FAQ

Q: Can I use a studio license if I'm an individual?

A: Yes, the studio license is for individuals and small studios that want to use Pixelator commercially.

Q: If I purchase a license for myself and then create a studio, can I use the same license?

A: Yes, but contact support to update the license's details.

Q: What happens if I buy a studio license and my company grows beyond the employees quota?

A: You'll need to purchase a company's license.

Q: Can I use my license on multiple devices?

A: Yes, the license is limited by employees count, but not devices.

Q: If the company I work in have a license, can I use it for private projects (off work hours) too?

A: No, you'll need to acquire your own license.

Q: A friend gave me a copy of Pixelator and it was already licensed, can I use it?

A: No, that's piracy. You have to delete the license file and tell your friend not to do that.

Q: Can I use it with a personal license commercially and purchase a license after the game is released?

A: No, that's still piracy. If you want to use Pixelator commercially you must have a valid license at the time of releasing your game / project.

Q: Can I use Pixelator for someone else or provide it as a service?

A: No, the license does not permit offering Pixelator as a service, integrating it in another software, or using it for other parties. The license is for you (or your company) alone.

Q: Can I publish the graphics I make with Pixelator under public domain or other permissive licenses?

A: If you have a commercial license (eg studio or company) then yes, you can publish it under any license you choose. If you are using a non-commercial (personal) license or you don't have one, all output images must be with CC BY-NC 4.0 license and attributed to Pixelator.

Q: I want to make a video, article, or blog post about using Pixelator. Do I have to buy a license for that?

A: No, you can use the free personal license.

Q: When I try to change something I get an unexpected error without details.

A: Please validate the following:

• You have Microsoft Visual C++ 2015 Redistributable Update 3 RC installed.
• Pixelator is installed in a folder that it has writing privileges to.
• The path to Pixelator's executable does not contain non-ascii characters - this sometimes cause problems.

Q: While trying to generate preview, I'm seeing an error about "File Not Found". What to do?

A: This could happen if Pixelator don't have writing permission on its own folder. On windows, it might happen if placed inside "Program Files" as it turns all folders read-only. To solve this you can try one of the following:

• Run Pixelator as administrator.
• Move Pixelator outside of 'Program Files' and make sure its not read-only.

Q: Trying to export image result in 'Permission Denied' error. How to fix this?

A: This usually happens when you try to export to a folder which you have no writing permissions for (note: sometimes its a folder that you have permission as admin, but you run Pixelator as guest so Pixelator can't access it even though you can). To fix this please try one of the following:

• Run Pixelator as administrator.
• Export file to a different location, one that does not require any permissions.
• On linux, try to give executable permission to the exe: "chmod 750 ~/_pixelator_cmd.exe"

Q: I'm seeing errors about missing Python modules. What to do?

A: This should not happen and Pixelator should work on its own, without any dependencies. However, I did witness it happen few times on some machines. Unfortunately its unsolved, but you can try installing Python3.6+ and it will most likely fix it.

Q: I'm getting an error saying '_pixelator_cmd.exe' is not recognized as an internal or external command' (or something along those lines), what to do?

A: This could mean that you didn't install Pixelator properly. Please make sure if you have the missing file in your Pixelator folder, and if you do try to add that to your computer PATH environment variable.

Q: I'm getting errors about license being corrupted or invalid, why?

A: This most likely means that someone tampered with the license file or maybe you didn't copy it correctly when buying it. Please contact support.

Q: Why am I seeing a watermark on the result pictures?

A: It means that you don't have a license. Purchase or get a free license to remove watermarks.

Q: I have a license but when I execute Pixelator shell command I'm seeing watermark. Why?

A: If you execute _pixelator_cmd.exe from outside its original folder, it will fail to find the license. Please execute it from within Pixelator's folder.
If problem persist, please run '_pixelator_cmd.exe --license' to get more info.

Q: Gif animation is not showing in output. why?

A: While you can import and process gif images, gif animation is currently not supported and they will be treated as a still image.

Q: I'm not seeing any stroke / outlines even though I have set stroke type and opacity. Why?

A: By default, strokes are drawn between opaque and transparent pixels, so if your image have a background it will not work. However, you can also apply stroke on color diffs using the 'Stroke on changing colors' property.

Q: How can I save the settings used to produce a specific image?

A: You can save your project settings via file menu ('File --> Save Project') and later reload and use them.

Q: How can I use the same settings for multiple images?

A: You can save the project and reload it multiple times with different source images. However, if its a lot of images to process and you don't want to do it manually, you can invoke Pixelator from shell and automate it with external scripts. To get the command used to produce your corrent settings, click on 'Show --> Shell Command'.