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pilwon
pilwon
Participant
February 27, 2019
Answered

(#15)Can't initialize target. [VSCode ES Debugger]

  • February 27, 2019
  • 5 replies
  • 13729 views

I installed ExtendScript Debugger extension for VSCode on Mac and followed all the instructions (including troubleshooting), however selection of the target application does not work with error "(#15)Can't initialize target." for all CC apps I have installed on Mac. Is the fix coming? Could you suggest how I can troubleshoot this?

  • macOS Mojave v10.14.1
  • VSCode v1.31.1
  • ExtendScript Debugger v1.0.0
    This topic has been closed for replies.
    Correct answer JapinderSandhu

    this just force quit my whole vs code app why would you post this 

    WARNING THIS WILL CRASH YOUR VSCODE  INSTANTLY AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SAVE 

     

    killall "Code Helper (Renderer)"

     

    5 replies

    A
    AM-S
    Known Participant
    June 7, 2021

    I managed to get around this problem by closing all other workspace windows in VS Code and then initializing my target Adobe app.

    H
    haukeh96518267
    Participating Frequently
    September 30, 2021

    Obviously VS Code gets confused when several workspace windows are open. I needed to close all others, restart VS Code and then after establishing the debugging connection, I can open other workspaces again.

    This is annoying and the debugger isn't very stable anyway. Adobe really could help us developers out by improving this, please!

      J
      jefbr
      Inspiring
      October 28, 2021

      The part where you said "establishing the debugging connection" made all the difference to me in understanding what is going wrong.

       

      I now understand it to mean that VS needs to connect to photoshop so it makes sense to first start vsc and have that start photoshop, that way we have the best guarantee that vsc will know "that photoshop exists".

       

      Without antropomorphising vsc too much, any other way introduces enough doubt for vsc to become uncertain as to what photoshop is, where it is, whether it's runningn ...

       

      Thank you for your spark of insight!

      S
      saeidt53279147
      Participating Frequently
      January 10, 2021

      I Dont Know Why But Photoshop Must Be Close When You Select Target Application Inside Vscdoe So You Will See Yes No Prompt In Vscode When Click Select Target Application 

        Roy Marshall
        Roy Marshall
        Known Participant
        December 2, 2020

        Is there really still no published answer for this? I have been out of the loop with ESTK/InDesign scripting for nearly a year, and remember this was a big headache. 

        Started writing some now, initially all was OK, but suddenly I got the dreaded "(#15)Can't initialize target"

        I don't Have ExtendScript Toolkit running on this mac.

        and this is my launch.json file:

        {
        "version": "0.2.0",
        "configurations": [
         
        {
        "type": "extendscript-debug",
        "request": "launch",
        "name": "myCompanyName",
        "program": "${workspaceFolder}/addPageLines.jsx",
        "stopOnEntry": false
        }
        ]
        }
         
        Any help gratefully received!
        Roy
        D
        Dieter May
        Participating Frequently
        January 10, 2021

        Bei mir hat folgendes geholfen:

        Visual Studio Code beenden.

        Im Terminal folgenden Befehl ausführen:

        killall "Code Helper (Renderer)"

         

          JapinderSandhu
          JapinderSandhuCorrect answer
          Inspiring
          February 7, 2021

          this just force quit my whole vs code app why would you post this 

          WARNING THIS WILL CRASH YOUR VSCODE  INSTANTLY AND YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO SAVE 

           

          killall "Code Helper (Renderer)"

           

          rcraighead
          rcraighead
          Legend
          October 25, 2020

          I am getting:

          (#15)Can't initialize target.

          Even though I have not loaded ESTK for months. It happens once or twice a day and I have to reboot to get back to work.  How do I fix this!?

            Ten A
            Community Expert
            Ten ACommunity Expert
            Community Expert
            February 27, 2019

            ExtendScript Debugger extension conflicts ESTK and you should stop it.

              pilwon
              pilwonAuthor
              Participant
              February 28, 2019

              Thanks Ten, uninstalling ESTK was indeed the right solution for my problem. It might help others if Adobe adds this to troubleshooting FAQ.

              erinferinferinf
              Adobe Employee
              erinferinferinf
              Adobe Employee
              February 28, 2019

              Wait a second, I wrote a lot of the FAQ...

              In the "Troubleshooting" section of the VSCode Marketplace page it's the first bullet point:

              • Make sure the ESTK stand-alone application is closed

              Granted, in the VSCode app I found it's a lot of scrolling past large gifs to see that.

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