PTFB Pro Troubleshooting Guide

This section contains answers to frequently asked questions and common problems. If you don't find what you're looking for in here, please feel free to post to our PTFB Support Forums or send an email to

1. PTFB Pro won't press anything! (Zone Alarm and other protection software)
2. I want to import targets from an old PTFB installation. How do I do it?
3. I want to move PTFB Pro to my new computer, but I don't know how to do it
4. I told PTFB Pro not to show a confirmation screen again - how do I get it back?
5. How do I find out how many days are left on the trial?
6. PTFB Pro pressed the target once, but hasn't done it since?
7. My sequence triggers OK, but doesn't always do the right thing
8. I've used "By Prompt" checking - the text IS in the window, but PTFB Pro doesn't see it?
9. I've password-protected PTFB Pro, but I've forgotten the password
10. PTFB Pro is too slow / takes too much cpu time
11. PTFB Pro is seeing the target, but is failing to take appropriate action

PTFB Pro won't press anything! (Zone Alarm and other protection software)

Zone Alarm and certain other protection software may see PTFB Pro's activities as suspicious and block them. In some case the software might not even let you know that it is taking this blocking action.

The solution is to configure your protection software to make an exception for PTFB Pro (e.g. add PTFBPro.exe to the software's "trusted" list). In Zone Alarm for example, this is done in the Program Control section.

I want to import targets from an old PTFB installation. How do I do it?

There's a special command in the Options menu do just this. First open PTFB Pro's main window by clicking on the tray icon, then click on the Options button. Select 'Import Legacy Targets...' from the menu. You can import existing target entries as follows:

1. Browse to the PTFB.cfg left over from your old PTFB installation (you'll find it in the same directory that housed the original PTFB.exe file)
2. If the import is successful, targets from the old .cfg will be added to any existing targets in PTFB Pro's list.

I want to move PTFB Pro to my new computer, but I don't know how to do it

PTFB Pro stores preferences in the registry, but all the targets you've defined are held in one file called PTFBPro.dat. The exact path to this file depends on what operating system you're running, and what account you installed PTFB Pro under.

To save problems, the following procedure is recommended:

1. Quit PTFB Pro on your old computer
2. Install PTFB Pro on your new computer and run it. This causes PTFB Pro to create the folder that will hold the data file
3. Quit PTFB Pro on the new computer, so that it won't interfere with the transfer
4. On both computers, go to the Start menu and and select "Run..". Type the following into the run box, without the quotes: "%appdata%". This should open up a window that displays the contents of your general Application Data folder. Drill down inside the Technology Lighthouse folder, then inside the PTFBPro folder. You should now see the PTFBPro.dat file (Windows may hide the ".dat" extension, in which case you'll see a file called "PTFBPro")
5. Copy this file from the folder on the old computer to the corresponding folder on the new computer, overwriting as necessary.
6. All that now remains is to re-make any important configuration changes on your new computer, e.g. re-enter your SMTP server details, enable/disable icon hiding etc.
   
   If you're completely confident about registry editing, you could do this by exporting the following registry key (and subkeys and values) to a .reg file, then re-importing it on the new computer. DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS unless you're experienced at manipulating the registry.
   
   HKCU/Software/TLHouse/PTFBPro

Note#1: If your computer doesn't understand the "%appdata%" directive (older operating systems may not), then the best approach is to pull up Search from the Start menu and search for PTFBPro.dat. Remember to enable options such as "Search subfolders" and "Search hidden files and folders" if they are present.

Note#2: On some computers Windows may hide files from you. This is meant to be for your protection, but in this case it's... an irritation. If at any point you see an empty folder but there's a link titled "Show entire contents" or similar, click it!

I told PTFB Pro not to show a confirmation screen again - how do I get it back?

Just open up the PTFB Pro Configuration property sheet (Options->Configure...), and switch to the "Don't Show This Again" page. Each entry in the list represents a confirmation screen that you have chosen to suppress. If you select an entry and delete it from the list, PTFB Pro will be free to show that confirmations screen (or one very similar to it) the next time it is appropriate.

How do I find out how many days are left on the trial?

This information is displayed in PTFB Pro's About screen. There's a command to view the About screen in the Options menu.

PTFB Pro pressed the target once, but hasn't done it since?

This is most likely because the target window changes subtly each time it appears. The changes may involve the window title, certain hidden attributes, or the window's contents. You can fix this by tweaking settings on the Advanced page of the properties for your target. Options to consider changing include: switching to "Require This Text" for the main window section, and choosing "Simple" or "By Prompt" for the window contents section.

My sequence triggers OK, but doesn't always do the right thing

Sequences involving mouse actions depend on everything within a window holding the same position. Equally, commands such as Paste depend on the current contents of the clipboard. Or it may just be that the sequence is playing back faster than the target application can handle.

Please read the section Tips for Sequences in the PTFB Pro help for more information.

I've used "By Prompt" checking - the text IS in the dialog, but PTFB Pro doesn't see it?

PTFB Pro can't necessarily "see" the same text you can. If the target window is simply drawing text on the screen, or uses non-standard Windows controls, then PTFB Pro won't be able to read it. You'll need to pick text that PTFB Pro can see (check the Info page of your target's properties for a list) or choose a different checking method.

I've password-protected PTFB Pro, but I've forgotten the password

The password is stored in the registry. If you remove the appropriate registry entry, you'll clear the password and regain access to PTFB Pro. The usual caveat applies - do not touch the registry unless you have prior experience of registry editing. If you want to play it safe, email support@pushthefreakinbutton.com instead.

For those who are comfortable with registry editing, proceed to the following key:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/TLHouse/PTFBPro/Options

...and delete the value named "Password".

PTFB Pro is too slow / takes too much cpu time

If PTFB Pro is taking too long to react to a target:

• First check the target's Properties and make sure the delay is set to zero. For more details see 'Tweaking the Settings' in the PTFB Pro online help.
• Check the Notification page of the target's Properties to see if a screenshot is being taken, either for logging or for email. If so, PTFB Pro will delay any action in order to take the screenshot. The screenshot facility is really intended for use when you'll be away from your computer.
• Try a faster response speed in the General page of the PTFB Pro Configuration property sheet.

If PTFB Pro is taking too much CPU time, there are several things to try:

• Disable or delete any target entries you no longer need. The more targets PTFB Pro has to check, the more work it has to do.
• If "Defeat Icon Hiding" is enabled in the General page of the PTFB Pro Configuration property sheet, disable it and use the taskbar properties to tell XP not to hide PTFB Pro's tray icon instead.
• Turn off logging, screenshots, commands and email notifications for your targets if you don't really need them.
• Reduce the response speed in the General page of the PTFB Pro Configuration property sheet

PTFB Pro is seeing the target, but is failing to take appropriate action

You've verified that PTFB Pro is seeing the target by using a five second delay and watching for a red border around PTFB Pro's tray icon, but the actual sequence/press isn't working...

• First check that your protection software isn't blocking PTFB Pro's activities
• Also check that there are no "always on top" windows floating above the the target. If there are, they will intercept PTFB Pro's simulated mouse and key presses.
• If the target in question is the "Single Press" type, try recreating it as a Sequence (and vice-versa).
• If the target in question is the Sequence type, try reducing the playback speed, or disable elimination or redundant mouse movement. Also, try recreating the Sequence but start it by clicking in the window to make sure it gets focus early on.
• Likewise, if you're getting PTFB Pro to simulate mouse activities, but the same task can be accomplished via the keyboard, try the keyboard approach, and vice-versa.