If I may suggest ONE thing in Houdini,
Why the app can't remember that I prefer with Autosave on?
I always have to remember to turn it on, each time I start the app…
That's pretty dangerous.

You can script this yourself using the autosave hscript command.

http://www.sidefx.com/index.php?option=com_forum&Itemid=172&page=viewtopic&t=4774 [sidefx.com]

hmm I doubt that I will be able to script that on my own…

I use the following in my 456.cmd file. It asks me each time Houdini starts if I want to turn on Autosave. It doesn't do it in Hscript/Hbatch (Hython, not sure) which is convenient since you only want it on in Houdini or Escape.

The 456.cmd goes in $HOME/houdini9.5/scripts by the way. If you're on Windows and don't know what your $HOME is, open a Textport in Houdini and type “echo $HOME”

If you really really want it on all the time (not a good idea IMO) then you can just do this in your 456.cmd


autosave on


Cheers,

Peter B


# Ask about turning on Autosave
# but only if running interactive Houdini session!

set fullver = `run(“version -n”)`
set app = `arg($fullver,0)`

if(`strcmp($app,“hscript”)` < 0 && `strcmp($app,“rscript”)` < 0 && `strcmp($app,“hbatch”)` < 0)
set turnOn = `run(“message -b Yes,No -d 0 Turn on Autosave?”)`

if($turnOn == 0)
autosave on
endif
endif

I can't stress enough the importance of learning to save yourself(as Peter infers), not letting the software do it. The reasons?

1. You save at critical points(which might be constantly during a critical juncture!) instead of random points which require you to hunt through files and *hope* you caught all the things you really needed. Saving at critical points means stepping back is instant, not a flow-distracting and error-prone search.

2. Many software apps don't autosave! Don't let it be a crutch!

3. When you get into serious production, autosaving will be like getting a kick in the face at regular intervals. Hip files get big. It's fine in a program like Nuke which has scripts of only a few K for even the most massive scenes, but not 3D.

Oh baby have I lost some doozies back in the day because I forgot to save. However, it's been many, many years since it's happened, and that's because those screwups have trained me. I never lose more than a few minutes or so's worth of work because of external forces(or internal brain farts). It needs to be automatic, just like driving a standard car. Don't rely on a software feature to backup. Programs are stupid. People are smart.



Cheers,

J.C.

JColdrick
1. You save at critical points(which might be constantly during a critical juncture!) instead of random points which require you to hunt through files and *hope* you caught all the things you really needed. Saving at critical points means stepping back is instant, not a flow-distracting and error-prone search.

Something that would be cool though is incremental autosave that audits and logs the difference between files. I’ve never seen it in any software but how neat it would be. I save often and when I want to go back through my .000x files it is sometimes difficult to remember what changes there were even if the saves are critical.

Well, effectively some of that database of information exists as far back as the undo history, so in theory that's do-able. I must admit, though, I'd never use it, I don't need to, since I rely on habit.

Cheers,

J.C.

I agree with John on the “make sure you save yourself” side of things, but I use Autosave also, constantly, as a backup to that Autosave has saved my ass quite a few times, as I either was so “in the groove” I hadn't saved, or something happened (power, crash etc) that caused me to lose work.

The nice thing about Autosave is that the files get saved to a different filename. This means you get a stream of Autosaved files (I limit mine to 20, which at an autosave interval of 1 min I get 20 minutes worth of backups) as well as when you hit Ctrl-S you also get your own “snapshot” of where you were working, like John describes.

I've never found the speed to be an issue, at least for myself, even in a big 50 meg Hip file (no, I never have locked SOPs) it saves pretty quick.

Cheers,

Peter B

pbowmar
even in a big 50 meg Hip file (no, I never have locked SOPs) it saves pretty quick.

Wow! That must be one giant network you've got there. I am very curious now.

i always save at critical points, but I also like this feeling that he app thinks for me if I ahve run…sometimes i just forget it, however this script is nice!
thanks a lot for sharing!

Programs are stupid. People are smart

For the same reason machines never forget simply do things, and humans sometimes forget.
I also save at important moments and save my checkpoints, but man, everybody always forget to save and then is where autosave have save me so much time …..

Hello, I can't find a script folder in my $home folder, and in the installation fodler there is a script folder but 456.cmd is nowhere to be found. So how can I turn on autosave each time I start Houdini 16.5?

https://www.sidefx.com/forum/topic/45068/ [www.sidefx.com]

https://www.sidefx.com/forum/topic/25350/ [www.sidefx.com]
https://forums.odforce.net/topic/22589-default-autosave/ [forums.odforce.net]

I'd like Autosave moved to just beneath the Save, or the Set Project, selection so I'd see it more often, remember to initialize it.