Character dialog hidden, Flare becomes unresponsive

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Eric_H
Propeller Head
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2019 10:21 am

Character dialog hidden, Flare becomes unresponsive

Post by Eric_H »

Hi everyone,
I've just started experiencing a maddening issue in my Flare 2020 installation.
I need to insert the check mark character into a topic, so I click Insert > Insert Character > Insert Character. This action should open the Character dialog, allowing me to select the check mark for insertion.

It's doing something, all right, but not what I need. It might be opening the Character dialog, but if it is, it is opening behind some other element in my Flare window, because it's completely invisible. And because Flare is waiting for an action in the dialog, the rest of the Flare window becomes completely unresponsive. You click anywhere and you get the Windows chime that indicates "finish current action first". Except I can't because the dialog is nowhere to be found!

I've minimized all windows in case it was an external Flare window, but no luck. I've tried control-tabbing and alt-tabbing, but nothing. The only thing I could do was close Flare gracelessly using Task Manager, and re-open my project.

I also tried to open the Character dialog using the alternative method of clicking the Character icon in the XML editor window, then clicking More Characters. This gave me the same symptoms described above. (The third method, pressing Shift + F11, doesn't do anything that I could see, but Flare remained responsive).

I was finally able to insert the check mark by using the text editor to insert the code below where I needed the character.

Code: Select all

<span style="font-family: 'Wingdings'">ü</span>
Anyway, does anybody have a solution for making the Character dialog appear visible and interactive as it should be from the start, or any other advice?

Thank you,
Eric
Psider
Propellus Maximus
Posts: 811
Joined: Wed Jul 06, 2011 1:32 am

Re: Character dialog hidden, Flare becomes unresponsive

Post by Psider »

A tip that often works with windows that have fallen off the screen:

1. Open the dialog box and make sure you don't click anywhere else (to make sure the dialog box is still in focus, wherever it is).
2. Press Alt+Spacebar, M, then any arrow key.
3. Waggle the mouse until the dialog box sticks to the cursor. (should usually be immediate, but sometimes mad waggling is required, I'm not sure why.)
4. Click to drop the dialog box where you like it.
Eric_H
Propeller Head
Posts: 12
Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2019 10:21 am

Re: Character dialog hidden, Flare becomes unresponsive

Post by Eric_H »

Fantastic Psider, thank you! That fixed it! I wasn't sure it would, as I couldn't remember whether this was a separate Windows dialog or more of a frame internal to the Flare program. But it did, so I know what to do if this recurs. (Sorry for the late response, had to take a few days of PTO unexpectedly).

Thanks again!
Best,
Eric
jimgilliam
Propeller Head
Posts: 81
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2013 9:49 am
Location: Arkansas, U.S.A.

Re: Character dialog hidden, Flare becomes unresponsive

Post by jimgilliam »

This solution depends on the end user not having that key combination assigned to something else.

It did not work for me. The key combination opened Windows Search.
:flare:
ChoccieMuffin
Senior Propellus Maximus
Posts: 2630
Joined: Wed Apr 14, 2010 8:01 am
Location: Surrey, UK

Re: Character dialog hidden, Flare becomes unresponsive

Post by ChoccieMuffin »

My Preview window has disappeared, as has my Builds window, and the tip suggested by Psider didn't work. I've restarted my machine and I still can't see either of these.

Any suggestions how to get the windows back?
Started as a newbie with Flare 6.1, now using Flare 2023.
Report bugs at http://www.madcapsoftware.com/bugs/submit.aspx.
Request features at https://www.madcapsoftware.com/feedback ... quest.aspx
jimgilliam
Propeller Head
Posts: 81
Joined: Tue Jun 04, 2013 9:49 am
Location: Arkansas, U.S.A.

Re: Character dialog hidden, Flare becomes unresponsive

Post by jimgilliam »

ChoccieMuffin wrote: Wed May 03, 2023 2:18 am My Preview window has disappeared, as has my Builds window, and the tip suggested by Psider didn't work. I've restarted my machine and I still can't see either of these.

Any suggestions how to get the windows back?
In Flare, you can try Window > Reload Layout or Window > Dock.
:flare:
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