Troubleshooting

Every action reports its outcome in the status line at the top of the panel. Messages that end in scene unchanged or every channel was restored left your scene as it was. Problems on one channel are prefixed with its path, for example /obj/geo1/tx: the channel is locked.

For installation problems, see Installation problems.

Get Keys

Message	Cause	Fix
no keys are selected in the Channel Editor or playbar	Nothing is selected, or the selection is in a pane MotionAtelier did not use.	Select keys. With several Channel Editors open, keep the pointer over the right one. See Selection behavior.
needs at least two selected keys (1 selected)	Only one key of the channel is selected.	Select the keys at both ends of the move.
the selected keys share one time	The selected keys are at the same frame.	Select keys at different frames.
the selected keys all have the same value	A hold: there is no motion to read.	Select a range that changes value.
not a numeric channel	The parameter is not a float or integer.	Select keys on a numeric parameter.
… other valid channel(s) ignored; Get Keys reads the first	Several channels were selected.	Expected. Get Keys reads one channel in path order; Commit Keys applies to all.
… non-Bezier segment(s) read with flat tangents	Part of the range uses linear, constant or expression segments.	Expected. Reshape the curve, then commit to replace those segments with Bezier ones.
… key(s) with a value jump read at their outgoing value	Keys with a different in and out value.	Expected.

Commit Keys

Message	Cause	Fix
Commit Keys: committed; …	Success. The counts show channels, intervals and keys reused, created and removed.	Use Edit ▸ Undo in Houdini to revert.
… interval(s) with equal end values applied flat	Two adjacent selected keys have the same value.	Expected for holds. Select keys with different values to shape the motion between them.
the curve starts and ends at the same value, so it cannot span different key values	The curve’s first and last knot have the same value (for example after dragging an endpoint).	Move an endpoint so the curve goes from 0 to 1, or Restore Default Shape.
… automatic tangent(s) at the range boundary were fixed to their current value	A boundary key had automatic tangents on its outside.	Expected. It keeps the neighbouring motion exactly as it was.
two keys would land on the same time	The curve’s knots would put two keys within 0.01 frame, usually on a very short interval.	Use fewer knots, or a longer interval.
a handle reaches the full segment length (…), which Houdini cannot store	A tangent handle spans its whole segment.	Shorten the handle (Influence below 100 %).
the effect result could not be fitted with fewer keys within the tolerance (…)	A sampled Motion Stack effect is too detailed to commit as a few keys.	Lower the effect’s mix, amplitude or frequency. See Known limitations.
the fit took too long; raise the tolerance or shorten the range	The effect fit hit its time budget.	As above.
the channel is locked	The parameter is locked.	Unlock it, or leave it out of the selection.
the channel's node cannot be edited (locked asset or take)	The node is inside a locked asset or excluded by the current take.	Unlock the asset, or switch takes.
Houdini undo is disabled, so the change could not be made safely	Undo is turned off in Houdini.	Turn undo back on, then commit again.
…; select the keys again	The channel changed between reading and writing.	Select the keys again and repeat.

Rolled-back changes

These messages mean MotionAtelier detected a problem after writing and undid the whole change:

Message	Meaning
Houdini stored something different (…); every channel was restored	A key read back differently from what was written.
keys outside the committed range would have changed (…); every channel was restored	The change would have altered motion outside the range.
Houdini refused a write (…); every channel was restored	Houdini raised an error while writing.

The scene is as it was before the command. If it keeps happening on a channel, check its keys with Inspect Selection and report the problem.

CRITICAL messages

CRITICAL: restoring the scene failed (…). Check those channels and use Houdini undo means the automatic restore did not return every channel to its previous state. Check the listed channels, and use Edit ▸ Undo in Houdini. Please report it.

Key Tools

Message	Fix
no keys to remove	Nothing lies between (or outside) the selected keys.
no keys after the selection	Shift Following Keys needs keys after the selection.
the shift would move keys onto or past the selection	Use a smaller negative Delta.
no smaller result stays within the tolerance / kept unchanged (…)	Reduce Keys found nothing to remove; raise Value Error.
only Bezier and linear segments can be reduced	Reduce Keys does not handle other segment functions.
the time scale cannot be zero	Use a non-zero Time Scale.
the selected range has no duration	Match Durations needs at least two selected keys at different frames per channel.
reversing a range with value jumps is not supported	Remove the value jumps, or use a positive Time Scale.

Editing

Edit not applied: <reason>; scene unchanged means a curve edit was refused, for example a knot must stay between its neighbours, too close to an existing knot, or the first and last knot keep their time. The curve is unchanged.

Recipes and history

Message	Fix
Import recipes: the archive is damaged or not a recipe archive (…); nothing was imported	Choose a .zip exported by MotionAtelier.
the library changed while the import review was open; import again	Run the import again.
saving failed (…); your previous data is unchanged	The data folder is not writable or the disk is full. Fix that and repeat the action.

Damaged or unreadable data files

If library.json, history.json or settings.json in the data folder cannot be read when the panel opens:

• the damaged file is kept aside as <name>.corrupt-<date>, or <name>.unsupported-<date> if it was written by a newer MotionAtelier;
• the backup <name>.bak is used if it is valid, otherwise the defaults;
• the status line reports what happened, for example data was restored from the backup … or … could not be read and was reset to defaults.

Nothing is deleted, so a set-aside file can be recovered later with a newer version.

Unexpected errors

Unexpected error; details were printed to the Houdini console. The scene is unchanged unless reported otherwise. Copy the error from the Houdini console window and report it.