I'm on a Mac running 10.6.8 and Poser 8. I just installed an Apple Security Update 2013 yesterday, and when I start Poser, the Library palette loads, but is blank with the message "blocked plug-in". I can't find an uninstaller for the update, and don't know what plug-in it stumbles on.

What is an .xmp file??

Probably your Flash plug-in. Mac had some problems with malware that would take advantage of security weaknesses with the flash plug-in, specifically the FlashBack trojan. IIRC, Poser 8 is the first version of Poser that utilizes the Flash plug-in for the library. Unfortunately for you this is some kind of inadvertant consequence as the FlashBack trojan is specifically known for effecting PPC based Macs and older versions of the flash plug-in, while the OS version you're using is specifically for Intel based Macs. Poser 8 is a universal binary.

Maybe you can update your Flash plug-in? Don't know what other problems this might cause, though.

Edit- Yup, has to be Flash as an .XMP extension is related to Adobe, the makers of Flash.

My advice to you from now on would be to research the potential consequences of any updates that are being force fed to you via Apple, there's a ton of information and forums on the web regarding such things.

suggest reversion to earlier state using time machine (OS X users only).  update included safari 5.1.8, which was non-functional in SL IIRC.

Yup

I was poking around the system preferences and decided to update the Flash player, and Poser started working again.  I've been suspicious of xmp files that are included in pose collections and have deleted many of them and things still work just fine. What is their purpose??

Thanks

That I'd have to research...

What I will say in this regard is that anything that isn't a Poser specific file (.pp2, .cr2, .hr2, etc, etc) won't be found in any of my runtime library folders as they are promptly trashed upon discovery... At no consequence whatsoever. I'm also a Mac user.

I place all of my files manually and have for years, so I've developed a familiarity with the file and folder structures within poser. Using Poser 8 also, BTW.

xmp files are text files that can be changed by the content creator to give details of the item such as creator's name, what the item is, what files are related, Poser version it's for, etc, etc. No dangers with xmp files. When these files are filled in, they'll show up in the items detailed view.

Laurie

Oh, xmp files were new with Poser 8/Pro 2010 SR3. There's a detailed explanation of what they are here.

Laurie

Quote - I've been suspicious of xmp files that are included in pose collections and have deleted many of them and things still work just fine.

Yes they do work, but you're defining "fine" in terms that mean you don't need the information. Not everybody would feel the same. For example, it may be you never search based on vendor. Or you need no advice like "make sure you enable raytracing with this". Or, "this goes on V4". This is the kind of information that is in the xmp file.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extensible_Metadata_Platform

Thanks for the info, Laurie and BB... An additional ReadMe file within the library preview then.