Harry Harrison Posted May 2, 2019 Share Posted May 2, 2019 (edited) Glad to report that Alamy have updated this now, don't know if they are still working on it so haven't announced it yet. I've posted this over on the Alamy forum but in case you don't visit that... So far I've noticed that: Tags longer than 3 words are no longer downloaded broken down into separate comma-separated words in the keywords column They've added an extra column for 'Status' which for all mine is 'On Sale'. The download only contains data for active batches - no failed uploads The file name is no longer the same zillion character string every time but is instead MyName_DDMMYYYY.csv All good stuff for me, next big step would be to allow the re-import so that you can update it in another program but I can see that wouldn't be easy. Wondering if other people use this new DIY Download facility, I'm going to find it useful for identifying the all too common deficiencies in my keywording and spelling mistakes etc. Edited May 2, 2019 by Harry Harrison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted May 2, 2019 Share Posted May 2, 2019 All I get is System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. at ASP.myupload_metadatadownloadhandler_aspx.Page_Load(Object sender, EventArgs e) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Harrison Posted May 2, 2019 Author Share Posted May 2, 2019 3 minutes ago, spacecadet said: All I get is System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. at ASP.myupload_metadatadownloadhandler_aspx.Page_Load(Object sender, EventArgs e) I've just clicked on 'Send me my data' and so far it's fine, or do you get that message when the 'download csv' option appears? The download option has appeared almost immediately and I have again been able to download the csv. You might want to report that problem I guess, maybe it's because you have many more images than I do. This is where I commented: https://discussion.alamy.com/topic/10490-aim-update-notes-updated-jan-2019/page/7/?tab=comments#comment-209106 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted May 2, 2019 Share Posted May 2, 2019 It's the "download csv" option. I don't see the one you mention. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Harrison Posted May 2, 2019 Author Share Posted May 2, 2019 Just now, spacecadet said: It's the "download csv" option. I don't see the one you mention. No that one appears once the csv is ready, shortly afterwards, can't actually quite remember what it says. Looks like a bug but I suppose to be fair they haven't announced it yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BidC Posted August 28, 2019 Share Posted August 28, 2019 On 02/05/2019 at 12:37, spacecadet said: All I get is System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. at ASP.myupload_metadatadownloadhandler_aspx.Page_Load(Object sender, EventArgs e) Hi there - Did you ever resolve the above issue ? I decided to give Mozilla a go, (thankfully no attached ads this time), and I still get the above message. I have reported it a while back to Alamy, with no response. interested to hear if you managed to resolve it ? BW Bridget 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacecadet Posted August 28, 2019 Share Posted August 28, 2019 16 minutes ago, BidC said: Hi there - Did you ever resolve the above issue ? I decided to give Mozilla a go, (thankfully no attached ads this time), and I still get the above message. I have reported it a while back to Alamy, with no response. interested to hear if you managed to resolve it ? BW Bridget No. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BidC Posted August 28, 2019 Share Posted August 28, 2019 (edited) 5 hours ago, spacecadet said: No. Well - thats a great summary (!). Have tried all three browsers (firefox, Chrome and Safari) plus looked up the error message on Google. You need to be a programmer to understand. Basically it has been reported to Alamy many times, so it seems hit and miss as to who can use it. C'est la vie ! The other feature that doesn't work for me is the banner posting to the portfolio. Tried many many times, and it will not load. It must be something to do with the way the laptop is set, but beyond that I have no idea ... Edited August 28, 2019 by BidC Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Chapman Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 (edited) On 02/05/2019 at 12:37, spacecadet said: All I get is System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. at ASP.myupload_metadatadownloadhandler_aspx.Page_Load(Object sender, EventArgs e) It used to work fine for me, but I'm now getting this error message as well. I've tried Firefox, Chrome, Safari and Opera, all on Mac OS High Sierra and they give the same error message. I also tried in Safari on an iPad and got the same message. Is the "Download Your Data" option still working for anyone else? Mark Edited January 3, 2020 by M.Chapman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Harrison Posted January 3, 2020 Author Share Posted January 3, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, M.Chapman said: Is the "Download Your Data" option still working for anyone else? Still working for me on Windows 7 Pro 64-bit and Chrome. I can try it later on Mac El Capitan. Is there anything that could have changed at your end? You could hold the key to discovering why this error message comes up, which would be good since Alamy don't seem to be proactive. OK on Firefox as well, same machine. OK on Imac/El Capitan on Chrome, Firefox & Safari Edited January 3, 2020 by Harry Harrison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Chapman Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 1 hour ago, Harry Harrison said: Still working for me on Windows 7 Pro 64-bit and Chrome. I can try it later on Mac El Capitan. Is there anything that could have changed at your end? You could hold the key to discovering why this error message comes up, which would be good since Alamy don't seem to be proactive. OK on Firefox as well, same machine. OK on Imac/El Capitan on Chrome, Firefox & Safari Mmmm... doesn't work on my unchanged Windows 7 system. Maybe it's a database "corruption" issue. Maybe there's something in my captions or keyword strings that's making the system "throw a wobbly"? Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Harrison Posted January 3, 2020 Author Share Posted January 3, 2020 1 hour ago, M.Chapman said: Mmmm... doesn't work on my unchanged Windows 7 system. Maybe it's a database "corruption" issue. Maybe there's something in my captions or keyword strings that's making the system "throw a wobbly"? Mark That's an interesting theory, I may be wrong but I think that when people can't download they can't download by any means so that may well be true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MDM Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 Just tried it and it works as before. Safari on MacOS Catalina. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Chapman Posted January 3, 2020 Share Posted January 3, 2020 (edited) 2 hours ago, Harry Harrison said: That's an interesting theory, I may be wrong but I think that when people can't download they can't download by any means so that may well be true. I remember a long time ago that My Alamy measures used to crash whenever I included a particular date within the search range. If I recall correctly it turned out the record for one of my views or zooms, that happened on that day, was corrupt. The error message was equally obtuse then. So what I need now is someone who is currently able to download their own CSV to login as me and then try downloading my CSV, and then I could try the same on their account. That should prove it.... Alternatively I’ll just email contributor services. Mark Edited January 3, 2020 by M.Chapman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Harrison Posted January 3, 2020 Author Share Posted January 3, 2020 4 hours ago, M.Chapman said: So what I need now is someone who is currently able to download their own CSV to login as me and then try downloading my CSV, and then I could try the same on their account. I'm guessing that you might be in contact with someone off forum to try this but if not I'm happy to swap logins. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Chapman Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 13 hours ago, Harry Harrison said: I'm guessing that you might be in contact with someone off forum to try this but if not I'm happy to swap logins. Thanks, yes I'll explore the off forum option contact first, and assuming they can access their CSV I will post the results here. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickfly Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 On 02/05/2019 at 13:37, spacecadet said: All I get is System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. at ASP.myupload_metadatadownloadhandler_aspx.Page_Load(Object sender, EventArgs e) Same here, win 10/Chrome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Harrison Posted January 4, 2020 Author Share Posted January 4, 2020 Found this query about the same issue on Alamy's Facebook page from last year's Photography Show: https://www.facebook.com/Alamy/posts/hi-guys-i-spoke-with-ben-on-your-stand-at-the-photography-show-yesterday-and-men/2442652729080781/ No update, not very high on their list of things to do then. Hopefully Mark might be getting closer to at least determining why it might be happening. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Chapman Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 (edited) OK testing indicates the following. A friend of mine cannot download his CSV data file when logged in using his Alamy ID on his computer - he gets the error message System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. at ASP.myupload_metadatadownloadhandler_aspx.Page_Load(Object sender, EventArgs e) But, when logged in to a different Alamy account on the same PC, and using the same browser, he can download the CSV data file associated with that account. This suggests that the problem probably has nothing to do with the operating system/browser/browser cache or PC, but has something to do with a user's Alamy account or the CSV data associated with it. The problem occurs when the Alamy Image manager tries to access (or is accessing) the following URL https://www.alamy.com/myupload/MetadataDownloadHandler.aspx?count=3&status=3 One theory suggested is that, if a download is started and then fails for any reason, the system becomes "locked" and subsequent attempts give the error message above. Perhaps Alamy need to reset something associated with the user accounts of those having problems? Alternatively maybe there's some corruption, or unique feature, of the metadata associated with those users' images that causes a problem when generating the CSV. I'll contact contributor services and remind them about this problem and link to this thread, and this one (which showed more folks having problems) https://discussion.alamy.com/topic/11867-download-feature-in-aim Mark Edited January 5, 2020 by M.Chapman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harry Harrison Posted January 4, 2020 Author Share Posted January 4, 2020 8 minutes ago, M.Chapman said: This suggests that the problem probably has nothing to do with the operating system/browser/browser cache or PC, but has something to do with a user's Alamy account or the CSV data associated with it. Interesting, I think from memory that yours is the only reported instance of someone having been able to download the csv and then suddenly getting the error message and not being able to. I think those that reported the error when the 'download data' option became available simply got the error message and understandably gave up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Chapman Posted January 4, 2020 Share Posted January 4, 2020 (edited) On 04/01/2020 at 19:08, Harry Harrison said: yours is the only reported instance of someone having been able to download the csv and then suddenly getting the error message and not being able to. I’m not the only one. I know of at least one other. Update: I've just sent an email to contributor services with the details of the problem and the tests carried out so far. Mark Edited January 6, 2020 by M.Chapman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Chapman Posted January 6, 2020 Share Posted January 6, 2020 (edited) On 04/01/2020 at 19:16, M.Chapman said: Update: I've just sent an email to contributor services with the details of the problem and the tests carried out so far. Mark Ellie in Contributor Services has just responded. Thanks for letting us know. We’re looking into this as there seems to be some problems with the data. Whether that means there are only problems with my data, or a wider problem I'm not sure. I'll keep you posted. Mark Edited January 6, 2020 by M.Chapman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stokie Posted January 7, 2020 Share Posted January 7, 2020 Just tried and get the error message System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. at ASP.myupload_metadatadownloadhandler_aspx.Page_Load(Object sender, EventArgs e), I'm on win 10/Chrome. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
M.Chapman Posted January 24, 2020 Share Posted January 24, 2020 (edited) On 06/01/2020 at 11:38, M.Chapman said: Ellie in Contributor Services has just responded. Thanks for letting us know. We’re looking into this as there seems to be some problems with the data. Whether that means there are only problems with my data, or a wider problem I'm not sure. I'll keep you posted. Mark Update I needed a copy of my data and the CSV download button in AIM still wasn't working for me, so I emailed member services to ask for a copy. Before I asked for a copy Alamy measures showed I had 5,004 images (But I really had 5,035 with 32 pending deletion so should be 5,003) Alamy have now sent me my meta-data and it looks fine Now Alamy measures shows I have 5,035 images, and if I take off the 32 pending deletion, then I get 5,003 which is now consistent. Also my download button now works!! So it does indeed look like some form of data inconsistency (possibly associated with images pending deletion) messes up the download function within AIM. Whatever Alamy did to generate a copy of the metadata for me has fixed the problem with the download button. Mark Edited January 24, 2020 by M.Chapman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griangraf Posted April 10, 2020 Share Posted April 10, 2020 Hi I just wanted to ask if anyone else is having trouble with the download your data button? All I get is "System.NullReferenceException: Object reference not set to an instance of an object. at ASP.myupload_metadatadownloadhandler_aspx.Page_Load(Object sender, EventArgs e)". I have been trying for a while now so something is not the way it should be regardless of whether I use Chrome or Firefox. Regards Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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