Why is my scene or project blank when I open it?

If you open a Harmony scene or Storyboard Pro project to find it blank after you know you’ve created artwork, it is usually caused by a specific issue with the scene files. To understand why this happens, we have to look at the file structure and best practices for moving these files.

About the Harmony and Storyboard Pro file structure

Harmony and Storyboard Pro projects are composed of many files. The elements and palettes are not embedded in the project, they are separate linked files. 

Harmony	Storyboard Pro

Whenever you create a new project, a folder is created with these files. Inside the folder, you will find an Xstage or Sboard file which is the main project file. Opening this file means the software will automatically search for and access any associated files to load in, including your artwork. 

In order for this process to be successful, the Xstage or Sboard file must remain with the associated files in the folder, otherwise your scene will open as blank.

Therefore, if your file is opening as a blank scene, it’s very possible that the project file or its linked files have been misplaced.

Can I fix it?

It can be fixed by returning all the files back to the same folder. If you are unsure of where they may be, it will be more difficult to recover the scene. 

Take note of the following:

• If you save the Xstage or Sboard file in another location, it will automatically create new scene files. Make sure that you do not overwrite the old files with them if you want to restore your older scene.
• If you make any big changes to the file, like deleting substitution drawings, this will carry over when moving the Xstage/Sboard file back to the original folder, and the artwork linked to that element will be deleted.
• If you create new artwork and want to transfer it to the older file folder, you can simply copy and paste those specific elements into the old file structure without overwriting anything. See About the File Structure in Harmony and About the File Structure of a Storyboard Pro Project for more information about the separate structure folders.

How can I prevent this from happening?

The best way to avoid this is to practice good file transfer habits and be mindful of where your files are saving to.

Take note of the following tips when transferring and saving files:

• When moving an Xstage or Sboard file, make sure to move the whole scene folder with all the elements inside of it, and not just the main project file.
• If using Storyboard Pro, try saving in a packed (single file) format. See About saving options in Storyboard Pro for more information.
• If uploading a file to the cloud or moving it to a network, make sure to compress the folder into a zipped file to keep everything together.
• Make sure to extract any zipped Harmony or Storyboard Pro files before attempting to open them.
• Avoid working directly on cloud-synced folders as this will eventually result in a corrupted file.
• If you are using a storage device to move files for working in multiple locations, it is best to transfer the scene folder to your local hard drive and work on it, rather than saving directly to the external storage device itself. This is also good practice if you are working on a network.

Still having problems? It’s possible your issue may be bigger than just misplaced files. Please reach out to support - How do I contact Toon Boom support?