Troubleshooting

Q: VISIONS CRASHES ON STARTUP WITH THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE:
     "THE TYPE INITIALIZER FOR 'TWINS.SHOWROOM.SHOWROOMPANEL' THREW AN EXCEPTION"
Q: I GET "DRIVER INTERNAL ERROR" EXCEPTION OR MY SYSTEM CRASHES WHILE USING VISIONS.
Q: I SEE DRAWING ERRORS OR MY FRAME RATE DROPS DRAMATICALLY WHILE MULTISAMPLING (ANTIALIASING) IS ENABLED IN VISIONS
     AND I'M USING WINDOWS XP.

General

Q: HOW DO I SET VISIONS AS MY DEFAULT IMAGE VIEWER?
Q: HOW DO I ADD VISIONS TO EXPLORER'S RIGHT-CLICK MENU?
Q: WHAT IS THE PHOTO BASKET?

View

Q: HOW CAN I ADD PHOTOS TO THE 3D SHOWROOM?
Q: HOW CAN I CHANGE THE FORMATION OF THE BOARDS?
Q: CAN I CREATE MY OWN ALBUMS?
Q: HOW CAN I START A SLIDESHOW OF MY PHOTOS?
Q: HOW TO NAVIGATE THROUGH BOARD PAGES?
Q: CAN I SWITCH TO FULL SCREEN MODE?
Q: HOW CAN I SEARCH THROUGH MY PHOTO COLLECTION?
Q: WHAT IS A TOUR AND HOW DO I RUN IT?
Q: CAN I PERFORM QUICK EDITS ON PHOTOS DIRECTLY FROM THE SHOWROOM?
Q: WHY SOME FORMATIONS ARE DISABLED?

Edit

Q: HOW DO I EDIT PHOTOS?
Q: HOW DO I APPLY FILTERS TO MY PHOTOS?
Q: OOPS! I MADE A MISTAKE. HOW DO I UNDO CHANGES?
Q: HOW CAN I CHANGE THE META DATA (EXIF) SET BY MY DIGITAL CAMERA?
Q: CAN I ADD NEW PROPERTY TO THE META (EXIF) DATA OF MY PHOTO?
Q: DOES VISIONS SUPPORT MULTI-FRAME IMAGES SUCH AS JPEG AND TIFF?

Share

Q: HOW DO I ADD MY EXISTING FLICKR™ ACCOUNT TO VISIONS?
Q: HOW DO I UPLOAD PHOTOS TO MY FLICKR™ ACCOUNT?
Q: CAN I DOWNLOAD MY PHOTOS LOCALLY TO MY COMPUTER?
Q: CAN I DOWNLOAD PHOTOS FROM OTHERS TO MY COMPUTER?
Q: CAN I FIND MY PERSONAL FLICKR™ PAGE AND SEND IT TO MY FRIENDS?

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Troubleshooting

Q: VISIONS CRASHES ON STARTUP WITH THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE:
    "THE TYPE INITIALIZER FOR 'TWINS.SHOWROOM.SHOWROOMPANEL' THREW AN EXCEPTION"

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Q: I GET "DRIVER INTERNAL ERROR" EXCEPTION OR MY SYSTEM CRASHES WHEN USING VISIONS.

This exception is caused by a bug in the showroom engine that allows multiple threads to access the video and system memory at the same time.

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Q: I SEE DRAWING ERRORS OR MY FRAME RATE DROPS DRAMATICALLY WHILE MULTISAMPLING (ANTIALIASING) IS ENABLED IN VISIONS AND I'M USING WINDOWS XP.

This can occur in some graphics cards since Windows XP does not natively support alpha blending.

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General

Q: HOW DO I SET VISIONS AS MY DEFAULT IMAGE VIEWER?

You can set Visions as your default image viewer in two different ways:

1. Use the First-Time Wizard. On the first launch of Visions, a wizard pops up allowing you to set initial properties for the program.
   One of the pages in this wizard is dedicated to associating file-types with Visions. On this page you can set Visions as your default viewer for a selected group of file types. Visions currently supports the following file types: JPEG, TIFF, GIF, PNG and BMP.
2. You can use the preferences window to reach the same page as described above.
   Go to Tools >> Preferences >> General >> File Types.
   Check (V) the file-types you want to associate with Visions and click 'Save' to accept changes.
   
   Note: You need administrative rights in order to change file type association.

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Q: HOW DO I ADD VISIONS TO EXPLORER'S RIGHT-CLICK MENU?

There are two ways to add Visions to Explorer's right-click menu.

1. First, you can use the First-Time Wizard. During the first launch of Visions, a wizard pops up where you can set initial properties of the program. On the file-type association page you can add Visions to the right-click menu of Explorer. Check the "Show Visions in Windows Explorer right-click menu" to add special actions such as Slideshow, Sharing and Quicks directly from Windows Explorer.
2. Second, you can use the preferences window to reach the same page as described above. Go to Tools >> Preferences >> General >> File Types.
   Check the "Show Visions in Windows Explorer right-click menu" and click 'Save' to accept changes.
   
   Note: You need administrative rights in order to complete this action.

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Q: WHAT IS THE PHOTO BASKET?

The photo basket is a container for photos from different places in the program. The basket is used to collect groups of photos and perform various actions on all of them at once. The basket is also used as a source for panels such as the editor and the sharing panel.
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View

Q: HOW CAN I ADD PHOTOS TO THE 3D SHOWROOM?

The 3D showroom is where you can view folders as 3D boards. To add a folder, simply drag it directly from the folder view pane on the left side of the screen, or alternatively, right-click a folder and choose "Add Folder to Showroom".
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Q: HOW CAN I CHANGE THE FORMATION OF THE BOARDS?

Board formations can be set using the panel on the top of the screen. Clicking on the button will reveal a list of formations you can use for your boards.

Note: Some formations are limited to a minimum amount of boards.
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Q: CAN I CREATE MY OWN ALBUMS?

Yes. Albums are special containers where you can add photos from several places on your computer. In order to create your own album, switch to the Albums tab on the left pane and click Add. A new album will be created. To change its properties or to add photos double click on it or right-click and choose “Edit properties”. When you're done, click Apply to save changes.

Another way to change album properties is to add it to the Showroom by dragging it to the center of the screen. Now you can treat it as regular board, allowing you to rename it, drag photos into it and more.
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Q: HOW CAN I START A SLIDESHOW OF MY PHOTOS?

Starting a slideshow is very simple.

To start a slideshow of all loaded boards, right-click on an empty space and choose “Start Slideshow”. To begin a slideshow of a specific board, right-click on the board and choose “Start Board Slideshow”.

To start a slideshow from a specific image in a board, right-click on the image's thumbnail and choose “Start Board Slideshow from Here”.
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Q: HOW TO NAVIGATE THROUGH BOARD PAGES?

When you open a board which has more than one page, the scroll bar on the right side of the Showroom panel is enabled and you can use it to navigate through board pages.

Note: In order to navigate through pages you should first focus on the board by double-clicking on it or by using the middle mouse button.
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Q: CAN I SWITCH TO FULL SCREEN MODE?

Yes. You can switch to full screen mode by clicking on the button.
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Q: HOW CAN I SEARCH THROUGH MY PHOTO COLLECTION?

Searching is done through the Search tab on the left pane of the showroom panel.
The search process contains three steps:

1. Selecting where to look – The top area of the search panel defines where to look for photos. Select a destination for the search and continue to the next step.
2. Configure search providers and define global search options – Search is done using search providers. Search Provider is the tool used to perform the search. Each provider specializes in a different field. Double-click on a provider’s name to configure its searching behavior.
   In addition, you can use the bottom panel to configure global search options shared by all search providers.
3. Begin searching – Begin searching by clicking the Search button. The results will be presented as a new board. The system will automatically focus on this board as the search begins.

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Q: WHAT IS A TOUR AND HOW DO I RUN IT?

Tour is a mode which enables automatic travelling through loaded boards. In this mode, the camera will automatically move between the loaded boards, enabling you to view all photos without starting a slideshow.
Unlike Slideshow, The Tour mode doesn’t bring up a new window and doesn't show the full sized photos.

To begin a tour mode, click on the button and choose "Start Tour!" or press CTRL + T.
While Tour session is running, a play icon is shown on the upper-right corner of the Showroom window.
To stop the tour, press Esc or click anywhere on the showroom panel.
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Q: CAN I PERFORM QUICK EDITS ON PHOTOS DIRECTLY FROM THE SHOWROOM?

Yes. Quick Edits are common and simple edit tasks such as rotate and flip.
To apply quick edit to photos, select the photos you want to edit and then right-click on one of them. From the context menu choose "Quick Edit" and pick the desired action from the list.

Note: You cannot undo changes done using the Quick Edit menu.
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Q: WHY SOME FORMATIONS ARE DISABLED?

Every formation requires a minimum amount of boards before it can be set (typically 2). Adding more boards to the showroom allows you to use more formations.
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EDIT

Q: HOW DO I EDIT PHOTOS?

You can edit a photo using one of the following ways:

1. Click on the Edit button on the top of the screen. Now you can click on the link in the center of the screen to select a photo from your computer or drag a photo from Windows Explorer or from the basket to the editor panel.
2. Right-click on a photo from a board or from the Basket and then choose "Edit / Edit Image".
3. When a photo is already loaded, use the File menu on the top of the editor panel to load a different photo.
   

If you have a Flickr™ Pro Account you can edit images directly from the sharing panel. Go to My Account >> My Photos and then Right-click on a picture and choose Edit. Back to top

Q: HOW DO I APPLY FILTERS TO MY PHOTOS?

First, you need to choose what kind of filter you would like to apply:

1. Fix - The picture has a defect that you want to fix.
2. Adjust – You want to adjust specific properties of the picture.
3. Effect – Your picture looks alright and you want to apply special effects to it.

Now that you know which filter you want to apply, click on the appropriate tab on the left side of the Edit panel and choose one of the filters from the list by clicking on its preview image.

Clicking on a filter generates a preview of the filtered picture and also opens a configuration panel on the bottom where you can change the settings of the selected filter. Every change in the settings of a filter will automatically generate a new preview.

When you're done, click on the "Apply" button to save changes.
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Q: OOPS! I MADE A MISTAKE. HOW DO I UNDO CHANGES?

Visions saves the history of your editing actions.

You can use the button to undo your last action or button to redo your last action.

To identify the action these buttons will perform, simply drag your mouse over the appropriate button and a short description will pop-up.
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Q: HOW CAN I CHANGE THE META DATA (EXIF) SET BY MY DIGITAL CAMERA?

Every digital camera saves Meta data (also called EXIF) when you take a photo. This data is saved inside your photo and contains information about the camera used for shooting, picture taking conditions, dates and times and much more.

Visions can show you this information and allows you to modify it. To modify the Meta data, click on the Meta tab on the left panel.
This panel shows (when available) a list of properties saved in your photo and allows you to change it.

To change a property, double-click on it and set a new value using the opened panel on the bottom. When you're done, click the "Apply" button to save changes.
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Q: CAN I ADD NEW PROPERTY TO THE META (EXIF) DATA OF MY PHOTO?

You can add new meta data using the Meta tab on the left panel. When meta data is available you’ll see a list of the properties that are currently saved in your photo.

To add a new property, click on the "New" button. A new window will open where you can check the properties that you would like to add to your photo. Check these properties and click OK to continue.

The new properties will be added using their default values. Use the Meta editor to change them as needed.
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Q: DOES VISIONS SUPPORT MULTI-FRAME IMAGES SUCH AS JPEG AND TIFF?

Yes. Visions supports multi-frame images.
A multi-frame image is an image that can save more than one image in one file. The most frequent use of such images is for scanned documents and faxes.
When a multi-frame image is opened you will see a new control beneath the edited image allowing you to navigate through all frames (the inner images).

SHARE

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Q: HOW DO I ADD MY EXISTING FLICKR™ ACCOUNT TO VISIONS?

Flickr™ is a digital photo sharing website. If you have a Flickr™ account you can manage it directly from Visions.
To add your account, use one of the following:

1. Go to Tools >> Preferences >> Share ? Connection >> Click on the "New" button and follow the instructions shown by the wizard.
2. Switch to the Share panel. If you are currently connected with another account, click on the Disconnect button on the upper-right corner to go to the user selection window.

Now click on the "New" button and follow the instructions in the wizard.
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Q: HOW DO I UPLOAD PHOTOS TO MY FLICKR™ ACCOUNT?

There are several ways to upload photo to your Flickr™ account:

1. Using the Basket – Drag photos to the basket from the showroom panel. Select the photos you want to upload, right-click one of them and choose Upload. You may also drag these photos to the My Photos container on the sharing panel.
2. From a loaded board – Select the photos which you want to upload, right-click on one of them and choose Upload.
   From Windows Explorer – If Visions context-menu is enabled (if not, enable it from the Preferences window) you can use Windows Explorer to upload photos directly to your account. Select the files to upload and then use the "Share" action from the context menu.

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Q: CAN I DOWNLOAD MY PHOTOS LOCALLY TO MY COMPUTER?

Yes. Go to the My Photos page on the sharing panel, select the photos to download and right-click one of them.

Now you can choose “Download” to download the photos to the My Pictures folder or choose “Download To” to select a different location.

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Q: CAN I DOWNLOAD PHOTOS FROM OTHERS TO MY COMPUTER?

Yes. Using the Search tab on left side of the sharing panel you can search through Flickr's database. The sharing panel allows you to view, comment and also download photos from others.

First , search. When results are shown you can download photos to your computer by right-clicking on one of them and then choose “Download” or “Download To”.

Visions will automatically try to download the largest photo available for you. Available photo sizes differ from one account type to another and it is determined by the account type of the user you are downloading from.
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Q: CAN I FIND MY PERSONAL FLICKR™ PAGE AND SEND IT TO MY FRIENDS?

Yes. In addition to your Flickr™ account management page you also have a public page where others can see your photos.
To find the address of this page go to My Account >> My Profile.

Here you can view your profile details as well as the link to your public photos page.

Now you can right-click on the URL and choose Send to Friend. This will open your default e-Mail client, already filled with predefined message containing the URL to your photos.

Fill in the email addresses of your friends and send the email.