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Troubleshooting

Verbose (Debug) Logging

For verbose path logging and troubleshooting, turn on the Verbose parameter on the Embody COMP (or from code, op.Embody.par.Verbose = True). This unblocks all DEBUG-level messages — including detailed externalization path resolution — which are otherwise suppressed. With Verbose on they flow to the log FIFO, to the log file (in your Log Folder, logs by default), and to the textport when Print is enabled.

Common Issues

Timeline Paused

Embody requires the timeline to be running. A warning will appear in the textport if the timeline is paused. Resume the timeline to restore normal operation.

Clone/Replicant Operators

Clones and replicants cannot be externalized. Embody will show a warning if you try to tag them. This is by design — these operators are managed by TouchDesigner's clone system.

Engine COMPs

Engine, time, and annotate COMPs are not supported for externalization.

File Path Conflicts

If you see warnings about duplicate file paths, this means two operators are pointing to the same external file. See Duplicate Path Handling for resolution options.

Externalization Not Updating

If externalized files aren't updating on save:

  1. Check that the operator is tagged (look for the tag indicator)
  2. Verify the operator is marked as dirty
  3. Try a manual update with Ctrl+Shift+U
  4. Check the textport/logs for error messages

Content Missing After a Save or Reopen (TDXN)

If something inside a TDXN-managed COMP comes back empty after a save or a reopen:

  1. A DAT is empty: unexternalized, editable DAT content is always written into the .tdxn. A DAT that comes back empty is either generated (TouchDesigner regenerates its content on cook, so it is written as dat_read_only) or tagged tdxn_exclude:dat_content. Check the log for a WARNING naming it, such as a skipped duplicate companion.
  2. Storage is missing: turn on Embed Storage (Embedstorageintdxns), or the COMP's Embed storage in tdxn toggle in the tagging menu. In Roundtrip mode the save logs a WARNING when it will lose storage.
  3. Check the Content Safety parameter: when set to Never Warn (ignore), a save logs nothing about content the .tdxn cannot hold. Use Warn Each Save (ask) to see it.

See Content Safety for details on how the safety check works.

A Save Logged "Was Not Answered" or "Content Check Failed"

A save never shows a dialog: TouchDesigner has the .toe open for writing, and a modal then can freeze the save. A prompt that would have appeared takes its safe default instead, and the save logs what it did -- a WARNING in the log, also listed in get_job_status(job_id)["warnings"] for a save_project job:

  • "Palette handling was not answered for N clone(s) during this save": those palette components were exported as black boxes (a reference only), so any changes made inside them are not in the .tdxn. Set Palette Handling (Tdxnpalettehandling), or choose per COMP, to decide.
  • "Duplicate Paths Detected was not answered": operators sharing one externalized file path were auto-resolved -- the first stays master, the rest are tagged as clones. Review them in the Embody manager.
  • "Tdxndatsafety = 'externalize': dialogs stayed suppressed": the deferred filing of unexternalized DATs gave up because a save or test run kept dialogs suppressed. Nothing is lost -- the content stays in the .tdxn -- and the next save retries.
  • "TDXN content check failed (export continues)" (an ERROR): the save-time content report hit an internal error. The export and strip still ran; please report the log line.

Cross-Platform Issues

Embody normalizes all paths to forward slashes (/). If you're collaborating across Windows and macOS and encountering path issues, ensure you're using a recent version of Embody with cross-platform path handling.