OK. I’ve taken the advice so elaborately developed in the Network Drive thread. I have set my backup preferences to automatically save the minimum allowed number (3) of compressed backup files to iDisk on project close for each current scrivener project, and religiously move the most current backup to my desktop to unzip it before opening any project file.
All worked fine while using the “use date in backup file names” preference. Those project file names are reeeeeally long, though, and generally get truncated when displayed in the Finder window. Not a big problem, though, since I knew the latest backup was always the last one in the list even without seeing the entire file name.
I recently deselected the “use date” preference, however, thinking it might be safer to be able to see the whole file name in the Finder window, and went about my business using the last .bak file in the list.
OOPS! Turns out that I can no longer trust that the last backup file in the list is the latest! I learned this the hard way, opening the last backup file and becoming rather disoriented when my latest changes were NOT contained within it. Recovery was easy, once I realized that the file name on the top of the backup list had been re-cycled, and now contained the latest backup – not the oldest, as I had expected.
What gives? Why don’t the non-dated backup file names progress in a similar manner to the dated backup files names, with each subsequent backup getting assigned the next higher number? Is there any way to set this preference, or must I resort to dated name backups to be sure the last on the list is the latest?
Because otherwise you would end up with project.back-512 fairly shortly. The backup numbers cycle. The numbers are there purely to provide unique filenames. If you want to find the most recent file, you should always - and this goes for all files, not just Scrivener-related files - switch to list view in Finder and sort by the “Date Modified” column:
OK. Understand. But that’s not my preference – kinda distracting for us ADD-ers. Any way that you’d consider altering preferred minimum backups from 3 to 1? That would simplify the means for my muse to more quickly get her fresh-and-too-fleeting-thoughts into a project by minimizing distraction of finding/opening the latest file.
Hmm, I don’t know about that. Having a 1-limit backup really reduces the safety net. The whole idea of having a sequence of backups is that it protects you from inadvertently wiping out all “clean” copies. If something you want is several iterations back, you can step back that far to retrieve it. If your backup is always overwritten by the latest version, you lost that protection. Even setting it to three is a little risky.
Why not just expand the size of your file name column so you can read the whole thing with the date?
The whole point of preferences is that they are personal preferences. Right? We’ve got snapshots, project files are backed up each day to external drives in time machine, and the zipped backup copies moved from iDisk to the desktop don’t get trashed until I trash them, etc. etc. etc. So, I’m OK. Yes, there might be some marginal increase in risk, but I’m not looking for a germ free world. Just looking for ways to keep distractions to a minimum – which is one of the major advantages of Scrivener.
Already gone back to the full date preference. Tx.
Turns out that I can no longer trust that the last backup file in the list is the latest! I learned this the hard way, opening the last backup file and becoming rather disoriented when my latest changes were NOT contained within it. Recovery was easy, once I realized that the file name on the top of the backup list had been re-cycled, and now contained the latest backup – not the oldest, as I had expected.