I wanted to get back to everyone on this, just to say a few things
about backing up iterative (successive) versions of work-in-progress
files, with a bit more detail / explanation:
– I think it is a very good idea to keep a daily (or more frequent,
if appropriate to the work being done) "backup" copy of
work-in-progress files, with the date and even time (if done more
frequently than daily) in the file name. I really very strongly
recommend it. As the document being worked on continues to change
and develop as the days go by, these files are point-in-time
snapshots that allow you to go back to what was previously in the
document whenever the client changes their mind about changes that
have been made (and, e.g., since accepted, if change tracking is
being used) and wants to roll-back to earlier content, and this is
where I find them most useful. But, should the document unexpectedly
crash on any one day and it can't be recovered (not likely, but it
does and can happen), these files are then also available as backup
copies, as at the close of the previous working day, to use as a
starting point in re-doing any work that has been lost through the
document crash. As mentioned in my mails yesterday, I have regularly
and successfully recovered Word 2007 documents over the last 2 years
or so that weren't repaired using Autorecover and couldn't be
recovered using "Open and Repair" ... the documents would open in
2007 but then either Word 2007 would freeze or the document would
crash again (is what the clients told me). But, there have also been
two Word 2007 documents that crashed, couldn't be recovered by the
client and I was also unable to recover them, and many days of work
were lost in those cases (the clients not being good at keeping
separate backup copies – the documents in questions not being ones I
was working on).
– The reason I use zip files for iterative backups is to give me TWO
back-up copies on the same hard drive, instead of having two
documents with the same file names (except that Windows 7 insists on
adding a "(2)" to one of the files, thereby making the filename
prefix different). So whether any file compression is achieved or
not is beside the point, hard disk space is extremely cheap,
particularly with a 3TB backup drive for work documents only. Having
a second copy of my daily backups in zip format is a personal
preference only, and note that I have my system set up so that zip
files look like zip files and not folders, so the two files end up
being listed on the screen next to each other. I move files onto
separate physical storage about once a week, so having the two soft
copies available allows for disasters happening with one of the
copies, it's just good file management for those of us who are
extremely paranoid about file disasters that aren't going to happen,
but did, and have paid the price in the past for not having a
less-than-trusting attitude about the stability of files, including
damage that can be done to some of them (but very rarely all or even
the majority) if a hard drive crashes. I only very occasionally need
to rely on a second (zip) copy, but having
a second copy available of a previous version of a document I've
been working on at the time has been very, very handy over the
years.
– In relation to using Autosave in MS Word (refer to Christine's
blog page as per the link below), everyone needs to be aware that
Autosave DOES NOT save a full copy of the document you are working
on, CANNOT be fully trusted to do what it is supposed to do (as
advised by Microsoft, and from experience), and my recommendation is
to turn it OFF because when it is turned on, it sometimes (very
rarely, but it does happen) causes the document being working on to
crash. But, please note, I only recommend turning it off for those
who are already in the habit of frequently doing a full save (i.e. a
normal File - Save) while working. If you are not in the habit of
doing that, then Autosave does offer a better level of protection
against losing work. As Microsoft says (at
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/107686), the following words in
capitals are mine for emphasis, and this applies to Word 97, 2000,
2003, 2007 or 2010, "AutoRecover or AutoSave DOES NOT REPLACE THE
SAVE COMMAND. YOU SHOULD USE THE SAVE COMMAND TO SAVE YOUR DOCUMENT
AT REGULAR INTERVALS and when you finish working on it."
– I wasn't able to find anything on Christine's blog page (as per
the link below) about a built-in back-up function in Word. Separate
to what's on Christine's page, I'm aware that Word allows different
versions to all be saved in the same document, but this is not
really a back-up because you still end up with only a single file.
If Christine meant that Autosave and Autorecover are "back-up" tools
(I'll allow Christine to answer that), then, sorry, they're not. If
anyone out there knows of a back-up function in Word (even if it is
only in 2007 or 2010 and that's why I don't know about it, having
"only" 2004), i.e. that produces separate backup files to a
nominated location which is not necessarily the working directory
and may be on separate physical media, please let me know.
Neil.
On 18/07/2011 10:31 AM, Christine Kent wrote:
On zip files
As an aside, there is no point zipping .docx or .docm
files. They already ARE zip files. If you rename a .docx to
.zip, you can open it as a zip and see the component files.
You cannot achieve much zipping a zip file.
On backups
Word itself has a very reliable way of ensuring you DO
have backup files and I suggest you check out my blog at http://christinekent.blogspot.com/2011/05/recovering-lost-documents.html
and make sure you get all your settings correct so you
DO have the necessary range of backup files – automatically.
You need a fairly substantial IQ to grasp and remember it all,
so a better course of action may be to keep my blog address
handy to remind you next time you need it – once you have set
your settings.
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