Last Update 15 February 2001

Latest Version: Webshots Desktop v2.0 Preview Release 1 (15 February 2001)

What happened to Webshots Desktop Lite?

Webshots Desktop Lite is no longer supported, and we strongly recommend that you upgrade to v2.0 Preview Release 1 as soon as possible. v2.0 has roughly the same system requirements as Lite, so almost all Lite users should have no problems with the upgrade. To upgrade, please click here.

Webshots Desktop for Macintosh v2.0PR1 adds several important features to the product, including hierarchical photo management, image importing, and a web toolbar.

NOTE: If you are a Mac OS 8.0 or QuickTime 2.5 user, you will not be able to upgrade to v2.0. It is recommended that you upgrade to at least Mac OS 8.1 and QuickTime v3.0.

Why is this release called "Preview Release 1"?

v2.0 for Macintosh will be released to the public in a series of preview releases over the next several months. We have decided to take this route for two reasons -- to deliver new functionality to our users as soon as possible and to allow our users to play a direct role in shaping the development of v2.0. We value your feedback. Please use the contact page link above to send us your thoughts.

When will v2.0PR2 be released and what features will it have?

Our highest priorities for Preview Release 2 include screen savers and Mac OS X support. We do not have an estimated release date for Preview Release 2, nor do we have a feature list beyond screen savers and Mac OS X to share with you at this time.

I've used Webshots Desktop for the PC and this isn't anything like that! Where are all the cool features like screen savers and image collections?

We are working hard to provide a feature-rich Webshots Desktop client for the Macintosh. We have made significant improvements with the release of v2.0 Preview Release 1. We will be releasing new features over time.

I've installed Webshots Desktop, but where do I find images to use as my Desktop?

Visit Webshots where you'll find thousands and thousands of absolutely FREE images to use as your Desktop. If you run the Webshots Desktop application directly, you can click on the links to visit the Webshots site.

What software is required to operate Webshots Desktop ?

Webshots Desktop requires Mac OS 8.1 or greater, QuickTime 3.0 or greater, the Appearance or Desktop Pictures Control Panel, and a web browser (Netscape 3.0 or greater, Internet Explorer 3.0 or greater, or any web browser that uses the Internet Control Panel or Internet Config (such as iCab)). If any of these pieces of software are not present or are disabled, Webshots Desktop will not function.

If your Appearance Control Panel is greater than version 1.0.1, you do not need both the Appearance and Desktop Pictures Control Panel installed. The Desktop Pictures Control Panel is no longer installed if you are using Mac OS 8.5 or greater. Its functionality has been incorporated into the Appearance Control Panel.

HELP! When I attempt to install Webshots Desktop, I get an error message about the Main Archive being corrupt. What this?

We are currently investigating this problem. Based on early numbers, this only seems to be a problem for a small number of users. We are working with Mindvision, makers of the VISE Installer to track down and fix this problem. Preliminary data seems to point towards an extensions conflict, possibly with AOL Instant Messenger. A work-around is to use the Extensions Manager and select only the Mac OS extensions, reboot, and then install. Otherwise, please send an email to machelp@webshots.com and we will send you a URL for the full installer.

HELP! Webshots Desktop isn't working and I don't know what the problem is. Where can I get support?

First, read this FAQ from top to bottom. If your answer isn't there, please send a detailed summary of your problem to Customer Support by filling out the online form. Make sure you indicate that you have the Macintosh version of Webshots Desktop.

I've found a bug and I'd like to report it. Who do I send it to?

Thank you! We definitely want to find out about any bugs you find. We are committed to providing quality software. Fill out the online form. Make sure you indicate that you have the Macintosh version of Webshots Desktop.

I've got an idea for a feature. Who do I send it to?

Great! We love to hear about new ideas for our product. Fill out the online form. Make sure you indicate that you have the Macintosh version of Webshots Desktop.

How do I obtain future updates to Webshots Desktop?

To obtain the latest version of Webshots Desktop, select "Launch Updater" from the Special menu in the application or visit Webshots if you have not yet installed the program.

Why doesn't Webshots Desktop work with my web browser?

During the installation process, we automatically add support for certain web browsers. Currently, we officially support Netscape 3.x and above and Internet Explorer 3.x and above. Any web browser (such as iCab) that uses the Internet Control Panel or Internet Config should also work. If Webshots Desktop does not work with your browser, we'd like to know and do our best to fix the problem. Fill out the online form. Make sure you indicate that you have the Macintosh version of Webshots Desktop.

"Enable Browsers..." under the Special menu will allow you to re-add support to your web browsers. This can be useful if you install new web browsers to your computer and want to insure they will support Webshots Desktop.

If you are using a web browser that we do not support, there is a work around. You can manually set the MIME type in your web browser to the following...

MIME Type: application/x-webshots
Suffixes: .wbz

Please make sure to select the Webshots Desktop application as the owner of this MIME type)

INTERNET EXPLORER 3.X USERS: We are seeing problems with Internet Explorer 3.x where it prompts the user to save the file to their computer. If you encounter this problem, save the .wbz file to your computer and it will automatically open Webshots Desktop and change the Desktop picture for you.

NETSCAPE 6.X USERS: We are seeing problems with Netscape 6.x where it prompts the user to save the file to their computer every time an image is download from Webshots. This is a bug with Netscape 6 and we hope that it is resolved by Netscape in the near future.

Why doesn't Webshots Desktop work with my old Macintosh?

Currently, we officially support any Power PC Macintosh running Mac OS 8.1 or later. If are interested in a 68k and/or pre Mac OS 8.1 version of Webshots Desktop, please send feedback. We will consider supporting older configurations if there is a strong interest from our users. Fill out the online form. Make sure you indicate that you have the Macintosh version of Webshots Desktop.

When I download images from the Webshots site, in what Album do they get stored?

If the Album Creation preference in turned on, then new Albums will be created for you automatically. If this preference is turned off, then the images will be downloaded into the Album that is highlighted or into the Incoming Album if no Album is currently highlighted.

I downloaded an image from webshots.com, but it looks pixelated. What's wrong?

There could be several reasons for this. Most likely this is caused because your monitor is set to a high resolution and you do not have image resampling turned on. You can read more about image resampling in the About file in the Webshots Desktop folder on your computer. Most Webshots images are stored in 800*600 resolution, but even higher resolutions generally show the image in high quality. However, it entirely depends on the image. Monitor resolutions higher than 800*600 are more likely to cause the images to look pixelated. The other likely cause for image pixelation is if the image you downloaded is of poor quality. All of the images uploaded by Webshots to their web site are checked for high quality, but the images hosted by Webshots users in the Community Area could be of low quality.

Here's an example of image resampling turned off, and then on using a portion of the same image:

I can't turn on image resampling in Preferences because it is greyed out. What's wrong?

Image resampling requires QuickTime 4.x or greater. To download the latest version of QuickTime, please visit Apple's QuickTime site. QuickTime 4 requires Mac OS 7.5.5 or later with at least 16MB of RAM.

How do I increase the RAM for Webshots Desktop to better take advantage of the Live Preview Resizing preference?

Locate the Webshots Desktop application on your computer. Highlight the application icon and hold down the Apple and I keys. This will bring up the application info window. From the "Show" pull-down menu in this window, select Memory and increase the settings. The application must first be quit before you are allowed to modify the memory settings.

I liked the previous image on my Desktop more than the one I just switched to. How do I get the previous image back?

Unlike Webshots Desktop Lite, we no longer have a revert function. This is due to the fact that we now allow the saving of multiple images in the application. To revert to the previous version, simply double click the image within the Webshots Desktop application.

How do I remove the image from the Desktop?

Go to the Appearance or Desktop Pictures Control Panel and remove the image. If you are using the Appearance Manager Control Panel, click the Desktop tab.

Can I use images I've found on other sites as my Desktop?

Yes, you can import any image format supported by QuickTime by dragging the image onto the Webshots Desktop application. You cannot import folders of images at this time, only image files.

How do I upload photos to Webshots?

Click the Share Photos link within the application and then create online photo albums. Once an image has been added to your online photo albums, it can then be downloaded into your Webshots Desktop application and be used as your desktop image.

If you would like to upload a specific image that you have imported into Webshots Desktop, you can click the "Add this photo to the web" link underneath the image.

When I upgraded to v2.0, it didn't import my existing image from Lite? Why?

We decided not to add this feature to v2.0. To add this photo to v2.0, please return to the Webshots web site and re-download it. We apologize for the inconvenience.

When I click on any of the hyperlinks inside of the Webshots Desktop application, it takes me to a page saying "Bad Request." What's wrong?

This is due to a corrupt cookie file, and is very a rare occurrence. We are definitely interested in hearing from you. Fill out the online form. Make sure you indicate that you have the Macintosh version of Webshots Desktop .

I have multiple monitors connected to my Macintosh and Webshots Desktop doesn't allow me to customize the desktop image on each monitor. Is this a bug?

No. We do not currently provide support for multiple monitors. If this is a feature that you'd like to see in the Macintosh version of Webshots Desktop, please send feedback. Fill out the online form. Make sure you indicate that you have the Macintosh version of Webshots Desktop .

Why doesn't the main window on Webshots appear?

When the Webshots Desktop application in opened by your web browser after downloading a new image, we leave the application running in the background. However, we do hide the main window so that it does not clutter your screen. To show the main window of Webshots Desktop, simply select the Webshots Desktop application and show it from the Window menu.

Can I move the Webshots Documents folder or the Webshots Albums file inside of it?

Yes. Although we auto-create the Webshots Documents folder inside of your Documents folder, you can change its location. You will need to keep the file Webshots Albums on your machine and make an alias to it inside of your Webshots Desktop application folder. The alias must be named Webshots Albums.

What is the Rescued Items Album?

This Album is created after a crash and contains rescued images and Albums. Please drag these items into your Webshots Albums and delete the Rescued Items Album.

How do I un-install Webshots Desktop?

Delete the Webshots Desktop folder inside of the Internet folder and the Webshots Documents folder inside of the Documents folder on your hard drive. In addition to this, you can delete the Webshots Desktop folder under the Preferences Folder (in your System Folder on your hard drive).

I tried downloading an image collection from the Webshots site and it doesn't work. Why?

We do not currently support image collections.

Do you plan to support Mac OS X?

Absolutely! We intend to release a Mac OS X (Carbonized) version of Webshots Desktop shortly after Apple releases Mac OS X.

The product is called Webshots Desktop but the copyright says At Home Corporation. What's the relationship between Webshots, Excite@Home, and At Home Corporation?

In late 1999, Webshots was acquired by Excite@Home. Webshots is now part of the Excite@Home Network. At Home Corporation is the official corporate name for Excite@Home.

Will Webshots Desktop for Macintosh always be free?

Yes!