Getting Help

If Macro Studio isn’t working the way you expect, the fastest way to get help is to send your log files.

Send log files (the recommended path)

Choose Share Feedback → Send Log Files… to upload your recent debug logs to Macro Studio’s support team. In the dialog, you can add Notes to say what went wrong, and an email address (filled in from your license). Click View files that will be sent to read exactly what you’re about to upload.

What gets sent:

Your recent Macro Studio log files (usually a few hundred KB). If you use the Lightroom plug-in, its log is one of them.
Anything you type in the Notes box. Support sees it at the top of the report. If you leave it empty, nothing extra is sent.
The app version, build identifier, and your operating system and platform.
Your email address and license key, to match the logs to your support request.
A computer ID made from your computer’s network name (hostname) and network hardware, so reports from the same computer can be grouped.
Any file and folder paths that appear in the logs. Macro Studio logs the paths it works with, so your image and folder names will usually be in there. The logs are uploaded as they are, without removing anything. That’s why the dialog lets you read them first.

What does not get sent:

Your images. Log files are text only, with no picture data.

If you’d rather not send your license details or file names, email [email protected] instead and describe the problem in your own words.

The same menu also has Feature Requests… (see below), Send Feedback…, which opens your email app, and Send this Stack to Us…, which uploads the frames of a stack that went wrong so support can reproduce the problem.

Anonymous performance statistics

Separately from log files, Macro Studio can share anonymous performance statistics. They help tune stacking on computers that can’t be tested directly.

It’s off until you say yes. Until then, Macro Studio keeps a performance history on your computer after every stack, and uploads nothing.
Macro Studio may ask you after a stack. Preferences explains when. If you say no, it doesn’t ask again.
What’s in an upload: timings and memory use for the run, the frame count and image resolution, which stacking features ran, two numbers that measure color speckle in the finished stack (see below), a description of your hardware and operating system, your language settings (the app’s language and your system’s locale), and a random ID made on your computer. That ID is not the computer ID sent with log files, and it isn’t linked to your name, email or license.
The color-speckle numbers catch a rare graphics-card fault that adds speckle to an otherwise good stack. One says how much of the picture is speckled (0 to 1), the other how strong it is. They’re a measurement, not picture content: nothing of your image can be rebuilt from them.
A run that slows down or fails also sends its performance log lines. These are filtered to keep only counts, timings and device names, never file paths or file names.

Turn it on or off any time in Preferences → Share anonymous performance statistics. See the Privacy Policy for the full statement.

Other network activity

These things use the network without being tied to a stack:

A license check, when you first activate and then in the background each time you start Macro Studio. It confirms your license is still valid on this computer. It sends:
- your license key, email address and computer ID
- a description of your computer: processor, graphics card, memory, free disk space, operating system and app version
- a few settings: your Editor mode, language settings and default Look, and whether Match camera brightness, StackCheck, camera-raw mode and performance-statistics sharing are on (for sharing, only the setting is sent: no performance data goes out unless you’ve turned sharing on)
- whether the Adobe DNG Converter is installed, which shows how many people can use the features that need it
No image data or file names are included.
Update checks, once a day at launch, and whenever you choose File → Check for Updates….
A Species ID balance check at launch, which asks the Macro Studio server how many Species ID identifications your license has left, so the panel can show it. It sends your license key.
An announcement check at launch, which asks the Macro Studio server whether there’s a notice to show (for example, about a known issue). It sends your app version, your platform, your license type (full or trial) and whether you share performance statistics, so a notice can be meant for only some people. Turning off update checks doesn’t turn this off.

Identifying a species with Species ID goes online too. Everything else (stacking, editing, saving) runs entirely on your computer.

Email support

For anything else, like questions, refunds or moving a license, email [email protected]. Please include:

your Macro Studio version (at the bottom of Preferences), and your operating system and its version
what you were trying to do, and what happened instead
the steps to make it happen again, if you can
the exact wording of any message bar you saw (see below)

Copying an error message

To copy the text of a message bar (a stack failure, a reduced-memory notice, an announcement), right-click it and choose Copy message. Or press ⌘A / Ctrl+A in the bar to select the whole message, then ⌘C / Ctrl+C.

Both copy the whole message, even when it’s cut short on screen with ”…”. That hidden part often says what to do. You can also drag across part of the message to copy just that part, or hover over the bar to read all of it. The Editor’s blue and amber notice bars work the same way.

If the problem is something you can see in a photo, like a color fringe, a halo or a soft patch, say where it is. Right-click the spot in the Library or Editor preview, choose Copy coordinates, and paste the result, like (4210,980), into your email.

Common things to try before contacting support

”Stacking finished but the result looks weird”

Look for a blurred or misaligned frame. One bad frame can soften part of the result. See Stacking.
Check that the focus zones of your frames overlap, with no big gaps between frames.
Check that the exposure was the same in every frame (shoot in manual mode).

”The app is slow on large stacks”

Memory use depends mostly on your camera’s sensor resolution, not the number of frames. See System Requirements.
An amber “Running in reduced-memory mode” notice means Macro Studio is running slower to use less memory. Close other heavy apps (like a browser with many tabs, Lightroom or Photoshop) and stack again. To hide the notice, turn off Preferences → Show performance notices.
If your system drive is short on space, point Preferences → Advanced → Scratch folder at a fast drive with plenty of room.

”Some thumbnails are missing in the filmstrip”

Check the File type filters above the filmstrip. You might have hidden a file type.
Click refresh in the folder browser to scan the folder again.

”My license won’t activate”

Just bought it? Wait a few minutes and click Activate again. A new purchase can take a little while to register.
Can’t reach the licensing server? Activation needs an internet connection. This message means the connection is the problem, not your key.
The message mentions a firewall? Check that you’re online, and on hotel, cafe or airport Wi-Fi, that you’ve accepted the sign-in page. If the rest of the internet works, the network is probably blocking the license check. This is common on office, school, hotel and guest Wi-Fi, and on home routers with filtering or “safe browsing” on. The quickest fix is to activate on another network, such as your phone’s hotspot for a minute. Macro Studio checks the license again from time to time, so if the block stays, ask whoever runs the network to allow macrostudio.pro and macrostudio.pages.dev.
Can’t find your key? It comes by email from [email protected], and it’s often in the junk folder. Paddle’s payment receipt does not contain it.
Used up your computers? Each license activates on up to 3. Email support to free one.

”Updates aren’t showing up”

Choose File → Check for Updates… to check now. Automatic checks run once a day at launch.

Feature requests and feedback

Share Feedback → Feature Requests… opens the public request board at feedback.macrostudio.pro. Post an idea, vote for other people’s, and see what’s planned on the roadmap. Look there first: a vote on an existing idea helps more than a second copy. Opening the board sends Macro Studio nothing about you or your images. It’s an ordinary website, and signing in to post or vote is up to you.

You can also email [email protected]. A short wish like “I wish stacking was faster on 50-frame stacks” is just as useful as a detailed plan.

Refunds

Macro Studio has a 30-day money-back guarantee. Email [email protected] within 30 days of buying, or ask for a refund through your Paddle receipt. See the Refund Policy for the full terms.

Pricing and licensing questions

See the pricing page for the current price. The FAQ answers most license questions. For anything else, email support.