= Frequently Asked Questions = [[PageOutline(2-3,,inline)]] ---- == Using the service == === May I use the screenshots of my own webpage for any purpose? === Yes, even for inclusion in closed, for-cost works. It would be nice if you'd mention that you used browsershots.org for the screenshots, but you don't have to. === Will this service remain free of charge? === Yes. For the foreseeable future, there will be free screenshots for everybody. You may have to wait in the queue when there's a lot of demand, or you can buy [http://browsershots.org/priority/ priority processing]. === How long will my screenshots stay on the server? === Old screenshots will be deleted when they haven't been accessed for a while. How long exactly depends on the number of new screenshots per day. As of December 2007, we have enough disk space to keep screenshots for '''two weeks''' after the last visit. This means that if you post a link to your screenshots on your blog, and people look at them again and again, the screenshots will stay on the server forever. If you want to have your screenshots removed, send email to [mailto:johann@browsershots.org johann@browsershots.org]. === Why are all browsers selected by default? === You're right that it would probably reduce the queue length if users would have to select each browser that they want to test. But the main goal of this project is to raise awareness for browser diversity. So I think it's better to have all browsers enabled by default and find other ways to reduce the length of the queue, like adding more screenshot factories. See HowToCreateNewShotFactory if you want to help. ---- == Troubleshooting == === Why don't I get any screenshots? === If the queue is very long, your screenshot requests may expire before they can be processed. The default expiration time is 30 minutes, but you can extend it with a button on the website overview page. Also, if your requested configuration is too specific (e.g. specific Flash or Java version) there may not be matching screenshot factories all the time. Try the '''Don't care''' setting for quicker results. === My menu appears twice in the screenshots. Why? === That's not a problem with your page but a side effect of the multi-page merging. The screenshots are taken one screen at a time, and then merged together to produce a tall screenshot. If your menu or background doesn't scroll with the rest of the page, it will appear multiple times. === My screenshots are only the size of one screen, but my page is longer. === Sometimes the automatic scrolling doesn't work. The reason could be that your page uses frames, or that it sets the keyboard focus to an input field with JavaScript. === Blocked by robots.txt === Browsershots respects the [http://www.robotstxt.org/orig.html robots.txt standard]. If you want, you can explicitly allow Browsershots by adding a section like this to the '''robots.txt''' file on your server: {{{ User-agent: Browsershots Disallow: }}} Some pages on browsershots.org are also protected, mainly to keep screenshot result pages out of search engines (see PrivacyPolicy). ---- == Running a screenshot factory == === I don't have Python on my computer. Can I still run a ShotFactory? === Python is included with recent versions of Linux and Mac OS, and on Windows it should be easy to install. If you really can't get Python to run on your computer, you could write your own screenshot factory in your favorite programming language, according to the FactoryInterface specification. === Where can I get a username/password for running a ShotFactory? === See HowToCreateNewShotFactory. The factory password is your user account password on browsershots.org. === Can I use my computer while the ShotFactory is running? === On Windows, the screenshot factory program uses the desktop, so you will have to stop it when you want to use the computer. On Linux, the program runs in the background and uses a VNC server for the screen. You can use your computer at the same time, and if the system load is over a configurable limit, the screenshot factory program will stop making screenshots until the system is idle again. The default load limit is 1.0, but you can change it with the command line option -l. On Mac, it's possible to run the screenshot factory in the background, using fast user switching and a separate user account. === xmlrpclib.!ProtocolError: === That's because the /RPC2 interface was for the old version 0.3 of Browsershots which moved to http://v03.browsershots.org/ for historic reference. The current version 0.4 uses http://api.browsershots.org/xmlrpc/ for the screenshot factory API. You should install a package with "0.4" in the name, or check out the [http://svn.browsershots.org/trunk/shotfactory/ trunk] from Subversion. === !RuntimeError: unsafe command 'C:\progra~1\mozill~2\firefox.exe' (on Windows) === For security reasons, the browser command must not contain whitespace or start with a drive letter. The purpose of this mechanism is to avoid commands like `format C:` or `C:\rootkit.exe`. The best solution on Windows is to install the browser in a subdirectory of the `shotfactory` folder, e.g. `shotfactory\firefox30`, then enter `firefox30\firefox.exe` in the browser command field. === !RuntimeError: unsafe command '/usr/bin/opera -newpage' (on Linux or Mac OS) === For security reasons, the browser command must not contain whitespace or start with a slash. The purpose of this mechanism is to avoid commands like `rm -rf /` or `/tmp/rootkit`. The best solution on Linux or Mac OS is to create a simple shell script with your desired options, make it executable (`chmod a+x`), put it somewhere on your PATH and then use the name of the shell script as the browser command. For example, you could save the following in `/usr/local/bin/opera-newpage` and then enter `opera-newpage` in the browser command field: {{{ #!sh #!/bin/sh /usr/bin/opera -newpage "$@" }}} === VNC server fails to start: Fatal server error: Couldn't add screen === This is possibly because you enabled 32 bits per pixel on the factory details page, but this bit depth is not supported by the VNC server. Remove the 32 bpp setting and use 24 bpp instead. You can try to run `shotfactory.py -vvv` (for very very verbose output) to see the exact commands that the shotfactory script is trying to run. ---- == Background info == === How did you come up with the idea? === I was inspired by the following existing services. One night in November 2004, I went to bed too early, and while I was lying awake, suddenly the distributed volunteer idea struck me. * [http://www.danvine.com/icapture/ Daniel Vine's iCapture] * [http://fundisom.com/g5/ lixlpixel Safari Screenshot Generator] * [http://www.browsercam.com/ BrowserCam] === How long has Browsershots been around? === Public beta test started in February 2005 ([http://v02.browsershots.org/blog/2005/02/ old blog entry]). The first public release (milestone:0.1.0) was in March 2005 ([http://freshmeat.net/projects/browsershots/?branch_id=56805&release_id=189 981 article on freshmeat]). See the [http://trac.browsershots.org/roadmap?show=all roadmap] for a release history. The project was rewritten completely between milestone:0.2.6 and milestone:0.3-alpha1, and again for milestone:0.4-beta1 (transition to the Django framework). === Where do you get all those different machines? === This is the one feature that sets this project apart from similar online services. The screenshots are made on distributed computers that are run by volunteers. You can see a list of [http://browsershots.org/factories/ active screenshot factories]. Most of these are normal desktop machines with domestic broadband internet. Distributed community processing ensures O/S and browser diversity, but it makes quality assurance much harder. See also DistributedArchitecture and FactoryInterface.