FAQ / Help pages - Troubleshooting
Animation not showing after download
We've received some emails from people having difficulty viewing downloaded animations.
(If you're using Glitterboo on an iPad/iPhone, check the answer here.)
When you download an image from Glitterboo, it will often open in a separate image viewer, instead of being displayed in the web browser. Although all web browsers support animations, not all image viewers support playback of animated .gif files.
If you can see the animation in the "Animation preview" window of Glitterboo, but not in the downloaded file, then your image viewer does not support animated gifs.
If you're using a Mac, check the following page for a solution: How to view animated GIF images on a Mac.
If you're using Windows or another OS, you can either set .GIF files to open using a web browser (in Windows Explorer, My Computer or My Documents/My Downloads, right-click on any .gif file, then "Properties", then "Open With" and select Internet Explorer or another browser), or you can use an image viewer that supports animation, such as FastStone Image Viewer or IrfanView.
(IrfanView may play animations at a slightly slower speed than normal).
(If you're using Glitterboo on an iPad/iPhone, check the answer here.)
When you download an image from Glitterboo, it will often open in a separate image viewer, instead of being displayed in the web browser. Although all web browsers support animations, not all image viewers support playback of animated .gif files.
If you can see the animation in the "Animation preview" window of Glitterboo, but not in the downloaded file, then your image viewer does not support animated gifs.
If you're using a Mac, check the following page for a solution: How to view animated GIF images on a Mac.
If you're using Windows or another OS, you can either set .GIF files to open using a web browser (in Windows Explorer, My Computer or My Documents/My Downloads, right-click on any .gif file, then "Properties", then "Open With" and select Internet Explorer or another browser), or you can use an image viewer that supports animation, such as FastStone Image Viewer or IrfanView.
(IrfanView may play animations at a slightly slower speed than normal).
I can't add sparkles or an effect where I want to
If you're using the default selection marker, and you're having difficulty getting anything to appear in your selected areas after pressing the "Apply" button, you may be
using an image where there is not enough contrast (or light/dark areas) in the selected areas.
You can try switching to the pen tool, and highlight the areas which are causing problems. The pen tool will add effects at any selected area, regardless of the underlying contrast at that part of the image. The downside is that you may need to take more care when selecting the areas to apply it to.
Note that with either selection tool, you can also try reducing the "Max Size" slider to make the effects smaller and more uniformly spread out, and also try increasing the "Intensity" slider.
Please also see the How it works and Large image sizes for more details.
You can try switching to the pen tool, and highlight the areas which are causing problems. The pen tool will add effects at any selected area, regardless of the underlying contrast at that part of the image. The downside is that you may need to take more care when selecting the areas to apply it to.
Note that with either selection tool, you can also try reducing the "Max Size" slider to make the effects smaller and more uniformly spread out, and also try increasing the "Intensity" slider.
Please also see the How it works and Large image sizes for more details.
I don't see any effects at all after I download the image
If you use the "Clear All" button to clear the selection before downloading, no effects will be applied to the image.
Instead, try using the "Hide Selection" button if you need to see what the image looks like without the selection overlay. The overlay is just a part of the editing screen, and won't appear in the downloaded image or animation.
Instead, try using the "Hide Selection" button if you need to see what the image looks like without the selection overlay. The overlay is just a part of the editing screen, and won't appear in the downloaded image or animation.
The page gets stuck at "Setting up image"
This can happen when there is a connection problem between your computer and the Glitterboo website.
If this happens constantly, and you're in an office or school with a firewall, you may need to ask your IT dept. to check that AJAX requests to glitterboo.com are not being blocked. If this is happening, you may see something like a "403 Forbidden" error message in the web browser JavaScript console after uploading an image.
If this is just happening intermittently, it may be because you're on a wireless connection and have a poor signal. You can also try to force a reload of the editing page by holding down shift and pressing the Reload button.
In rare cases, there may be a problem with a particular browser installation. You can try using a different web browser if the other options do not work.
If you are encountering this problem and need further assistance, please contact us with details.
If this happens constantly, and you're in an office or school with a firewall, you may need to ask your IT dept. to check that AJAX requests to glitterboo.com are not being blocked. If this is happening, you may see something like a "403 Forbidden" error message in the web browser JavaScript console after uploading an image.
If this is just happening intermittently, it may be because you're on a wireless connection and have a poor signal. You can also try to force a reload of the editing page by holding down shift and pressing the Reload button.
In rare cases, there may be a problem with a particular browser installation. You can try using a different web browser if the other options do not work.
If you are encountering this problem and need further assistance, please contact us with details.
Where do my images or videos/animations go after I download them?
This depends on how your computer and web browser is setup, but for Windows PCs, files are usually saved in the 'Downloads' folder within 'My Documents'.
An easy way to see all of your downloads is to press Ctrl-J when using your browser. You can then see a list of downloads, and should be able to click on "Show in Folder" to open the folder where they were downloaded to.
For iPad/iPhone, images and animations are saved to your Photos app, and videos to your Videos app. (See also here for more details about downloading when using iPhone/iPad.)
An easy way to see all of your downloads is to press Ctrl-J when using your browser. You can then see a list of downloads, and should be able to click on "Show in Folder" to open the folder where they were downloaded to.
For iPad/iPhone, images and animations are saved to your Photos app, and videos to your Videos app. (See also here for more details about downloading when using iPhone/iPad.)
I posted an animation on Facebook but it doesn't work
For a long time, no animated images would play when posted to Facebook. However, they have recently started supporting animated images in a limited way.
To have animated gif images play on Facebook, you need to post a link to the image, instead of directly uploading the image itself. This means that you can't play animated files in your photos for example, but you can paste a link to an animation in a post or comment and Facebook should play it back.
To get the correct link to paste, we suggest using the Imgur upload button in the Download options box, and then copying the "Image URL/Direct link" code. You can then paste this into a Facebook post.
However we still recommended downloading from Glitterboo in MP4 video format when sharing on Facebook.
You can then easily post the video to other sites and apps such as YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp etc. without problems.
On Facebook, the video will even automatically start playing when in view (however you will usually need to press the HD button to see the HD version, unless you've changed this in your Facebook settings page to always view the HD version).
To have animated gif images play on Facebook, you need to post a link to the image, instead of directly uploading the image itself. This means that you can't play animated files in your photos for example, but you can paste a link to an animation in a post or comment and Facebook should play it back.
To get the correct link to paste, we suggest using the Imgur upload button in the Download options box, and then copying the "Image URL/Direct link" code. You can then paste this into a Facebook post.
However we still recommended downloading from Glitterboo in MP4 video format when sharing on Facebook.
You can then easily post the video to other sites and apps such as YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp etc. without problems.
On Facebook, the video will even automatically start playing when in view (however you will usually need to press the HD button to see the HD version, unless you've changed this in your Facebook settings page to always view the HD version).
Animation doesn't play smoothly in web browser
Some web browser can't play large animated gif files very well. This depends on the browser, the image resolution, and your system setup, however in general, we think that image sizes greater than for example, 1280x800 pixels will be more likely to see stuttering playback (on laptops and desktops).
Mobile devices such as tablets and phones can often have problems playing back large animations at a fast enough speed. We suggest using video downloads instead for best playback compatibility across mobile devices.
Other factors to consider if you're seeing slow playback on a desktop or laptop computer:
Background activity such as disk access can cause jittery playback. You might want to check if a virus scan or file backup or copying in the background is slowing down your system.
If you notice a lot of disk access or temporary slowdown when switching between different browser tabs for example, you might benefit from either adding extra memory, or closing some browser tabs or other programs.
For large image animations that require more system resources to playback, having the animation automatically resized to fit the browser window may cause some lag. You can usually click on the animation while playing to zoom in to full size. Ideally, download an animation size that fits your display requirements without resizing.
Some web browsers may have specific issues with large animations - here is a possible workaround for slow animations in Google Chrome browser. Alternatively, try using a different browser.
Try playing the animations in a dedicated image viewer, instead of a browser window, the performance may be better.
Generally speaking, videos will perform better at high resolutions, and they will also usually have better image quality. However an animated gif file may have an overall smaller file size.
Mobile devices such as tablets and phones can often have problems playing back large animations at a fast enough speed. We suggest using video downloads instead for best playback compatibility across mobile devices.
Other factors to consider if you're seeing slow playback on a desktop or laptop computer:
Background activity such as disk access can cause jittery playback. You might want to check if a virus scan or file backup or copying in the background is slowing down your system.
If you notice a lot of disk access or temporary slowdown when switching between different browser tabs for example, you might benefit from either adding extra memory, or closing some browser tabs or other programs.
For large image animations that require more system resources to playback, having the animation automatically resized to fit the browser window may cause some lag. You can usually click on the animation while playing to zoom in to full size. Ideally, download an animation size that fits your display requirements without resizing.
Some web browsers may have specific issues with large animations - here is a possible workaround for slow animations in Google Chrome browser. Alternatively, try using a different browser.
Try playing the animations in a dedicated image viewer, instead of a browser window, the performance may be better.
Generally speaking, videos will perform better at high resolutions, and they will also usually have better image quality. However an animated gif file may have an overall smaller file size.
Why is my image low quality after downloading?
You're probably downloading an animation (GIF file) instead of a static image (JPEG file) or video (MP4 file).
A problem with all GIF files is that they only support a maximum of 256 colors. When using photos especially (as opposed to drawings), this can lead to lower quality looking images. If you can use a video download instead, they don't suffer from this restriction.
See also Why do my animations have a grainy texture or visible banding?
A problem with all GIF files is that they only support a maximum of 256 colors. When using photos especially (as opposed to drawings), this can lead to lower quality looking images. If you can use a video download instead, they don't suffer from this restriction.
See also Why do my animations have a grainy texture or visible banding?