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Finally determined what causes an "Internal Error Occurred" message in FW

Aug 29, 2011 5:58 PM

I use Fireworks for creating wireframes. One FW png file may contain many layers

with each layer representing a web page. The intention is to create the png file, and then to export it to a PDF file so that developers can use it to view the pages and to understand page navigation. I learned this technique by watching Jim Babbage's excellent video on using Fireworks for wireframing.

 

I create hotspots in the FW png file on one layer and use that to point to another layer that represents another web page. The purpose is to show a kind of flow or extra info for the developers. I've been struggling for over a year with an error that would pop up now and then when attempting to save the png file. The error would show "Internal Error Occurred" and I had no idea why this was occurring. I tried multiple things to get rid of the error and recently I finally discovered what was causing it.

 

It turns out that if you create a FW png file with layers, and you insert a hotspot that points to one of those layers, and then later when editing the FW png file you decide to delete a layer that is being referenced via a hotspot in a different layer, this error will occur. It doesn't occur every time you attempt to save the png file, but it will occur if you save the png file (no error shown), then export to a pdf file, then (as required by FW) attempt to save the png file again. That's when you will see the error for sure.

 

The cause is a hotspot link that points to a layer that no longer exists. This is most often caused by creating hotspots that point to the layer, then later deciding to delete that layer but you don't go back and remove any hotspot links to the deleted layer. For some reason, FW will let you attempt to save the file and may or many not show the dreaded "Internal Error Occurred" pop-up message. If you were able to save your png file and didn't see the error show up, and then you decide to export the png file to a PDF file, FW requires you to save the png file after the export option completes. It's when you attempt to save it at this time that it will show up for sure if your hotspot points to a deleted layer. The error message won't go away either.

 

It's kind of a pain if you have a bunch of layers with a bunch of hotspot links, but you will have to click on each hotspot and determine if it points to a layer that exists in the current png file. If that layer doesn't exist, you will have to point to a layer that does exist, or delete the hotspot to get rid of the "Internal Error Occurred" message.

 

Hope this helps,

 

Stevebo

2650 Views   8 Replies   Latest reply: ImpactResistantCranium, Apr 19, 2012 2:12 PM
 
Replies
  • Linda Nicholls
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    1. Linda Nicholls,
    Aug 29, 2011 11:28 PM   in reply to keydongle
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    Thanks for posting your discovery! That's always helpful.

     
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  • keydongle
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    2. keydongle,
    Sep 1, 2011 8:01 PM   in reply to keydongle
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    It would seem as though the error could be avoided if FW would delete any hotspot links to a layer once that layer is deleted. I don't know how hard it would be to detect his by the FW developers at Adobe, but it sounds like something that should be done anyway. It doesn't make sense to retain hotspots to layers that don't exist.

    steve

     
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  • Jim_Babbage
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    3. Jim_Babbage,
    Sep 2, 2011 10:13 AM   in reply to keydongle
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    Unfortunately, with the exception of button symbols, web objects are not linked to specific objects or layers. So deleting an object or layer has no impact on the web object (slice or hotspot) itself. There's just no connection between the two.

     

    That said, you can file a Feature Request on the Adobe Wish List. The list is monitored.

     

    https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/mmform/index.cfm?name=wishform

     
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  • keydongle
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    4. keydongle,
    Sep 2, 2011 8:47 PM   in reply to keydongle
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    After doing further testing, I've noticed that the error can't be reproduced every time a hotspot points to a nonexistent layer. BUT, every time I've encountered the "internal error occurred" message when saving a png file with hotspots and multiple layers, I have found one or more hotspots pointing to layers that no longer exist. Once pointing the hotspot(s) to a layer that does exist, or simply removing the hotspot(s), the "internal error occurred" message goes away.

     

    So in my encounters with this error, finding the hotspot(s) that point to layer(s) that have been removed fixes the problem. The problem is that it doesn't always occur, just sometimes. It may have to do with the number of png files that may be open and the number of layers that exist, or once the error begins showing up. Just not sure, but I am sure of what I need to do to make the error go away in my case (remove hotspots that point to nonexistent layers). So far it's fixed the problem every time.

     

    It would be interesting to see if others encounter this same error and if there is one or more hotspots pointing to deleted layers. It may be that the error message is simply a "catch-all" for errors that can't be determined and this just happens to be one scenario.

    steve

     
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  • keydongle
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    5. keydongle,
    Sep 2, 2011 8:48 PM   in reply to Jim_Babbage
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    Thanks Jim, I've reported it as a feature request.

    steve

     
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  • keydongle
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    6. keydongle,
    Sep 3, 2011 7:22 PM   in reply to keydongle
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    Thanks to Jim Babbage for pointing out to me that my terminology wasn't correct. It isn't a hotspot link to a LAYER that causes the problem, but a hotspot link to a "PAGE" that causes the error sometimes. So my terminology wasn't correct. Layers didn't have anything to do with it. It's a PAGE that was deleted after a hotspot link was created to point to it that may cause the problem to show up.

    steve

     
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  • smash1246
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    7. smash1246,
    Dec 1, 2011 8:00 AM   in reply to keydongle
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    I have no hotspots in my document and only a basic layer structure, and I have this error now. In fact, I can't save the file because of this error and I am very frustrated.

     
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  • ImpactResistantCranium
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    8. ImpactResistantCranium,
    Apr 19, 2012 2:12 PM   in reply to keydongle
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    I don't use Fireworks, but, I have a co-worker who does, who is asking for help.   I don't have specifics as to what he changed or did to lead to this error, but I am hoping someone can tell me where to start.

     

    I can see the web pages in Fireworks, and everything looks fine, so I know the data is there.  But, when I click file/export menu, the error message appears:  "An internal error occurred".  My frustration is it does not say what the error is so I cannot even begin to figure out what it is complaining about.

     

    We are trying to export to Dreamweaver.  It is a "simple" page with a few links and photos, nothing fancy.

     

    The computer is windows 7 professional.

    The software is Adobe Fireworks CS4 version 10.3.0.11 

    - I used the help/check for updates and it says no updates available

     

    Is there an error log that gets output that might have specifics to the error message?  "An internal error occurred" is just too vague and we don't want to have to start over from scratch if it can be avoided.

     
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