Auto-save

11 votes
Version: 
1.0
Date Updated: 
05/01/2012
Author Name: 
Jiovanie Velazquez

Unzip the files into your scripts/startup directory.

Tiny interface makes it very unobtrusive.  Open up the settings window to drag the window up in front of your title bar.

You can click on the Autosave button to activate/deactivate auto-saving.  If you open the settings, you can also toggle it to Manual Mode which will let you back up the file only when you click the button (a good option if you’re working with a large file).

As expected, you can set the save interval for auto backups to whatever you like from 1 minute up to 120 minutes (though setting it that high is just careless)

You can set the number of backups from 1 to 99 files.  The great thing about this is that I will save UNIQUE backups for each of your files, so you’re not limited to only x amount of total backups.  You can have an independent history for any file you work with.

I’ve included two delete options because if you save 99 unique backups for any file you ever open, this can start filling up your hard drive pretty fast.  Warning, don’t do this unless you agree to never harass me for giving you this option…

Clicking the circle-arrow button will ask you if you want to reload the most recent auto-save.  This is what you’ll probably want to do right after Max crashed and you want to reload your file.  When you do this it automagically asks you to re-save the file and it even defaults you to the original file location and name.

Clicking the x button will close and disable autosave.  This will also set the built-in autobak function to whatever you had it set to before (because I disable that in this script).  Go ahead and close it you risky rebel.

You can even change the color of the button highlights to make it more or less obnoxious (pro-tip: the more obnoxious it is, the easier it will be for you to see whether or not you’re being protected from data loss 

By the way, this script falls under the “QuoteWare” license.  Please read and abide by QuoteWare’s simple and fair requirement here.
Thanks, and enjoy your new insurance against max’s inevitable crash-fails! Please let me know if you have any issues and I'll try my best to fix any problems you find.

Version Requirement: 
Tested in MAX 2011 and 2012, but it may work in older versions.
AttachmentSize
geoautosave.zip7.75 KB

Comments

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biglittlepictures's picture

Crashes during render

This crashes Max if it fires during an active render. Should figure out a way to disable during IPR or rendering to avoid crash.

-Joel Eckert
Owner, Big Little Pictures

elpin's picture

Thank you!

Great plugin indeed. I've been using it for years.

I would also like to ask for a fix of compatibility with 3dsmax2022 and VRay 5. Saves are happening in the middle of rendering, which often crashes 3dsmax.

Pankuczy's picture

Great but having problems with new versions

Hi,

I love this script and I've been using it for years. Unfortunatelly after upgrading to Max2021 and Vray5 I was having problems with autosaves occuring during rendering (either regular and interactive), which in turn was causing crashes.

Right now I'm forced to uninstall the script, but looking forward to get back to it if there's an update in the future.

tahir1983's picture

REQUEST FOR SOME IMPROVEMENT

Thanks for this remarkable tool! So i d like see capability of the tool to recognize different files with same names which opened at same time ... for instance while open second same name file the autosave defines that this file name already exists and then offers to change or correct name of new oppened file to save in proper dirrectory OR i think the simplest way to eliminate the issue is to add systemtime (with seconds to be more accurate) in names of autoback files ... otherwise this script mixes all autobacks in one "samename" folder that cause lost necessary ones!

Thanks in addvance very much for all efforts!

squeakybadger's picture

Still going strong in 2020!

Still going strong in 2020!

asymptote's picture

Use with 2 instances of Max ?

Still going strong in 2017 ;)

Anyway to get this working with 2 instances of Max?

asymptote's picture

Thank you, great little

Thank you, great little script, this goes into my "Must Have" scripts collection.
Works fine in Max 2010 64 as well.

DH3D's picture

Awesome Plugin

I created an account here just to say thanks for making this plugin! Minimalistic, and works like a charm. Great stuff!

harumscarum's picture

great and promising tool!

very good! and i have bunch of suggestions to this very promising script:

1/ don't backup when 3dsmax is idle - no autobacks of same size

2/ borderless panel - style:# () - so it will be possible to dock it nicely at the bottom of 3dsmax

3/ display countdown before next save (according backup interval set)

4/ new option "save backup before render" (so if max shut down during render you will have latest version of file)

5/ option to put all autobacks in one folder (don't create any additional) and name of backup file must be consist of project folder (since for each project could be many files, different versions, etc)
as i see - filename_backup.max and filename_prerender.max

5/ option to set text color

here i attach illustration how i see it )
thank you very much for this very useful tool!

AttachmentSize
suggestions.jpg 39.94 KB
jiovanie's picture

Tiny Fix

I had a wrong value set in the timer interval which made it autosave a bit too often, this is fixed now. 1 minute = 1 minute!

GeO

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