Velocity Script Editor is Broken Junk

Discussion created by Jamie Rodger on Jul 31, 2018
Latest reply on Oct 23, 2018 by Jamie Rodger

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Just ranting, but more often than not the "Script Token" editor is just hot trash. Sometimes the object column does not appear. Other times only the Standard Object Icon appears but no drop down is available. Sometimes everything shows up and I select the fields I want to load then click save but lo, should I return to the script, not one of the fields I previously selected are still checked. Worse, sometimes I make code changes and they don't save. And yeah, I am saving them in the window and then again on the token after the window closes - not forgetting that step.

Look at this beauty:

Anyone else having trouble with this editor lately??? I asked MKTO Support but got a generic "we don't support velocity script" response.

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Sanford Whiteman Jul 31, 2018 12:40 PM

All true. Not much to be done until it's made part of the UI overhaul.

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Dan Stevens.

Jul 31, 2018 12:54 PM

Yep - we experience all of this. When asking support about the empty right pane, their response was it was my ISP - in that I have to give it more time for the data to come down from Marketo. I just need to give it time. Well, that was not the issue. You can keep the editor screen open for hours and it will never populate. The only solution I've found is to keep opening/closing and finally the fields render.

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Mark Price @ Dan Stevens. on Aug 7, 2018 2:55 PM

Have the same intermittent issue. Logging out / logging back in seems to fix it more or less.

Also, beware when this bug occurs- if someone accidentally saves whilst the 'standard objects' are showing; it will uncheck the fields that were selected and you can't fix it until it starts to work properly!

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Chris Wilcox

Aug 7, 2018 12:25 PM

I've found a couple things can help with this:

Non-populating right pane - CTRL+SHIFT+R to hard refresh your Marketo window. I've found this can resolve the issue (as well as endless spinning in the navigation pane throughout the rest of Marketo)
When you open up a token, there's a 3-5 second delay when the script window appears, and when the right pane "refreshes." In my experience, if you start to edit the code in the main window before that refresh happens, you'll end up with dropped integrations, unsaved code changes, etc. If you wait the 3-5 seconds once the pane opens until you start making updates, I've never once encountered that issue. It's only when I dive right into making changes too quickly.
All of this has lead me to work mostly offline with my scripts. I use Notepad++ with a custom Velocity syntax highlight that Courtney Grimes put together. It mimics the look of the velocity script editors

We definitely all experience these problems, but mostly I've found slowing down at the start, hard refreshes when needed, and working offline for major edits to be my personal preferred workflow.

Best of luck!

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Mark Price Aug 7, 2018 2:58 PM

+1 for the editor not showing the field tree.

I've noticed the same issue as well as another user in this thread:

Email Script Editor not showing Standard Object tree

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Sanford Whiteman Aug 7, 2018 5:33 PM

Kind of surprised y'all are still running VTL only in Marketo (even if authoring offline)!

Recommend building your own runtime environment, which... ***spoiler alert***... is how I get big VTL projects done.

Nevertheless, you always need to verify your code in Marketo itself after testing locally, since it has some head-spinning differences from a vanilla install.

P.S. IntelliJ IDEA has built-in support (in fact uses VTL internally) and its VCS integration is seamless. Pays for itself.

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Jamie Rodger @ Sanford Whiteman on Oct 23, 2018 7:53 AM

Sorry, just saw this. Not a programmer and only learned velocity to scrape by with some of our requirements. I have no idea how to accomplish the things you say here, but I will hit up the google machine. Thanks.

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7 Replies

Sanford Whiteman Jul 31, 2018 12:40 PM
All true. Not much to be done until it's made part of the UI overhaul.
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Dan Stevens. Jul 31, 2018 12:54 PM
Yep - we experience all of this. When asking support about the empty right pane, their response was it was my ISP - in that I have to give it more time for the data to come down from Marketo. I just need to give it time. Well, that was not the issue. You can keep the editor screen open for hours and it will never populate. The only solution I've found is to keep opening/closing and finally the fields render.
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- Mark Price @ Dan Stevens. on Aug 7, 2018 2:55 PM
  Have the same intermittent issue. Logging out / logging back in seems to fix it more or less.
  
  Also, beware when this bug occurs- if someone accidentally saves whilst the 'standard objects' are showing; it will uncheck the fields that were selected and you can't fix it until it starts to work properly!
  Like • Show 0 Likes0
  Actions
Chris Wilcox Aug 7, 2018 12:25 PM
I've found a couple things can help with this:
1. Non-populating right pane - CTRL+SHIFT+R to hard refresh your Marketo window. I've found this can resolve the issue (as well as endless spinning in the navigation pane throughout the rest of Marketo)
2. When you open up a token, there's a 3-5 second delay when the script window appears, and when the right pane "refreshes." In my experience, if you start to edit the code in the main window before that refresh happens, you'll end up with dropped integrations, unsaved code changes, etc. If you wait the 3-5 seconds once the pane opens until you start making updates, I've never once encountered that issue. It's only when I dive right into making changes too quickly.
3. All of this has lead me to work mostly offline with my scripts. I use Notepad++ with a custom Velocity syntax highlight that Courtney Grimes put together. It mimics the look of the velocity script editors
We definitely all experience these problems, but mostly I've found slowing down at the start, hard refreshes when needed, and working offline for major edits to be my personal preferred workflow.

Best of luck!
2 people found this helpful
Like • Show 1 Like1
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Mark Price Aug 7, 2018 2:58 PM
+1 for the editor not showing the field tree.

I've noticed the same issue as well as another user in this thread:
Email Script Editor not showing Standard Object tree
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Sanford Whiteman Aug 7, 2018 5:33 PM
Kind of surprised y'all are still running VTL only in Marketo (even if authoring offline)!

Recommend building your own runtime environment, which... ***spoiler alert***... is how I get big VTL projects done.

Nevertheless, you always need to verify your code in Marketo itself after testing locally, since it has some head-spinning differences from a vanilla install.

P.S. IntelliJ IDEA has built-in support (in fact uses VTL internally) and its VCS integration is seamless. Pays for itself.
Like • Show 0 Likes0
Actions
- Jamie Rodger @ Sanford Whiteman on Oct 23, 2018 7:53 AM
  Sorry, just saw this. Not a programmer and only learned velocity to scrape by with some of our requirements. I have no idea how to accomplish the things you say here, but I will hit up the google machine. Thanks.
  Like • Show 0 Likes0
  Actions

Velocity Script Editor is Broken Junk

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