Annotation cannot be started

[Apprentice]

Hi All,

As a result of continued experimentation with my Frames problem, and I do not know exactly what action or sequence caused the fault, I have got the application (CoCreate Modeling PE 2.0) into a state where the Annotation module will not start automatically. As a result the Annotation entry has disappeared from the Application menu.

The only error message which I have seen comes up in an Output pop-up window on starting CoCreate and reads, 'Activation of module Annotation failed: "LISP error: NIL is not type (OR STRING EXTENDED-STRING)". Module activation failures removed from auto-startup list.'

I know that I can force Annotation to start by loading another .bd2 bundle, when the error message will be reshown but can be ignored as the menu item is replaced, but even if this is done and the programme immediately exited the module will fail to restart on the next start-up.

Please, how can I correct this error and restore the normal auto-start situation.

Thanks to all,
Andrew

[wathavy]

Hi.
I have PE on Vista so the following is the directory path.
C:\Users\<user name>\AppData\Roaming\CoCreate\Modeling PE
Where you supposed to find a folder "20.00".
If you remove it or rename if, PE will create a new one which supposed to be healthier than now.

And if it doesn't ... post later in that case.
Cheers.

[Apprentice]

Thanks Toshi,

Your method is certainly worth trying if I get into trouble again. I run on Win2K so your path is familiar to me. I have also found that the error will occur again if a .bd2 file was in use immediately before the failed restart, so that something within these files preserves the error situation. Without checking I think that the default directory for saving .pk2 and .bd2 files lies under the 20.00 directory that you mention, so it is probable that your method would eliminate this cause of the error continuing. The price of your method, therefore, is that you will lose any recent work unless you have backups outside the relevant directory branch.

Other things that I have already tried, with mixed success, were to use the CoCreate setup programme without uninstalling. This offers a "Repair" option button if it finds an existing installation. Unfortunately this does not correct this particular error. The only methods that I have now found that do restore things to normality are
1. To completely uninstall the Application and delete both the "Program Files" branch for CoCreate and the whole User\Application Data branch that you have mentioned. This will not require re-registration with PTC provided that you have run the application a short time before. (Exact time span is not known, it is probably the same day but could be as long as 72 hours).
Once again this requires a recent backup to restore current work.
2. Provided that you have a full backup of both Programme and User directory branches, which does preserve an error free start up of CoCreate and does not include any .bd2 files with errors, then complete deletion of these branches followed by restoration will remedy the situation.

As you can see, if you wish to preserve your work it is essential to have full current backups. I am not sure yet whether automatic saves via the programme options are sufficient for this task. Thank goodness for Norton Ghost, say I!

Anyway thanks again, and I will report further if I need to try out your method.
Andrew

[clausb]

Your method is certainly worth trying if I get into trouble again. I run on Win2K so your path is familiar to me.


On XP, the path is more like C:\Documents and Settings\yourname\Application Data\CoCreate\Modeling PE\20.00 - I guess W2K is similar, but since I haven't used W2K in a number of years now, I'm not 100% sure.

This directory holds configuration and customization data only. Model data is not saved there, so if you delete the directory, you will not lose any data, and no backup strategy is required. I usually recommend to close Modeling PE, then rename the 20.00 directory and restart Modeling PE. If the startup issue disappears, you know that the problem is in the customization/config files. You can then choose to either fix the problem in the config files, or simply to delete them.


Without checking I think that the default directory for saving .pk2 and .bd2 files lies under the 20.00 directory that you mention...


No, unless you tried very hard to save your models to that particular directory for some reason (which would involve a lot of navigation in the file dialog, so I doubt anyone would do this).

Claus

[Mike Swartz]

The files and folders in the 20.00 directory are "persistent data" files. They store the changes you have made to your user interface, along with any other changes you have made. (such as "units", part check settings, or the last directory you saved to)
I do see cases where these files are corrupted and cause the errors you are reporting, but in MOST cases, it happens after Modeling PE is exited improperly, and the application died while in the middle of storing these files. Unless you have added a lot of customization to your user interface, it is probably not worth your while to try and debug these files. Just rename or delete the 20.00 directory, and move on.