Saving, Save As, Snapshots and App Crashes.

[Affinity Rat]

I was working on an multilayer APho 2 doc for hours saving names to layer and thought I should save.

APho v2 no longer has save options in menu while working, so exited document. The app crashes at this point, reloading app all work lost. Wonderful 

Start again with last save, modifying for couple of hours and making many snapshots >6!

Exit program and select Save As, give it a new name, fine. Now I notice in the gallery area with the thumbs, the file visible has the new name, but the previous file I edited but not saved is gone. Why isnt it still in sand box?

Opening the file I saved with Save As none of the changes were saved nor are there any snapshots! So what it did saved, nothing and worse deleted or replaced the unsaved file in the sandbox.

So snapshots arent saved when created, and not intended as assistance/partial recovery in situations involving corruption.

So snapshots are merely retained command actions, which are lost too, when app crashes.

If the snapshots history was saved when created like a independent sidecar, then maybe it could reconstruct the file, providing necessary layers intact.

Appears there is no way to backup work prior to closing document, must exit first.

Questions:

1. How to deal with app crashing and corrupting files? 

2. Upon returning to the gallery with many versions, how do I know which one was the last one I worked on?

So presumably after exiting and choosing Save, then Save As I would have two files.

Maybe by clicking Save As, the sandbox file was still there, but didnt retain the most recent changes.

In V1 returning to gallery retains unsaved changes, as does v2, but once save as is used in v2 to save it replaces the sandbox copy.

In many years of using software I’ve never experienced a “Save As” as a destructive operation.

At this point dont know whether to start over from beginning, having been burned 2x.

 

 

[Affinity Rat]

My solution export as PSD and edit elsewhere.

Not so fast, export to PSD app crashes, 

Export crash again attempting maintain editibility.

[Affinity Rat]

Cant seem to duplicate behavior now, seems like sometimes on iPad, if choosing file location as recent location it misbehaves sometimes not showing that location and save button never appears.

[walt.farrell]

If I remember correctly (and I may not), you've previously had problems with your iPad storage filling up. If that's right, have you resolved all those problems, and do you now have sufficient free space on the iPad?

[Affinity Rat]

Storage is something I am acutely aware of.

 

 

[devendra]

5 hours ago, Affinity Rat said:

Appears there is no way to backup work prior to closing document, must exit first.

I second that as a deficiency of the app. 

Several times when I tried to prevent my file from crashing by saving it the app DID actually crash. It costs a lot of RAM to actually reach the saving menu. I think the flaw lies exactly in that app-architectural decision. 

[Affinity Rat]

I watched the export process to PSD as it shows generation of preview percentage, it gets to 85% then crashes.

 

[Affinity Rat]

I explained my Affinity problems on the iPad with a software engineer with 40 years experience, and he felt that the memory allocation issues Affinity products have are not Apples problem, but Serifs. He suggested that Apple dictate the rules for memory management and Serif create their own memory management scheme to allow their apps to work, but they aren’t fully compliant with iPad architecture.

I used to think the problems were the result of Apple architecture but changing my mind.

ps This person was a vice president of R&D at a multinational software company.

 

 

[devendra]

Very interesting but also sad if true as it destroys hope for updates that bring real solutions for fundamental issues in the near future. Seems like some decisions would need a redo from scratch which would cause a lot of manpower, time and investment on the developer‘s side. And first of all requires the acknowledgement that there is an actual need for improvement in some parts.
 

How much trust (potential and existing) customers put into the products future highly depends on how issues are taken seriously and handled here by those in charge.