SERIOUS problem with random corrupt files

[LynnB]

Hello,

Publisher 1.7.2.471. Windows 10

I have been trying to dedicate my workflow to move to Publisher from InDesign. I am having some serious doubts if Publisher is ready.

Today I have my second Pub file that all of the sudden goes bad. Working and saving (I save often out of habit) and all of the sudden, I get a dialog box (attached) that reads, "Failed To Save Document: <my file name>. Save failed due to internal error."

Some background on this file:
- Is a multi-page document with a lot of placed images.
- Image types are EPS, AI, and JPG
- I cannot save the file as when I try to, this same box pops up.
- I cannot SAVE AS the file as when I try to, this same box pops up.
- This time I was able to export the file as a PDF

Steps to try to resolve:
- I removed each placed file and found an offending file.
- Deleting that placed file worked...temporarily, meaning that I removed other files and then saved and got the message again.
- Now that initial offending AI file could be placed, but this time now an EPS file was causing issues
- Removing second offending file would allow me to save, WITH the first offending file placed.
- Offending files attached here
- Cutting offending AI file from document and placing in new document and saving worked fine. But, I add offending file 2 to new document, then I get the error on saving.
- If I place (cnt-shift-M) the EPS file in the new doc and save, it saves fine, for a few saves, then I get the error again. Very random.
- When doing this, I have both documents open and switch between docs with cntrl-tab (no idea if this matters to anything)
- Pasting the EPS file from the first document into the second causes the error.

Is there a support email address I can send my pub file to, rather than posting it in a public forum?

Hope to get this resolved as I'd like to use Publisher, but if I don't have confidence that it won't kill my files, I have to stick with InDesign.

Let me know if you need more information. Thanks,

Lynn

YourTownMonthlyLogo CMYK.ai

Sutter_Health_PAMF_2lines_clr_cmyk.eps

[LynnB]

Update. Just placed my offending EPS file in the same document, and then saved and this time I was offered a SAVE AS option. See attached.

Files are being saved to an internal SSD drive.

 

 

[lacerto]

(...)

[Brian in the Rain]

Just commiserating with you here....
I've run into the exact same dialog box, saved it out as PDF (since I hadn't saved as diligently as you), imported the PDF and discovered many of my text boxes much tighter than the originals. Could not reproduce in my case.

Also be careful, I've discovered that text in linked text boxes getting "lost" somewhere during modifications in other parts of the document.

I may just stick with InDesign for a little while longer.

[Pauls]

How much free disk space do you have on your drives when the error occurs ?

[LynnB]

Thank you all for the replies.

@Lagarto - Don't have an external drive at my location to save to. I have ran diagnostics on my drive and all comes up fine. Publisher is the only program I have run into problems with. I have placed that file in other documents to test and really don't believe the issue is related to that particular file as I have run into this issue now multiple times without using that file.

@Brian - I am going back to InDesign until this can get figured out. Can risk having a file go bad without any sort of recovery file access.

@Pauls - Free space is 527GB.

I had a different file go bad on me today. Same error but nothing to do with those other files that I referenced, thus it is telling me the issue is not with the files being placed, but perhaps with Publisher.

I can no longer trust Publisher, so unfortunately I am going back to InDesign. I really wanted to believe in Publisher, but just can't right now with this major bug. I will give it a try after a couple more updates perhaps.

Not sure if sending in one of my bad files would help Affinity diagnose. Asked for email address to send to in initial post, if there is interest from them.

Open to other suggestions for what might be going on or what to try.

Thanks,
Lynn

 

[Pauls]

@Lynn Bantley - If you could upload one (or more) of the problem files here so we can investigate that would be appreciated.

[magicdesign__]

i assume you have tried to save files to a local drive (rather than a server location)?

I sometimes get a save error, but that is because the office shared servers have been set up badly - and give permission errors occasionally...

[lacerto]

(...)

[LynnB]

@Lagarto - I will try a reinstall.

@Pauls - I uploaded files

 

 

[lacerto]

(...)

 

[LynnB]

I uninstalled and am reinstalling. As with the first install, I left the default install location as is. It is being installed to "C:\Program Files\Affinity\Publisher".

Not that it should matter, but all working files exist on my additional internal D drive. My folder structure for all of my files are saved in a "d:\_documents\<whatever client name folder>\<whatever job it is folder>". I'd hope that the underscore in the folder name would not cause an issue. If it did, I'd expect this weird behavior with all of my Pub files.

Thanks for your continued input on this issue!

 

[lacerto]

(...)

[Pauls]

Are all the linked files on the local drive too?

Any on drives connected with cloud storage ?

[LynnB]

@Pauls - I am on all local drives that reside within my laptop.

@lagarto - When experiencing my issues, all work has been done in Publisher. Not using Studio Link if that is what you are referring to.

I removed and reloaded Publisher the other day as well as loading the current Beta, but am a little gun shy to use it for real work now that I have had this issue. Sticking to InDesign, but know I have to spend some time in Pub again to see if these issues remain.

Thanks for the support and questions guys.

 

[Pauls]

Thanks - could you let us know the make and model. The only things I can suggest is doing a disk check on the drives to make sure they are OK and maybe trying without any anti-malware or ant-virus software disabled to rule them out. Your file is saving just fine here.

[lacerto]

(...)

 

[LynnB]

I ran some disk diagnostics, chkdsk, etc. All appears fine from doing so.

Drives are:
C: = AMD-RAID PC401 NVMe SK hy SCSI
D: = NVME Samsung SSD 970 SCSI

C is listed as RAID but I am not using any sort of RAID. Stock from Dell.

Just curious why all the talk about network drives and bad drives being a cause of this issue. Never experienced any sort of saving issues with software other than Affinity.

@Lagarto - Running two physical drives.

 

[lacerto]

(...)

[LynnB]

>>I'd appreciate if you could have patience and continue troubleshooting these issues for a while, as I think this could help us all to have a true alternative in this business!<<

Absolutely. I'm patient with this stuff. Hope I didn't sound impatient.

Since I had a few files go bad, I have resorted back to InDesign, but will try to fit a few simpler jobs into using Pub. Just can't risk doing a lot of work then getting stuck like this again.

I'd love to see Affinity succeed and be a direct competitor to the other company. 

Thanks for all of your input!

[lacerto]

(...)

[LynnB]

I've never used "My Documents". Have always created my own folder/subfolder system.

[lacerto]

(...)

[magicdesign__]

I migrated from pageplus to publisher, so a lot of my publisher files are very large (based on the fact they were opened pdf files and then manually converted to publisher).

Some of my files are 900mb in size with 140 pages and embedded images (rather than linked) and so far, it has worked without issue. I save regularly and create pdf versions regularly (in case of future corruption) but have not needed to recover any so far...

I use publisher every day on a dell - and never have any of the issues you mention. I know this doesnt specifically help you, but its to demonstrate this might be a local issue rather than a programming issue.

[LynnB]

Follow-up on this thread.

Last week rebuilt my windows computer from scratch...SSD formatted, and then fresh install of Win 10 1903, drivers, updates, and all software. 

Running the latest 1.7.3 Publisher. Worked up the courage to create a job, and BOOM!...thirty minutes into the job, a corrupt file. Could not save!

I started removing placed eps files and found one that when removed, allowed me to save the file. Pasting same file back in then causes the file to go corrupt. Doing a new placement of the EPS file I can then save...for the time being. When this happened to me previously, I thought I found the offending file, but it was a false positive as later on another file, that was already placed in the document, became an offender.

Very random.

So, I am stepping away from Publisher now with a strong No confidence vote, and returning to InDesign. I really want to give Pub a good run but will not subject my workflow to this fear of corruption. Perhaps a couple versions down the line I will try again. :(