I image with TheSkyX but recently downloaded a trial version of SGPro 2.4.3.25 and am trying to learn it. I am running on a laptop with XP-SP3 and .Net Framework 4 extended. So far I’m following the tutorial inSGPro with only the camera and filter wheel simulator. I have a problem with the windows in SGPro disappearing when I click on them. For instance in the Sequencer window or the Help window when I click on a field or the tittle bar the whole window disappears. Then if I click on another area of the SGPro screen the windows reappear. sometimes I am unable to drag windows by the tittle bar. I’m sure this is not typical behavior and may not be a SGPro problem. But it does NOT occur with other programs. I’m hoping the group has some insight.
I think the issue described by Scott isn’t related specially to Win XP. I had this strange behaviour on my start with SGPro also on a Windows 7 system.
I use SGP on a Windows 7 pro machine, completely updated with the latest patches.
When the help window opens all heck breaks loose. I usually have to use the help window on the second screen and the application on the primary screen. If I am working in SGP to follow the help instructions the pop up windows in the application disappear and don’t work properly and I have to re-click on the application for various functions to make them reappear.
Very annoying and clearly a bug in the software. However, I have not complained or even submitted the question. I figured out how to work around it but it is extremely annoying to say the least. I don’t believe the issue is xp since I experience the same in Won 7pro
Ken
Microsoft has not supported XP for some time now. But there are still many many XP users still out there and XP still works. Although it is a quick and easy response it does not help me solve my problem to be told that Microsoft doesn’t support their product or that you don’t support your product running under XP. I’m pretty sure that earlier versions of your product worked under XP. What would be useful to me is to know if you are aware of a reason the current release of SGPro won’t run properly under XP.
That being said from responses to this post (Reinhard and Big Astro) it seems that there is a similar issue when running under Windows 7. It seems to be tied to opening the Help Window in SGPro. I find that, for the functions that I have tested, when there is no Help Window open things work fine. With the Help Window open windows disappear and freeze up. This is under XP SP3. Don’t take this as a hostile reply. I’m simply trying to understand your product.
Scott Dixon
Also not a hostile response, but this is not relevant to our product.
My response was not intended to educate you as to why XP is not supported. I realize that we are more accessible than most software companies, but this does not mean we owe our users explanations for every decision we make. On the other hand, we are not trying to hide anything either. We have limited time for support and the “quick” answer is not intended to blow you off, just focus our time on other issues or features. If you’d like to know, the reason we don’t support Windows XP is because SGPro code is compiled into an intermediary language and then becomes dependent on the .NET 4.0 CLR for execution. The reliable functionality of the CLR on Windows XP is unknown (Microsoft no longer tests CLR updates against XP). Because of this, we cannot support XP. The behavior is unknown, but will likely manifest itself as odd things like disappearing windows, odd sizing or other unexplained issues. Reporting an issue with XP will always yield the same initial response from us. Then, if other users pile on to it, it moves out of the realm of an “XP only issue” and gets prioritized.
That’s fair. But you still need to understand if we fix an issue that affects you in a positive way it is only because it overlaps with a report from a user with a supported OS.
All said and done, we have not done much testing with the Help window open and, when time allows, we will take a look (meaning it’s noted and on the list for triage).
I was beyond the issue as a nuisance and am enjoying the functionality that I do have. It is like the older you get, the more you have to focus on what is going right and not what is wrong with your body in order to enjoy things. Anyways, I would like to help and will try to document the issue further since it is now on others radar list.
I played with this for about 20 minutes this evening trying different combinations of things. I cannot get other windows to respond this way when help is open. Very specific steps will be required to troubleshoot this one…
Played around with my Windows 7 laptop (this is what is used for testing lots of SGP stuff as it’s my observatory machine). I still couldn’t duplicate any weirdness with the help window open.
As ken mentioned we’ll need step by step instructions to attempt to reproduce this. We’re not saying it’s not an issue. We just have to be able to reproduce it to be able to address it. Otherwise we’re just shooting in the dark (and that’s only fun when we’re talking about taking photos )
just tried to reproduce the issue by installing a trial version on my Win 7 desktop. (as said for me the error occurred only on my first installation on my Astro-Laptop (also win 7, 64 bit).
But the error didn’t occure. The only thing I can report is, that if the help file is maximized, it is not possible to switch to the SGPro application. On clicking SGPro in the task bar the (maximized) help file is displayed. The same applies, if I try to switch to the SGPro application by Alt-Tab.
Don’t know, if this is the “by design” behavior of help files.
As I currently have no second monitor on my desktop I could not try what will happen, if the help file is maximized in one and SGPro application maximized on the other screen. Perhaps this would be worth a test.
Well technically the help is part of the SGP application and it is “Always On Top”. You can certainly have SGP maximized on one monitor and the help maximized on the other. However you cannot alt-tab between them because they are the same application. Closing SGP will close the Help as the help is running as a child of SGP.
I actually had a good night of imaging last night so I did not spend time on this. Let me see if I can take a break tonight before complete darkness and reproduce it and write up specific steps. It has happened many times. On my right screen I open the help file away from the left screen which holds the application. When I try to do what the help instructions tell me on the left screen in the application, the pop up menus don’t show up and everything seems frozen. However, if you tap on the application the pop ups (next step in doing whatever you are doing) show back up. You have to keep toggling between the help screen and the application to make whatever is supposed to pop up pop up in front of the application. This is happening on two screens since I have dual monitors in the observatory.
OK… so a quick review of launching help shows that it was accidentally parented to the sequencing window. If the sequencing window is not visible, this might cause odd issues (I still can’t replicate). Anyhow, the help window is now properly parented to the main window in SGPro. We’ll see how this helps in the next release.
I am able to replicate the issue with the windows. I am using Window’s 7 Pro with the latest releases and two monitors. I open the help file and place it on the right monitor. The application is on the left monitor. The monitors are spanned. One example is as follows. When I toggle the tools drop down and choose the equipment profile manager it comes up behind the application and you can’t see it. You can bring it to the forefront by either touching the help page or the application. However, when you touch the applet for the equipment profile manager it disappears and you have to touch the application or the help file in order to get it back up front. If you are a beginner like I was when I encountered this, it can be supremely confusing and a turn off. However if you persist, you see the functionality of the program and plod on. This probably needs some attention. I am using the latest beta version. However, this existed in the non beta full release.
I have had a similar problem on my Microsoft remote desktop when connected to my Minix PC running Windows 10 Pro. With SGP up and the PHD2 app window up, if I click on the SGP sequence window (or anywhere on the desktop) the PHD2 window disappears. I can work around it by playing with the ‘full screen / mini screen’ options or just keep clicking the PHD2 icon on the bottom menu to reopen it, but it is a pain - when just having all the windows I like to view stay open is so convenient.
)