Picaxe Blockly not changing to code mode

DrewWills

New Member
Has anyone else been experiencing this phenomenon or have any suggestions?
When I try to open picaxe blockly into code mode, Blockly freezes with the switch to code mode button highlighted.
I am using a range of different brand chromebooks. Powerwashing or reinstalling blockly does not fix this.
 

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DrewWills

New Member
I have tried Blockly across a range of Wifi networks and it still freezes at the change to code mode pop up box.
This is really impacting on my classes as we only have chromebooks to use with picaxe 08M2.
 

DrewWills

New Member
uninstall and reinstalling blockly makes no difference
The same freezing happens with the open action in file menu.
I just tried the www.picaxecloud blockly option and the "switch to code mode" is also freezing on chromebook and my mac.

Any help appreciated
 

hippy

Technical Support
Staff member
I just tried the www.picaxecloud.com blockly option and the "switch to code mode" is also freezing on chromebook and my mac.
Using the on-line site works for me; no hangs when switching between blocks and code modes and back again using Firefox.

But I am seeing the same as you when using Chrome - Clicking on either button merely selects that button, doesn't do anything else, doesn't exit the pop-up, doesn't change modes.

I suspect that will also be the case for any browser which is based on a Chrome version which is behaving this way. FireFox, SeaMonkey and PaleMoon work, Chrome, Opera and Edge don't.

I guess they've changed or broken something in Chrome so it's no longer working as expected. I'm not sure what can be done about that but I will pass the information on.

I believe it is possible to install Firefox on a Chromebook so that may be a pragmatic solution.
 

Technical

Technical Support
Staff member
We are looking into why the latest Chrome updates has stopped the dialog buttons from sometimes working. In the mean time please try this workaround:
  1. Log into picaxecloud.com
  2. Click Settings > Input Output Table
  3. Dialog will get stuck – ok/cancel don’t work
  4. Click the mouse cursor up in the URL box at the end of https://www.picaxecloud.com/blockly/app/# and hit return
  5. This will cause the page to refresh without the dialog box visible. Exit browser.
  6. Restart browser and open https://www.picaxecloud.com/blockly/app/#
  7. Click Settings > Input Output Table again. Cancel button should now work ok and all other modal dialogs now also work again.
  8. Changing to code mode should now work.
 

DrewWills

New Member
Thanks for your reply.
I can not use picaxe cloud for my class. I use the blockly app for chromebook.
Can you please try and sort this as soon as possible as it is disrupting my whole class program.
Thanks you
 

hippy

Technical Support
Staff member
We are investigating the issue, trying to figure out what Google changed which stopped what was working from working, trying to figure out a way to make it work how it should.

It might be worth contacting Google and letting them know that whatever they changed is disrupting your class program and asking them if there is any solution they can offer to make code which used to work, should work, does work with Firefox, work as intended on a Chromebook and in the Chrome browser.
 

papaof2

Senior Member
I have an older Chromebook (no longer getting updates) and Blockly works fine. Perhaps that's a reference for Google doing an update in Chromebook that makes it no longer compatible with "standard" sites?
Having the most recent version of any software isn't always the best choice. I've was a beta tester for several Unix releases - I don't buy anything that's version xx.0 and usually not xx.1.
 

hippy

Technical Support
Staff member
I have an older Chromebook (no longer getting updates) and Blockly works fine. Perhaps that's a reference for Google doing an update in Chromebook that makes it no longer compatible with "standard" sites?
Google appear to have changed something in their Chrome browser which means code which used to work in Chrome browsers on a PC or Chromebook no longer works as it used to, as it is meant to.

Our online Blockly code has not changed. It works using older versions of Chrome browser and still works using Firefox and other browsers. It seems to us that it cannot be anything but an issue of a Google change which was rolled out in some update or upgrade.

One pragmatic approach to such bugs is to downgrade to an earlier version which doesn't have the bug which has been introduced and disable automatic updates. Unfortunately I don't know if that is even possible with Chrome or on a Chromebook and have no idea which version one would need to downgrade to, in which version Google introduced the bug which broke things.
 
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