Re: Retrieving overwritten text

[Mary Bernard <Mary_Bernard>]

Enrique

> I promise I will never again start a draft
> using a standard or untitled filename and I also promise to
> backup as paranoiacally as I can.

These are sensible promises, but you can add a whole layer of safety 
netting by using Jukka-Pekka Takala's nifty backup program, BAKUPDIR.RN5. 
You can find it at his website,

http://www.helsinki.fi/~jtakala/notabene.html

Every time you run it, it saves the on-screen file to the current 
directory. Then it saves it to a backup directory, using the first 
(eight-letter) part of the filename, and an extension numbered 000-999. 
Each time you save the file, a new version is stored in the backup 
directory, with a higher extension number, e.g. DRAFT.000, DRAFT.001, 
DRAFT.002. You can use the same filename, such as DRAFT.FIL, in different 
folders, because if you go to a different folder and start working with a 
file called DRAFT.FIL, and already have DRAFT.000-.005 in the backup 
folder, the next save (in the different folder) will be DRAFT.006.

The program also makes a log of what it has saved. For instance, supposing 
that DRAFT.001 is in \NBWIN\WORK, and DRAFT.006 is in \NBWIN\PLAY, the log 
will read:

Source                     Backup                        Date
C:\NBWIN\WORK\DRAFT.FIL   C:\NBWIN\BAK\DRAFT.001      21.06.03 12:30 PM
C:\NBWIN\PLAY\DRAFT.FIL   C:\NBWIN\BAK\DRAFT.006      10.07.03  9:00 AM

So you don't have to hunt through all your (possibly many) files named 
DRAFT.000-.999 in the backup folder to find the ones that came from your 
\PLAY folder.

The program is also very useful if you work for days or weeks on one long 
file, and suddenly want to retrieve an earlier version. It will be there in 
the backup folder.

The trick is to run the program regularly. The best way, indeed the only 
practical way, is to put the program in your XPL folder and run it from a 
keyboard-file key:

##=BX,r,u,n, ,C,:,\,n,b,w,i,n,\,X,P,L,\,B,A,K,U,P,D,I,R.,R,N,5,Q2

(where ## is the key number)

I have put it on Ctrl S, NB's regular Save key, Ctrl 31, instead of NB's 
own Save definition. Thus, every time I save the on-screen file, it gets 
duplicated to the backup folder.

After you've saved a file with the same name about 50 times, the save time 
gets a bit slower, as the program checks throught the available numbers to 
find the next free one. You can deal with that either by weeding the backup 
folder or, if you want to keep all the backups just in case, by zipping 
and/or copying them to another location, such as another computer or a floppy.

The only thing that's lacking is a way of running BACKUP.DIR automatically, 
every five minutes, say, the way NB saves the onscreen file automatically 
to AUTOSAVx.TMP.

PS I also have Norton Utilities. Their recycle bin has often saved me from 
my tendency to be over-hasty in deleting files and folders. They're 
expensive, but for me they're worth it.

Best wishes

Mary

Mary Bernard
mary_bernard@domain.hidden