Problem in saving new files

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jhecht
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Problem in saving new files

Post by jhecht »

Lately when I try to save new files (that have not already autosaved into the Nisus folder) I can create a file, but when Nisus Writer Pro (3.0.4) tries to autosave, I get an error message "Allow save to discard document formatting?", as shown in the attached screen shot. https://nisus.com/forum/download/file.p ... id=2054The default file type is set as an RTF, yet it seems to be trying to default to a text format. I am also attaching screen shots of the Saving https://nisus.com/forum/download/file.p ... id=2052and New File Preferences https://nisus.com/forum/download/file.p ... 053because this little big may be related to one of them. [attachment=0]Autosave wants to discard formatting.png[/attachment]

Any idea what's causing this and how to fix it? It does not happen if I let Nisus autosave it in the default Nisus folder, but that's not where I want the files to be. For the record, I am on a 2018 MacMini running MacOS 10.14.6

Thanks, Jeff Hecht
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phspaelti
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Re: Problem in saving new files

Post by phspaelti »

I have recently encountered this as well. In my case this had nothing to do with the Nisus New File. It happened when I opened some (very old?) existing file. Nisus suddenly asked whether I wanted to discard the formatting even though the file was .rtf. I can't be sure at this time, but I think I ended up saving it, and nothing was discarded.

This has not re-occurred so far.
philip
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martin
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Re: Problem in saving new files

Post by martin »

That's very strange, and I'm not sure what would cause that problem, but it certainly could be related to problems with your New File template. That seems like a good place to start in trying to fix this.

One question regarding the error alert shown in the New File preferences: when does that appear on screen? Have you tried reselecting your template file using the "Choose" button? Is that when the error is shown?
jhecht
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Re: Problem in saving new files

Post by jhecht »

I have tried to reconstruct how I got the error on the New File template, but have not yet succeeded. I did look at the Template File listed under Advanced preferences for a New File and picked Nisus New File. I think (but am not sure) that it might have been set for "Plain Text Template" before. That may have been the problem; after picking Nisus New File I was not able to reproduce the saving new new files error.
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martin
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Re: Problem in saving new files

Post by martin »

It sounds like Nisus Writer lost access to your Nisus New File template, which incorrectly triggered the alerts about discarding formatting. That isn't exactly how it should work. Nisus Writer should have alerted you to the fact that your template was inaccessible at the moment you created a new file. However, if a new document window was somehow created, but the source template was inaccessible, I could see how maybe Nisus Writer got confused as to the file format of the new document and somehow incorrectly defaulted to plain text.

Either way, I'm glad you resolved the problem Jeff! Reselecting your template file almost certainly fixed the issue. That act triggers the system to restore permission for Nisus Writer to access the file.
jhecht
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Re: Problem in saving new files

Post by jhecht »

This problem has reared its ugly head again. It happened most recently (15 minutes ago) when I copied and pasted material from a web site. I noticed when I checked the Nisus New File template that it was dated at the moment that I opened the folder containing the Nisus New File template. The problem then went away, or at least I can't duplicate it again after I tried to

All that I can think of is that it has happened a couple of times since I last rebooted the system, which I rarely do -- it will go weeks or months without a reboot. So your scenario may be right, but there could be a problem that causes Nisus Writer to lose track of the new file template when the [b]system[/b] reboots. It did not lose track of the new file template (or create a new one) when I rebooted Nisus Writer.

It's not a big problem, but it is an annoying one because it can happen just when have pasted in the contact information for a person I am talking to on the phone, forcing me to interrupt the discussion while I have to do another save.
jhecht
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Re: Problem in saving new files

Post by jhecht »

This problem has reared its ugly head again. It happened most recently (15 minutes ago) when I copied and pasted material from a web site. I noticed when I checked the Nisus New File template that it was dated at the moment that I opened the folder containing the Nisus New File template. The problem then went away, or at least I can't duplicate it again after I tried to

All that I can think of is that it has happened a couple of times since I last rebooted the system, which I rarely do -- it will go weeks or months without a reboot. So your scenario may be right, but there could be a problem that causes Nisus Writer to lose track of the new file template when the [b]system[/b] reboots. It did not lose track of the new file template (or create a new one) when I rebooted Nisus Writer.

It's not a big problem, but it is an annoying one because it can happen just when have pasted in the contact information for a person I am talking to on the phone, forcing me to interrupt the discussion while I have to do another save.
jhecht
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Re: Problem in saving new files

Post by jhecht »

What may be happening here is that my 2018 MacMini is getting confused when it reboots. I had to reboot yesterday because of some problems with Mail, and today I have noticed two problems have started. One is that Nisus Writer Pro is having problems saving new files when I have copied part of a document into it. The other is that the Mini has switched output sound to an external headset that is not attached, so it's absolutely silent. I don't know whose problem this is, but it may be Apple's.
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martin
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Re: Problem in saving new files

Post by martin »

That sounds like a pain Jeff, sorry! One quick question: what is the exact error alert when you now try to save the new documents? Are you seeing that same alert about formatting being discarded? Or an alert about permission problems? If it's the latter, do the permissions refer to the Nisus New File template, or the location you selected when trying to save your new file?
jhecht
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Re: Problem in saving new files

Post by jhecht »

I'm running into this problem again, and inevitably it always happens when I am trying to take notes on a conversation (or these days a Zoom presentation) and don't have time to try to note the error message, and I can't get the error to repeat. I think I saw something something at the top about "allow the save to discard formatting as in my screen shot in my initial post" but I have not noticed a second error message. That doesn't mean it wasn't there, because sometimes it may be obscured.

One question - when I checked the "Saving" preference pane, the "File Format" at bottom lists the default format as "Rich Text Format" and the Plain text encoding as "Automatic". I note that UTF-8 is "recommended". Might changing that to UTF-8 make a difference?
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martin
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Re: Problem in saving new files

Post by martin »

jhecht wrote: 2020-09-18 07:20:25 I'm running into this problem again, and inevitably it always happens when I am trying to take notes on a conversation (or these days a Zoom presentation) and don't have time to try to note the error message
I'm sorry about the bad timing! I hate that frantic feeling, when you can't properly deal with an error or misbehavior because you need to respect someone else's time and attention.
One question - when I checked the "Saving" preference pane, the "File Format" at bottom lists the default format as "Rich Text Format" and the Plain text encoding as "Automatic". I note that UTF-8 is "recommended". Might changing that to UTF-8 make a difference?
I very much doubt that will change anything.

The nature of the problem seems to be that Nisus Writer loses access to your New File Template, which incorrectly triggers Nisus Writer to default to the plain text format. That change in the decided file format is a Nisus specific issue, and I'll have us take a look to see what we can do about it.

However, the root cause of the problem is the lost access, which is something the system (macOS) maintains. That's probably why rebooting your Mac tends to trigger the issue. I expect that the reboot is incorrectly resetting some system data and/or settings, which means Nisus Writer is incorrectly denied access to your template. That's something we can't fix, as it's part of Apple's security apparatus. The system is naturally in total control of this, to ensure rogue apps don't access your data without your permission. That's generally good, but it also means there's little we can do when something goes wrong.
jhecht
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Re: Problem in saving new files

Post by jhecht »

So what should I do to stop this? I just had it happen again. I copied and dragged and dropped some text from Firefox, saved the file the first time, and then was told it could not safe formatted text.


This time the only error message I get is the attached which tells me nothing other than I can't save the file. Am I missing something.

FWIW, I had Plain Text encoding set as "Automatic" I can find the NWP seems to be able to find the New File, as shown in the attached.

I tried a Save As of the document again with a new name, left it for a minute or two, remembered I should have added something, typed in a couple of spaces, and this time it autosaved without objection. I feel like there's some magic spell I've forgotten to invoke, but it feels more like I am trying saving something that gives NWP digital indigestion and it can't swallow...er, save... the file.

Any ides would be welcome. Thanks for trying.
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martin
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Re: Problem in saving new files

Post by martin »

jhecht wrote: 2020-09-21 12:07:54 So what should I do to stop this?
I would recommend the same thing as before, which is to reselect your Nisus New File template. Even if the Advanced area of the New File preferences shows the correct file, you should click the "Choose" button to confirm the existing file. That should make the system grant Nisus Writer access to the file again.
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