Back Up > Back Up Now problem

Scrivener Scrivener for macOS
1

After using the Menu command, Back Up > Back Up Now successfully for over a year, for the first time today I find it grey.

Also, in the Back Up preference pane, the Back Up Location address and the “Choose” button are both grey and inoperative. The Open Backup Folder button highlights on clicking, but does nothing else.

I may have changed the name of my backup folder in the Finder, but then changed it back - but I don’t imagine this should be a problem, and I certainly should be able to select a new folder/location but for some reason can’t.

I’ve tried backing up to a different folder, through Back Up > Back Up To. This worked, and I was able to use the same command to back up again to my original back up folder, but none of this activity changed the problem above.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

2

Hello,

The only reason those options should ever be disabled is if you have deselected “Turn on automatic backups”:

If that is un-ticked, then automatic backups (of which “Backup Now” is a part) will be disabled.

All the best,
Keith

3

Thanks, that did it. Although that certainly is confusing since I specifically don’t want automatic backups, and use the Back Up Now command for manual ones.

Maybe I’m missing something about the Back Up nomenclature.

4

In the context of the preference pane it is an autosave of using backup for those that are to lazy (looking at guy in mirror) to properly backup on their own. Think KB getting tired of “MY DAYA IS GONE!!!” support requests. Its a great idea.

In your context it is a manual processes for which you want responsibility. Not everyone wants to be responsible for their own safety.

Or so I assume.

5

If you want to use default settings to manage your backups (keep only X backups, always save to the same location, use date stamps in backup file names), then you’ll have to get used to the mental dissonance of enabling automatic backups, even as you disable all of the kinds of automatic backups in that list. Backup to… is the other option, which prompts you every time for where to save the backup, which could get tedious.

One advantage to the automatic settings is you could also enable the “back up with each manual save” option,since the File->Save option is barely more than vestigial in Scrivener. The advantage being in that you can then just hit CMD-S to trigger a backup, which is darned convenient, and easy to remember.