I’ve been working in all three environments.
While working in projects, I often do a File=Save As…
Dozens of these saved .scriv projects were then copied to external USB drives. It should be then possible to pick up these backups and move them from one machine to another. However,
I see that some of the backups (save as…) files have .scrivx files in the folder, but many do not.
Do projects created on the Mac have a .scrivx file? If so, where is it?
What does the absence of a .scrivx file mean?
Many of these back-ups do not seem to be successful in that they look like a project before work has commenced. Or they have multiple document folders (1.rtfd, 15.rtfd, etc.) which suggests that once these held data but no longer.
Fortunately, this was a case of more backups than were required, but I’d like to know what went wrong with these anyway so as to avoid future unsucesful or partial saves.
Two side notes: USB’s ought to be reliable since there are no moving parts, but they fail surprisingly often.
When is Linux 1.7.2 going to be released?
Unless you want to continue editing in the saved-as version, I suggest File->Backup->Back up to… It leaves you in the original project after it makes the backup copy, provides you with the opportunity to .zip compress it and add a date to the name (neither option is mandatory however), and there’s no risk that you will accidentally edit the “backup” and then return to the original later and discover your most recent 3000 words missing.
Yup. Shouldn’t be an issue if your copy method is sound.
DANGER WILL ROBINSON! Really, every single project should have a .scrivx file just inside the .scriv folder.
Yes. Right inside the .scriv folder (not in a sub-folder). Macs rename the .scrivx file to match the .scriv folder name, but it should be there.
Very bad things. That’s the index for your entire project, plus metadata, document & folder titles, etc…
How so?
That’s a bad sign. Those should be files, not folders. The .scrivx file stores the document/folder name as seen in the binder that corresponds to the number of the rtfd file.
I can’t say for sure what’s going on here. Seems like a bug in the Linux implementation or the Scrivener install. Save As and Backup to… should be reliable (they are under Windows & Mac). Are you writing these save-as projects to a non-local drive first, before you copy them to the USB sticks?
I presume that the projects that have no .scrivx file are those that have the X.rtfd files within the folder. Those projects were created under MacScriv version 1 and are not compatible with WinScriv. To make them compatible, you need to open them in MacScriv version 2.x, which will convert them while saving the original version 1 as a back-up.
Version 1 used .rtfd, (Rich Text Format Directory), which was Mac only and is only used by some apps. Version 2 will convert them to .rtf and create the .scrivx file which was part of the changes from the first version.
I presume you’re looking at all this on your windows or linux machine, as on Mac, all project packages look like single documents.
Mr X
Ah! I had forgotten that (if I ever knew it).
You haven’t been around as long as I have and you probably get out more!
Mr X
So, does a “Save As” fully back-up the project with a different name?
Setting aside the use of backup zip files, what is the difference between “Save As” when you save to a USB and “Backup=To” a USB file?
In the previous version of Scrivener, was there a hidden .scrivx file?
Yes.
Robert answered this earlier in the thread. See his post that starts “Unless you want to continue editing in the saved-as version…”
Save As and Backup To (not using the zip option) both result in a full copy of the project (the project folder and all subfolders and files in it). The resulting name (and optionally, location) will be what you tell it or let it default to. Backup To adds the option of having a date/time stamp added to the project name and the option of the whole thing being compressed down into a single physical .zip file).
As Robert discussed, Backup To spins off a full copy, but leaves you in the original/starting project, whereas Save As spins off a full copy and then switches you to it, away from the original/starting project.
The integrity of Saves, Save As’s and Backup Tos depends on the reliability of the location/media targeted… and in the case of cloud services such as DropBox, in allowing sufficient time for the material to get uploaded/synced to the clould before disconnecting or trying to access it from a different machine.
Project folders (names ending in .scriv) (also apparently referred to as “packages” on Macs), particularly those for larger and/or highly granular in nature (outlined/organized as lots of pieces in deeper hierarchies) projects, tend to contain many folders and lots and lots of files. Which slows/lengthens saves, copies and syncs and which increases the risk of corruption if writing to unreliable locations/media.
Which is why compressing (zipping) a project into a single physical .zip file is sometimes worth the extra aggravation of subsequently having to expand all/unzip such before being able to work on the contents (can browse them in File Explorer, but Scrivener cannot work on them while they are inside the compressed file.
I tend to trust live Scrivener projects (regular uncompressed .scriv folders and contents) to local hard drives and SSDs (solid state drives that present/perform as though are hard drives)… but use compressed (.zip) versions when backing up to USB thumb drives and DropBox. But I’m not passing/sharing my project between machines on a routine basis… compression/zipping obviously makes that a bit more tedious.
Key thing, regardless of the approach you use, is to be methodical, follow proper procedures and make/keep lots of backups, on/in multiple locations/media, just in case. Location/media is cheap. Manual re-writing or salvaging can be a nightmare.
Which also means, routinely verify that your backups still exist and than you can open/retrieve and use them.
Sorry, hope I’m not being redundant. Shutting up.
Thank you.
I did not understand if there was as difference between “Save As” and “Backup to” but you have clarified the matter. Much appreciated.