I am using Scmdraft 2, the version with memory triggers. I can hardly do any work on the map because it seems like if I have the editor open for more then 10 seconds and try to save, it will give me the messege... Something bad happened, would you like to save a diagnostic file?. This will also happen randomly when I am not trying to save, such as just moving from actions to conditions or other minor movements... Any ideas on why its spazzing out on me?

I assume you're on Windows 7 (someone else I was talking to recently also has this issue). Has it always done this, or is it recent?

Here's some things to try:

1) Run SCMD2 in compatibility mode (I choose XP SP3).
2) Check your backup database located in your SCMD2 directory (backupDB.scmdDB). If it is large (>500MB) you may want to rename it or delete it.
3) Run as administrator, because hey, who knows.
4) Save a diagnostic file and post it here for someone to interpret.
5) Try a different version of SCMD2 and see if the problem persists.

Also, I've been told that you can just ignore this message (don't press any buttons on it) when it pops up and continue using SCMD2 without problem. Try moving it off to the corner of your screen and continue mapping.

I am actually running on Vista, also I have never used compat mode before. Where and how do I try that?

This is also recent.

Go to the Scmdraft directory, right-click on the .exe, select "Properties." On the "Compatibility" tab, check "Run this program in compatibility mode" and select an option from the available dropdown.

Here's a link for the instructions: http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/using-windows-vista-compatibility-mode/

If it's a recent issue, it might be your backup database. I'd check that first.

If you've got auto-save enabled and your backups folder is big, it'll cause scmdraft to freeze and crash. Make sure you clear it periodically (it can easily get over 2 gbs) or just turn it off altogether.

Ok i tried the compat and it still didnt work, I also deleted the backup database because it was pretty large and i never used it. That also didnt seem to work.

Could it have something to do with the map im currently trying to work with?

Does it only happen for that particular map? If so, it could be related to hitting some sort of limit (i.e. strings).

Personally I just use v0.7.3 (unless I need a 0.8.x feature) because it's much more robust than other versions. IIRC you can get it when you click on "download" on the left at http://www.stormcoast-fortress.net to get a list of archived versions.

I went to an older version and it doesnt seem to have that problem, Is there a way to check the amount of current strings and whats the limit?

Ahhh scratch that... 99.9% strings used. wow... not cool.

Is there some kind of secret to allow more that i probably dont know of? haha or some way to compress?

SCMD2 allows string recycling, so if you have multiple strings that are the same, it only counts it as one string.

Removing trigger comments is an easy way to clean up your string usage. A lot of mappers will use an empty string for all of their trigger comments except for particular ones that mark a "section" of triggers. For example, if you had an HP system, the first trigger would say "HP system" and the other triggers related to the HP system would have blank comments.

Ok i understand that part. How is a string determined exactly? like is it a group of triggers? lets say i had a blank comment for every single trigger. so all the triggers combined would be one string? most likely wrong but i want to verify

If you have 2 triggers that have a comment that is exactly the same, eg "Hey this is a comment", that will consume 1 string slot and both triggers will point at it. If you then manually edit one of the comments to say "Hey this is another comment", then you will create a new string and you will now have 2 strings stored, the original "Hey this is a comment" will be used by the other trigger, and the new "Hey this is another comment" will be used by the trigger you just edited.

So if you have 50 triggers that have a comment of "" (empty string), then that will consume 1 string slot and all 50 triggers will point at it. If you edit one of them to say "HP system", then you will have 2 strings: "" and "HP system" and the empty string will be pointed at by 49 different triggers.

Note that the strings need to be identical in every possible way in order for this recycling to take affect. So often if I have a trigger comment that can refer to multiple different triggers, I copy and paste the text to make sure it's identical.

Sounds good to me. Thank u!

Strings aren't only trigger comments. Anything that is text that you can modify is a string. Map name/description, force names, location names, unit names, display text, comments, leaderboard captions, wav filenames, and "set next scenario" path.
SCMDraft also has a string viewer that will let you go through and see if there are any unnecessary strings that can be deleted.

This might be the source of your "something bad happened" problem. SCMDraft is known to sometimes go haywire when you reach or exceed the string limit though it's technically capable of handling more.
Your best bet is first trying to reduce the amount of strings used and see if the problem persist (in the newer version ofc) and if not you might try an older version of your map (though you just deleted your backup database -d'oh) which hasn't reached the string limit yet and work with string recycling from there.

Btw. Your case is why I always recommend renaming the database file instead of deleting it until you're certain you really need the space. That way you can still restore it if need be. Or maybe you still have it in the recycler?

Well i dont need the backup because whenever i make edits, i will save the map with the date i was editing on the end. ie RPG20111004. So. i end up having like 100 versions of the same map until its ready to be released. Its not efficient but its easier for me

I also just finished removing all the comments and setting all of them to a blank space. Took the string % from 99.9 down to 78.6% haha very nice!!!