opening files from Movie Magic.

ALLWritety

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Hi guys,

I have hit a problem and don't know what causes it. Some of the files once written can't be opened. Some are fine, no problem, i can work on them as normal. But others it says "file can't be found". I begin them, save them and can see them in my list but can't open them. There doesn't seem to be any logic in why it does this and it seems to be random as to which files it does this to.

I have movie magic (2000 i think!) and windows vista home premium. I can't open the help files and have tried to download a file where i can read the help file but that didn't work either.

Any help or advice on how i can retrieve my files to work on?

Kev
 

dpaterso

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Sorry I blinked and missed this when you posted it. If you're willing, how about emailing me a couple of your problem SCW files? Discretion assured.

One thing I should ask -- have you kept your MM2000 up to date via "Check for internet updates" in the Movie Magic Screenwriter folder?

-Derek
 

wordmonkey

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I have seen things like this with other software.

Sometimes double-clicking will give a bogus message like you're experiencing, but then you open the software and use the File>Open way and bob's your uncle, the file opens.

No guarantees, but might be worth a try.
 

ALLWritety

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I have seen things like this with other software.

Sometimes double-clicking will give a bogus message like you're experiencing, but then you open the software and use the File>Open way and bob's your uncle, the file opens.

No guarantees, but might be worth a try.

Thanks WordMonkey I di try this buit still to no avail!!

Kev
 

icerose

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Sounds like your might be having a driver problem, i.e. older program not running right on Vista, or your files are somehow getting corrupt. To see if it's a software conflict, I'd suggest sending them to Derek. He's one of the people I trust most with my stuff. If he can open them fine you have a software conflict and either need to update movie magic or get the newest version. Remember Vista got rid of the entire base all other windows used, so some programs either flat out don't work or don't work right.

If Derek cannot open them, then it sounds like you're files are somehow getting corrupt. Which probably means you have some nasty stuff going on with your pc and you'll want to fix it quickly.

These are two possibilities I can think of. Makes me grateful I use FD, I've never had a problem. Reminds me of the old Microsoft Works days with floppy discs and continually lost WIP's. *shudder*
 
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ALLWritety

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yeah

Hi Ice

Thanks. I hope it's not the comp as in a virus. If it is the driver how would i go about rectifying it?

I have sent Derek a couple of the files

Kev
 

dpaterso

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Hmm, that is strange...

Got the files OK... all clean, no virus...

When I double-clicked on any of them, MM2000 started up OK... got to around the 72% mark when it usually opens the selected script... then told me "<filename> not Found!"

Not strange. Bizarre.

Thinking about it some more...

-Derek
 

icerose

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If it's doing that, there's issues with the files itself. I would send in a help ticket to movie magic and get some support going. There may be an issue they already know about and have a fix for it that they've addressed and have it on their website. But to say file not found is a corrupt file. I would do a complete scan of your computer. If you don't have decent protection go to safer-networking.org and download spy bot search and destroy. It's an excellent program. For a good anti-virus go to free.grisoft.com and download free AVG. Scan your whole computer. It's possible a virus may have altered your software. If you don't find anything there, contact movie magic with your problem.
 

dpaterso

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Kev - rename your files! Give them shorter filenames!

I got this advice from a pal (another Kev) who knew about this problem and made the suggestion.

I shortened the filenames and the 3 files now open in MM2000 without any problems.

-Derek
 

ComicBent

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It is a known problem

Known problems with MMS 4.x.

"File Not Found" is a known problem in MMS 4.x. I don't know if your filename fell under the situation described below. I did not find anything relating to long filenames alone. Here is what the company says:

Q: When I try to open my file in Screenwriter 2000 (4.x) it says "File not found!"

This is a known issue that occurs when there is an extra period at the end of the file name as in an abbreviation.

Rename the file so that there are no extra periods in the file name (particularly at the end) and it will open.

This has been fixed in Screenwriter 6.

* * *

Q: When I try to open a file from the File history list in Screenwriter 2000 (4.x), it says "File not found!"

This is a known issue if you are saving your file into a subfolder that is six levels deep and has been fixed in Screenwriter 6.