Knowledge base

Showing missing symbols in The Grid 2

The Grid 2 will display a grey box in place of a symbol if it cannot display the symbol.

What does the grey box mean?

A grey box in a cell means that The Grid 2 cannot display a symbol. This usually means that they symbol cannot be located on your computer, but it can also indicate that you need a licence to use a symbol library.

The grey box may have the name of the symbol library written in it to help determine why the symbol is not displayed. For example, missing Mayer-Johnson PCS symbols are denoted “PCS”.

Why do some symbols display and not others?

The Grid 2 uses symbols from different sources in different ways. Symbols that you include by doing a screen capture or browsing for a file are copied with the grid, and so these pictures are always displayed.

Symbols from symbol libraries are treated differently. Instead of copying the symbols, we store a reference to it within the symbol library. This does two things; it keeps the grids small, and it helps to protect the copyright of the symbol creators.

How do I get the symbols to display?

First of all, you should update to the latest version of The Grid 2. We have added support for more symbol libraries as time goes on, so getting an up-to-date version on your computer is important. You can use Sensory Update to get the latest version.

Symbol locations

Symbols will be installed into a folder on your computer, usually divided into sub-folders called ‘A’, ‘B’, ‘C’, etc. The Grid 2 needs to know the location of the folder for your symbols.
Go to File > Preferences and choose the File locations tab. Here you can see a list of symbol libraries supported by The Grid 2, with a tick mark next to those that have been located.

Select the symbol library you want to locate and click Find. The Grid 2 will look for the symbols in the most likely places on your computer, and let you know if it can find them. If it does not locate the symbols, you need to locate the folder manually with the Browse button.

Symbol licences

The Widgit Rebus symbols are included with The Grid 2, but require a licence to be used. In some countries, this licence is included with The Grid 2, and in other countries it is bought separately as an add-on. If the symbols are marked as “not licensed” then you need to use Licence Manager to unlock the symbols.

I don’t have the symbols on my computer

If you are trying to view symbols from a symbol library, you need to have the symbol library on your computer. For example, if you have received a copy of a grid that uses PCS symbols, you will need to have the PCS symbol library on your computer in order to access the symbols.

What if I bought the symbols with some other software?

You may be able to use the symbols with The Grid 2. Some software includes symbols that are available for general re-use. Other software includes symbols that may not be used with other software, and in this case you will need to obtain a separate copy/licence to use the symbols with The Grid 2.