Configuring PMWall Virtual Mosaic in Foto Master Cloud
Virtual Mosaic is the online, interactive version of a PMWall mosaic. Guests can explore the wall in a browser, find their own tile, and share it. It can also accept photo contributions directly, without any capture hardware on site.
Configure it from the Virtual Mosaic tab of the PMWall template in Foto Master Cloud, before assigning the template to an event.
Requirements
Virtual Mosaic is a paid account add-on. Without it the tab is locked, showing Virtual Mosaic Add-On Required and a View Add-On Options button, and Save Changes is disabled while you are on that tab.
For the mosaic the event computer builds to appear online, PMWall must publish its tiles. In PMWall, open Settings > Cloud and confirm Upload Mosaic Tiles (Virtual Mosaic) is enabled. It is on by default.
Before You Start
- A Cloud event that will use PMWall
- A PMWall template with the main image and grid already configured
- The Virtual Mosaic add-on active on the account
- Your guest contribution requirements, including which fields are visible or required
- Any terms, privacy, marketing, or notification consent text the event requires
- The event branding: accent colour and preferred fonts
Layout & Views
Controls which viewing modes are available and which interface elements appear.
- Available modes -- Choose from Classic (Deep Zoom), Living Wall (2D), and Curved Wall (3D). Pick at least one.
- Default mode -- The mode that opens first.
- Show mode switcher buttons -- Lets visitors change modes.
- Header (event name + counts) -- Shows the event name and the ready-versus-total tile count.
- Search bar -- Lets visitors search for tiles.
- Zoom controls (desktop) -- Desktop only.
- Fullscreen button -- Useful for large displays and kiosk screens.
- Contribute button -- Shows the contribution form.
- Sidebar (Latest tiles) -- Show sidebar, Expanded on mobile by default, and Max items (default 12).
The three modes look and perform very differently, and two of them need a capable GPU. Choose deliberately rather than enabling all three. See Virtual Mosaic Viewing Modes.
Keep controls minimal for unattended public displays. For an operator-run screen, enable what the operator actually needs.
Playback
Controls how the mosaic behaves on its own during a live event.
- Start auto-pop on page load -- Automatically highlights tiles in rotation. Default off.
- Default interval -- How long between highlights. Default 7000 ms.
- Selectable intervals -- The choices a viewer can pick from. Default 3000, 5000, 7000, 10000, and 15000 ms.
- Pause while searching -- Default on.
- Pause when a tile is open -- Default on.
- Reset timer on user click -- Default on.
- Show Story Mode button and Story Mode enabled on load -- Story Mode narrows the rotation to flagged tiles, such as contest winners, turning auto-pop into a curated tour.
- Search enabled, Dim non-matching tiles, Debounce, and Stale time.
Tip: Story Mode only does something while auto-pop is running. If you enable Story Mode but leave auto-pop off, nothing rotates.
Use slower intervals for presentations and faster ones for casual browsing.
Animations
Per-mode tuning for how the wall feels. The defaults are tested; change them only when you have a reason.
- Live drops -- Enable new-tile animations, Particles per drop, trail duration and jitter, and the NEW badge lifetime.
- Confetti -- Confetti enabled, Respect reduced motion, particle count, spread, gravity, and start velocity. Used when a contest winner is claimed.
- Living Wall -- Parallax strength, breathing amplitude, hover scale, magnet behaviour, and Shockwave on new tile.
- Curved Wall -- Arc curvature, cell size, tile gap, camera field of view, orbit controls, Cinematic reveal, and Idle auto-sway.
- Classic -- Composite tile size, maximum dimension, and zoom limits.
On low-powered venue hardware, reduce particle counts and disable the heavier motion effects.
Contribution Form
Enable this when guests should upload directly into the Virtual Mosaic.
- Allow contributions -- When off, the form never renders and uploads are rejected.
- Field rows for Your name, Story, Photo, Email, and Phone. Each has its own visibility, required flag, label, placeholder, and maximum length. The photo field is always visible and always required, since a contribution without a photo is meaningless.
- Consent & GDPR -- Terms consent with link text and URL, marketing opt-in, and notification opt-in, each with its own label and default state.
- Upload -- Accepted MIME types, Max size (default 8 MB), Final tile size (default 300 px), JPEG quality (default 90), Honor EXIF rotation, and Crop strategy: Attention (smart), Center, or Entropy.
Only mark a field required when it is genuinely needed. Shorter forms produce more submissions.
For public events, pair contributions with moderation in PMWall so nothing reaches a large display unreviewed.
Notifications
- Enable notifications -- Default off.
- When to send -- Immediately on upload, or After tile is visible on the wall (the default, and the more meaningful moment for a guest).
- Email and SMS channels.
- URL template -- The deep link sent to the guest, which can open the mosaic directly at their own tile.
- Animate to tile on open -- Flies the view to the guest's tile when they follow the link.
- Webhook URL -- For your own integrations.
Send notifications only when the notification consent option has been shown and accepted, or where your event's privacy workflow otherwise allows it.
Branding
- Accent color -- Drives highlights and primary interface accents.
- Sans font and Display font -- Google Fonts family names.
- Show "Added by {name}" -- Shows the contributor name on a tile.
- Show story in tile dialog -- Shows the contributor's story when a tile is opened.
These are per-event overrides. Your account-level White Label settings supply the defaults when these are left unset.
For sponsor and brand activations, confirm that displayed names and stories match the privacy expectations set with guests.
Performance
- Manifest refetch -- How often the player checks for new tiles. Default 3000 ms.
- Tile detail stale time -- How long tile details stay cached. Default 60000 ms.
- Respect reduced motion -- Honours the viewer's device accessibility preference. Default on.
On unstable venue internet, increase the refetch interval rather than leaving the player hammering a weak connection.
Test Before Publishing
- Save the PMWall template and assign it to the Cloud event.
- In PMWall, sync the event and confirm Upload Mosaic Tiles (Virtual Mosaic) is enabled.
- Start the mosaic and let a few tiles land.
- Open the Virtual Mosaic link on both desktop and mobile.
- Confirm the default mode opens correctly and performs acceptably on the venue's actual hardware.
- Submit a test contribution if contributions are enabled, and confirm the consent fields behave as configured.
- Confirm search, tile details, story display, and notifications.
- Remove test submissions before the event goes live.
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