solved Audio Tracks below Level 2 disappear in v. 8.95

[Mary Beth]

I just upgraded to v.8.95, and suddenly the audio tracks below level 2 simply don't show!  You can hear them, but that portion of the screen is blank where you should be seeing additional levels.  Also, I tried to "unlink" the audio from one of my clips (that's where I first noticed the problem), and it said that it unlinked, but I still hear the audio from the clip, and I need to get rid of it!  I tried inserting a screen shot so you could see what I'm talking about, but I guess I can't do that...  Thanks for any help!

[borate]

You can link a screenshot.  Upload it to a free server, get a shareable (public) link, copy the link and post it here.  Google Drive, MS OneDrive, Dropbox, many others.

Is there a scrollbar at the right of the audio tracks?  Click on Menu (top-left of the VP window) | VIEW | RESTORE DEFAULT LAYOUT.

Best would be to share the project, so others can take a look.  This is not difficult, takes little time and can be private.  Just follow these steps closely...

1.  With your project on the timeline, click on MENU at the top-left.  Click FILE|BACK UP PROJECT FILES TO FOLDER.  Choose a folder and SELECT FOLDER.
2.  Locate the saved, numbered folder, NOT the exported or VPJ file.  Upload it to a free server - Google Drive, MS OneDrive, etc.*
3.  Get a shared, public link.  If using Google Drive click GET SHAREABLE LINK. Change "restricted" to "anyone with the link can view"  Then click COPY LINK | DONE.
4.  Paste that link here, or click the folder at the top-right of this forum and privately message it to me.  It won't be shared.
*    Before uploading, right-click the folder, click PROPERTIES.  Look at the File Size to confirm that it's not too big for the free space on the server.

[Mary Beth]

Thanks, Borate!  Restoring the default layout didn't work, so I'll try sending you a screenshot, then I'll try and share the project.

Okay, let's see if this comes through - this is the screenshot, and you can see at the bottom where everything below level 2 is blank...

https://drive.google.com/file/d/14Aq2eddiGe8WSu_o3ApB3O64grLkb7X7/view?usp=sharing

Folder is uploading as we speak.  Just for kicks and grins I tried opening another project, and it has the same issue; could it be a bug with the new version (8.95)?

Okay, here's the link to the folder with the project:

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1GeTdHnEbRBJ9y1O3XEywVy5Ct_NQMl2G?usp=sharing

Just FYI, the clip from which I tried to unlink the audio is around 0:05:20 (the Yellow-shafted Flicker); it SAID I unlinked it successfully, but I could still hear the linked audio, and that's when I noticed the problem with the "blank" audio tracks - I couldn't see the linked audio in order to delete it!

[borate]

No indication of missing audio tracks here.  Try reinstalling Videopad.   But two MOV files are missing.

Consider moving the photo credits to the left (or above) so that they are within their image borders.

Unlinking makes the A/V tracks independent of each other, but doesn't mute audio.  To mute the track, click the 'speaker' icon at the left of a track.  To mute a clip, right-click on it and tic the MUTE box.  No need to unlink.

  Please upload these files...

[Mary Beth]

Thanks for the tips!  Not sure why those two files didn't copy...  I'll try reinstalling the program!

Nope - I reinstalled the program and it's still showing blank tracks.  Were you able to see that screen shot okay?  Any ideas as to what could be causing that?  I'm tempted to install a previous version but am not sure how to do that.  Thanks.

I'll share another screen shot where I've circled the audio track titles in red (so it's obvious that they exist), yet there's nothing to the right, and in fact the lower bit of Audio Track 2 appears to be cut off!

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rKh56yU-8rr0o-Unp6N1I7LBkFuTu_S-/view?usp=sharing

Just now saw your request for me to upload those missing files; here's the Ross' Goose:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TVdPM6InsQSaxWFpGVQj3MSRjhfh_ad-/view?usp=sharing

...and here's the Glossy Ibis:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1VANehkug4SG0xf_rEdMFm3LklKUTDt6z/view?usp=sharing

Still not sure why these two clips didn't copy over...

Update - now this is interesting!  Just for kicks I tried collapsing all the audio tracks, and guess what:  you could suddenly see ALL the audio tracks (in a compressed manner), so I was able to get rid of that one audio clip I wanted to get rid of :-), but when I expand, say Audio Track 1, everything below a certain point is screened from sight somehow (I also noticed that I could move the tracks up and down, so they're THERE, but the program won't let you see them below a certain point).  So this doesn't happen within the program you're using?  Do you suppose it's a memory issue, or a bug with the program?  Thanks!

[Nationalsolo]

Hi Mary

No it's not a bug. There is a limited amount of screen room to show all the tracks at the same time if you are using many. (Some users have been known to set up 20 or more! )

However, you can increase the vertical height allocated to the track area at the expense of the preview displays by dragging the small white horizontal bar above the tracks upwards. There is another just above the Audio tracks will will also show more at the expense of the Video tracks. Clicking the chevrons at the left end of each track will compress it  so more can be seen. The maximum if everything is squashed up is around 16 tracks....8 video and 8 audio (assuming they are linked.)  They are small though.

If (for some reason) you add more,  then you can scroll them up and down as you have found with the bars at the extreme right. In most projects you shouldn't need to use more that 3 or 4 tracks.

Nat

[Mary Beth]

Wow - that did it!  Thanks so much, Nat!  I noticed that if I bring that horizontal bar back down it blanks out some of the tracks again (even though you'd think they'd still be visible; I don't recall this issue with previous versions of Video Pad), but I can work with this!  Take care!

[borate]

Nat's has clued you in.  The 'blanking' effect doesn't appear here.  All tracks are visible, though there may be the need to scroll. Track six had no content and was deleted.

The two files you most recently uploaded were a different type from that specified in the VPJ (save project AS) file.  They are AVI, not MOV, and were in the initial download package.  Substitutions were made.

In the future, try to consolidate tracks and limit sequences where possible, and don't load files that won't be used.  This will ease the processing load and make for quicker UI responsiveness.

[Mary Beth]

Thanks so much, guys!  I also noticed that all the texts came across fine in the exported file, which was another issue I was having (some of them came across in the export, and some didn't), which prompted me to upgrade, thinking it might have been a problem with the older version.  Would that actually be a memory issue?  Thanks again; you guys are the best!

And again, great advice; I'll certainly endeavor to put those things into practice! 🙂

[borate]

Quote

Mary Beth wrote:  Missing text overlays - would that actually be a memory issue?

Not inconceivable.  Employing the above suggestions can help to minimize export issues.  Using different compressors or a lower resolution may also help.  Prior to beginning a new project, click OPTIONS | DISK tab and Clear Unused cache files.

[Mary Beth]

Great - I'll try that!  Thanks so much!