- In Options | Preferences
| General, select Enable
tracking of file and folder changes when ThumbsPlus isn't
running.
- Also in Options
| Preferences | General, select Use
Windows recycle bin settings to avoid permanent
deletions.
- Keep regular backups of your entire system!
This is imperative in any situation where you do not want
to lose data!
Return to FAQ page
Try going into Options
| Preferences | Advanced and changing
the Maximum Image Bitmap
Cache Size and the Bitmap
Window Size For Larger Images both
to 0. If this doesn't help, try changing both to larger sizes
than they were originally. You may just need to play around
with these numbers until you find something that works. You
may also want to check with the manufacturer of your video
card for newer drivers. You can link to most of the manufacturers
from our web site http://www.cerious.com/driverlinks.shtml.
Return to FAQ page
Comments are actually embedded in the image. GIF, JPG, PNG
and TIF files support comment tags.
With the latest ThumbsPlus, you do not have to re-save a
file after editing or adding a comment tag to GIF, JPG, PNG,
TIF. This is done through the right-click thumbnail menu.
Quick Process | Modify File Info.
This means that ThumbsPlus can now add image comment tags
without saving (thus there is no recompression.) The jpeg
comments can be added without loss to the JPEG format.
You can also add a comment to an image, open the image and
go to Edit | Add Comments. Note that the file must be re-saved
when adding a comment. You can also force T+ to show available
comments in a view window. Go to Options | Viewing | Other
and check Show Image Comments When Available.
Image comment tags can also be automatically saved as database
annotations and vice versa. Creating annotations in the ThumbsPlus
database:
- Main Window - Thumbnail | Annotate... Ctrl+E
- View Window - File | Thumbnail | Annotate...
Annotations are stored in the T+ database and associated
with the thumbnail record itself, not the image. To annotate
a file, right click on a thumbnail and go to Thumbnail | Annotate
on the fly-out menu. You can view annotations by going to
the properties of the file or by selecting annotations to
show in the thumbnail view, Options | Show for Files | Annotation.
You can now save annotations as image comment tags as well.
This is great as the image comments are actually a tag in
the file itself, so even if your ThumbsPlus database isn't
present or has to rebuild due to a crash, you can always reclaim
those annotations. This feature can be found by going to Main Window - Options | Preferences - Thumbnails
From the modify file info dialog, you can copy annotations
to image comments. Check to copy the database annotation of
this file's thumbnail to the image comments.
When moving a file from one computer to another, the image
comment will be available but the annotation assigned in T+
will not.
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There are several reasons that this problem
could occur. The most frequent problem is that the original
TWAIN and TWUNK files are installed into an incorrect directory
and when ThumbsPlus installs TWAIN, it installs it into the
correct directory (Windows and not Windows Systems). Download
and run fixTWAIN.exe.
This should take care of the problem. If this .exe file does
not fix your TWAIN problems, then try the following:
- Make sure that all TWAIN and TWAIN 32 directories
are in your Windows directory and not in Windows/Systems
and that there are not duplicates in both places.
- You can also try deleting all TWAIN and
TWAIN 32 directories and then re-install your TWAIN software.
Return to FAQ page
Go to Options | Preferences
| Advanced and turn on/off Disable
Banded Printing. If this does not help,
follow the instructions below.
For any large print jobs, such as batch printing
in ThumbsPlus (*especially* to inkjet printers, which eat
disk space like candy), it can be quite helpful to modify
the printer settings. These instructions are for Windows 95:
- Start | Settings | Printer
- Right-click the printer, pick 'Properties'
- From the 'Details' tab, pick 'Spool Settings'
- Click 'Print directly to the printer'
- Set 'Spool data format' to RAW.
You may want to experiment with just setting
5 (and leaving spooling on), and selecting 'Start printing
after first page is spooled' as well. These options should
reduce enormously the amount of disk space required for printing,
and should enable you to batch print many images, or large
catalogs, without running out of disk space or receiving unexpected
errors.
Also, because inkjet printer drivers generate their own temporary
files (unrelated to the spool files), when they run out of
disk space, the error is often not reported properly to the
printing program. The temporary disk space is not required
or allocated by ThumbsPlus, but by the Windows 95 Print Manager
(spooling system), and sometimes by the printer drivers themselves.
Printing to a file bypasses the Print Manager and writes printer
data directly to a disk file. Two other options are available
in the Printer Setup, Details, "Spool Settings" that can reduce
the disk space required when printing to a printer:
- Select "Print data directly to printer."
This bypasses print manager entirely and requires only about
as much disk space as is required for a single page. However,
the program will continue running just about as long as
printing is occurring.
- Spool data format - select RAW instead
of EMF. This often makes printing faster, and requires less
disk space as well.
With spool settings of "Spool print jobs
so program finishes printing faster" *and* "Spool data format"
of EMF, Windows may require 4 to 10 times as much disk space
as printing to a file!
Return to FAQ page
ThumbsPlus shows system and hidden directories
because Microsoft elected to make the Windows 95 and 98 Fonts
directory a hidden, system directory. You can select whether
hidden files or folders are shown using Options
| Preferences | Disks & Folders, or Options
| Which Files | Hidden.
Return to FAQ page
The size of the Thumbnail Database (.td4 file)
depends on several factors:
- The total number of thumbnails in the database.
- The complexity of the original images (simpler
thumbnails compress more readily).
- The size and color depth of thumbnails
selected from Options | Preferences
| Thumbnails.
- Whether orphaned thumbnails are automatically
removed (Options | Preferences |
Thumbnails | Automatically Remove Orphans).
- Whether you're using keywords, annotations,
and/or user defined fields. Especially, automatic keyword
generation by file name can create thousands of unique keywords.
If you remove thumbnails, the space is not
freed for use by other programs, but will automatically be
reused for new thumbnails you create.
Automatic orphaned thumbnail removal only
removes orphans when you display a directory which has orphans
in it. To remove all orphans (especially recommended before
compacting the database), use Thumbnail
| Remove | Orphans.
You can often decrease the physical size of the thumbnail
database by using the File | Database
| Compact option. This also makes thumbnail
accesses quicker, as thumbnails near each other in the file
list are placed nearby in the .td4. The Compact option creates
a new database, then copies all information from the old one
into it. Then, the old database is deleted and the new database
is renamed. Therefore, you must have enough free space on
the drive for the compacted database; generally, you should
be sure you have as much free space as the original size of
the .td4.
You can also use JPEG
thumbnails, File | Database | JPEG
Compress. Use this menu selection to convert
thumbnails, stored in the current ThumbsPlus database, into
JPEG compressed thumbnails. The internal thumbnail data is
stored as complete JPEG file stream.
ThumbsPlus will prompt you with the following
dialog box, before converting the database thumbnails.
Quality.
Enter a quality value, between 25 and 90. Values below 25
are likely to degrade the image far too much, and values
above 90 make the thumbnail storage size larger without
any appreciable quality increase.
Compact database
after conversion. Check this option to compact
the actual database file (MS Access ONLY) after converting
the thumbnails. This will release all disk space occupied
by deleted or moved thumbnails so it can be used for other
files.
We have received reports that using this setting
and then compacting your database can reduce a 2 gig database
to 200 MB or less.
If you can not, for any reason, compact the
database to a much smaller size, you may want to consider
purchasing a single copy of MySQL. This will work as the back
end database portion of ThumbsPlus. Using a SQL database gives
you unlimited size. (Well considering how much hard drive
space you actually have!)
Scripts for using an SQL database are located
on our ftp site. If you get this far and decide to import
into an SQL database, write our support
department for further instructions.
Return to FAQ page
There are two ways to compact/repair the database
outside of ThumbsPlus. Open Access and go to File
| Open Database. Change the Files of Type
to All Files and locate
the thumbs.td4 file in your Thumbs4 folder. Once you have
the TP database open, go to Tools |
Database Utilities | Compact Database/Repair Database.
If this does not work, try going to Control
Panel | 32 Bit ODBC | Add | Microsoft Access Driver | Finish
| Compact/Repair and find the TP database
in the Thumbs4 folder. Make sure to change the Database Name
to *.td4. Once you have located the database, click on OK.
Return to FAQ page
Some display drivers will not properly render
a metafile in memory. Check with your video card manufacturer
for updated drivers.
Return to FAQ page
This is usually caused by making thumbnails
on a fixed disk that does not have a volume label. Use File
| Volumes | Label Disk to give the drive a
valid label, and Edit | Find by Query
should work properly.
Return to FAQ page
It seems that IOmega distributes many disks
with the same serial numbers. This confuses ThumbsPlus. If
you format each JAZ or ZIP disk before using it, Windows will
assign a unique serial number. This will make ThumbsPlus happy.
Return to FAQ page
In order to make a thumbnail of a font that
is not installed, ThumbsPlus has to temporarily install it.
Some corrupted or invalid TrueType fonts will cause Windows
to crash or hang. There is really no way for ThumbsPlus to
know this in advance.
If this happens to you, remove the TrueType
font causing the problem.
Return to FAQ page
Removable, writable media (diskette, floppy,
CD-R, CD-RW, Syquest, ZIP, JAZ, Magneto-Optical, etc.) need
to have a volume label for proper processing and handling
by ThumbsPlus. You can use File | Volumes
| Label Disk in ThumbsPlus, or the Label
command from a command prompt, or use Windows Explorer/My
Computer to label the disk.
Return to FAQ page
ThumbsPlus is not responsible for the thumbs.db
files. These files are created by Windows itself. You can
turn off this feature by changing your folder view from Thumbnails
in My Computer or Windows Explorer.
You may also need to uncheck the "Do
not cache thumbnails" option in folder options. There
is a bug in WinXP that causes Windows Explorer to sometimes
"reset" the folder view to thumbnails when you open
a folder. Also, when you save an image with IE, the "My
Pictures" folder is default every time, and it always
lists the contents as thumbnails.
Return to FAQ page
ThumbsPlus provides the option to produce
progressive JPEG files, but this format is not yet widely
supported. It is useful in specific situations (i.e., Web
pages that are going to be accessed only with PJPG-compatible
browsers such as Netscape). The progressive format does not
offer any advantage in size for local storage; it is designed
for being able to view an image in progressing amounts of
detail while being downloaded over slow links.
Return to FAQ page
ThumbsPlus only supports 32-bit import filters
- if you have older sixteen-bit filters, ThumbsPlus will not
be able to call them. Also, ThumbsPlus only supports filters
that comply with the Aldus standard.
Return to FAQ page
It sounds like ThumbsPlus is trying to connect
to a remote shared drive that you have opened in ThumbsPlus
in the past. Right-click My
Computer and go to Properties.
Disconnect any network drives and anything else that is remote.
If this does not solve the problem with ThumbsPlus, try either
of the following:
- Open the thumbs.ini file from within the
Thumbs4 folder and add the following entry under the [Startup]
heading: IgnoreNetwork=1
- Delete the thumbs.tdo and thumbs.ini files
from within the Thumbs4 folder. This will reset your preferences.
Return to FAQ page
Generally, gamma correction is a process to
make pictures appear more accurately on a specific monitor.
Differences in color value do not exactly map to changes in
brightness on the screen; the gamma value defines a curve
which specifies the way a monitor displays specific color
values. The Monitor Gamma dialog box helps you find the appropriate
gamma value for your monitor. The other piece of the equation
is figuring out the corrected gamma value to which an individual
picture was adjusted. The Compuserve GIF definition specifies
that GIFs should be adjusted for a gamma value of 2.0 -- you
can set the assumed gamma for any picture, or set the default
for any file type. Generally, if pictures appear dark and
have little detail in the shadow regions, they're probably
linear (gamma = 1.0). Try setting your monitor gamma to an
appropriate value, and the assumed gamma to 1.0. Note: If
either the assumed gamma or the monitor gamma is zero, ThumbsPlus
will not gamma correct the image for display.
Main Window, Options | Viewing • Monitor Gamma
View Window, View | Viewing Options • Monitor Gamma
A gamma value of zero (0.0) means that ThumbsPlus will not
gamma correct any image. Simply adjust the scroll bar, using
either the arrows at the ends or by dragging the central box,
until the central gray square is as close as possible to the
color of the surrounding pattern. For best results, calibrate
in a darkened room. As some monitors exhibit different characteristics
at different display resolutions and color depths, ThumbsPlus
will save a different gamma value for each combination. Some
image types have a specific gamma value for which they are
corrected (for example, GIF files are corrected for a monitor
gamma of 2.0). If you choose to use gamma correction, you
need to set each type appropriately, from the Assumed Gamma
dialog box. Unless this value is set for a specific file type,
it will not be adjusted. View Window, View | Assumed Gamma
G This dialog box allows you to assign the assumed gamma value
for an image, and to set the default for a file type (so that
any files loaded with the given type will be assumed to be
adjusted for that gamma value.)
Return to FAQ page
This is a new feature in ThumbsPlus that allows
the user to move folders in other programs. Then, in ThumbsPlus,
the user has the opportunity to drag the entire folder containing
the orphaned thumbnails to the new folder. Understand that
any keywords, annotations or user fields you assign to files
are associated with the thumbnail itself, not the file. This
information is held in the database. When you move, outside
of ThumbsPlus, the file or the folder in which it resides,
the database information does not travel with the file. The
integrity of the database is maintained with the ability to
reassociate this information with the files and their new
location using the gray folders and orphaned thumbnails. If
you do not wish to reassociate the orphan thumbnails with
the files, you can just right click the gray folder and go
to Remove Thumbnails
on the fly out menu.
Return to FAQ page
Here is a list of all the small icons you
may find on your files in ThumbsPlus:
- A blue + in a page indicates a multi-page
file (including animated GIFs)
- A green i indicates that IPTC/NAA information
(aka Photoshop File Info) is available. You can view it
from the Properties dialog (Info tab).
- A green f indicates that the font is installed.
- A red bar in a circle indicates that the
file is offline or orphaned.
- A red clock indicates that the thumbnail
is out of date (was a red dot in 3.x)
- A red copyright symbol indicates that the
image has a Digimarc watermark (you must enable Check
for Digimarc Watermarks when making
thumbnails to see this, in Options
| Preferences | Thumbnails).
- A black and white up arrow indicates this
is a shortcut.
- A padlock indicates this file is marked
read-only.
- A black checkmark with a yellow border
indicates this is a tagged file.
If you do not want to see any of these decorations
on your thumbnails, go to Options
| Preferences | Thumbnails and un-check
Show Decorations.
Return to FAQ page
To stop this behavior, go to Options
| Preferences | General and un-check
Enable Shell Extensions
Context Menus and Enable
Shell Folder Operation Monitoring.
This is a new feature in T+ that allows you to do graphic
file management while T+ is closed.
Return to FAQ page
Please read the entire passage below before attempting to
fix the problem.
The most likely culprits for database and ODBC errors upon
attempting to launch ThumbsPlus are:
1. The ThumbsPlus database is corrupt. Use the instructions
in this FAQ entry to repair the
database, or restore your database from backups.
2. You have old ODBC drivers that have been installed on
top of newer ODBC components. There are quite a few programs
out there that DO install over newer components.
3. There are newer ODBC components for your system.
4. An install or uninstall of another program has corrupted
the ODBC components on your system. Please see the next
FAQ entry about corrupted ODBC drivers.
You will need to update your MDAC (Microsoft Data Access
Components) and MSJet components, which are Microsoft components
required for ThumbsPlus to function normally.
Before installing any of the ODBC components below, make
sure no other programs are running (just close them out) and
make sure to reboot immediately after each of the 3 installations.
You will need to download and install MDAC 2.8 SP1 and Jet
4.0 Service Pack 8 from Microsoft's web site at:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/data/ref/mdac/downloads
Make sure you download both MDAC 2.8 SP1 and the appropriate
Jet 4.0 SP8 for your operating system. And be sure to run
them both!
If all else fails, when ODBC problems occur that new installs
don't fix, sometimes it is necessary to re-install the OS.
But before you do that, we really recommend that you upgrade
to XP SP2.
Also, there are 3 (probably more) known programs that corrupt
your ODBC components upon installation or uninstall. Please
see the next FAQ entry about
corrupted ODBC drivers.
Return to FAQ page
Something is definitely corrupted in your
ODBC components. The following applications are known to corrupt
the ODBC components on a system by either installing them
or uninstalling them:
- Corel WordPerfect
- Earthlink Total Access
- World Book Encyclopaedia
Read these instructions in their entirety
before attempting to fix the problem as there are several
alternatives depending on which program has caused the problem.
1. First, download the latest and greatest
ODBC components for your OS:
Microsoft recommends different MDAC and/or
Jet 4.0 installers depending on platform so please go to the
url below and download and install the correct version for
your XP. We understand you have already downloaded and installed
these files, but weI want to make sure that you get the latest
and greatest ODBC components from Microsoft.
You can find all of the ODBC components on this page:
http://msdn.microsoft.com/data/ref/mdac/downloads
Make sure you download both MDAC 2.8 SP1 and the appropriate
Jet 4.0 SP8 for your operating system. And be sure to run
them both!
If you continue to have problems, see the entries below.
2. If you have installed/uninstalled Corel
WordPerfect, the registry edit fix is the next step.
Please note that ThumbsPlus did not cause
the problem, and we are trying to help because of your support
for Cerious Software/ThumbsPlus.
Any registry editing is done at your
own risk!!
For the WordPerfect installation that corrupted
your database components, you will need to do the following
at your own risk as it is a registry edit:
Go here:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/320757/
In Step 1, you need to export the ODBC sections
from a good Registry.
After reinstalling Office, then uninstalling
and reinstalling T+. (Or if you never successfully installed
ThumbsPlus, just attempt the install once again!)
This fix should still work even if you aren't
running Office and have the same type of problem.
3. For the Earthlink installation that corrupted
your database components, you will need to do the following
at your own risk as it is a registry edit. The instructions
that follow are quoted from Earthlink. If you prefer, please
contact the electronic support at Earthlink.
Before following these instructions, please
read the note below:
WARNING: Using the Registry Editor incorrectly
can cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall
your operating system. Editing the Registry should only be
done by experienced users or technicians. Earthlink cannot
guarantee that problems resulting from the incorrect use of
the Registry Editor can be solved. Edit the registry at your
own risk and always back it up prior to making any changes.
To remove the EarthLink TotalAccess 2003 software
and all of the registry entries it creates, please follow
the steps below:
- From the Start menu, choose Run.
- In the Open field, type regedit.
- Click the OK button.
- From the Registry menu, choose Export Registry
File.
- Click the down arrow on the Save in drop-down
list and choose Desktop.
- In the File name field, type ELN.
- Click the Save button.
- Click the plus sign next to HKEY_CURRENT_USER
so that its contents are shown.
- Click the plus sign next to Software so
that its contents are shown.
- Click the EarthLink item.
- Click the EarthLink folder with your right
mouse button, then choose Delete.
- Click the Yes button.
- Click the plus sign next to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
so that its contents are shown.
- Click the plus sign next to SOFTWARE so
that its contents are shown.
- Click the EarthLink folder with your right
mouse button, then choose Delete.
- Click the Yes button.
- Close all windows.
- Double-click the My Computer icon.
- Double-click the C: icon.
- Double-click the Program Files folder.
- Locate and select theEarthLink TotalAccess
folder.
- Click the EarthLink TotalAccess folder
with your right mouse button, then choose Delete.
- Click the Yes button.
4. Please check with the company that distributes
the World Book software. If they are corrupting ODBC components,
they simply MUST have some sort of registry fix.
5. Several ThumbsPlus users have downloaded
and installed this JET version with complete success: Jet40sp3.exe
Please email
our support department if you need further assistance.
Return to FAQ page
We have just discovered a key in the registry
causing this problem, and shouldn't be there, that is added
with the install of ODBC. ODBC is a standard component on
Windows as distributed by MicroSoft.
Deleting the registry key:
- Start | Run | regedit
- Local Machine
- Software
- Microsoft
- Windows
- Current version
- Run
- Delete the entry: MDAC run once.
Return to FAQ page
Try the following to speed up T+:
- If you are working with large files, turn
off Automatically
Crop Edges in Options
| Preferences | Thumbnails.
- Try turning off both Automatically
Remove Orphaned Thumbnails and Show
Orphaned Thumbnails from Options
| Preferences | Thumbnails.
- Turn off Check
For Digimarc Watermarks in both Options
| Preferences | Thumbnails and Options
| Viewing | Other.
- Make sure that Always
Show Child Folders is off in Options
| Preferences | Thumbnail View.
- If creating thumbnails is very slow, the
fewer auto generated keyword options assigned, the faster
this function will be. You can check to see how many you
have turned on by going to Options
| Preferences | Keywords.
- Check that you don't have a file called
SQL.LOG. This means that Tracing has been turned on in the
ODBC options. This will slow everything to almost a halt.
You can check this and turn off ODBC Tracing from the ODBC
control panel.
- Turn off Indicate
Expandable in the Tree
menu.
- You can also turn off the Make
Thumbnails Automatically in Options
| Preferences | Thumbnails.
- Change the Thumbnail
Cache Size to 100 in Options
| Preferences | Advanced.
- If you are running Norton and/or McAfee,
try disabling them. T+ should start up and run much faster.
- Make sure Maximum
Local Database Cache is set to 0
in Options | Preferences
| Advanced.
Return to FAQ page
This can be one of two things:
- The font size in Windows is set to something
other than Small or Large fonts. You can check this by going
to your desktop, then right click. On the fly-out menu,
go to Properties |
Settings | Advanced. Change the Font
Size to either Small or Large.
- This may also be an issue with an older
comctrl. Download
40comupd.exe and run it.
Return to FAQ page
The thumbnails have been stretched using the
size percent function on the main interface.
To increase the thumbnail size without distorting the image,
go to Options | Preferences
| Thumbnails and change the actual
size of the thumbnail. After you have set a new size, you
will need to remake your thumbnails. You can remake the existing
thumbnails by going into a folder and pressing CTRL+A to select
all of the files in the folder. Then, click on the single
thumb icon on the toolbar.
Return to FAQ page
The problem is with the way Canon writes/stores
their maker notes. They store the maker notes in a proprietary
EXIF format that other software cannot read or write. They
also store pointers in the maker notes which changes the EXIF
once again to date and time in the proprietary EXIF as well.
This leaves other software applications out in the cold. No
other camera manufacturer stores proprietary EXIF data like
this. This causes trouble when we (and other software companies)
write the EXIF information in a re-save. The maker notes do
not match with standard EXIF fields, since all of the offsets
point to different places within the EXIF.
Version 1.7 of our Digicam plug-in, which
will be available sometime in the coming few weeks, will address
some of these issues. In the meantime, you need to either
rotate the thumbnail instead of the actual file or use Canon's
software to rotate the images. In ThumbsPlus, go to Thumbnail
| Orient Thumbnail.
We are doing our best to come up with alternative solutions
to these problems.
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