Foto Master

Running Your First Event with Photo Mosaic Wall

Updated 2 weeks ago · 6 min readBeginner

This guide covers a complete Photo Mosaic Wall activation using PMWall, the current Photo Mosaic Wall software for Windows.

A Photo Mosaic Wall event has two halves. You prepare the mosaic in Foto Master Cloud, where a PMWall template holds the main image, the grid, and every behaviour setting. You then run the event in the PMWall app on the event computer, which syncs that template, collects guest photos, and builds the wall live.

Because the template lives in the Cloud, you can prepare and approve an entire event before the event computer is on site.

Step 1: Prepare the Cloud Event and Template

Do this at least a day before the event so there is time to test.

  1. Log in to cloud.fotomaster.com.
  2. Create the Cloud event the activation will use.
  3. Open Presets, select PMWall, and click New Template.
  4. In Main Image & Grid, upload the Main Image the mosaic will reveal, then set Columns and Rows.
  5. In Event Behavior, set the Event duration and choose When the wall is full.
  6. Assign the template to the Cloud event and to the PMWall license used for the event.

Mosaic tiles are square, so the wall's shape is simply columns by rows. If the main image is a different shape, PMWall crops it to fit. Use Adjust framing in the template to choose that crop yourself rather than letting it happen automatically.

Grid size drives everything else: a 50x50 grid is 2,500 cells, which means roughly 2,500 guest photos to fill it. Match the grid to the guest count you actually expect.

For the full walkthrough of every tab, see Configuring PMWall Templates in Foto Master Cloud.

Step 2: Install and Activate PMWall

On the computer that will drive the display:

  1. Install PMWall and sign in with your Foto Master Cloud account.
  2. Select the PMWall license for this device and click Activate License.

A license is bound to a device, so activate on the machine that will actually run the event. See Getting Started with PMWall.

Step 3: Set Up Your Photo Source

Guest photos reach PMWall through the Foto Master Cloud event gallery. Any Foto Master capture product pointed at the same Cloud event will feed the mosaic:

You can also place image files directly into the event's raw folder under C:\PMWall\Events\, which is useful for imports from a USB drive or SD card.

In PMWall, open Settings > Cloud to control what moves between the app and the Cloud. Download Raw Photos is on by default and is what pulls gallery photos into the mosaic. Leave Upload Mosaic Tiles (Virtual Mosaic) on if the event also uses an online Virtual Mosaic.

Step 4: Sync the Event

  1. Open the Dashboard tab.
  2. Under Event Management, select the Cloud event.
  3. Click Sync Event.

Syncing downloads the template settings and the main image, and prepares the local event folder.

Tip: Syncing and running are mutually exclusive. While the mosaic is running, the dashboard shows "Stop the mosaic to sync event updates." Stop the mosaic first, then sync.

If you sync a template that changes the grid size or the main image after the wall already has tiles on it, PMWall warns you and lists exactly what changed. Accepting clears every placed tile on the next start, so settle grid and main-image decisions before the event rather than during it.

Step 5: Test Before the Event

  1. Add 10-20 test photos to the event.
  2. Click Start Mosaic. PMWall validates the event and switches to the Runtime tab.
  3. Confirm photos appear in Mosaic Preview and that Accepted Placements climbs under Runtime Stats.
  4. Check the mosaic on the actual screen you will use at the venue. Tile size and contrast read very differently on a 65-inch display than on a laptop.
  5. Click Stop Mosaic and clear the test photos so the wall starts empty.

If the mosaic will not start, PMWall reports the reason. See PMWall Troubleshooting.

Step 6: Pack Your Kit

  • Event computer with PMWall installed, licensed, and the event already synced
  • Large display or projector, plus the HDMI cable
  • Mosaic label printer, media, and spare rolls if you are printing tiles
  • Physical board and printed tiles if the activation includes one
  • Power strip and all power cables
  • Network hardware for the booths and the event computer
  • A backup copy of the main image

Because the template is stored in the Cloud, a replacement computer only needs PMWall, a sign-in, and a sync to be ready.

Step 7: At the Venue

  1. Position the display where guests can watch the mosaic fill throughout the event.
  2. Connect the event computer and open PMWall.
  3. Sync the event once more to pick up any last-minute template change.
  4. Confirm the booths are sending photos to the correct Cloud event.
  5. Send one test photo, confirm it lands on the wall, then remove it.
  6. Click Start Mosaic.

Step 8: During the Event

The wall fills on its own. Watch the Runtime tab:

  • Event Timer -- Duration, Elapsed, Cells Left, and Print Rate
  • Runtime Stats -- Progress, Raw Seen, Accepted Placements, Skipped, and Last Activity
  • Preview Layers -- Show Main Image and Image Above Tiles change how the preview reads from a distance

If Raw Seen stops climbing, the problem is upstream: check that the booths are still online and still pointed at the same Cloud event.

If the event uses moderation, approve incoming photos from the Queue Management tab. See PMWall Queue Management and Moderation.

Avoid changing settings mid-event. Engine settings are read once when the mosaic starts, so edits do not affect the running wall anyway.

After the Event

Export the Final Mosaic

Click Export Hi-Res on the Runtime tab, then Open output folder to collect the file. This high-resolution image is the main deliverable for your client. See Exporting the Final PMWall Mosaic.

Share the Guest Photos

Guest photos are in the Cloud event gallery, so you can share them with the client directly from Foto Master Cloud.

Publish the Virtual Mosaic

If the event includes Virtual Mosaic, guests can explore the finished wall online and find their own tile. See Configuring PMWall Virtual Mosaic in Foto Master Cloud.

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