Backup Bug

[Nationalsolo]

Hi NCH

 

Just bringing this point up as a new topic. It came up in my reply to a problem in another another thread and may not get noticed....

 

In version 4.48 I find Backup seems to work OK at first sight. Clips are saved to the designated folder along with a .vpj file.

 

However, if you have files already in the backup folder with the same name as the files that are being backed up (but which can have different content..i.e. you may have erased a clip/s and replaced it/them with another from a different folder but having the same name) and you choose to overwrite, VP does NOT overwrite them. The new files are added to the files in the folder but their names have ... -1 -2 -3 etc added. Nothing is lost as far as clip files are concerned.

 

The main problem is the .vpj file;.......A new overwrittenone is not created and only the old one is present in the folder. THIS IS NOT OVERWRITTEN It remains in the folder unchanged and will only load the original project. This will not include the amended clip/s

 

This is a bug

 

However you may think that if you make a Backup having seen this, and choose to rename the file..., a second .vpj file is created having the designated name.

The backup folder will now contain both .vpj files (old and new) and all the necessary video clips to recreate either of the projects........

 

Unfortunately the renamed .vpj file STILL POINTS TO THE ORIGINAL PROJECT

IT may have been renamed but the data it holds has not.

 

This is another bug

 

Under these circumstances it is always best to save to a new folder when prompted. This works fine. The new folder is saved automatically to your specified backup folder. If this is done every time, all the projects can be individually named and will have their own folders within the backup folder.

 

Nat

[c_major]

Hi Nat,

 

Thanks for reporting the issues.

 

Yes, we should prompt to overwrite the existing files in the backup folder instead of making a copy.

 

However the backup project referencing the original file is intentional - so you can use the backup project to replace the working project. When you copy the backup project to a different machine with the other backup media files, the backup project will then reference to the backup media files (in the same folder) since the original file could not be found.

[Nationalsolo]

Hi Sam

Thanks for your reply

Repeated backups of the same project on the same machine work OK even with overwrite. The .vpj file created will reload the last changes, although you can't go BACK to the previous version. That doesn't matter as it is a backup. The destination folder however can rapidly fill up with copies of the previous backup files which cannot be used as the vpj file no longer points to them. So in effect that part works OK

 

Where problems start to occur is when you add similarly named files from a different folder to the project and then do a backup. They are not always renamed correctly and the .vpj file wont reload the project as backed up.

 

Try this....

Take two clips called CLIP1 and CLIP2 place on desktop.

Take two different clips called CLIP1 and CLIP2 and place them in a folder on the desktop.

 

Open VP and load CLIP1 from the desktop and drag it to the timeline.

Make a backup and and close VP.

 

The backup folder now holds CLIP1 and Untitled.vpj file

Double click the vpj file to recreate your backed up project. So far all is working normally

 

Add CLIP2 from the desktop but don't add it to the timeline-leave it in the clip bin.

Perform another backup and select overwrite.

Close VP and look in the backup folder.

You will have CLIP1-1 CLIP1 CLIP2 and Untitled.vpj

Double click the vpj file to recreate your backed up project and again, all is working normally.

 

Now load CLIP1 from the folder on the desktop.

This added to the clip bin as CLIP1(1)

Place this on the timeline and then do a backup with overwrite.

Close VP

 

The backup folder now holds CLIP1 CLIP1-1 CLIP1-2 CLIP1-3 CLIP2 CLIP2-1

and Untitled.vpj file

Double click the vpj file to recreate the backed up project.

 

What is now created is NOT what was backed up, the newly added CLIP1 from the desktop folder is no longer present either in the clip bin or the timeline as it was when the backup was made. This is what I referred to as a possible bug.

How can the project, as it was backed up, be recreated?

 

I have to say I normally use "Save project" or "Save project as" and for me these are OK

I don't use a second PC so I assume that using Backup and selecting to create a new folder within the backup folder means that the project can be moved from machine to machine as all the clips and their associated vpj file are together in that folder. Am I correct in this?

 

 

Nat

[c_major]

Hi Nat,

 

I assume that using Backup and selecting to create a new folder within the backup folder means that the project can be moved from machine to machine as all the clips and their associated vpj file are together in that folder. Am I correct in this?

 

Yes, that was what the Backup feature designed for - to move the project to another machine or upload it on internet.

 

Also yes, I think backup works best with a new folder.