Re: What does this Frame 5.5.6 error message mean?

["Lester C. Smalley" <lsmalley@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

Ed,

one additional thing I'd check is the system clock settings on the
systems - FM will generate the message you describe if the time stamps
on the files differ "enough" to make it think that the file has been
changed outside of its control.

You should be able to eliminate this as a possibility pretty quickly. 
And you can eliminate it altogether if the systems sync their clocks
(something about setting up one host as a "timeserver" -- I can't
remember the details anymore but that should be enough to get help from
the sysadmins.)  And be sure the machines are set up in the same time
zone!  (We had one system that triggered all sorts of errors until we
discovered it was in the 'default' Pacific TZ instead of Eastern; even
though the clock times were the same, it "knew" about the 3 hour
difference and made life hell for a week or so.

The "file has an odd suffix" message is caused by how FM saves files -
it creates a dummy file with an artificial suffix, then once that is
successfully saved to disk it renames it over the original. (rationale:
saving can be slow, especially across a network, so this protects from
errors corrupting the original copy; but renaming is essentially
instantaneous) If it can't replace the original, the message is
displayed.

These all can be triggered by access control issues on the working
directory, especially in later versions of Solaris which implement ACL's
in addition to "simple" unix permissions.  Be sure that all the users
have the necessary create/modify/delete rights on the directories in
question.

As for turning off network locking, I generally discourage it unless you
can truly control who has access to the files externally (outside of
FM).  The biggest possible side effect is that two people actually get
to edit a single file from different systems simultaneously, then save. 
Major headache: the most recent save wins and the first saved info is
just trashed (or maybe in a .backup version for a short while).

Ed Treijs wrote:

>> I agree that this could be caused by network error, but check in
>> the directory and see if you have a .lck file for the FM file in
>> question.  If so, delete the .lck file.  Also, try saving the file
>> to a new name and then renaming it directly.  Is the file listed
>> in a book file?  You can rename the file from there too.  I can't
>> remember where it is, but there is a "Network File Locking" setting
>> in Frame.  Turn that setting off.
> 
> We have tried deleting the .lck file.  Usually this lets you save the file
> once.  The next time you try to save, the lock file is back and so are the
> "changed on disk....save anyway....file has an odd suffix" messages.  In a
> pinch, doing this or saving as another file keeps you from losing your work.
> However, once the problem appears, then it persists and you must reset the
> lock file and/or "save as" every time you save your work.  (I guess that
> argues against a temporary network glitch.)
> 
> Unfortunately one person lost a few files when it happened on a book she was
> regenerating.  The regeneration opens and closes files, and in this case
> nuked a couple of files before it gave up with an error message.  No chance
> to reset locks or save as.  (I don't know what effect automatic save would
> have.)
> 
> Yes, we have Network File Locking set to on.  Can turn it off and see.  It
> is quite unlikely that someone else can fiddle with our files, since we use
> RCS on UNIX and only the owner has read access.
> 
> Anyone have comments on any possible side-effects of turning off the file
> locking?
> 
> Thanks
> Ed

-- Lester
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 Lester C. Smalley              Email: lsmalley@infocon.com
 Information Consultants, Inc.  Phone: 302-239-2942 FAX: 302-239-1712
 Hockessin, DE  USA  19707      WWWeb: http://www.infocon.com/
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