Keynote crashed, presentation file disappeared

AJ898:

If that is indeed the response that you got from Apple Support, you should escalate your concerns to management immediately. If Support called me back with such a non-response, I would be furious--especially considering the nature of this catastrophic bug.

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I don't want to mislead anyone. The support people I spoke with were as helpful as anyone could be. They applogized for the issue, etc. It is not their fault and there is nothing they could say or do to address the problem.

This is an issue with engineering and the secret socieity that is the Apple Corporation. Apple should be sending out a notice of this issue so everyone can be awear of it and take precaustions.

The solution for TImemachine is to buy the folder backup program from the Apple store and use it to make realtime backups of your presentation. At least, in my experience, when the program crashes the backup is sill available.

And think of some jokes to fill the time between your presentation crashing and the reboot. I am going to recyle all the old windows crasching jokes except this time the punchline is going to be "I should have depended on Bill Gates."

I am Sorry to report I do not have a fix. But today, this happened to me for the third day in a row. I have a keynote file, and does contain audio files. Keynote crashes, and even once, it tried to delete the file while I was editing. I've lost several hours of work since time machine backups didn't capture everything. What is the point of versioning, if the computer's going to delete the entire file?

Keynote has been an excellent program, but Under mountain lion, it seems to be a death trap.

John,

DId you make a copy of the file and edit that one, or were you editing the original file? My educated guess is that the file corruption/deletion is a result of the place it's stored on the disk. If this is the case, a duplicate of the file may not have these issues.

I stored the file originally on the Desktop. Once restored via TimeMachine, I moved it to my Dropbox folder. It had been 1.5 weeks since I created the file, so I wasn't quite sure why I couldn't find it, and I first suspected it might be a Dropbox issue.

After moving the file, and working on it, Keynote crashed during a playback of the slides. I could not "exit" the show. I SSHed into the machine using my MacBook, and quit Keynote.

The rest of the Mac was operational. I relaunched Keynote. In the corner, I noticed the notification that Dropbox was deleting my Keynote file. In a dramatic fashion I screamed "NO!!!!"

It wasn't until I did a second restore with TimeMachine that I realized it wasn't Dropbox "losing" my file; it was something with Keynote.

My question is: Does a Keynote crash cause it to delete the file? Or does deleting the file cause Keynote to crash? My suspicion is this has something to do with the versioning addition to Mountain Lion.

This project is critical and PPT isn't an option. I am going to continue today again, but using Snow Leopard laptop I have access to.

Medhead! Thank you for posting this - though I'm sorry you have gone through what I have been going through, and obviously many others, too. I feel stupid, having missed your post yesterday when I posted my own query about exactly this. I've been working on a preso all summer, and finally divided into two parts because it kept crashing, what with all the videos I have in it. Then, the unthinkable: Part 1 just poof! disappeared after Keynote froze into a force restart. I had an old file that I rebuilt from ALL day today and then it happened AGAIN!

And now I'm not frustrated, I"M ******.

I use Keynote for everything, and for a long time. I have never seen anything like this. Backing up mulitple places with multiple files isn't enough because it seems to be disappearing the files faster than I can back them up. I am getting these odd prompts too:

The document "document name" could not be autosave. The file was been changed by another application. Click save anyway to keep your changes and save the changes made by the other application as of version, or quick revert to keep the changes from the other application and save your changes as of version.

Then I get this prompt:

The movie file "VIBC–Part2.key" cannot be found. Without this file, the movie cannot play properly.

(btw VIBC-Part2 is the name of the document. It's not a movie file, though there ARE movies in the file).

Then this prompt:

Searching for movie data in the file "VIBC–Part2.key".

Then it tries to save, asks me where the file is, stops, continues to "save".

I have to finish this presentation, I have to have movies in it. My workaround may be to take out the videos, record the entire presentation with Screenflow, then insert the videos in post-editing.

This all is happening, by the way, right after my $900+ Apple LED cinema display stopped working after 3 years. Not very Apple happy right now.

OSX 10.8.4

3.4 GHz Intel Core i7

Keynote '09

I am experiencing the same problems discused with Keynote. As a user since version one who makes his living (college professor) using Keynote in class and for professional presentations. Mac user since 1st 512.

I began making presentations on a overhead projector video presenter using Appleworks as the first user of a computer to make a presentation to my faculty collegues. I have done hundreds (perhaps thousands) of hours of Keynote presentations since Keynote version 1. I have developed presentations for class lectures, and for professional presentations hundreds to small business owner on Keynote.

In preparing for the start of classes recently, I began working on new lecture series for a new class for the fall semester. All of a sudden I am experiencing the same disappearing files in Keynote discussed in this forum.

My comments to collegues have always been "I use Keynote because it never lets me down." This now can no longer be stated and I am ashamed.

More distressings to hear comments on this forum that Apple no longer cares about power Keynote users. This is doubly destressing given their statement on beta iCoud version of how proud the development team is of their Keynote, iWork new products.

I am a cronic backup maven and have my new lectures saved to a number of thumb drive regularly. This is saving my bacon due to versions disappearing from Timemachine etc. (one major 128 M version of my opening lecture just disappeared. prompting this forum visit.)

But my solution for the class lectures will be save as PPT (As much as that shames me) and going forth into the world of Powerpoint. Long live Microsoft and What the **** is going on at Apple?

jstuart2117 I'm also a formerly proud Keynote user from way back. I've been using it since it started and not only that, I just spent 8 months of my life creating a comprehensive course to teach non-techies in my field how to make videos using Keynote and promote it! NOW WHAT?!

Yesterday I spent many hours creating new copies of multiple parts of my presentation, taking the videos out of those parts, and I plan on rebuilding the entire thing in Powerpoint which I've never even used (EW!) and am now forced to get my hands dirty because I can't trust Keynote to be stable. I've lost this valuable content twice even though, like you, am a backup freak. I backup to Dropbox, desktop and external hard drives but who cares if it just goes POOF?

I tried to post a warning of this issue by submitting a review on Keynote in the App Store. I wasn't able to because I didn't purchase my copy from the App Store. (I purchased my copy direct from Apple prior to the establishment of the store.)

I think that it would be a good turn if people who are experiencing this problem would submit a Keynote review detailing the problem and post it to the App Store.

This might accomplish two things: It might prevent someone from experiencing a disastrous loss of a project and it might build a fire under Apple to take this problem seriously.

Have gone thru all suggestions on the forum and this seems to work.

After last disappearence yesterday, I have removed all video from a major opening class 3 hour lecture for next week in Keynote. So far the presentation seems stable. Unfortunately this solutions changes the whole dynamic of the lecture,.

I can't take a chance in class that the lecture disappears and need the video. So...

Just finished long hours of exporting, converting and tweeking the lecture in PowerPoint. The opening lectures works with video in PPT and so far hasn't disappeared.

So the solution appears to be (as much as it pains me to say it): "Switch all future lectures to PPT and suffer the slings and arrows of ridicule from colleagues!!!!"

At least until Tim Cook's presentation to introduce iOS7 next month blows up in front of a worldwide audience, the press picks up on the problem like they did with the Apple Maps PR disaster; and someone from the audience shouts: "You should have used Powerpoint!"

This would likely get the Apple engineers attention to the problems Keynote power users are experiencing since we don't seem to be having any luck achieving results now.

I have now had 2 similar incidents. It pains me that this has happened. It makes no sense that an existing file you are working and have saved should completely disappear when an app crashes or hangs.

I have not figured out what is causing it and speculate it has something to do with autosave and large files. But that is just speculation. I dont think it always has to do with video being in the presentation.

I have wondered if using custom slides that I have created and modified has anything to do with it.

Same problem here. I have year's worth of course materials and presentations, and I'm not ready to convert them back to PPT. Suggested solution (I haven't had time to try it out): Create a disk partition that runs OS 10.7 (Lion) and do Keynotes frome there until Apple has issued a fix.

I love Keynote. Everything about it is better than Powerpoint.

However in 12 hours I'm pitching on the most exciting project of my career. Right now Keynote is crashing and deleting my pitch over and again. I've got a backup I can go to fortunately.

The idea that this can happen in front of clients terrifies me. So the romance is over. I'm heading to back to powerpoint right now.

All the features in the world can't make up for taking my work from me, or preventing me from winning new work.

What's the story Apple?