PMWall Settings Guide
PMWall has two layers of settings: Event Settings (configured in Foto Master Cloud per event) and Global Settings (configured locally in the PMWall app). This guide covers both.
Event Settings (Cloud-Side)
Event settings are configured in the Foto Master Cloud dashboard when creating or editing an event. They're delivered to PMWall as a settings.json file during sync.
For the Cloud-side setup workflow, see Configuring PMWall Templates in Cloud. If the event also uses the online Virtual Mosaic player, see Configuring PMWall Virtual Mosaic in Cloud.
Grid Configuration
- Columns -- Number of horizontal tiles (e.g., 50)
- Rows -- Number of vertical tiles (e.g., 50)
- Cell output size -- Pixel dimensions of each tile in the final output
Tip: Choose grid dimensions that match your display's aspect ratio. A 16:9 display works best with grids like 80x45 or 64x36.
Experience Settings
- Event duration -- Total runtime in minutes
- Participation mode:
- Best Effort -- Grid fills sequentially. Once full, no more photos accepted.
- Guaranteed Visible -- Every valid photo is guaranteed at least one visible appearance. The algorithm dynamically replaces tiles to accommodate all participants.
- Min visible seconds -- Minimum time a photo stays visible before it can be replaced (Guaranteed Visible mode)
- Freeze when full -- Stop updating tiles once the grid is completely filled
- Process existing raw on start -- Include photos already in the raw folder when runtime starts
- Accept duplicates -- Allow the same photo to be placed multiple times
Tile Processing
- Crop mode:
- Smart -- AI-driven cropping that detects faces and key content
- Center -- Standard center crop
- Safe -- Conservative crop preserving maximum content
- Face crop bias -- How much weight to give detected faces when cropping (0-1)
- Upper third bias -- Preference for the upper portion of the image (follows rule of thirds)
Matching Algorithm
- Color importance -- Weight for color matching against the target image (0-1)
- Detail importance -- Weight for texture/detail matching (0-1)
- Duplicate avoidance -- How aggressively to prevent adjacent duplicates (0-1)
- Face area preference -- Preference for placing face photos in important mosaic areas (0-1)
Blending
Four independent blending zones, each with mode and strength:
| Zone | What It Controls |
|---|---|
| Background | Areas behind the main subject in the target image |
| Object | The main subject/logo elements |
| Skin | Skin-tone areas (for portrait-based mosaics) |
| Face | Facial features requiring careful handling |
- Blending strength -- How much to tint tiles toward the target color (0 = no tint, 1 = full tint)
- Colorization -- Overall color adjustment intensity
- Alpha look -- Transparency blending behavior
Global Settings (Local)
Global settings are configured in the PMWall app's Settings tab and saved to C:\PMWall\appsettings.json.
Cloud Settings
- Cloud connection -- Managed by the PMWall installer and support team. Change connection details only when instructed by Foto Master support.
- Upload Final Photos -- Upload final processed tiles to Cloud
- Upload Raw Photos -- Upload raw incoming photos to Cloud
- Download Final Photos -- Download processed tiles from Cloud
- Download Raw Photos -- Download raw photos from Cloud
Enable Upload Final Photos when the online Virtual Mosaic should be populated by PMWall output. Enable Upload Raw Photos only if the original incoming photos should also be available in the Cloud gallery. The download controls are for pulling existing Cloud gallery media into the local PMWall event; they do not publish the local mosaic back online.
Printer Settings
- Connection mode:
- Windows Driver -- Standard Windows printer
- FMPrint -- Cloud-based printing via FMPrint
- Hot Folder -- Output to a watched folder for external print systems
- Label dimensions -- Width and height in the configured unit
- DPI -- Print resolution
- Orientation -- Portrait or landscape
- Compatibility mode -- Adjust for printer-specific quirks
- Throughput -- Expected labels per minute (default: 120, used for timing calculations)
Storage Settings
- Auto-delete enabled -- Automatically remove old event data
- Auto-delete after days -- Retention period (default: 30 days)
- Enable system log -- Turn on diagnostic logging
- Log categories -- Filter which log categories to record (Startup, Crash, Settings, Network, Licensing, Cloud, Storage)
Advanced Settings
- Coarse matching threshold -- Perceptual hash sensitivity for initial matching pass
- Debug output -- Enable placement CSV logs, zone maps, and score overlays for troubleshooting
Related Articles
Was this helpful?
Related articles
Configuring PMWall Templates in Foto Master Cloud
PMWall templates let you prepare a Photo Mosaic Wall event from Foto Master Cloud before the event computer is on site. The template controls the mosaic target image, grid, event b
Creating a PMWall Print Board File for Your Print House
Use the PMWall Print Board generator when your event needs a physical board with printed tile cells. The board PDF is created from the same grid settings used by the PMWall templat
PMWall (Photo Mosaic Wall) Overview
PMWall is Foto Master's next-generation Photo Mosaic Wall software for Windows. It transforms individual guest photos into tiles that are intelligently placed into a large-scale mo
Getting Started with PMWall
This guide walks you through setting up PMWall and running your first photo mosaic event. Prerequisites Windows 10 x64 or later Foto Master Cloud account with a Photo Mosaic Wall l
Configuring PMWall Virtual Mosaic in Foto Master Cloud
Virtual Mosaic is the online, interactive version of a PMWall mosaic. It can show the mosaic in multiple viewing modes, accept guest contributions, highlight new tiles, display con