The Novel Factory is not working properly

Our aim is for all of our users to have a smooth, problem-free experience with The Novel Factory. However, occasionally things can go wrong. If this happens, please work through the following steps. If you are still having problems after that, get in touch and we’ll do everything we can to get you back up and running quickly.

Problems caused by caching

A large proportion of technical issues are caused by caching. If the software does not seem to be working properly, please start with the following to see if the problem resolves:

1. Refresh and hard refresh the browser
2. Log out and log back in again.

Browser and plug-in/add-on issues

If you are still having problems, it may be linked to your browser or a plug-in/add-on.

Chrome is currently our recommended browser for using the software online and downloading the desktop app. This is because Google has the most robust support for progressive web applications (PWAs), which is the technology used by the software.

Other browsers such as Microsoft’s Edge and Apple’s Safari also support PWAs, but the interface and responsiveness may vary slightly.

Currently, Firefox only has limited support for PWAs and as such we do not recommend using the software with Firefox.

If you are not using Chrome and the software is not behaving as you expect, or if what you’re seeing doesn’t look like the screenshots you’ve seen, we therefore recommend trying the software on Chrome to see if the issues resolve. This could be on a different device, if you can’t or don’t want to use Chrome on your original device.

If you are using the software on Chrome and you’re still having issues, make sure the browser is up to date. You can do this by going into the ‘About Chrome’ section in the settings.

It is also worth checking whether you have any browser plug-ins or add-ons which might be interfering with the software’s functionality. Certain plug-ins – especially firewalls and other security controls – may prevent the software from taking actions it needs to function properly.

If you think this might be the case, you can either try using the software in a different browser which doesn’t have the add-ons, or you can try temporarily disabling the plug-ins, to see if it makes a difference.

Still having problems?

If none of the suggestions above help, please contact us, sending as much as you can of the following information. The more details we have, the faster we will be able to resolve the issue.

• What is the problem you are experiencing? (Attach a screenshot or screenrecording where appropriate.)
• Are you using the desktop or browser version of the software?
• If you are using the browser version, which browser?
• Does this problem start as soon as you open the software, or only after using it for a while?
• If it happens after you have been using the software for a while, what were you doing when it happened? I.e. creating a character, editing a scene, editing an index card…
• When you try the software in a different browser, do you experience the same problem?
• If you are able to try the software on a different device, do you experience the same problem?

If you are seeing an ‘unhandled error’ message as part of your problem, it can also be helpful to have an error log. To obtain an error log:

1. Right click on the page and select ‘Inspect’ to open the browser dev tools,
2. Click the ‘Console’ tab.
3. Right click on the console content and select ‘Save as’ or ‘Save all messages to file’
4. Email us the file (which will usually be in .txt or .log format)

Thank you for your patience and cooperation, and we will do our best to resolve the issue as swiftly as possible.