Missing File problem

[fh1805]

I've encountered a strange problem with "Missing Files".

Over the last few months I've built a series of short sequences based on images taken whilst walking along a country lane that is about two minutes from my front door. I was modifying them to give them a common "look and feel". That involved changing the background image. For this sequence, the original background image was called "C-Background.jpg". The new background file was called "Background1.jpg".

I went into Project Options...Screen tab and changed the file reference there. For images 2, 3, 4 and 5 I went into O&A...Properties and changed the file reference there. I previewed the sequence. It looked OK. I created the exe and ran that. It looked OK. I deleted the file "C-Background.jpg". I relaunched PTE to work on the next of the sequences and, when it opened the previous project, I got an Error report pop-up window that reported several instances of "C-Background.jpg" as a missing file.

I checked carefully along the Slide List - no "blue patches" to indicate where the missing files were. I stepped through the sequence in the O&A window - again, no "blue patches". Nothing obviously missing. I tried Save - the errors were reported again. I copied the "C-Background.jpg" file back into the folder. Now the sequence opened and saved without any errors reported.

The project has been zipped and uploaded to MediaFire. It is available via this link:

http://www.mediafire.com/?sharekey=7836f6f...8365492a3e39a71

(As an aside: it looks as though MediaFire have changed their system recently. That monster of a link is what you now get when you upload a file)

back to my problem....

The zip file contains all the images, the music file and the missing "C-Background.jpg" file. If you extract the zip into a folder, check the sequence out and then delete (or rename) the "C-Background.jpg" file, I'm fairly certain the problem will appear.

I've taken the .pte file into Notepad and searched for C-Background. Sure enough, it finds several instances. What I don't understand is why these entries are persisting after all references have been changed.

regards,

Peter

[fh1805]

A little bit more info...

Of the eleven instances of a "missing file" being reported, seven are on the slides that have a transition that is not the Project Option default transition. The other four instances are on slides 2,3,4 and 5 - the titles and credits slides.

regards,

Peter

[Ken Cox]

PETER

right side

click

copy link

copies the link to the clipboard

http://www.mediafire.com/?9zhutw3npmb

they revised layout a week back -- lot more java - my ie 6 would not upload but we got it straight now

their servers are busy right now as well

hope you had your goloshes on while taking the picts - real sloppy:)

i remmed the file and there were then+-14 files missing -- too hard for me to count accurately

ken

[xahu34]

Hello Peter,

I fear that there is a bug in PTE. Under particular circumstances it seems to happen that some slides still have the parameter "bname=Path_To_Background_Image" in the project file, although the corresponding box in the customize slide section has been unchecked. In your case it is the path to your old background which is not needed any longer.

Best regards,

Xaver

Munich

[Ken Cox]

Peter et al

Mediafire

the copy to clipboard box on the upload pages gives a full blown url like you posted

the copy to clip board box on the download page gives an abbreviated url

and

they seem to have changed the upload page a bit since yesterday -- it asked me which folder i wanted to upload to - never had that happen before or i might have missed it

ken

[xahu34]

Hello Peter,

I made several attempts to reproduce the error which occurred in your pte-file, but I failed. Do you remember the steps how you constructed it (including save operations)?

Best regards,

Xaver

Munich

[fh1805]

Hi Xaver,

It's good of you to try and diagnose the problem.

Unfortunately I cannot remember exactly how the sequence was put together. It was not just built at a single point in time. It has evolved over a period of several months.

The first snowfall occurred on 3rd January this year. The first version of the sequence was built in late January using PTE v5.1. We had a second fall of snow in late March so I rebuilt the sequence using images from both snowfalls. I suspect that this was built using a beta level of PTE v5.5. The build technique would have been to Open the existing v5.1 pte file into PTE V5.5 beta ?? (whatever version I was using at that time) and do a File Save As to a new name. This version was then worked up using that beta level of v5.5.

I am now trying to give a common "look and feel" to all the sequences built from material taken during my walks up that lane. That was why I wanted to change the background and title images. So the pte file was now opened in PTE v5.5 and the attempt was made to replace the background and title files using the technique explained in my original post.

So we have here a pte file that was created with PTE v5.1, amended with at least one beta level of PTE v5.5 (possibly more than one beta) and finally updated with PTE v5.5. Somewhere along the way some lines have been added to the pte file that are now redundant. But I don't know which lines, why or when! Nor do I know which lines to delete in Notepad so that all redundant entries are removed but no damage is done to any vital entries.

I really need Igor's advice on this matter.

[xahu34]

Hi Peter,

try the attached version. I deleted all entries in the slides starting with a "b" (bname, bcolor..., bsize).

Best regards,

Xaver

Munich

AHL3_StrollInSnow_mod.zip

[Lin Evans]

Hi Peter,

It's definitely a bug in the creation of the PTE file. To test this I saved the project to a new file name and the need for a file named C-background.jpg still exists. I erased the file and got the same error you are getting. It doesn't matter what the "content" of the file - just a single pixel with the file name C-background.jpg will suffice but the program "wants" that file name.

I suspect it may have to do with reading a cache but Igor needs to look at it.

Best regards,

Lin

Hi Xaver,

It's good of you to try and diagnose the problem.

Unfortunately I cannot remember exactly how the sequence was put together. It was not just built at a single point in time. It has evolved over a period of several months.

The first snowfall occurred on 3rd January this year. The first version of the sequence was built in late January using PTE v5.1. We had a second fall of snow in late March so I rebuilt the sequence using images from both snowfalls. I suspect that this was built using a beta level of PTE v5.5. The build technique would have been to Open the existing v5.1 pte file into PTE V5.5 beta ?? (whatever version I was using at that time) and do a File Save As to a new name. This version was then worked up using that beta level of v5.5.

I am now trying to give a common "look and feel" to all the sequences built from material taken during my walks up that lane. That was why I wanted to change the background and title images. So the pte file was now opened in PTE v5.5 and the attempt was made to replace the background and title files using the technique explained in my original post.

So we have here a pte file that was created with PTE v5.1, amended with at least one beta level of PTE v5.5 (possibly more than one beta) and finally updated with PTE v5.5. Somewhere along the way some lines have been added to the pte file that are now redundant. But I don't know which lines, why or when! Nor do I know which lines to delete in Notepad so that all redundant entries are removed but no damage is done to any vital entries.

I really need Igor's advice on this matter.

[Igor]

Peter,

Thank you! I've reproduced this bug and will fix it. It seems to be a an very old bug.

How you think is it necessary to publish updated v5.53 immediately, or leave for next v5.6?

[xahu34]

How you think is it necessary to publish updated v5.53 immediately, or leave for next v5.6?

Igor,

as we do not know under which circumstances the bug will occur, it is difficult to argue on this subject.

Best regards,

Xaver

Munich

[Ken Cox]

SEEING AS IT IS FIRST TIME occurence and you say the bug has been around for some time why not fix it in the next version

ken

[fh1805]

Igor,

As I seem to be the only one to hit this problem, I'm happy to wait until v5.6 for the fix to be included.

Can you tell me, will the fix do both the following:

- prevent the fault happening in the future (this I expect it to do)

- remove redundant code from existing project files (this I would like it to do)

regards,

Peter

[Igor]

Peter,

This problem will never occur again in v5.6 and no old background files in a project file.

Haver,

I think it's a specific bug and difficult to reproduce. If it will be requiered to release updated v5.5 I'll include this fix.

[xahu34]

.. I think it's a specific bug and difficult to reproduce. If it will be requiered to release updated v5.5 I'll include this fix...

Igor,

Let's wait for version 5.6!

Best regards,

Xaver

Munich