SUGGESTION: "Save as ..."

[rfhall50]

I would suggest adding a "Save as ..." option to the file menu. I'm very old school. I always like to have a breakpoint , i.e., when I make a change change, I like to save progressive copies along the way. This way if I get too far off track, I can easily back up.

When developing an app, I would start out as GreatApp, then start saving progressively as GreatApp1, GreatApp2, GreatApp3, etc..

Just a suggestion...

Bob Hall

 

[Erel]

Usually projects are made of many files, and each project should reside in its own folder.
You can use the Export as zip option to create a copy of a project (as a backup or to move the project to a new folder).

 

[Cableguy]

I would add one suggestion somewere along the lines of what Bob sugested... When we make a "compile" the current code file gets saved, overwriting the previous one...If we are only attemting a simple mod of a line or twoo, t wont be dificult to revert, but if we modded afew lines, and the result is not satisfatory, we have no "restore point"... SO my sugestions would be just that, a "Restore Point" for a project so that we can easilly step back a few steps...

 

[corwin42]

I think the export to zip like Erel mentioned is good for this. The Zip is your "Restore Point". If you want to revert just extract the Zip to the Project folder and you are done.

 

[Cableguy]

It is not as contextual, or as transparent as a "restore point" would be...

I agree, that it can be used to this effect, but I was suggesting an "automated" way of creating and if nrcessary reverting to a restore point.

 

[Gary Miyakawa]

I need to agree with Cableguy on this one... If there was a bit of an automatic save (separate directory with date/time naming... remember, disk space is cheap... ) would be good. Obviously, source control would be best but that is a serious commitment that most people don't want to mess with...

Anyway, something to add to the wish list !

Gary M

 

[LineCutter]

Me too!

There are times when I want to fork development or just have a backup against dead ends. The current process involves renaming the save file & then saving the project before amending it.

I'd be happy with a "keep n previous saves" or even an open ended Savefilename_<major revision>_<number of saves since major revision> which required me to do some housekeeping in deleting old source code files.

 

[moster67]

+1

 

[Widget]

+1

Widget

 

[Erel]

For backup you can use the Export As Zip option. Each time set the name to match the current revision.

 

[kickaha]

Would it be possible to have an IDE option to automatically the zip of the previous version (using date and time as the filename) before a save?

 

[Erel]

I will consider it. However it seems to me that a version control system will do what you want and more.

 

[nfordbscndrd]

I would add one suggestion somewere along the lines of what Bob sugested... When we make a "compile" the current code file gets saved, overwriting the previous one...If we are only attemting a simple mod of a line or twoo, t wont be dificult to revert, but if we modded afew lines, and the result is not satisfatory, we have no "restore point"... SO my sugestions would be just that, a "Restore Point" for a project so that we can easilly step back a few steps...

When you compile, the current code file does NOT get saved unless you have AutoSave turned on. Personally, I leave it turned off and hit Ctrl-S before compiling only if I am sure that I want to overwrite the old file.

When I'm thinking of trying something different, especially when it involves changing or even deleting a lot of old code, then I do the Zip and give it a name with the current date and time in it.

 

[warwound]

Here's my solution.

I start a new project and create a folder named after the project.

Then in that folder i create a new sub-folder with the current date, '20110722' for example, and start the project code in that folder.

When i reach a stage where i want to save progress and start with my last progress backed up i make sure the project is saved then use Windows Explorer to copy the current sub-folder to a new sub-folder.
Then i rename the new sub-folder with the current date.
If i've already used the current date as a sub-folder name then i append a letter a - z.

So a typical project folder structure may look like this:

MyNewProject (main folder)

20110721 (sub-folder)
20110722 (sub-folder)
20110722a (sub-folder)

Works well for me :sign0060:.

Martin.