Skinning How To/Viewer crash causes

Introduction

The viewer doesn't give any feedback when it crashes due to a skinning error, so it's best keep in mind any recent changes you make and go back over them if you do end up encountering a viewer crash.

Causes of crashes

• Malformed xml in color_base.xml.
• Malformed xml in a button, or other control option.
• A texture is assigned in textures.xml, but the image isn't in the textures folder.
• Font file name contains a dash.

If the viewer crashes on startup or while opening any specific element of the viewer, do a thorough xml check of all the files associated with that element. Chances are some error slipped in.

Common xml errors

• Forgetting a beginning or closing quote.
• Forgetting to close a tag with />, or add a closing tag at all.
• Double parameters in the same tag.
• Typos.

It's recommended you use an xml editor rather than a text editor unless you really know what you're doing, as it should pick up these formatting errors.