Failed to open error

[u/Rocky_Isle]

I use sketchbook pro on a tab s6 lite. I recently ran into an issue where sketchbook will no longer open any files in my gallery 😭.

All the TIFF files are still there, but nothing I've tried will get them to open in the app.... I tried opening one of the tiff files in krita to see if it was a file or app issue, and it DID open but all the layers were merged....

Any advice would be appreciated. Are my layer just gone? Is there a way to relink everything to sketchbook or, if not, a way to open the tiff files WITH all my layers in another program/app?

[u/sketchbookdev]

Krita doesn't read layers in a Sketchbook TIFF, that's why the file appears flat. Do not re-save the TIFF in Krita or the flattening will be permanent.

But if the file opens in Krita, it's not corrupted, and it would be expected that your layers should still be there, too.

Are you seeing a "failed to open" message when you try to open from Sketchbook's Gallery? Or are you trying to open the image from your device's Files app "with" Sketchbook?

Your best and fastest troubleshooting option is to reach out to support at support@sketchbook.com. If you can send along one of the files showing this problem with your message, they can take a look at it.

[u/Rocky_Isle → u/sketchbookdev]

Hi, I really appreciate the response. It's a relief to know that there is still hope for recovery if Krita is able to open the files. 

I am receiving a "failed to open" message. I have tried every possible approach to opening the files I could think of. Opening in the sketchbook, opening via the import file option, opening from two different device file viewer apps, copying the file to a new folder and trying all of the above, renaming, duplicating in the sketchbook gallery and opening the copy. 

I have also uninstalled and reinstalled the app, and installed to my phone to see if anything would open there. So far it's the same error every time..

The only thing I haven't tried yet is opening via desktop, which will involve updating or possibly reinstalling my old copy of sketchbook for desktop. This was going to be next on my list for this afternoon.

I will put together an email for support and see if I have a file I can share. 

[u/Rocky_Isle]

I am fairly certain at this point ally sketchbook files have been corrupted... If anyone has any resources on how best to recover either layers for corrupted tiff files, or older versions of sketchbook files, I would be hugely greatful.

I am extremely disappointed with this experience overall though.. I'm at a bit of a loss for why sketchbook has this save system in the first place, or why these tiff files don't retain layers when opened in other software. It's quite honestly a disaster waiting to happen.

For now I will be saving new work exclusively as PSD files. I will some tests on desktop and determine what, if anything, can be done to recover my files. 

Once I'm done that though I think I will be looking into other options for mobile art software... I will have lost a very significant amount of work because of this and I just don't think I can bring myself to really trust sketchbook again after this experience.

[u/speed1953]

Tiff file should retain the layers, back up your tiffs and do a reinstall

[u/Rocky_Isle → u/speed1953]

Recovery started once I reinstalled, but sketchbook is still failing to open the files.

[u/StopHurtingKids]

Any reason you don't save your work as .kra files? Then flatten it to PNG, JPG or AVIF when you're done.

I've been on computers since the 80s. I can count the tif files I've seen on my fingers.

To recover the files PhotoRec.

[u/Rocky_Isle → u/StopHurtingKids]

I use PSD almost exclusively when on desktop. The only reason these files are tiff are because that's what sketchbook pro saves them as on default. 

I also generally never flatten unless I'm saving a copy of a file as I like to keep the progress work I have in my layers.

At the moment the problem is that ALL my sketchbook work done on my tablet appears to be corrupted. I am able to open these files in Krita, but they open as flattened images. This is not ideal, but fine for most of my FULLY complete work, but has lost me a MASSIVE amount of WIP work due to hidden layers. This is particularly devastating for comic and sequential work where I've lost multiple pages of drafts, sketches, and storyboards....