Welcome back! If you haven't looked through Part 4 yet, please do so before you continue with Part 5.
The Photo Party Upload Helper is the brains behind the whole operation. It downloads your event settings, selects printers, does all the back end sharing, and Kiosk apps search for it over the local network.
This tutorial will cover everything you need to know to get started with the Helper. We'll go over installing it, signing in to your account, choosing your event, choosing a watched folder, and how to select a printer.
1. Install and Run the Helper
Navigate and log in to the Event Manager webpage at https://login.photopartyupload.com. In the upper right corner, click the link named Download Helper App for Windows and click the Install button.
Run the installer and it will download some other files and install the app.
Double click the black Photo Party Upload Helper icon on your desktop and Helper will run.
You wont see anything appear on your screen as the Helper only appears in the system tray. You can see it by clicking the small upward arrow on the bottom right corner of the screen near the clock:
2. Sign In
Right click the Helper icon in the system tray and select Sign In.
In the pop up window, enter your Photo Party Upload account email and password. We recommend you check the box labeled Keep me signed in so you only have to sign in once.
Click Sign In. If you have any events in your events list, they should now be downloading.
3. Select and Refresh Events
The Helper will automatically download your events when you start it or sign in. If you create an event or make any adjustments to an event after they've been downloaded, you MUST refresh your event list. If you don't refresh your events, any changes you make to your events on the website will not be reflected in your shares.
Right click the Helper icon in the system tray and move your cursor to Events. The list of downloaded events should appear to the left:
Select whichever event you would like to use. If you're only printing during your event, you can select the default Just Printing event and not bother with creating an event at all! Printing is always free!
If you don't see your event or have made changes to your event, click Refresh. Your events will be downloaded again.
Note: Your events will not appear in your list after the event date. If you set your event date to June 5th, your event will not appear on your list starting at 6 AM on June 6th.
4. Choose Watched Folder
The Watched Folder is what the Helper looks in to find your media, and will send its contents to the Kiosk for sharing.
Right click the Helper icon in the system tray and click Choose watched folder.
In the popup window, find the folder with your media and click OK.
5. Select Printers in the Configure menu
If you're not printing during your event, you can skip this step and proceed to Part 6!
Right click the Helper icon in the system tray and select Configure. Alternatively, you can double click the Helper icon in the system tray. A new window will appear in the center of your screen.
There's a lot to see and do in this window, so we'll just cover the most important things.
At the top you should see your event in the Selected event drop down list. You can even refresh your events list by clicking Refresh Events.
Below that near the center is the Printer section. This is where you'll select which printer(s) you would like to use for your event. Any printers installed in Windows will appear in this list, and you can select as many as you like. The printer used by PPU is not affected by the default printer set in Windows.
Below the Printer section is the Watched Folders section. You can click the link to open the watched folder in Windows Explorer or click Change Watched Folder to change it.
That's it for the Helper! In Part 6 we'll go over the basics of the Kiosk and you'll be ready to start sharing!