How do I save a project while I'm working on it?

I just lost several hours of work, after thinking that a) pressing command S was saving it (which, I now see there is no "Save" option in the "File" menu. Obviously, it's not autosaving either.

So, how do I save without quitting? Surely that's not the only way!?!

If so, SAVING would be the number one feature I would expect for 2014 (and for every other prior year)!

And, why in the name of the Great Animator, when I quit after working on a previously saved project, does it prompt me to save (good), but then open the dialog to save under a new filename?

I'm running Mac OS X 10.9.3.

People forget that all computer professionals use Ctrl+S after ever few minutes "sub-consciously" to save their documents. It's part of their working habit.

I guess this is the only programme, where you are expected to look up to the menu, click on SAVE option and give another / same name to save.

Honestly, the concept behind this software is great. But some of the decisions by the developers (like the lack of saving capability) is beyond comprehension.

The software on Mac OS X 10.9.3 is buggy. I can't use it beyond 15-20 minutes without a crash. And there's no discernible action that causes the crash. They just happen.

So, the program's instability coupled with the lack of saving capability means you're 100% guaranteed to lose your hard work at some point.

Much as I like the concept, I believe I'm going to ask for a refund.

Hi..

There are several ways to save projects so I'm puzzled why you have had to quit to save?

To save you can press Shift + Command + S

Go to "File > Save As"

Just use Add/Save at the bottom of Content Manager

And to save individual elements such as models, scripts, motions etc. again just press the large "Add/Save As" button at the bottom of Content Manager.

Note: This is explained in the Help Guide under "Knowing The Environment".

                                                                

Peter
Forum Administrator

www.reallusion.com

Correction, there is NO way to simply SAVE a project. You can only SAVE AS. There's a mighty difference: https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20061002180331AAiyg5a.

Why do you make your users have to go through the hassle of SAVING AS every time we want to save changes to the current document we're working on? Why don't you guys implement saving like every other app on the planet? COMMAND-S on the Mac, and CONTROL-S on Windows.

While you are correct there is no standard Command+S save option, it is wrong to make a post which claims you can't save a project at all and have to quit to do so. This is just wrong.

"Save As" may not be exactly the same as "Save" but the end result is that the project is still saved which is surely the most important thing. And of course when choosing "Save As" you can select the same filename and overwrite it anyway.

And while you may not like it this way, we actually do always advise users to avoid overwriting an existing project. This way if there is a problem with your project after making changes, you still have a working version to full back to. This is the method used by most professional developers and the safest option. It would seem a very risky thing to do to build a project from scratch and just maintain one file that you could lose in an instant if you have crash or power outage when saving.

                                                                

Peter
Forum Administrator

www.reallusion.com

Sorry but I strongly disagree. Everybody who works with computers for money will have experienced program crashes with the result of lost work. After a few of these crashes hitting Ctrl-s becomes second nature. And that you would decide that all users of your software ought to be told a lesson in how to properly protect their work is hilarious. Do what each and every other software developer does: enable saving a document by Ctrl+s. And polish your software so that saving as a new project after each change is not necessary.

I never said "you can't save a project at all". I said the program lacks the ability to save using the normalized "Save" methodology. Please stop putting words in my mouth to shore up your defense of a bad UX decision that is non-standard and results in exactly the scenario I described in my original post.

If your software was stable, why would you "always advise users to avoid overwriting an existing project?" And if it's not not a problem, then why wouldn't you allow users to simply save?

Further, why are you so hostile towards paying customers who are sharing their experiences and suggesting improvements that facilitate their expectations of how the software should function? You're so busy defending the decision by chastising us that you're missing the opportunity to interact with customers in a whole, accepting and meaningful way.

Everybody is entitled to their opinion of course but just maintaining one copy of a project by continually pressing CTRL+S is just asking for trouble.

I have lost count of the number of people who have lost all their hard work by not keeping incremental backups so I would never recommend what you suggest.


                                                                

Peter
Forum Administrator

www.reallusion.com

Hi Zavoodi,

I think this may hold the record for the longest time to reply (almost a year) but thanks for getting back to us.

My reply was simply based on what you wrote in your original post (before it was edited). I certainly wasn't trying to put words in your mouth.



I would advise the same thing for any software. If a power outage or hardware issue occurs in the middle of working on a project you could lose everything. Why would you want to take a risk of losing all your hard work?



There was certainly no hostility on my part and all suggestions are greatly appreciated. Adding a quick save option would be a good idea (and it may happen) but even if it was there I would still advise everyone to use "Save As" often for the reasons I have given previously. I think if you were to lose hours or days of hard work due to only maintaining one project you may have a different outlook on this. But at the end of the day if you wish to take that risk then you can of course do so.

Thanks for the feedback. It is appreciated.


                                                                

Peter
Forum Administrator

www.reallusion.com