TOGGLING THESKYX'S GRAPHICS HARDWARE ACCELERATIOH

ISSUE

TheSkyX crashes or has other problems when launching, or when attempting to use one of the features listed below:

RESOLUTION

Problems like those described above can be the result of a system incompatibility with the graphics hardware acceleration used by TheSkyX. A fundamental change in this regard was introduced with version 10.5.0 (primarily impacting, and for the benefit of, those running TheSkyX on Windows). While the change has improved compatibility overall, a small percentage of systems may be adversely affected; updating the system's video driver typically resolves related issues.

Disable TheSkyX's Graphics Hardware Acceleration

For troubleshooting purposes, try disabling TheSkyX's use of graphics hardware acceleration.

1. Launch TheSkyX (if you're not able to do so, see the alternative method following this one).
2. Open the Preferences window by pressing Ctrl+, (Control and comma), or by choosing it from the TheSkyX (Mac), Edit (version 10.5 on Windows) or Tools (earlier versions on Windows) menu.
3. For recent versions (10.5 series), set the Graphics rendering mode option to No Hardware Acceleration. For earlier versions, set the OpenGL detection mode option to No OpenGL.
4. Restart TheSkyX.

1. Navigate to TheSkyX's Application Support Files (ASF) folder (this is a description of the folder, not its name!...follow the link for details)
2. Locate the AppSettings.ini file and open it in a text editor, such as Notepad on Windows, or TextEdit on Mac (use TextEdit'sFormat> Make Plain Text option).
3. Within the [General] section of the text, change the value assigned to "App_enumOpenGLDetectMode" to be the digit 2, or if absent, add the following line:
   APP_enumOpenGLDetectMode=2
4. Save the file.

If disabling the graphics hardware acceleration eliminates crashing or another problem, check for—and if available install—a newer video driver for your graphics card, as it may have improved compatibility with TheSkyX's implementation of hardware acceleration.

See the Hardware Acceleration section of the user guide for more information, including a list of TheSkyX features that require it.

Enable TheSkyX's Graphics Hardware Acceleration

To enable TheSkyX's use of graphics hardware acceleration (its default state), follow these steps.

1. Launch TheSkyX.
2. Open the Preferences window by pressing Ctrl+, (Control and comma), or by choosing it from the TheSkyX (Mac), Edit (version 10.5 on Windows) or Tools (earlier versions on Windows) menu.
3. For recent versions (10.5 series), set the Graphics rendering mode option to Automatic or Hardware Acceleration. For earlier versions, set the OpenGL detection mode option to Automatic or OpenGL.
4. Restart TheSkyX.

1. Navigate to TheSkyX's Application Support Files (ASF) folder (this is a description of the folder, not its name!...follow the link for details)
2. Locate the AppSettings.ini file and open it in a text editor, such as Notepad on Windows, or TextEdit on Mac (use TextEdit'sFormat> Make Plain Text option).
3. Within the [General] section of the text, change the value assigned to "App_enumOpenGLDetectMode" to be the digit 0 (for automatic), or if absent, add the following line:
   APP_enumOpenGLDetectMode=0
4. Save the file.

APPLIES TO

• TheSkyX First Light Edition
• TheSkyX Student Edition
• TheSkyX Serious Astronomer Edition
• TheSkyX Professional Edition

KEYWORDS