# A mess with duplicating a project **URL:** \ **Category:** Scrivener\ **Tags:** support, backups\ **Created:** [November 6, 2026, 11:34am UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/a-mess-with-duplicating-a-project/155027 "2026-11-06T11:34:28Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![anon50491118](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/b5ac83/32.png) [@anon50491118](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/anon50491118)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2026, 11:34am UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/a-mess-with-duplicating-a-project/155027/1 "2026-11-06T11:34:29Z")
Hello. I am in a bad spot. I am on MacOs Golden Gate. I have a Scrivener project, which has been several years of writing. I wanted to use only a part of it for another project, so an hour ago I duplicated it using Finder, changed the name (in Finder), moved it to a different folder on my computer. Opened it, cleaned it up. Then noticed that despite the name change, the project still had the old name in the upper left corner. Closed it, went to the original in its far away folder… and the original had been changed as well. I thought, well, I have backup of all my files. Tossed original and failed duplicate in the trash. Went into Time Machine, looked at the project and saw that it contained all the original documents, could read the words. Copied it over to the computer. Opened it. Scrivener gives me the new botched file and not the original. What has happened and how can I recover my stuff? I am quite a bit strained. ---
**Author:** ![kewms](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/user_avatar/forum.literatureandlatte.com/kewms/32/15720_2.png) [@kewms](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/kewms)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2026, 6:36pm UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/a-mess-with-duplicating-a-project/155027/2 "2026-11-06T18:36:06Z")
Exactly how did you retrieve the project from Time Machine? The only safe way is via the Time Machine interface: scroll to the time you want to recover from and use the Restore button at the bottom. When/if Time Machine asks if you want to Keep Both versions, say yes. Scrivener also keeps its own automatic backups, which you can find by going to Scrivener → Settings → Backups and opening the backup folder in Finder. If you need to go back further, there should also be Time Machine backups of the backup folder. It also wouldn’t hurt to use Finder to search for all .scriv files on your computer. It _sounds_ like the root cause of the issue is that you weren’t actually editing the version that you thought you were, which means an unedited duplicate may still be out there somewhere. For future reference (and for future readers of this thread), if you’re dealing with a problem like this: - Don’t Panic. Step away from the keyboard. Have a cup of tea. Walk your dog. Whatever it takes to let you calmly evaluate the situation. - Keep _everything._ Move “wrong” files to another folder if necessary, but don’t trash them. - Before you start, move the entire contents of Scrivener’s automatic backup folder to another location. That’s to keep potentially good backups from being overwritten accidentally. - Open projects that you’re evaluating directly from Finder. In this context, Scrivener’s handy “auto-open” and “Recent Projects” features are not helpful and are likely to give you “wrong” versions. ---
**Author:** ![anon50491118](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/b5ac83/32.png) [@anon50491118](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/anon50491118)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 4:42am UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/a-mess-with-duplicating-a-project/155027/3 "2026-11-07T04:42:49Z")
Thank you for your answer and for attempting to be my life coach. I happen to be decrepit and cranky and I have been using computers (always only Mac) for writing since 1986. I do not panic, nor do I believe that it sounded like I was freaking out; I just said that I was a bit strained. I get irritated. And if I hit a snag I look for answers from people who may have encountered the same issue as I have. Advice on personal life behaviours is completely unwarranted. I am a crabbed old man, and in the future I will avoid any emotional shading to my possible postings, as they are not likely to go over well. I’m very fine with having my potential mistakes questioned. But not with assumptions that I do not know what I am doing and with the dump of a lot of redundant information about all the correlated actions (perhaps it is done for the sake of the “readers of this thread”, but it is to me that it is addressed). I had already performed all the general actions you suggest and not performed those that you warn against. Except: There is _no_ one only safe way to retrieve files from backups (I happen to have Time Machine and Backblaze, I backup a lot, have worked with backups for decades). The TM interface through Restore and manually moving a file backup to a place in the Finder do two similar and very slightly different things: the first restores to the original document in its original location, the second places the backup copy of the file where you choose to put it. Neither fixed my problem. Furthermore, “keep _everything_” is utter dross. If you have backups you are _already_ keeping everything. You can delete as many of the copied over files as you wish, repeatedly, to the end of time. Unless you delete the backup, they stay. Turns out, though, that some words in your answer triggered a switch light in my head, and I found the problem and the solution. Which I will detail for the sake of “the other potential readers”. - The project I was working on dates from 2013. In the process of moving work between folders, I created a couple aliases of the file. - I could easily recognise the aliases by the lack of the .scriv extension. - I recently updated to MacOS 27 and, in one of the usual tricks that keep happening with updates, it set all my documents by default to not show namefile extension. I did not feel the immediate need to fiddle with Settings to change the default, because I could recognise the aliases by the alias-arrow icon that MacOS creates for them. - Unfortunately, the Scrivener icon has the S-swirl in the lower left, exactly where the system place the alias-arrow. I could not see it, and I thought I was working on the original document. - I was instead working on an alias. And when you manually duplicate an alias, you get another alias, which continues to work like an alias even if you change its name and location. - So, I destroyed my original project, and every copy of it which I carried over from backups. But let all gods be praised for backups, because once I reinstituted the show namefile extension, I could easily find the original project and restore it. So thank you for the answer. ---
**Author:** ![kewms](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/user_avatar/forum.literatureandlatte.com/kewms/32/15720_2.png) [@kewms](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/kewms)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 5:16am UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/a-mess-with-duplicating-a-project/155027/4 "2026-11-07T05:16:14Z")
Please be aware that I’ve literally never seen you before, this being your first post. I have no way of knowing whether you have 30 years of experience, or 30 minutes. If this is how you typically respond when people are trying to be helpful, you might want to review our forum guidelines before you post again: [https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/guidelines](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/guidelines) I’m glad you were able to recover your work. ---
**Author:** ![anon50491118](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/a/b5ac83/32.png) [@anon50491118](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/u/anon50491118)\ **Post date:** [November 7, 2026, 7:08am UTC](https://forum.literatureandlatte.com/t/a-mess-with-duplicating-a-project/155027/5 "2026-11-07T07:08:48Z")
Very sorry, but I felt like your answer was quite patronising and assumed a lot that you did not now, while not asking what I had done with Scrivener (in case it was not clear) and diffusing instead on how to use MacOS. Yes, your general tone irritated me. Clearly my reply irritated you. And you need to bring up the community guidelines on this – I do not believe I was not civil, but the Moderator threat is an indicator of a place where indeed I do not want to be. Therefore. so long, and thanks for all the fish.