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Troubleshooting
Most failed app operations place a dismissible error banner above the workspace and repeat its text in the status bar. Projector Workspace shows its recovery messages inside the workspace instead. Selecting × on an app banner hides it; it does not retry the operation or repair its cause.
Use the symptom below to keep any work that is still open, then retry only the failed action.
Saving and opening files
“save error:” appears
The browser could not write the selected file or create the download.
- Keep the design tab open.
- Choose File > Save As and select a writable location or a new filename.
- Confirm that the • disappears from the filename in the app.
Cancelling a file picker is not an error and leaves the unsaved design open.
“load error:” appears
The selected file is not a recognised MakeSail JSON file or contains data the app cannot accept.
- Select the original file created by File > Save or Save As, rather than another JSON document.
- Try an earlier known copy if the file was changed outside MakeSail.
- Do not rename fields or edit values in the JSON to bypass the message.
All nine current sail types can be reopened, and recognised older MakeSail formats are updated automatically. A load error is not an instruction to recreate a non-Gennaker design. See Files and offline use.
The current design disappeared after Open
File > Open currently replaces the design without an unsaved-change confirmation. There is no autosaved or server-side copy to restore. Check for a JSON file you saved or downloaded earlier; otherwise the replaced work cannot be recovered.
Preview and seam symptoms
A preview, seam, or colour error appears
The banner identifies the failed calculation as preview error:, seam error:, or colour preview error:.
- Undo the most recent shape or construction edit, or return the changed value to a valid number.
- Wait for the normal preview update to finish.
- For seams, turn Show seams on again. For colours, remain on a Tri-radial layout and reopen Colours after the preview recovers.
The seam overlay vanished after an edit
Shape, fullness, cloth, construction, and layout changes clear the old seam curves so stale geometry is not left on screen. Turn Show seams on, or open Panels > Layout and select Done, to calculate a fresh overlay. This does not generate flat panels; see Seams and broadseam.
The Colours mode is missing
Colours is available only when the exact selected layout is Tri-radial. Choose that layout to reveal the mode. Other layouts retain any saved palette but do not show the Colours controls. See Panel colours.
Panel generation and viewer symptoms
“panel error:” or a connection message appears
Panel generation needs the backend even though the 3-D mould and seam preview do not. Keep the design open, restore the connection, and choose Panels > Generate Panels again. Signing in is not required to generate panels.
If the error says the request exceeds the panel budget, increase Max panel width in Panels > Layout as the message suggests, then generate again.
View Panels is disabled
Generate the current design first. Starting or opening a design, or changing its shape, fullness, cloth, construction, or layout, clears the old generated set.
The current app also clears generated panels when you switch among 3-D, 2-D, and Heatmaps. The status bar can still say panels: N even though View Panels is disabled. Treat the disabled command as the current state and generate again.
A warning appears above otherwise visible panels
Generation completed. The warning is non-blocking information associated with the returned panel set, not a failed request. Inspect the named panel or value before using the output. Warnings and validation explains how these messages differ from an error banner.
Sign-in symptoms
The email link has not arrived
Wait about a minute and check the spam folder. Keep the original design tab open. If the dialog reports too many requests, wait a minute before sending another request.
The link is expired or already used
Return to the original design tab and request a new link. Each link is short-lived and single-use.
The confirmation tab says signed in, but the design tab has not changed
Close the confirmation tab and return focus to the original tab. The app checks the account state when that tab becomes active. Your design remains in place during this refresh.
Export symptoms
An export command is disabled
Four downloadable exports need a current generated panel set. Generate panels again after any invalidating edit. Corner Patches DXF is the exception: it uses the configured patches and does not need generated panels. Projector Workspace loads a saved Cloth Layout DXF instead of exporting the current design.
A signed-out export returns an access error
All five downloadable exports require sign-in. The panel viewer asks you to sign in, but a File-menu download can instead show an export error: banner. Complete passwordless sign-in, leave the design open, and retry the download. Projector Workspace remains available because it reads a saved file locally.
The export says panels are missing or stale
Choose Panels > Generate Panels, wait for panels: N, and start the export again without changing the design or switching workspaces in between.
Cloth Layout DXF says the service is busy
The cloth-nesting worker has no free slot. Keep the generated panels open and retry later. If a nesting attempt instead reaches its time limit repeatedly, review the current roll width and panel count, then see the recovery notes in Cloth Layout DXF.
A PDF dialog rejects the paper, scale, or panel selection
Reopen the dialog and choose one of its offered paper sizes and a positive scale. For Prototype PDF, leave at least one panel selected. The individual export guides describe the choices and fit limits without requiring you to edit the design file.
Projector Workspace symptoms
“Cloth-layout DXF import:” appears
The selected file was rejected before any tracing geometry was shown. Select the original Cloth Layout DXF (nested on roll) downloaded from MakeSail, not a Panel DXF or an unrelated CAD file. A converted or edited copy can lose the millimetre and saved-layout information the workspace requires.
“Projected width … must exceed cloth width …” appears
The calibrated projection does not cover the full cloth width. Do not trace until the usable projected width is greater than the cloth width and the requested height also fits. Recheck the physical projection setup, then recalibrate rather than changing locked scale during tracing.
“Calibration invalid — do not trace” appears
The window position or size, browser zoom, or display geometry changed after the lock. Entering or leaving browser fullscreen can change the viewport size. Choose Recalibrate, check the scale, calibration rectangle, edge straightness, and grid again, then lock calibration before tracing or aligning a page.
Switching browser mode or projector setup
Use the browser's fullscreen command before calibrating if you want fullscreen projection. Keep that browser mode, projector position, and projector zoom level unchanged while tracing. Recalibrate after changing any of them, even if no warning appears: MakeSail cannot detect physical movement or optical zoom changes.
The expected page did not resume
Page progress belongs to the exact DXF fingerprint and usable projection height. Select the same, unchanged file and enter the same height. A changed file or height intentionally starts a separate record; calibration and page alignment are never restored. See Projector Workspace for the complete tracing and resume workflow.