Zoner Media Explorer 5

Installation Problems

Question: I have a trial version, and thus I'm not sure how to handle installation of the boxed full version that I just bought.

Answer: We recommend that you first uninstall the trial version and then install the full version from the CD.

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Image and Video Formats

Question: When is work with the JPEG format lossless, i.e. when can it take place without lossy compression?

Answer: Such work is lossless whenever technically possible, i.e.: when rotating by 90°, 180°, or 270° or flipping, if this work is done in the Browser part of the program. Note however that at certain sizes, lossless compression is not possible; in its Preferences dialog, Zoner Media Explorer 5 offers for such cases the choice between cropping (to avoid lossy compression), or not cropping (at the cost of using lossy compression). Images that are fresh out of a digital camera always have dimensions that enable the use of lossless operations.

Question: The preview of an operation I performed on an image does not correspond to its true result.

Answer: For some operations in combination with some types of images, the "result" when applied to a shrunken version of the image does not correspond to the true result. In such cases, the best solution is to use the button at the top of the dialog that makes the preview/original size ratio 1:1, so the preview is as accurate as possible.

Question: MOV files that are fresh out of a Minolta Dimage X digital camera are not correctly played in the preview window. Only the sound is played; the video is not visible. Other video formats work normally.

Answer: MOV is a format of the Apple corporation and specifically of its QuickTime player. Zoner Media Explorer 5 does its video playing using Microsoft DirectX, and thus can only play that which e.g. Windows Media Player can. In practice this means that it can only play certain, non-current versions of the MOV format. We therefore recommend that you obtain and use the QuickTime player to view this format.

Question: I can't play or record sounds in Zoner Media Explorer 5.

Answer: We recommend that you re-install the DirectX drivers and sound-card drivers on your computer. You can acquire the newest version of the DirectX drivers here.

Question: When I switch to the Description and Audio Notes tab of the EXIF information dialog, I hear a "crackling" noise caused by my sound card.

Answer: This is due to a problem with your sound card drivers. We thus recommend that you download the latest drivers for your sound cards.

Question: Which formats are supported for audio comments? Is the MP3 format supported?

Answer: Zoner Media Explorer 5 supports the formats that are defined in the EXIF standard, that is, uncompressed PCM WAV and compressed ADPCM WAV. Zoner Media Explorer 5 can also open any WAV for which the codec is installed; i.e. the restriction on WAV sub-formats only applies to saving.

Question: Does Zoner Media Explorer support TIFF/PSD images with 16 bits per channel?

Answer: Yes, but these images are downgraded to 8 bits/channel as they are loaded.

Question: Does Zoner Media Explorer 5 support TIFF transparency?

Answer: At present, an alpha channel is supported for RGB images only. Also, this support is for display only.

Question: What are the restrictions on support for multi-page TIFF images?

Answer: Zoner Media Explorer 5 supports the opening and saving of multi-page TIFFs. All pages are saved with the same type of compression. Operations in the Browser are applied to all pages; operations in the Editor are only applied to the active page. There is no support in this version for adding or deleting pages.

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EXIF, Notes, and Keywords

Question: What are those little "i" and "k" icons in the image thumbnails in the Browser for?

Answer: These icons indicate that the given image contains EXIF data. The "i" means basic information like time, f-stop, ISO, etc. The "k" means description and keywords. The icons also function as buttons - double-click them and the tab of the EXIF dialog containing information of the given type will appear.

Question: Zoner Media Explorer 5 seems to work with my EXIF data normally, yet another program is stating that the image does not contain this data. What's causing the problem?

Answer: The EXIF specification states that the block with EXIF data must, when contained in JPEG images, be located at the very beginning of the given file. Many programs, however, write to a different block before EXIF, and for this reason, programs that count upon the specification being respected are not capable of finding the data. Zoner Media Explorer 5 contains a command for repairing such files; its location is Manage | EXIF Data | Fix EXIF Marker Position… .

Question: I filled out the EXIF data in the image "Properties" provided by Windows XP, but Zoner Media Explorer 5 is not able to display it.

Answer: The reason is that the Windows XP Properties dialog stores this information in its own special fields that are NOT a part of EXIF. Furthermore, the dialog does not even load in EXIF data properly, and thus damages/discards many pieces of data.

Question: Some of the information placed in my images' EXIF data by my digital camera is damaged after editing the image in Zoner Media Explorer 5.

Answer: Most likely, this information is part of what is called the "maker note," data stored in special structures that vary from manufacturer to manufacturer, rather than having a standardized structure. For this reason, the current version of Zoner Media Explorer cannot process it. However, Zoner Media Explorer 5 is able to perform a backup of an image's complete EXIF data without updating it, which can be useful for this situation.

Question: How can I do batch addition of metadata (author, description, etc.)?

Answer: Using the Batch EXIF Editing command in the Manage menu (or the Ctrl-K keyboard shortcut).

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Web Functions

Question: When I use the FTP function in Zoner Media Explorer, it starts its work, creates directories, and then stops without sending the files. What's wrong?

Answer: Zoner Media Explorer's FTP function requires passive transfer mode; no other transfer mode is supported. Problems like the above are generally caused by a server not supporting passive transfer.

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General Questions

Question: I downloaded a trial version, and there aren't many print templates. How do I get more?

Answer: Click the "Get More" link in the second step of the Print and Export wizard.

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