Troubleshooting

Common problems, what Agnos says when they happen, and what to do. In the app, Help › Fixing problems has short versions.

The browser warns about the download

Browsers warn about any program that few people have downloaded yet, however safe it is. The file is kept only once you say so.

Microsoft Edge says the file “isn’t commonly downloaded”. In the downloads list, point at the file, press … (More actions), then Keep. If Edge asks again, press Show more, then Keep anyway.
Google Chrome shows a warning on the download. Press Keep.

To be sure the file is ours before you keep it, check it on the download page with Verify your download.

Windows protected your PC

When you open the installer, Windows SmartScreen may show a blue window headed “Windows protected your PC”. The installer is not code-signed yet, so Windows does not recognise its publisher.

Press More info.
Check that the file name is Agnos-Setup-2.3.0.exe, the file from the download page. If it is anything else, do not run it.
Press Run anyway.

Smart App Control blocked Agnos

Some Windows 11 PCs have Smart App Control turned on. It blocks programs that are not code-signed, and it has no “Run anyway” button. This version of the Agnos installer is not signed yet, so on those PCs Windows says Smart App Control blocked it.

A signed version is on its way. Until then, there are two choices:

Wait for the signed version. Write to hello@gidion.io and we will tell you when it is out. Your 14 days start only when you first open Agnos.
Turn Smart App Control off. In Settings › Privacy & security › Windows Security › App & browser control, open Smart App Control settings and choose Off. Windows then protects you with SmartScreen instead, as it does on most PCs. You can turn Smart App Control on again later, but Agnos may not open while it is on.

Agnos does not open

The first start prepares the library and can take a few minutes. If Agnos is already running, its shortcut reopens the window.

Nothing happens: Agnos is probably still starting. Wait a minute, then open it from its shortcut again.
“Agnos is already starting, but it did not finish in time.”: Another start was under way. Open Agnos from its shortcut again.
“Agnos is taking longer than usual.”: It may still finish: wait a minute, then open Agnos again. If it still does not open, email hello@gidion.io with the two log files the message names.
“Agnos stopped while starting.” or “Agnos could not start.”: Run the installer again, over the copy you have. It repairs the program and keeps your library, licence and settings. If that does not help, email us the log files the message names.
“Port 5000 is in use and no nearby port is free.”: Other programs are using the ports Agnos tries. Close them, or set the AGNOS_PORT environment variable to a free port, then open Agnos again.

If Agnos still will not open, run Stop Agnos from the Start menu and open Agnos again, or restart Windows.

“Open Agnos from its shortcut”

This appears when the Agnos address is opened some other way, such as from a bookmark, your browser history or a copied link. Agnos only answers the window its own shortcut opened. Close the tab and start Agnos from its shortcut; your work is kept.

A scanned PDF gives no text

Agnos reads the text layer a PDF carries, and a scan or photo of a page has none.

A PDF with no text on any page is refused: “No text could be read from this PDF.”
A PDF with some scanned pages is cleaned, and its warnings name the skipped pages, for example “2 of 14 pages had no text layer and were skipped as image-only (pages 3, 7)”.

If you have the document the PDF was made from, such as the Word file, add that instead. A PDF saved from the program that wrote it, rather than scanned, has a text layer.

A file is refused

Its card on the Import step says why. The common ones:

The card says	What to do
Legacy Word document files are not supported.	Open it in Word, save it as .docx and add it again. The same goes for `.xls` and `.ppt`.
Image files are not supported.	Agnos reads text, not pictures of text. Add the original document, if you have it.
Archive files are not supported.	Unpack it and add the documents inside.
This Word document is password protected. (Or this PDF, workbook or deck.)	Remove the password in the original program, then add it again.
This PDF could not be opened. (Or this Word document, workbook or deck.)	The file is damaged or not really in this format. Open it in the program that made it, save a fresh copy and add that.
This file is not text. Its contents are binary data.	Check the file has the right extension, then add it again.
This file is 412 MB. Agnos reads files of this kind up to 300 MB.	Split it into smaller files and add them one at a time.
There is not enough free disk space to … It needs about … and … is free.	Free up space on this drive, then try again.

Every format and limit is in Supported files.

A file stays on Cleaning

Open Activity from the menu. A run that stops reporting is put back in the queue by itself. If Activity says cleaning is paused, open the Start menu, choose Stop Agnos, then open Agnos again; nothing waiting is lost.

Text you needed was removed

In Review, on Removed, press Keep this anyway on the piece. If there is no such button, or the rule is wrong for the whole file, turn the rule off instead; see Change the rules.

Changed a setting and nothing happened? Settings apply once saved, and only to files cleaned after that. Press Save changes, then Clean them again on the Clean step.

The trial has ended

Export says: “Your 14-day trial has ended. Exporting needs a Pro licence ($99, once). Your projects, cleaning and Review keep working.” Nothing was deleted.

Buy Pro on the pricing page, or enter a key you already have on the Licence page, and export straight away. See Trial and licences.

Exporting is paused

Export says: “Agnos needs to check your licence once. Connect to the internet and press Check now on the Licence page.” A key bought online pauses exporting when no licence check has succeeded for 60 days; everything else keeps working.

Connect, press Check now, and export straight away. A computer that is never online needs an offline key.

A licence key is refused

The Licence page says what went wrong. The most common cause is a key cut short, so paste the whole key, or the whole email it came in.

The Licence page says	What to do
That does not look like a licence key.	Copy the key again, or paste the whole confirmation email.
That key was not recognised. Check for missing characters.	Copy the key again; the end is easy to miss.
This key is already active on all the devices it allows.	Deactivate a computer you no longer use, then try again. See Moving to a new computer.
This key was issued for a different computer.	An offline key works only on the computer it was made for. Write to us with this computer's code, shown under Have a licence key? on the Licence page.
This key is for a different product or a different major version of Agnos.	Check it is your Agnos key. If it is, write to us.
This key has been revoked.	A refund withdraws its licence. If you did not ask for one, write to us.
Could not reach the licence server. Check your connection and try again.	Activation needs the internet. A firewall or company proxy must let this computer reach `api.polar.sh`. With no internet at all, ask us for an offline key.
Too many keys have been tried in the last few minutes.	After 5 failed keys in 10 minutes, Agnos makes you wait. Check the key, and try again after the time it gives.
That key was not accepted.	Copy the whole key again and paste it. If it is still refused, write to us.

Write to us at hello@gidion.io.

Stopping Agnos

Closing the window leaves Agnos running in the background, so it reopens instantly. To shut it down, run Stop Agnos from the Start menu, or Stop Agnos.bat in the program folder. The installer stops Agnos by itself before an update.

To stop one file being cleaned, press Stop beside it in Activity.

Asking for help

Write to hello@gidion.io. These help us answer quickly, and none of them contain your documents' text:

Your version, shown in Help › Fixing problems › Your copy of Agnos.
What the screen said, word for word.
The last lines of %LOCALAPPDATA%\Agnos\logs\server.log. It is a plain text file, so you can read it first.

Never send session.json from %LOCALAPPDATA%\Agnos\run. It holds the secret that opens your Agnos window, and nobody helping you needs it.