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A template will not open or behaves oddly

You see: Could not open template, perhaps saying the template needs a newer version. Or Could not load frame: "ffmpeg couldn't grab a frame from that shot's video." Or Background Shot… unavailable, with a tooltip saying it needs ffmpeg. Or an item on the canvas that cannot be clicked. Or a reel that no longer draws its overlay.

Why: A template from a newer ShotWork, or a damaged template file, is refused rather than half-read. A background frame needs ffmpeg and the shot's video. The canvas draws each field item the way the background shot fills it, so a field that shot leaves empty, or hides because it is restricted, draws nothing and leaves nothing to click. A reel uses its template by name, so on a computer where no template has that name, it draws no overlay.

Fix:

  1. For a template that needs a newer build, update ShotWork.
  2. For Could not load frame, relink the shot's video, then choose Background Shot… again.
  3. For the ffmpeg tooltip, open a video or export something once, so ShotWork fetches ffmpeg.
  4. For an item you cannot click, choose Clear, or pick a background shot whose fields are filled in.
  5. For a reel with no overlay, select a stretch of its template band and, in the reel settings panel, pick a template that exists on this computer in Reel default.

If that didn't work: Pictures in a template point at image files on the computer that made it, so on another computer they have to be chosen again. See Build an overlay template and Overlay templates.