Tip #41 - In case of problem with a file, copy the contents...

In case of problem with a file, copy the contents of the file to a new file

Sometimes there can be unexplained problems with a file, such as you can see it open correctly, but it refuses to print; or you'll get the message "line groups have become corrupted..."; or some other problem where the file seems to open correctly, but it doesn't behave properly in some way.

If you get this kind of problem here's a generic kind of fix which can sometimes help:

1) With the file open, select everything (Ctrl+Shift+E).

2) Copy the selection (Ctrl+C)

3) Open a new file (Ctrl+N).

4) Paste the selection into the new file (Ctrl+V).

5) Save the new file with a new name.

MusEdit files contain a lot of "hidden" information (such as preferences) which isn't directly visible on the screen, and sometimes this information can somehow become corrupted and this may affect how your score behaves. By copying the contents of your score with the steps above you are basically copying the "visible" part of your file (the music, lyrics, etc.) but not necessarily copying all the hidden information. When you open a new file it starts with a fresh set of hidden information, so when you paste the selection into the new file you create a "clean" score with fresh hidden information, along with the visible contents of the previous score. (Whereas if you simply use Windows to create a copy of the whole file -or use File|Save As...- you are probably copying the corruption too, so you aren't gaining anything by doing that).

This may not fix all problems, but it can sometimes result in a cleaner score which doesn't have the same quirky behavior as the previous score. In fact I recommend doing this whenever you start seeing suspicious behavior. Sometimes weird behavior means a crash is looming, and if you're lucky enough to still be able to see your score on the screen and do this kind of select/copy/paste behavior before MusEdit crashes you should definitely take advantage of it. If you don't, there's a chance your file may become corrupted and unopenable after a crash, and so you may never get access to the contents again.

(Another thing you should do in these cases is IMMEDIATELY save the .BAK file with a new name because otherwise the .BAK file will be overwritten as soon as you try to open the corrupted file again, and therefore it too may become corrupted).

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