Troubleshooting Windows

1. Lightform device isn't discoverable on your network or you don't see your Lightform device to connect to in Lightform Creator.

NOTE: If you are on a corporate network, you may need to contact your IT department in order to allow your Lightform device to connect to your company's network. In most cases, you will need to provide your Lightform device's MAC address to your network administrator. In order to obtain this, please reach out to our support team.

Issue:

When connecting your device to your network via Ethernet, you cannot see your device in Lightform Creator's device list. Or, when trying to pair your device to a Wi-Fi network, you cannot advance past the "Connect to Lightform Device" pairing page.

     

Solution:

Most of the time, this issue indicates that a firewall, antivirus, or other programs on your computer are blocking the connection to your device.

First, you should verify that your firewall is set to allow Lightform Creator.

1. Go to the Windows Start Menu and search for "Firewall" -- Choose the "Firewall & network protection" menu item.
2. Select "Allow an app through the firewall"
3. Search this list for "lightform.exe". If you don't see it, choose "Allow Another App" and add "C:\Program Files\Lightform\Lightform Creator\Lightform.exe". If you do see "lightform.exe" in the list, verify that all three checkboxes are checked ("Allowed" on left, and "Private/Public" on right). You will need to click "Change Settings" in the upper right to make changes to this list. When finished, the Lightform line should look like this:
4. At this point, you should be able to see your device in Lightform Creator. If you do not, keep reading.

Advanced firewall rules:

If the above does not fix the issue, you may have another firewall rule blocking Lightform Creator.

1. From the "Firewall & network protection" page, select "Advanced Settings".
2. Halfway down this window, click "Windows Defender Firewall Properties". Ensure that both the Private Profile and Public Profile are set to the following settings:     
3. Then, click "New rule" in the upper righthand corner of the Advanced Settings window, and follow these steps to allow Lightform:
4. 
5. 
6. If you still cannot see the Lightform device after this, it is possible that an existing firewall rule is blocking the connection, or antivirus/router settings (see below for more details). 

Additional troubleshooting steps:

If you still cannot connect to the device, antivirus or other software may be blocking the connection. Refer to your specific antivirus software guide for allowing other programs through (for example, this describes what to do for Malwarebytes).

If none of the above works, it is recommended to try using Lightform Creator on a second computer in order to further narrow down the issue. If the second computer allows you to connect to your device, then this indicates that there is still a program/setting that is blocking the connection to your device on the computer you tried first. Otherwise, please reach out to our support team.

If you are having this issue only when using your device on a certain network, there is also a chance that your router has been configured to block network traffic that the Lightform device needs to communicate with your computer. Lightform Creator uses the following ports:

• TCP 7340-7349, 50051
• UDP 7350-7351

Refer to your router instructions for allowing traffic through these ports. 

 

2. You are unable to run Lightform Creator after installing it on your system.

Problem: You are unable to run Lightform Creator. It either does not start, or starts with an error page and most controls removed or disabled.

Solution: Ensure your Windows installation and graphics drivers are up-to-date.

• Windows operating system:
  • The minimum Windows 10 version supported by Lightform Creator is 1809. Earlier versions may work, but these aren't tested. Run the 'winver' application on your computer to see which version you have.
  • As of the writing of this document, Windows 10 version 1903 is the most recent version. If possible, you should update to this version since it has resolved a number of issues related to layout scaling that impact some users when using Lightform Creator. 
  • There are actually many different versions of Windows 10, and updating through Windows Update will often not give you the most current version. 
  • If running Windows Update does not update your Windows installation to 1809 or higher, you can manually download and run the Windows Update Assistant to get the newest version. To get the Update Assistant, visit https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/3159635/windows-10-update-assistant. 
• Graphics drivers:
  • If you’ve never manually updated the graphics driver on your computer, you are probably using an outdated graphics driver either provided by the computer manufacturer or Windows Update. Having a more recent graphics driver is critical to the operation of Lightform Creator. To get the most recent graphics driver you will need to go directly to the manufacturer of the graphics hardware in your computer:
    • Intel: https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/products/80939/graphics-drivers.html
    • NVidia: https://www.nvidia.com/download/index.aspx
    • AMD: https://www.amd.com/en/support/kb/faq/gpu-driver-autodetect

3. Lightform Creator's layout is too small or too large.

Problem: The text and other layout elements within Lightform Creator are too large or too small.

Solution: You need to adjust the scaling:

• If all of your applications (not just Lightform Creator) have a layout that you find to be too small or too large, you should adjust the Windows scaling settings to find a more comfortable sizing. Good information on this can be found at https://www.pcworld.com/article/2953978/use-windows-10s-individual-display-scaling-to-perfect-your-multi-monitor-setup.html

• Alternatively, if Lightform Creator is the only application with a layout that appears to be too small or too large, you can use the in-app settings to adjust the sizing. Navigate to the application preferences dialog in the Edit> Preferences… menu. On the "User Interface" tab you can adjust the "User Interface Sizing" setting to your liking.

4. Lightform Creator starts with error 'Failed to initialize standard file paths...'.

Problem: Lightform Creator starts and immediately presents an error in the application window. The error states that Lightform Creator 'Failed to initialize standard file paths...', and includes additional information. No other actions in the application are possible, except to submit a bug report or quit the application.

Solution: Windows is preventing Lightform Creator from reading the standard directory locations from the system. These locations are used by the application for storing application preferences and temporary files.

• Ideal solution: Disable 'Controlled Folder Access' in Windows 10.
  • Microsoft's documentation on this can be found at: https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/help/4046851/windows-10-allow-blocked-app-windows-security.
  • Unfortunately, Microsoft's documentation isn't clear about what triggers this situation in the first place.
• Less-ideal solution: If for some reason disabling 'Controlled Folder Access' doesn't solve the problem, you can run Lightform Creator as administrator:
  • Right-click on the application's icon on the Windows desktop and choose 'Run as Administrator' from the context menu.