followup to "updates available killing current working install is a pain"

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mike_mccue
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Joined: 28.03.2015 18:03

followup to "updates available killing current working install is a pain"

Post by mike_mccue »

Hello,
Thank you for the suggestion that I can simply re-register my existing install.

Unfortunately, I have now run in to the bug which I commented on last year in the following forum post:

viewtopic.php?f=10&t=8577&p=17741#p17741

My properly registered Helicon install has just done a wonderful job of stacking a landscape image for me, but even now the DNG preview has a watermarked notice stuck upon it.

I posted a temporary solution for this problem 14 months ago. It will be nice if the problem is fixed so that it simply does not occur.

Thank you.
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mike_mccue
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Joined: 28.03.2015 18:03

Re: followup to "updates available killing current working install is a pain"

Post by mike_mccue »

Hello,
A follow up to my follow up: The work around solution using Adobe Camera RAW's "update jpeg preview" which I posted no longer seems to work. Perhaps something happened as Adobe Camera RAW was updated to it's final version last summer.

So, I am back to the original problem. For some reason Helicon "remembers" the stack of images. If I try to re-run Helicon on the same stack of files it continues to add the watermark to the DNG jpeg preview.

It just doesn't make any sense to me that after re-establishing the registration that Helicon continues to embed jpeg previews with watermarks on newly processed compilations from the same set of source files, and so I assume this can be fixed or maybe has been fixed with the latest update.
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mike_mccue
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Joined: 28.03.2015 18:03

Re: followup to "updates available killing current working install is a pain"

Post by mike_mccue »

A follow up to the follow up of the follow up:

I uninstalled Helicon 6.3.8 and installed the latest version 6.7.1. It says it is "Registered Pro unlimited". I ran the render on the same stack of files. I am not using a "project file", I am selecting the files and starting fresh each time.

After saving the rendered output as DNG the DNG jpeg preview still has the watermark plastered on top of it.

This problem is exclusive to processes run on a stack, or combination, of files that was previously run when Helicon wasn't registered. It does not occur with other combinations of source files.

This seems like a side effect of the copy protection and as a licensed user this seems like an annoyance.
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Stas Yatsenko
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Re: followup to "updates available killing current working install is a pain"

Post by Stas Yatsenko »

Indeed, that sounds like a programming error, but it's quite odd and I don't even understand how it's possible.
So, you're saying that if I render a stack without a license and save it to DNG, then register the program and render the same stack again, the result's embedded preview will be watermarked?
Is it on Windows or Mac?
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mike_mccue
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Joined: 28.03.2015 18:03

Re: followup to "updates available killing current working install is a pain"

Post by mike_mccue »

Hi Stas,
Thank you for your interest. Yes, I think you have understood what I was trying to say.

It is the same symptom I saw in April 2015, when I first transitioned from demo mode to being a licensed user.

For example;
Windows 7 Pro fully updated running on a i7 CPU with 16GB RAM etc.

Open images IMG_2345.CR2, IMG_2346.CR2, IMG 2347.CR2 and render a stack in an unlicensed install and save as DNG. The DNG includes a watermark.
(FWIW, I used the C algorithm)

Refresh license activation to Helicon

Open images IMG_2345.CR2, IMG_2346.CR2, IMG 2347.CR2 and render a stack in an licensed install and save as DNG. The DNG preview includes a watermark, but the actual DNG does not.

Try again and again and get the same result.

I have to use Adobe Camera RAW to re-save the DNG as a DNG with the "update jpeg preview" option to build a new jpeg preview that doesn't have a watermark.

The strangest thing is that I have tried varying the name of the DNG file that Helicon saves. In other words, this issue seems related to the selection of the source files rather than being associated with overwriting a previously created DNG. It even happens if I have deleted the previously saved DNG. Somehow Helicon "remembers" the combination of source files and tags subsequent renders of the same combination of source file with the watermark.

Thank you.
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Stas Yatsenko
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Re: followup to "updates available killing current working install is a pain"

Post by Stas Yatsenko »

Helicon Focus does not remember that. I suspect it's an internal feature of the Adobe DNG converter, in which case it might be difficult to circumvent. We'll take a look.
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