Blank Timeline displayed in your VideoScribe project

This Instant Answer will advise you on the actions to take if your scribe is displaying a blank timeline

Symptoms

Opening a scribe project displays elements on the canvas but timeline at the bottom (A) of the screen is blank.


Cause

This will occur after importing an image that is somehow corrupt or the software cannot read.

Resolution

Step 1. To identify the problem image, load up the scribe and select all the elements using Ctrl +A (Windows) or CMD+A (Mac) and copy them with Ctrl+C (Windows) or CMD+C (Mac) or by clicking on the Copy icon in the top-left toolbar (B).


Step 2. Close the scribe, open a new scribe and paste the elements onto the canvas using Ctrl+V (Windows) or CMD+V (Mac) or click on the Paste icon (C) in the top-left toolbar.



Step 3. You should now see a timeline at the bottom and you can use this to identify the problem element. Start at the end of the timeline and click on each element in turn. The problem image will have a blank thumbnail (D) until you click on it. When you click on it it shows the thumbnail of the last element you selected. It will also only show as a tiny dot on the canvas, rather than the full image.



Step 4. If you then click on a different element and then on the problem element again, the thumbnail changes to the thumbnail of the element you just clicked on (it changes each time depending on the previously selected element). 

Take note of where the problem element is in the timeline; so look at the element immediately before and after it. 

Step 5. Close the scribe containing the copied elements and open up the scribe with the missing timeline. 

Step 6. Find the element before or after the problem image on the canvas (it should be showing up normally). You can then double-click on the element before or after on the canvas to bring up the element properties. 

Step 7. Use the previous/next buttons (E) in the element properties to move to the problem image, close the properties and the image will be selected on the canvas. Delete it using the delete key (Windows) or fn+delete (Mac) on your keyboard.



Step 8. Save the scribe, exit to the projects screen, load the scribe up again and the timeline will return.

If you need any assistance with any of the above or have further questions please raise a support ticket and provide as much information as you can about the steps you have taken.