We understand the importance of smooth and hassle-free inspections. However, sometimes, you may encounter issues when writing a report with the Desktop Report Writer. In this article, we'll address some common problems our users face and provide step-by-step solutions to help you resolve them.
Completed Inspection Item Has Blank Status
- Description of Issue: Normally, an inspection item has a checkmark or similar symbol in the Status (S) column when it's complete. However, the Status column stays blank.
- Possible Causes and Solutions
- The item has not been given a normal status (inspected, repair/replace, etc.).
- If the item is marked Repair/Replace, or any status that sends it to a summary, it requires a comment.
- The comment for the inspection contains an asterisk (*). There is currently no solution other than to remove the asterisk simply.
Copy/Paste Function Doesn't Work
If your copy/paste functionality is not working in HomeGauge on Windows 10, follow the troubleshooting steps below:
- Try making a small change to your template and click the Save T button. This may resolve the issue.
- Click File > Save Template As and save a new copy of your template. Start a new report with this template and see if the issue persists.
- If the issue persists, it may be caused by Webroot or another antivirus/antimalware software. Try disabling your antivirus software for a few minutes to see if this restores the copy/paste functionality. If this helps, we recommend either whitelisting or excluding HomeGauge from your antivirus software, or using Windows Defender instead.
- If none of these solutions helps, you may need to contact Windows Support at 1-800-Microsoft (642-7676).
Open a Backup Copy of a Report
If you can no longer open a report due to a problem such as a power outage, computer crash, or other device failure, your software keeps regular backups that will allow you to open the most recently saved version of a report.
HomeGauge 5:
- Click the Open button.
- Select the report you'd like to restore to an earlier version.
- Click on the gear button and choose Open Backup for Selected Report.
HomeGauge 3/4 (Note: These instructions also work for 5; in steps 4-5, you will instead look for .hr5 files.)
- The first step is to identify where the report is kept. If you give your reports a report ID, the folder will use this as its name. However, if you don't use Report IDs, follow the next step to identify its location.
- In the Open Report window, click on the report in the list, and look at the information box at the bottom, where you will see the folder name, for example:....\HomeGauge\Reports\0000001 — this is where it is stored.
- Open the folder in Windows to recover the report. To do so, click StartMyDocumentsHomeGaugeReports0000001 (for example — the folder name will either be a number or the Report ID).
- Here you will see the report files. We will be working with the *.hr3 or *.hr4 files, determined by the version of HomeGauge you are running.
- The file "report.hr4" or "report.hr3" is the file that is having the issues. Rename it to "reportbad" by right-clicking and clicking "Rename". Then select the first backup, "report-bak1" and rename it "report". You may or may not see the *.hr3 or *.hr4 extension. This is not an issue. The files will still have the same name.
- Now try to open the Report in HomeGauge again. If it does not open, repeat the process with report-bak2, 3, etc., until it opens.
Tags Not Closed Message/Error
If you receive an error message when trying to open a report that says "Tags not closed," follow the steps below:Check and see if HomeGauge is running in the background somewhere on your computer.
- Exit the HomeGauge software if it is open.
- Press Control-Alt-Delete
- Run Task Manager
- End all HomeGauge tasks that may be running.
- Open HG again and try to open the report.
If the above actions didn't work, then you can access a backup report either using the steps at the beginning of this article or manually following the steps below.
- Navigate to your Documents\HomeGauge\Reports folder.
- Navigate to the report in question. Double-click to open up that report. You will see a series of report.bak documents. These are the backups for your report. On the far right of these backups is a size. You will want to choose the backup with the largest size.
- Double-click the backup and it will bring up that report in HomeGauge.
- Make a small change to the report and click the SAVE disk. This will override the report that would not open for you.
Restoring a Report Folder from the Recycle Bin
- If you mistakenly delete a report, it will be in your recycle bin. Right-click on the report folder and select Restore.
- Open HomeGauge and click Open. If you do not see the restored report, click Refresh Database.
Restore a Report From the Inspector Dashboard
If you no longer have a local report copy, you can download it from your Inspector Dashboard by following the steps in this article Inspector Dashboard: Downloading Uploaded Report.
Trouble Sending Report to Cloud
If you try to send a report to the cloud and get these error messages, you can follow the tips below for a solution.
"Failed to send report to the cloud" Unable to resolve host www.homegauge.com. No address associated with host name.
- Ensure the clock on your phone or tablet is set to the correct date and time. We use a secure connection for file transfers; if the date and time are wrong, the secure connection won't work.
- If you are not on WiFi, check to see if you have the option selected only to allow transfers over WiFi. You can find this in the HomeGauge Companion by going to the menu More General and un-check the box only to allow connections over WiFi.
- Fully reboot your mobile device and try again.
"Failed to send report to the cloud. Posted content length of (xxxxxxxx) exceeds limit of (xxxxxxxx).
- This error (and occasionally the first error message) indicates that your report exceeds the 300MB Cloud Transfer limit. You will need to transfer the report in this case manually.
- We recommend a setting of approximately 1280x720 or 1MP. Similarly, set your video resolution to a lower option if you include video in your report.
Note: The reason why we limit the transfer to 600 MB is to prevent timeouts during the cloud transfer process. There is currently no way to increase this limit.