TWExe saving not working with latest version

#1

hi all,
i am trying to set up a new wiki for a new theme / viewtemplate i’d like to make, and twexe remains the most easy-to-use saver for standalone html wikis that doesn’t require a browser extension or internet access. however, it looks like the latest version doesn’t save properly. the wiki appears to be served correctly to localhost and i can access it fine, but when i go to save, it just triggers the download saver.

i have tried adding the server URL (in my case, http://127.0.0.1:8080/) to the Tiddlyspot saver settings as recommended elsewhere, but it looks like it has broken from some changes to the saving mechanism since 5.3.2 (the version of my main wiki which still saves fine). i am not sure which update broke it as i don’t know where to install past versions of TW to test.

has anyone been able to successfully use twexe on a new (5.3.6) wiki?

#2

This has already been solved by @amreus
Solution 01: Help needed TWexe upgrade not working - #4 by amreus
Solution 02: Help needed TWexe upgrade not working - #3 by amreus

#3

Hello all

After reading this post I thought I was intrigued by the idea of TWexe and thought I would give it a try.

I downloaded TWexe to a folder on my desktop. I then created a new wiki called Hello.html from an empty 5.3.6 and added the settings as noted in Solution 02 above.

When i drop the wiki on to the TWexe icon I get the following:

Screenshot 2025-01-22 182821
Screenshot 2025-01-22 1828212541×1522 106 KB

Does any one know how to avoid this error?

Cheers, Rob

#4

I’m guessing you have Windows 11? MS is always adding new security features. I would start by changing the compatibility mode of twexe as outlined in step 3 here.

#5

Hi @Mark_S

You are correct about the fact that I am running Windows 11; but I tried all of the different compatibilty modes and got the same error!

#6

I would consider looking at step 4 then in those instructions.

There’s also the possibility that any anti-virus software you have might be blocking the executable. Possibly there is a way to white-list it.

But there’s other ways to save things in TW now, so make this 9 year old approach is coming to it’s end.

#7

No luck with step 3 either!
Bearing in mind your comment about the age of TWexe I might give it a miss. I did like the idea of being able to distribute a single file executable wiki, but recognise that many systems do not like unknown .exe files.
Thanks for your help though @Mark_S

#8

So I tried it with my ancient Windows machine. I also got an access violation error, but it still managed to create and run the new exe file. After tweaking the settings under save, it worked as expected.

So, it appears that the problem isn’t 5.3.6, but rather changes in the operating system that may or may be able to be overcome by some Windows or AV tweaks.

One problem with this method of saving is that it doesn’t let you configure the port. So if you already have apps on that port, you’re out of luck. Also this means you can’t run more than one tw file at a time.

#9

I run it on Windows 11 without any problem. On Desktop, My Documents, etc

Can you try on a Temp folder on C or in your Document folder? e.g create a C:\Temp and then copy the twexe.exe there and double click to run, just it!

#10

One more point use the latest version here: ihm4u/twexe: Single File Tiddlywiki5 executable - no more saving woes!

#11

thank you, it looks like these was an issue with adding the saving info the the control panel TiddlySpot settings. i created the two tiddlers as shown in the post you linked and it works.

for reference, after loading a new twexe file, these two tiddlers need to be created:

  1. title: $:/UploadWithUrlOnly text: yes
  2. title: $:/UploadURL text: http://127.0.0.1:8080/store (or other, see below)

something else that may cause problems is that you need to specify the port in the saver, but the port is not reserved for that file… if you have multiple twexe files, the first one always goes to port 8080, then 8081 etc… this is an issue if you plan to have multiple open at once as they could save over each other. to fix this it looks like you’d have to specify the port at launch (is this possible?) or make sure they are always opened in the same order.

1 Like
#12

Looking at the code, I see it looks for a free port between 8080 and 8095, so the situation isn’t so dire.

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#13

As @Mark_S noted, twexe search for open ports between 8080 and 8095. So you can open 16 TW at the same time.

#14

true, but when saving it uses the given UploadURL, right? so if you have your UploadURL set to port 8081 it will only be able to save there if it happened to be the 2nd TWexe instance you opened (not a guarantee!)

#15

I have tried all of the above suggestions and I still get the same error !!

#16

What happens if you just try to run twexe.exe without drag/drop? Also, as @Mohammad said, try it in a temp directory.

#17

So, I tried it in a directory C:/temp.

  1. When I double click on TWexe it goes into a loop with the following message and the only way to stop it is to close the terminal window.

Screenshot 2025-01-24 123644
Screenshot 2025-01-24 1236443521×1901 257 KB

  1. When I drop and empty wiki on to TWexe get the same error as previously!

:anguished:

#18

It looks like empty.exe may have been created?