Twine Version: Twine 2.5.1
Story Format: Harlowe 3.3.3
Browser: Chrome
All of my passages show that they are linked correctly in the editor, but when I try to test it or publish it in a file to play it, it doesn’t work. It shows my introduction passage, but when I try to click the links to different passages, it doesn’t do anything. Maybe this is a simple fix that I don’t get because I’m new to Twine, but I don’t understand why it won’t let me test it. If anyone could help me, that would be great!
Are you working with the online version of Twine, or do you have it downloaded to your computer?
Do you have other Twine stories that work in test or publishing? You might want to create a new test file with a few simple passages and links and see if those work by testing or publishing. Sometimes browser security settings might be preventing you from going to “suspicious” links, but that shouldn’t happen when testing in the Twine editor. If you can make a new file that works there’s a problem with your other story. If a test file doesn’t work, you might want to save all of your work (publish to file) and re-install Twine.
If a test story works, another thing to try: publish your story to a file. Then click on the Home button in Twine and re-import from that file as a new story to see if something might be borked with your original story file.
If that doesn’t work, we might need to see your original file.
NOTE: If this story is a prospective entry for IFComp, please don’t upload your file to a message or provide links in a public message here as it will count as being publicly available and disqualify your entry. Someone would need to arrange to look at it privately via Private Message or separate email in this case. If it’s not a Comp entry disregard this.
It might be easier if you make a small test file that still doesn’t work to upload that here for someone to test. Otherwise someone might need to try your non-functioning story file on their system to determine if it’s your browser having problems or if there’s some further issue with Twine. Again, you may not want to share your entire story publicly if you’re not ready for release yet and would need to arrange that with someone in PM or email.
I am working with the online version of Twine.
I made a test file that works in both testing and publishing. I tried deleting my original story file and uploading it again, but it still doesn’t work.
Here is the link to my file. (don’t judge the text too much if you can see more than the introduction, it’s not even close to being done)
[file:///home/chronos/u-ed06403efb29583ba44c29328a1d8aa6ce19dae5/MyFiles/Downloads/Asylum%20(1).html]
Thank you for helping me.
So that appears to be the link to the file in the downloads folder or your browser cache on your computer which I don’t believe I can access.
Can you upload the actual published file? Reply to the message and click upload:
Then browse to the actual html file on your computer and choose upload.
The primary issue is there are brackets [ ] all over the place; you only need two brackets to create a link and many places you have three, or the brackets are misplaced.
(text-style:"bold","shadow")[(text-colour:red)[DON'T TAKE THEM.]] (text-colour:green)[[[DON'T TAKE YOUR MEDS]]] (text-colour:transparent)[[[TAKE THEM]]]
The links work when formatted like this:
(text-style:"bold","shadow")[[DON'T TAKE THEM.]]
(text-colour:green)[[DON'T TAKE YOUR MEDS]]
(text-colour:transparent)[[TAKE THEM]]
Also realize if you put the period inside the brackets [[DON'T TAKE THEM.]] Harlowe expects the linking passage name will include that period in there as well. You can leave the period outside the brackets to not include it in the link text for neatness sake and to prevent confusion between passages named identically except for a punctuation mark - [[passage.]] vs [[passage]].
(text-style:"bold","shadow")[[DON'T TAKE THEM]].
(text-colour:green)[[DON'T TAKE YOUR MEDS]].
(text-colour:transparent)[[TAKE THEM]].
Usually in twine if you [[bracket]] some words the IDE will create that passage for you or link to an existing passage with that name, so that’s the purpose for being careful with Link to this [[room.]] vs Link to this [[room]].
Because of the bracket madness, you appear to have passage names with extra brackets and that can cause problems. This is likely caused when you created link text with triple-brackets and Harlowe incorporated the extra into the passage name, but the coordinating extra bracket didn’t get recognized as part of the passage name and that’s why it doesn’t link.
Harlowe auto reads [[[passage]]] as a link to a passage called “[passage” then reads the first two closing brackets as closing the link/passage title and doesn’t know what to do with the last one.
