Can't undock, undock option missing from both sides

[dawfedora]

I am running a conveyor belt of fuel tanks up to the mun to fuel a series of landers.

I launch a tank full of fuel with docking ports at both ends, then pass it off to a robotic tug.

The tug takes it up to the munar station, docks the tank to it, detaches, then leaves the tank there to refuel landers, and goes back to wait for another tank.

Except, now the undock option on the ports between the tug and the tank have disappeared.  The undock option on the station side still works.

I have tried undocking from the station, the undock option is still not available between the tug and the tank.  I have tried shaking the join where the docking ports meet.

I have tried quitting and restarting.

Is there a way to get the docking ports to work again?

If it involves editing the save file, I will need pointers to documentation about where the files hide, how to traverse them and what to change.

"just pop into the static file and change the state of the port"  is not useful advice at my pay grade.

 

Thanks!

[bewing]

Use the KML Persistence File Editor.

[AHHans]

There should be one (ore more?) of the following options in the PAW of the docking ports (when they are connected to something):

• Undock
• Make Primary Docking Node
• Decouple Node

If there is only the "Make Primary Docking Node" option available, then clicking on that should make the "Undock" option available. If neither of them is around on the docking ports then that is a bug. (Well, except if the vessels are connected at another point and it only looks as if they are connected at that docking port but in reality they aren't.)

[Fierce Wolf]

It happened to me once, only effective solution was to edit the save file.

[dawfedora]

Is there a MacOS version of the KML editor?

And is KML "Kerbal Markup Language" as opposed to the ubiquitous "Keyhole Markup Language"?

Or did the KSP team make a sideways use of the existing Keyhole ML?

[bewing]

2 hours ago, dawfedora said:

And is KML "Kerbal Markup Language"

Kerbal Markup Lister.

[dawfedora]

Thank you.

I carefully hand edited it using vi (with it's handy bracket matching) and found the confused docking ports and corrected their state.

The tug is now undocked.

Thanks