Lost Scripts' Shapes Window (**New** BETA 4 PE+) for Moho 14.3+ Pro

[Greenlaw]

By 'multiple Scripts folders, I mean I created are separate Content folders, and Moho should be reading only from the chosen Content folder.

Normally, I keep one 'default' content (native-only,) and one 'custom' content (third-party added,) and I may switch between them when troubleshooting. In this case, I made one extra content folder with Shapes Window version 3.x, not 4.x. This allows me to compare performance between the two versions by switching Content folders. While it shouldn't matter, I haven't actually switched between these two yet.

But I'll check everything before deleting anything, to be sure I don't have multiple 'duplicate' files within the current custom content folder.

Thanks for the suggestions!

[Greenlaw]

Hi Rai,

Mystery solved! I finally got around to sorting this out, and you were right: I found two copies of the menu script installed.

What happened was that I normally place third-party menu scripts inside a sub-folder named after its developer, within a Custom menu folder...(yes, I know that's weird, but I like to categorize Menu scripts by developer, not function,)...and when I updated the script, I forgot that Shapes Window comes with its own custom menu folder called - Lost Scripts. When I brought over the Shapes Window folders, I mistakenly thought I was overwriting the old Menu script, and I ended up with two versions. Based on my screenshot, Moho was clearly running the old version.

I expect to use Shapes Window a lot in my current project, and now that I'm actually using version 0.4.2, I'll let you know how it goes.

Thanks again for your help!

BTW, I'm using the - Lost Scripts Menu folder as intended. Don't want to risk making that error again.

[Rai López]

Cool! That was the most probable cause in base of what you showed. So we are now "aligned" and I hope everything goes smoother from now on, but feel free to let me know whatever you could find, because it's expected I'll start having some more time in a week or so... Thank you so much for continue using and testing/stressing the tool!

[Greenlaw]

Quick follow-up: A week later, and the latest Shapes Window appears to be very stable, even when scrubbing the timeline. I'm not using it very heavily on my current job, but the window had been left open for much longer than usual for me. Not noticing any memory issues, either...it just works.

Oh, and lately I've kept it in Advanced mode too.

I'll use Shapes Window more heavily (lots of shapes with animation) in an upcoming tutorial, and will let you know how that goes.

Fantastic job, Rai! Thanks again for sharing this tool!

[Rai López]

Well thanks for the follow-up! That's so good to hear... I hope everything keeps running smoothly both in general and for the tutorial , even though scrubbing optimization is still a pending task... Cheers!

[Greenlaw]

I ran into an interesting issue yesterday. Some of this is a partial rehash of the freezing I described before, but I learned something new...

I had Shapes Window open for a long while, and Moho's UI suddenly froze — this part is not new. When this happens, I just close Shapes Window, which unfreezes Moho, then I save the project, relaunch Moho, and move on. A small annoyance, and thankfully, this doesn't happen often.

However, yesterday, I noticed that when Shapes Window froze Moho, if I clicked another layer, it unfroze Moho. When I reselected the layer I was working in again, Moho froze again. By 'froze', I mean nothing was clickable or operable, but obviously, I could still select a different layer. I can also close Shapes Window to unfreeze Moho.

Eventually, I closed Shapes Window, and everything appeared to go back to normal. But this time, instead of saving and quitting, I decided to continue working to see what happens. A few minutes later, Moho completely crashed out, and I could not relaunch Moho until after I rebooted my computer. This last part is what usually happens, which is why I typically save and quit immediately. At least then, I don't have to reboot the computer.

Anyway, I thought I should mention this info in case it helps troubleshoot the problem.

This happened on my Surface Laptop, but I've seen the freeze happen on my desktop too. Both devices are running Moho 14.4, Shapes Window 0.4.2, Windows 11.

For other Shapes Window users, I recommend leaving the window open only when you need it. I find that when I close the window immediately after I'm done, I'm far less likely to experience the freeze. If Shapes Window is being used for a long period, it's probably a good idea to close and reopen it every now and then. Being mindful of this means I can use Shapes Window on and off all day long without crashing.

[Greenlaw]

When I have time, I'll try running with a Content Folder that has only Shapes Window installed, and use that for a while. This way, I can be sure the problem isn't a conflict with another third-party tool.

[Rai López]

Tch! Sorry to heard about that again, it's a shame we haven't been able to figure out what might be causing that behavior... But I'm afraid the situation will stay the same until I manage to reproduce it (which doesn't seem very likely due to I'm much more focused on coding for Moho than on using it on a regular basis) or have a clearer clue or something.

So just as a reminder, there is a "Debug Mode" entry in the Shape window's main menu that at this point well could be our only chance to at least can figure out which part of the code could be implied in the glitch. If you enable it (so the entry gets checkmarked) a file named "LOG.txt" is created in your "CCF/Scripts/ScriptResources/ls_shapes/" folder and, hopefully, it's last report/lines might contain some useful information after a script-related crash. In other words, it won't help determine the cause of the freeze itself, but it "should" do so once the crash occurs if it's indeed caused by the Update function (the core) of the window as everything points. Well, I wish I could give you better news, but I hope this helps us at some point... Thanks/Greetings.

[Greenlaw]

Got it! Thanks, Rai! Will let you know how it goes.

[Rai López]

Well thank you! ()