Frequently Asked Questions

Something odd is happening with MovieSlate's layout. When I tap the Scene button, the panel opens in the wrong spot on screen instead of where it normally appears. Everything still works, it just looks misplaced. How do I get it back to normal?

Occasionally a MovieSlate panel, popover, or button will draw in an unexpected spot on screen. This is almost always a temporary layout glitch rather than lost data or a corrupted project — your takes, notes, and script are unaffected. It typically follows a device rotation, a Split View or Stage Manager resize, an incoming call or notification banner, or an iPadOS update that changed how the system reports the window size.
Try these steps in order. The first two are safe to do mid-shoot; save the third for a break or the end of the day.

1. Toggle the element off and on. Tap the same button again to dismiss the panel (for example, tap Scene to hide it), then tap once more to reopen it. Note whether it reappears in the same wrong position or snaps back correctly.
2. Rotate the device. Turn the iPad to the other orientation and then back again. This forces MovieSlate to recalculate its layout and often puts the panel back where it belongs. If you have rotation lock on, turn it off first.
3. Force-close and relaunch MovieSlate. This is the most reliable reset. Swipe up from the bottom of the screen and pause to bring up the app switcher, swipe the MovieSlate card up and off the screen, then tap the MovieSlate icon to reopen it. Because a relaunch briefly interrupts logging and any active timecode sync, do this when you break or are done for the day rather than in the middle of a take.

• Restart the iPad itself (hold the power and volume buttons, slide to power off, then power back on).
• Check the App Store for a MovieSlate update — layout issues introduced by a new iPadOS release are usually corrected in a follow-up app update.
• If you are running MovieSlate in Split View, Slide Over, or Stage Manager, try it full-screen to see whether the misplacement only happens in a resized window.