BrightAuthor General Troubleshooting FAQs

Why does BrightAuthor take a long time to process my folder?

If the folder you selected has a large number of images and videos, the Media Library may take a few minutes to update.

Where is the BrightAuthor eventlog?

The eventlog.txt file location for Windows Vista and Windows versions 7, 8, 8.1, 10 and 11 is:

%localappdata%\BrightSign\BrightAuthor\version_number
For example: C:\Users\John Doe\AppData\Local\BrightSign\BrightAuthor\4.3.0.11

The eventlog.txt file location for Windows XP is:

%appdata%\BrightSign\BrightAuthor\version_number
For example:
C:\Documents and Settings\John Doe\Local Settings\Application Data\BrightSign\BrightAuthor\3.7.0.11

You may need to set your computer to show hidden files and folders to find this file.

What do I do if BrightAuthor crashes, or if it errors when I try to open it?

Try the following:

Update your graphics card driver to the latest version.
Try removing all files from the BrightAuthor Media Library folder. Then open BrightAuthor again. If it opens, this would indicate a codec problem when BrightAuthor tries to build thumbnails for the Media Library.
If the files used in the project are stored on a networked drive or external drive, try opening them from a location on your local disk.
Update to the latest version of BrightAuthor, which can be found on the Software Downloads page.

If these suggestions don’t work, post a description of the problem in the forums or email us at support@brightsign.biz and include:

Steps to duplicate the problem (or indicate that you can’t duplicate it)
Any error dialogs you saw, including text in the dialog
The contents of your event log right after the crash (see the “Where is the BrightAuthor eventlog?” FAQ, above).
A copy of the presentation project where you encountered the problem

Why can’t I find a certain state, event, or command in BrightAuthor?

BrightAuthor states, events, and commands are made available according to the capabilities of the BrightSign player model you select in the New Project window: For example, since the HD223 does not have an HDMI input or serial port, an HD223 project will not offer the corresponding Live Video state or Serial Input event.

If you don't see an event or state, check the top left of the window to determine whether the presentation is targeted for the correct model, as shown in the image below. If the model number is incorrect, you will need to create another presentation with the correct model number (i.e. the model number of an existing presentation cannot be altered).

These BrightAuthor states/events are commonly restricted by model type:

HTML5: Not supported on LSx22, HDx20, HDx10
Live Video: Supported on XT1143, 4K1142, XD1132, XD1230 only
GPIO Input
Serial Input

Why isn’t the player clock working?

BrightAuthor configures networked players to synchronize their internal clocks with the BrightSign time server (http://time.brightsignnetwork.com). During setup, players can also be configured to connect to any HTTP server to retrieve the time. This synchronization process is carried out using the HTTP Time Protocol (HTP).

Problems can occur if a home or small office router is being used as a switch and DHCP server, and not to provide Internet connectivity. Routers that are configured in this manner will likely have incorrect time settings because they cannot determine the correct time without an Internet connection. Routers built for enterprise operations will likely not be affected by this issue.

When routers do not have upstream connectivity, they often provide an error, configuration, or diagnostics page to any device that makes an HTTP request. A player attempting to retrieve the time from the remote server will instead retrieve the time from the router redirect page, which will have the incorrect time. This can cause a number of problems with schedules, events, and clock/date displays. Severe problems can occur if the router causes time to move backward on the internal player clock.

If you cannot change the switch/DHCP configuration of the local network, disable the time server requests using the player configuration process in BrightAuthor:

Navigate to Tools > Setup BrightSign Unit.
Locate the Time server field under Network Properties.
Remove the URL entered in the Time server field so that it is blank.
Specify other player settings in the BrightSign Unit Setup window as desired.
Click Create Setup Files to publish the files to an SD card. You can then setup the player using the card.

The issue described above may also occur with some router models when they lose Internet connectivity, even if they are being used in a standard way and not as a network switch. You can prevent this issue by configuring the player to make NTP or HTTPS requests.

Why am I getting "Assertion...Failed" errors when using BrightAuthor?

This type of error can be caused by proxy server or firewall blocking BrightAuthor's access to the Internet. Even if you aren't using a BrightSign Network account, BrightAuthor contacts BSN servers to get the latest firmware versions for public and beta releases. See this page for more information.

Try to duplicate the problem, then exit BrightAuthor if it is open. Find the eventlog.txt file (see the “Where is the BrightAuthor eventlog?” FAQ, above) and forward it to support@brightsign.biz with a description of the problem.

How can I fix a “The given key was not present in the dictionary” error?

The “KeyNotFoundException: The given key was not present in the dictionary” error can be caused by a corrupted UserPreferences.xml file, for example, an empty language setting or a missing localization language entry. Try uninstalling and re-installing BrightAuthor to fix this problem.

Why is my presentation “Unable to open” on one computer, but opens on another?

BrightAuthor presentation files (.bpf files) created on one computer may fail to open on another computer due to the language that the operating system is set to. Verify the operating systems on both computers are set to the same language, change the language to English temporarily, then try to open the presentation file in BrightAuthor. For example:

Action: You try to cast a numeric string to a numeric data type, using code like this:

Dim strInput As String = "10"
Dim intResult As Integer = 0
Try
  intResult = Convert.ToInt16(strInput)
  Catch ex As Exception
  MessageBox.Show("Error: " & ex.Message)
End Try

Result: You get a System.FormatException with "Input string was not in a correct format" and this stack trace:

A first chance exception of type 'System.FormatException' occurred in mscorlib.dll
at System.Number.StringToNumber(String str, NumberStyles options, NumberBuffer& number, NumberFormatInfo info, Boolean parseDecimal)
at System.Number.ParseInt32(String s, NumberStyles style, NumberFormatInfo info)
at System.Int16.Parse(String s, NumberStyles style, NumberFormatInfo info)
at System.Convert.ToInt16(String value)
at TypeConversionTest.Form1.cmdConvert_Click(Object sender, EventArgs e) in C:\Source\TypeConversionTest\TypeConversionTest\Form1.vb:line 7

Cause: There is an incorrect value in this Windows registry:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\International\sPositiveSign

This value should be empty for most English Language settings. When this error occurs, the value may appear empty visually but may contain a space or unprintable character.

Resolution: While you can directly edit the value for the problem key, it is better to change the Regional Settings to a different Region/Language and then reset it to the desired setting:

Open the Regional and Language Options applet from the Control Panel.
Note the Current Format.
Change the Current Format to "English (Australian)".
Click Apply.
Change the Current Format to the desired format (for example, "English (American)").
Click Apply and then click OK.

This resets every value under the HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\International registry key.

How can I troubleshoot my BrightAuthor Local File Network setup?

By default, BrightAuthor uses Bonjour to automatically discover BrightSign players on the local network. If either Bonjour or BrightAuthor is blocked by your firewall software, then discovery won’t work. Bonjour is sometimes listed as "mdnsResponder" and uses UDP port 5353. It's also possible this is just a temporary issue; the list often takes a few seconds to refresh after after you select the Publish > Local File Network or Manage > Local Network tabs.
If BrightAuthor has Bonjour enabled (which it is by default), ensure the Bonjour service is running in Services.
Update Bonjour. If it's already installed, uninstall it and reboot, then reinstall it.
The Apple AirPort Utility includes Bonjour. You can uninstall Apple Software Update and the AirPort applications after it completes installing, just leave Bonjour.
Manuals, Specs, and Downloads - Apple Support
Verify that you are using the latest version of BrightAuthor software and OS for your player (see the Downloads page).
Verify that the SD card is inserted into the player and has not been manually edited since Device Setup. There is a program installed on the card during player setup that listens to publish requests from BrightAuthor.
- If you run setup, then remove the SD card and publish a local presentation to it, you won't be able to add the player to BrightAuthor.
Perform the Device Setup process again.
Verify that you don’t have an active VPN connection. Local File Networking is only supported on the same subnet.
Make sure that your firewall software is not blocking connectivity between BrightAuthor and the player.
Disable proxy settings in Internet Explorer.
Hit the refresh button on the Publish > Local File Network or Manage > Local Network tab.
Leave the Publish or Manage tab, then return.
Add the player manually using the player IP address.
Some antivirus software that includes network components can block Bonjour (e.g., Kaspersky antivirus). Try temporarily disabling that software or add BrightAuthor as a trusted application.
Local File Networking is not supported on Windows XP.
Local File Networking supports a maximum of 10 players on a local network. Exceeding this recommended number may cause unreliable behavior when publishing to players. For larger deployments, we recommend using the Simple File Network or BrightSign Network publishing methods instead.

If automatic discovery isn't working, try adding the unit manually. In BrightAuthor, go to Publish > Local File Network, click the Add icon under Publish, and enter the player IP address: