Clarify "Close" project

[Irwin]

Hi, I lost an Affinity Designer file today on my iPad, just like the user below.

I had opened it, worked on it, and then used the normal "Save" for a few weeks. Today, I made some modifications I didn't want to keep while, of all things, showing a friend how cool Affinity Designer was. I "closed" it thinking I could "reopen" the file. Instead, the "sandbox file" is now deleted.

To me, this kind of instantaneous data loss is not acceptable without requiring user confirmation. Some ways to prevent this data loss would be:

• Instead of "Close", name the menu option "Delete" or "Delete from app". That is essentially what you're doing - you're deleting the "sandbox file"
• or:
• If you select the "Close" option, ask the user to confirm the action
• or:
• If you select the "Close" option, suggest that the user save a copy to Files on the iPad, or to iCloud Drive so that it can be reopened later.

If Apple puts in place constraints where you can't save, I feel it's up to the developers at Serif to work within those constraints and help educate users on how to avoid data loss. You can argue that your users need to be aware of how iPads work. Educating a user through data loss is not education, it's not like I can undo it. A simple prompt is more than enough.

More sophisticated versions would be to have Affinity Designer on iPad save regular snapshots of the file in the sandbox every x minutes that can be reopened even if closed.

I think even simple label changes and a confirmation, as above will save many users many, many hours of consternation.

[SPaceBar]

Hi @Irvin Welcome to the Affinity forums. 

I feel your pain as I experienced a similar thing in April when I got my brand new iPad Pro 2020 model and Apple Pencil 2. The main thing I have learnt is not to assume that all apps work the same. I now spend some time getting to know how each app saves and loads files before I commit any time to them.

I'm not sure what you mean by:

Quote

I had opened it, worked on it, and then used the normal "Save" for a few weeks.

Do you mean the file is autosaved in the app storage while it's open or did you select Save while the document is displayed in the document list? This should save the file to your Default Save Location of either On My iPad or iCloud Drive.  

I would personally never rely on autosave in any app and I would make my own saves.

As far as workflow in Affinity Designer goes I have the following tips:

• Always manually save and save often - A good tip for all software.
• Consider Export as taking a snapshot as it creates an uneditable file.
• If you save iPad files to the iCloud Drive and then edit on desktop - rename the file when you save it. I go for something like - "Test - edited"
• When you then want to work on "Test - Edited" on your iPad select "Open From Cloud"

If you treat it as a new file you will get used to the idea that it won't auto-update while it is open on your iPad. It also means you have the original file should you decide you don't like the edits you made on desktop.

If you follow these tips Close will act as expected. You close the file that is open on your iPad and you can select an edited file from your Cloud to avoid confusion. There are also lots of really useful tutorials available for the app here.

The package does have a confirmation of destructive action in place. 

If you press the + > Select New Document > Place a rectangle on the canvas > Clicked the arrow to view the Gallery > Selected Close on the new doc > You will see this *warning below.


*I assumed that mine had saved and didn't realise this would affect me. I only did this once.

[Irwin]

That's strange, because I didn't see the dialog when I removed my item and therefore assumed that I must've had a copy on iCloud from when I initially imported or copied it. So where did my file go? I'm working on redrawing it now. I made a copy of it to do another project and deleted some of the layers, but not all of them so I was able to do essentially a partial recovery. Still, I feel that I've NEVER lost content when working with an app like Garageband, or Procreate, but I've lost progress multiple times with Affinity Designer. I suppose I'm lucky that I do this only as a hobby and that I can't really draw that well. As it is, I'm only moderately devastated instead of totally destroyed. Thanks for your advice, I will pay more attention to file management in the future.

[SPaceBar]

I don't know where your file went as I'm still not sure what save process you were using. In the app if you click the cog icon under General - what Default Save Location do you have set?

I recommend using the Save a Copy option regularly while working on a document. It helped me understand where my files were being saved as I was new to the iPad files system. 

I will save if I make a change that I like, save if I go to make a cuppa or go to the loo. Just in case my recent OS update makes my iPad go off or my battery looks good but goes off anyway. I know I am covered. Good luck. 👍

 

[DM1]

2 hours ago, SPaceBar said:

I recommend using the Save a Copy option regularly while working on a document.

A possibly more efficient method would be to either:

1. Use the hamburger menu to Rename, and then Save your new file. This menu is available on Home screen, This creates a .afdesign file in the default save folder. Now when you tap the icon to open and and edit the file, the changes will be saved back to the .afdesign file on returning to Home screen. You will also now have a Save option available in the Edit screens Document menu which will also update the afdesign file. 

Or

2. Use the the Save a Copy in Edit screens Document menu. Navigate to desired folder, Name and Save the file. Return to Home screen and use Hamburger menu to Close the file. Use Open from Cloud to navigate to saved version and open the file. Now in Work screen Document menu you will have a Save option. Tap to save edits back to the stored afdesign file.

Option 1 is easier but option 2 allows you to choose your own save folder. 🙂

Lots of options really...👍