Troubleshooting Aeon Errors

Owned by Former user (Deleted)
Last updated: Nov 08, 2024 by Alexander Duryee

Printing Errors

  1. Restart your computer.
  2. Verify that "Legacy Mail Merge" is selected under the Aeon Options menu (main screen → 3-bar menu in the top left → Options).
    1. If this option is not checked off, Aeon will be unable to print.
  3. Verify that you are able to print from other applications, such as Microsoft Word.
    1. If you are unable to, please contact HUIT or your local IT support to set up your print settings in Windows.
  4. Confirm that you have both Microsoft Word and Excel installed on your machine.
    1. For Parallels users on Mac, make sure that you have the Windows version of Microsoft Office installed.  If Word is called "Microsoft Word (Mac)" in your Parallels environment, Aeon will not be able to print.
  5. Confirm that you are connected to the T:\ drive.
    1. Note that T:\ drive access is limited to Harvard Library sites in Massachusetts only.  If your repository does not have access to the T:\ drive, skip this step.
    2. If you are connected to the T:\ drive, you should see this icon under This PC in File Explorer:
    3. If you instead see this icon with a red X on it, you may need to re-authenticate with the network.  Double-click on the icon and enter your credentials if prompted.
    4. If you do not see this drive at all, see Access to the Aeon Network Drive.
    5. If none of these steps connected you to the T:\ drive, please file a support ticket with HUIT or your local IT support.
  6. If you are still unable to print, please create a debug log (see above) and file a support ticket with LTS.  Please attach the debug log to the ticket.

Word Opens During Printing

When printing from Aeon, Word may instead open up.  If you do not want this to happen, do the following:

  1. Go to the 3-bar menu in the top left → Printer Setup
  2. Uncheck "Edit" from each entry in the list
    1. "Prompt" will give you an option to change the printer from within Aeon.  If you only ever use one printer, you can uncheck this.
  3. Click OK

Barcodes Do Not Print

When printing from Aeon, the barcode may render as a string of characters/numbers set between two asterisks.  This happens when the barcode font (3 of 9) is uninstalled from your computer.

To install the 3 of 9 font:

  1. If you recently installed Aeon, restart your computer.
  2. Download the 3 of 9 font
  3. Right-click the font and install it as an administrator
  4. Restart your computer

Disappearing Requests / Database Settings Error

This error manifests in four ways:

  1. When launching the Aeon client, you receive the following error: "Aeon has encountered an error while trying to read the database settings"
  2. When you open Aeon, you see a white screen where the list of queues should be
  3. You see requests for repositories other than your own
  4. Records created by other staff members aren't appearing in your Aeon account

All of these errors may be caused by a misconfigured DBCChooser.  In the first two, the issue is on your machine; in the latter, it is on your colleague's.

  1. Close Aeon, if it is open
  2. In File Explorer, navigate to C:\Program Files (x86)\Aeon\
    1. On older computers, this may be C:\Program Files\Aeon\
  3. Run DBCChooser.bat
  4. Select Production by entering P
  5. Select your repository by entering its corresponding letter
  6. Start Aeon

In addition to updating DBCChooser, please file a support ticket with LTS, who can move the missing requests into their correct repository.

Database Connection Error

If you get an "Error connecting to Aeon database" error when opening the Aeon client, you may need to connect through the Harvard server firewall:

  1. Try connecting to another application behind the firewall (such as https://arstaff.lib.harvard.edu/)
  2. If you are unable to connect to both Aeon and ArchivesSpace, try connecting to the VPN, then restarting Aeon
  3. If you are able to connect to ArchivesSpace but not Aeon, please file a support ticket with LTS
  4. If you are unable to connect to the VPN, or can connect but are unable to access both ArchivesSpace and Aeon, please file a support ticket with HUIT

Missing/Outdated Aeon Addons

The following errors are caused by misconfigured or obsolete addons:

  1. Invalid escape sequence near '"fulldisplay\?'
  2. Bad request (400)
  3. Could not execute Lua script

The most common cause of these issues is the ArchivesSpace Containers addon having incorrect API credentials.  Otherwise, these errors may be caused by outdated/conflicting addons.

Current Aeon Addons

The currently used addons, and their versions, are as follows:

  • Alma Barcode Lookup (1.0.2)
  • Alma Primo Definitive Catalog Search (1.0.1)
  • ArchivesSpace Containers (1.1) - note that this addon is optional depending on your repository/workflow


Configuring the ArchivesSpace Containers Addon

If your repository does not use the ArchivesSpace Containers addon, the addon should be disabled:

  1. Open Manage → Addons
  2. Select the row labeled ArchivesSpace Containers
  3. In the bottom left corner, select the radio button labeled No
  4. Click Save Settings in the top ribbon

If your repository does use the ArchivesSpace Containers addon, verify that you have the correct credentials for your repository:

  1. Open Manage → Addons
  2. Select the row labeled ArchivesSpace Containers
  3. In the bottom table, check that APIUsername and APIPassword are not blank and have the correct values for your repository
  4. If you make any changes to these fields, click Save Settings in the top ribbon, and restart Aeon

Updating Aeon Addons

If your addons are out of date, or you do not have the addons listed above, you may need to manually refresh your addons.

  1. Navigate to C:\Users\[your username]\Documents\Aeon\Addons
    1. If this directory does not exist, you may have addons installed on OneDrive, and will need to navigate to your Aeon directory there.
  2. Delete all folders in Addons
    1. Do not delete the LocalSettings.xml file - this contains your credentials for Alma and ArchivesSpace!
  3. Restart Aeon.  Aeon should copy over any addons from the T:\ drive automatically, which will be the most up-to-date versions available
  4. Go to Manage → Addons and ensure that the three addons listed above are enabled

Disabling Unused Addons

Some older addons, when enabled, may cause unexpected behavior.  To disable addons:

  1. Open Manage → Addons
  2. Select the row for the addon you want to disable
  3. In the bottom left corner, select the radio button labeled No
  4. Click Save Settings in the top ribbon

Creating a Debug Log

If none of the steps on this page resolve your issue, the next step is to create a support ticket with LTS and include a debug log, which contains detailed information from the Aeon client.  To create a debug log:

  1. Go to the Aeon Options screen (main screen → 3-bar menu in the top left → Options)
  2. In the bottom section, check off Enable Debug Logging and click OK
  3. Restart Aeon
  4. Repeat the steps to cause the error, then close Aeon
  5. When sending the support ticket to LTS, attach AeonClient.log (with no number), located in C:\Users\[your username]\Documents\Aeon\Logs
    1. If this directory does not exist, or has no files in it, instead check for an Aeon directory under OneDrive