Trouble opening old files in new version of Open Toonz....

[The Quiet Artist]

Yesterday I came across the old files (.TZN)  of some test animation I did with older version of Open Toonz (1.1.3).  So I opened them in the new version of  Open Toonz 1.2.0 - and they showed up as blank. :S     Also, I noticed that when I imported the PSD file to the new version, saved it as .TNZ file, and then opened them back up - they likewise showed some blank columns too.

I seem to remember someone saying they have the same issue, but I forgot where I saw their comment.  Also, I I just realized I still have the old "OpenToonz 1.1 stuff" folder that I should have gotten rid of, as it probably is what caused the files to show up blank in the new version of Open Toonz (I think)  but should I move something from OpenToonz 1.1 folder to OpenToonz 1.2 folder such as brushes, scenes and others before I delete the old version folder? 

Thanks~ 

[Rodney]

 should I move... before I delete the old version folder?

I see two problems here.

When we move files from one location to another we break the referential links OpenToonz has to them.

Don't do that.

If/when we delete folders we break links to files referenced in older projects.

Don't do that.

My suggestion would be to move the entire directory to another location (or backup).

The issue with opening older .TZN files is that other files in the Project may very likely not be in their same referenced location.

This is why it's important to set up specific locations for Project files and to keep those directory structures intact.

An additional problem arises when we import some files and load originals.

Both are references to a file in a specific location but the imported file is generally copied into the established file structure whereas the loaded original reference points to that original location.

Importing is the safer of the two in most cases because it's less likely that referenced file will be moved inadvertently.

If you are just trying to safeguard... one option would be to:

Zip up the entire stuff directory (making sure the compression software you are using is storing directory structure) and then store that safely someplace else.

Because I install almost every nightly release the potential for lost files is high.

When time is of the essence I have been know to rename the root folder of the stuff file and simply move it into the new stuff diretory.

Then when I have more time I can rename it or move it somewhere else.

 

 

[The Quiet Artist]

I see.  Thanks for the reply!  I have indeed moved the files somewhere (to organize and tidy up my numerous folders some time ago)  but thought I could just locate them and load them up in the new version of Open Toonz with no problem.  Guess not.  I'm kinda bummed but at least the files are just test projects, no biggie...and now I know to do the right way next time. Thanks again~ 

[Jane Eyre]

As Rodney said, the contents/organization of the project folder shouldn’t be moved/changed. So I wouldn’t move the scenes themselves. However, you can actually move the project folders without issue if all of the animation resources are inside the project sub-folders. If there are external (loaded not imported) resources for a scene, before moving the project folder you could use the “Collect Assets” command through right-clicking on that scene in the Browser. This wouldn’t make a difference for your old scenes but could be beneficial in the future.

I work on a few different computers, so sometimes I’ll zip a project folder and move the zipped folder to use on a different computer.

You should also be able to move brushes.

If you can successfully recreate your original folder structure and organization, you may be able to reclaim some of your work.

As far as the PSD issue goes, the question is, is the file itself damaged/corrupted or is it just a problem stemming from the reorganization of those files? There has been an issue with PSD files being destroyed after being merged with a raster level.

[The Quiet Artist]

Thanks for the suggestions,  Jane Eyre. 

As for PSD issue, I had just opened the file in Photoshop and it turned out I had turned off the visibility in few of the layers, which could be why they showed up blank in the OpenToonz.  I made sure all layers are visible, then loaded the file up in the OpenToonz again and it's fine now.  ^_^;

[Rodney]

It sound like this issue is resolved so I'll recategorize as solved.

If not please feel free to change back.