ngld (developer of the OverlayPlugin used by Cactbot) has written an excellent FAQ for common FFXIV ACT Plugin and OverlayPlugin issues, which you can find here.
If you get an error that it can't find FFXIV_ACT_Plugin.dll, make sure the FFXIV_ACT_Plugin.dll is in the %APPDATA%\Advanced Combat Tracker\Plugins folder.
You can install FFXIV_ACT_Plugin.dll from the ACT Startup Wizard.
If you get an error in the OverlayPlugin console similar to Error: JS Handler call failed: System.Exception: Tried to call missing handler "cactbotLoadUser"! then you are still using the hibiyasleep version of OverlayPlugin and need to upgrade to the latest version of the ngld OverlayPlugin instead.
If you get an error in the OverlayPlugin console similar to Error: LoadAddons: Cactbot.PluginLoader: RainbowMage.OverlayPlugin.TinyIoCResolutionException: Unable to resolve type: Cactbot.CactbotEventSource then you have likely installed the CactbotOverlay.dll into the OverlayPlugin/addons folder. Please move the Cactbot files to their own separate folder, as described in the Installing Cactbot instructions.
If you get an error in the OverlayPlugin console similar to System.MissingMethodException: Method not found: '!!0[] System.Array.Empty() then you have installed the wrong .NET framework version. Please install the .NET Framework version 4.6.1 or above.
If you get a CAS policy error on starting the OverlayPlugin, such as An attempt was made to load an assembly from a network location which would have caused the assembly to be sandboxed in previous version of the .NET Framework. then this means that you have forgotten to unblock some/all of your DLLs (either hibiyasleep or cactbot). First, stop ACT. Then, unblock everything; the easiest way is to unblock the original zip file and re-extract rather than unblocking every file individually. Finally, restart ACT again.
If you get an overlay plugin error similar to Error: (overlay): Exception in SendFastRateEvents: Could not load file or assembly 'FFXIV_ACT_Plugin, Version=(version), Culture=neutral, PublicKeyToken=null' or one of its dependencies. The system cannot find the file specified. then you likely need to unblock the ffxiv plugin. See the instructions above for unblocking DLLs.
If triggers or pieces of the UI do not work, ensure that "Disable Parsing from Network Data" is not checked in the FFXIV plugin settings. Network data is required for accurate trigger timing.
If you are using cactbot for dps parsing and you don't get any data, make sure that the DPS update interval seconds is set to a number higher than zero in your OverlayPlugin.dll -> MiniParse Event Source config. Setting it to 3 is a good default.
The overlay is hidden by default until you cast your line at a fishing hole.
If the overlay doesn't register your casting/catches/reeling in your rod there are a few options you need to check:
- Ingame chat log filter
You need to have at least one chat log set to show Own Gathering Messages You can find this option in
Character Configuration -> Log Window Settings -> Log Filters 1/2/3/4 -> Announcements
- ACT FFXIV Plugin options
You must have the Hide Chat Log (for privacy) option disabled.
- Supported language Korean is not supported at this time. You will need to restart ACT after you change parser language.
- ask in the FFXIV ACT discord #troubleshooting channel
- open a github issue
If you are having issues with triggers or timelines, it can be useful to attach a network log from ACT so that the network logs can be replayed and investigated for errors.
To find your network logs, go to the Plugins tab in ACT, click the FFXIV Settings button, and then click Open FFXIV Log Folder.
This will open up a folder window with files in it. Select a file named something like Network_etc.log. The files are named with your FFXIV ACT Plugin version and the date.
These files are often large, so zip them up first.
You can attach these to github issues directly. Alternatively, find some file hosting site, upload the files there, and then attach the link.