the application (there is no need to restart your computer).
     Some GUI skins can be slow on your hardware, while the "Native" option is typically the fastest GUI developed by Sun Microsystems.

5. Rating: +0

   

   Thumbnails drawing is very slow for me. Can I speed it up?

   Yes you can.

   When the software accesses a file at the first time it takes a few moments to build the new thumbnail. Next time you view that file the thumbnail comes up fast.

   Knowing that, it could be a good idea to "preview" a folder which contains your stock images, thus creating all the thumbnails at once, so next time you browse that folder the thumbnails show up instantly.

   To do that just open that folder and resize the thumbnails panel to see as many thumbnails as possible. Allow a few moments for thumbnails to show up and once you see them all, continue with the next group of images. "Pre-viewing" a folder builds up all the thumbnails there, thus allowing fast browsing for the successive folder viewing.

6. Rating: +0

   

   How ProStockMaster handles image' metadata? If I add a keyword or modify the image title, will my picture change?

   ProStockMaster supports IPTC and Adobe XMP metadata, available in JPG, TIFF and some others images formats.
   The IPTC and XMP information is stored in the image file separately from the other data used for the images visualization.
   Thus, editing metadata does not affect the image itself (no pixels change), but do modifies the image file.

7. Rating: +0

   

   Is there any advantage of adding metadata directly to my local images instead of doing it at a stock agency web?

   Yes, there are few obvious advantages of managing your metadata locally.

   • Save a lot of time adding metadata just once instead of doing it for every agency. Any agency can read IPTC data from the uploaded file.
   • If you start working with a new agency you just send them ready-to-go images
   • Local files indexed with metadata become searchable. Find images in seconds, organise your work, be in control of your portfolio.

8. Rating: +0

   

   I have a series of similar images from a sport event / my studio / traveling. Can I add the same keywords, title and description with ProStockMaster for all these images instead of going one by one?

   Yes, you can easily do it with ProStockMaster. Open "Manage Metadata" window and generate or add directly your keywords. Type in the title and the description and select images to apply your metadata set. All the images that you have selected will get the same metadata.

9. Rating: +0

   

   I have trouble with the auto-upgrade procedure. How I can get the latest upgrade?

   Follow this instructions

10. Rating: +0

    

    English is not my mother tongue while all the stock agencies expect my images to be indexed with metadata in plain English. I understood that ProStockMaster can help me. How exactly?

    ProStockMaster allows you to describe images in your native language, supporting virtually any language (48 languages supported). You can enter your keywords in German, French, Spanish, Dutch, Russian, Turkish and other supported languages and ProStockMaster will translate them on the fly, showing you the English translation. You can even auto-generate more English keywords directly from a keyword in your native language.

11. Rating: +0

    

    I have added / modified a file in the folder, currently viewed in PSM. However, PSM does not show the new file / the modification. What I can do to get this file in PSM?

    Just press 'F5' to refresh the viewed folder.

12. Rating: +0

    

    Do you guys plan adding more stock agencies?

    Yes, we periodically add new stock agencies to our list of supported sites.

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    Can I upload vector graphics with ProStockMaster?

    We are working on it. Vectors uploading will be available soon. Meanwhile you can generate a big JPG and sell it instead of EPS. Many agencies and buyers will be happy with this too.

14. Rating: +0

    

    I have uploaded a file to agency XYZ. The file was accepted, but when I open it with ProStockMaster the status is still "pending". Should I report it as a bug?

    Automatic collection of the per-file upload statuses and statistics is implemented for some agencies, but not for all.
    At the moment per-file data collection is implemented for PantherMedia and CanStockPhoto, more agencies to follow.

15. Rating: +0

    

    Can I keyword already uploaded images?

    You can, as long as you have them on your local computer or download your images from a stock agency web site. ProStockMaster is a desktop software and operates on your local file system. Once the images are locally keyworded the software will upload them to selected microstocks.

16. Rating: +0

    

    How do I add another stock agency after the first run?

    Open Upload -> Stock Agencies menu and select yet another stock photo agency you want to work with. Using "Register Now" button, register as a submitter for that agency. Next, type in your credentials and hit "OK" button, then close the dialog.
    The new agency will be added to the list of agencies you can select for any upload.

17. Rating: +0

    

    I saw there was a Linux version of ProStockMaster. Is it still available? How I can find it?

    ProStockMaster for Linux is not available anymore. However, with a few simple tweaks you can run the Mac version on your Linux box, in less than 5 minutes.
    Here is how to do that:
    1. Install Sun Microsystems JVM. Only Sun's Java is tested with PSM. No other Java flavors are guaranteed to run. Please do not contact us with questions on other JVMs.
    2. Get Mac package
    3. run 'tar -xvfz ProStockMaster.tar.gz'
    4. Go to the app folder: 'cd ProStockMaster.app/Contents/Resources/Java'
    5. run 'java -jar psm.jar'
    You should see the application starting.
    Later on you can move the application folder to its final destination and create a shell script which will run the Java command.

    Starting from version 1.9.0 ProStockMaster uses ImageMagick for some image manipulations, and the app will use it even wider in the further versions. Mac version is delivered with ImageMagick binaries compiled for Mac OS X Snow Leopard. These utilities can not run on Linux 'as is' and you will be unable to see the thumbnails.

    How to solve it:
    1. Download and install ImageMagick or compile it from the sources on your machine. Follow the instructions here: http://imagemagick.org
    2. Check that ImageMagick utilities run OK on your computer using the tests / examples provided on ImageMagick web
    3. Using 'ln -s' command, create symbolic links to ImageMagick utilities in
    [protstockmaster-installation-folder]/ProStockMaster.app/Contents/Resources/Java/im/mac/ImageMagick-XXXXXX/bin
    4. Verify that if you run your new symbolic link from the command line, ImageMagick 'convert' utility starts.

    Run ProStockMaster, it should be all set up now.

    NOTE: At the moment you need just one symbolic link: the 'convert' utility. However, later on we can use other utilities too.

18. Rating: +0

    

    I currently use Smart Collections in LightRoom 3 to collect suitable images for each agency. My stock images are not in a single folder, and are in fact not separated on the disk from other unsuitable images. Trying to add the images one-at-a-time after selecting them in LR is a non-starter. Is there any integration with LR3 that would allow PSM to use Smart Collections as a source for images?

    With ProStockMaster you can browse any folder on your computer system and select stock images to be uploaded to the stock photography agencies you work with. However, ProStockMaster is a stand alone application and is not integrated with Lightroom or Photoshop, so, unfortunately, there is no built-in support for LightRoom Smart Collection.

19. Rating: +0

    

    I would like to sort the uploaded photos by upload state or date or see all photos from one stock agency. Is this possible?

    Unfortunately, this functionality is not implemented in the current software. Thanks for your suggestion, we'll keep it in mind developing further versions.

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