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Blank IdReference found - GM2 v2.3.2.560

Tobey

Member
A couple of months ago I updated to 2.3 and it was going well but all of a sudden I got this error: Core Resources : Info - Blank IdReference found - could be that the project is corrupt. I had to go back to version 2.2.5. Yesterday I decided to give 2.3 another go and the same thing has happened. This time, I managed to fix it by deleting 2 new sprites but I want to know how I can avoid this and is it even worth going forward with 2.3 or should I just revert back to 2.2.5?
 
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Nocturne

Friendly Tyrant
Forum Staff
Admin
First, file a bug report and include links to the OLD (2.2.5) version of the project that gives the issue, and provide instructions explaining what you did when you updated and got the error. This is something I've not seen beofre and YYG should be aware you're having this issue. It could be an edge-case in the project updating system in 2.3 and should be fixed.

As for updating, yes, you should definitely update to 2.3 unless the project is close to being published, in which case stick with 2.2.5 to publish, then use 2.3 for all new projects. 2.3 has a number of great improvements, both to the GML language and to the IDE, and - in general - you should always try to keep on the latest stable version of any software (imho).
 

TsukaYuriko

☄️
Forum Staff
Moderator
I've seen it before a couple of times and am somewhat familiar with the issue. I personally dug into someone's project once to help them track down the root of the issue and recover from it (mostly successfully), which gave me a good idea of what causes it.

Please do as Nocturne says and file a report before following any of the advice I'm about to provide. This has been a persistent issue for a while now, and getting it resolved for good would be a massive relief for everyone involved. Having a sample of a project that exhibits the problem will be very valuable to the developers in finding out the cause and subsequently fixing it.


So, to summarize, this usually has something to do with one of the project files including a line that looks like this:
GML:
{"roomId":{"name":"","path":"",},},
instead of the way it should be:
Code:
{"roomId":{"name":"rm_myroom","path":"rooms/path/to/rm_myroom.yy",},},
hence "blank ID reference". This example uses a room, but it could also be a sprite, an object, a subimage of a sprite... and the like.
This causes GM to throw a hissy fit and may also confuse the everloving heck out of the compiler.

Here are some links to topics related to this issue, showcasing a few ways this can manifest itself:

Maybe one of these will be the cause in your case. Otherwise, a project-wide search in a text editor (usually named something like "find in files") of your choice (Notepad++ and Sublime Text are capable of this, if you lack options) for
Code:
"name": ""
may help you track down the source of the issue, as this is something most if not all cases seem to have in common.
 

Tobey

Member
I have reported the bug and have gone back to v.2.2.5 until the issue is fixed. Thanks, @TsukaYuriko and @Posh Indie for the tips but unfortunately those are temporary solutions meaning I'll have to do that every time I duplicate a sprite.
 

TsukaYuriko

☄️
Forum Staff
Moderator
They should not be temporary solutions, as duplicating a sprite should not (invariably) cause this issue.
 

Tobey

Member
They should not be temporary solutions, as duplicating a sprite should not (invariably) cause this issue.
What I mean is the solution will fix affected sprites but when I duplicate more sprites the same thing happens almost every time.
 

TsukaYuriko

☄️
Forum Staff
Moderator
Hmm, that's odd. This shouldn't be happening in the first place, and it definitely shouldn't keep occurring after you fixed the root cause. Try exporting your project as a .yyz and importing it back - this should clean up any orphaned files, so if those exist and are responsible for the problem, it shouldn't occur anymore.
 
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