Chris Vance's dashboard

Chris Vance replied on October 26, 2009 05:51 to the problem "keyboard impossibke to use = help" in Flock:

If you have Flock and a different application -- such as Microsoft Notepad -- open at the same time, pressing the A or Z keys results in different characters being typed in each application?

Do you remember what version of Flock you first installed? Has the language used in the Flock interface (eg. the File/Edit/View menubar) changed after installing the latest update?

What version of Windows are you using?

Chris Vance replied on October 26, 2009 05:43 to the question "HELP! It happened again with Ebay and other sites!" in Flock:

Can you go to Tools, Clear Private Data, and make sure Cache is checked. When that finishes, restart the browser. If you still have this problem, press Ctrl+F5. The browser needs to pull all files again from the web server.

If that does not help, follow instructions at the following link to start Flock in safe mode (this will temporarily disable extensions). If this fixes the problem, you'll need to disable extensions and figure out which is giving you problems. http://flock.com/faq/show/30#q_61805

Alejandro, if this is happening to you in both Firefox and Flock and with multiple sites, it sounds like either a problem with your computer or with a browser extension.

Chris Vance replied on October 26, 2009 05:37 to the question "Can't download the complete program file????" in Flock:

Which version of Flock are you trying to download? The English (US) version, or a different version?

Have you been able to download Flock from a home computer, or generally any computer not at your work?

When you click on the Flock install file, how long does it take until the computer complains that the file is corrupt? Do you get a small "Extracting..." dialog box with a progress bar?

A comment on the problem "Flock keeps shutting down because it says Flock has stopped working" in Flock:

Edward,

If you go to ~/Library/Application Support/ does this folder contain a "Flock" folder? If so, rename it and start Flock.

If the Flock folder is not there, and Flock will not start, please uninstall and reinstall Flock. – Chris Vance, on October 09, 2009 06:24

Chris Vance replied on October 03, 2009 07:02 to the question "How Do I Stop This Cascade of New Browser Windows?" in Flock:

A snapshot is kept in .json form for roughly the last five days you used it. If your bookmarks go screwy, you can restore your bookmarks from one of these. It'd be painful to have to manually back up your bookmarks every day in case of errors. The Import and Backup>Backup functionality solves this for some situations. To restore your bookmarks from the .json file you'd go Favorites>Organize Favorites>Import and Backup>Backup and either choose a previous day or point it to a backup up one.

If you manually backed your bookmarks up, you are all good.

Re: Digg guy. If he's not appearing, right click somewhere on the browser (eg on the main menu) and choose Customize. The Digg guy might be in this window. Drag him to the interface to make him appear. You can also click "Restore Default Set" and this might remove any added toolbars (Google toolbar, Yahoo toolbar, etc) and restore the default buttons, including the Digg guy.

Rock on!

Chris Vance replied on October 03, 2009 06:47 to the problem "Don't promise what you can't deliver" in Flock:

Your first point regarding the Flock Toolbar sounds like you're experiencing problems. Twitter is updating several times per hour for me -- it might be every five or ten minutes. With both the People sidebar and My World window open, they both get the updates. You should get periodic updates when they are closed as well. I did not check with Facebook, as my friends are quiet at the moment (last update was two hours ago, per the main Facebook site -- guess I should call it a night!).

If you visit the main www.twitter.com site in Flock, does it ask you to log in, or does it show you your friend stream/homepage? Flock needs you to be logged into supporting sites in order to get updates on your behalf.

If the site asks you to login, this is the reason you're not seeing updates. Go to the Accounts and Services sidebar (View menu->Sidebar), click "log out" and "forget account" next to twitter, then try logging in again. Make sure you check any "remember account" checkboxes. An orange notification bar may also appear when you log into a supported site for the first time -- click the button to hook the site into Flock.

I can appreciate your comments on the overall user experience -- it has evolved from the initial version, and I'm sure will evolve in the future.

A comment on the question "browser running when no window is open" in Flock:

Karen,

I have seen this same problem with Firefox as well. The application is freeing up memory and getting ready to rock your next browsing session. Waiting a few additional seconds will usually solve things.

While I have not researched this, if you use a bunch of browser extensions, they might be contribute to the delay you are seeing. Your browser has to wait for the extensions to free up prior to finally closing. If you go to Tools->Addons, click on your extensions, and disable them, you might find your startup and shutdown times improve.

I wouldn't do anything if you're comfortable waiting a few seconds before opening the browser again, but it's something to keep in mind if your browser starts to slow down. – Chris Vance, on October 03, 2009 06:12

Chris Vance replied on October 03, 2009 06:03 to the question "How would I add my employer's webmail page to Flock?" in Flock:

There's not a way to do this at the moment -- the Accounts and Services sidebar area is for services integrated with Flock. I keep a link to my webmail in the Bookmarks Toolbar.

Chris Vance replied on October 03, 2009 05:56 to the question "How Do I Stop This Cascade of New Browser Windows?" in Flock:

To get your RSS feeds and favorites back, try the following (based on the steps to export this information):

Feeds:

1. Open the Feeds sidebar
2. Click "Feed Options"
3. Click "Import feeds"
4. Click Browse and find the file you saved

Favorites:

1. Open the Favorites menu
2. Click "Organize Favorites"
3. Open the "Import and Backup" menu
4. Choose "Import HTML"
5. Choose to import from a file
6. Find the file you saved

Success?

A comment on the problem "Error: 2.0.3 Sidebar & 'My World' Page error... help!!" in Flock:

Jasmin, so you found the flock-data.sqlite file, renamed it, and the People sidebar is not showing the Twitter and Facebook links? After renaming the file and restarting Flock, you will need to re-login to your sites.

Once you re-login to sites that Flock supports, do they appear in the Accounts and Services sidebar? (View->Sidebar->Accounts and Services)

If still having problems please go to Tools, Addons, select each browser extension, click Disable, then restart Flock. Any better? If not, please start a new thread on http://getsatisfaction.com/flock/ and describe what you're seeing so you can get more specific support. – Chris Vance, on September 29, 2009 04:23

A comment on the problem "Error: 2.0.3 Sidebar & 'My World' Page error... help!!" in Flock:

GetSatisfaction was acting up on me... the link to find your profile is at http://www.flock.com/faq/show/64#q_387 – Chris Vance, on September 20, 2009 06:51

Chris Vance replied on September 14, 2009 06:08 to the problem "Dead Extension Link" in Flock:

It sounds like the game has morphed into "Dictator Wars." See: http://interactive.usc.edu/members/jh...

The PMOG link should probably be removed from https://extensions.flock.com/extensions/

Chris Vance replied on September 14, 2009 05:58 to the question "Hello!" in Flock:

If you go to the Tools menu, Options, Applications (and wait for this info to load), there is a search bar. If you type in wav, do you get any results mentioning Quicktime? I could play the file in both Flock and Firefox.

I'm using Flock 2.5.2 on Windows XP with Quicktime 7.6.2.

Chris Vance replied on September 13, 2009 23:38 to the question "Edit Account and Services Sidebar" in Flock:

There is not a way to do this at the moment. Only Flock's supported services are listed. If you keep the Favorites Toolbar visible in Flock, you can always link to it here (I'd imagine you're doing this already).

Chris Vance replied on September 08, 2009 03:39 to the question "Can't delete sidebar entries." in Flock:

Flock support several different sidebars such as the People sidebar, a news/RSS reader, etc. You can see them all via the View menu -> Sidebar. The instructions you're referring to are for the Favorites sidebar. You can delete Favorites from the sidebar.

However, you have the Accounts and Services sidebar open, with logged-in accounts at the top, and the full list of supported services underneath. There does not appear to be a way to remove services from the lower list.

If there a reason you are looking to delete some of these from the Accounts and Services sidebar? Do you use this sidebar on a regular basis?

Chris Vance replied on September 07, 2009 07:36 to the question "how do videos on my ipod" in Flock:

Hi Dina,

You asked this in the FLock section, which I think is wrong... Can you find your iPod version on http://getsatisfaction.com/apple/prod... and ask in there?

A comment on the problem "Browser Already open error..." in Flock:

Yes, it's the profiles.ini file that points Flock to the profile. I wasn't aware that just deleting that would be enough for Flock to recreate the profile.

Awesome that you've solved your problem! – Chris Vance, on September 06, 2009 04:35

Chris Vance replied on September 06, 2009 01:15 to the problem "Browser Already open error..." in Flock:

George,

Flock and Firefox both store files in two places -- the main application in one place, and your profile (settings, favorites, etc) in a different location. I strongly suspect this is an issue with your profile folder. Uninstalling and installing a different language version is only going to replace the main application, explaining why you're continuing to see the issue.

It sounds like Flock cannot access your profile correctly. Let's find it and get Flock to reset your profile.

On the Mac, Flock stores your profile in the following location: MacintoshHD>Library MacintoshHD>Users>[username]>Library>Application Support>Flock (other locations here)

I am guessing that you will be able to find this folder, and there will be a "Profiles" folder within it, but Profiles will not contain any folders. There is a file which tells Flock which profile to use, and Flock can see the file, tries to get to the specific profile folder, but cannot. This causes the "browser is already running" message.

If you do not use an online bookmarks service like Delicious, and want to save your bookmarks, you will need to find a folder called "bookmarkbackups". Then follow the steps on http://kb.mozillazine.org/Lost_bookma... in the "Restoring bookmarks in Firefox 3" section. For now, you will want to find and save a JSON file to your desktop. You can later restore to these favorites and tell Flock to use this file.

With that out of the way, you will need to delete the actual "Flock" folder in Application Support. Restart Flock, and it should create a brand new profile for you.

Any success?

A comment on the problem "Browser Already open error..." in Flock:

After restarting your Mac, do you get this message the very first time you try to use Flock? This information will be helpful in order to know how to proceed. – Chris Vance, on September 05, 2009 21:23

Chris Vance replied on September 05, 2009 06:38 to the praise "Flock is the best browser - in fact - it's more than a browser - it's literally everything you need on one screen!" in Flock:

If you're still having general crashing issues and tab issues using Flock, a good first step is to start Flock in safe mode. Browser extensions can sometimes cause problems in Firefox or Flock. Safe mode disables extensions temporarily.

Follow instructions at http://flock.com/faq/show/30#q_61805