Restore Project From File... gives an empty list

Question

We’re using ParaText 8 in a politically sensitive restricted access area. The MTT does not take his work computer on-line, but from a different computer sends me a secure email with an attached .zip back-up file for me to check (File > Backup Project To File…). I download the attached .zip file and use File > Restore Project From File… to update my copy. We have done it this way for years with no problem.

For the past month, however, when I do File > Restore Project From File… and select the .zip file, the Restore window opens with no files listed at all. None under ‘Files In Backup’ and none under ‘Files On Hard Disk.’ Checking or unchecking the “Do not show files that are same in both disk and backup” has no effect.

Older .zip files still display correctly when I select them with “Restore Project From File…,” however, and if I make a new backup myself and then restore from it, it works fine. So it seems there must be something going amiss recently when the MTT creates the back-up files.

If I double-click on the offending .zip file, the unzipped folder contains all of the expected files except that a file called ProjectUserAccess.xml is missing; this file is present in older backups that work. Copying the ProjectUserAccess.xml file into the recent faulty backup results in files such as “Autocorrect” and “Biblical Terms List” and “Checking Statuses” displaying in the Restore window, but no Bible books are listed.

Any suggestions regarding what’s gone wrong and how to fix it?

Thanks for any help!

Answer 1

When he makes the zip file, is he checking the box to include project properties and settings?

I think he should.

Comments

Thanks, I’ll write and ask him right now.

Answer 2

I have a similar problem. I use PT9, while my MTTs still work in PT8. So far that has never caused any problems.
Last week I discovered that backups I create with PT8 as well as with PT9 no longer restore, either in PT8 or in PT9 on different computers I’ve tried.
I get an error message that says:
Unexpected end of file has occurred. The following elements are not closed: item, Verses, InterlinearData. LIne 164022, position 33.
I wonder whether this is a problem with our project which crept in, perhaps when a faulty computer devoured an entire book last week, or whether this is a bug?
My settings box is definitely ticked as per default, when I do a backup.
There are teams in related languages working in remote places, who would like our project shared with them by backup (rather than S/R). So any help would be much appreciated.

Answer 3

ChrDre, It would be helpful to report a problem (via Main menu > Help > Give Feedback) immediately after attempting to restore the project. This will mean the developers can additional information leading up to the error message. If the project in question is the active window, it will also be attached to the error report.

Comments

Ok, I just did so. When it first happened, I was in a remote location, where I couldn’t send an error report. But I was able to reproduce it on my own machine and sent in 2 error reports, one for the original project (of which the backup fails) and one for the target project (created to restore to), since I don’t know which one you need. PTXS 21924 and 21925. Thanks!