# Other Issues

1. PCGen freezes in MacOS X. Why?

   According to Apple's web site the current version of Java for OS X is based on the J2SE 1.3.1 JDK. (Full Java2 1.4.0 support won't be available until Jaguar comes out in August). There also seems to be a bug in Apple's Java function at this time.

   You could give up on using a Mac entirely ;p, but I sense that you won't.

   In order to make PCGen run smoother, you have to edit the `options.ini` file. Look for a line that reads `pcgen.options.showToolBar=true` and change that to `pcgen.options.showToolBar=false`. At least, that helped me a lot.

2. PCGen is so slow! How can I make it run quicker?

   Well we decided that people needed to take time and chill out over their PC making, so we've deliberately put a delay in for each action you perform.

   If you want to make PCGen run faster, you should only load the modules you really-really need. e.g. Don't load Star Wars modules if you are making a RPG-character. Also, try increasing the amount of RAM (there ya go, here is your excuse to beef up that box!) in your machine, or the memory you allow PCGen to use.

3. Book X has been out for awhile, how come you don't support it yet?

   There are several good reasons:
   - First of all, it could simply be that none of the developers have that particular book.
   - Secondly, we might have been told by the publishers of Book X, that we're not allowed to support it due to copyright issues.
   - Thirdly, it must be remembered that PCGen is Open Source and free. None of the developers receive any profits from doing this. Therefore, sometimes, thier paid job must come first. And maybe that particular book is "in progress", but other books are more important to the individual developers.

   Contact the current LST Monkey Silverback or one of thier seconds, they pretty much have a good handle on what's going on. If not, request it or offer to help to do it ;p

4. Upgrading leads to errors. Why?

   OK firstly, make sure that you did do a clean install, if not do that 1st and then see if there is a problem.

   Are you running Mac OS X? If so, that might be the problem. The problem is due to the fact that when you un-zip a file (or drag items from a disk image) to a location where a folder with the same name already exist, Mac OS X overwrites the entire folder, not the individual files. This has been addressed above in the FAQ.

   More usually (but still uncommon) is that occasionally one of the code monkeys thinks of a _brilliant_ way of solving a problem (will get rid of 35 FREQs, solve world hunger etc) but it invalidates characters that were created in version X. We always make sure that we let the community know when this is about to happen (and it happens very rarely), sometimes you'll just have to re-enter your character to be able to use that new feature.

5. How do I downloading the Latest Alpha Builds?

   Alpha builds of the software are created by an automated and very buggy system hosted at:
   http://rpg.plambert.net/pcgen/

   These builds are updated every two hours with the latest changes, but are made without any human involvement or testing. It is entirely possible that a build may occur while changes are in progress or while a serious bug exists, and therefore these builds are not promised to actually work.

   Their primary use is for testing of new features and bug fixes, and most users should avoid them unless specifically asked to use an automated build by a developer. Every feature and aspect of the site is subject to change without notice; read the primary PCGen mailing list to be made aware of late-breaking announcements and news.

6. How Often will PCGen release a Production Release?

   That is still under discussion at this time and there is not even a rough estimate at this time. Stay tuned to the PCGen Yahoo groups for information on this!