 | How do we change the about dialog that is shown when we start the Publisher application? This file is completely at your own disposition. It is included by the 3P Setup Wizard in: C:\Users\<your_username>\AppData\Roaming\CCSetupWiz\Source\<your_subshop>\about Check our Pixpedia demo application to see another example of this file: http://www.1stein.de/publisher/pixpedia-en/branding/publisher_setup.exe |
| How & when does the 3P Desktop Publisher update products and application versions? The products.xml file (prices, product options & descriptions) is updated after every launch of the Publisher. The remaining files at the location of the DataPackURL are downloaded when: 1. The user selects a new product for which the layout & template files were not yet installed, OR… 2. An update interval has occurred (defined in the SetupWizard) and the MD5 checksum of a file has changed at the DataPackURL. |
| If a client application does not update automatically, what should I check? In order for the Publisher to download files automatically: a. The files on the server must be newer than the ones on the PC (changed MD5 checksums) b. AutoUpdateDays on the client must be a value higher than 0, and the last update date must have passed c. The Publisher must have internet access, and the user must allow a download d. The index.php (or likewise) at the DataPackURL must list the newest files AND the corresponding MD5 checksums. e. Product files will also be downloaded, if DownloadLayouts was checked in the 3P SetupWizard, and the product is not present or outdated on the PC when the user selects the product in the product wizard dialog of the application. |
| I get upload errors and some of the files in the product wizard are not displayed. What is the problem? a. The Publisher must be able to pass Internet requests through a firewall, if the user has installed one. Usually this is the standard Windows firewall, which should work automatically. In other firewalls, such as Norton, the Publisher may have to be manually enabled. Sometime it helps to turn it off completely for a test. b. Sometimes the internet is not available, so the user should wait and try again, or reset his router. c. Is your webserver experiencing high load and sometimes not able to handle a request? d. Is the computer infected by a virus which has installed a hidden proxy or has modified the Windows internet libraries? The user should run a complete scan using MalwareBytes, Spybot Search & Destroy, HijackThis , etc. e. The most obvious test: restart the computer and the router. If other webpages can be opened through a browser, then the Publisher is blocked by some firewall. If the problem persists, please send us the tracehtp.log and tracehtp.bak files located under: C:\Users\<your_username>\AppData\Roaming\<your_appname> The user can also send these files by email using the menu item “Send problem report”. |
| How does the cover spine width adjust to the number of pages and paper thickness? You have the following options to make sure, that the user does not misplace objects in the cover spine or uncenters text fields in the cover, when there’s a big possible delta between the BasePageCount and the MaxPageCount (see products.xml): a. You can add a locked fold image in the cover page (design mode), which should be wide enough for the MaxPageCount attribute inside the products.xml file. The FoldFile attribute in the products.xml and the FoldWidth lines in the design mode are not useful for this, as they are shown only on content pages. b. In the design mode, you should define a cover bleed large enough to account for possible page DEcrements. The cover width should be wide enough to hold MaxPageCount pages, but if the user chooses less pages, the bleed line should warn him that the cut may be further inside the cover page. c. You could also place (not printed) sticky warning notes inside the layout cover page, which warn the user that text fields may not be centered anymore if large page increments are later added. d. If you need a large variability between BasePageCount and MaxPageCount, you could diversify into 2 products like a “Standard Photobook” and a “Jumbo Photobook”, thus allowing layout files with different widths. This is also advised for options with different paper or cover thickness. e. As of version 3.7, two new option or feature attributes allow for dynamic spine width calculation and automatic adjustment of elements in the cover: PageUpPrice and PaperThickness. There’s an example in the <SetupWizard>\Source\4all.EN\Products_demo.zip |
| If I click the “Update Products” button in the settings dialog of the product wizard (the start dialog of the Publisher), the products are downloaded. If I don’t do this and choose a product, an error message states that it can’t find the layout & template files. What am I doing wrong? If you don’t install these files with the application, you need to set DownloadLayouts=true in the SetupWizard, otherwise the Publisher won't find the product files. If you set this to true, you reduce the size of the installer, and product files will be downloaded dynamically (on-the-fly). The downside is, that some users may not have an internet connection at the time they want to start designing a book, like for instance on holiday. |
| What is the proper way to force an update on the whole user base? Unfortunately, you cannot force a user to install something. However, there's a subtle and a brute force mechanism to remind him that his version is outdated: You can update all products at the DatatPackURL, including the products.xml. Inside the products.xml you should change the property Compatible or ExpireDate to force an update. If you set Compatible to 3.5, and put the changed products.xml into your DataPackURL (LiveUpdate) folder, then the next regular download of the products.xml will cause all Publisher versions below 3.5 to become outdated, forcing the user to a software update. ExpireDate will force the user to connect to the internet, if he has not updated his installation and products for a while. Using Compatible is the brutal way. Usually the AutoUpdateDays value from the SetupWizard should be set to around 3 days, causing a gradual update process within your user base. Make sure to also update the version number in the index.php file inside your DataPackURL (LiveUpdate) folder, so the user sees what he is downloading. Setting Compatible -> Publisher closes after this message:  Setting ExpireDate -> Publisher continues with this message (also during ordering):  |
| Some of the photo books uploaded are close to 2 GB, leading to problems on our server. How can we reduce the size of the books? In the <UPLOAD> section of the products.xml, you can change the (general or product relative) DPI of the uploaded pages. A value around 300 dpi is usually a very good quality, which you could reduce for some products like newspapers or yearbooks. Also make sure to check your webserver settings (for instance php.ini) to allow for large enough page files to be uploaded. Usually a setting of 30 MB is more than enough. |
| Are images reduced in size when added to the photo book project? Images that are added to the project and opened in the Image Editor of the Publisher are limited in size to 8000 x 8000 pixels and stored in a lossless & alpha enabled PNG format (internally stored with the extension .hck). Other than this special case, image quality & size are only limited by the DPI settings inside the products.xml. |