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Troubleshooting and recovery

Start with the status bar. A problem count means the editor has information about an operation, such as an unsupported profile or a feature lost during export. Click it and read the detail. An image appearing on the canvas does not establish that every part of its source file survived.

Painting or masking does nothing

Check these in order:

  1. Confirm the intended document tab and layer are active, visible and unlocked.
  2. Use Select ▸ None (Ctrl+D) to clear an unintended selection. The selection can be outside the visible viewport.
  3. Check the highlighted thumbnail. Painting the layer and painting its attached mask are different.
  4. Check brush opacity, flow and foreground alpha, then try a short stroke on a disposable layer.
  5. Check layer opacity, masks, clipping and whether an opaque layer above hides your result.
  6. For text or shapes, keep the original and rasterize a duplicate if you need ordinary pixel painting.

White on a mask restores coverage only where the layer has image data. It cannot restore pixels erased from the layer. Use undo while available or return to an earlier saved version.

A cut-out has fringes

Inspect at 100% zoom against both white and black backgrounds. Refine the mask to match the subject's edge rather than increasing feather everywhere. Partially transparent edge pixels may still contain the old background colour. JPEG cannot preserve their transparency; use a format with alpha.

A file changes colour elsewhere

Check its embedded profile, the working-space settings, and whether the receiving application honours colour profiles. Do not assume that choosing a wider space corrects an untagged file. Assigning an interpretation and converting colours are different operations. See Colour management.

Layers or undo disappear after reopening

JPEG and ordinary PNG store a flattened result. Layered interchange formats still preserve only part of the editor's document model. Keep .mie for editable masks, text and adjustments.

Undo history is not restored from .mie. A saved working document keeps its current editable objects, not every prior action. Save versions such as portrait-01.mie and portrait-02.mie before major destructive changes, and keep the original photograph separately.

Saving and recovery

File ▸ Save updates the current file. Save as... chooses a new working file. File ▸ Export ▸ Image to file... writes a delivery copy without saving later edits to your working file. File ▸ Revert returns to the saved file, discarding unsaved changes; save a separate version first if you may want either state.

If the editor offers recoverable work after an interruption, recover the wanted document, inspect its layers and latest edits, then save it under a new .mie name before replacing an existing file. Recovery depends on a usable autosave having been written. It is not a substitute for explicit saves or backups, and the most recent changes may not be present.

If opening fails, preserve the original and try a copy. For raw files, check whether the dialog developed sensor data or used an embedded preview. For batch failures, review the per-file report and retry only after correcting the cause.

Missing panels or cramped controls

Use Window ▸ Layers, Tool options or Toolbox ▸ Display toolbox to restore the relevant area. Window ▸ Reset all toolboxes restores the layout. Widen the window or reduce interface density if a long tool-options row is clipped. Command search (Ctrl+F) can help find an action whose panel button is inaccessible.

Reporting a problem

Record the application version, operating system, exact menu or tool, and the shortest sequence that reproduces the problem. Include the status-bar message, expected result and actual result. If it depends on an image, use a small non-private example and keep its original unchanged. Distinguish a failed save from a successful export that intentionally cannot retain certain features.

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