Palette dock and missing surface style palette

[SJD]

Hi, I tried to move the surface style palette to a second monitor - I detached it but it disappeared as I moved it. I can't activate it anymore in the main workspace even though it's checked in the palette menu. I can only see it if I change to either Bonzai or the render workspace. Any ideas as to how I can make it visible again? I'm also always getting problems with the Palette Dock in general - the display is really temperamental at the best of times. I constantly have to fiddle to expand them and they quite often will duplicate themselves or clip. The pic shows an example - the Tool options is displaying twice and it's hard to expand the others even though they are open.  Tbh I'm starting to lose patience with FZ, how is this a 'Pro' interface? This is v8.6 on Windows 10

Any feedback would be greatly appreciated, thanks - Steve

 

Edited November 6, 2020 by SJD

[SJD]

Layer palette

 

[SJD]

me gain,

I'm thinking of doing a fresh installation and starting again. I'm not that familiar with Windows - should I uninstall first? How do I do that?

Really appreciate any advice

thanks

steve

[allanjl]

SJD, Before you reinstall, you should trash your preferences. They are in your C:\User\AppData\Roaming\Autodessys.

This will make formZ behave as if brand new. Then you can tweak what you want. After you have it the way you want it, make sure you go to Workspace, workspace manager, and uncheck "save between sessions". This will make formZ remember the setting you set now, rather than the settings/palettes that get messed up as you work everyday.

[SJD]

1 minute ago, allanjl said:

SJD, Before you reinstall, you should trash your preferences. They are in your C:\User\AppData\Roaming\Autodessys.

This will make formZ behave as if brand new. Then you can tweak what you want. After you have it the way you want it, make sure you go to Workspace, workspace manager, and uncheck "save between sessions". This will make formZ remember the setting you set now, rather than the settings/palettes that get messed up as you work everyday.

thanks Allan

I've used the Windows Task Manager to completely uninstall FormZ - do you know if that would get rid of everything? 

[allanjl]

I've never heard of anyone doing an uninstall that way. So I'm not sure. You can look in your C drive, under program files, and if you see a FormZ folder manually delete it. Next time go to add or remove programs and find Z and uninstall from there. You can type in "add or remove programs" at the magnifying glass, on the bottom left of your screen to get to it. Maybe you should try this first and see if FormZ is still available for a proper uninstall.

 

[SJD]

Hi Allan

hmmm...not doing too well here

I tried uninstalling/installing via task manger, the installation wizard (also gives you the option to uninstall) and also manually deleted the folders and prefs. Each time I reinstall I end up with the same set of palettes I had the last time so there must be somewhere else I need to delete. It has also kept my keyboard shortcuts. I can't find a way to do a completely clean installation.

One thing I have found though is that the resolution of my monitor is having a big effect on how the palettes display. I have a 4K widescreen display - I lowered the resolution on the monitor and the materials palette reappeared so I manged to put it back in the dock. I just need to find the best resolution for the palettes to display the best they can. The FZ interface is a real dogs dinner - I don't have these issues with any other software

 

[santa]

9 minutes ago, SJD said:

Each time I reinstall I end up with the same set of palettes I had the last time so there must be somewhere else I need to delete. 

Sounds like a registry issue. No matter how hard you try, a program will never uninstall completely. The registry will always retain some junk. Perhaps there are duplicate entries in there causing your problem.

Having said that, I wouldn't advise poking around the registry, unless you know exactly what you are doing. Repeat... don't do it unless you are confident.

This is why I like to image my system drive while it's in a clean state. It's easier to then restore such an image and to do a fresh install of form.Z. I normally do this routinely, every time there is a major Windows update (20H1, 20H2....). This way any troublesome program can be nuked completely in case of trouble.

Take a breather, because you may be making the situation worse. It's probably best if you contact support directly.

[Gary]

Try resetting your workspaces.

Gary

[setz]

Also, once you get a workspace which you like, make two copies of it and then export from the workspace manager.  When things go bad you can then re-import that file and you will be back up to speed right away.  I save an A and a B (both identical) so that if I mess one up I still have a backup. 

[SJD]

thank you everyone, all very helpful advice - resetting the workspace got my palette back and I've saved back ups of my current settings so I'll see how I go

the on screen palettes still seem very buggy to me with tools disappearing or clipped windows - I've seen similar criticism about V9 so I don't expect it to get addressed anytime soon (if ever) Shame because it makes the whole thing feel pretty shoddy

 

 

Edited November 7, 2020 by SJD

[SJD]

just one more thing, I've arranged palettes to my liking. I ditched the palette dock because it kept messing up and I've used separate palettes stacked on top of each other. (I read in an old thread that the palette dock was buggy). Is there any way to stop the Tool options palette from resizing depending on the tool selected?

Has the interfaced been improved in V9?

 

 

[ZTEK]

Completely agree with Setz comment, great recommendation!… you can always re-import your pre-saved Workspace through the Workspace Manager.

Personally, I save separately in my own folder, not in the default directory (Preference folder), all the files that customize formZ… which are the preferences, shortcuts, templates, and workspaces, etc.

I don't remember when I started with this practice, but it was many years ago, and it's extremely recommended.

Normally, with every new version I rebuild all my prefs, which is a bit tedious, but a safe practice!… it's also a good practice in general because this way I’m always reviewing my choices and keeping them updated.

After many years using formZ, I can say with confidence that with this method it's very rare that I have any issues with the interface… discounting of course the bugs from each new version as a result of its own development.

About your last question... IMHO, I can tell you that the current interface is the best of the latest new versions, and v.9 is by far the most advanced.

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