If Photomator on your Mac isn't working
If Photomator on your Mac isn’t working as you expect but you don't know the cause, you can isolate the issue to identify the root cause.
Before you begin troubleshooting
If you just updated Photomator or macOS and Photomator isn't working, any third-party software or hardware you're using might not be compatible. Contact the developers or manufacturers of all third-party items you're using to check compatibility with the version of Photomator and macOS you're using.
Make sure to back up your existing app and turn off Automatic Updates.
Make sure that you've designated the correct photo library as the System Photo Library in the Photos app.
Try these steps in order
After trying each step, test Photomator again to see if you've fixed your issue.
Restart your Mac
Choose Restart from the Apple menu .
Disconnect external devices
An incompatible or malfunctioning external device can sometimes cause issues with Photomator. To test external devices:
Quit Photomator, then choose Shut Down from Apple menu .
Disconnect all external devices other than your keyboard and mouse.
For Intel-based Mac computers only, reset NVRAM. You only need to do this the first time you disconnect external devices.
Turn your Mac on.
If the issue only occurs when a particular device is connected, you might need to update or service the device. Contact the manufacturer for support.
Check system requirements
Photomator requires macOS Ventura 13 or later. To determine which version of macOS you have:
Choose About this Mac from Apple menu .
Find your version of macOS next to macOS in the list.
If you have an unsupported version of macOS, check that any third-party software installed on your Mac is compatible with the latest version of macOS, then update your macOS.
Make sure the app is working as expected
Check the Photomator User Guide to make sure the app is working as expected. You can search the user guide for key terms shown in alerts, menus or error messages.
Update Photomator
Before you update, try to complete all active projects, back up your app, and turn off automatic updates. Learn how to back up your app and update Photomator and other Pro Apps.
Check that Photomator can access your photo library
Check the Privacy & Security settings on your Mac to make sure the app can access your photo library:
Choose System Settings from Apple menu .
Click Privacy & Security in the sidebar.
Click Photos, then make sure Photomator is turned on.
If your Privacy & Security settings on your Mac are set correctly and you still don’t see your photo library in the Photos Browser in Photomator, you may have a different photo library designated as the System Photo Library.
Check your System Photo Library
Photomator can only access the library designated as the System Photo Library, so you might have designate the library that you want to use with Photomator as the System Photo Library.
Make sure photos and images are stored on a supported device
You can’t store your photos library on a storage device used for Time Machine backups. And to avoid possible data loss, don’t store your photo libraries on removable storage devices like SD cards or USB flash drives, or on a device shared over a network or the internet, including cloud-based storage services.
If you store your photo libraries on external storage devices like SSD drives, make sure the devices are formatted with the APFS format. Older external storage devices can also be formatted as MacOS Extended.
If you want to store your photo library on a supported type of external storage device, learn how to move it.
If you buy an external drive that's pre-formatted with a Windows file system such as MS-DOS (FAT32), ExFAT, or NTFS, reformat the drive as APFS.
Check media compatibility
Photomator supports all the most popular image formats, such as HEIF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF, WebP, and macOS-supported RAW formats. Check your media's format to make sure it's compatible with Photomator:
In Photomator, select the file in the Photos Browser, then press Command-I.
Note the format of the image.
If you’re using an unsupported file format, retake the image in a supported format. You can still edit and export the image in Standard Dynamic Range (SDR).
Check third-party software compatibility
Note all the third-party software you're using with your Mac, which can include other image editing apps, utilities, and security, antivirus, and malware software. Contact the developers to make sure their products are compatible with the versions of Photomator and macOS that you have installed.
Check camera or storage device firmware
For any external devices you're using like cameras or storage devices, check with the manufacturer for software or firmware updates. Follow the manufacturer's instructions to update.
Test in a new user account
Create another administrator user account on your Mac, then try to recreate the issue in the new account. If the issue doesn't occur in the new account, settings or files in the original account might be causing the issue.
Test with a new image
Create test media for Photomator:
To take a screenshot, press and then release these three keys together: Shift, Command, and 3. The screenshot is saved to the Desktop.
In Photomator, choose File > Import, locate and select the screenshot file, then click Import.
Try to reproduce your issue using test media.
If you can't reproduce the issue using your test media, the issue might be related to the source file you're using. Try to get a new copy of the source file.
Reset Photomator
Quit Photomator.
Open the Finder and choose Go > Go to Folder.
Paste the following path into the Go to Folder field: ~/Library/Containers
Drag all folders named "Photomator" to the trash.
Remove and reinstall Photomator
When you remove and reinstall Photomator, your media won't also be removed or affected in any way.
In the Finder, choose Go > Applications.
Locate Photomator and drag it to the Trash.
Reinstall the app from the App Store or restore it from a backup. To restore a copy of the Photomator application from a backup, drag the app from its storage location to your Applications folder.
Test Photomator in a new volume on your Mac
As a final check to make sure Photomator, macOS, and your Mac are working as expected, create a new volume on your Mac, install macOS and Photomator on the new volume, then test with test media.
Install macOS on a new volume of your built-in startup disk. Make sure it's the same version of macOS that you're currently using.
When macOS installation is complete, set up the Mac, then set the default startup disk to the new test volume.
Shut down your Mac and disconnect all devices, except for a keyboard and mouse or trackpad.
Turn on your Mac.
Select the primary volume in the Finder, then press Command-E to unmount the primary volume. This leaves only the test volume mounted.
Download and install Photomator from the Mac App Store. Make sure to sign in to the App Store with the Apple Account used to originally purchase Photomator.
Create test media for Photomator:
To take a screenshot, press and then release these three keys together: Shift, Command, and 3. The screenshot is saved to the Desktop.
In Photomator, choose File > Import, locate and select the screenshot file, then click Import.
Try to recreate the issue in Photomator in the new volume. If the issue doesn't occur, then Photomator, macOS, and your Mac are working as expected. Your issue is most likely caused by the images you're working with, external devices, or other third-party products like plug-ins.
Shut down your Mac, then follow the directions to change your startup disk, making sure that you've chosen your primary volume (called Macintosh HD by default) as the startup disk.
In your primary volume, double-check third-party hardware and software compatibility, and make sure that you've updated macOS to the latest version.
When you're done testing, use Disk Utility to delete the test volume.