VODesktop 2008.x and 1.2.x Known Issues

VODesktop and Solaris

In principle VODesktop will run on any OS. With Solaris there are some issues if you are running with CDM as the desktop manager. If you use Java Desktop System (JDS) - all works. Please see http://www.astrogrid.org/bugzilla/show_bug.cgi?id=2593 for more on this.

Problems with Java on some versions of SUSE Linux

The following error message was observed while starting the VODesktop on SUSE Linux 10.2.

Exception in thread "AWT-XAWT" java.lang.Error: can't load com.birosoft.liquid.LiquidLookAndFeel

This error is not specific to AstroGrid applications and has been observed while trying to run other Java applications on version 10.2 of SUSE Linux (note that the problem may not be exclusive to SUSE Linux). One can overcome this error, without having to perform any additional software installations, by providing the following additional command line option to Java while starting the application in question:

-Dswing.defaultlaf=javax.swing.plaf.metal.MetalLookAndFeel

so to start the VODesktop one would type:

java -Xmx512M -Dswing.defaultlaf=javax.swing.plaf.metal.MetalLookAndFeel -jar vodesktop-2008.1-app.jar

at the command prompt.

Java 1.6 login to VOSpace

Currently it would appear that those using some versions of Java 1.6 are unable to login to VOSpace. Installing the latest JRE from Sun does seem to address the problem, but we are concerned that there may still be some underlying subtleties related to these versions of Java that could manifest themselves later. Whilst we isolate and resolve the actual cause(s) of the problem, the safest workaround we can offer is to use Java V1.5 which is available here

Empty / blank windows when starting VODesktop components

Some users of GNOME or AWM (Avant Window Manager) for UNIX or GNU/Linux (in particular Ubuntu 7.10) have reported blank windows when attempting to launch VOExplorer, All-VO Astroscope etc from the VODesktop start button or icon.

If you experience this, please check the "Visual Effects" setting: System > Preferences > Appearance - this should be set to "None". Running with "Normal" or "Extra" visual effects causes the VOExplorer or other windows to be blank.

Annotations in VOExplorer do not persist between sessions

Some new users have reported that annotations which they have made do not persist between sessions. This will be fixed in the forthcoming release of VODesktop (v 1.2.3).

Until then a workaround is to create a file 'user-annotations.xml'

containing the lines:

<list>

</list>

in the '.workbench' directory in your user homespace. Restart VODesktop and you will be able to save your annotations between sessions.

You can download a copy of this file here.

Self Tests error. Services monitor reports: "Service statuses not downloaded"

The "Service statuses not downloaded" error is showing that the services monitoring system is not functioning correctly. This would normally provide status information as to the availability or otherwise of 3rd party VO resources.

However, getting accurate information about whether 3rd party services are running correctly or not has proved far more problematical than anticipated. Rather than present inaccurate information, the functionality has been removed from VO Desktop and will not be present in the next release (v 1.2.3) of the software.

The error will not affect any other functionality within VO Desktop.

Mac OS X disappearing menus at OS X 10.5 Update 4

When running VODesktop (and perhaps other Java applications) on a Mac with the Java update Java for Mac OS X 10.5 Update 4 (15 June 2009) the menus sometimes disappear. This is believed to be a MacOS Java bug. Playing around with windows and menus while the application is running may improve matters, but if possible avoid using this Java update. It is hoped that the bug will be fixed in a future Java update.

Occasional PLASTIC registration problems

Some users report seeing a message at startup reporting a problem registering with PLASTIC, and other PLASTIC related problems. This seems to be because of corruption or incorrect updating in the .plastic file. The solution is simply to delete the .plastic file (which for example on a Mac is kept at /Users/name/.plastic) and restart. PLASTIC is gradually being phased out in favour of SAMP.