Automatic Save and Backup

Nota Bene has three independent methods of automatically saving backup copies of your files. autosave files (.tmp and ._##), dated autosave files (.sav), and backup files (.bak) may enable you to retrieve work that would otherwise be lost. These functions are not intended to replace a program of regularly backing up your files and storing them on a different computer or backup medium. See Backup. To make changes to how or where your backup files are stored, see Autosave/Backup Default Settings.

Standard Autosave (Autosav#.tmp and Filename.nb_##)

The program automatically saves your files every 2 to 5 minutes, creating two different kinds of autosave files, Autosav#.tmp and Filename.nb._## (where # stands for an integer and filename.nb stands for the name of the file). These files are saved every two minutes if there is a pause in your typing, otherwise every 5 minutes. Autosave files are saved in the Autosave folder. If you selected the legacy option when you installed Nota Bene then your Autosave folder will be in C:\Nbwin\. If you selected the new recommended installation which has a program folder and a separate home folder, Your Template folder will be in the new home folder, usually c:\users\me\Nota Bene\ (or, on Mac, users\me\Nota Bene\). For more information about where files are stored, see www.notabene.com/setup.html. If you are storing your files on the cloud, see Cloud Storage.

•Autosav#.tmp files are tied to the window that the file is opened in, not to the file itself. The first file you open in a Nota Bene session will be opened in window #1 and the corresponding Autosave file will be Autosav1.tmp. This file will be overwritten every 2 to 5 minutes. If you close the file in window #1 and open a new file in window #1, a new Autosav#1.tmp will be created, overwriting the old one. Thus, if these files are to be retrieved, you must do so immediately, before opening additional files. To determine which of the Autosav#.tmp files you want to open, look at the date and time and the size of the file. You can preview the file before opening it, by clicking the Preview button on the Open File dialog.

•Filename.nb_## files are tied to the file, not to the window the file is opened in. At the same time that the Autosav#.tmp file is created, a parallel autosave version is also made. The name used for this file is the filename you have assigned, the extension (usually .nb) and an added extension of ._00 (an underline, and the number zero + zero). Unlike with traditional Autosav#.tmp files, this file will not be overwritten the next time an autosave file for that same file is created. Instead, the first autosave file will be renamed to Filename.nb._01 and the most recent autosave file will be saved as Filename.nb._00 (using the name of the file in place of "filename.nb"). This process continues with new versions of the file being created and renamed every 2 to 5 minutes until you reach Filename.nb._09. After that, the older files are no longer saved.

Daily Backup with Date (filename+YYYY+MM+DD.sav)

Another autosave file is intended to protect against inadvertently overwriting a large file with a small file and thus losing large amounts of text. The first time a file is saved on a given day, an additional backup is made. This backup is updated each time the file is saved, unless the file is shorter than the currently active backup, in which case the longer earlier backup is retained. Unlike the backup versions above, where new backups overwrite earlier backups as necessary, a new persistent backup is created each day, thus ensuring that you have access to the longest version of that file as it existed each day. These backups can be kept around indefinitely, or you can have NB delete them after a week has gone by.

Backup Files (Filename.bak)

A backup file is created each time you save a previously created file. The backup file will be the previous version of the file that you have just edited. It will be saved in the same folder and it will have the same name, but the extension .bak will be added. For example, suppose you create a new file called abc.nb at 9 am. Later you open the file, edit it and save it using the same name at 10 am. The new abc.nb (the 10 am version) will overwrite the old 9 am version. However, the 9 am version will be saved in the same folder under the name abc.nb.bak.

If you inadvertently saved changes to a file, and then realize that you would like to go back to the previous version of the document, you can do this by opening the .bak file.

Finding and Opening Autosave/Backup Files

If you think you have lost a file, you should look for and open any autosave or backup files before you do any other work. As soon as you open a file that has the extension .bak, tmp, ._## or .sav, you should save it to a different name with an .nb extension before continuing to edit the file. The automatic backup files can be opened in any of the following ways:

•If the file is not open, click File, Open. Browse to the file and click Versions.

•If the file is open, right-click on the on the Workspace tab, and choose Versions

•Browse to the folder that contains the file to look for .bak files

•Browse to the Autosave folder in your main program folder to look for .tmp files, ._## files or .sav files

Default settings for Autosave and Automatic backup can be changed. You can, for example, save up to 99 copies of autosave files for each file instead of just 10 (.00 through .09), or you can change the 2 to 5 minute interval for backup saving. To review the available options and/or to make changes, click Tools, Preferences and double-click on Autosave. For more information, see Autosave/Backup Default Settings.