Change location and function of Auto Save

[Ed Overstreet]

I have two suggestions for changing the Auto Save feature as it currently works in PTE 5.6. Perhaps these suggestions have been discussed before in this forum, but I would like to reinforce them now. This occurred to me as I am preparing a presentation to my photo club on PTE 5.6, and the Auto Save feature is a rather ‘hard sell’ for most of my audience, I expect.

My first suggestion is to change the location of the control in the menu structure. I think controls should be located, as much as possible, in places that most users are intuitively likely to look for them. The settings for Auto Save are currently to be found in the View>Advanced Options menu. I fail to see a logical relation between a feature that automatically saves the project file, and View, advanced options or not. If I were searching for a timed-backup feature (and not searching in the user manual, assuming I can figure out what the feature is called in the manual), I would probably look either under the File or the Create menu. I suggest re-locating the Auto-Save dialog under one of those two menus, in the next version.

My other suggestion pertains to how the feature works. Currently Auto-Save causes PTE to save the *.pte file onto itself every X minutes. Most other software that has a timed-backup feature, at least software that I’ve used, saves a timed backup under either a different file name or a different file extension (e.g., *.bkp, *.bak, *.bk!) rather than the original file name. The problem with over-writing the current project file is that the timed backup may occur while that project has some “errors” in it that one wants to un-do, but if the backup is created while those errors are still present, and the system crashes before one notices or has time to fix the problem, one is “stuck” with those problems on re-entry into the software and re-loading the project file. Of course this can be avoided by making repeated manual backups, in which case my preference is simply NOT to use the timed feature at all. However, for those who want the added security, or who fear they might forget to do a manual save (perhaps to a separate file name), having a timed backup feature that saves the backup to a new file name, a new extension, or at least a separate folder, might make more sense. It almost certainly would be more consistent with what most new users would expect from such a feature, based on their experiences with other software. It certainly is what I was (erroneously) expecting when I first tried using the feature.

As it now stands, this feature is hard to find in the menu structure and has little or no appeal to me, for the above reasons. I intend to call both of these concerns to the attention of my audience in my presentation in a couple of weeks, because of the “non-standard” way this feature works and the potential problems it might cause new users or even experienced users.

PTE is otherwise wonderful software. I hate making nit-picking observations such as this, but I think we'd all like to see the software become closer to perfect than it now is, and this is one relatively minor area where I think such an improvement should be relatively easy to make.

[fh1805]

Ed,

I have made my views on this subject known several times recently on this forum. I'm in complete agreement with you that the "auto-save" feature, as currently implemented, has some severe limitations; particularly the over-writing of the current project file. I, too, would like to see the file saved under a different name. Further, I feel that we, the users, should have total control over not just the frequency of saves, as now, but over the choice of folder, the format of the file name and the choice of file extension. Where-ever feasible, desirable and technically possible, PTE should work the way that we, the users, define and not solely in the way provided by Igor and his team.

regards,

Peter

[westonphoto]

While I agree with Peter about 'user control' regarding saving (perhaps that's with my micro-computer experience pre-dating DOS never mind Windows), I can also appreciate that not everyone works in this manner. Some of us regard 'autosave' as a thing to be worked around, others adopt it quite naturally.

One straightforward (from the user viewpoint, couldn't say about the coding aspect) would be if the incremental auto-saves were simply numbered sequentially. Hence "testshow.pte" would save as "testshow01.pte", "testshow02.pte" etc. Another possibility would be to take the date/time group from the file properties and use that in the sequential filename - "testshow122150" would indicate an autosave at 2150hrs on the 12th of the month. Two possible solutions to a perceived problem.

[nobeefstu]

Just adding comments of my experience with programs that employ various backup methods.

First of all ... I believe the current Auto Save feature works just fine as intended. I dont use it , but thats my choice.

What would be most useful is a new/another feature ... that actually creates incremental project file backups (just .pte file). For now I will call this feature Auto Backups. The Auto Backup file contains no other source files in the backup.

Where to save the Auto Backups folder :

The Auto Backups feature should save it files in the master directory somewhat like Application Data\PicturesToExe\Auto Backups. This is the same master directory where the Templates folder is saved.

Also the Auto Backups folder should create sub-directories of the filename using something like .bu ( just like the .pt sub-directories within theTemplates folder without the source files). This way a .bu folder contains all of particular project incremental file backups.

Reason : If you allow users to desginate a directory to save elsewhere or anywhere ... files eventually can get forgotten, lost, misplaced, and hard to locate at a later time. When saved in the master directory users and PTE will always know where they are.

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Extention and Filename to Use :

Always use the current filename and the .pte extention ... but also with some incremental backup prefix label like ~bu1_

Reason : If the user has naming input ... things here can get to cause problems and alot more work. With the prefix label like ~bu1_ you can quickly and easily always identify a backup file. With the file extention remaining as .pte ... Pte program can always open it ... and whenever you search for .pte files you can always find it.

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Program Menu Location :

The Auto Backups feature selection should be best placed under or above the existing File | Templates feature and display and work much like the Manage Templates function except geared for backups.

Reason : This way you and PTE can find and manage your backups all in one location ... reuse them whenever needed or delete some individually or the whole sub-directory .bu folder when no longer required.

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Thats a start ... I may be dreaming, but I do know by now that backups should be fast and easy to open, locate, and remove. Otherwise you waste alot of time trying to remember what you named them, where you placed them ... and all those those files will oneday buildup and junk up your file system

[jfa]

I too would like to see the "Auto-Save" function improved, I don't use it as I think the current implementation is poor to say the least. Overwriting the working file is a disaster waiting to happen.

The changes that are needed are along the lines of Where, When and Name with the choice of default or set under user control.

There have been some good suggestions here in this thread to do this. Hope they happen.

[backpack45scb]

Alas, I just learned this feature exists.

After three hours of building my show, got to the end and decided to add music. I've always done it a track at a time, but decided to select a group of tracks to see I could do that. Unfortunately forgot to do a save first. My system locked with hourglass, and finally had to do the Hold down the start button till the screen goes black recovery. Went to this forum to suggest an autosave feature, and lo and behold, it exists!

I would leave it in the View Advanced where it is, but also put something in the show Options>Main window - if not a check mark, just text that says "Go to View>Advanced to set autosave". I would have seen it there.

I realize this is pilot error, but if you have an eject pilot button, why not make it obvious?

[8321]

May I add another suggestion on this topic?

At present autosave is set 'globally' for all projects. I would like to see it set per individual project if possible.

I recently made a tutorial AV where I saved the .pte in various states of completeness (with different names - save as) to show how an AV evolves. Although I usually have autosave 'on' for this I turned it off but then had to remember to toggle depending on which AV I was working at the time.

Regards, jeff