App sometimes drops out of my cross-dissolve preference

[StephenBarth]

I have the app set to cross-dissolve between images, with nine seconds for each. But sometimes instead of dissolving, the app drops to black, and then after a few seconds, the next image dissolves in. I have the app set to show images from the same album that my system screensaver does after inactivity, a folder of my own images that I've added to the HD Library > Screensavers > Default Collections. This is in Mac OS 11.4.
Also, not sure if it's a related issue, but sometimes the app's black screen tells me that one of my images is gone, or missing, which, fortunately, it has not actually vanished. But maybe it's part of the drop-to-black issue?

[GabZach]

Hello Stephen, thanks a lot for writing in.

I have the app set to cross-dissolve between images, with nine seconds for each. But sometimes instead of dissolving, the app drops to black, and then after a few seconds, the next image dissolves in.

Could you please send me the log and the time when it happened? To do so, please paste this into Terminal (one line!), then send me the Log file that appears on your Desktop: log show --predicate 'process == "ArtSaverApp"' --info --debug > ~/Desktop/Log.txt Also, please send me the time when you did the experiment. Also please note that you might need to compress the log file, as it might be pretty big.

I have the app set to show images from the same album that my system screensaver does after inactivity, a folder of my own images that I've added to the HD Library > Screensavers > Default Collections. This is in Mac OS 11.4.

Might be a permissions issue. Could you also please try to move your folder of images to your home, then point ArtSaverApp to that folder, then try running it again?

Also, not sure if it's a related issue, but sometimes the app's black screen tells me that one of my images is gone, or missing, which, fortunately, it has not actually vanished. But maybe it's part of the drop-to-black issue?

Yes, I think so. Best regards, Gabriel

[StephenBarth]

Yes, that seems to have been the problem.
I'd originally put that particular photo folder in system screensavers on my previous iMac because Sierra & previous systems otherwise kept losing track of it in the pictures folder, or in iPhoto. Putting the folder there worked on those systems, but obviously, a Big Sur iMac doesn't like it there.
Thank you for steering me clear on the issue! The app is fully operational & enjoyable now
Best, Stephen

[StephenBarth]

Actually, now it's started again, although not as bad as before. It never says "Image not found" now, but does drop to black & then fade up into the next image. Maybe my last setting confused the app & I should delete & reinstall. Will try that

[GabZach]

Sorry about the issue! Re-reading your initial mail, I noticed that you have set ArtSverApp to 9 seconds duration per image. Maybe this is related to the problem. First of all, could you please try to set it to 20 sec? Also, how much time approximately does a cross-dissolve take in your setting? Finally, do you have any huge images in terms of MB? like >50 MB for a single picture file? or formats like TIFF or HEIC? Best regards, Gabriel

…

On 1. Aug 2021, at 18:26, StephenBarth ***@***.***> wrote: Actually, now it's started again, although not as bad as before. It never says "Image not found" now, but does drop to black & then fade up into the next image. Maybe my last setting confused the app & I should delete & reinstall. Will try that — You are receiving this because you commented. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe.

[StephenBarth]

As an update, (months later – I know – sorry for the delay), it began happening again soon after I moved the folder from Library Screensavers into my user Pictures folder. It now is showing the same glitch as in the original folder. Sometimes I now also get the message, "several images in a row are gone", although the JPGs are of course still there.
I see your request above for the log file. I will try that

[GabZach]

No problem. Maybe you can try this new beta: https://owncloud.informatik.uni-bremen.de/index.php/s/iwdT3MpG4R8sDSQ (although the update is probably not related to your problem.) Can you please send me a screenshot of your ArtSaverApp settings? Also, please send the log file. Best regards, Gabriel

…

On 28. Oct 2021, at 21:01, StephenBarth ***@***.***> wrote: As an update, (months later – I know – sorry for the delay), it began happening again soon after I moved the folder from Library Screensavers into my user Pictures folder. It now is showing the same glitch as in the original folder. Sometimes I now also get the message, "several images in a row are gone", although the JPGs are of course still there. I see your request above for the log file. I will try that — You are receiving this because you commented. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe. Triage notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS or Android.

[StephenBarth]

First the log file, in one second, hopefully dragging & dropping works here

[StephenBarth]

Log.txt.zip

[StephenBarth]

Here is a list of recent glitches from this afternoon, 10/28, most of them instances of the “drop to black” event, but two with the message that the images were gone. I got the times from photos on my phone, but didn’t record every instance. The times of course are about half a second or so late:
3:10:03, :20,
3:11:09, :47
3:12:37, :53
3:!3:09, :46
3:14:02
3:15:13, :30, :56
a message that an image was gone at 3:20:13
3:23:23, :27
3:25:22, :27, :43
3:26:32, :42
3:27:31
3:28:20, :25, :52
3:31:10
a message that the image was gone at 3:32:57

[StephenBarth]

Also sending the only phone photo where I was able to catch a clear shot of one of the messages, from 10/26 11:37:08am

:

[StephenBarth]

And the preference

s:

[StephenBarth]

Think that should do it for now. I hope all this helps. And if the problem is with my OS, it will give me something to go with if I need to bring an Apple techie onto my screen

[StephenBarth]

Think that should do it for now. I hope all this helps. And if the problem is with my OS, it will give me something to go with if I need to bring an Apple techie onto my screen
PS I've not upgraded to Monterey yet

[GabZach]

Thanks a lot for the response. Could you please send me the list of images in this folder: /Users/StephenBarth2020/Pictures/Works for Desktop/ To do so, please open Terminal, and copy these lines into Terminal: cd "/Users/StephenBarth2020/Pictures/Works for Desktop/" ls -l > ~/Desktop/Imglist.txt Then, please send me the list that will have appeared on your Desktop. Please use direct email: go to ArtSaverApp's preferences, click on "Feedback". Thanks a lot in advance. Best regards, Gabriel

…

On 28. Oct 2021, at 22:14, StephenBarth ***@***.***> wrote: Think that should do it for now. I hope all this helps. And if the problem is with my OS, it will give me something to go with if I need to bring an Apple techie onto my screen PS I've not upgraded to Monterey yet — You are receiving this because you commented. Reply to this email directly, view it on GitHub, or unsubscribe. Triage notifications on the go with GitHub Mobile for iOS or Android.