Where did my images go?

Answers to the most commonly asked Moho questions.

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Lost Marble
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Where did my images go?

Post by Lost Marble »

(The following information applies not only to image files, but any kind of external file used in a Moho project: images, movies, sounds, 3D OBJ files, etc.)

When you use image layers in Moho, the image files do not get saved as a part of the Moho project file. Instead, Moho saves a link to the image file(s) that you use. This makes the Moho file smaller, and allows you to edit the image files using other programs and they will automatically be updated the next time you open the Moho file.

This is all very well until your image files get "lost". One day you may open your Moho file and the image layers are replaced with "missing image" icons. This can happen if you either delete the image files or move them around on your hard drive.

To prevent images from getting lost, the best practice is to organize your Moho files and the images they use in the same folder. Then, Moho can save a "relative link" to the image files. This makes it possible to move the entire folder somewhere else on your hard drive, to another computer, or even zip up the whole thing and email it to someone else. (Yes, when you are sharing Moho files, be sure to include all the images and other resources they use.)

So, when creating a Moho file that uses images or other external files, try hard to keep it all in one folder on your hard drive (or within sub-folders of the top folder). Here's an example of how you might organize some files:

My Animation/
---animation_file.moho
---background.jpg (used as an image layer)
---music.mp3 (used as a soundtrack)

You can also create sub-folders:

My Animation/
---animation_file.moho
---Images/
------background.jpg
------texture1.png
---Music/
------La Pistola y El Corazón.mp3
---3D/
------hills.obj
------skyscraper.obj

You can still link to an image file in any random place on your hard drive, but this is prone to errors: if you ever want to move the file to another location on your drive or to a different computer, the link in the Moho file will be broken. So, it's always best to keep a Moho project and any extra files it uses all in one containing folder.
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