ScreenFlow, at version 1.5.4, still occasionally gives me that Beta feel. While working on the overview screencast for Restricting Access today, I found two bugs. It was not a fun day. TGIF. I’ve reproduced my error report/vent to the ScreenFlow support team below.
Two major, unrecoverable errors were encountered today and I lost hours of work.
1)
I had 3 text items selected and changed the font size on all of them at the same time. The text itself was not highlighted — the bounding boxes around each were selected because I had Command+clicked them to make a multiple selection.
Well apparently applying a font size change to a multiple selection (all text items) is a VERY BAD THING. While it appeared to work visually, I was then unable to move the items, or delete the items, or save my file, or anything else without a whole host of runtime errors.
I had saved the file before attempting this multiple-item font size edit, so I force-quit the application, rebooted and re-started Screenflow. When I attempted to re-open the file, it started to open (I see stage and timeline, with all my items in place) but then Screenflow just crashes with a standard MacOS alert box “The application ScreenFlow quit unexpectedly…” with the Ignore, Report, and Relaunch options.
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After starting again from scratch and working a couple more hours (saving the file regularly) on the same presentation (and vowing to never attempt to apply font size change to multiple text items) I encountered another error.
2)
I needed a small, static screen capture included in my screencast. I used Skitch (which is a great screen capture tool) to do a small screencap. I changed the file type to PNG, and dragged the screencap from Skitch into my ScreenFlow media library. I then placed it on the stage and began editing it in the timeline (video transition, etc.).
When I attempted to save the file, it would not save. I regret not writing down the specific error message, but it was general in nature and did not refer to a specific error (cannot save your file for unknown reason, or something along those lines).
As before, I force-quit the application and rebooted, thinking I could open the file and at least get the previously-saved version. But no, when I attempt to open my file the same thing is happening as in error #1 — it begins to open the file, I see stage and timeline, but then ScreenFlow crashes with the same “application quit unexpectedly” error.
I AM able to open and edit several other ScreenFlow projects I have previously worked on.
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This is indeed frustrating because I think ScreenFlow is a fantastic program and there is nothing else out there that compares.
I’ll keep using it, but I’ve got a growing list of quirky things I need to avoid doing because of these bugs. Don’t apply changes to multiple text items at once. Don’t copy/paste from Skitch. Apparently I should just copy any and all content into the project folder and ONLY add it to my library via the tools in ScreenFlow. And only edit one thing at a time. Etc. And I’ll be saving multiple versions of each project in the hopes that if I can’t open my previously-saved version, maybe I would be able to open another copy that’s a half hour old.
</vent>
Ron Yeany
ryeany@bu.edu