Weird behavior of drawing app until moving main app window

Question

Weird behavior of drawing app until moving main app window

+This issue was posted in a thread about user account but it doesn't seem to be the issue after all.+

Only in my account, when I open this application (SketchBook Express), the UI doesn't really work (drawing is not happening normally - the path doesn't show up until I right-click at the end, but also the tool windows that should open when one selects a tool appear in odd locations, their "activ" zone is outside from their image ,they don't work as should, etc..).
If, however I move the main application window by as little as 1 pixel, bingo, everything's working fine until I shut the application down. When I relaunch, the issue is back, and only in this one user account. In any other one it's fine from start.

After trying several times to trash prefs, caches, re-install, I see no progress. I've fixed my user account ACL's and owner:group via the install CD utility and no change.

Has anyone seen this type of behavior in any application or this one ? Other drawing applications such as PixelMator are OK.

Thanks for any help

iMac 27" core i7, iPad, McBook Intel,iMac 3,06Ghz, Mac OS X (10.6.6)

Posted on Feb 11, 2011 11:04 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Feb 11, 2011 11:34 AM in response to Jacques Lacroute

Create a new admin user account, log into it, and ensure that the problem doesn't exist when using that drawing program. If that's the case, then since the issue is specific to your original user account, you can proceed in two ways. One is to log into your new account, make a list of the preference files (plists) located in /username/Library/Preferences/, including any in the ByHost subfolder, log back into the original account, move everything on that other account's list from the original account's Preferences folder into a newly created folder on the Desktop, log out and back in, and see if the problem goes away. If so, you can copy the ones in the Desktop folder (one at time) back into /Preferences/, restart, and see if the problem returns. If so, you've identified the corrupt/conflicting one. Continue with all of them until isolating the bad ones. That'll save you the trouble of resetting preferences.

The second way is much more detailed and I'll not burden you with the steps unless the above doesn't fix the issue.

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Answer 2

Feb 11, 2011 11:10 PM in response to baltwo

It is more efficient to put half the plists back at a time and if the problem returns pull half of THOSE back out and keep repeating the process until you get down to one... and it makes it easier to tell what is what if after you pull the old ones out into another folder, use terminal and 'touch' all of them before logging back in at least a minute later...

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Answer 3

Feb 12, 2011 2:08 AM in response to shadrach343

Thanks to both of you. I'm still looking at an easy way to transfer the wanted prefs into my desktop folder (about 200 to pick) and as some will be recreated when testing, the track will be a bit difficult to keep I assume.
The half by half reminds me of a Mac Os prior to X app (can't remember the name of it : Conflict Solver ?) that was here then to automatize extensions conflicts detection. Such a tool for prefs would be great....
It'll take me some time to pursue this track, but I will report whenever

Thanks

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Answer 4

baltwo

Level 9

62,362 points

Feb 12, 2011 11:07 AM in response to Jacques Lacroute

Conflict Catcher. That's the idea. The reason for starting with the new account's stuff is that it should only include stuff that works, eliminating testing everything the first go around.

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