Troubleshooting

Fix common install, activation, editing, tracing, and update problems.

The Panel or Tools Are Missing

  1. Quit Illustrator.
  2. Check the installation:
    • On macOS, VexyVextra.aip belongs inside the plug-in folder of a supported Illustrator app in /Applications.
    • On Windows, the complete Vexy Vextra folder belongs inside the selected Illustrator installation's Plug-ins folder.
  3. Remove older or duplicate copies.
  4. Start Illustrator again.
  5. Choose Window → Vexy Vextra.
  6. Use Illustrator's toolbar setup if a Vextra tool is missing from the visible toolbar.

Vextra requires Illustrator 28.7 or later. The Mac edition requires macOS 13 or later, and the Windows edition supports 64-bit Windows 10 and Windows 11.

macOS Cannot Verify the Plug-in

Install from the signed and notarized Vextra DMG, with Illustrator closed, and then start Illustrator again.

A Path Will Not Activate

Check that the object is one visible, unlocked path or compound path.

Groups, text, clipping paths, meshes, hidden or locked art, and art generated by another plug-in are outside Vextra's reach.

Double-click another path to activate it. With double-click activation off, a single click activates it whenever that click has nothing to do on the current path.

An Image and Path Both Look Selected

Activate the object you want again. Choose Vextra Editor and double-click the path itself to hand the active state back to the path.

Fill or Stroke Does Not Change

Use Illustrator's own Fill, Stroke, and stroke-width controls.

If the change does not appear:

  • Check that the path is active rather than the source image.
  • Look in Illustrator's Appearance panel for another fill or stroke above it.
  • Finish or cancel the current drag first.

Illustrator Nodes Appear Under Vextra Nodes

Check that a Vextra tool is active rather than Illustrator's Direct Selection tool. Switch to another tool and back to Vextra.

Remove duplicate copies of the plug-in as well.

Smart Corners, G2, or Loops Do Not Change the Finished Shape

Vextra processing is automatic. Finish the current drag, then hold backtick to see the clean result.

If the shape still looks unchanged:

  • Check that the Smart Corner or G2 mark is present.
  • Check whether the feature was already expanded.
  • Undo and repeat the action on an ordinary path.
  • Reopen the file on a computer with Vextra installed.

Use Expand only when you want to turn a live feature into normal nodes.

A G2 Mark Disappears

The last edit reshaped the path so that G2 no longer applies at that node. Vextra drops the setting and leaves the path as it is.

Make the node smooth or tangent again, then apply G2 once more.

A Drag Selects the Segment Instead

Start on the visible point on the segment and move far enough to begin a drag.

Press and release with very little movement and Vextra reads it as a click, which selects the segment.

Option-Drag or Alt-Drag Does Not Copy

Select at least two neighboring nodes or a run of segments first. Start the drag on that selected part, and hold Option / Alt before the move begins.

Vextra does not copy a single node, an unselected segment, or a drag that started before Option / Alt was down.

Copy or Paste Does Not Work

Check that a Vextra tool is active and a path is being edited.

  • Copy needs a Vextra node or segment selection.
  • Use Command-C / Ctrl-C, or choose Edit → Copy Vextra Contour.
  • Paste needs contour data copied by Vextra, and it adds the contours to the path you are editing.
  • While Vextra editing is inactive, Illustrator's own Copy and Paste apply.

Snapping Uses the Wrong Point

Vextra nodes snap to nodes, and handles snap to handles and their own node.

Hold Control / Ctrl to turn off Vextra Smart Guides for one drag.

Check Illustrator's Snap to Grid, Snap to Pixel, and guide settings as well. The Pencil ignores snapping entirely.

Autotrace Is Missing or Does Nothing

The button appears only while a linked or embedded image is active.

Activate the image itself rather than a path beside it, then click Autotrace at the far right of the second command row.

Try a simple embedded image if the trace produces nothing.

Updates Do Not Work

Choose Check for Updates…, check the Internet connection, and allow Illustrator to quit. On macOS, enter the administrator password when it is requested.

The macOS updater log is ~/Library/Logs/Vextra/updater.log.

License Needs Attention

Click the license status at the bottom of the panel, or choose Manage License….

  • Choose Check License while the computer is online.
  • On macOS, choose Browser / Offline Activation… or Browser / Offline Refresh… when Illustrator cannot reach the license server.
  • If the activation limit is reached, deactivate Vextra on another computer or contact FontLab support.
  • Use Pass Account… to check the account and subscription.
  • Validate the license before the reconnect date shown in the panel.
  • Choose Deactivate This Mac… or Deactivate This PC… to release the activation from this computer.

Browser Activation Does Not Return to Vextra

Leave Illustrator open while you finish activation in the browser. If the page creates the license but cannot hand it back:

  1. Download the .fllic response from the Licenser page.
  2. In Vextra, choose Browser / Offline Activation… or Browser / Offline Refresh….
  3. Choose Use Another Computer….
  4. Click Import Response… and select the downloaded .fllic file.

A Manual Response Will Not Import

The .fllic response has to match the most recent .flreq request from this computer.

  • Use the response created for this Mac.
  • Leave both files unedited.
  • Import the response that belongs to the current request, not an earlier one.
  • Enter the complete Vextra serial on the Licenser page for an activation. A refresh does not ask for it.
  • When a pair is stale or mismatched, save a new request, create a new response from it, and import that.

For the complete browser and file-transfer workflows, see Installation.

Send a Useful Report

Vextra logs critical errors only, so normal editing writes nothing:

  • macOS: ~/Library/Logs/Vextra/plugin.log
  • Windows: %LOCALAPPDATA%\VexyVextra\Logs\plugin.log

Include the Vextra build from About, your Illustrator and operating-system versions, the active tool, the exact keys and mouse action, and a small sample file where possible.

Return to Introduction or read Tips & Best Practices.