What are the best practices for reporting in-software issues?

Speed up the process

We understand that technical issues can disrupt your production pipeline. To help our support team diagnose and resolve your problem as quickly as possible, providing a complete and clear ticket is the most crucial first step. Help us help you get back to creating!

This article is about how to speed up the troubleshooting process. If you would like to know how to submit a ticket, please see How do I contact Toon Boom support?

What to Include in Your Ticket

Providing the right details from the start helps us understand the issue without back-and-forth emails, leading to a faster solution for you. We suggest the following for speeding up the process.

1. A Clear, Concise Title

Provide a descriptive sentence of the specific problem:

• Good: "Harmony crashes when using a weighted deformer on character rig."
• Avoid: “Software problem” or “Urgent issue.”

2. Software and Version

Please provide the version and build number of Harmony/Storyboard Pro - this information can be found within the application, by going to the sections below:

• On Windows: Open your product and proceed to open the "About" section in the Help tab.
• On macOS: Right click on your Toon Boom Product's icon, and then press "About ..."  

3. Expectation and Result

Providing this helps us understand the problem's context, provide what you expected to happen and what actually happened.

Example:

• Expectation: "I expected the arm to deform smoothly."
• Actual result: "Instead, the software crashed as soon as I tried to move the point."

4. Steps to Reproduce the Issue

This is incredibly important, as it helps us identify and understand the onset of the behaviour. Please list the step-by-step actions that you took when the error happened. The more exact the steps, the better.

Example:

1. I was working in the scene file scene_name.xstage.
2. I activated the deformer on Kenji's right arm.
3. I clicked on the point on Kenji's elbow.
4. When I moved the point, the software crashed.
5. I tried this more than once and have the same result every time.

5. Essential Attachments

Visual evidence helps us understand the issue instantly. Please supply any of the following if possible:

• Screenshots: Use annotations (arrows, circles) to highlight the problem area.
• Screen Recordings: A short video is perfect for complex workflow issues or crashes. It's also great for showing us the exact steps you took.
• Scene Files: Please provide scene files whenever possible (see file sharing guide below).

Securely Sharing Your Files

For security reasons, our ticketing system is designed to delete certain attachments automatically. Follow these steps to prevent transfer errors and protect your project data:

1. Use a free, secure service like WeTransfer, Smash etc.
2. Upload your relevant file(s) to the service and generate a download link.
3. Paste the link directly into your support ticket.
4. In the ticket, include a brief description of the file with the rest of the ticket information.
   E.g: "This is the scene file just before the crash occurs.".