Troubleshooting

Each entry below names what you notice, then what is behind it and where to look. The sky is the home view of your entries; a journal is a named group of entries.

#A tap on the sky only sparkles

That is by design: a tap on empty sky never places a star, so a stray touch never leaves one behind. Hold still instead, in the open band between the header and the dotted path. A hold on the path, or with two fingers, never places. The wait is settings › "ease" › "hold delay (seconds)". See Tap, hold, drag & pinch.

#A journal won't take an entry

It says one of these:

• "this journal is closed — reopen it to add anything" — on its page, ⋯ › "reopen it".
• "this journal is put away — set it out to add anything" — set it out from the reliquary.
• "this journal is locked — open it to add anything" — on its page, ⋯ › "open it", with the passphrase.

See Closed, put away, locked, burnt & hidden.

#An entry is missing from the sky or the list

Check these:

1. Put away — it is on the reliquary shelf. "SET OUT" brings it back.
2. On the burn pile — pull it back within thirty days.
3. In a locked journal — its entries leave the sky and the list until you open it.
4. Off the sky — its journal was switched off in the journals short list. A star stays while any journal holding it is still on. A new star you make never vanishes this way: "loose", or the journal its gravity filed it in, comes back on, and the line says "loose stars are back on the sky" or "“‹name›” back on the sky".
5. The list is narrowed — back closes an open ⋯ menu, then clears the search and the journal.

A hidden entry is still in the sky and the list.

#The "AI" button isn't there

It shows only while both are on: settings › "ask the sky" › "zenith ai in this app", and the suite's own AI switch, set in Zenith Launcher. If the suite's switch is off, the page says so. See The ask the sky settings.

#Ask the sky says it isn't set up

"the sky isn't set up yet —" and why: "the suite's ai is switched off", "zenith ai is switched off in this app", or "no key is saved for …". Tap "set up the sky in settings ›".

With on-device chosen on a phone that doesn't have Google's on-device model, it says "on-device ai isn't available on this phone — choose another service in settings · ask the sky". Choose another service there.

#Ask the sky refused to do something

• "refused — things that cannot be undone are switched off in settings · ask the sky" — turn on settings › "ask the sky" › "let the sky do things that cannot be undone", and it will ask you each time. See Things it asks first.
• "… is part of journal gold" — that feature needs journal gold.
• "… is open on top, holding something not finished; it stays until you close it" — finish or close compose, design or whatever is open, then ask again.
• It can't find an entry — a hidden entry, or one in a locked journal, is out of its reach.

#Ask the sky can't open a menu or a lock

Opening an entry's ⋯ menu, locking or opening a journal, the app lock, and every touch stay yours.

#A signature doesn't play when a journal opens

It plays only while settings › "ease" › "play a journal's signature when it opens" is on, reduce motion is off, and the journal holds something.

#Scenes don't play

• In play: "reduce motion is on, so this is said rather than played." — turn reduce motion off.
• In the reader: settings › "ease" › "scenes play as they arrive" is off, or reduce motion is on.
• "this hasn't been brought to life yet." — bring it to life first (Gold).

#A gif or video won't make

• "longer than ten seconds — a video takes it" — make a video instead.
• "longer than a minute — shorten a scene" — shorten a scene in bring to life.
• "that render stopped" — try again.

Ask the sky refuses the same lengths in its own words: "a gif holds ten seconds; this one is longer", "a video holds a minute; this one is longer".

#A file opened shows "✦ gold"

Bringing entries and journals in from a file, and installing templates and packs, are journal gold: "opening entries and journals from a file is part of journal gold. your own backups are always free." Installing a backup of your own is free — settings › "files" › "bring a backup back". See Files — back up & bring back.

#A file brought in left entries out

A journal you already have that is closed, put away or locked takes nothing new from a file. "brought in · …" ends with why — for example "· “the garden year” is closed, so 1 new entry stayed out". See Closed, put away, locked, burnt & hidden.

#A shared file couldn't be read

"… couldn't be read — it may be over 256 MB, or whatever sent it may not be sharing it any more". Files over 256 MB are refused.

#"that isn't the passphrase for this journal."

The passphrase didn't match. A forgotten passphrase cannot be recovered. See Close, lock & open a journal.

#"write it out" isn't offered

It is offered only on an entry whose recording is the entry itself. On a phone that can't write a recording out by itself, the line says so, and the recording stays the entry. "nothing could be heard in it" means the phone heard no words. See Spoken entries & write it out.

#"this phone has no speech recogniser"

The "voice" corner and "speak the ask" use the phone's own speech recogniser. Without one, type instead.

#A notice never comes

Each kind has its own switch in settings › "what it may say". "a nudge to write" and "a year ago today" start off. A notice is never about a hidden entry. See What it may say — notices.

#See also.

Quick reference · Closed, put away, locked, burnt & hidden · Ask the sky in the Journal · Ease