Unable to load project

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1

After a few days not using synfig, i returned to my project and wasnt able to open it. The error is at follows:

"Unable to load “C:…\scene_5_8.sifz”:
* C:…\scene_5_8.sifz::9467: error: is missing link 0 (name)
* C:…\scene_5_8.sifz::9470: error: is missing link 0 (name)

Can’t find this error anywhere, can anyone give me a clue on how to open up my project again?
Don’t know what to do.
Thank you.

2

Oh no… did you try to link an exported value to the bone structure? Can you recall something like that when you last saved your work?

If my guess is right, then we can restore it.

3

This is my first time using synfig, i’m still learning how to use it.
I don’t know if I did that or not. :s

4

Well, then there aren’t many options…

The error indicates that your file was corrupted during saving. It might be possible to restore, but you have to post you problematic file here so more advanced with Synfig people could take a look, which may be not desirable for you. Alternatively, you can send the file directly to me through personal message and I will take a look. I, of course, promise not to share it anywhere and delete it after I fixed it (if it’s even possible).

5

Let me start by saying that I really appreciate the availability and help you have tried to provide.

That been said, I was able to recover an older verion of the project, so I will use that version.

Just one last thing, what can I do to avoid this in the future?
Is there anyway to avoid this?

Thanks again.

6

First, be careful when working with bones - there’s a bug that causes file corruption: BONES structure is saved before DEFS structure · Issue #362 · synfig/synfig · GitHub
So never try to link bones to anything until this bug is resolved.

Secondly, it’s not the only place where Synfig can corrupt files. Sometimes it happens kind of randomly, but always related to some advanced functionality, such as linking/using converters. If you don’t use that you should be good, theoretically…

Here’s what I do to minimize the damage if I hit some bugs in Synfig:

  • Always use cyclic saving. Let’s say you saved your work as MyProjects.sifz file
  • Made some changes to it? Save to a new copy named MyProject1.sifz
  • Another bunch of changes? Save as MyProject2.sifz and so on…
  • When you get to, for example, MyProject4.sifz, overwrite initial MyProjects.sifz file and start over

This way you can always go back if the last file gets corrupted (you have a history of changes). Not sure if it’s helpful, but this is my workflow in Synfig.

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