Troubleshooting and FAQ

Ettin Edit won't start on Linux

Run ettin-edit in a terminal to see the error. The usual cause is a missing desktop library when using the .tar.gz: install OpenGL and, on X11, libxkbcommon-x11 (sudo apt install libxkbcommon-x11-0 libgl1 on Debian and Ubuntu). The .deb and Arch packages install these for you.

The software centre says "No software repository included" or "Unknown licence"

That's a .deb from before 1.4.0, which had no package information for software centres. Install the latest .deb once: it shows the licence and release notes, and adds the Ettin Edit repository so updates arrive through your software updater. See Getting updates on Debian and Ubuntu.

A file opened in the running window instead of a new one

That's the Single Window setting. Turn it off in the Settings menu, or start Ettin Edit with --multi-instance, to get separate windows. See One window or several.

The text looks garbled: `Ã©` instead of `é`

Ettin Edit guessed the wrong encoding. Choose Encoding > Reopen With and pick the right one; for files from older Windows programs it's usually Windows-1252. See Encodings.

Saving says a character can't be saved

The file's encoding can't hold that character (for example € in ISO-8859-1). Choose Encoding > UTF-8 and save again, or remove the character. Nothing is lost while you decide.

Chinese, Japanese or Korean text shows as boxes

Install a CJK font, such as Noto Sans CJK (noto-fonts-cjk on Arch, fonts-noto-cjk on Debian and Ubuntu), and restart Ettin Edit.

A shortcut doesn't work

Open the command palette (F1) and find the command: it shows the shortcut actually in use.
Check the Shortcut Mapper for a clash with another command or a plugin.
Your desktop may be using the keys itself. GNOME, KDE and Windows all reserve a few Ctrl+Alt combinations. Pick another shortcut for the command.

A plugin doesn't run

Open Plugins > Manage Plugins… and look under the plugin's name for the reason.
Check Plugins > Plugin Log for errors.
Make sure Python 3 or Node.js is installed, or set its path in Preferences > Plugins.
If you chose Don't Allow earlier, turn the plugin back on in Manage Plugins.

The update check says it couldn't reach GitHub

Ettin Edit needs to reach api.github.com to check for updates, and github.com to download them. Behind a proxy or firewall that blocks it, check the releases page in your browser instead, and turn off Help > Check for Updates Automatically.

Update Now says the install failed

"needs an administrator password, and none was given": the password prompt was closed. Click Try Again.
pacman says it couldn't lock the database: another package manager is running (a system update, perhaps). Let it finish, then Try Again.
"didn't match its checksum": the download was damaged or changed on the way. Try again later, or download the file from the release page.
Can't write to the folder: a .tar.gz or .zip copy unpacked somewhere only an administrator can change (such as /opt) can't replace itself. Download the new version from the release page, or move Ettin Edit to a folder of your own.

The scroll bar settles after resizing a huge file

With word wrap on, resizing the window wraps the lines you can see straight away and the rest of the file in the background, so the window never freezes. In a file with hundreds of thousands of long lines that takes a second or two, and until it finishes the scroll bar's size and the document map can shift a little. The text at the top of the view stays where it is.

I closed a file without saving

If Remember Unsaved Changes on Exit is on (the default), quitting never throws changes away. Closing a single tab does ask first, though, and Don't Save really doesn't save. If the file was saved at some point, your file manager's trash or your backups may still have an older copy.

Ettin Edit User Manual