Better error messages when AFM fails to load

[manzt]

Describe the problem

When the AFM fails to load, the error message comes from ipywidgets and incorrectly suggests that anywidget is the source of the problem. This is misleading and causes confusion among anywidget developers.

• VS Code: Failed to load model class 'AnyModel' from module 'anywidget' #684

These errors usually stem from legacy dependencies inspecting the environment for global variables like define and require, which can vary across different platforms. Since these variables may exist in some environments but not others (e.g., works in Jupyter Lab but not in VS Code), users often misattribute the problem to anywidget due to the misleading error message.

Describe the proposed solution

Implement better error handling that clearly indicates when AFM fails to load. Suggest checking dependency compatibility across environments.

Importance

would make my life easier

[Kreijstal]

Describe the problem

When the AFM fails to load, the error message comes from ipywidgets and incorrectly suggests that anywidget is the source of the problem. This is misleading and causes confusion among anywidget developers.

* [VS Code: Failed to load model class 'AnyModel' from module 'anywidget' #684](https://github.com/manzt/anywidget/issues/684)

These errors usually stem from legacy dependencies inspecting the environment for global variables like define and require, which can vary across different platforms. Since these variables may exist in some environments but not others (e.g., works in Jupyter Lab but not in VS Code), users often misattribute the problem to anywidget due to the misleading error message.

Describe the proposed solution

Implement better error handling that clearly indicates when AFM fails to load. Suggest checking dependency compatibility across environments.

Importance

would make my life easier

does it work on jupyterlab tho #725