oaCapture Mac ver 1.4.1 and 1.5.0 crashed and will not open

[Fivel]

Version 1.4.1 (for El Capitan) was working on my Mac Mini at the scope, but it crashed and will not reopen.

It crashes as soon as I try to open it.

Version 1.5.0 still crashes when I select the ZWOasi1600mc-c camera.

Both versions open on my office iMac, but It only has the built-in webcam .

I tried deleting and reinstalling version 1.4.1, but it still will not open.

This was the only capture app I had, that could properly save the color images in tiff format. 

I hope James or someone else can help me with  this.

Fivel

 

 

[JamesF]

I'll certainly try.

Can you try running it from a terminal window to see if anything useful is displayed when it crashes?

James

[Fivel]

Hi James. Thanks again for your quick reply.

I attached that terminal output as well as the lengthy (sorry for that) Mac crash report.

I hope you find some useful info in them.

Fivel

oacApture crash report.rtf OaCapture run from terminal report.rtf

[JamesF]

Hmmm.  From the contents I'm thinking there's perhaps some sort of problem with recording profiles.

Do you have a file called $HOME/.config/OpenAstro/oacapture.ini?  If so, could you send me a copy?

James

[JamesF]

Actually, if you do have that file it may be worth renaming it or copying it somewhere and then removing it.  You'll lose any saved state, but it might mean that the application starts up properly again.

James

[Fivel]

Hello again James.

I have the app on two Macs and neither one has the.ini file. Is this file for a Windows or Linux version?

On my office iMac it has an older version 1.1.0. and it opens OK.

I tried that version on the Mac Mini and it will not open either.

On the at-the-scope Mac Mini, I had two versions available (see my initial post above) and neither will open.

So, waht else can be causing this problem.

Fivel

 

[JamesF]

All versions should use a .ini file now.  I changed it because MacOS was taking ages to write the config as a plist file.  See if either of these files exist and try removing them if they do (save a copy if you might want to keep it, I guess):

$HOME/Library/Preferences/org.openastroproject.oacapture.plist

$HOME/Library/Preferences/com.openastro.oaCapture.plist

James

[Fivel]

James, that last suggestion worked.

On my computer, the .plist files were in a hidden library folder. but it is working again.

It took a bit of fiddling, with the camera setup, but I finally got the tiff save option back.

As for version 1.5.0, I still get a crash when selecting the main imaging camera, even after checking the .plist files.

I am thinking it doesn't work properly with the OSX El Capitan, where version 1.4.1 does work with it.

Did you change from the .plist to .ini files with version 1.5.0?

Your thoughts on that please.

Fivel

[Fivel]

Hello again James.

As I mentioned in the post for version 1.6.0 it still crashes.

I have a different issue now in that when I set the camera capture for RAW 16 bit (GRBG16LE) I sometimes get the TIFF save option. To get it I have to open my other camera with RAW capture and can get the TIFF save.

Then I reopen the main imaging camera (ZWOasi1600mc-c) and may get the TIFF option back.

I will be contacting the store where I bought my Mac Mini and have them reload El Capitan. It may have some issues.

If oaCapture version 1.6.0 works with Mojave, I may just upgrade to that OS.

Of all the capture apps I have tried, this one has more of the features and simplicity I am looking for.

Thanks again for your hard work developing and supporting this app.

Fred

[JamesF]

I don't think this is a problem with El Capitan, to be honest.  I suspect it's something more generic.  I've just had an idea I can try to see if I can reproduce the problem, so I'll give that a go over the next couple of days.

As regards the TIFF option, it isn't always available because TIFF doesn't provide a way to save some image formats.  In particular, if you've chosen a raw colour format then the demosaic option must be chosen for the output file and demosaicking enabled.  If you actually want to store raw colour images, FITS or SER might be a better option.

James

[JamesF]

Ok, I fudged things so my ASI120MM-S was treated as a 1600 and I think I've found a problem.  I'll rebuild on MacOS now and upload a new release that you can try.

James

[JamesF]

Ok, could you give this a try?

https://www.openastroproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/osx/oaCapture-1.6.1.dmg

James

[Fivel]

Thank you James. 

That works much better-no crash.

I have a feature request, if you have time to code it.

For previewing a capture, have it display using an auto stretch, (preview only) to aid framing and focus.

Thanks again for correcting the crash issue. 

Fivel