PMWall Dashboard & Runtime

Updated 2 weeks ago · 5 min readIntermediate

PMWall has four tabs: Dashboard, Runtime, Queue Management, and Settings. This article covers the first two, which is where you spend an event.

Start Mosaic sits in the window header and is available from any tab. While the mosaic runs it becomes Stop Mosaic.

Dashboard Tab

The Dashboard is where you choose and sync the event.

Event Management

Under Event Management, PMWall lists the Cloud events available to your account and license, with the prompt "Select an event to sync with the cloud." You will briefly see "Loading events...", or "No events yet" if the account has none.

If the event list cannot be reached, PMWall falls back to locally cached events. If that happens, check the internet connection, the account's access to the event, and the license status before continuing.

Syncing an Event

Select the event, then click Sync Event. Syncing:

downloads the event's settings from its Cloud PMWall template
refreshes the main image
prepares the local event folder under C:\PMWall\Events\
downloads gallery media according to your Settings > Cloud toggles

Stop Sync cancels a sync in progress.

Tip: Syncing and running are mutually exclusive. While the mosaic runs, the Dashboard shows "Stop the mosaic to sync event updates." and the button is unavailable. PMWall cannot apply a new template to a wall that is already building, so stop the mosaic, sync, then start again.

Destructive Changes

If a synced template changes the grid or the main image on an event that already has tiles placed, PMWall shows exactly what changed -- for example Grid: 50x50 -> 60x40 or Main image replaced -- and warns that all placed tiles will be cleared on the next start.

Declining keeps the previous settings intact; nothing is overwritten. Downloads are staged and only committed once you accept, so a declined or failed sync always leaves the event as it was.

The main image is compared byte for byte, so a changed image behind an unchanged URL is still caught.

Starting the Mosaic

Click Start Mosaic. PMWall validates the event first and refuses to start if something is wrong -- a missing main image, an invalid grid, or a contest with no winning tiles. It then moves you to the Runtime tab and begins cloud sync in the background.

If moderation is enabled, PMWall confirms that new raw photos will wait for approval.

Runtime Tab

The Runtime tab is the live view of the event.

Mosaic Preview

The wall as it builds. Before analysis completes it shows "Preview will appear after analysis starts."

Preview Layers changes how the preview reads:

Show Main Image -- Overlays the event's main image on the preview.
Image Above Tiles -- "On = above tiles. Off = below."

These affect only the on-screen preview. They do not change the tiles PMWall saves or exports.

Event Timer

Duration -- Total event length from the template.
Elapsed -- Time since Start Mosaic.
Cells Left -- Empty cells remaining.
Print Rate -- Current label throughput.

PMWall continuously compares remaining time against remaining cells at your configured label rate. When projected printing capacity falls below the cells still to fill, the event enters Critical mode. If Allow duplicate relaxation is enabled in the template, this is the only situation in which PMWall relaxes duplicate penalties.

If the clock reaches zero before the wall is full, the event continues in Overtime until it completes or you stop it.

Runtime Stats

Progress -- Share of cells filled.
Raw Seen -- Photos PMWall has ingested.
Accepted Placements -- Photos actually placed on the wall.
Skipped -- Photos not placed: duplicates, failures, or arrivals after a frozen wall.
Last Activity -- When the wall last changed.

Read these as a pair. If Raw Seen is flat, photos are not arriving and the problem is upstream in the booths or the Cloud event. If Raw Seen climbs but Accepted Placements does not, photos are arriving and being rejected -- most often a full and frozen wall, or photos waiting in moderation.

Runtime State

Runtime State reports what the engine is doing: idle, validating, analysing the main image, watching for raw photos, processing a tile, frozen, stopped, completed, or in error.

Frozen is a normal end state when the wall is full and the template's When the wall is full setting is Stop.

Resuming an Interrupted Event

If PMWall restarts mid-event, it shows Restoring Previous Session and reports Recovered Tiles as it rebuilds the wall from what is already on disk.

Resume works as long as the grid still matches. Changing Columns, Rows, or Cell output size makes the previous state unusable, and PMWall clears the placed tiles instead of resuming.

Runtime Printing

Auto-Print Labels -- "Send new labels to the printer or hot folder." Turn this on to print each tile as it is placed, so staff can build the physical board during the event. See Printing PMWall Mosaic Tiles and Labels.

Export Hi-Res

Export Hi-Res stitches every placed tile into a single high-resolution master, and Open output folder takes you to it. The export requires a completely filled wall. See Exporting the Final PMWall Mosaic.

Queue Management Tab

Monitors download, upload, and moderation activity for the selected event, with Media Download, Media Upload, and Moderation views. Covered fully in PMWall Queue Management and Moderation.

Settings Tab

Five panels: About, Cloud, Printer, Runtime, and Storage. See PMWall Settings Guide.