BIG FAT BUG! New screenshots overwrite previous

[Clausj]

BIG FAT BUG!!!

I only use screenshots for final render. During one session hitting the screenshot button will make a new screenshot with increased number in the title. HOWEVER if I save the project, quit and reopen the new screenshots will OVERWRITE the ones from the previous session. I lost a ton of work now and I just could not figure out why.

Keyshot 8.1.61
Mac OS 10.14.2

UPDATE: I noticed all my screenshots end with the number 2867 and increase from there on every work session. If the file name is the same, a new session will overwrite from screenshot 2867 and up.

[mattjgerard]

Just curios as to why you use screenshots for your final renders? That limits you quite a bit by saving only jpgs, and not sure of the quality settings of those. Is there a reason to not just kick out a high quality PNG with the background renderer? That would take care of the screenshot overwrite issue as well.

But, to try to solve this problem, I would delete your keyshot preferences and see if that will reset it so that it won't overwrite the screenshots. You  can name the screenshots as well, when it asks for the save location. That is an annoying step to have to do, but for now you might have to manually name them to keep them from overwriting.

[bharris]

Just curios as to why you use screenshots for your final renders? That limits you quite a bit by saving only jpgs, and not sure of the quality settings of those. Is there a reason to not just kick out a high quality PNG with the background renderer? That would take care of the screenshot overwrite issue as well.

But, to try to solve this problem, I would delete your keyshot preferences and see if that will reset it so that it won't overwrite the screenshots. You  can name the screenshots as well, when it asks for the save location. That is an annoying step to have to do, but for now you might have to manually name them to keep them from overwriting.

While I would echo the same question, you can change the screenshot filetype in Settings>General between JPEG and PNG.

[TGS808]

While I would echo the same question, you can change the screenshot filetype in Settings>General between JPEG and PNG.

I also question that. And yes, while you can have your screen shot save as a PNG if you like, you're stuck with whatever the resolution of your realtime view is. If you need a higher resolution image – whether it be in pixel dimensions or DPI – you're out of luck. It seems less than ideal but maybe he never needs high resolution images.

[DMerz III]

Screenshots as final renders, there's your problem. 

[Clausj]

wow guys, what kind of help is this? I have come across a bug and you tell me not to use screenshots? I churn out 50 of these every day, they are all I need to communicate with clients, I never use high resolution. Never mind, I reported this as a bug and I guess it will be resolved but honestly I never expected this kind of arrogance in this forum.

Edit: I realise ther was an actual suggestion, I'll delete the prefs and see if it makes a difference. Thanks

[Niko Planke]

Hello Clausj,

I have tried to reproduce this on my end.  Sadly i could not see this happening here.

You description with the issue occurring in multiple work sessions with the same numbering can indicate a few possible causes.

• You may have insufficient permissions on the KS8settings.xml:
  The KS8settings.xml is usually located in your Resource root folder. Please make sure you have Read and Write permissions for that file. Deleting the settings file should solve this issue.
  Note: This Resets your Screenshot Counter to Zero introducing a risk to overwrite other existing screenshots.
• You may be running multiple instances of KeyShot:
  The Screenshot count is written to the disk as KeyShot is closed. If you open multiple instances of KeyShot you may have 2 independent counters and when you close one of the KeyShot instances it will update the stored value, if you then close the other instance of KeyShot it will overwrite the Screenshot count with its counter.
• Less Likely, You may have set a shared network folder as root resource folder directory:
  Sharing the default resource root folder across multiple computers is not recommended and can introduce issues like the one you describe. Please make sure to set the resources folder to a unique local folder, and add shared folders using the "customize each folder" option.

I hope this helps with finding the cause for the issue.

[INNEO_MWo]

I am glad to read, that using a new KS8Settings.xml had solved the problem. The parameter <screenshotNumber> in this .xml counts the instances. So you can change this manually, if youn want/need.
I did a quick test using 2867 as the screenshotNumber and saved the screenshots. KeyShot didn't overwrote my files. But to be honest - I used KeyShot 8.2 (beta) on a Windows 10.


Perhaps you can change your workflow a bit by using the render options with background mode. 'Cause then you'll work while KeyShot renders in the background. And you don't have to wait till the view port has cleared the scene enough. Starting the render will also save your scene automatically and prevent you of loosing a ton of work.


IMHO Luxion has to look into it to make sure that there's no bug with the instance number.


And (here comes my personal perspective!) I know that fun comments aren't helpful in situations with that issues - BUT! - the users here are definitively NOT ARROGANT! I enjoy the help here a lot.


Thank you for sharing your solution!


Cheers
Marco

[Clausj]

Thanks for your suggestion Marco,

I really like my current workflow though. I constantly pingpong between my cad app and Keyshot, while the render previews I have a moment to consider changes, If I want to keep the image I hit the screenshot button. This way I have a history of the product changes which is valuable because sometimes you take an idea in the wrong direction and need to go back in time.

Another thing is that for work in progress it's often better with a grainy render. Clients will look at a smooth render and take every detail for valid. Often I look at the render progress and I really like the first grainy steps but as it gets clearer I realise something is wrong. So I know I'm on track but not there yet.

I object to the comments about me having a wrong workflow. Let's call Keyshot a paintbrush, someone will use it to paint a perfect picture, a piece of art. I'm using this tool to paint the fence if you like. I chose it over Maxwell Render because it's fast and intuitive workflow and because of that screenshot button in the lower right corner.

[Clausj]

Update: deleting the xml file worked. Strange that when quitting the document and reopening the next numbered screenshot increase with 3 rather than 1. At least no more overwrites. Thanks for the attention.

Claus