Error: MadCap Flare encountered a problem and needs to close

[MadCapUser]

Hi,

I opened MadCap Flare for the first time and I am getting an error message:

["MadCap Flare V10" encountered a problem and needs to close. We are sorry for your inconvenience.

System.InvalidOperationException occured at dd/mm/yyyy hh:mm:ss

Cannot set Visibility or call Show, ShowDialog, or WindowInteropHelper.EnsureHandle after a Window has closed.]

I have tried re-installing Flare but that didn't work, Google also has little to no information on the error in relation to Flare.

I am using MadCap Flare version 10.1 and I have a full license.

I have attached an image of the error message and the error report.

Thanks in advance for your help.

[ChoccieMuffin]

Stab in the dark, but could it be something to do with your version of .NET?

[SteveS]

Welcome to the forums!

Are you using the trial version of Flare, or has been installed for a while (by another user) and this problem has just showed? I suspect the former...

I, too, suspect the .net frameworks, make sure you are running the current version. Also make sure you have the correct permissions for any file locations you are using, particularly on network shares.

If you have just installed, try a hard reboot (shut the machine right down and restart, rather than selecting restart from the start menu). This isn't usually needed, but something I'll do if newly installed software doesn't work as expected.

If it is the trial version contact support. This is only a peer to peer forum (although the MadCap folk often check the posts) and as a new user MadCap are keen for you to have a great experience.

HTH

[MadCapUser]

Thank you for your replies.

I was in fact running .NET version 4, so I updated this to 4.5. However, the same error message still appears.

I am able to run MadCap Flare on my profile, but on another user's profile it displays the error message that was attached in my previous post.

Therefore I don't think this is a problem with Flare or my setup, but is a profile specific issue.

Thanks again for your help.

[LTinker68]

When you install Flare, it asks if you want to install the app just for yourself or for everyone who uses the computer. Did you accidentally select you as the option instead of everyone?

Normally you only need admin privileges on the computer when you're installing Flare, not when you're actually using it. The only exception to that might be if you hadn't yet registered the license; that process might need to write something to the registry, which would require admin privileges. Even then, Flare should still start ok -- it wouldn't fail unless the person tried to go through the registration process. So perhaps reinstall Flare and make sure it's set to allow everyone to use the app.

[SteveS]

...Normally you only need admin privileges on the computer when you're installing Flare, not when you're actually using it. The only exception to that might be if you hadn't yet registered the license; that process might need to write something to the registry, which would require admin privileges. Even then, Flare should still start ok -- it wouldn't fail unless the person tried to go through the registration process. So perhaps reinstall Flare and make sure it's set to allow everyone to use the app.

You also need the correct level of privileges for any folders used by Flare, including output and publishing. Not an issue (usually) with local resources, but can impact on network locations. I seem to recall a thread a while ago along these lines.

[MadCapUser]

I do have administrator privileges, however the user doesn't. Although this shouldn't be a problem, 7 other users have the same access rights and are experiencing no problems.

I did select 'Everyone' during the installation process and have already tried reinstalling Flare onto the user's PC. The license has also been registered in the user's name/email and not mine, so this shouldn't be an issue.

To confirm whether access rights are the problem, I will ask another user with the same access rights as the user in question to try Flare on the user's PC.

Thanks for your help.

UPDATE: Another user with the same access rights tried Flare on the user's PC and it worked fine.

[SteveS]

It really does sound as if there is a problem with the user profile. Strange that Flare works for others on the same machine. Does their profile work on another user's machine?

Is it feasible to create a new profile for them?

If not have you tried elevating the user to admin privileges (temporarily). While under higher privileges you could reinstall the .net framework and Flare using their profile (if you haven't tried already).

[MadCapUser]

The user that was having problems just tried another PC with Flare and it works fine.

I think your suggestion of reinstalling Flare using their profile will be the next step.

Thanks for your help.

UPDATE: Gave the user temporary admin rights and proceeded to reinstall under their profile. The same error appeared after the first launch....

Re-imaging the machine is looking to be my only option.

[nalabolustephen]

I have a similar situation. I have tried updating the .net framework version to 4.0, re-installed MadCap Flare 10.2 trial version but still the problem persists. Is it something to do with "system windows markup xamlparseexception" error? Does it require a fix from MadCap?

[Nita Beck]

Welcome to the fourms! Very sorry to hear that you're having problems just getting going. Given that you've tried the ideas suggested here on the user forums and given that as a trial user you have full access to MadCap tech support, I think your best option now is to turn to tech support. They are very responsive and will work hard to get Flare straightened out for you.