Frequently Asked Questions

This page contains answers to frequently asked questions we have received here at Snowbound Software.

What products does Snowbound Software offer?

We offer a continuously growing list of products. Currently we offer:

RasterMaster™ Imaging SDKs — Imaging Toolkits (Available for Java, Windows, .NET, and UNIX)

VirtualViewer™: Applet — Java-based configurable web viewer

VirtualViewer™: AJAX — Pure HTML web image viewer with Java servlet

VirtualViewer™: Java & .NET — Java-based Web imaging applet with server integration

VirtualViewer™ : for EMC Documentum Webtop — Java-based Web imaging applet with server integration designed to work with Documentum Webtop

SnowBatch — Rapid conversion application for Windows

How do I buy Snowbound Software products?

You may purchase products directly from Snowbound or you may buy them through a reseller. Please note that most resellers cannot stock all our different products and will have to order from us upon your order.

We accept credit cards, checks, or wire transfers (or purchase orders from approved accounts). Since we offer no cost or low cost evaluations, we cannot accept returns once a product is purchased.

You may order by calling (617 607-2010) , fax (617 607-2002) , or submit a request form.

How are Snowbound Software products shipped?

We ship our products as a "Developer's Version" or as "Distribution version".

When you purchase a developer's SDK, a developer's version banner/dialog box is displayed which must be interactively released. This may be a problem for customers creating server based applications. If you purchase a distribution license, the banner is completely eliminated.

We also offer evaluation software. It is distinguished by an evaluation banner and an expiration date. Additionally a "Demo message" or an X appears across image processed by the Library. Please note that Platinum product performance is slowed in comparison to the full product due to the displayed X.

What should I do before reporting an issue?

The first thing to do is make sure that it is an issue. Try the following:

Read the manual. Many problems are the result of an oversight or incomplete understanding of the library functions.

Try rebooting your machine.

File a problem report from our Web site's tech support area

If you think we're reading an image format incorrectly, is it all the images of that type or just one of many? (Usually points to a problem other than the library) If it is only one image, please submit it through our on-line support system with a description of the problem.

If you have problems with your code that you believe is a problem with our library, create a small code sample that reproduces that issue and submit to our support system.

When can I expect you to resolve my issue?

Our goal is to minimize or eliminate issues. We quickly correct all issues that we can reproduce (see the previous question for tips). Once you have tried the suggestions above and created a sample that reproduces the problem we will make every effort to quickly resolve your issue.

How do I report a issue?

We recommend that you file a support problem report from our Web site.

In order to help you as quickly as possible, please provide us with a method or simple description on how to reproduce the issue. If you're providing a sample, that method must be a small sample program. Sending us an entire application and asking us to debug it is impractical and will delay response to you.

If specific hardware that we don't have is required to reproduce the issue, we may ask you to lend it to us so that we can correct the problem.

Why is the Group 4 image format found in TIFF, CALS and other formats useful?

Group 4 is the most popular and efficient bitonal (black and white) image compression format. It does a very good job with compression. Very fast algorithms exist for display and manipulation.

Why use JPEG?

JPEG is the most powerful color image compression method available today. Many people are concerned that it is a lossy format, meaning that image information is discarded when converting a raster image to JPEG. However, the information that is discarded is usually in chrominance and luminance information and is generally not visible to the naked eye when displayed. Because the user has control of the amount of loss, JPEG is one of the few formats that permits the user to control the compression ratio of the information. Thus permitting great compression if you are willing to sacrifice some image quality.

GIF and/or TIFF-LZW Issues

GIF is an 8- bit palette format and includes transparent, inter-laced and animated GIF variations. TIFF-LZW is part of the TIFF specification. These formats were patented by Unisys Corporation. That patent has now expired.

What is PNG?

PNG is a multi-purpose raster format designed by an industry consortium to replace GIF and TIFF-LZW. It offers a variety of bit depths including 4-bit, 8-bit and 24-bit. The latest browsers now read PNG, as well as JPEG and GIF. RasterMaster writes PNG image files, permitting you to read a variety of file formats and output them as PNG or JPEG, for use on the Internet.

What is JBIG?

JBIG is a popular format that offers compression of bitonal images that is 20-40% better than Group 4 (currently the best popular bitonal compression format). Its main drawback is that few imaging applications currently support it.

What is ABIC?

ABIC is an IBM proprietary check imaging format available for Windows and Java platforms.

What is a 24-bit True Color image?

True color images, as defined in the industry today, are images for which each pixel is described by three bytes - one byte each for Red, Green and Blue. This gives each pixel the capability of being one of 16+ million colors. In general this is the most accurate method of storing color images today. JPEG, PNG, TIFF and Targa are some of the popular 24-bit image formats.

What is a palette image?

Palette images are images stored in a format that is not bitonal (black or white) and not 24-bit true color. Typically each pixel in an image is described by an 8-bit value referencing a palette of 256 possible colors. Palettes can be created or optimized for specific types of images. GIF, PNG (8-bit) and TIFF (8-bit) are some of the most popular and common palette image formats.

How do I use RasterMaster to merge images?

RasterMaster has the capability to merge two or more bitmap images. Consult our manual or contact our technical support staff.

How do I handle ASCII text input?

You can use RasterMaster to create an image file from text input. RasterMaster will automatically rasterize any ASCII file you specify as input. You can also control the font type and other page properties. Additionally, our annotation options permit the creation of text or graphic overlays to an underlying image.

Is the annotation specification documented?

In order to insure that our customers keep their migration paths open, Snowbound Software fully documents and releases the specifications to its annotation format.

What does it mean when I get an invalid (negative) image handle?

Negative value provided. Needs to be zero.

What happens if my TWAIN image scanner doesn't work with RasterMaster?

You may need to replace your driver or contact us. Not all Twain drivers are written equally - many do not implement the full Twain specification. We code our Twain interface to the industry standard Twain 1.7 — not to any specific scanner.

How Do I Update (maintenance release) my Snowbound Product?

Snowbound posts product updates from time to time on our website in the form of updated evaluations. If you want to try the latest update, simply contact us for a password and then download the latest version.

To enable the downloaded evaluation, you will need to request a serialized version of your product. You will need to be a participant in one of Snowbound's maintenance programs or you will need to purchase an upgrade.

What raster formats are supported by Snowbound Software?

We support over 100 raster and document formats. View a complete listing.

How Does RasterMaster support the Adobe PDF format?

RasterMaster currently writes Adobe PDF format files that include embedded raster images. You can use this capability to create files that any PDF reader can view. Note that we output only raster image PDF (not text or vectors). RasterMaster also reads these type of PDF images. We also offer the ability to read full PDF. This an added cost option to RasterMaster.

How Does MFC work with Snowbound Products?

Snowbound libraries work well with MFC. Examples of how to call our libraries from MFC are available with the evaluation.

How Does Delphi work with Snowbound Products?

Snowbound libraries work well with Delphi. Though the ActiveX/OCX components are easier to install, the DLL components may be used as well. Examples provided with the evaluations.

What display quality should I use for my images?

The best display quality depends on the type of image being viewed. For 24 bit images displayed on a 256 color adapter the default behavior is to convert the image at display time to 256 colors using a simple Bayer matrix dither. You can change this to a better quality diffusion dithering using the IMGLOW_set_dithermode(). This will however take a little longer to display.

By far the best quality for 24 bit images can be obtained using the IMG_octree_color() function call. Use 236 for the number of colors to optimize to. This call will permanently change the image to an 8 bit image so you need only call the function once. The image will contain an optimized palette so you will only be able to display on quality image at a time.

For bi-level or 1 bit per pixel images set the IMGLOW_set_alias() to a value of 2 for scale to gray or 1 for preserve black. Large images at 200 dpi or larger must be scaled to fit on a standard resolution monitor. The default scaling will skip pixels such that small lines or details may be ignored. When aliasing is turned on the scaling algorithm looks at neighboring pixels so to try and preserve details that might normally be lost. The scale to gray converts the neighboring pixels to a 8 bit gray scale value. Best results are obtained on text type documents. The preserve black creates a 1 bit pixel based on neighboring pixels. This has been found to work well on large engineering type drawings. It is suggested to try both to see what yields the best results on the type of images you are using.

Can I import ASCII files?

All file formats in the RasterMaster products can be disabled or enabled using the IMGLOW_set_auto_detect() or the IMGLOW_unset_auto_detect() functions. By default all filters except ASCII are turned on. At decompress time the file format must be determined to know what filter to call. The formats are automatically detected. The ASCII format is hard to detect so by default it is turned off. To enable call IMGLOW_set_auto_detect(ASCII).

What file formats can I convert?

The RasterMaster products support over 100 file formats. Many of these formats such as TIFF are very broad in the internal support of compression and bit depths. Not all formats can support all bit depths. When saving to a format if the error returned is PIXEL_DEPTH_UNSUPPORTED (-21) then the output format does not support the current bits per pixel of the image you are trying to save. A common is converting TIFF G4 images to JPEG or GIF. See the cross reference in our manual for the pixel depths each format supports. The good news is RasterMaster contains functions to convert back and forth to any pixel depth. For converting pixel depths upwards use the IMG_promote_8() or IMG_promote_24() to convert any pixel depth to 8 or 24 bits. To convert from 24 or 8 bits to 1 bit use IMG_diffusion_mono(), IMG_bayer_mono() or IMG_halftone_mono(). Each uses a different algorithm so the results you get depend on the image type you are using. It is suggested to try all three.

Which compression format should I use?

Most of the best compression algorithms compress a specific type of image data only. Compression techniques for 24 bit color images usually will not work well on 1 bit or bi-level images. Similarly compression for 1 bit images will not compress well for 24 bit color images. In the RasterMaster product line the JPEG format will work best for 24 bit color or 8 bit gray scale images. The Tiff G4 works best on 1 bit bi-level images.

How do I install and distribute an ActiveX/OCX?

An ActiveX/OCX is a module based on Microsoft’s Object linking and embedding technology. One of the major features of an OCX is its ability to be used by a number of development environments. When first used an OCX must be registered. This can be done in the development environment or by the regsvr32.exe utility. The syntax is regsvr32 /v snbd7ocx.ocx. For Visual Basic, select the TOOLS menu option then Custom Controls menu option. Select browse to find and select the RasterMaster OCX. One of the main problems that arises when trying to distribute a program utilizing an OCX is the message: Load library failed or Library not found. This is due to one of more of the following DLL's not present in the \Windows\system directory.
ole32.dll
msvcrt20.dll
msvcrt40.dll
mfcans32.dll

When programming the OCX you may get the following message. "Developers version only". This is due to the snbdocx.lic file not being present in the same directory as the OCX. You should not distribute this file with your application.

What does it mean when RasterMaster can't read an image?

Our RasterMaster products read over 100 formats including industry popular ones such as PTOCA, MO:DCA, AFP, PCL, PDF, CMYK, JEDMICS, DWG, HTML and others. We also have optional versions that read proprietary formats such as IBM's ABIC for check imaging or Microsoft Word and Excel. Additionally we keep enhancing our format support. If your current Snowbound product can't read an image, you may have an old version that is not quite up to date (we remain busy adding additional formats).

Currently RasterMaster does not read some vector formats like CAD images.

If you do find a format that we don't read, you may also contact sales and we will examine the issue. If it is a custom format, we offer customization services to read such formats.

What Java JVM or JRE is required by Snowbound's RasterMaster and VirtuaViewer reading products?

Snowbound's Java technology for PDF (Adobe Acrobat) reading requires a JVM or JRE that is version Email Signature Template 1.4.2_10 or better and we recommend JRE 1.5.

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