Save and lost access to file - crash

[thetasig]

MacBook Pro16 10.15.3, AFPUB 1.8.3. Document Resource folder and Documents are all on the local laptop System Drive (SSD).

I have to believe that it is a real bug. It happens randomly and I cannot replicate it reliably. Scenario: Have two documents open (cover, and main document for a book). I modify the cover a bit and save it to the local system disk on the mac. I modify the main document with changed text in an existing text frame. I save that with Command/S. Then I go back to the cover and export the two pages to PDF. Then I close only the Cover document with Command/W. I think that might be the trigger for the next event - a sort of crash.

So just the main document is open and I add some indexing to the changed text and press command/S to save.  The progress bar appears and then, a second or so later, a critical message pops up (attached). The message does not make sense - "access to the document file was lost while performing initial loading." Why would an open document that was just saved 2 minutes ago lose access from the local system disk and why would it be performing "initial loading"? After I click "OK" to close the message, the document disappears, the progress bar is locked at max, not progressing, and AFPUB has to be Forced Quit since it stops responding.

The very unusual thing is that it appears that the document was actually saved properly (short save since it was only a small edit), then AFPUB threw a fit.

[SPaceBar]

Hi thetasig,

Are you still able to access the main document after this happens and do you experience this with any other documents or is it file specific?

Would you be able to try and get a video of this process happening so I know what steps I need to take to reproduce this? In the meantime, could you zip up the files and upload them to this folder so I can take a closer look please?

[thetasig]

I was able to restart AFPUB and load the main document after all of this happened - amazingly, it was saved perfectly as expected. Other times this has happened, the files were all AOK.

It seems then to be a benign type of error that does not corrupt the document.

I have experienced this with other, smaller documents. The trigger seems to be having two different documents open, editing one, then the other - back and forth. Then saving one and using Command-W to close that one. This brings up the remaining document to view. You can then edit it a bit - but when you save it the save is usually almost instant when there are few edits. You can see that the progress bar immediately goes all the way to the right - then the access message pops up. I had suspected that the save process (into a document database file?) might re-read something from the document/database file (validating the changes made?) and that might be when it stops responding and gives that message. Or, it could be something like the Split view problem where the software suddenly switches to another document other than the one you are working on. (I was using the normal view, not split.) I read that 1.8.4 fixes that problem but have not yet upgraded.

It is, unfortunately, a bit random - I tried to reproduce it several times and could not. But it does still happen occasionally with 1.8.3.

I don't think the files I have would be of much use. I have moved ahead 3-4 days of changes.

I do "feel" that the Command-W to close one document (after switching back and forth between them and saving along the way) may be setting the remaining document up for some sort of failure as described. Since it is not catastrophic, it's just an unexpected occurrence.

If you like, you can close or park this issue. After I upgrade to 1.8.4, I will let you know if it happens again.

Thank you.

[SPaceBar]

Thanks for the update. Let me know how you get on with 1.8.4 -in the meantime I keep a look out for the issue. 👍