Troubleshooting Actions and Filetypes

If an action or filetype fails to behave as expected, you should check to see that you've used the correct syntax in the definition. HP VUE provides several tools for helping you find the source of the problem.

To locate the problem in an action or filetype definition

Make sure you reloaded the database after creating the action. This is done automatically when you use the Create Action utility. If you create an action manually, you must double-click ReloadActions in the System_Admin subdirectory of the General Toolbox, or log out and back in.
Check the HP VUE errorlog (see “To see database errors (errorlog)”).
Use the ListVueTypes utility. It will list any errors found in the database (see “To list database errors”).
Correct any errors recorded in ListVueTypes, and then rerun ListVueTypes. (You do not have to reload the database—ListVueTypes reads the database files directly).

Testing Front Panel actions. If you added the action to the Front Panel

Make sure you've restarted the Workspace Manager (choose Restart Workspace Manager from the Workspace Menu.
You should test the action outside the Front Panel (from the Personal Toolbox or by executing:
vueaction action_name
If the action runs correctly outside the Front Panel, then the problem is in the definition of the Front Panel control.

Common Database Problems

If the Command Line (EXEC-STRING) uses the executable name (rather than the absolute path), substitute the absolute path to the executable—for example, /usr/local/bin/emacs rather than emacs. This will correct the problem if the executable file is not in a directory specified by the PATH environment variable.
If you created the action manually, make sure you used proper syntax:
- The action must begin with an ACTION field and end with an END field.
- If a field continues to the next line, make sure you used \ to indicate the field includes the next line.
- Make sure you have not commented partial lines. For example, the following line is not valid syntax:
  ACTION EditGraphics # Starts the editor for my graphics files.
If the action executes an application on another system, make sure both the local and application hosts are configured properly. See “Using Actions to Run Remote Applications”. If you are using remsh to start the application, the execution host must have xhost permission to the local display.
If the action uses a data file located on another system, make sure the systems are set up to access remote data. See “Using Actions to Access Remote Data”.
If the action itself is defined locally, make sure your system and the system containing the action are set up properly. See “Importing and Exporting Actions”.
If your action specifies an ARG-TYPE, make sure the filetype is defined.
If your action is mapped to another action, make sure the mapping is defined properly. The action must eventually map to a COMMAND action.

See Also.

To see database errors (errorlog)

Read the contents of /HomeDirectory/.vue/errorlog

Any database errors that occur when the database is reloaded are written to the errorlog. The database is reloaded when:

You apply an action with Create Action.
You manually reload the database with the ReloadActions action in the System_Admin directory of the General Toolbox.
You log out and back in.
You restart the Workspace Manager.

The WatchErrors utility lets you monitor the errorlog continuously (see “Monitoring errors”).

To list database errors

In regular HP VUE sessions, double-click ListVueTypes in the Unsupported subdirectory of the General Toolbox.
In HP VUE Lite sessions, execute one of the following commands:
vueaction ListVueTypes or vuetypes
to run the ListVueTypes action.

ListVueTypes lists the database search path and all the filetypes and actions found along the search path.

To direct the database information to a file, rather than to the display, execute the command:

   vuetypes > filename

Troubleshooting Actions and Filetypes

Technical documentation

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To locate the problem in an action or filetype definition

Common Database Problems

To see database errors (errorlog)

To list database errors