Markzware Version Support List

The Markzware Version Support List is a regularly updated PDF file with all information about the Markzware products. It describes on which versions and platforms the plug-ins run, as well as which file formats are supported.

The Markzware Version Support List also shows the supported languages and includes all versions of the plug-ins that are available for purchase or rental.

The list can be downloaded as a PDF file directly from the Kursiv website using the navigation> Software solutions> Publishing> Version Support List (PDF) or via the button in this article.

 

Markzware products.

  • Q2ID
  • ID2Q
  • PDF2DTP
  • FlightCheck
  • MarkzTools

Markzware produces proven software products for the graphics industry: conversion solutions and preflighting software. These products are made by Italic software distributed for about 20 years. We can recommend the products completely.


FlightCheck and Q2ID now support QuarkXPress 2017

FlightCheck and Q2ID now support QuarkXPress 2017


29. May 2017In PublishingBy Karsten Risseeuw1 Minutes

Markzware has just updated two products: FlightCheck and Q2ID now support the new document format from QuarkXPress 2017.

It is such regular adjustments that make a conversion software or preflighting solution suitable for everyday use. Markzware always adapts its products to the latest changes. Anyone who has a subscription to one of the software solutions can download the latest version immediately via the personal download links.

FlightCheck Pro is software for checking document formats. This includes documents from XPress, InDesign and the like, as well as typical export formats such as EPS, PDF, PDF-X and others. FlightCheck Pro does not require any original software, but can check documents directly. Detailed reports are created. The tool is an indispensable aid for quality assurance both before and after the work on the documents.

Q2ID is a plug-in for Adobe InDesign, which can open documents from QuarkXPress. When the documents are opened, they are converted into a full-fledged InDesign document, which can then be edited with all InDesign tools.

 


FileMaker Pro 16

FileMaker released a major upgrade to its database software last night. All Kursiv products that were created on the basis of FileMaker Pro are compatible with the new version of FileMaker Pro 16. This concerns:

  • KIM Keywording
  • FM starter
  • FM registrations

None of our products already use the possibilities of the new software. However, the file format (FMP12) was retained. That is why all of our products run smoothly with the new version.

 


Optimize your keywording

How can you optimize your keywording?

Photographers, photo agencies, image researchers are all linked through information. Information about the images. Information describing the images. Keywording is key to sell, retrieve, find or manage photos, whether on sales platforms, in internal databases or elsewhere. Properly assigned keywords enable a photographer to communicate with the potential customer. The quality of keywording to a large extent defines the value of the images, as images which cannot be found logically have no value at all.

There seem to be endless possibilities to optimize your own keywording. Which optimizations though make sense? Take into consideration the platforms you will publish your images to, as these all come with certain functions which influence the way you (should) keyword. This becomes especially clear if you need to decide which keyword-variants should be added. Should you use singulars only, or add plurals as well? How about synonyms, declensions and word combinations (expressions)? Which ones add value and which are obsolete?

Differentiate

All the information you put together is meant to help the image researcher find the proper assets. Who is searching for "three kids" should be presented with a nice selection of children in a group of three. However, if the word "kid" or "kids" is not available, and you only can search for "child" or "children", the results returned might be zero. How to optimize this scenario? There are 2 options: Either by better keywording you have to add plurals and synonyms, or the search engine has some intelligent features and includes a synonyms database which is used during searching. As a rule of thumb: The less intelligence the search engine has, the more keywords should be added (and vice versa).

Experience shows that many image researchers only use few keywords to search with. If that search does not return results, it is quickly interpreted that no images are available – and people leave your website for other options. But probably you have the right images, and the researcher or client only struggles with wrong or insufficient keywords. People search differently. Good keywording acknowledges the different ways people search. To add synonyms can be a solution (add "kid" as a synonym to "child").

Not every keywording software allows to add plurals or synonyms. KIM Keywording works with a hierarchical keyword structure in which every position in the hierarchy has fields for singulars, plurals as well as synonyms.

Platform and image users

If you process images for several platforms you will see that these platforms frequently require different keywording approaches. Optimizing keywords for a specific platform can immediately increase sales or improve search results. Harmonizing keywording is a key to optimize search results. To do so you need to know what the requirements for each platform are.

Specialized archives or internal databases often need specific keywords to match the focus, topic or industry. There even can be phrases which have no use outside a company, but are essential within the company (for example: corporate wording, shooting references, the names of marketing campaigns, etc.). For these situations and to optimize keywording you need knowledge about the special words and phrases.

Criteria for exclusion

Keywording needs several components for a sound approach: An analysis of technical options, the differentiation in keywords used and so-called criteria for exclusion. Criteria for exclusion are words used to exclude certain images. A word like "nobody" (synonym: "noone") can be used to find images which have no people in it. This is a helpful word to exclude certain images from your search, which would be difficult to achieve otherwise.

A criterion for exclusion also can be a category. Let's say you want a team image, but not in a business setting, you would search for "team" and the exclusion criterion would be "business". The search results would then show you images of teams, but leave out all the business style images. To add categories (general keywords) to your keywording greatly improves the image searchers ability to limit search results to his needs. If and how it is possible to exclude keywords from a search is different from website to website. As a keyworder you should prepare for it.

Benefits of general keywords

To summarize our findings so far: A keywording optimization can be achieved by a well-differentiated set of keywords, which include descriptive and precise keywords (boy, keychain, beach house, running…) along with more general phrases (people, architecture, business, sport…). More general keywords greatly improve the quality of keywording as they help to narrow down search results. To use a software with a hierarchical keyword structure let's you add both types of keywords –entire strings– to your images.

Conceptional keywording

Apart from the description of the image content there are also conceptional keywords. "Retirement" or "health" are abstract keywords of this category. "Success", "Network", "Team" are more of these. Some conceptional keywords are easy to assign to certain images, while others are more difficult (though frequently the difficult ones are the important ones!).

Generally speaking the adding of conceptional keywords to images is tricky. It is not about what you see, but about how you interpret images. The interpretation of images though can change over time. A word like "modern" can be outdated in a few years. Conceptional keywords need a strategy, not just for the keywording itself, but also for maintenance over the years.

These thoughts are not complete and always must be evaluated against the background of your situation and needs. The following questions might help to get an evaluation started.

Evaluate the optimization

  • How intelligent is the search engine on your platform? Is there a database integrated which can cover declensions, synonyms, plurals and other linguistic specialties?
  • If you have some database included in your search engine: Which type of database and logic is used and can these databases be edited?
  • Do you need to add singulars, pluras, synonyms?
  • Do you have any internal phrases you need to include in your keywording (corporate wording, project names, etc.)
  • How long is the time span the images will be available for search? What is the best approach to make it work for that time span?
  • Do you have a keywording software which can cover your needs?

 

 

 

 

 


KIM Keywording 3.4 released

KIM Keywording 3.4 released


10. April 2017In KeywordingBy Karsten Risseeuw1 Minute

Today we released KIM Keywording 3.4. This upgrade has some minor bug fixes and also adds a new dropdown menu with special features for automated keywording.


FM Registrations: Create license keys for FileMaker solutions

FM registrations

Create license keys for FileMaker solutions

 

Kursiv Software has just launched a new product for Filemaker developers. FM Registrations is Filemaker-based software that allows developers to sell, market, and even configure their own Filemaker standard solutions more easily.

FM Registrations consists of a code generator and a sample file. The developer registers his own FileMaker solutions, licensees and license keys in the code generator. The example file shows how to register the decryption of the license codes in your own solutions.

 

More about FM registrations can be found on the website fmstarter.com :
http://fmstarter.com/portfolio/fm-registrations/

You can buy the software here:
https://kursiv-software.com/product/fm-registrations/

 

 


FlightCheck supports Adobe CC 2017

FlightCheck now supports Adobe CC 2017

 

Markzware has just released FlightCheck 7.80 for macOS with added support for Adobe CC 2017 including InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop. Current subscription holders can visit their License Link to get immediate access to the upgrade. Or purchase the subscription now and get access to a year's worth of upgrades.

FlightCheck secures your output, checks incoming files and keeps your workflow on a high-quality level. Avoid problems resulting from missing elements, false colors, and much more. FlightCheck does both preflighting and postflighting and supports all major document formats, including EPS, PDF and PDF-X.

 

 

 

 

 


Simplify Filemaker development

Simplify database development with Filemaker

 

Well over 25 million Filemaker Pro licenses sold in just a few years. That makes you sit up and take notice. Filemaker, an Apple subsidiary, develops high-performance database software that is sold worldwide in various language versions. It is likely to be one of the best-selling, if not the best-selling, database software in the world.

Filemaker shines with ease of use, good design options, and support for a wide variety of platforms (Mac, Windows, iOS, Web). This makes getting started with database development particularly easy. With the help of Filemaker, business processes can be efficiently mapped and structured.

Many users start with one of the sample files that Filemaker ships with the software. Indeed, solutions to simple tasks are readily available. However, if the requirements increase, more know-how is required. Either you build up the know-how in your own company, or an external developer is brought in. There is also a third option: Obtain a starter solution from an external developer. This accelerates your own development.

 

This simplifies database development

If you want to get the database development going quickly and easily, the use of a starter solution is also suitable. A starting solution is a Filemaker file that has already solved many standard tasks. As a starting point for your own database development, such help can drastically shorten the development time.

With FM starter Kursiv offers such a tried and tested starting solution. On the website www.fmstarter.com there is more information on this. The starting solution offers the following, already integrated modules:

  • Dynamic navigation
  • Multilingual user interface
  • Security settings
  • User accounts
  • Many other modules for searching, formatting phone numbers, etc.
  • Style templates
  • Separate windows for users, administrators and developers
  • Simple address database as an example of implementation

 

 

https://kursiv-software.com/product/fm-starter/

 

 

 


Your own keywording strategy

Development of your own keywording strategy

 

Anyone who wants to market their pictures well as a photographer has to take care of the keywording. Photos cannot be marketed without a description of the image and search terms. For many photographers this is not an enjoyable task, but a necessary evil. You didn't become a photographer for nothing, and not a taxonomy specialist.

But a virtue can be made out of necessity. Those who solve keywording efficiently are better off than those who solve it poorly or not at all. Efficiency means: the best result in the shortest possible time. Efficiency is favored by a simple strategy. If the software then supports this strategy, keywording can become a fruitful routine work.

 

In 3 steps to efficient keywording

  1. Create a description of the image
  2. Use the image description as a starting point for keywording
  3. Complete the most important standard terms

The image description is highly relevant for recording on Google and other search engines. A good description of the picture supports and simplifies the keywording. In KIM Keywording, our in-house keywording software, the image description can be evaluated with the wizard function. All words for which there are hits in the keyword database are displayed for selection - including the complete keyword structures. In KIM Keywording, creating an image description speeds up the keywording process. If anything is missing, please add the words. At the end you look for additional standard terms. In KIM Keywording, this is done with the QuickLists.

 

What are standard terms?

Standard terms are those that are used repeatedly for your images. Of course, there are big differences when you work as an outdoor photographer or as a museum photographer. Whatever is relevant to you should be readily available when you tag your images. Standard terms should also and especially be helpful for those who are looking for their pictures. There should also be auxiliary words to help narrow down the search results better. So these would be criteria for inclusion or exclusion.

Such terms are, for example

  • Thematically relevant: landscape types, age groups of people, activities that have been photographed a lot ...
  • Situational: indoor / outdoor, day / night, studio / event ...
  • Exclusive: Nobody (no people visible) ...
  • Dominant colors: blue, orange, green, multicolored ...
  • Frequently used names of events, people, buildings ...
  • Image properties: HDR, monochrome, vector graphics ...
  • Viewing angle: from above, from below, from the side, looking into the camera ...

Such words should be very easily accessible in your keywording software. So-called QuickLists are available in KIM Keywording, which can be freely filled with terms from the keyword structure. When applying, not only the one word, but also the hierarchical keyword structure is taken along. QuickLists are therefore always available and thus allow a high degree of consistency in terms of keywords.

 

Strategic approach

Anyone who proceeds strategically with keywording can achieve high quality by repeating the same process over and over again. You achieve efficiency by optimizing this process. The software can help with this, but it is equally important that you have a clear picture of what you want to achieve with the keywording.

  1. Who should find your pictures? How and what is searched for?
  2. On which platforms would you like to publish your pictures? What are the requirements for keywording?
  3. How should subsequent improvements be maintained?
  4. Which options should be taken into account for the future (multilingualism, data export)

Think results-oriented. You may need to adjust your keywording strategy for different projects. Do this if it improves the result. The photographer is not the user of the image. What the photographer thought of the picture is often of little relevance. The decisive factor is how the end user can find the image. If, for example, certain expressions apply within an industry or company culture, if certain abbreviations are used or if a certain language is spoken, then this should be taken into account in the keywording.

A bridge is built with keywording. It is the bridge between the image (the photographer) and the end user of the images. Keywording can be considered successful if the bridge can be used by many.

 

 

 


Workflow considerations for KIM Keywording

Workflow considerations for KIM Keywording

What kind of a keywording software is KIM Keywording? This is a question we frequently hear. People ask this because they already use several software solutions, and KIM Keywording does not replace any of those. Where does KIM Keywording fit your workflow?

Keywording for a specific purpose

It is important to understand that KIM Keywording has been designed for a specific purpose. It comes in after you have selected images for distribution, and before the distribution itself. It is a specialised tool, designed not to keyword all your images, but only for those photos you want to distribute. For this high-quality selection of photographs, you can add high-quality keywording with the help of KIM Keywording.

While KIM Keywording is a sophisticated keywording tool, it is certainly not an all-purpose tool. To throw a few keywords at an image and then to forget it, can be done with many software solutions. But as soon as certain demands are required, like working with a controlled vocabulary, creating consistent output with the help of hierarchical keyword structures, adding plurals and synonyms, perhaps even extra languages, this cannot be done with most photography applications.

KIM Keywording goes beyond the functionality of file browsers, creating a database for both your keyword structures and for the keywords you added to your images. KIM Keywording adds functionality, reliability and speed, to achieve high quality keywording in a short time.

Once keywording has been done, you can export complete metadata sets in a variety of formats. Photographers and photo agencies frequently use exported metadata files for distribution.

Consider KIM Keywording as a database for your best files, or for the files you choose to distribute. These are the images which are out in the wild, which are on partner websites, which you probably one day need to enhance, to update or which information you need to refine.

Keywording workflow

We assume you have a workflow in several steps:

  1. taking photos
  2. processing photos (add basic metadata, optimising photos, selecting photos)
  3. export for distribution
  4. distribution (or: upload)

KIM Keywording comes in between 3. and 4, which is after you exported to JPG, and before you send everything out to your partners or make an upload to your website.

Processing projects

KIM Keywording splits your keywording into projects. It is like all photos from an event or photo shoot, the selection made in august, or a series around a certain topic. To prepare a batch to upload, you load them into a KIM Keywording project. Every project status can thus be tracked, along with the keywording status for every single image. This allows you to start and complete different projects and see the progress.

KIM Keywording is a tool which also can help external keyworders to do the «job», as every job is a project. Files can be shared between KIM Keywording versions, allowing for external keyworders to receive, keyword and deliver their work in simple comprehensive files, regardless of the number of image records in those files.

KIM Keywording is a workflow tool as much as it is a keywording tool. If you have the need for well-structured keywording processes, this is your tool.

 

Do you have a different experience or see another application for this approach? Write your comments below.