Troubleshooting

Adding books

"No audio files found."

The files or folder you chose held nothing Anansi Studio can play. Check the file types against Supported file formats. A folder is searched together with the folders inside it.

A book was "already in your library"

The app recognises a book by its contents, not its name. The same audiobook under another name or in another place is the same book. See How a book is recognised.

Some files "failed"

The Import finished summary lists each failure with its reason, often a damaged file or one the app couldn't read. The rest of the import still goes ahead.

Adding takes a long time, or uses a lot of space

Adding copies each book into your library folder, and audiobooks are large. On a computer you can move the library folder to a larger disk.

Playing

A book shows "File unavailable - add it again to restore"

Its file can't be found. Use Find the file… in its menu, or add the book again. See Missing books.

The player shows an error

Choose Retry. If it keeps failing, the file may be damaged or in a form the device can't decode. Try playing it in another app.

There are no controls on the lock screen or in the notifications

Android: notifications may be turned off for Anansi Studio. The player shows a note with Open settings; allow notifications there.
If the device couldn't start its media controls at all, the player says so. Playback is not affected.
Windows and Linux don't have these controls. See Platform differences.

The chapter buttons are greyed out

The book has no chapters. Add some in the chapter editor.

The lyrics highlight is early or late

Use the Lyrics offset control to shift it. See Lyrics offset. For a book you made with Sentences per request above 1, small differences are expected; see Making books faster.

Space doesn't play or pause

Space works in the library and the player, but not while the search field has the cursor. Click elsewhere first.

Editing

My edits don't show in other apps

Edits are kept in Anansi Studio until you write them into the audio file. Books with unwritten edits show an upload icon in the library.

"This file's format can't be written to at all"

Only M4B, M4A, MP4 and MP3 files can be written. For other formats, edits stay in the app. See Supported file formats.

Other players show subchapters as a flat list

MP4 and M4B files can't hold subchapters. Anansi Studio keeps them; other players see one list. MP3 files keep them for everyone.

My cover picture was refused

Covers must be JPEG or PNG pictures.

Making audiobooks

Make audiobook isn't offered

Making audiobooks isn't available in the web version. On Linux, only on-device voices can make books. See Platform differences.

"Could not read …"

The document couldn't be opened. It may be damaged, protected by a password or DRM, or not really the type its name says. Choose Skip to move on.

The chapters are wrong

Untick unwanted chapters in Chapters found. A PDF without bookmarks gets chapters that follow its pages, and the screen warns you about it. For PDFs, also check Pages for headers and labels to box out. See The Make audiobook screen.

Page numbers or headers are read aloud

Box them out under Pages. A box at the top or foot of a page catches the same line on every page. See Pages (PDFs only).

The voice mispronounces the text

Check the book's Language on the Make audiobook screen, and choose a voice that speaks it. See Voices for your book's language.

Make audiobook is greyed out

There may be no chapters ticked, the document may not be read yet, or the voice may not be downloaded. Download the voice under Voice.

Making is slow

Raise Performance Level, or try Voices at once, in Settings → Performance. Keep voices × cores within the number of cores your device has. See Making books faster.

The voice download failed

Check your internet connection and try Download again.

Making stopped

Choose Resume making from the book's menu. If the app was closed, making carries on by itself next time you open it.

On Linux, my made books are large WAV files

Install the GStreamer AAC encoder (gstreamer1.0-libav) so parts are made as .m4a. See Linux.

Reading along

"Can't read along"

The document's copy is missing, for example after restoring a backup made without its files. Choose Re-link document and pick the document. See Documents behind made books.

There is no Read along option

Reading along is available for books made from PDF, Word and Markdown documents. Books made from EPUB or text files follow along in their lyrics.

"That part has not been narrated yet"

The book is still being made. That part becomes available as soon as it is finished.

It's offered for finished books made from documents, folders imported as one audiobook, and books received as shared audiobooks. A single-file audiobook can be shared directly with Share file or Show in Finder / Show in File Explorer. See Sharing audiobooks.

The document wasn't included

Documents over 50 MB can't go with the book. The book's text still travels, so reading along works with the text instead of the PDF pages.

Backup and restore

Back up automatically is greyed out

Choose a Backup folder first.

After restoring, a book is missing its file

The backup didn't include that book's file and it wasn't found in the library folder. Use Find the file… from its menu. See After restoring.

My voices are gone after restoring on a new device

Voice models aren't backed up. Download them again in Settings → Voice.

Sync

My devices don't find each other

Make sure both devices are on the same Wi-Fi network. Sync doesn't use Bluetooth or mobile data.
Switch on Sync with my other devices on both, and keep Anansi Studio open on both while pairing.
Some networks, such as guest or public Wi-Fi, stop devices from seeing each other. Try your home network.
A firewall on a computer may need to allow Anansi Studio on private networks.

Sync stopped on my iPhone

iOS pauses apps in the background. Open Anansi Studio and it catches up. See In the background.

A book didn't arrive on my other device

Check that Bring books from the other devices is on for the device that should receive it, and that it has space. A book's files arrive once they have reached the server. Sync now syncs straight away.

My place in a book jumped

Your place follows your most recent listening on any device. A book that is playing is never moved by sync.

A book I removed came back

Removing a book only removes it from this device. It's not sent back here unless you add it again; if another device sends it, check that device.