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Troubleshooting and updates

“This diagram could not be opened safely”

Section titled ““This diagram could not be opened safely””

Rivoli Diagrams shows this when a document’s contents decode but cannot be rebuilt reliably: usually a file written by a newer version of the app.

Your original file has not been modified. The window is deliberately read-only and saving is disabled, so nothing can overwrite it. From that window you can:

  • Reveal Original: show the file in the Finder.
  • Save Original Copy…: write the untouched original bytes somewhere safe before you try anything else.
  • Show Details: see the underlying error.

The usual fix is to update to the latest version and open the document again.

The importers never fail outright: an unreadable file yields an empty diagram rather than an error. Check the import report: it lists each page with its node and connector counts and flags anything that arrived degraded. It opens by itself whenever there is something to read: a warning, more than one page, or nothing imported at all, and a clean single-page import reports in the status bar only. See Importing and exporting.

Most commands need a particular selection:

CommandNeeds
Cut, Copy, Duplicate, DeleteAt least one selected object
Copy StyleExactly one selected object
GroupTwo or more objects
UngroupA selected object that belongs to a group
AlignTwo or more shapes
DistributeThree or more shapes
CombineTwo or more shapes
Fit Container to ChildrenExactly one container selected
Add / Remove LaneExactly one swimlane selected
Clear GuidesAt least one guide on the canvas

Also check whether the object’s layer is locked. A locked object still selects, so the handles appear as usual and only the edit is refused, which reads exactly like a command that did nothing. See Layers.

Typing switches tools instead of entering text

Section titled “Typing switches tools instead of entering text”

Single-letter tool shortcuts are suppressed while a text field has focus, so this should not happen inside a label editor. If it does, click directly into the label (or double-click the shape) to give the field focus, then type.

Rivoli Diagrams checks for updates automatically and can install them for you. Rivoli Diagrams ▸ Check for Updates… runs a check immediately.

Updates are downloaded from a signed feed and verified before installation. The menu item is unavailable in development builds that are not packaged as an application: that is expected, not a fault.

When something looks wrong, the most useful details are:

  • The app version, from Rivoli Diagrams ▸ About Rivoli Diagrams.
  • Your macOS version.
  • What you did, what you expected, and what happened instead.
  • The document, if you can share it: it is plain JSON.
  • For import problems, the source file and the import report.