Saving files with iCloud

[RoywithaT]

I’m not really sure if this is an Affinity issue or an iCloud issue, or maybe I’m just dumb and this is something I “should” know…I have only recently adopted using iCloud. I have a Macbook Pro and an iPad.  My base file is “on” the MBP, backed up to iCloud.  I work on the file on the iPad, “opened” (as opposed to “imported”) to Affinity Designer.  I save the file (using the option under “Defaults”) regularly as I work.  If I step away from the iPad I save the file from the options on Designer’s ”Live Docs” screen (the three horizontal lines in the upper right of the small window showing the file). I saved the file using this process, then closed the file out of Designer-yes, I “saved” again via the pop up window that appears when one closes a file.  However, I was offline at the time.  When I went back to the file, all the progress  on the file since the last time I closed the file out of Designer was gone.  Like I said, maybe I’m just dumb and I should have known better than to close a file when offline, but this just doesn’t seem appropriate to me, so I’m bringing this to the Forum to see if it is a problem, or just the way things are.

Version 2.2.0.2005 on iPadOS 16.6.1

Version 2.2.1 on macOS 11.7.6

 

[walt.farrell]

A few comments...

First, your application on the iPad is downlevel, as 2.2.1 is available there, too.

Next, "Defaults" does not save your file. It saves default values for things like Font, Stroke, Fill, etc. depending on what you have selected at the time. To Save your file, you need to return to the Live Docs screen and use the 3-bar menu for the file.

Since you've mentioned iCloud, when you Save from Live Docs, what directory are you Saving in when you do that.

As far as your workflow in general: It is good to Save from Live Docs. And it is good to Close the file, though equally you could leave it available in Live Docs, as long as you have the space on your iPad to do so.

Finally, you say "when I went back to the file, all the progress ... was gone." Was that on your iPad, or on your MacBook Pro? I'm unsure from your description.

[RoywithaT]

Hello Walt.Farrell. Thank you for your reply. I came back here the day after I wrote this post and deleted the content as I resolved my confusion. To answer hopefully answer your questions…the file originated on my MBP. After I closed the file from Live Docs on my iPad (while out of wifi zone) the version on MBP did not include the recent work. However, I found the version with the current work saved to my iPad. So, nothing lost, but not as I understood Apple Tech to explain the process. And I’m not thrilled to have wound up with multiple copies of the same file with the same name in two different locations and two different levels of progress, but I can work with the result now that the process is more clear. So, no further info is needed. Thank you for giving me your time. In regards to the iPad update, thank you for the note.  Multiple devices, much software, constant updates requiring more time/attention than available.  But that’s life these days.

,

[Paul Mudditt]

4 hours ago, RoywithaT said:

My base file is “on” the MBP, backed up to iCloud. 

,

This is not how iCloud works. iCloud is not a backup of your files. Files in iCloud are your MASTER files. Anything on your Mac or iPad are downloaded copies of your master file in iCloud.
When you reconnect your iPad to Wifi, your modified file (assuming it is in the same location it was opened from) will sync to the master file in iCloud and then it will sync to your copy of the file on your Mac.

Any file on the iPad home screen behaves like a file open in a tab on the desktop and will block the updating process from working correctly.

Always make sure you save and then close any file open on your Mac before opening on another device like your iPad or a PC or another Mac.

Always make sure you save and then close any file open on your iPad before opening on another device like your Mac or a PC or another iPad.