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Photo Finale® Consumer Support

Frequently Asked Support Questions

Most problems are solved by updating to the latest version of the software. Before proceeding to the FAQ we highly recommend updating to the latest version. Start Photo Finale, click on help/about to find your version number.

Upgrade to the latest version of Photo Finale here.

1. I have entered my product key, but the program says it is invalid.
   • Retry and verify that at least the first 4 characters are ALL numbers and that the remaining characters are be ALL letters.
2. Does Photo Finale run on the Apple Macintosh?
   • Photo Finale Desktop does not run on on a Mac at this time, however Photo Finale Web fully supports Macintosh for photo album sharing, ordering, and other features.
3. An error is displayed on startup: "Unhandled exception in module <unknown>".
   • This message can indicate that the Arial font on your computer is corrupted. Please download the original Windows Arial font here, then double-click the files to install and restart your computer.
4. An error is displayed on startup: "PHOTOFINALE caused a general protection fault in module 3DFX16V3.DRV".
   • Every computer has software drivers used to display graphics on the screen. This message indicates your computer has a 3DFX Graphics card with faulty driver software. 3DFX went out of business years ago and has not fixed the problems with their driver software. There are some places online where volunteers may offer updated 3DFX drivers, however this is an unsupported configuration. The safest solution is to install a supported graphics card into your computer.
5. An error is displayed on startup: "Application failed to initialize properly."
   • The most likely reason for this message is that you are running an outdated version of the software. To resolve, uninstall the current version using the Windows Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs. After uninstall is complete, please update your version as indicated at the top of this page.
6. The installation displays an error message and will not complete.
   • Installing Photo Finale requires your user account to have Administrator privileges. For Windows XP: To find out if your user account has Administrator privileges, Click Start > Control Panel > User Accounts. If your account says "Limited" you will need to ask your network administrator for assistance.
7. I received a Photo Finale CD and during install it asks me for a product key. Where do I get the product key?
   If you have received the software from a camera store, the product key (a 16- or 20-digit code) can be found on the back of the CD case. If you have downloaded a trial version, click "Free Trial" to use the software for up to 21 days. When you purchase the software, you will receive a product key to enter which will unlock the software so you can use it forever.

1. Can Photo Finale display Nikon .NEF files (RAW)?
   • Yes, Photo Finale does work with Nikon .NEF files. To enable .NEF support, download this package and follow the instructions in the readme.txt file.
2. When photos are displayed in Photo Finale, the quality of the photos is low or the colors do not seem right.
   • Low display quality could be due to your computer's graphics being set to 256 colors or less. Digital photos require more than 256 to be displayed properly. To check your settings, click Start > Control Panel > Display > Settings tab. The "Color Quality" should be set to more than 256 colors, but any of the following are acceptable values: High Color, True Color, 16-bit Color, 24-bit Color, 32-bit Color.
3. When I apply cropping to a photo, nothing happens or the display area turns black.
   • There are two possible causes for cropping to not work:
   1) The computer's graphics display is set to 256 colors or less.
   2) The computer's video card has 4MB or less of memory. Photo Finale requires a video card with 8MB of memory to run properly. As a work-around you may set your display resolution to 800x600.

1. Trouble transferring photos: My camera connects to the computer using a "serial port."
   • Photo Finale will not transfer images automatically from a cameras via a serial port. We recommend that you buy a memory card reader. This will allow you to place the memory card from your camera into the reader, where it can be transferred directly to your computer with Photo Finale. This method will also be much faster than using the serial port connection.
2. Trouble transferring photos: I have a combination video camera and digital camera connecting to the computer using a called Fire Wire, DV, i-link, or 1394.
   • Video cameras with built-in digital cameras should not use the Fire Wire port for transferring still images. These devices also will come with either a serial port (older products), or a USB port for transferring still images. Check the device manually to determine the correct connection for the camera.
3. Trouble transferring photos: My camera connects to the computer using a "USB" connection (includes all cameras purchased in 2002 or later).
   • Most of the time this issue is related to having the proper camera driver software installed on your computer. The "camera driver" is not a viewing or browsing application, but is the software that allows your camera to talk to the computer itself. To make sure you have the right camera driver:
   1) Visit the manufacturer's website and note the latest drivers available for your camera. If there are recently dated drivers available, install them to update your system.
   2) If you are using Windows XP, make sure the drivers you have explicitly say "for Windows XP." Drivers for Windows 98 or Windows 2000 may not work and may cause problems with your devices or computer.
   3) If you are using Windows XP and connect your camera to the computer, you should see the camera appear as a small icon in the Windows File Explorer. It will appear either as a drive letter like (E:), or as a picture of a small camera.
   If the camera is not visible in the Windows File Explorer, this likely means the camera driver software is not properly installed.
4. When I transfer photos from my camera, the files are transferred as .BMP instead of .JPG.
   • This is caused by using an older type of driver software for your camera called "TWAIN."
   • Photo Finale has full support for newer standards such as WIA and USB Mass storage, but only limited support for older TWAIN cameras.
   • The best solution for this problem is to visit the manufacturer’s web site and make sure you have the latest drivers installed for your camera. If your camera was made in the year 2001 or later, it likely supports one of the newer standards other than TWAIN.
   • Note: While TWAIN is an outdated standard for cameras it is still quite common for scanners. Photo Finale does support scanners using the TWAIN interface and there should be no problem with this combination.
5. What browsers are supported?
   • For Windows systems Photo Finale Web supports Internet Explorer 6 or higher and Firefox 1.5 or higher.
   • For Macintosh systems Safari and Firefox 1.5 or higher are supported. Internet Explorer for Macintosh is not supported.

1. Is Apple Macintosh Supported?
   • Photo Finale Web Albums fully support Macintosh for photo album sharing, ordering, and other features.
2. What browsers are supported?
   • For Windows systems Photo Finale Web supports Internet Explorer 6 or higher and Firefox 1.5 or higher. • For Macintosh systems Safari and Firefox 1.5 or higher are supported. Internet Explorer for Macintosh is not supported.
3. Can I use Photo Finale Album photos and videos with my blog?
   • Yes.
4. What photo file types are supported?
   • .JPG, .PNG, and .TIF file types are supported. The size limit per photo is 10 megabytes, which is very large for most people.
5. How can I prevent my albums from visible to the community?
   • Sign into your account, and under the Profile section, select Edit. Uncheck Enable community features. Click the Save button.

1. My question is not answered here or I have a suggestion for a new feature.
   • Please click here to contact us.