Troubleshooting

First steps

If saving, loading, or display fails, do not delete, move, or overwrite the affected PDF, note, or __pdf_note_workspace__ directory. Record the error message, file name, and time of the operation.

Cannot save

• Confirm that the destination is writable.
• Check whether another application has the same PDF or note open.
• Keep __pdf_note_workspace__, copy the entire workspace to another writable location, and check there.

See Saving and Recovery for protected work and recovery.

Cannot open or display a file

Check the intended use of the file type in File Formats. Do not rename extensions or alter original and working files by hand.

A window does not appear, or another package is found

Starting again from the same package location brings the existing main window forward. Packages at different locations can run independently, but concurrent access to the same protected PDF, note, or related document is restricted.

At startup, the application can find a package at another location whose main window is not displayed. It does not force that process to close, because it may be saving or waiting for confirmation. You can request a normal exit after confirming the target. If exit is not confirmed within 10 seconds, it remains unconfirmed. No exit request is sent to an older version that does not support its process-specific endpoint.

If this application's main window is unavailable for at least 15 seconds, it makes up to three display-recovery attempts. If the window does not return, a silent notice offers Retry display, Try normal exit, or Keep waiting. The notice closes when the window returns. Minimization or a brief hide is not treated as exit. This does not detect an application that is unresponsive while its window remains visible.

Office conversion and long paths

Office conversion supports long local file paths without a blanket 220-character cutoff. The file name component, Windows process working directory, and complete command line have separate limits. If an error identifies the runtime working directory, move the entire application to a shorter location. Keep existing workspace data intact. Conversion temporary files stay in the selected workspace's __pdf_note_workspace__/__tmp__/lo/; an unwritable location does not trigger a fallback to the OS temporary directory.

Diagnostic log size

Diagnostic logs are for investigation and are stored in the workspace's __pdf_note_workspace__/__log__/ directory. The preview, switching-time, crash, startup-monitor, and Office-conversion logs share a 10 MB (10,000,000-byte) limit. Space for a short stop record is reserved; an append that would exceed the remaining budget stops output. Existing logs are never truncated, and restarting the app preserves the stop. Editing and saving continue.

The debug-log section of general settings shows the size and stop state at the time of inspection. To resume, preserve any diagnostic logs you need, then explicitly use the developer menu's log-deletion command. Creating a ZIP alone does not reduce the original logs. ZIP copies and the separately managed write_checks.log are outside this budget. Log-setting changes, including Office conversion, apply on the next launch.

The __tmp__ and __escape__ directories can contain unsaved and recovery data. Do not delete the entire management directory to clean up logs.

Inspect log and generated-file sizes

Use Help > Checks > Asset presence check > Check sizes to inspect the selected workspace's management directory and its logs, temporary work, recovery and working data, save backups, operation recovery, and memo backups. The list shows sizes, observed file counts and changes; Details includes exact byte counts, the size-check time and completion state.

Scanning runs in the background after an explicit action. It creates, changes and deletes no files. Original PDFs and other files outside the management directory are excluded; links are not followed. Sizes sum logical file sizes per name, rather than disk allocation. Parent rows contain child rows, so do not add the rows together. The log-directory row includes ZIP copies and inspection logs, separately from the five diagnostic logs' 10 MB budget.

Cancellation, read failures and scan limits show observed results only; uninspected locations are not assumed to be zero. Limits are 100,000 entries, depth 64 and five seconds from scan start, checked between operations. An OS read may take longer. The cancel button or closing the window requests cancellation. Saves during inspection can change the sizes, so they are estimates. Changes are compared only when both scans completed.

Presence and size checks have separate timestamps and cooldowns. Size checks are ten seconds apart; reopening keeps the result and cooldown. Refreshing presence does not scan sizes. Restarting resets size results to unchecked. There is no automatic deletion.

Information useful for a report

Include reproduction steps, the error message, application version, and whether the affected item is a PDF, note, or annotation. Do not share PDFs or note text that contain personal information.