Running Cotangent in a Virtual Machine (VM)?

Cotangent is built on the Unity game engine, which does not always play nicely with virtual machines. In addition, Cotangent requires a reasonably capable GPU. So, if you are trying to run inside a VM, and things aren't working, try the following:

  1. Make sure the VM has access to your GPU hardware.
  2. Turn on "Game Mode". This will help if mouse clicks are not being recognized. Here are instructions for Parallels.
  3. Make more RAM available to the VM. At minimum 4GB, ideally 8.

These tips have helped some users. However, we cannot guarantee that Cotangent will ever work properly in your VM.

Where are the Presets stored?

Cotangent's Print Presets database is stored as a set of plain-text JSON files in a folder hierarchy. You cant directly edit or modify these files if you like (although if you do it while Cotangent is running, it will not automatically notice changes). You'll find these files in the following locations:

  • Windows 10:   C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Cotangent\settingsdb\

Presets are organized in Manufacturer\Printer folders. Note, however, that these folders are purely for organizational purposes and do not reflect the display of the presets in the app. Each Manufacturer and Printer is assigned a unique UUID, and this is how the printers/presets are grouped in the drop-down fields in the printer/preset selection panel. When you enable new Manufacturers in the app using the Select Manufacturers dialog (by clicking "Select Manufacturers" in the manufacturer list drop-down"), the app will auto-populate a new top-level subfolder for that manufacturer, with a generic machine and preset.

You can generate your own UUIDs if you like, however we strongly recommend that you stick with the Cotangent-supplied Manufacturer UUIDs (trust us, this will be important going forward). If your Printer Company is not in the Select Manufacturers list in the app, please contact us and we'll be happy to add it.

Help, I messed up my presets!

Close Cotangent, delete the settingsdb folder from the path listed above (and all it's subfolders), and then open Cotangent again. A fresh presets database will be generated.

I'm having Technical Difficulties

At this time, in our Open Beta period, we have limited ability to offer user support. We will try to respond promptly to any questions, but shipping the 1.0 release is our priority. Once we begin charging for Cotangent, we will offer priority support to paying customers.

You can get in touch with us via the Contact Form, or on Twitter @gradientspace. 

We may ask you to submit your Unity Log file. This is located at:

  • Windows 10: C:\Users\<username>\AppData\LocalLow\gradientspace\cotangent\output_log.txt