Daz: Can you please add auto-save to DS?
Wonderland
Posts: 7,137
in The Commons
To DS programmers, please add auto-save. I don’t think an explanation is needed...
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Only as an option as I have no need for it.
Absolutely, only as an option. I revert back to the saved versions many-many times. If it were overwritten by an autosave, I would shout and scream. :D
Yeah, I only save when I'm 100% happy otherwise I like not having auto save as a safety net for when I screw something up and need to go back to where I liked it before. I don't think I've kept autosave enabled for a program ever, but I see why some people would like it so having it as an option would be a good idea.
It shouldn’t disable the use of “undo.” For me it’s best when you haven’t saved anything yet because it’s not at the point when you’re ready to save it. I do use the incremental save plug-in (I forgot its actual name) but usually I wait to save until I have the character fully morphed, dressed and ready to pose. I don’t want to keep renaming the scene each time I try a different outfit, shader, hair, etc...An option not to use it is fine, but like in Photoshop, it would be very convenient for accidental losses.
I only speak for myself here, and I totally understand your need for an autosave. For me, it should not save it when I did not ask it to save. It can save it to ANOTHER FILE, but actually, even that don't. It takes minutes for a complex scene to be saved, and I would not want to wait minutes while in the middle of something. Anyway, back to "undo," when I look at a scene, and realize that it's worse than what I started with, I simply revert. I don't want to do 500 steps of undo, especially since DS won't let me do 500 steps of undo.
So this question of autosave is a bit more complex than what it seems at first, with so many different ways the users use DS.
This is very different from my usage which is why I am for the option. I always turn off the autosave feature in any software I am using and it has made me more aware of when I should save. I have been using modeling apps for many years and always save at different stages of development depending on the app. It has taught me to do this with other apps such as DS. I always save a base file once I get the main character or scene done and then I also save before starting a dynamic or dforce simulation just in case and a couple of times it was good I did. I have even saved before changing a pose because while I liked the one I had before, it wasn't quite right and wanted to make sure I could go back to it once I tried to make it better and failed.
As much as I like technology, I like being the one in control of what decisions are happening, probably why I don't use DIM or smart content.
Would only be useful to me if the auto-save doesn't override the manual save.
It should be a separate temporary back-up save, just in case of a crash.
Optional only please.
+1
Yeah, I have this too a great time saver. Too expensive for something that should be built in.
You also might want to take a look at this: https://www.daz3d.com/forums/discussion/263331/free-open-source-incremental-auto-save-script
Kind regards, Eagle99
Hexagon has an incremental save as a key stroke. That is, you save a copy of your file but with a number appended to the filename, starting with one. Then next time you do it, it saves with the next higher number appended. That's a good way to go, if you ask me. This was crucial because Hex crashed a lot until the new beta, which seems a lot more stable. Worked great, always had a moderately recent file but could go back to many prior iterations of a model I was working on too.
But then again, hexagon files are tiny compared to many Studio files. So maybe that's why it's not included.
Whilst useful, I don't like relying on it.
Ctrl S in Studio and many apps saves; do something important Ctrl S. Autosave can miss stuff.
I don't know, you just get into a habit of saving any time you put in enough work that you don't want to have to do it again. Click on the save button when you're clicking around the screen, and particularly just before you hit "render". The problem with an autosave in this type of program is it will take more time to figure out what steps the autosave left out than it is worth.
I do have to point outt hatbthis is a fairly frequent suggestion, there was another thread on the topic within the past few weeks, so it's likely to have been considered. As others have pointed out, the complexity of the data in DS does militate against an auto-save as it would lock up the UI for a while (and might actually introduce instability of its own).
If you want to make a formal request even so, the way to have it reach daz is via a Technical Support ticket https://www.daz3d.com/help/help-contact-us
There's also the question of what's to be saved — there's a big difference between "save scene" and "save scene subset", let alone all the other options such as animation, render settings, materials, etc. Autosave for e.g. a Photoshop image or a Word document is simple by comparison, there's only one type of file and no options. I really can't see how a similar autosave function can be done in D|S without a mandatory options selection every time you open a scene... which might or might not provoke more howls of anguish than a no-options scene save, whether or not that's what the user wants.
I like the idea but I'm not sure how well it would implement. Of course, I've learned to save and save often. My husband just looks at me and says, oh, you forgot to save stuff again didn't you? when the swearing starts lol. There is a lot less swearing than there used to be. I did not know that Ctrl S would save the file so I will be introducing that keyboard shortcut. My problem is, I get so caught up in what I am doing and in working things out, I just lose track and forget.
Yeah, I'd like it, but I'd never use it.
I do too much experimentation and that UNDO feature is so limited...yikes.
That, and for my system and scenes- the save takes a very long time.
Sometimes I hate saving because it takes so long. It's an interruption...
But every so often I hit a button and Daz Studio closes without a trace soooo....
It's a process. So working on something and suddenly having the auto-save kick in....ouch.
The shortcut Ctrl+S should be standard in any application like copy-paste Ctrl+C Ctrl+V.
But there is always the risk that you save over your current scene file with alternations that screw things up.
This could be things you did yourself by accident or settings that leads to the worst case that the scene file gets corrupted and eighter can't get opened again or crashes DazStudio at some point.
Its aways a good advice to save your project files in which ever application incrementaly before trying new things especaily if you start to experiment with undocumented features and things you have no clue about.
While saving with the main menu it can be tedious to navigate to the right folder and enter a new scene file name again and again in the save dialog everytime.
Therfore I recommend using this script here: https://www.daz3d.com/super-save
It includes the "Incremental Save Basic" script that saves a new scene file with an upcounting number at the end to the same location without prompting the user. This had speed up my workflow dramaticly and I no longer need to enter a filename or navigate the folders to the right save location. You could even go to the Customize dialog and replace the default save Ctrl+S shortcut with the Incremental Save Basic script.
For those of you who know how to write scripts I have an idea, if you combine the single-shot timeout example script* with the Incremental Save Basic script you will get an autosave with incremental backup.
*http://docs.daz3d.com/doku.php/public/software/dazstudio/4/referenceguide/scripting/api_reference/samples/general/singleshot_timeout/start
Thanks Eagle99 for posting the link.
In the example I would replace the line...
...with a line that triggers the Incremental Save Basic script, then save the modified script to your library and add it to custom actions. Next in the Customize dialog assign the shortcut Ctrl+S to your script and the timer will start as soon as you hit this shortcut. Well it should also save the scene immediately so the line that triggers the Incremental Save Basic script should also be written outside of the while loop.
Edit: Maybe add a message box that pops up as a reminder with a question to save now so you can skip that autosave if you like.
Right Click on your default scene file and set it to read only; do it with the duf and image, this will prevent it being overwritten. Need to alter it, then just reverse the process before setting it to read only again.
An incremental save system to go with it would be farly nice but I guess Shift+Crtl+S is an okay enough substitute for now.
Personally I would say that an incremental save system is much better. I would hate an auto save system, it's just so final, leaves no room for undoing things. I have been using an incremental save system since around 1997.
In DS?
NO. I think most people know that I don't actually use DS, it's not exactly a secret which program is my 3d program of choice. It makes no difference to my opinion though, and incremental save system works, an autosave system would be too restrictive to a work flow IMHO regardless of which program you use. As FSMC said, an optional autosave maybe, although I am not sure how you could make that work The incremental system is much more flexible
I like the manual auto-save
is that the one run by the mantra Save save save.
Totally
Indeed