Just checked a new version. A lot of good improvements, but still couple key features are missing:
- ability to add an arbitrary stock
- duplicate detection/filtering on keywords (works only in generator, making main window keyword panel useless. In generator - useless for list entry, as it stops on the first duplicate detected)
- [speculation based on how long it took to make a new version with SX upload broken in old one] slow support

For now - Cushy wins...

I really like Prostockmaster.
I updated to the new version, and it works all fine on my Mac.

I did run into a couple of sites that could not read the IPTC data written to the file.  So there might be a bug there.

We have no previous reports with such strange behavior. If you can reproduce it I'll be happy to get some more info: what sites you are speaking about, what files etc. Please drop me a message to our support(at)prostockmaster(dot)com account and we'll take care of this matter.

Nice program, but for the moment I have to agree that Cushy gets my vote for the better program.

Let me remind you that ProStockMaster was and remains forever the first in the world software for the microstock contributors, while all the rest are "me too" applications. We have created this photostock desktop software market and we will continue leading it by the technology innovation.

- More stocks: we have a few requests to add more stocks and we will do it in the next release. We are prefer to work with the most established and profitable agencies, thus bringing the real value to our customers.

Your motto says "by photographers for photographers". Sorry I did not realize that yn "for" part you mean only those that are in "by" one

And if you still want to use plain text window to type in your keywords, like we did in the older versions of PSM, you can do it too. The duplicates will be sorted out and removed when you press "Save" button. We kept this ability since it is convenient to copy & paste keywords from an external application this way (e.g. Notepad, Word)

This is not true. They are not removed. One would need to hunt them manually to remove, or use sorting approach - farewell sites that have priority of first keywords

- Speaking about support I think you are confusing between customer support and the development time. We provide excellent customer support for all our customers, either free or paying - check it out. For the development time, we prefer to test and fix the software before it is delivered to the market and not after that.

I think that confusion is on your side Fixing problems is also a part of customer support.

Do not take me wrong, I believe that Prostockmaster is a great program. I just do not buy "we are the best because we were the first".  

 

Do not take me wrong, I believe that Prostockmaster is a great program. I just do not buy "we are the best because we were the first".  

Bingo.  This plus the"we know what's best for you" attitude is annoying.

I like the new translation feature, although I'm not sure which agencies allow non-english keywords.

The only IPTC data it supports is Title, Description and Keywords.  No custom fields support.

The right column with the thumbnails does not refresh automatically when new images are placed into the folder.  You have to leave the folder and come back and it doesn't cache the thumbnail images, they have to be regenerated every single time.

You can't use it to organize photos (I'd like to see the thumbnail column in the middle and support dragging/dropping to the folder area to let me move photos into different folders).

The bottom area which lists the sites should update when you select "upload->statistics".  In fact, I would like it to automatically connect and get data when the program runs.

It doesn't remember the window size/position when you exit.  So I have to manually maximize it every time I run it, unless I modify the shortcut myself.

I don't like the dark color and there is no option to change it.

I HATE programs that ask me to confirm that I want to exit there are no preferences to turn that off.

Overall it's a pretty good program and what it does, it does very well.  But it's missing lots of features.  The two features that stand out are a superior keyword suggestion system to Cushy and the new translator.  But it has almost no configurability (you can set thumbnail sizes and a few other minor options).

Those two keyword features don't make it a superior program, I don't care if the author invented the Stock industry. 

I am happy to announce the new v1.5.1 release of ProStockMaster.
Among other things, this new release directly addresses many issues raised in this forum' thread.
Let me start from them:

I don't like the dark color and there is no option to change it.

v1.5.1 introduces 25+ new GUI skins, available from the �View->Skins� menu.
The application will start with the default gray Look and Feel skin,
but you can change it anytime according to your taste.
Here are some samples of GUI skins distributed with ProStockMaster v1.5.1:

Windows Native (Available on Windows only)



Mac Native (Available on Mac only)



Business style (any platform)


Sahara (any platform)



Quaqua (any platform)



Red Marble (any platform)


... more skins are available

I HATE programs that ask me to confirm that I want to exit there are no preferences to turn that off.

I hate them too! :-)
So this is what we did:

Quote from: davidm on August 14, 2008, 11:01

And if you still want to use plain text window to type in your keywords, like we did in the older versions of PSM, you can do it too. The duplicates will be sorted out and removed when you press "Save" button. We kept this ability since it is convenient to copy & paste keywords from an external application this way (e.g. Notepad, Word)

This is not true. They are not removed. One would need to hunt them manually to remove, or use sorting approach - farewell sites that have priority of first keywords

What I can say? UncleGene was right. This worked OK in the older v1.4.1 but it was lost in v1.5.0 due to the new keywords dialog introduction. Now we fixed it v1.5.1.
The duplicate keywords are now automatically removed from the keywords text pane in the IPTC panel when you press �Save� button or if you switch to another image, keeping the metadata changes you made.

In fact, we see that people use the new �Manage Metadata� dialog which was introduced in v1.5.0, instead of typing in keywords directly in the text window located in the IPTC panel. People appreciate the convenient keywords generation, built-in translation, duplicates removal and metadata copying, allowed by this new window. In v1.5.1 "Manage Metadata" got 2 more fields: �Title� and �Description�, thus allowing to copy the entire metadata set from one image to many others.

The right column with the thumbnails does not refresh automatically when new images are placed into the folder.

The true auto-refresh function could be quite challenging for a multi-platform application which has to implement it on Windows, Mac and Linux.
However, we understand the need and we have added manual folder' refresh with F5 button whenever it is applicable (multiple menus in the application). F5 will also work directly from the keyboard allowing you to refresh the currently viewed images folder if its content has been changed by an external application.



We also added Cut/Copy/Paste and a few more related context menus to any text filed in the application



What else?

- Statistics for Fotolia are improved, showing up now the monthly numbers along with the totals. Also Fotolia statistics are fixed for users registered at all the international Fotolia sites like es.fotolia.com, fotolia.co.uk, de.fotolia.com, it.fotolia.com and fotolia.fr.

- Added the ability to delete images, selected for upload directly from the upload queue for any agency


- Context menu added in the image preview area


- Added an ability to open the full-size viewer by double-clicking on a thumbnail in any upload queue

- Upload progress window is changed to provide fine-granulated upload progress both for the current file and for the entire batch


The last but not the least - v1.5.1 is the first release which adds Linux as a supported operating system.

Overall it's a pretty good program and what it does, it does very well.

I just forgot to say thank you for that � so thank you, I am very happy you think so.
Let me just add, that �what it does not�, it will do very soon :-)

When can we expect the ability to add any stock site?

UncleGene  - May I ask you why you never reported such a serious issue to us, preferring to publish your dramatic experience in public exactly at the time when we announce the new version?
I would not call it a fair approach. You gave us absolutely no chance to find and fix your problem.
Instead, you preferred to come here and now and tell people: "hey, do not use PSM, it damage your files!"

I do not know your motives for doing that.
I do not know WHY you did not report this issue when you found it.
I even do not know if such an issue exist . I never heard about that and we did not get any complain before that.

Yes, I can assume that even after two years on the market ProStockMaster can still has some unknown issues and bugs. Let us know and we will fix it fast. We can not fix something that we are unaware about, can we?

However, this is not my point. My point is that what you are doing in your responses in this thread and in some other ProStockMaster-related discussions does not help others in getting a better software, absolutely not. You definitely do not want to help other contributors by reporting the issues you found and requesting a better software and a better service.

Again, I do not know what are your motives, but you UncleGene demonstrate a very unfair approach to our software.

"I think I can safely assume UncleGene is not a paid tester for ProStockMaster? "

Probably not. OTOH - maybe you should try and create a program like this yourself ?
I do some programming myself - and I know how difficult it is to create a truly bug-free product with great functionality (I am not even sure that athing like this exists...).

I do not remember how much I paid for PSM - probably about $50 or so (someone correct me if I am wrong). Which is less than I make per hour. PSM took probably a thousand + hours to make, if my experience with programming is of any guidance.

In other words - I do not think it unreasonable that a little bit of support from the users goes a long way with products like PSM. All other things aside - one (or a couple of programmers) can't  even come close to the number of ideas and insights that couple of hundred (or thousand) of users may have.

There are certain expectations for a product coming from a big corporation (which makes billions), and a bit different expectations for a product which, when all is said and done, is being distributed for a very small fee. And the big guys still sell you software costing $$$ - with bugs.

So - why shouldn't you do as much as at least report the bug ?
I did, and I have no affiliation with PSM whatsoever.

I guess most people expect the world for a small change ($50 or so), while being ready to sue the council when slipping on a banana skin in a public place...

As a software developer myself, I am all for reporting bugs. I think it's a nice thing to do especially to support small authors.

However, what is not nice is the author's DEMAND from users to report bugs and bashing of those who do, but not in time for the latest release. Attitude in business can mean a lot.

Just my 2 cents.

UncleGene did exactly what he should do.  Tried out the software and gave feedback on his thoughts in a constructive manner.  If the problem is there, it is nice for the rest of us to know and determine if it is going to be a problem for us, and important for the developers to know to be able to fix the problem.  The fact that UncleGene was 'slapped on the hand' for providing feedback is quite surprising.

Seriously Dave...what's your problem?  so you don't like someone's version of constructive criticism?   who cares really...  you're here to flog your product and nothing else. 

to me, this is becoming some bad Irish joke.  (no offense to all our Irish friends here)

You happly sent me the links to download your product once again..  I've just tried it twice and I get the same message each time and I don't care which computer in my office I try..  everytime I try and open the .exe file I get " The setup files are corrupted.  Please obtain a new copy of the program."   here we go again!

Between your attitude towards photogs here and the fact I can't even get an uncorrupted setup file.. I'm suggesting to others ...  this my not be worth the headaches, but that's just my opinion.

If you can't get this part right.. I hate to think what the rest of the programs' like.

Good luck... I think you might need it.

Cheers,  JC