I want to do a complete SAVE AS to make a copy of my work as I want to give it an overhaul. I want to still have my original project saved as if I had not touched it. Is doing a “save as” fine? I thought it may be, but I recall several times where, when accessing a copy of something, it asked me to choose a binder or create a new one. I have also had my binder corrupted in ways that made a mess.
Does a SAVE AS create a snapshot copy? I thought I’d ask since I really do not want any more problems with multiple copies.
For what you are describing, I would much prefer to use the File ▸ Back Up ▸ Back Up To... menu command, with its optional zip compression feature enabled. This accomplishes three important things:
- The copy you make will have the date and time in its file name. It is clear when it was made, and why. You can of course also add to that, annotate it, and explain why you are making the backup too.
- The copy you make physically cannot be opened by Scrivener on accident. It must first be extracted from the .zip. This is good for something meant to be a milestone backup.
- You keep going on working in the same main version you have been this whole time. So there is continuity, no need to remember that now you should be working on a different copy somewhere else with a slightly different name.
Save As is a great tool for some things, sure, but if you have other options, then in my opinion it is better for things where both copies are “live” going forward, but their needs have diverged (perhaps even radically). Sadly, it’s often the only tool available to address a wide array of needs, in many programs, so you’re left overusing it. With Scrivener you have choices though, and for milestones you might return to, but might well not, the concept of a static backup is better.
As you will note, all of that is human stuff, really. One method is clearer to the mind what we’re doing, and helps protect us from ourselves (the whole .zip layer getting in the way), while the other can be a bit confusing as it breaks our working patterns and leaves live copies behind with names that sound better than the one we’re supposed to be working in, perhaps, etc.
Nothing in there has anything to with machines. I don’t know what that is all about, but it doesn’t have anything to do with having used Save As in the past. You’re describing stuff that sounds like the chaos of using cloud sync. I’d avoid that kind of tech unless you really need it.
As an aside: zip files are better for that kind of riskier storage, too, as you’re only uploading one single file instead of potentially thousands. There is less for the technology to mess up, less chance for us to mess up (i.e. turning the computer off before it is done copying those thousands of files around, and ending up with two broken copies with confused binders, and so forth).
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Thanks, Iʻll use the backup function.
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