Lightbox. Find files faster.

System Requirements
What's New in Lightbox 3.0
File Formats and Thumbnails
Increasing Your Productivity
Using Lightbox with Popular Applications
Lightbox vs. Competitive Products
Corporate Users
Software Vendors: Add Lightbox to your Product today!

If you have further questions regarding Lightbox, then please visit our Support page.

System Requirements

What operating systems does Lightbox run on?

Lightbox works on Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Home, Windows 2000, Windows Me and Windows 98SE.

What else do I need on my computer to run Lightbox?

To view thumbnails of web files such as HTML files, you will need to have Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher installed on your computer. You can download the latest version of Internet Explorer from http://www.microsoft.com.

To view thumbnails of Adobe Illustrator (AI), Adobe Acrobat (PDF) and Encapsulated PostScript files (EPS), you must have Ghostscript 8.0 installed on your computer. This is a free download from http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/ghostscript/gs800w32.exe?download.

To view thumbnails of streaming media files such as MPEG and Windows Media files (WMV, etc.), you must have Microsoft DirectX 8.0 or higher installed on your computer. This is a free download from http://www.microsoft.com.

You must have at least 15MB hard disk space to install Lightbox.

It is recommended that you have set your screen graphics resolution to 16 bit, 24 bit or 32 bit color.

It is recommended that you have an internet connection to use Lightbox's Auto Update feature to get free updates.

What's New in Lightbox 3.0

RAW digital camera file support for over 50 digital camera models

Adobe Illustrator (AI) file support. View thumbnails, full-sized images and meta data

Adobe Acrobat (PDF) file support. View thumbnails and meta data

Encapsulated PostScript (EPS, PS) file support. View thumbnails, full-sized images and meta data

Macromedia Shockwave Flash file support now reads v4, v5 and v6 Flash files. View animated thumbnails and meta data

EXIF file support enhanced to read more EXIF, IPTC and Maker Notes from JPEG, TIF and RAW files

Multi-page TIFF files can be viewed in Lightbox Instant Viewer

Dual monitor support has been added for users of multi-monitor workstations

UNC network file browsing is now fully supported for browsing across corporate networks

Favorites can now be ordered on Lightbox toolbar for faster recall of favorite folders

File Formats and Thumbnails

What file formats does Lightbox support?

Lightbox contains support for browsing over 150 file formats, including image file formats, digital camera RAW formats, video file formats, audio file formats, web file formats, and document file formats.

Lightbox creates visual thumbnails for most of these 150 file formats. Where it is not able to create a visual thumbnail, Lightbox displays the associated icon for this file format on your computer.

View the File Support page to view all file formats supported.

Can Lightbox read and display digital camera images?

Yes. Lightbox reads and displays EXIF images (JPEG and TIFF). It also reads and displays RAW images from over 50 digital cameras.

Lightbox can read thumbnails directly from EXIF and RAW image files for very fast thumbnailing. It also extracts and displays EXIF, IPTC and various Maker Notes meta data information from EXIF and RAW files.

View the What's New page for more information.

Where are all the thumbnails stored on my computer?

Lightbox creates temporary thumbnail files and stores them on your computer so that file viewing is as fast as possible.

You have full control of the creation of temporary thumbnail files. You can specify the location where these files are stored, how much hard disk space you wish Lightbox to use for temporary thumbnail files, and can delete the temporary thumbnail files at anytime. These settings are all contained in the Options dialog box in Lightbox.

Can I change the sizes of thumbnails?

Yes. By default, Lightbox has three thumbnail sizes - Small, Medium and Large. You can flip to any of these sizes using the View button on the toolbar.

You can also define you own sizes using the Options dialog box in Lightbox.

Can I sort files and thumbnails that are displayed in Lightbox?

Yes. You can sort files displayed in Lightbox using various file attributes (name, type, date, etc.) and by image attributes (height, width, color depth).

What are animated thumbnails?

Animated thumbnails are a unique innovation to Lightbox. Many digital media files on your computer contain more than a single page or frame - for example, animated GIF files, AVI movie files and SWF Flash movie files may contain many frames - so that when they are displayed, they play the movie or animation.

Lightbox is able to create a thumbnail that extracts not just one page from the file (this is what competitor products do), but as many pages as you specify (maximum is 50 pages).

You can play these animated thumbnails at anytime by hovering you mouse over an animated thumbnail. This provides a rich, dynamic file browsing experience.

Why can't I see thumbnails for my PDF, AI or EPS files?

You need to install Ghostscript 8.0 onto your computer. This is a free download from http://prdownloads.sourceforge.net/ghostscript/gs800w32.exe?download. If you have another version of Ghostscript, please uninstall it first.

Increasing Your Productivity

How will Lightbox make me more productive?

Lightbox has been designed from the ground up to help you view, find and insert files into your creative software applications. We think it is the fastest and handiest file browser available on the market.

Among the many time-saving features are:

• You no longer need to use the File Open dialog in your application or a standalone image or file browser again to insert your files. Lightbox attaches itself to your application to provide rich, visual file browsing. Just drag and drop the files that you wish to work on.
• Support for over 150 file formats. Visual thumbnails are created for most formats.
• Quickly view files with the Lightbox Instant Viewer. Zoom in and out, pan, rotate, and use the color picker to get RGB, CMYK and Web color information.
• Detailed properties get as much information about files as possible.
• Drag and drop support for quick file insertion. Copy and Paste menu support for traditional file insertion.
• Animated thumbnails for viewing multi-page files such as TIFF, GIF, SWF and AVI.
• Favorites folders are stored and displayed on the Lightbox toolbar for rapid access to often-used folders.
• History of navigated folders is kept for each Lightbox session. Available using History tree view pane and Back and Forward buttons.
• Information tooltips about each file, detailing file information, image information, etc.
• Ability to hide and show Lightbox with a single click so that file browsing is always available to you. No need to start a standalone browser or have your precious Desktop space occupied.

How does Lightbox help me as a graphic designer?

Read and display all popular image file formats (JPEG, TIFF, PSD, AI, EPS, BMP, GIF, PNG and more). Click here to view image files supported.

View full-sized previews of image files in the Lightbox Instant Viewer, including ability to pan, zoom in and out and rotate. Supports multi-page files such as multi-page TIFF files.

Extract embedded thumbnails from image files for very fast thumbnailing.

Extract and display image file information such as image width, height, color depth, number of layers, number of pages, alpha channel information, transparency information and more.

Extract and display meta data information from image files. Information includes EXIF, IPTC and Maker Notes meta data, TIF tags, EPS tags, PDF tags, AI tags and more.

Use Lightbox's RGB, CMYK and Web color picker to display and copy color information from image files into image editor applications. Accurate color representation is obtained using color management system (CMS) and user-specified ICC profiles.

View animated thumbnails of multi-page files such as TIFF, AVI, GIF, SWF files and more.

Attach Lightbox to all popular image editing and creative design applications such as Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Corel Draw, Jasc PaintShop Pro, Macromedia Freehand and more.

How does Lightbox help me as a web designer?

Read and display thumbnails and meta data information for web files (HTML, ASP, CSS, etc.).

Read and display thumbnails, full-sized images and meta data information for web-ready image files (JPG, GIF, PNG).

Read and display thumbnails, full-sized images and meta data for Macromedia Flash files (SWF).

Display animated thumbnails for multi-framed web files, such as Flash files and animated GIF files.

View meta data information about web files such as title, description, keywords, fonts used, objects used, number of links and more.

Use Lightbox's web color picker to display and copy colors from web image files into Web authoring applications.

Attach Lightbox to your favorite web authoring applications for fast file viewing and drag drop file insertion. Popular applications include Macromedia Dreamweaver, Microsoft FrontPage, Macromedia Flash, Microsoft InterDev, Macromedia HomeSite, Swish and more.

How does Lightbox help me as a digital photographer?

Read and display thumbnails, full-sized images and meta data information for digital camera EXIF files (JPEG and TIFF).

Read and display thumbnails, full-sized images and meta data information for digital camera RAW files. Over 50 digital camera models are supported from vendors such as Kodak, Canon, Olympus, Nikon, Fujifilm, Minolta and Sigma. Click here for the full list of digital camera models supported.

Read and display meta data information from digital camera files (RAW and EXIF files supported), including EXIF, IPTC and various Maker Notes meta data.

Read thumbnails directly from digital camera files for very fast thumbnailing (RAW and EXIF files supported).

Display full sized images of digital camera files in the Lightbox Instant Viewer (RAW and EXIF files supported).

Use RGB, CMYK and Web color picker to determine color information of digital camera files (RAW and EXIF files supported).

Attach Lightbox to your favorite digital camera software applications for fast file viewing and fast drag & drop file insertion. Popular applications include image editors such as Adobe Photoshop, Jasc PaintShop Pro and Corel Draw; album photo managers such as Adobe Photoshop Album, IMatch and Jasc PaintShop Album; and CD archivers such as Nero and Roxio CD Creator.

Using Lightbox with Popular Applications

What applications does Lightbox work with?

Lightbox works with all popular creative software applications from premier creative software vendors - Adobe, Macromedia, Corel and Microsoft.

A short summary of popular applications that Lightbox works with is: Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, Adobe InDesign, Adobe Pagemaker, Macromedia Dreamweaver, Macromedia Director, Macromedia Flash, Macromedia Fireworks, Macromedia Freehand, Corel Draw, Corel Painter, Corel Photo Paint, Corel Ventura, Microsoft FrontPage, Microsoft InterDev and Microsoft Office.

Does Lightbox work with Adobe Photoshop?

Yes. Lightbox attaches to Adobe Photoshop. It creates thumbnails for PSD files and other image files that Photoshop reads and writes (JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP, etc.). It drags and drops files into Photoshop.

Does Lightbox work with Adobe Illustrator?

Yes. Lightbox attaches to Adobe Illustrator. It creates thumbnails for AI files and other image files that Illustrator reads and writes (EPS, JPG, PNG, GIF, BMP, WMF, etc.). It drags and drops files into Illustrator.

Does Lightbox work with Macromedia Dreamweaver?

Yes. Lightbox attaches to Macromedia Dreamweaver. It creates thumbnails for web files (HTML, ASP, etc.) and for images files (JPG, PNG, GIF, etc.). It drags and drops files into Dreamweaver.

Does Lightbox work with Macromedia Flash?

Yes. Lightbox attaches to Macromedia Flash. It creates thumbnails for images files (JPG, PNG, GIF, etc.) and views Flash files (SWF). It drags and drops files into Flash.

Does Lightbox work with Macromedia Freehand?

Yes. Lightbox attaches to Macromedia Freehand. It creates thumbnails for images files (JPG, PNG, GIF, etc.) that Freehand can read and write. It drags and drops files into Freehand.

Does Lightbox work with Microsoft Frontpage?

Yes. Lightbox attaches to Microsoft Frontpage. It creates thumbnails for web files (HTML, ASP, etc.) and for images files (JPG, PNG, GIF, etc.). It drags and drops files into Frontpage.

Lightbox vs. Competitive Products

What makes Lightbox better than other popular products such as ACDSee, PhotoExplorer, Portfolio, IrfanView, CompuPic, etc.?

Lightbox is a different type of software application compared to standalone image browsers and managers such as ACDSee, PhotoExplorer, IrfanView, Portfolio, etc. It has many new innovative features that distinguish it from today's image browsers.

The first thing that people notice is that Lightbox does not run as a standalone application. It attaches itself next to your application, so its right next to where you are working. Simply find the file and drag it into your application. No need to start or switch to another application on your Desktop.

Lightbox also provides more information about files than ever before. It helps you find the right file, the first time. Lightbox supports over 150 file formats (not just image files - but web files, video files, audio files, and document files), displays dynamic information tooltips when your hover over a thumbnail, displays animated thumbnails for multi-page files such as GIF, TIFF, SWF and AVI, and displays a detailed properties of the file such as file information, image information, web information, EXIF, IPTC and Maker Notes meta data and more.

Lightbox has been designed for the one reason that you need a file browser - to help find your files! It is optimized for file browsing and provides you with full mouse, keyboard, favorites and history support so that you can get to your files faster than ever before. It is stripped of "bloatware" features such as web page maker, image editor, calendar maker, wallpaper maker, index printer, batch file converter, etc. Attach Lightbox to your favorite creative software applications and let them do these tasks for you - that's what they are designed for!

To appreciate what Lightbox can do for you, click here to download a fully featured Trial version and let us know what you think.

Why does Lightbox have less features that other products (such as ACDSee, PhotoExplorer, CompuPic, Portfolio, IrfanView, etc.)?

Lightbox does have less features than some popular image browsers. The design philosophy of Lightbox is to help you find files faster than ever before. We have concentrated on making Lightbox create thumbnails fast, allow you to navigate fast and to attach to the software applications that you use daily.

We have not added features to Lightbox so as to turn it into an image editor or batch file converter. You can easily attach Lightbox to Adobe Photoshop - the best, most widely used and most precise image editor available today. Similarly, we do not believe that Lightbox should be creating photo gallery web pages, when you can easily attach it to Dreamweaver, Frontpage or any of the other popular web authoring software products available today.

To appreciate what Lightbox can do for you, click here to download a fully featured Trial version and let us know what you think.

Corporate Users

Will Lightbox work on a corporate network?

Yes. Lightbox has been designed to operate on standalone computers and in corporate network environments. It is able to browse corporate networks, so you can browse files on file servers or on other computers (given that you have the security permissions to do so - speak to your system administrator).

In addition, you can share your temporary thumbnail files with other users by moving the temporary thumbnail files folder to a network drive.

Can I get a Company Site License or get volume discounts when purchasing multiple copies of Lightbox?

Yes. You can purchase a Company Site License that provides unlimited licenses for your company. Or, you can purchase multiple copies and receive a volume discount.

Contact our Sales Team to discuss your needs by emailing us at sales@conceiva.com.

Software Vendors: Add Lightbox to your Product today!

Can I ship Lightbox with my software product to give it full file browsing support?

Yes. Lightbox provides the easiest way for Software Vendors and Software Developers to add a fully functional file browser to your application - without any coding!

We will provide you with the full file set and installation script for Lightbox. This will enable Lightbox to seamlessly install and automatically launch itself when your application is started by a user. Your users will be delighted with the new addition. View our Customization page for more details.