Hi all,
I have a file that will not open no matter what I try.
Could really do with some help, any of you able to work this out?
A LayOut file is just a .zip file with the extension changed to .layout. Normally you can change the extension to .zip and open the file to see the contents. I got an error message doing that with yours saying even as a .zip file it’s invalid. I’ve never seen that even when the a file is corrupted and can’t be opened by LayOut. Can you open the backup version of the LO file?
Hello,
Indeed, I tried the same thing and had the same result as you.
Here is the backup file. I have not tried it with that as of yet.
I get the same errors with the backup file. Interestingly the backup version is only about 45% the size of original file you linked to. I don’t know if @colin would have access to any tools to open either of those but it looks pretty grim considering even named .zip it isn’t readable.
If this is for something that you need to get done, it might be worth getting started on redoing it just in case they can’t recover it. No point burning daylight. If you have a SketchUp model in the project, I would suggest purging unused stuff from it before sending to LayOut.
Out of curiosity, where have you been saving the LO file? Are you saving it to Drop Box and opening the file directly from there?
I thought as much. Thank you for your help, it is much appreciated.
I have been saving to an external drive, possibly the issue? I have however saved subsequent LayOut files to that drive which I can open.
Thank you again for the help Dave.
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The problem with working from and saving to an external drive, especially if it’s connected via the internet, is that a microsecond break in the connection during a save can cause the loss of critical file data. Imagine a bad mobile phone signal where the person you are talking to breaks up and you lose words. In the case of the phone call, though, you, being human, can probably fill in the missing words and understand what was said. That doesn’t happen with the computer.
Best procedure is to keep your working files locally on an internal drive. Save any changes locally. If you need to store the file in the cloud to make it accessible to others or to you from different locations, upload a copy of the file to Drop Box but keep the original close to you. Sync the file when you make changes to it or maybe better, save the changed file as a revision so you have a history.
You could be using Trimble Connect to store files, too, but I would suggest the same caution. Keep the original files on your own internal drive.
By the way, I looked at your website. Nice work. I like your illustration style.
Thank you Dave. Very Kind.
Typically that is normally the way I work. Its always that one time that you do something different that you get caught out!
Anyway, I best get on with catching back up.
Thank again fo rthe help.
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