Clicking "Play" and "Test" only return HTML code, not the Twine 2 story.

Question

I am brand new to Twine. I have downloaded Twine 2 to my MacPro laptop and created my first passage following directions provided on the Twinery.org website. But, when I click either the "Play" or "Test" buttons, either in the contextual menu below the passage, or in the bottom right of the Twine window, I see only HTML code, not the passage as it should be displayed. It seems that the backup copy is what is displayed.

I have changed the "Story Format" from Harlowe to SugarCube and tried to display the story. No success. I switched back to the default Harlowe story format setting, again with no success.

Interestingly, I tried the online version of Twine and did not have this problem.

I would like to use a downloaded copy of Twine to work with as it is not always possible to connect to the Internet and thus be able to access the online version.

Thank you for help and advice as I would like to move forward.

Answer 1

If you're using Twine v2.3.2, which was only just released recently, then it uses your default application for opening the HTML file.  If you have your default application for .html files set to something like a text file reader, then that might be why you're seeing the HTML code.

I've also seen someone who had a problem on a Mac where there was some odd header and ending junk that prevented the file from opening properly (I'm not sure if that's been fixed).

I'd recommend including more details, like:

1. the specific version of Twine you're using
2. the specific operating system you're on (what Mac OS you're using)
3. exactly where you're seeing that HTML code (a text file reader, a browser, etc.)
4. and if you see anything odd in the HTML which might explain the problem (such as the junk header I mentioned above)

Alternately, you might want to go back to the older Twine v2.2.1, until they finish working the bugs out of the new v2.3.x branch.

Hope that helps!  :-)

Comments

Yes, it does help, and I appreciate your time and effort to help me.

1. I am attempting to use Twine 2.3.2

2. I am using Mac OSX 10.10.5.

3. My Twine passages display in BB Edit, the text editor I use for creating .HTML files, so your thoughts there seem correct.

4. The HTML files I am seeing appear to be the "backup files" created by Twine. I assume this because I find them in the Twine "Backups" folder. To the best of my knowledge, I do not see any junk characters or code strings.

Seems like the configuration of my version of BBEdit (which is quite dated) might be the culprit. But I also appreciate the suggestion to try Twine v2.2.1. I will look around for a download source.

Thank you. Again, I appreciate your time and trouble to help me.

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My Twine passages display in BB Edit, the text editor I use for creating .HTML files, so your thoughts there seem correct.

Yeah, then you'll either need to change your default application for HTML files to a browser or install an older version of Twine.

But I also appreciate the suggestion to try Twine v2.2.1. I will look around for a download source.

I linked to a download source above for it above, so it should be easy to find.  ;-)