ImageSafe ReadMe file
ImageSafe is shareware written by Colin Mummery who can be contacted at
equitysoft@iname.com and whose homepage is
www.kagi.com/equitysoft.
The ImageSafe product is delivered in a single ZIP file.
The ZIP file name indicates the date that the product version in the file was built in day/month/year order.
The ZIP file contains the following:
- The ImageSafe program packaged as a single JAR file called "ImageSafe.jar"
- This readme file
- A changes file
- The license agreement
- A registration program that runs under Windows
- A ".bat" file as one way to run the product under Windows
Running the software
The product can be run under Windows or Solaris by double clicking (or
clicking) on the file "ImageSafe.jar". Applets created with ImageSafe will run on any MS IE4.0 or better browser, or on any
Netscape 4.06 or better browser. The product itself however requires the Java 2 runtime be installed which is free and can
be downloaded from Sun Microsystems. (Java 2
is also sometimes referred to as Java 1.2 - it's the same thing).
On other platforms the following Java
command can be used:
java -jar ImageSafe.jar
A "WinRun.bat" file is also included for Windows users if double clicking doesn't function
because the registry has been changed by other software.
At the time of writing Java 2 is not available for the Macintosh so it's not possible to create applets
on a MAC. See Apple's
Java page for more details.
Optimal use of ImageSafe
For maximum protection of images it's recommended that applets are created with two options set:
- The "check server prefix" is turned on to ensure applets can't run locally
- A text or image overlay is used, moving across the main image, to frustrate screen capture.
If the image is small then use the double image option.
Windows specific installation
At this stage the product is not provided in a form that creates the appropriate "start" menu entries and
program icons for Windows. It is best to set aside a folder for the product and put the unzipped files into that
folder. Custom installation is planned for the future.
ImageSafe directories
When ImageSafe is run there are three directories that are created in the same directory as the
"ImageSafe.jar" file. These are:
- "applets" - which is the default directory for saving the HTML and JAR files for protected images
- "props" - this directory contains various system files for ImageSafe
- "pwords" - the default directory for storing password files, only created when saving a password
An important note about browser caches
If you protect an image with ImageSafe and run the same image through ImageSafe again, perhaps because
you registered the product or changed a parameter you may get a "Null pointer exception" message when you
look at the new applet on your local PC. The reason is that the browser is retrieving the old applet out of the
cache so the cache should be cleared to fix the problem.
Known issues
- Netscape is the preferred browser for viewing ImageSafe applets for non-Mac computers. MS IE is not very good at
scrolling large images. Scrolling in IE can leave the image looking "cut-up".
If this happens while scrolling the viewer can hit the IE "refresh" button to restore the integrity of the image.
- MS IE is also quirky when it comes to looking locally on your disk at applets created. If you create an applet
of "animage.jpg" it will run locally in IE. If you then create the same applet again with the same name
it won't run locally because the previous applet is still in memory. A problem with IE cacheing causes this.
However the new applet will run fine across the internet.
- Apple Mac: ImageSafe applets can be viewed on Mac with Internet Explorer provided that
MRJ 2.1.2 or better is installed.
At the time of writing the Mac
version of Netscape does not support the Java techniques used by ImageSafe.
Paying for the software
The evaluation period is the standard 30 days given for most
shareware. Please try before you buy. After that period payment should be made using the
KAGI shareware payment service. The best way is to run the enclosed
Windows program that generates output that can be e-mailed, faxed
or posted to KAGI. If payment must be made by phone there is a
US$5 surcharge and it can be done by ringing (510) 658-5244 in the US.
Alternatively payment can be made over the internet by going to the
EquitySoft pricing page.
While the software is not registered the applets that ImageSafe creates will
work for 72 hours only from the time of creation. Professional web designers should note that
an ImageSafe license allows the protection of images on a single website only. When using the product for multiple
web sites then multiple license should be purchased.
The policy on new revisions of products
Products are regularly updated with new features. My policy is not to charge any fee for new releases which
may only include bug fixes, cosmetic changes and minor functional changes. In general therefore, the original
registration code that you receive on paying the initial license fee should be kept and reused after downloading
a new product version. Do not pay for another license unless you're sure it's absolutely required.
Replacing an old version with a new version
If you want to keep all your existing applet files then replace only the old version of
"ImageSafe.jar" with the new version. However some session settings will be reset.
Feedback
Any feedback about bugs or feature requests should be sent to the
author, Colin Mummery at EquitySoft@iname.com.
All feedback is most welcome and carefully read.