Hi all,
I had just about finished the entire project after weeks of work, when the program crashed. On reboot, I cannot access either the .bld file or the backup (correctly renaming backup as .bld). I get a dialogue box stating 'unable to access ... template file'. Has anyone encountered this and is there a solution. I'd really rather not have to start again from scratch...
(BTW - every other program on my machine works fine.)
Sounds like you are having fun!!
It seems it may have lost some links to files it requires, obviously Templates being one of them -an essential one! It may also explain your black SKP textures.
Have you been moving or renaming files? This can break the links.
Does the program actually open?
If it opens do you see the startup screen or have you turned that off? If you do still have it, can you open any other bld file on your computer or can you start a new one by chooseing a Template?
If it opens can you open the Settings screen? If you can open the General tab check if the Startup Template is there. If not, can you use the browse button to select one?
Take a screen image of any messages you get and post them here.
Allan
Thanks for replying Allan.
I think you are right about broken links to textures. I have been importing a large number of textures from 3rd party sources (mainly .bim or .jpg) into the TFP textures directory. This may well have screwed something around, as the problem only surfaced after doing so. The trouble is, I imported so many it is not possible to go back to where I was beforehand.
When I try to open the corrupted project, and the backup file, I get the attached dialogue box.
Fortunately I also found that I had created a 2nd backup a week or so ago, so all is not lost as most of the project is there - PHEW! However, the textures link seems to be broken as some appear as blank (white). The SKP textures are blank and appear as black.
The program opens without any problems. The startup screen appears as normal. I am able to create new projects both using the wizard and without, however the 'missing' textures are blank. Further, when I open a project whereby I had made an object of furniture for insertion into the main project, again the texture appears white - so that link is broken.
I managed to recover one of the 'missing' textures be re-creating the image file in Photoshop - I will continue to explore this option. I will also see what effect this has on the 'old' backup file. However, I still cannot access the most recent project file or its backup. Not sure where to go from here, but will keep trying with the texture files...
Hopefully this all makes sense... but I think you are correct - I think it revolves around broken texture links.
Kind regards, Rod.
Hi Rod,
A few more questions in the hope of resolving the 'corrupt' file.
How have you tried opening the project that gives you the Template message? Are you just double clicking the file name to open it?
Can you open it using File / Open once you have TFP running?
Can you open it from the startup screen - Open Existing File (even if it is not in the Recent file list)?
Do you know what template was used in this file - or was it just the default one that is used when you start a new project?
Can you post an image of your Setttings / Program Settings / General tab? (so I can see the template and file access settings).
I am just wondering why you have been downloading so many textures. There are 9,000 in the TFP Textures folder. Generally the only ones I need to add, are my own photo of a specific fabric from someone's lounge suite, carpet or curtains, to be able to match something exactly to their home. You do not see the 9000 textures in the TFP Materials list obviously but any one of them can be added at any time (just takes a while to browse through them all ! ;D
If you had all your added textures in the TFP Textures folder and there are problems with it, you could try using the folder from a previous version of TFP (if you had V15). Just rename the V16 Textures folder first (add v16 to it maybe) then copy the whole V15 Textures folder to the main V16 directory. Do not rename this of course - it must still be called Textures and be under the V16 directory. Make sute TFP is closed while you do this. That will not fix textures you have added to the V16 Textures folder obviously but it is worth a try if somehow this is causing problems with the 'Template' for your 'corrupt' project.
You may be able to try something similar with the Templates folder too but before you do that please post the copy of the General tab as requested above.
Allan
Thanks Allan. I have circumvented the problem for now. Your suggestion about 'broken texture links' got me thinking, so I reloaded the software from the disk using 'repair' and the texture links seem to be now all back. I still cannot open the original file (I have tried several different ways) but my older backup now works fine and I have updated it back to where I was a few days ago, so I'm now good; its now all there; and my project has survived.
I have deleted all the corrupt project files, including their corrupted backups, and made additional backups of the new project file so I am now good. Hopefully it won't occur again but I'm ready if it does.
As you see, I'm new to the program - I was not aware of so many textures, so will not go looking or importing any more (except for my own images as you suggest.
I thank you for your very valuable assistance - it was your suggestion that put me on the right track to get around the issue. Regards, Rod
Hi Rd,
Good to hear it is all sorted out. Yes, good regular backups are essential!
Allan
I had the same problem at around the same time... This was with a standard installation of v15 (so no hundreds of external textures). Even though I had just saved the file, the crash overwrote the file as well as the backup. I just opened the file in a hex editor and it contains all zeros, so a crash can completely destroy a file. I've just update to v16 (special), so I hope it doesn't happen again!