Eureka!

After literally years of frustration, I finally found a fix! I have confirmed with 100% consistency (so far) that if I do a very small 'area render' it resets the UI -not values, but function. The only drawback are the renders that I have to then delete (or empty the cache). But it's still a whole lot better than having to restart every minute or so.

Well, OK, It doesn't actually 'fix' the problem, but it's a majorly useful workaround.

However, if anyone reading this thread can deduce the culprit in the glitch, I'm still down for a solution. (other than upgrade. I have upgrade fatigue)

Thanks all.

TwiztidKidd posted at 2:05 PM Wed, 7 December 2022 - #4451148

Don't change too many settings at once, change one setting... try your Poser... go to the next setting you want to change... try your Poser again... and so on... make note of everything you changed so you can set them back the way they were if you need to do so later. I usually just snap a photo of the settings panel with my phone before I start changing anything.

I like screenshots, they have helped me with settings a lot.

TwiztidKidd posted at 2:52 PM Wed, 7 December 2022 - #4451157

I don't even have a Mac lol I bet you'll find out what the issue is today, do you feel lucky? Yeah, me neither

actually, maybe too soon to tell, but after all this time I may have found a fix... as I also have an issue with the the renderer (as in unless I can do an area render first, it just fails) I found that when the dials freeze, if I do a render, they come back. Tried several times. If it continues to work, I will post it.

dadt posted at 4:14 AM Tue, 6 December 2022 - #4451026

I've had this problem for a while and found that if I minimise Poser then bring it back it works normally.

No effect. Apparently not the same. Thanks

phil_lawson posted at 4:30 PM Tue, 6 December 2022 - #4451055

I know it may not help and its only a thought because I'm still on P10. I'm on Windows 11 now, a move I made when Apple moved to 64 bit only. When I was using my Mac I did have a similar problem with Poser dials freezing when I tried to move them with the mouse and I traced it back to the Magic Mouse I was trying to use. I think it was something to do with the Bluetooth connection. I had no problems at all once I went to a wired mouse. If memory serves I got myself a Razer Taipan and installed the Razer Synapse software. I never tried a wireless mouse. 

Maybe its something to try. 

I haven't used a wired mouse in years. I will make a note to try that if I can find one laying around.... Thanks.

primorge posted at 12:18 PM Mon, 5 December 2022 - #4450991

T_the_T posted at 11:26 AM Mon, 5 December 2022 - #4450988

\

No keystrokes for this AFAIK, perhaps a small python script can do such a thing but I suppose it would need a simple input interface. I'm not very versed in python scripting so it might be a more complex script than I'm hinting at, but there are functions to access parm values, it might be child's play for someone on the Poser python forum... in any case sounds like a crippling bug that I'd never be able to tolerate, it would make Poser basically unusable.

Pretty much. For me this has been happening since I first upgraded to P Pro 2014. Because of it, I did a major upgrade on my OS and some hardware, thinking that was the problem, but the problem only got worse. And poser 11 is the worst of all. I have been trying to find an alternative that is similar enough to the UI that I don't have to the equivalent of a college course learning curve to use it. But nothing out there comes close except D_z studio, and that has it's own set of problems. (why bother upgrading to P 12 if the older issues are not acknowledged or addressed by 'support'?)

I have content that has been generated over a decade, that becomes practically useless (not to mention what I have learned over the years) without it. We won't get into my opinions of forced obsolescence, backwards incompatibility, and the scam of upgrades.... sigh.

So this probably represents the brick wall of this effort to fix the problem.

Thanks everyone. I will keep monitoring just in case someone has a solution,

SamTherapy caused an intriguing thought; Is there a keystroke that can access the parameter dial without using the mouse? You know like the tab key can navigate tabs/fields/menus?

FYI - I stopped trying to use the mouse to move (click and drag) parameters and objects around, back when I was using Poser 4. Up until very recently I kept an old Poser 7 app, because it didn't ever have these problems. In fact, it occurs to me that this may be a 64 bit related issue, as opposed to 32 bit.

hborre posted at 9:34 AM Mon, 5 December 2022 - #4450978

That response may be fine but the OP is experiencing a total, inaccessible lockdown of the Parameter panel.  As mentioned, it may "unfreeze" when changing rooms but inevitably Poser needs to be forcibly rebooted.

Yes. The properties and parameters tabs can be changed back and forth, but the dials and settings once frozen (except the 'sometimes' room switch) stay frozen.

primorge posted at 9:23 AM Mon, 5 December 2022 - #4450977

Windows user here, former mac user. I've never encountered the problem you describe. If you want to force refresh a parm palette, click the properties tab and then switch back to the parameters tab. You can also set numeric values for a parameter by accessing that dial's settings dialogue, double clicking the dial or clicking the white arrow to the right of the parm will let you access the settings...

The only solution has ever been to reboot. Changing model/parameter selection in the properties tab, will change that, but, using my first screenshot for example, what often happens to my UI is that the parameters object menu switches to main camera (dials and settings still frozen) and even if I change to another selection, the camera dials remain. Still frozen. And as I previously posted, when the freeze happens, the settings pane will not open. It's like I am clicking on a static image rather than a user interface. Rebooting every minute or so gets a bit frustrating. It's a good thing I do this as a hobby and not for work. 
Thanks

emjay247 posted at 4:38 PM Sun, 4 December 2022 - #4450943

I have experienced the same thing many times over the past two years on Mac OS, usually when working on a large file for a long time. Saving the file and quit/reopen Poser sorts it out. What I have been experiencing effects the whole parameters palette were a user can not select different parts of a figure or actor. I have had a similar experience with the memory dots and work spaces. They become unresponsive and a user needs to quit and reopen Poser. The issue has been present on 11.3 and 11.2 for Mac. 

This is getting close to my issue. But the size of scene/file doesn't seem to matter, and the timing of it is very random. Like I can work on a scene for some time, with no problems, but then the same scene freezes after opening within a handful of actions. I also had this problem -but not as bad- with Poser 2014 game dev.

SamTherapy posted at 4:30 AM Sun, 4 December 2022 - #4450903

Windows user here and I learned long ago that if you want precise control over parameters, click on the dial to activate, then type in the value.  Using the mouse to turn the dials is an exercise in frustration at best.

When the dials freeze, the dial values are also frozen. Can you access the values with a keystroke?

willyb53 posted at 10:00 PM Sat, 3 December 2022 - #4450891

The only time I have had random freezes is when I had auto-save on.  Otherwise have never experienced this in any version of Poser 11

Bill

I recently discovered that feature, and did not use it very long. lol. But the parameter dials freeze with no particular consistency, no matter what. Turning the auto save  off saved memory, and removed sluggish behavior, but no effect on the dials freeze.

 

Richard60 posted at 8:50 PM Sat, 3 December 2022 - #4450887

There is the possibility that you may have another layer in your scene.  If you have another layer (such as if you used walk designer) then the dials can skyrocket if the dial is on both layers.  

This idea has been explored, for other reasons, but the parameter problem (and in the case of animation layers, the animation palette) remains.
Tnanks.

RedPhantom posted at 1:18 PM Sat, 3 December 2022 - #4450860

Have you tried a different mouse? I don't mean to sound flippant but I haven't had problems like those except when my last mouse was failing

I expect many of this. I recognize this as a viable first step. But its not the mouse. I have had several since this problem began. I had thought it my machine at one point, but since replaced that and still same problems. It seems (after years of guessing and attempting to diagnose) to be some kind of memory glitch - it's like poser can't find the memory or something. 
Thanks.

I use poser 11 and mac os High Sierra (do not offer an OS 'upgrade' as a solution, that is not an option for me right now)