Isadora v2.5.2 is Available

Russell

Great release - works like silk!

Just a question about demo mode - is there a reason that the Projector can't be deployed without a license? It is not useful for students who are just trying out things in demonstration mode. I think there might be some workarounds with this for example pulling out an asset directly from an asset bin but not all ideas start with external media assets.

mark

@Russell

I'm confused by your question "is there a reason that the Projector can't be deployed without a license?" The Projector actor is not limited in any way by demonstration mode.

I just tested this on Mac OS with an unlicensed version to be sure, and it works as expected. The Projector actor is in the toolbox on the left, and appears in the pop-up toolbox when I type the first few letters of its name.

Am I misunderstanding what you mean by Projector?

Best Wishes,
Mark

Russell

@mark said:

I'm confused by your question

I have seen this issue for a few weeks with demo mode using Mac USB edition on MBP 2015 and Mac Pro. But, as we are in process of preparing a number of machines with Isadora for student shows I may have mistaken it as an ongoing issue with the new release. Here is a dropbox link to a screen capture showing clearly the dialogue box that appears when calling up the Projector with Isadora 2.5.1 : dropbox

I hope the new release is squeaky clean but can not test on other machines till Monday.

mark

@Russell

Hmm... that's quite strange. The version you are using seems to think it's not allowed to use v2.x plugins. Can you please show the about box on the same computer where you recorded that video and take a screen shot? I see that you're using the USB key version...but if you're working on unregistered machines, then I would strongly suggest you use the standard version of Isadora instead of the USB Key one.

CAREFUL: Don't do the next step on a computer on which Isadora is registered!!!!

Also, on the unregistered machines, please go to /Users/Shared and delete all files that have Isadora in the name. In addition, please go to ~/Library/Preferences and delete all Isadora preferences. See if that solves the problem. If those steps don't solve the problem, then there's some sort of bug. (I must admit, we don't do loads of testing when in demo mode, so it's very possibly something that slipped by us.)

Best Wishes,
Mark

Russell

@mark

About Isadora...

Russell

@mark

The situation is not that the machines are unregistered - students can access the machines without the USB key i.e. unsupervised access to studio/labs. I am cautious about losing USB keys if they are left in place - that could get expensive. I am getting nervous about the license agreement now, I recall reading about the USB hardware key having the advantage of being transferrable to different machines - that the software is registered to the key rather than a particular machine?

Russell

@mark said:

"is there a reason that the Projector can't be deployed without a license?"

I didn't phrase this question well. Better said as "the Projector can't be deployed without an active hardware key".

mark

@Russell said:

First, the link you gave to the "About Isadora..." above did not work. Can you just paste it into your next reply instead of using drop box. (Click the little "camera" icon to do so.)

That said, now I need to clarify my language: when using the USB Key version, I would describe Isadora as being "unregistered" if the key is not present because it is not fully enabled to save. I guess I should have said "not fully enabled."

You are right that the software is tied to the key, not to the machine, which is the advantage of the key as opposed to the "standard edition" licensing system. Yes, losing the keys could be expensive since you will also lose the license associated with the key – this is the same policy for most companies that offer this kind of key.

Many institutions prefer to use the Sassafras Keyserver version of Isadora, because they can distribute the software campus wide but Sassafras Keyserver limits the number of simultaneous users based on the number of licenses purchase. If your keys are in excellent shape physically (no scratches or signs of other damage) we could arrange for you to return them at some percentage of the original cost if you wanted to move to Sassafras Keyserver. You would have to purchase Sassafras Keyserver, as this is not a program we sell. (See http://sassafras.com)

Best Wishes,
Mark

Russell

@mark

Thanks Mark,

I have been unable to upload media directly to this thread - it appears to have some kind of restriction. That is why I have tried an alternative through Dropbox. I can't edit my posts to this thread either. Apologies for the bad link.

Russell

@mark said:

Many institutions prefer to use the Sassafras Keyserver version of Isadora, because they can distribute the software campus

Thanks for your advice. We are a small creative arts unit in a regional university but I will look into the key server. The scenario is: 1/ students are introduced to Isadora 2/ students projects are matched to a partner event i.e. Facade or environmental projections for a festival 3/ students work with me to build a patch on fixed machines in an access lab 4/. The patch is transferred or rebuilt on a laptop or other machine that can be used off campus.

For three simultaneous projects I will use three usb keys. The advantage of the key is this mobility between computers and site based production. The cost and the flexibility of the key server will be a decider.

Russell

@mark said:

That said, now I need to clarify my language: when using the USB Key version, I would describe Isadora as being "unregistered" if the key is not present because it is not fully enabled to save. I guess I should have said "not fully enabled."

Thank you for the clarity. I will be able to try your advice about deleting preference files when I am back on campus.

bonemap

@mark said:

the link you gave to the "About Isadora..." above did not work

is this better - apologies in advance if it doesn't work

Russell

oops! I hope that's not too confusing - I have sent the link in the previous post using my personal forum profile instead of this Uni one.

mark

@Russell

Thanks for this. But I need to see the splash screen for the copy of Isadora that won't show the projector. It will help me diagnose the problem.

Best Wishes,
Mark

Russell

@mark said:

the splash screen for the copy of Isadora that won't show the projector

Here is a link to the file.

The earlier image with the key active and this one without the key and in demo mode where calling the projector brings on the dialogue box warning.

Russell

@mark said:

on the unregistered machines, please go to /Users/Shared and delete all files that have Isadora in the name. In addition, please go to ~/Library/Preferences and delete all Isadora preferences.

I can confirm that after deleting the Isadora named file found in /User/Shared and 3 x Isadora named preference files from ~/Library/Preferences, and restarting the machine - the issue has persisted.

mark

@Russell

I tried to recreate this going through several configurations:

Register with 1.0 license. Run with key inserted
Run without key inserted
Register with 2.0 license. Run with key inserted
Run without key inserted

In all cases I was able to insert the Projector actor without any trouble. I can't think of any other situations that might cause this.

Is this happening on all machines, or on a specific machine only? Does it happen on your personal machine when the key is not inserted?

I think there's one other two other files you should try deleting which I don't believe I mentioned before

In ~/Library/Preferences you'll find

com.troikatronix.isadora.scanned-plugins.txt
com.troikatronix.isadora.hidden-properties.txt

Delete those two files as well before you try again.

Best Wishes,
Mark

P.S. You should make the free upgrade to the v2.5.2 release in any case.

Russell

@mark said:

I think there's one other two other files you should try deleting

My initial deleting ~/Library/Preferences included those files:

com.troikatronix.isadora.hidden-properties.txt
com.troikatronix.isadora.plist
com.troikatronix.isadora.scanned-plugins.txt

and I deleted the file in /User/Shared as suggested - so the result is the same.

The dialogue has appeared on multiple machines MacPro, Imac and MacBookPro - all of these machines have a University based system image. As it appears that no one else on the forum is having the issue and it doesn't appear to be present in the new release I am having the Uni machines updated to 2.5.2. I will ensure to let you know if the issue appears again.

Russell

@mark said:

upgrade to the v2.5.2 release

Not good news I am afraid - for your reference after downloading and running the 2.5.2 installer for the standard edition on a MacBook Pro and running demonstration mode the same dialogue box has appeared when attempting to place the Projector. This did not happen initially but has developed after physically demonstrating patching using demo mode. Again the machine has a system image provided by University ITC staff, I am prepared to refer the issue to an ITC staff member if you want to pursue it.

mark

@Russell,

OK, this obviously is going to require some deeper effort on my part to recreate the issue. I myself won't be able to look at this again until Monday. If you are in urgent need to use Isadora, please go to our help page and open a ticket. One of our team will arrange to get you temporary licenses for the standard edition until we can get this solved.

@crystalhorizon @DusX @mc_monte: if you see a ticket come in from Russel, get it routed to Xenia so she can handle it ASAP.

Best Wishes,
Mark