AUTO SAVE

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sharkcutup
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AUTO SAVE

Post by sharkcutup »

With all the technology built into the Vectric software why does it not have an auto save feature within its program? Maybe that would be something to incorporate in next software update along with a user capability to decide whether he/she wants to use it by being able turn it on or off as needed.

My UPS recently died, have not gotten a new one yet and I lost power briefly while in the middle of some design work and lost it all (approx. an hour). If the software had an auto save feature within it I would not have lost but maybe a fraction of my design work.

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Adrian
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Re: AUTO SAVE

Post by Adrian »

Problem is that large 3D files can take quite a while to save (especially on older machines) and I can imagine there would be lots of complaints from people not understanding why their software is "locking up" every few minutes which would then lead to them turning it off and being back at square one. IMO it's better to have the backup/save totally in the hands of the user rather than being automatic for software that has any sort of delay during the save process.

There is an increment and save feature on the file menu which manually lets you create a backup version and carry on with the current one. You can press Ctrl+Alt+S to do an incremental save or Ctrl+S if you're not worried about overwriting the original file with a "normal" save.

Also I wrote a couple of backup gadgets that are available here - http://gadgets.vectric.com/job_backup.html

I have the "Save Copy As 2" gadget linked to the Ctrl+F1 gadget shortcut. Whichever shortcut and backup method is used it's surprising how quickly it becomes second nature to press the keys whenever a natural pause occurs in the work.

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sharkcutup
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Re: AUTO SAVE

Post by sharkcutup »

Thank you for your timely response.
There is an increment and save feature on the file menu which manually lets you create a backup version and carry on with the current one. You can press Ctrl+Alt+S to do an incremental save or Ctrl+S if you're not worried about overwriting the original file with a "normal" save.
Yes I have known about these hot key shortcuts and have used them but the problem is I get so wrapped up in the design work I forget to use them. I have other programs that have the auto save feature along with the users capability to turn it off or on as desired/needed and it has saved files for me on several occasions. I can see and understand your point on long/large files and I have also noticed the so called "locking up" too but I understand that it is only the AUTO SAVE doing its job and other users can possibly see it as the program "locking up".

I have taken a look and downloaded your gadget tool, Thank you for mentioning it.

By the way, I have also ordered new batteries for my UPS too!!! I am determined to not let hours of work get lost again!!!

Thanks again for your timely response!

A little Side note here: My Grandfather was from Liverpool immigrated to the U.S. with his mother and two brothers in the early 1900s. Just had to mention this seeing that you are in the UK.

Have a GREAT DAY!!! :D

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TReischl
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Re: AUTO SAVE

Post by TReischl »

Auto save is one of those things that can be sorta good.

Really depends on how much you alter things as you work.

One problem is that when a crash happens it may have saved something you actually fixed a tad later. Then when you come back, you forget to fix it, just like forgetting to save in the first place.

Corel has an autosave, I rarely use it, but that is probably because I do all my work on a laptop. If power goes down the laptop just runs on the battery for a while. If I had to work in a "professional" environment I would probably use a laptop connected to several monitors and avoid the whole battery backup scenario.

Adrian has a valid point about saving taking time. If you have a rather extensive model saving all the info plus any toolpaths would certainly slow things down.

It has been a while since I wrote software "professionally" but it would seem to me that it could be set up as a thread to run in the background.
"If you see a good fight, get in it." Dr. Vernon Johns

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