AutoRealm wont save or open map

[Cosmos Master]

Each time I start a new map it allows me to save a few times and updates the map. Then after about 15 minutes of using the program I get a message saying that the map was not saved and when I try and re-open the file it says the file cannot be opened. With all of these maps I have inserted a JPEG file of a map of the World of Greyhawk someone else made and began re-working it. Why is this happening? What can I do to prevent it.

[LordEntrails]

I would suggest you work to solve the CC3 red X issue first. I suspect they are caused by the same issue. Some things to look at/consider;
- are you using a thumb drive or other removable media/storage device?
- are you using cloud or network storage?
- is your computer running completely locally or is it running "in the cloud"? i.e. can you do everything you want with no internet connection?

[johnvanvliet]

seeing as there is very little information
I am making a few GUESSES

This is Windows 7 or 8 ( or a 10 upgrade)

You installed to C:\\Program Files \ ????

the messed up UAC in the current windows can cause problems if the program wants to save in the install folder IF it is in "program files"
or edit settings in ini or config files in the install folder in PROGRA~1

install the program to C:\\???
or C:\\MyThings\\????

then a normal user can write to and edit files in the install folder

I use a second partition ( or disk )for things I install
and keep C:\\ to the default installed software from the windows OEM install disk

this keeps things REALLY F'ING EASY to fix from the backup ISO image or if needed a reinstall

then ALL the programs I installed are STILL installed

[Cosmos Master]

I am using Windows 8.1. I am downloading Anna's Greyhawk maps which come in JPEG and a zip file. There are 72 individual maps in this file of hers. I am selecting the map I want to work on and then opening up AutoRealm I insert that map and begin writing text and putting symbols on it. After opening an closing the map a few times and working on it in between, eventually I get a message saying it cannot save the map. If I close the program and reopen it, I get a message saying that it cannot open the file. I'm thinking that I am having the same issue as with CC3 and that being that the original map I downloaded and inserted into the AutoRealm is not being stored in AutoRealm. The original map that was downloaded was in my flash drive.

I just attempted to download the maps into a new folder in Auto Realm and then extracted the files and it accepted them. So I'll try things again and see if I get the same error messages. Does this sound right to you?

[Cosmos Master]

Well apparently that didn't work. The Files I downloaded are JPEG and when I attempt to insert a file into AutoRealm it doesn't give me an option to download the JPEG and therefore the maps are not visible in the window. I know the maps are there but one cannot see them, therefore I cannot insert one into my new Autorealm map.

[Cosmos Master]

Same thing happened, draw on the map for awhile, close it, come back to it, draw on it, close it, open it back up, draw on it, repeat, repeat, repeat, BOOM map Failed to save it says, all that work gone. How do I get the JPEG to be with the AutoRealm map? Assuming this is the problem. I'm using a JPEG file but when I download it into AutoRealm it doesn't show up in the window.

[Mark Oliva]

I would suggest you work to solve the CC3 red X issue first.

This is the best advice you've received yet. Whatever you're doing that has caused this problem in CC3 you've done again in Auto Realm, so you're getting the same result there. If you want to solve the problem that way, you could go out and buy Fractal Mapper 8 and do the same thing again and - Bingo! - get the same result again. You then could buy Dundjinni and get a different result ... that you can't do what you're doing at all because it isn't possible in Dundjinni.

Or you could get back on the track and work with the people who have been doing their best to help you. Remy Monsen and I were working on that on the CC3 forum, but you dropped out of the conversation while both of us still had questions open. You went to the ProFantasy support - which was not at all a bad idea - and Ralf Schemmann tried to help you there. Now you apparently have given up on CC3 and are trying AutoRealm, but you're making the same mistake with AutoRealm that you did with CC3, so now you're getting the same result.

Remy wants to help you. Ralf wants to help you. The people who posted above want to help you. I want to help you. But none of us have access to your computer. None of us can sit back and watch what you're doing. None of us can see what files you're using or where they are. So you have to take part in solving this problem too.

One possibility, or course, is that your computer or your operating system has gone totally wicky-whacky-woo. But I don't take that possibility seriously because you don't mention having similar problems with other programs. You don't mention, for instance, that when you try to open a Word file, Word regularly cannot open it. So, I'm going to remain convinced that the problem is something that you're doing wrong. It's clear that you don't know what you're doing wrong and that you don't know that it's wrong when you're doing it. This isn't a discussion where we're looking for guilty persons.

What we all want to do is figure out what you're doing wrong, how to avoid doing it wrong in the future and, if possible, how you can correct what already has gone wrong. For any of us to do that, we need information from you. We need to ask you questions and we need you to answer them. Dropping out of the discussion and switching to another program merely will get you more red Xs, blank screens and error messages.

All of us who are trying to help you know what the core of your problem is, but we don't know yet exactly what you're doing that sets it in motion. LordEntrails and John VanVliet are telling you a few more possibilities in the most recent postings, and many people keep telling you what John VanVliet told you again today:

there is very little information

You've said that you have very little technical understanding. Good. That's not a crime. I've tried to keep things as simple and basic as possible and so have some other people. You might need some things translated. For instance, John said today:

the messed up UAC in the current windows

Based upon conversations so far, I would guess you have no idea what he is talking about. UAC means User Access Control. It's a feature in newer Windows versions. Its intended to protect you from nasty deeds done by intruders into your computer system, but unfortunately it often protects you even more from yourself. Under varying circumstances, the UAC can make it impossible for programs to access your own files if those files are:

1) Saved directly in Drive C and not in a folder (directory).
2) Saved in C:\Programs or C:\Programs (x86), depending upon the Windows version you're using.
3) Saved on another computer in your network on the Drive that is C on that computer. (You cannot necessarily see on your computer that the drive on the other computer is C.)

Those are things that could cause problems. You haven't said yet whether your PC is a pure standalone computer or whether it's in a network, not necessarily a business network but perhaps a home network such as a WLAN network. If so, is is possible that your files are on the hard drive of another local computer? Windows including Windows 10 is not 100% reliable in automatically connecting to other computers in such networks. Sometimes one must open the connection manually. This could be a cause of your problem.

Do you have your files on Microsoft One Drive or somewhere else in the Internet? If yes, that could be the reason you can't access the files.

Do you have them on a USB stick or a USB drive or some other portable media? Then it's a prime suspect. Windows does not always assign the same drive letter to a portable device. As a result, it may be that when you put your files there, Windows decided that that device was Drive D. The next time, when you want to work with your files, Windows assigns the drive the letter E. The program can't find the files because they're not on D anymore, they're now on E.

One of the main things that seems to be giving you trouble is what you refer to as:

Anna's map of Greyhawk

Where do you have this file? Is it stored on the hard drive built into your PC? Which drive is it on? C? D? E? Or is it on an eternal drive? Or maybe a CD or a DVD? If you give us information, you can help us help you.

Or, if you want to simplify things and simply bypass the problems that occurred to date, regardless whether you go back to CC3 or stay with Auto Realm:

1. Create a new folder (directory) on a built-in drive in your computer. If you have more partitions than just C, by all means use one other than C. If not, you'll have to make your new folder in C, but then try to avoid using your cartographic programs with other computers in your network, if you have a network.

2. Give the new folder a name. Call it whatever you want, for instance My Map Stuff. If you make it, as an example, on drive D, the folder then would be D:\My Map Stuff. If you create it on drive C, the folder then would be C:\My Map Stuff.

3. Put all of the material such as Anna's map of Greyhawk and any other material that you intend to use that wasn't provided with CC3 or AutoRealm into this folder and leave it there. Make no exceptions.

4. Open the Windows Explorer (File Explorer in Windows 10) and make certain that all of these files really are in your new folder.

5. Open your mapping program - CC3 or AutoRealm - and make a few quick and dirty test maps. Save them in your new My Map Stuff Folder. You need to use the menu option File and Save as to do that. Be 100% sure that you have saved in your new My Map Stuff Folder.

6. Close your mapping program and open the Windows Explorer again. Make certain that all of the new map files and all of the previous files really are in your new folder.

7. Take a day off from the mapping program. Just don't use it for a day. Also don't do anything at all with any of the files in your new folder. On the day after, open the mapping program again and open the maps you made. See if everything's still there.

8. If everything is still there, celebrate. You should be able now to make maps. You have anything but the most professional installation, but you have one that works. With time, you probably will learn how to set up a more professional structure.

But what if it doesn't work? Then chime in again and we'll keep looking with you for an answer.

[Mark Oliva]

Addendum to last post:

I can't give you AutoRealm answers. I haven't use it for some time. But if you paid for a CC3 license, you'd be wiser to go back to CC3. You already paid the money, and it does much more than AutoRealm does. However, none of the important questions about what you are doing have been answered yet, therefore, one can suggest no solutions.

[Mark Oliva]

Addendum to last post:

I can't give you AutoRealm answers. I haven't use it for some time. But if you paid for a CC3 license, you'd be wiser to go back to CC3. You already paid the money, and it does much more than AutoRealm does. However, none of the important questions about what you are doing have been answered yet, therefore, one can suggest no solutions.

[Chick]

This sounds to me more like a technical system problem, so maybe you should try some of the technical guru forums and see if anyone there can shed some light.


Read this: http://www.techsupportalert.com/cont...nical-help.htm

and then do a google search on your question, looking for technical support forums that appear to have the same sort of help available.