Cannot open Character Palette or Hex Input

Forum|Forum|7 years ago
January 9, 2019
4 replies
2399 views

The last few weeks I've noticed that I cannot use the character palette. When I click Insert > Character > Character Palette, all that happens is that the Insert entry on the menu bar is deselected. The same thing happens with Hex Input. I checked all the other items on the Insert menu, and they all work. I've tried a number of suggestions provided on the FrameUsers list, including trying to change screen resolution (tricky, I'm already at the highest), moving to using the laptop screen only, variations on the Windows+Shift+arrow keys ... nothing works. I thought briefly it might be a corrupted program because Frame was giving me some odd errors when I closed it, but I've reinstalled with all updates, no longer get the errors on close out, and I'm STILL not seeing either the palette or the hex input.

It isn't a TERRIBLE issue, since I've already created variables for most of the non-standard characters (mostly fractions) that I use and know keyboard shortcuts for most of the rest, but even so, it WAS working, now it isn't, and I don't know why.

Suggestions?

This topic has been closed for replies.

LinSims

Author

Community Expert

Recently updated to Windows 10 Pro, fully patched.

FrameMaker 2019, Update 2.

The Hex Input and Character Palette are now available, but are closing themselves within about 10-20 seconds after being opened. With the Hex Input (which I never use but was checking for the sake of completeness), this means if I have the Unicode in my clipboard and paste it in, I can get the character I want.

If I want to use the Character Palette, however, and need any font other than Courier, I'm out of luck. The palette will close while I'm still scrolling through the available installed fonts. If I just stick to Courier, it usually still closes before I can find the character I want.

Admittedly, I can generally find what I want using the Windows Character Map, but I find it curious that a program that made its reputation by being a better DTP than anything else out there still uses the antiquated and hard to read Character Palette and now the palette is (for me) pretty much impossible to use.

michaelcarlisle

Inspiring

I also am experiencing the problem of the Character Palette closing after 10 seconds that linsims reported.

I am using FrameMaker 13 (FrameMaker 2015) on the Windows 10 Enterprise operating system, 64-bit. Today is Monday. I was able to use the Character Palette the previous Friday.

Any assistance and information on how this problem can be fixed will be greatly appreciated.

michaelcarlisle

Inspiring

Rebooting my computer seems to have fixed the problem The Character Palette no longer prematurely closes.

LinSims

Author

Community Expert

I'm back to not being able to use the character palette or the hex input. I can't keep redoing the preferences folder every time this happens.

LinSims

Author

Community Expert

Solved! I found Matt Sullivan's Tech Comm Tools post on another thread about FM2019 crashing where he suggested renaming the preferences folder to make Frame create a new one. I tried it and it solved not only my Character Palette/Hex Input issue, but a new one that had reared its ugly head, a Windows application error that was popping up when I closed Frame.

S

Stefan Gentz