Smart Pix Manager Frequently Asked Questions

By default, Smart Pix loads thumbnails in the background so that you can continue to use the software without waiting for them to load, however you can disable this option under Tools > Options if you want to speed up their initial display.

You should also review the size of the disk cache, a large disk cache will mean that when you return to a folder you have previously viewed the thumbnails will be retrieved from the cache and so load much faster.

How many files can be stored in the Smart Pix database?

Generally this will depend on the specifications of your system, because if it gets too large then Smart Pix will become sluggish. We have done performance tests on databases with over 100,000 file references without any major performance problems.

Note that if you have more than 20,000 entries you need to change the database performance options. To do this:

1. Go into Tools > Options, Other
2. Click the Advanced button and select the Miscellaneous tab
3. Set caching of display records to 1000
4. Check the option to use dialog for right click menu addition

When I try to play some AVI video files, i get the error "vids: mjpg decompressor missing". What does this mean?

You will need to download an MJpeg codec.

You can get the codec free by downloading the K-Lite Mega Codec Pack:

www.free-codecs.com/download/K_Lite_Mega_Codec_Pack.htm
or
www.free-codecs.com/Motion_JPEG_Codec_download.htm

Or purchasing a commercial codec:

www.mainconcept.com
www.morgan-multimedia.com
www.pegasusimaging.com

I cannot get some multimedia formats to play, what should I do?

Smart Pix Manager will generally be able to play all files that have a valid MCI driver. Windows should provide MCI drivers for all common formats which you want to play.

Exceptions:

Some AVI formats (.avi):

AVI is not a single format, rather it has many different 'flavours'. Windows supports all the common formats already, so Smart Pix can play them. However you will need to download the requisite codecs for some of the custom formats.

The easiest way to do this is to install one of the popular "Codec Packs". The best one is the K-Lite Codec Pack. Failing that try the Nimo Codec Pack or the Doom9 Codec List

RealNetworks formats (ra, .ram, .rm, .rmm):

Microsoft no longer includes support for RealNetworks in newer versions of Windows media player. Users wanting to play RealAudio or RealVideo need to obtain the RealPlayer. You can still access them via Smart Pix, see FAQ #5

QuickTime Formats (.mov, .qt):

Newer versions of Windows do not support files that are created with QuickTime version 2.0 and later. Users wanting to play such files need to obtain the QuickTime viewer from Apple. You can still access them via Smart Pix, see FAQ #5

If you have a format which you cannot play in Smart Pix Manager but can play in other software on your system, then it is possible that another MCI driver is being used, which is causing problems.

Please download the MCI Tester, run it and let us know what results you get.

If all else fails, you can set Smart Pix to use an external application to play the format. Please see FAQ #5.

I want to play some multimedia (*.MP3 and *.MOV) formats with a different player. How can I do this?

To have Smart Pix use an external player when you click on a file format you will have to specify that it is not a supported sound file, but rather it is a 'custom' file. The process for this is:

i) Select Tools > Supported Formats (you will need to have the Simplified Interface option switched off when you do this - you can find this on the first tab).
ii) Click on 'Select..' beside the Sound Files list
iii) Uncheck the MP3 Option and click OK
iv) Check the 'Custom Formats option'
v) Click 'Add and Select..'
vi) Click 'Add..', enter *.MP3 and click OK
vii) Click on the Single Click tab and the custom formats option is set to 'Display with the Windows default program.'
viii) Click OK to exit

After installing Smart Pix Manager I can no longer open my images in my favorite image viewer by double-clicking on them, why?

You have set the option to make Smart Pix Manager your default viewer. To restore your previous viewer, select Tools > Supported Formats.

If you are using the 'Simplified User Interface options, click OK to the first dialog displayed and then in the next dialog (headed select formats) uncheck all the formats that are checked.

If you are not using the simplified interface, select the 'Associations' tab, then click on the Associations button beside Images and uncheck all the formats that are checked.

How can I use Smart Pix with multiple users on a network?

There is no problem with providing group access to a single Smart Pix database, but you will need to specify the database setting, 'Allow databases to be shared,' on all copies of Smart Pix Manager which are accessing the shared database. The quickest way to set this is click Ctrl+Shift+D which will pop up a dialog offering the best network settings (also see 'Sharing a Smart Pix Database on a Network' in the Smart Pix Help file and FAQ #19).

Why is there an keyword group in View mode called 'Other'? I haven't created this group!

If you have any keywords that you have failed to assign to an keyword group, Smart Pix will list them in the group 'Other'.

Your documentation says that you support PDF files, but when I try to view a PDF file I get an Internet Explorer message saying 'Do you want to Load or Open this file?'

To support PDF files you need to install the free Adobe Acrobat Viewer which installs a browser plug-in. You can download this from the Adobe Web Site

10.

Is it possible to create desktop shortcuts that will control which database Smart Pix will display when it is opened?

Yes, you can do it like this:

i. Copy your existing Smart Pix shortcut to create a new one
ii. Rename the new shortcut, e.g. Smart Pix (Music DB)
iii. Right-click the shortcut and select properties
iv. In the target field, add the parameter /DB:<Folder> to the Smart Pix path, e.g.
C:\Program Files (x86)\Smart Pix Manager\SmartPix.exe /DB:C:\MusicDatabase\
v. Click OK

11.

After installing Smart Pix Manager all my image icons have changed to Smart Pix icons and now when I click on an image in Explorer, I no longer see an example image displayed. Can I fix this?

You have associated your images with Smart Pix Manager, you need to revert this association. To do this, select Tools > Supported Formats.

If you are using the 'Simplified User Interface options, click OK to the first dialog displayed and then in the next dialog (headed select formats) uncheck all the formats that are checked.

If you are not using the simplified interface, select the 'Associations' tab, then click on the Associations button beside Images and uncheck all the formats that are checked.

12.

Windows crashed while Smart Pix was processing and now I get a database error when starting up Smart Pix. What can I do?

One of your database tables has probably been corrupted. Run the database utility to repair your tables:

i) Download the Database Utility (or this one for v11 or older).
ii) Install and Run it.
iii) Select Utilities>Repair
iv) Click Select and browse to your database folder (generally C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_USER_NAME\Local Settings\Application Data\Xequte\Smart Pix Manager\DB\)
v) Your database files will be displayed in the box below. Hold down the Ctrl key and select each file in turn
vi) Click Open to repair all of your files

13.

There are some files with a tilde (~) in their name in my image folders, can I delete them?

These may temporary files created by Smart Pix Manager. There are two kinds:
- Files that have been moved into the database for secure storage (database image storage option only). These files have a tilde in the extension, e.g. xyz.~jp. By default, Smart Pix does not actually delete the images after inserting them into the database, merely renames them to a temporary name so that you can back them up before removal from your system. After back up they can safely be deleted.
- Temporary files, if you are using the Changed Extension or Database Storage method, Smart Pix sometimes needs to create temporary files, for example if you want to launch an image in an external viewer. These files will have a tilde at the beginning of their name, e.g. ~xyz.bmp. Generally Smart Pix will clean up these files automatically, but sometimes it is unable, i.e. if you have launched a file into Paint and leave it open when you close Smart Pix, Windows will not allow Smart Pix to delete the file. These can be deleted.
There are sometimes files where the name ends in ~ and then a number, such as myfile~1.jpg These are NOT temporary files, they are long files names that have been renamed by Windows!

14.

Whenever I click on a Word file for display I am asked whether I want to download the file? Why is this happening?

The problem is likely to be that Word is either not installed on your system or is not set-up correctly.

If you have tried reinstalling Word and still have problems, then it is recommended that you specify that Word is not a supported format so that Word is loaded when you want to display the file (rather than Smart Pix trying to display it). The process for this is:

i) Select Tools > Supported Formats (you will need to have the Simplified Interface turned off when you do this - you can find this setting on the first tab under Tools > Options).
ii) Click on 'Select..' beside the Common Formats list
iii) Uncheck the Word Option and click OK
iv) Check the 'Custom Formats' option
v) Click 'Add and Select..'
vi) Click 'Add..', enter *.DOC and click OK
vii) Click on the Single Click tab and ensure the custom formats option is set to 'Display with the Windows default program.'
viii) Click OK to exit

15.

Is it possible to use the Explorer Thumbs.db file to load Thumbnails in Smart Pix Manager?

Yes, go into Tools > Options, Thumbnails tab. Click the Specify button beside "Load Explorer Thumbnails" and specify each of your image formats, e.g. *.jpeg

16.

How do I use wildcards so that my CD database can be shared with other people who may have a different letter for their CD/DVD drive?

In the Smart Pix Manager Help File there is a complete example. You can find it by reading the 'Using Relative Paths' section of the Help File (or searching the help file for the text 'Example of using Relative Paths').

17.

Where are the advanced options that were available in my old version?

For v10 we demoted a plethora of seldom used options to make the interface less confusing.

However Power users can expose the "Power Tools" tab of options:

1. Close Smart Pix
2. Run the relevant file in this zip
3. Run Smart Pix
4. Select Tools > Options, "Power Tools"

18.

Smart Pix always defaults to my last opened database. How can I specify the database that it should start up with?

You need to call it with the /db: parameter specifying the folder of the database to open. For example (include the quotes):

"C:\Program Files (x86)\Smart Pix Manager\SmartPix.exe" /DB:"C:\My_DB_Folder"

You can also make copies of the Smart Pix shortcut on your Desktop specifying the database paths, as above, to open your various databases with a single click.

19.

I have set up Smart Pix so that it can be accessed by users across our network, however while I want it so everybody can access it I only want a few to have permission to add and amend the DB. Can this be done?

There are two ways you can control read/write access to a shared database:

	Using Windows permissions set the user-rights of the folder containing the database so that general users only have read access and power users have read/write access
	Set the Read-Only option on all copies of Smart Pix Manager that do not have write access (under Database>Settings and Source Folders)

20.

How can I choose a different drive for the thumbnail cache and program data to be saved to?

Here is how you can change the location that Smart Pix uses to stores it program data (advanced users only!):

i. Run the Registry Editor (RegEdit)
ii. Browse to the following folder:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Xequte\Smart Pix Manager

iii. Right click a blank area in the right pane and select "New String Value"
iv. Name the new value "BaseDataPath" (without the quotes)
v. Double-click the new value and specify a full path for your Xequte data (e.g. C:\My Custom Data\Xequte\)

Note: You should move any existing data in the default folder (under Windows Documents and Settings) to the new one

21.

Yes. To do this you need to add all of the files of the slideshow to your favorites (File>Add to Favorites) and then go to favorites mode and reorder then using the up/down buttons (or drag and drop).

22.

What is the best way to move Smart Pix to another hard drive or computer?

This is the best way:
i) Copy the entire Smart Pix Manager database folder to the new computer (to find your database folder, run Smart Pix and select Database>Database Info)
ii) Copy the files referenced by your database to the new computer (preferably to the same location as on the old computer)
iii) Install Smart Pix Manager on the new computer
iv) Run Smart Pix Manager and when prompted browse to the folder where you saved your database (in step 1)
v) If you did not copy your referenced files to the same location as on your old computer (in step 2), go to Database>Settings and Source Folders and use the "Relocate" function to fix your file links

23.

How can I change the video types that are supported by Smart Pix Manager?

To edit them:
i) Select Tools > Supported Formats (you will need to have the Simplified Interface setting switched off when you do this - you can find this on the first tab of Tools > Options).
ii) Click on 'Select..' beside the Video Files list
iii) Check the video formats that you want to support and uncheck those that you do not want
iv) Click OK to exit

24.

I have around 1300 images and 200 keywords in my database. When I add a new keyword, there is a long wait before it is added. Is it possible to speed this up?

Go into Tools > Options, Other, Advanced and check the setting, 'Use dialog for keyword addition in right-click'

25.

I received an error when trying to uninstall Smart Pix Manager. What should I do?

You can uninstall it manually. Here are the steps:

i) Delete the folder, C:\Program Files (x86)\Smart Pix Manager\
ii) Click on the Start Menu button with the right mouse button and select 'Open'
iii) Open the folder, 'Programs'
iv) Delete the folder, 'Smart Pix Manager'

26.

Can you give me a complete list of the command line parameters that I can use with Smart Pix?

Here you go:

/DB:	Starts Smart Pix with the database in the folder specified after the colon
/BACKUP	Backs up the smart Pix database to a file and exits
/IMPORT:	Automatically imports the file specified after the colon into your database
/LOG	Enables debug logging
/NEW	Opens a new Smart Pix window
/MULTISHOW	Automatically starts a multishow in the last used folder, database or favorites list
/SLIDESHOW	Automatically starts a slideshow in the last used folder, database or favorites list
/RESET	Resets all application settings to their default
/UPDATENEW	Updates the Smart Pix database, adding references for any new files found in your source folders
/UPDATEGONE	Updates the Smart Pix database, removing references for any files that can no longer be located in your source folders
/UPDATEALL	Performs a full update of the Smart Pix database, adding references for new files and removing references for files that no longer exist
/UNINSTALL	Unassociates any file types that are linked with Smart Pix

27.

I would like to be able to view the thumbnails of images that I have archived to CD without loading the CD. Is this possible?

If you want the thumbnails for images on CD's, even when they are not inserted, please do this:
1. Go into Tools > Options, Database 2
2. Set the Database Thumbnail Storage setting to 'Save Thumbnails in database for images on removable devices
3. Click 'Edit Thumbnails of the Current Database' and build your thumbnails

28.

I want to change the order of my images (not by filename or date, but my own order) so they show in that order when I create my HTML index.

You can modify the displayed order of a set of files like this:
i) Select the files and add them to favorites (File>Add to Favorites)
ii) Change to Favorites mode by clicking the Favorites tab
iii) To change the order of the files, click on them, then use the Up/Down buttons to promote/demote files

29.

We are using Smart Pix on a network where users access a database that they do not have write permissions for. However Smart Pix is raising an error when loading, how do I fix that?

On some network systems (particularly Windows networks) files that a user cannot read (due to permissions) may still not appear as Read-Only. To address this you will need to mark all the files as Read-Only using File>Properties

30.

I want to add a custom format to Smart Pix and display it with the default viewer. How can I do that?

The process for this is:

i) Select Tools > Supported Formats (you will need to have the Simplified Interface turned off when you do this - you can find this setting on the first tab under Tools > Options).
ii) Check the 'Custom Formats' option
iii) Click 'Add and Select..'
iv) Click 'Add..', enter the extension to add, e.g. *.NRG, and click OK
v) Click on the Single Click tab and ensure the custom formats option is set to 'Display with the Windows default program.'
vi) Click OK to exit

31.

I can't seem to get Smart Pix to crop the images where I have positioned the selection box. Why is that?

Smart Pix uses Lossless cropping, meaning that there is no reduction in the quality of your JPEG images when you perform a crop (unlike in most other image editing software). The one limitation with cropping or rotating images losslessly, is that you are bound by certain data blocks within the image, this means that lossless crops will often be a few pixels out from your selection and when rotating a few pixels may be lost from the edge of an image.
If you would prefer more exact cropping then you can disable the lossless rotation and cropping under Tools > Options, Advanced...

32.

I want to add a lot of keywords to a new database. Is there a quick way to do this?

You can type a list of keywords in a text editor, such as Notepad (optionally adding a group name after the keyword, e.g. A Keyword#A Group) and then import them into Smart Pix using the second option under Database>Import and Export>Import DB Entries...

33.

I have added new images to my system and done an update but they haven't been inserted into the database, why?

You probably haven't added the images to one of your Source Folders. Smart Pix will only check for new image files in folders that are contained in Source Folders list. You can see your list of source folders by selecting Database>Settings and Source Folders, source folders tab. You can add new source folders by clicking the 'Add' button.