Project History Backup

[BarrySumpter]

Can we please have another option or perhaps build in to LiveCode
where we have a backup of the Project History file and Preferences.

I seem to be loosing my history and prefernece settings quite often.

[jacque]

What's a "project history"?

[BarrySumpter]

File | Open Recent File ...

or

Start Centre | Opened Recently

[jacque]

I see, you mean the recent stack list. LiveCode stores that list in your preferences stack, so it makes sense that both preferences and the recent stack list would have problems at the same time. They are the same file.

I've forgotten which OS you run, but find your prefs stack and check its permissions. It sounds like it is unwritable. On Mac it's in ~/Library/Preferences/RunRev/Preferences.rev.

On Windows it is in the user data folder but I don't have Windows running right now so I can't check the actual file path.

[BarrySumpter]

My Deving detail are in my sig.

As mentined before I pretty much know what these feature do and where to find them and how to use them.

I'm suggesting an enhancement
to my way of using LiveCode
until the environment becomes more stable
so I can continue to perform at top efficiency.

[jacque]

I've never lost my prefs or file history, not once in all these years. From what I've heard (which is a lot,) yours is a rare situation, most people have no problem and wouldn't need a LiveCode-specific backup. If your prefs aren't saving, I'd look at something outside LiveCode. Did you look at permissions? Did you install as admin?

[BarrySumpter]

Again my profile is in my sig.

I think its your 15+ years of expertise that keeps you from these issues.
i.e. developing workaround procedure into your everyday development style.

I have a hard time remembering yesterday.
I wouldn't be able to remember 15 years of issues. LOL
I'm sure it's all your clean living that gives you that photographic memory.
My lady has one to store every mistake I've ever made.
And uses it at every opportunity.

Evenso, one LiveCoder (or 10) not having the issue doesn't make mine rare.
If you're not making mistakes, then you not doing anything.

I don't feel I push that hard on coding and deguggin.
But being a LiveCode novice I do get stuck with debug tests freezing
and have to <ctrl><alt><del> quite a bit.
It'll take some time to develop work around techniques.
I think the most recent situation was trying to resize the player on stack resize with an error in the script.
(Is there an event I can trap like StackResizeExit ?)

And having associations between 4.6.1, 4.6.2, and 4.6.3 mixed up doesn't help.
Which might be pointing to a previous preferences file or corrupting it or emptying it, etc.
Which I think lead to a blank dictionary as well.
So some of these are valid LiveCode issues that have been acknowledged by RunRev.

[jacque]

No, not a photographic memory. The reason I said I'd heard a lot is because of the 8 years and hundreds of emails I answered while working in RunRev's tech support. You'd think if prefs file problems were common, it would have come through the queue. I do remember two people who had an issue with it several years ago though. Trashing the existing prefs and allowing the IDE to create a new one fixed it permanently. They didn't have trouble after that. You could try it.

The file associations are a new-ish problem, which won't affect your prefs file. As you know, associations only affect whether the correct app opens. They do nothing once the app launches, which is when prefs are read. All versions of LiveCode use the same prefs file, you only have one, and if you run multiple versions at once, they all work off the same file simultaneously. The file is saved when you close it, and crashes wouldn't affect it unless the crash happened exactly during the save.

The symptoms you describe don't sound like a corrupted file. A corrupted file wouldn't open. LiveCode would make a new one, which would display the default values. Your symptoms sound like the file can't be saved, though you haven't given much info on what you're seeing so I can't be sure.

You're on your own from here. RunRev will probably tell you to check the file permissions or run as admin.

The dictionary issue isn't related to prefs.

[BarrySumpter]

8 years? Cool.
How long ago was that if you don't mind me asking.
Please feel free not to respond if I'm being too inqusitive.

I thought you knew a bit too much for just another LiveCoder!
Thanks heaps for your contributions, patience, and continued support.

I do get parinoid sometimes thinking I might be distracting good people from doing good work.
Then I think prehaps some of their good work is reponding to my posts.

... Trashing the existing prefs and allowing the IDE to create a new one fixed it permanently...

Have already done.

Permanently as a work around they can contune to use as this issue contilues to come up?
Or permanently that they will never have this issue come up again?
We'll see about permanently never again as the future holds many updates and many novices.

I think trashing is apple speak for delete in windows.
I come from Texas Redneck speak as in trashing a hotel room or trashing someones car.

Yes, that delete preferences did work.
But then I'd loose all my project history as well as all the other non-issue related settings.
So I asked LiveCode for a better way to fix it.
And in the interum setup this Project History Backup.
I think we've come full circle now.

...RunRev will probably tell you to check the file permissions or run as admin.
...

Checking file permissions and running as admin aren't neccessary in winxp32.
(Thats why I keep mentioning my signature.)
Unless I specificly set something myself or runrev has set something by mistake.

...
The dictionary issue isn't related to prefs.

The dictionary issue was releated to prefs.
RunRev released a fix recently for it.
(Unless I'm getting that release confused with all the other issues.)

The file association is a LiveCode issue and I think was a left over from a LiveCode beta test version.
I think RunRev mentioned a fix targeted for next release.
Havn't tested this on 4445 yet.

---

OK, starting a new diet tomorrw.
So, I'll try to refrain from posting as my mental state is expected to deteriorate
( yes, even futher. )
until my body catches up.
Reports are is sould hit the first day and take 1 to 2 weeks.
So maybe others will take courage in my adsence and post and reply.

If a new project doesn't come up by Monday I'll have to start one of my own.

Blabbering on a bit too much now.

Thanks again to all who reponded.