I've tried all of these methods and none of these work in 18. If I open the same project in 17, all of these methods work as expected.

In the case of such unexplained errors, it often helps to reset the software to factory settings.
See point 14 in this troubleshooting guide - please follow the process exactly.
https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/vegas-pro-faqs-and-troubleshooting-guides--104787/

Thanks Walter,

I think I'll just do a complete uninstall/reinstall and see if that works.

I think I'll just do a complete uninstall/reinstall

It may seem counter-intuitive, but uninstalling/reinstalling may not solve the problem because uninstalling does not remove all traces of Vegas Pro from your computer - many remnants are left both in the registry and in the folders. To remove all of those remnants after uninstalling, please refer to https://www.vegascreativesoftware.info/us/forum/faq-how-can-i-do-a-clean-uninstall-of-vegas-pro--111205/ (linked from item 38 in the FAQs/troubleshooting guide given earlier) but taking special note of the warnings about making alterations to the registry. If you are not familiar with editing the registry nor wanting the adventure of doing so, its probably best not to do so.

The recommendation by @walter-i. to reset Vegas Pro to its factory settings is usually the safest, quickest and most effective method of solving some problems in the first instance. It doesn't involve uninstalling/reinstalling and it usually cleans up problem/corrupt program files that may still remain on the computer after an uninstall and thus still affect a reinstall.

Of course, if you do a straightforward uninstall and reinstall Vegas Pro (without editing the registry) and that solves the problem, then that is a great outcome.

My understanding is that uninstalling/reinstalling doesn't clear the cache which a "factory reset" does, provided you tick the box to clear it. So often it's a waste of time and a simple quick "factory Reset" will solve the problem. as it removes any problems in the cache. Whether this involves any registry entries I don't know.

I'll try to reset it first. If that doesn't fix it, I'll use an uninstaller (Revo Unistaller) to do the uninstall & cleanup the stuff Vegas leaves behind.

Reset fixed it! Thanks to all for your help.

Great, I'm glad it helped (once again).

I think that it helps so much because when you're troubleshooting, you wildly change some settings and then you can't retrace the steps.
In German there is an expression for this called "Verschlimmbessern".

The "factory reset" and the deletion of the cache then bring everything back to normal (and you can start again from the beginning).😇

As the resetting FAQ says, "If VEGAS Pro is behaving strangely you can try resetting it to the default settings". Applies to the Movie Studio version(s) as well. Comments here on this from @walter-i., @Dexcon and @EricLNZ are very valid.

OK, I haven't used Vegas Pro a lot these past weeks, but I've had to reset to default settings 3 times. I haven't been able to locate the trigger, because I'll close a project that's fine, then when I open Vegas again the problem returns. Opening just a blank window with no project or opening an existing project makes no difference. I could treat this as an annoyance if there was a way to save my settings and just re-apply them when the problem recurs. Any more suggestions?

AFAIK, there is no comprehensive list of customized settings to restore VP when it is, uninstalled with the third-party uninstaller that wipes all traces of an app. With VP, some are in Program files, AppData and in the registry. I have restored most of my customized settings in VP and SFP, but I do not have a specific cheat sheet.

Actually, VP 18 has a way to Export/Import Preferences that works pretty well. It's in the Options menu just above the Preferences item. I haven't explored how many settings it recovers, but it seems to work fine for my purposes. At least it's a workaround for my problem.

Just an update. I'm still having the problem of the disappearing FX dialogs. It seems every time I create a new project it happens. Also, the Export/Import Preferences is only a partial restore. Most (but not all) of the settings in Preferences are restored. The interface, however, goes back to the default layout, so I have to recreate all of my preferred changes there. Very annoying and time consuming. As I (and pretty much everyone, I assume) would like to ability to restore all of their settings in any complex app. I just wonder why it takes companies so long to implement them. Some do -- you can uninstall and app and reinstall and the app will save your settings.

But in reality this isn't the problem -- the disappearing settings are the problem. So I'll continue to experiment and hope the next version behaves differently.

@hurricane1951

But in reality this isn't the problem -- the disappearing settings are the problem. So I'll continue to experiment and hope the next version behaves differently.

Vegasaur is supposed to solve this problem much better - it also offers valuable help with the other processes.
https://vegasaur.com/vegas-presets-manager

Check it out - maybe there's something for you too - there is also a 30-day trial version
Some call it the Swiss Army Knife for Vegas
https://vegasaur.com/download

Are you talking about the FX problem or the saving/restoring of settings? I actually bought Vegasaur (I assume you mean the utilities) about a year ago, but only for a single job. I haven't checked it out for saving of settings. Even if it works, it's just a band-aid for the real problem. I'm also the "support person" for a friend who uses Vegas, and I'm reluctant to install 18 for him because of this issue.

@hurricane1951

Are you talking about the FX problem or the saving/restoring of settings?

I have now copied the passage to which I referred into my previous post.
(You should always do this - otherwise it's easy to lose the thread).

If nothing helps, you may need to create a support ticket and include your serial number so the VEGAS tech support team might be able to help you out.

I was away from home, so I didn't log a support ticket until June 14. (And what a delightful experience that was!)

I got a canned response two days later which was completely useless. I replied requesting a real tech. No response. I sent two additional follow up messages with no response so far.