Unexpected Format

i have been facing an error from last 2 or 3 days. whenever i open some of my SWI files its says "Unexpected Format".
What does that mean??

answer 1: That error message seems pretty common. It seems that it often occurs with an older build of SWiSH. Possible solution: download the latest version.

It is also possible that your file has become corrupt. Apparently, this is due to certain glitches occurring during saving of the file. In case this is the cause, find the same file but with the sbk extension, and rename it to change sbk into swi...[this part omitted as it is irrelevant to your prob]

from me

Answer 2: Unexpected file format usually indicates that you have a file created in a newer build then the one you are using.

memory error can mean many things.

such as cryp key service not running on xp or Win2000

When you first installed swish were you logged in as adminstrator?

In order to properly register/run swish this needs to be done.

Also check to see if the cryp key service is running.

You'll need to log on as administrator then go to control panel>services>cryp key

Frets

hope these help

thanx a lot Frets.
I came to know that it is due to a virus in my PC.

I am having the same problem. I have some old swi files that won't open in Swish 2.0. Unexpected file format. swf's are operating properly on my website.

Its possible I created these in Swish 1.5 - its been a while since I made them, and I don't recall. Is it not possible to open 1.5 files in 2.0? That seems odd... and unlikely to me, but I don't know...

These files were written to CD then transferred to my new pc. Don;t know why they should be corrupted. Nothing else that went through that process was (for other program files).

This is a game that I made and now after all this time a client is asking if I can customize a version for them - Am I going to have to start from scratch?? I can do it but --- I hope I don't have to.

Can anybody tell me what options I have?

if by any chance you have the sbk version of the file, rename it to swi, and you should be laughing :D

if you don't have it, let me know and i'll give you a program to decompile your swf. it may not be 100% perfect, but at least you won't have to do everything all over again.

Thank you very much for the quick reply!

I searched and I do have a .sbd file. I renamed it .swi and it still won't open. First I changed only the extension, and when that didn't work, I tried copying the file, moving it to a new folder and renmaming the whole thing differently. It still says unexpected file format when I try to open it in Swish.

I also found that I have a .bak file - whats that for?

bak is short for back up. sorry, but it is of no use to us in this case.

does your swf work? if so, please read my last post and tell me if you want to decompile it.

yes I do have it. Within the same folder are three files called WeddingGame.

WeddingGame.swi, WeddingGame.sbd and WeddingGame.bak.

I cannot rename the extension (in that folder) because there is already a file named WeddingGame.swi

I did copy the .sbd file and moved it to another folder - then renamed it to WeddingGame.swi and it still won't open.

Should I delete the .swi file and then rename the .sbd?

A decompile will be fine. How can I get the program?

back to one of my earlier posts. it is possible that your swi has gone corrupt.

no, please do not delete your swi yet
please zip up your swi (and swf) and post the zip file here. i shall try to open it for you with swish. the decompiler is for swf, not swish. that's why i asked if you have the swf version because if the swi version does not work, we can try to decompile your swf.

if the zip file is too big to post here, provide a URL where i can d/l it, please.

i need to go now, but i shall check in here within a couple of hours.

ok, friend?

or, email it to me.

I have sent you email - thanks!

okey dokey, Ricky, please check your email.

both the swi and swf should work fine.

you can delete your sbk file; it is useless.

test your swi on your player or browser and you will get a new sbk file. i'd suggest you save a copy each of those 3 files on a cd or something.

by the way, your files took a century to d/l and a decade to upload, but i'll send my internet bill to you :D no, just joking.

Thank you for all your help, time and effort - but the bad news for me is they still won't open in my Swish 2.0. What version did you open it in - 1.5 or 2.0?

I just don't understand what could be the problem here. I have no viruses on my machine. I can open other, more recently created .swi files in Swish. Only the older ones will not open.

It seems likely that all these files that will not open now could be ones that I originally created in Swish 1.5 Are you aware of any compatibility problems between versions?

I probably still have 1.5 on a disk here somewhere. I will try installing it and see if the file will open in 1.5 - but I really don't want 1.5 on my machine now that I have 2.0

I guess I will have to rebuild the game that I need. It's nothing so complicated that I can't do it again - just a large project that will take a bit of time.

I still would like to know the answer to this - why the older files won't open.

Thanks again for trying to help.

I will also post the question at the other forum you suggested

i am sorry you still couldn't open those files.

to my limited IT knowledge, software are usually back-compatible. so, a newer version can open files created with an older version, while the reverse (older version opening files created with a newer version) never happens.

i am using build 2002.06.05. (btw, i am not going to d/l and instal the latest build until i hear of little complaints.)

addendum: one hour from now,please go to the same page and d/l it again. i'll fiddle around with something. i'll upload just the swi.

I tried the new file and that would not work either.

After that, I downloaded the newest build of SWISH and installed it.
All of the files that would not open in 2.0 now do open in 2.01

(my previous version was 2001.09.02. the version I just installed is 2002.12.23)

I still don't understand what was causing the problem... but it is working now - with the updated version of SWISH!

Thank you for helping me with this problem. I appreciate it very much!

thanx a lot guys for the help but the files are still not opening.