Every now and then software will have issues that make it perform poorly or not function properly or even at all.
I have put together a list of things that could go wrong and some fixes to help you get back up and running again.
Windows Codec Issues
If you find that you’ve downloaded your Content Samurai videos and you can only see the visuals or hear the audio – but not both – it’s likely that you’re running into a codec issue.
Codec issues commonly occur on video players that aren’t kept up to date, like Film & TV (the native Windows 10 video player) or Windows Media Player.
You can tell if the issue is isolated to the player by either trying a different video player, like VLC which is free for Windows and Mac or uploading your video to an online video player like YouTube or Vimeo.
Which Web Browsers Work With Content Samurai?
Currently, Content Samurai only works with the latest version of Google Chrome, which you can download for free at:
Issues With Chrome Extensions
There are a few Chrome extensions that are causing issues with load times, text moving to one side of a slide and other issues that can be fixed by turning off extensions while you’re using Content Samurai.
Here are some instructions on turning off extensions:
- On your browser, click menu.
- Select More tools > Extensions.
- To turn off an extension, un-tick the Enabled box next to the extension name
Here’s a list of extensions we currently know cause issues with Content Samurai:
- Google Slides
- Grammarly
If you run into an extension that is causing trouble in Content Samurai, that’s not on the list, please let the guys know by emailing support
Fixing Recording Issues
If you notice that the green volume bar isn’t moving when you are speaking, this indicates that the microphone isn’t recording your audio.
A good way to test if the microphone is working is to go to this page:
http://webaudiodemos.appspot.com/AudioRecorder/index.html
If it is working you will see movement when you speak, if there is no movement on the screen, then your microphone isn’t working in Google Chrome.
The first thing to try is to restart your computer. This will usually get around any issues you were having, but if that fails to get things working there are a number of other things you can try…
- Make sure you have allowed access to your microphone in Chrome
- Disable all extensions in Chrome
- Disable any applications that alter audio/video on your computer
Here is a list of known apps/extensions that can cause issues with audio recording in Chrome:
What Size Should My Uploaded Images Be?
Content Samurai does it’s best to auto scale the sizes of images to fit, but if the image doesn’t fit your template you might find some of the image has been cropped out.
To get your picture to fit nice it needs to be either one of these sizes:
Landscape:
Full slide images = 1280 x 720 pixels
Half slide images = 640 x 720 pixels
Social Media:
Full slide images = 700 x 700 pixels
Here are instructions to resize images with Paint (Windows) and Preview (Mac):
Windows – http://www.wikihow.com/Resize-an-Image-in-Microsoft-Paint
Mac – http://www.wikihow.com/Resize-Pictures-(for-Macs)
If you’re using an elongated image, like a banner, you might need to paste that image onto a blank Black or White image that fits the slide resolution.
Here are a few blank images that you can paste your image/banner onto before uploading it to Content Samurai:
Where Is The Save Button?
All the work you do in Content Samurai will be saved automatically!
There’s no save button, just switch videos or close the app, and all of your work will be saved for the next time you want to work on it.
How Do I Remove An Image From a Slide?
When editing your slides, you can remove an image from either the ‘Find Images’ section or the ‘My Images’ section, by selecting ‘No Image’ which will always be the first option.
How To Manually Correct Out Of Sync Audio
You can manually adjust the audio timing to match your slides from the Preview section.
Then click the ‘Manually Adjust Timing’ button
Then you can drag the Green vertical bars, which represents where a new slide comes in, to match where they should be according to the audio waves.
You can click around in the audio section to a certain point and hit the space bar to play and pause while you get the timing right
How Do I Delete An Image I’ve Uploaded?
To delete an uploaded image, hover over the image and click the Trash icon on the right-hand side of the image.
Note: Once you delete an image, it doesn’t remove it from slides – you will need to click the ‘No Image’ option to remove the image from your slide
Giving Microphone Access to Content Samurai
When you first reach the Audio section of Content Samurai, you should see this Microphone access pop up which you need to allow.
If you’ve done that correctly you should see a red circle in your browser tab.
If you have previously denied Content Samurai access your microphone, you’ll need to follow these steps:
- clicking on the ‘Camera’ looking icon in your browser tab
- selecting ‘Always allow https://app.contentsamurai.com to access your microphone’.
- ensure that you have also selected the correct microphone from the drop-down box.
If you don’t see your Microphone from the drop-down menu in the last image, you’ll need to follow these instructions for checking your Microphone’s working properly:
Official Microsoft Instructions OR Wikihow OS X Instructions
Why Isn’t My Video Generating?
If your video isn’t generating, or it is getting stuck during the generating process, there are a few things you can check:
- Make sure all of your audio snippets have been recorded. It is also a good idea to go back and listen to all of the audio snippets to make sure they are complete
- Record your audio with a good microphone. To get the best results out of Content Samurai you must use a good microphone. Built-in microphones on laptops can be washed out by fan noise, so we always recommend using a good external microphone to get the best results.
- If all else fails, close Google Chrome and start again. It may help get around something stopping the generation from completing.
How Do I Delete A Video?
- Log in to Content Samurai
- Hover over the video you wish to delete and click the trash icon
Note: Once a video has been deleted it can’t be recovered
One of the great things about Content Samurai, apart from how good the software is, but is how helpful and responsive the support team are.
If you can’t find the fix you are looking for, feel free to please let the guys know by emailing support and they will be happy to help you.