Scratch

I got the idea for this when several problems have been reported multiple times, despite the fact that they have been resolved. Some of the chapters in here haven't been resolved very often, but they're included anyway.
This thread is for checking before you post a problem. I know that there are only 8 listed problems in here, but that should change over time.

EDIT: Yay, more problems listed!

Feel free to point out any inaccuracies, missing problems, or typos.

And remember - length isn't everything.
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-Contents-

1. My signature won't show up
2. My time zone won't change
3. All the text disappeared
4. The forum blocks are wrong
5. Variables go to the top-left corner
6. My project is ruined online
7. Notes and drums won't play
8. Failed: Serialization: buffer too small for compressed data
9. Why is my signature cutting off?

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1. My signature won't show up

Signatures are bits of text that automatically appear at the bottom of each of your posts. See the thread signatures for more information.

You can enter a signature in your forum profile, but it won't show up. Don't worry. Just check to see if you received a message saying that your new signature is over 400 characters; that's not a problem. Also check if you got a message stating that signatures cannot exceed two lines (that can be fixed with spaces rather than new lines).

If you didn't receive a message, you have reached the commonly reported "bug". For an explanation on the bug, you can click here. I know that it covers signatures, but they still deserve a chapter here.

Signatures can only be displayed if you have been active for 15 days. This used to be different; there was no signature rule at all. However, because of commercial spammers (putting links to advertisements in their signatures), there was an announcement stating the disabling of signatures (for the announcement, click here). Archmage suggested a 50 post rule, and it was accepted.

So for a long time, you needed 50 posts for a signature.

But the rule was changed again. You can only have a signature if you have been active for 15 days, and that's how it is at the moment. Note that if you want a signature in the Text-Based Games forum, it only takes 3 days.
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2. My time zone won't change

This one has been recently brought into light. If you go into your forum profile and attempt to change your timezone, you'll find that it did nothing.

This is an old problem, but hasn't been fixed yet because there are more important things to take care of first.

Instead, think appropriately - click here for an image of the world's time zones. Click the image for a larger size if neccessary.
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3. All the text disappeared

There's a sticky on this, but it deserved a chapter here...

The disappearing text problem is a well known one, originating from Scratch 1.3 to 1.4 - the current version of Scratch. It can appear at any time, so be aware.

Here's a list of things to do once you get hit by it:

1. Follow the list of instructions from here.
2. Report what you were doing here (be very specific).
3. Try and be more careful next time, if you were doing something silly with Scratch.

This problem has been around for a while, and there's a bit of a war against it. If you dare, have a look at the threads about it (check the two previous links) and see if you can do anything to combat the problem.
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4. The forum blocks are wrong

Actually, this isn't really a bug... it's just that they're from Scratch 1.1, and haven't been updated since.

If you want to use newer blocks (such as list related ones), follow these steps:

1. Open Scratch and build the desired script.
2. Right click on the construction zone.
3. Select "Save picture of Scripts".
4. Share your image.

However, large scripts can shrink. If you don't want that, use this...

1. Open Scratch and build the desired script.
2. Take a screenshot (Look for the key that says PrtScn, or something along those lines).
3. Open Paint or something like that.
4. Save your image after editing it so that it doesn't take up too much space.
5. Go to an image uploading site (imageshack, for example) and upload your image.
6. Post the code.

If the script is too long, you'll have to piece it together with several screenshots.


For a list of all the missing blocks (and blocks that need to be removed), click here.
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5. Variables go to the top-left corner
-suggested by mathematics

This one is irritating. You work on your project, place the variables in their positions, and save.

So far so good.

You then exit your project. When you return, you will find that the variables have lost their positions and have returned to their starting place.

It's frustrating, but there's a way around this! To stop it from happening, have your variables showing when you save. It may look a bit ugly, but it works, and your project will work fine.
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6. My project is ruined online
-suggested by greenflash

This one is common and can happen to anyone. What happens is you run your project online, and find that everything won't work. A list won't show, a sprite won't move, a sound won't play - lots of errors appear.

This is because of the Java player. Sometimes it messes up, and then part of your project is ruined.

An interesting bit of script that always fails is this:

[play sound [(pick random (1) to (2)] ]

Choosing a random sound will ruin the script.
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This problem is rather unavoidable... what you can do is try working with your project and modifying it if you can, or simply instructing users to download it.
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7. Notes and drums won't play
-suggested by cheddargirl

Yes, drums. The Sound block section contains these noisemakers:

[play sound [meow]]
[play sound [meow] until done]
[play drum (48) for (0.2) beats]
[play note (60) for (0.5) beats]

A whole block for drums.
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Sometimes when you use the last two blocks mentioned above, you won't hear anything unless you turn your sound up.

Click here for a thread on the problem.

But to explain it in this thread, here's an important quote:

JSO wrote:

Probably your SW Synth volume is turned off.

Double-Click the speaker icon in the system tray (lower-right corner of your screen) and tune up the SW-Synth volume to the max.

Does that solve your problem?

The problem was solved.
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8. Failed: Serialization: buffer too small for compressed data
-suggested by cheddargirl

I don't know much about this, but I did some research and got some results...

If you try and upload a project with specific graphics, you can receive this message: Failed: Serialization: buffer too small for compressed data.

To fix it, uncheck the small box that asks if you want to compress your sounds and images.
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cheddargirl made a helpful post, so I'll quote it:

cheddargirl wrote:

If you want to go into specifics, that specific error is an upload error that occurs when there's nothing left to compress (all images and sounds are that their smallest size possible and cannot be compressed any further). Un-checking the small box upon uploading fixes the error automatically since you're not asking Scratch to compress anything.

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9. Why is my signature cut off?
-suggested my Magnie

This is one of the simpler problems actually. If a signature has a height of more than 150 pixels, the rest of the signature will not be shown (click this for the announcement). Edit your signature as necessary, and submit.
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Thanks for taking the time to read this through, or for skipping to the end. 

Last edited by Chrischb (2011-07-26 04:53:37)