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Viewer/Editor won't load (F3/F4) & Automatic video playback

Posted: 2013 Aug 14, 06:02
by profess
Hi everyone,

Hope you are all well - and ready to help :)

1) I cannot set any viewer/editor to xplorer2, whether leaving the boxes blank for viewer (F3) or editor (F4) boxes. Leaving them blank or filling them with the path to a viewer/editor doesn't work. Any help here appreciated.

This happens with Ultimate and Professional (latest versions I think but I don't think this matters). Baffled. Registry perhaps?

2) Some videos do not play back automatically when selected and with the Quickviewer open. These videos, like MP4 etc, require me to press Play to view them. Avis play automatically, but other video types do not play by themselves through the Viewer.

I remember there was a message box that used to come up with 'play these file types automatically', but I don't know if this is relevant or if it will help.

=

Any help appreciated.

Regards,

Osei

Re: Viewer/Editor won't load (F3/F4) & Automatic video playb

Posted: 2013 Aug 14, 06:30
by nikos
perhaps you have xplorer2 installed more than once? That confuses things with editor2. Anyway the idea is to leave the editor/viewer fields blank and make sure the registry settings szExternalEditor/szExternalViewer don't have anything funny, and szEditor2Path is valid. If in doubt delete everything from the settings to get back to the defaults

for me either all files play automatically in the QV or they all need to press PLAY, this is controlled from TOOLS > OPTIONS

Re: Viewer/Editor won't load (F3/F4) & Automatic video playb

Posted: 2013 Aug 14, 07:56
by profess
thanks for the swift reply.

still i've since uninstalled the lite and professional versions leaving the ultimate installed. still no joy.

Tools > Options > Quick Viewer sectioned - already has Start Playing Media Files Immediately ticked. The box is also grayed out.
= how can this option be changed?

how do i reset x2? would uninstalling and deleting registry keys be enough?

is there an environment variable that could have something to do with it? recently i have some error message pop up on booting and this folder "Documents%20and%20Settings" was created. "Documents%20and%20Settings\user\desktop\file.mm\" was created. nothing else is in there...

*plucks straw*

Re: Viewer/Editor won't load (F3/F4) & Automatic video playb

Posted: 2013 Aug 14, 08:54
by nikos
exit xplorer2 fully, then delete these 3 registry keys I mentioned and order should return

Re: Viewer/Editor won't load (F3/F4) & Automatic video playb

Posted: 2013 Aug 14, 11:06
by profess
Hi,

Thanks for that. I deleted all 3 keys as you suggested but that didn't solve it (right away).

When I start Winxp and log into Windows I get a message about there being a problem with C:\program files - and if I would like to rename it in order to ensure that all programs work correctly. Ignoring the problem seemed to be fine and all programs worked as expected, however, X2 didn't. I didn't see the possible link with this right away though.

Leaving X2 in the folder C:\program files\zabkat... did not solve the issue. When the registry keys were deleted they were then recreated and pointing to C:\program files etc... The viewer and editor error message still came up.

I copied X2 to C:\x2 and deleted the 3 registry keys. Voila! It worked and the registry now read C:\X2\editor... as the path to editor2.

I then deleted the registry keys and restarted X2 from \program files\ path. I got the same error message.

I will reboot now and get the precise message to research and fix.

Regards...

Re: Viewer/Editor won't load (F3/F4) & Automatic video playb

Posted: 2013 Aug 14, 11:07
by profess
Any idea why "Start Playing Media Files Immediately" is grayed out? What controls this?

Regards,

Osei

Re: Viewer/Editor won't load (F3/F4) & Automatic video playb

Posted: 2013 Aug 14, 11:22
by profess
Here is the message:

Image

Will allow it to rename and see...

C:\program is a file, not a folder...

Re: Viewer/Editor won't load (F3/F4) & Automatic video playb

Posted: 2013 Aug 14, 11:25
by profess
Exactly that!! As soon as the file was renamed, the problem with x2 and editor2 disappeared.
X2 was open before renaming, tried F3 and no joy, allowed Windows to rename the file (x2 still open), F3 on another file and it worked.

Thanks for the support.

Osei

Ps. Now the media problem would be helpful to solve. Slightly frustrating...

Re: Viewer/Editor won't load (F3/F4) & Automatic video playb

Posted: 2013 Aug 14, 11:40
by Kilmatead
profess wrote:Ignoring the problem seemed to be fine and all programs worked as expected...
As real users never ignore messages, you, sir, are the worst kind of user. A facilitator of evil, an enabler of alcoholics. And you're setting a very bad example for your daughter. Please hang your head in shame for a few moments. :roll:
profess wrote:Any idea why "Start Playing Media Files Immediately" is grayed out? What controls this?
Highlight a media-file first (while the quick-viewer is visible), then the option will become active. Not that (given the above) you deserve it to be active, but for the sake of your daughter's My Little Pony afternoon show, we'll let it slide just this once. :wink:

Re: Viewer/Editor won't load (F3/F4) & Automatic video playb

Posted: 2013 Aug 14, 12:11
by profess
Ah thanks will try it out.

K some things can be ignored - it's just a matter of when it's going to come around and bite you that is the issue.

My Lil Pony - how did you guess? Lol no it's more like peppa oink for the lil one - #franchise that we've bought right into #overload

Re: Viewer/Editor won't load (F3/F4) & Automatic video playb

Posted: 2013 Aug 14, 13:04
by Kilmatead
She obviously never read the blurb for the latest film adaptation:
My Little Pony: Equestria Girls (2013) wrote:In Equestria, the newly coronated Twilight Sparkle is still trying to adjust to her new status and wings. However, Sunset Shimmer a renegade former studio of Princess Celestia, steals her magic crown and escapes to another world. Twilight is charged with recovering the crown and she and her companion, Spike, pursue the thief. Crossing over, Twilight finds that she has been changed into a powerless human in a high school world populated with teenage human counterparts of her friends. To save both worlds, Twilight must rediscover the magic of friendship that transcends everything she imagined possible.
Now you tell me - what could possibly be more exciting than that? No silly pig could even get a look-in. I mean, when was the last time you met a pig who could transcend everything it imagined possible? Never, I'll wager. Pigs aren't good at that sort of thing.

The pony wins (as long as she survives - the trepidation is crushing).

Re: Viewer/Editor won't load (F3/F4) & Automatic video playb

Posted: 2013 Aug 15, 00:33
by profess
Thanks for that I think I'll just go and download it it seems so interesting - may learn something from the horses. That reminds me there used to be an equestrian forum linked with x2. Wonder what they would have thought about it all...

Equestria - so original :)

Re: Viewer/Editor won't load (F3/F4) & Automatic video playb

Posted: 2013 Aug 15, 07:04
by Kilmatead
Back on topic, I think something was recently modified (via a windows update) in the security settings for WMP. Keep in mind that x2 uses Windows Media Player by way of Internet Explorer for general rendering, and thus is subject to its quarrelsome security moods.

To wit, I noticed as well that some filetypes were not playing immediately - they were the more obscure-type (unsupported by WMP "out of the box") such as MKV's, etc, but considering they work fine in WMP itself I reckoned the codecs were kosher (and they were). Except they still wouldn't play.

Interestingly, the Quick-Viewer started popping up a notice (on those filetypes) regarding how "The contents of this file do not match its filetype, Do you want to play anyway?" (even though there was nothing wrong with the contents). Selecting 'Yes', accomplished nothing - so remembering a recent foray into the darkness, I went into the options of WMP (Tools -> Options > Security > Zone Settings and unchecked "Enable Protected Mode" just to see if it was the interfering party - et voilà - the files worked fine via the Quick-Viewer. Re-enabling the "protected mode" banjaxed them again, so it's going to be one of the million-and-one options under "Zone Settings -> Custom Level" that you need to play with - I have no idea which one.

Like I said, I think something was changed in a recent update, as WMP now seems far too sensitive when checking filetype content when invoked through a 3rd-party embedding (such as the Quick-Viewer), and it fouls it up.

Try (temporarily) disabling the "protected mode" checkbox to see if it is indeed the offending party on your system as well, and if so, then you know where to start digging to find the bodies. :D

Re: Viewer/Editor won't load (F3/F4) & Automatic video playb

Posted: 2013 Aug 17, 07:46
by profess
Image

This is the message I'm looking for.

I'll tick the box and see how it works from now on.

Tinkering with the "Start Playing Media Immediately" may have made the message return.

Osei


-

Note: No joy...

Nikos? I know this is controlled by media player maybe, but any workaround?

Re: Viewer/Editor won't load (F3/F4) & Automatic video playb

Posted: 2013 Aug 17, 08:21
by Kilmatead
Kilmatead wrote:I went into the options of WMP (Tools -> Options > Security > Zone Settings and unchecked "Enable Protected Mode" just to see if it was the interfering party - et voilà - the files worked fine via the Quick-Viewer.

Try (temporarily) disabling the "protected mode" checkbox to see if it is indeed the offending party on your system as well, and if so, then you know where to start digging to find the bodies.
Which part of that was not clear?