FAQ: Troubleshooting
1. Bugs
1.1 AstroPlanner just announced that it was going to crash and then did so. What must I do?
If AstroPlanner was polite enough to inform you of its impending doom, then it probably put some information about the crash into a file called "Error Log.txt", which you'll find in the same folder as the application.
Please send a copy of that file, or its contents, to astroplanner@ilanga.com. In your e-mail, let us know what you were doing, or trying to do, when the crash happened.
These responses are invaluable in tracking down bugs, and by sending in your report you are helping to make AstroPlanner better for all.
1.2 How do I find out if a bug has already been noted and/or fixed?
You can check here: www.ilangainc.com/astroplanner/reports/.
The bugs listed there are pretty much all of the known problems with the current release.
1.3 AstroPlanner crashes on startup
If AstroPlanner crashes during start-up, try the following:
1. Launch AstroPlanner and immediately hold down the Control (Ctrl) key on the keyboard. Keep it held down until the startup window closes. If that works, then you're done. The Ctrl key trick stops any previously-opened plan documents from re-opening at startup. Open them agin using File→Open...
2. If the above trick doesn't work and AstroPlanner still crashes. You might have bad preferences. Launch AstroPlanner and immediately hold down the Shift key on the keyboard. Keep it held down until you are given the option of resetting your preferences. Do that. If that works, then you're done.
3. Contact AstroPlanner support for assistance.
1.4 Why does my computer hang up for 5 minutes on startup?
This usually occurs when the splash screen is reporting that it is checking serial ports. This typically occurs if you have a Bluetooth or cellular modem configured as a serial (COM) port and nothing is currently connected to the port. When AstroPlanner attempts to access that port, it freezes until a suitable time-out period (sometimes several minutes) has passed. Unfortunately there's no way to bypass this problem programmatically.
However, you can usually disable such a port using the OS Hardware settings if you're not using it. Then the hang-up should stop occurring.
2. Non-English Systems
2.1 I'm on a non-English system (e.g. French, German, Spanish, etc.). Are there problems?
AstroPlanner should run fine on all systems, regardless of language.
However, there is currently a problem on these systems. AstroPlanner will not operate correctly if the path to the application, the preferences, or any user documents contains a non-ASCII character. In other words, if any folder containing an AstroPlanner file has a non-ASCII character, AstroPlanner will probably get confused.
A common reason for such a failure is if your account username has an accent. e.g. André, Günther, José, etc., and this name is used on your system.
The work-around is to install the application in a path that doesn't include any non-ASCII characters. Then create a text file in that folder with the name: "AstroPlanner.prefs", and make sure it is not empty (add a few characters with a text editor). AstroPlanner will then use that file to store its preferences, and should then run correctly.
3. Telescope
3.1 I have connected up my telescope, but AstroPlanner doesn't communicate with it. What do I do?
a. Make sure that your telescope controller is supported. If in doubt, please ask.
b. Make sure you have the correct cable connected. If other applications are working with your telescope, this is a good sign that you have the correct cable.
c. Make sure your telescope is on and aligned.
When you try and connect to your telescope a dialog might appear claiming that AstroPlanner cannot connect. What this means is that AstroPlanner polled the telescope controller and looked for an expected response. If no response was received, or something other than the expected response was received, then AstroPlanner stops and shows the dialog.
The dialog contains an Auto... button. Try clicking that. AstroPlanner will look for all known telescope types on all known serial ports and, hopefully, stop when it finds your telescope.
If you are pretty sure everything should work, open Preferences and go to the Telescope/GPS tab. Set the "Show data flow to and from telescope" checkbox on. Close preferences and try connecting again. A window will appear showing what is being sent to the telescope by AstroPlanner, and what (if anything) is coming back. Use the checkbox at the bottom of this window to store the contents of this window for analysis (in a text file called "Data Flow.txt") by us.
4. Virus
4.1 My Windows virus checker reports a virus in AstroPlanner. What should I do?
It's a false-positive. It happens from time-to-time.
This seems to happen every now and again: false positives from faulty or over-zealous virus definitions.
AstroPlanner does not have a virus. All development, packaging and web maintenance is done on a Mac (both Mac and Windows versions), so a Windows virus just isn't going to be a factor.
The next batch of virus definitions will probably contain a fix.