Sometimes a problem with picu leaves a trace that is invisible on the page itself: an error message tucked away in your browser’s console.
You do not need to understand these messages. We only need to know whether there are any, and what they say. Taking a screenshot is enough. The whole thing takes about two minutes.
Step 1: Go to the page where the problem happens
Open the page in your browser, but don’t do the thing that goes wrong just yet. First open the console (Step 2), then reload and repeat the problem (Step 3). That way nothing gets missed.
Step 2: Open the console
Find your browser below.
Chrome, Edge, Brave, Opera or Vivaldi
- Windows / Linux: press
Ctrl+Shift+J - Mac: press
Cmd+Option+J
If the shortcut doesn’t work, use the menu instead: the ⋮ or ☰ icon in the top right → More tools → Developer tools, then click the Console tab at the top of the panel that opens.
Firefox
- Windows / Linux: press
Ctrl+Shift+K - Mac: press
Cmd+Option+K
Via the menu: ☰ in the top right → More tools → Web Developer Tools, then the Console tab.
Safari (Mac)
Safari hides these tools until you switch them on – you only need to do this once:
- In the menu bar: Safari → Settings… (or press
Cmd+,) - Open the Advanced tab
- Tick Show features for web developers
(on older Safari versions this is called Show Develop menu in menu bar) - Close the settings window
Now press Cmd + Option + C, or choose Develop → Show JavaScript Console from the menu bar.
On a phone or tablet
Unfortunately there is no practical way to do this on a phone or tablet. If you can, please try the same thing on a computer. If you can’t, just describe what happens and we’ll take it from there.
Step 3: Reload the page and repeat the problem
A panel now opens at the bottom or the side of your browser window. Make sure the tab labelled Console is selected – it usually sits next to Elements, Inspector, Network and similar.
With that panel open:
- Reload the page (
F5, orCmd+Ron a Mac) - Do exactly the thing that goes wrong – upload the images, open the gallery, click the button that doesn’t respond
Watch the panel while you do it. New lines may appear as you go.
Step 4: What we’re looking for
The console is often a bit noisy. Here’s how to read it at a glance:
- 🔴 Red lines are errors. These are the interesting ones.
- 🟡 Yellow or orange lines are warnings. Almost always harmless, but include them if they’re there.
- ⚪ Grey or black lines are normal messages. Nothing to worry about.
If there are lots of red lines, scroll all the way up to the first one – the first error is usually the cause and the rest are just knock-on effects.
If nothing red appears at all, that is genuinely useful information too. Please tell us – it rules out a whole category of causes and points us elsewhere.
Step 5: Send us what you see
Please don’t retype anything. A screenshot of the panel is perfect:
- Windows: press
Windows+Shift+S, drag a box around the console panel, then paste the image into your email - Mac: press
Cmd+Shift+4and drag a box around the console panel. The image lands on your desktop.
Capture the whole panel if you can, including any text that got cut off on the right. If a message looks long or truncated, you can click the little arrow ▸ at the start of the line to expand it before taking the screenshot.
Send the screenshot to us along with:
- which browser you’re using
- what you were doing when it happened
- the address (URL) of the page
Two things worth trying while you’re there
Test in a private window. Open a private or incognito window (Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + N in Chrome and Edge, Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + P in Firefox) and try again. Browser extensions such as ad blockers and privacy tools can interfere with uploads and galleries, and they’re usually switched off in a private window. If the problem disappears there, an extension is the likely culprit.
Try a different browser. If it works in Firefox but not in Chrome, that’s a big clue and saves us a lot of guessing.
Is it safe to send this?
Yes. The console shows technical messages from the code running on the page – it does not contain your password. It may include the web addresses of your galleries and file names of your images. If you’d rather not share those, feel free to black them out in the screenshot before sending.
Still stuck? Just get in touch and tell us what you saw – or that you couldn’t get this far. Either way we’ll help you sort it out.
