Troubleshoot the editor and protect customer designs
When something fails, keep the current page open long enough to read the message and preserve unsaved work. Record the product, the action you took and the exact error text. Avoid sending private customer images, passwords, session cookies or production download links in an initial support request.
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On this page: Private storage is not configured · An image or model will not upload · A save is stale or a saved design does not return · Add or select text · The preview or background treatment looks wrong · The design works but ordering is unavailable · Understand access, retention and backups · Send a useful support request
Private storage is not configured
Ask the site administrator to confirm that H4PE_PRIVATE_DIR exists, is outside every public web directory and is writable by WordPress PHP. The plugin rejects a missing setting, an unwritable directory or a directory inside the WordPress root. Creating a public uploads subfolder does not solve the privacy requirement.
After the host corrects the path or permissions, reopen the editor and test one small upload, save and proof. If hosting aliases serve the same directory under another domain, have the host remove that exposure before customer uploads begin.
An image or model will not upload
For photographs, use JPEG or PNG and compare the file size with the effective limit displayed in the editor. The plugin also limits image dimensions, and hosting limits may be lower. Export a smaller copy from your image editor rather than merely renaming or changing the filename.
For a stock model, use the merchant GLB upload control and a supported self-contained static GLB 2.0 export. External resources, compressed extensions, animation and overly complex meshes are rejected. Follow the GLB preparation guide and keep the reported validation message for support.
If a small file works but a large proof fails, ask the host to inspect memory limits and server logs. Product dimensions and DPI affect raster memory requirements. Reduce excessive settings only after confirming the result still meets your production needs.
A save is stale or a saved design does not return
If the editor says the design changed in another window, return to the window with the latest saved work and reload deliberately before editing further. The revision check prevents one tab from silently overwriting another. Do not keep saving competing copies in several tabs.
Saved-design recovery uses the current browser session. Another browser, a private window, cleared cookies or an expired session may not have access to the same draft. A page that explicitly starts on another product may show that product instead. Open Your saved designs in the original browser and inspect the list.
If session or nonce errors repeat, reload the customer page and check full-page cache exclusions. An expired or cached session page may need a fresh response. Never share another customer’s session or private file link as a workaround.
Add or select text
Choose Add text to open Your message, then type the words you want on this face. The action becomes Select text once text exists. Select it before choosing Move, Rotate or Size. Use Placement & lettering for precise adjustments and View product when you want to orbit the object.
If lettering appears cut off, check its size and position against the product edge in Flat layout and the saved proof. If a drag or rotation behaves unexpectedly, use Undo, keep the page open and report the product, browser, device and steps through Help4 support.
The preview or background treatment looks wrong
Switch between 3D studio and Flat layout to distinguish camera rotation from artwork placement. Select the intended layer before moving or replacing it. Check which engraving face is active, then inspect Fit whole photo, Fill the area, rotation and both flip settings.
Open Adjust photo for Artwork treatment, Contrast and Remove the edge-connected background. Plain-background removal is a border-connected color operation. Lower Background tolerance if it removes part of the subject, or turn removal off and upload a prepared transparent PNG. Busy fabric, shadows and subjects that merge with the edge color need more careful preparation.
A clearer PNG made from different artwork does not mean JPEG is broken. Compare the actual source detail and background first. A crystal preview is monochrome and sampled into points; the color image and its preview will look different.
For crystal proofs, inspect the saved 2D artwork reference as well as the point preview. The 3D representation is sampled and may show less fine detail than the saved raster. If the 3D canvas is unavailable on a device, record the browser and device and contact support; do not approve a result you have not adequately inspected.
The design works but ordering is unavailable
A working editor can be a design-only demo. Check that the template is offered, a compatible enabled machine is assigned and Accept new production orders is selected. Then confirm the mapped commerce product/variation is published, purchasable, stocked and uses the supported currency.
For Help4 Commerce, check the supported line-pricing connection. Page-builder embedding and native checkout are separate integrations. If the native contract is unavailable, contact Help4 or use a configured WooCommerce product. Do not bypass the unavailable message or treat a saved proof as an order.
When a price, product or machine configuration changes, save and approve again as requested. Inspect combined stock when the cart contains several personalized designs for the same physical SKU.
Understand access, retention and backups
Customer uploads and proof sources are stored privately, while merchant stock images and models may be public media-library assets. Use authorized catalog material and keep customer photographs out of public pages unless the customer has separately agreed to that use.
Unordered drafts/proofs and unreferenced assets expire after 30 days by default. The internal retention option supports 1 to 365 days, but this release has no merchant-facing retention settings form or complete WordPress privacy exporter/eraser integration. Order-linked source files are retained to protect production inputs; the merchant must define and carry out an order-retention and erasure policy.
Back up the database and private storage together, with access appropriate for customer information. Uninstall preserves records and files and removes the scheduled cleanup task; uninstall is not a customer-data purge. Ask support for a reviewed migration or cleanup approach instead of deleting a directory while active orders still depend on it.
Send a useful support request
Use Help4 Network contact support. Include the plugin version, WordPress and PHP versions, theme/builder, commerce provider, browser, public page URL, product type, action and exact error. Say whether the problem repeats with a small test file that contains no personal information.
If a screenshot helps, remove customer names and private details first. Do not include credentials, cookies, payment data or private source-pack links. Support can arrange an appropriate way to investigate protected data if it is needed.
Continue the walkthrough
Review installation and storage · Check product and checkout setup