Back-up Improvement wanted

[Dick Jenkins]

Would it be possible to provide a back-up option that not only saves a backup to another location, but also saves the file you are working on. I try to remember to do this manually when I get the back-up notice, but if I am working intently on something I often forget.. It is very frustrating to have a crash (which still happens far too frequently) and find that your current file is a couple of hours old. To use the latest backup from another location I have to obviously rename it, and sometimes, because of this "stripping" you do, I have to recreate certain 3D objects. While I am on that subject, why do you do that? What is the use of a backup if it is not your exact file?

[Boh]

You shouldn't have to manually save your file all the time. Instead You can change your preferences for how often back ups are created. Go to tools menu then options. It is under the auto save tab I think.

 

i have backups every 5 minutes and save 50 backups. That way I only lose max 5 min of work if it crashes.

 

also are you getting a lot of crashes? If you are getting a lot perhaps you need a system check? 

 

[Dick Jenkins]

13 minutes ago, Boh said:

You shouldn't have to manually save your file all the time. Instead You can change your preferences for how often back ups are created. Go to tools menu then options. It is under the auto save tab I think.

 

i have backups every 5 minutes and save 50 backups. That way I only lose max 5 min of work if it crashes.

 

also are you getting a lot of crashes? If you are getting a lot perhaps you need a system check? 

 

I have preferences set to make a backup every 20 operations (and save 50 backups also). When I get the "are you sure" notice that it is backing up, I try to remember to save my file so the file I am working on is allso updated. I would like for the Vectorworks to do this automatically.

[Kevin McAllister]

This wish makes a lot of sense to me. Autosave and Backup are two different things. One is to keep the current working file up-to-date. The other is in case the current file develops problems or if you want to go back to a previous state.

 

I automatically save manually (keyboard command) every few operations. Its a longtime habit and I barely think about it.

 

Kevin

 

 

[Art V]

What you are actually asking for, if I understand you correctly, to automatically save the file every x minutes as well as a backup being created when saving the file. This would be useful to have as well in addition to the current autobackup.

 

The current autobackup feature is a timed backup for the purpose as Kevin described and which acts as a crash insurance (provided the interval is short enough) so that you don't lose all your work done.

A workaround could be to use a file synchronization program that automatically creates a backup of your files every x minutes including the open file (on Windows this is done through volume shadow copy). Then you can have the whole thing backed up to any location that you have live access to and is supported by the program (network drive, another harddrive on your computer, cloud storage etc.). That way you can keep the ope file you are working on backed up separately from the autobackup interval if you set it to e.g. every minute and the autobackup to every 15 or 30 minutes. There is a small chance of the backup getting corrupted in case of data communication failure though but the next one should correct that, but that applies to some extent to autobackup as well.

The other option could be to do what is done with some other programs, e.g. databases, that any modification is automatically saved, i.e. the file is literally on always saving mode so to say, so that when the program crashes any completed operation will be stored in the file and you would only lose the currently active operation if that was not fully completed at the time of the crash. The downside is probably that this brings a somewhat  higher risk of file corruption and a bit slower operational speed.

[zoomer]

That is what my Time Machine Backups on Mac are for.

(Is there something similar in Windows ?)

The VW Backups are for Crashes.

I use bout 3-8 Minutes intervals

(>15 min if autosave blocks working for larger files)

And I only keep 1-3 backup copies.

 

Beside that, I do manual backup "version" copies, like when

the projects gets re-entered or a new design stage will start.

Like :

ProjectName_YYYY-MM-DD_Description.vwx

Like when clients ask, do you remember, we once (3 years ago)

had this solution, now we want it again ....

 

Edited January 28, 2018 by zoomer

[Art V]

5 hours ago, zoomer said:

That is what my Time Machine Backups on Mac are for.

(Is there something similar in Windows ?)

Windows doesn't have something similar to Time Machine on Mac, but you can use a file syncing program (e.g. rsync, goodsync, viceversa) to achieve the same, or a backup program like Novastor Backup which can do similar things.

 

5 hours ago, zoomer said:

Beside that, I do manual backup "version" copies, like when

the projects gets re-entered or a new design stage will start.

Like :

ProjectName_YYYY-MM-DD_Description.vwx

Like when clients ask, do you remember, we once (3 years ago)

had this solution, now we want it again ....

Yes, I'm doing the same, or whenever there is going to be a big enough change that may get scrapped or when I think it is a version that is going to be reverted back to.