Scivener does a full backup when I exit, plus I can manually do a backup.
However there is no restore command. I know I can:
do a full restore by un-zipping the backup
open the zip file, then go through each RTP file and try to find the document I want to restore
Since Scrivener uses an internal document tracking system, the document name bears no resemblance to the manuscript layout. So finding a specific document is troublesome.
I know you have a snapshot function, but that presumes that I actually made a snapshot.
Could you add an option to automatically create a snapshot on manual save just like the backup options (max number of files, etc)?
Yes, the backups are self-contained projects in their own right., and are intended to be drop in replacements for any damaged (human or machine caused) projects, rather than something you would need to figure out on your own from the serial numbered RTF files. As Jaysen recommends, if the messed up project can be opened, getting them both side-by-side can be helpful. You can either go back to an earlier backup wholesale, or open it up and drag pieces over as you see fit from binder to binder. The only time you might need to mess with the RTF files is if the project doesn’t load and you are certain it contains work that isn’t represented in the last backup.
As for snapshots, try to move your habit from Ctrl/Cmd-S to Ctrl/Cmd-5. If you can successfully do that, then you should always have as many snapshots as you need. What I like to do is mix titled snapshots with untitled ones. Untitled ones are just routine “saves”, and titled ones are clear milestones that I’ll remember in the future. That way I can easily clear out the bulk of the untitled ones from time to time. I don’t worry too much about that though, as storage is cheap and text is extremely efficient use of storage.
This might be an awful suggestion (in the sense that another L&L bod will slap my wrist), but if you really can’t break the Ctrl/Cmd-S habit (or don’t want to), you could just flip the shortcuts so that Ctrl-S takes a snapshot rather than running the manual save. (This would mean you weren’t using the manual save and creating the additional automatic backup, of course.) It does presume though that you use keyboard shortcuts.
This could probably be made into a preference. Taking a snapshot of any documents that are being saved upon a manual save shouldn’t add too much overhead, although it will mean that snapshots get piled up very quickly (which is why you would have to turn on this option rather than have it on by default). Let me chew it over.
All the best,
Keith
Just so long as it always sounds like the paparazzi are standing outside your window whenever you save. Maybe add a little iSight-esque screen flashes too.
I use a software development suite called Eclipse. every time a file is saved a history (snapshot) file is made. I can browse up to a years worth of history (about 1Gbyte) in a two editor screen which highlights the differences between the current file and the historic file. This has saved me many times as I wander down a convoluted logic path. So that is where I am coming from.
Yes, drive space is cheap, so having lots of text files is nothing. And a single file save is fast, whereas a backup to tens of files, especially with the ZIP overhead, takes noticeable time.
But having a history of changes especially that phrase that you wrote then did not need and yet now need and dammit I wrote it six months ago and I cannot remember the exact wording and I will never be able to reproduce it and I should have printed it and I wish I had a soft copy and you get the idea.
BTW, what was the reasoning behind making a snapshot play a sound? I know if I pressed/clicked, and I do not need auditory feedback. In fact it is a distraction. So recorded a second of silence and copied over your file.
Because of my programming background I tend to hit CTRL-S and CTRL-SHIFT-S (save all) a LOT. Reflexes built up over the years…
I already said above that I was conducive to this idea and considering it. If added, it would be to the Mac version first and would filter into the Windows version a little later, though, I should add, given that Lee is hard at work on many other priorities first.
It is just a design decision. When you take a screenshot (on a Mac, at least, which is what this is based on), you get a snapshot sound. The same when you take an iSight picture. It’s essentially there to give aural feedback to the user, to let them know that the snapshot has been successfully taken. You might know that you pressed or clicked, but you don’t know it worked. If you don’t like it, then wiping it with a silent recording is fine, but it’s there to say.
Although not a bad idea, that would take a lot of time for even a reasonably-sized project with a few snapshots per document. Scrivener would have to go through every document in the project and compare them to all snapshots taken just to decide whether to take a new snapshot or not.
All the best,
Keith
Sure, if you want. But could you put in a checkbox in Options to turn it off?
Or you could internally mark the document “dirty” whenever the user types a keystroke. Then you just need to run through the document tree, check the dirty flag, do a snapshot, and clear the dirty flag. So you ALWAYS add a snapshot on a save regardless of any existing snapshots. A much more intelligent piece of software, the human brain, can then decide which ones to keep.
