Known Problems

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You may encounter problems using Variations Audio Timeliner. This is a list of the bugs and issues we know about.

NOTE: As of September 2016, one of the original developers of the Variations Audio Timeliner has released a new version, Audio Timeliner 2.0, which no longer requires QuickTime in order to open and playback audio files. Users may find Audio Timeliner 2.0 easier to install and run on modern Windows and Mac systems than the older Variations Audio Timeliner.

VAT Doesn't Work on Apple Macs After Yosemite Update

As of Yosemite (OS X 10.10), Apple no longer includes Quicktime for Java with Quicktime. You will need to find a pre-Yosemite Mac and follow the instructions linked here before the timeliner will work.

VAT Doesn't Work on Windows After QuickTime Update

Quicktime not installed error message

VAT on Windows requires QuickTime version 7 or higher with QuickTime for Java. As of release 7.7.5, QuickTime for Java is no longer included in the default QuickTime installation on Windows. The easiest solution is to reinstall QuickTime 7 or later, which includes QuickTime for Java in the custom install options. For instructions on installing QuickTime, see the Windows installation instructions..

Variations Audio Timeliner Browser Links Won't Work

When Variations Audio Timeliner is first installed, clicking on a Variations Audio Timeliner link in a web browser will not work. First close all browser windows, then restart your browser. The restart is necessary because the browser needs to know about Variations Audio Timeliner when it starts running.

Slow Start-Up

Variations Audio Timeliner may be slow to start, particularly on Windows PCs. You can reduce the time it takes each window to open if you keep at least one window open. For example, if you're going to work on multiple timelines, don't close each one before you open the next one--leave at least one Variations Audio Timeliner window open.

Installation (PC)

QuickTime with Java not Installed. Variations requires QuickTime version 7 or higher with QuickTime for Java to be installed. The easiest solution is to install QuickTime 7, which includes QuickTime for Java automatically. For instructions on installing QuickTime, see the download page

General

Fonts display as boxes.  If your computer does not have the Arial Unicode MS font installed, certain characters may appear as 'boxes' in the search results display and elsewhere. These boxes may appear instead of flat or sharp symbols, or perhaps foreign language characters. The best solution is to install Arial Unicode MS, which is available as a supplemental font on the Microsoft Office for Windows CD. For more information on installing this font on Windows, please see Microsoft Knowledge base article Q287247.

We strongly recommend that you install the font Arial Unicode MS in order to be able to view all international and special characters in the application. This font can be installed as part of the "international features" option in Microsoft Office 2000 or XP. You can easily check to see whether this font is already installed by opening Microsoft Word and looking at the list of fonts. For more information on installing this font, see Microsoft Knowledge Base article Q287247.

External Browsers

Links not working on Mac.  Clicking Variations links in a browser on the Mac (especially Safari) may not work properly. To configure browsers to work with Variations, follow the browser configuration instructions on the download page.