The only good thing Windows ever did (for writers)

The Lonely One · Dec 30, 2011

I had a very important document of which I was making multiple versions.

Of course, it goes without saying, I saved over the original. I forgot everything I'd written specific to that particular document, and it was actually good. Anger ensues.

Now, in the past, I'd have been screwed. Time to start over, assuming I have no backup file stashed on a stickdrive somewhere. Kaput. Once you hit "save" in Word Perfect, it won't let you undo anything.

A short internet search later, I stumble on this video.

I use Windows 7, which has this same feature that apparently came from Vista or maybe XP. Something to do with the "restore older version of windows" function, on a smaller scale, as it saves older versions of your things to restore to if something goes wrong.

So, if you're a writer of sorts, I advocate Windows 7. Microsoft may be looking over my shoulder but at least with this feature I feel like they have my back.

Deleted member 42 · Dec 30, 2011

Versioning is built into Mac OS X Lion/10.7 as well.

buz · Dec 30, 2011

A good thing to know

Thanks for that.

Although...I'm currently pissed at Windows 7 since I recently attempted "system restore" which has never failed me in previous versions of Windows...and it resulted in "total system failure." Which is grand.

Still, though. Good info.

Jamesaritchie · Dec 30, 2011

Hardly the only good thing Windows has done for writers, but useful. Not, however, as useful as keeping routine backups of each version. Sometimes finding exactly what you want with restore isn't easy.

thothguard51 · Dec 30, 2011

Why I use Dropbox. One of my computers go out, the files are still saved in the cloud and even if I accidentally overwrite, or delete, Dropbox keeps a back up of each version I save.

Of course, I still back up to other systems, including an external hard drive and a scandisk. You know, just in case Dropbox ever fails...

blacbird · Dec 30, 2011

Never never never never never work on the only current version of your manuscript. Always always always always always work on a copy. Keep as many versions as you need. Computer storage is ridiculously vast for text-based files. You can store hundreds of novels on small thumb drives.

caw

Question · Dec 31, 2011

Haha, I think Word is great for novels and has tonnes of features that are really useful. I've never really understood all the Word-hate from lots of writers, because most problems to do with Word -- like losing saves -- are really mistakes made by the writer. I'm thinking of trying out Scrivener, which a lot of writers talk about. I did use it for a bit on a friend's computer, but it looked too messy (it wasn't as aesthetically pleasing as Word) and I was too used to using Word to get into it. Anyway I've gone off on a tangent, so I'll stop now hehe.

kuwisdelu · Dec 31, 2011

Medievalist said:
Versioning is built into Mac OS X Lion/10.7 as well.

Which MS has yet to update Office to take advantage of.

Works great in iWork and TextEdit, though. Does Scrivener support it yet?

blacbird · Dec 31, 2011

Question said:
most problems to do with Word -- like losing saves -- are really mistakes made by the writer.

Yes. The broader lesson here is: Never get so comfy with all the slick stuff your computer program does, or promises to do, for you, that you let it take over and forget to do necessary things for yourself.

caw

BenPanced · Dec 31, 2011

kuwisdelu said:
Which MS has yet to update Office to take advantage of.

Works great in iWork and TextEdit, though. Does Scrivener support it yet?

Scrivener has its own version built in. It creates a .zip file when you close out of a project or whenever you request a back up and saves it to the Library/Application Support folder for your user ID. I've used this feature on a couple occasions because I thought I'd lost a file.

Smiling Ted · Dec 31, 2011

I save versions as "snapshots."
It's that "Save As" function: Save as "001booksnap," "002booksnap," etc.

Tirjasdyn · Jan 1, 2012

Saved copies every where, and autoback ups in ywriter and print outs. PRINT OUTS

scarletpeaches · Jan 1, 2012

Jamesaritchie said:
Hardly the only good thing Windows has done for writers, but useful. Not, however, as useful as keeping routine backups of each version. Sometimes finding exactly what you want with restore isn't easy.

Unfortunately, we're not all perfect writers of Golden Prose with immaculate memories and presence of mind.

Us lesser-mortals occasionally fuck up.

thethinker42 · Jan 1, 2012

blacbird said:
Never never never never never work on the only current version of your manuscript. Always always always always always work on a copy. Keep as many versions as you need. Computer storage is ridiculously vast for text-based files. You can store hundreds of novels on small thumb drives.

caw

QFT.

My husband teases me for having three external hard drives and something like 15 flash drives, but hey, there's no such thing as too many backups.

Charles Farley · Jan 1, 2012

Nothing is ever lost on your hard drive. It is basicly a storage unit for information.

lordzapharos · Jan 8, 2012

Charles Farley said:
Nothing is ever lost on your hard drive. It is basicly a storage unit for information.

Hard drive failure, anyone? The longevity effects of solid-state memory (i.e. flash drives) are still unknown, but I've lost many a file to the whims of an aging hard drive. You know how it is: everything is fine until that one day when your system starts crashing. Then you have ten minutes to transfer 3 Gb. On your mark, get set...

As a side note, if you find yourself in a bad habit of overwriting your files, you can always make them read-only after a session of editing. That way, you're forced to save a new copy, and you'll never have to put your computer through the stress of a System Restore.

Deleted member 42 · Jan 8, 2012

lordzapharos said:
Hard drive failure, anyone? The longevity effects of solid-state memory (i.e. flash drives) are still unknown, but I've lost many a file to the whims of an aging hard drive.

The data is still there; it may require a clean room and highly skilled professionals, but the data is there.

M R Mortimer · Jan 9, 2012

Question said:
because most problems to do with Word -- like losing saves -- are really mistakes made by the writer.

Haha. While I for the most part agree with you on that point (for all software, not just word) I have to say, I hate word. I have never heard of anybody who hates word saying it is because of losing saves. It simply does not perform as I wish my word processor to perform. If it works for you, great.

As for security of your files, simple essential routine overcomes that problem entirely.

robjvargas · Jan 9, 2012

Yep, good info.

Remember, too, that MS Office has versioning built into it also. It's not enabled by default. But you *can* tell MS Word to keep the last so-many revisions of a document. I think that's been available since Office 2000.

robjvargas · Jan 9, 2012

lordzapharos said:
Hard drive failure, anyone? The longevity effects of solid-state memory (i.e. flash drives) are still unknown, but I've lost many a file to the whims of an aging hard drive. You know how it is: everything is fine until that one day when your system starts crashing. Then you have ten minutes to transfer 3 Gb. On your mark, get set...

I have been assured by the engineering teams at two different SSD (Solid State Drives) manufacturers that SSD's will fail to a read-only state. You have to physically destroy them to lose the data completely.

lordzapharos · Jan 10, 2012

Medievalist said:
The data is still there; it may require a clean room and highly skilled professionals, but the data is there.

Actually, that's not necessarily true, depending on what went wrong with the hard drive. The disk itself can become corrupted in conjunction with its failure -- happened to me at least once.

robjvargas said:
I have been assured by the engineering teams at two different SSD (Solid State Drives) manufacturers that SSD's will fail to a read-only state. You have to physically destroy them to lose the data completely.

Good to know! And with the method in which data is written/retrieved, the chances of corrupting a solid-state drive is far less than that of a standard hard drive. Now if the prices would only come down...

M R Mortimer said:
While I for the most part agree with you on that point (for all software, not just word) I have to say, I hate word. I have never heard of anybody who hates word saying it is because of losing saves. It simply does not perform as I wish my word processor to perform.

Just one question -- are we talking about the "true" Microsoft Word, or Word for Mac? Because most people I know who don't like Word either haven't tried 2007+ (i.e. they still have bad memories of Clippy) or are using the Mac version.

cbenoi1 · Jan 10, 2012

> MS Office [97-2003] has versioning built into it also

Yes, but it saves all versions into the very same file. This is not a backup solution. Users beware.

> Versioning is built into Mac OS X Lion/10.7 as well.

Third parties offer similar solutions for Windows. But they aren't integrated into applications though and many have been designed for software developers. Win8 will offer a File History feature when it comes out. No idea how it compares to Apple's solution.

-cb

Nephytis · Jan 10, 2012

you can get most anything off a hard drive that you need to as long as the files haven't been corrupted. it's a lengthy process that involves a knowledge of DOS (which is rare unless you're a geek) but it's possible to get any file you need/want. I've been there with hard disk issues, in fact any computer issue.

As to Word, i use it for all my writing because i know the software the best. i make tons of copies, and only save if i'm doing an edit.. not a revision. i make different copies for revisions.

jump drives and dropbox are the best inventions of all time in regards to gaining quick access to stuff. i want an itwin as well; its similar to dropbox but it's hardware with security encryption. if you don't have dropbox, get it. 2GB free storage, and i can access all my books/works from any of my qualified computers/ android phone with the account i have. you can get it on the iphone and the ipad.

Alexys · Jan 11, 2012

Some sorts of physical damage to a hard drive (an old-fashioned head crash, frex) can render data unrecoverable even to a professional who has a clean room where they can extract the drive platters. Failures of that kind are rarer than they used to be, but they can happen. And versioning in file systems is not a new idea either: the VMS file system had it thirty years ago. So Windows is only now catching up, as usual.

robjvargas · Jan 11, 2012

cbenoi1 said:
> MS Office [97-2003] has versioning built into it also

Yes, but it saves all versions into the very same file. This is not a backup solution. Users beware.

True. Versioning is NEVER a backup solution. It's about being able to recover from inadvertant changes. Data corruption, drive crashes, disasters... no.

For REAL backup, use REAL backup.

The only good thing Windows ever did (for writers)

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