Backup

[redwards]

I know this has gone around before but ... when I click on File>Backup Macro File(s)...

(1) Most windows based apps when using three dots at the end of a menu selection this usually means the apps will be asking for the user for additional info. But when I make this selection I get not futher interaction from MEP (see attachment).

(2) I configured MEP to backup ( A ) When the editor closes AND ( B ) at 12:00 PM daily AND ( C ) too keep 14 backups.

Having been in the IT world more years than I wish to admit I would think I should see new dates on the backups time stamped around 12:00 PM but NO.

 

And maybe this should be on the wish list. Allow us to config the backup nameing convention "OriginalMacrosFileName" & _bakxxx.~mex - I don't like it. Just my 2 cents I would use "OriginalMacrosFileName" & the date and possibaly time. And forget that ~ added to the extension thing

[Cory]

I don't like the way the backup works either so I wrote my own backup macro. It logs changes note, dates, and does other cool things. You might consider doing the same yourself.

 

But if you have a suggestion for ISS you should submit it on their feature request form on their website.

[kevin]

(1) Most windows based apps when using three dots at the end of a menu selection this usually means the apps will be asking for the user for additional info. But when I make this selection I get not futher interaction from MEP (see attachment).

Yes, you're right. The dots have been removed. Thank you for pointing it out.

 

(2) I configured MEP to backup ( A ) When the editor closes AND ( B ) at 12:00 PM daily AND ( C ) too keep 14 backups. ... I would think I should see new dates on the backups time stamped around 12:00 PM but NO.

In Windows, when a file is copied from one location and pasted to another, the date and time stamp remains intact. It remains at the time the file was last altered, not the time the file is copied. This is true even if the file name changes (e.g. ProcessCallStack.mex ---> ProcessCallStack - Copy.mex in Windows 7). Further, all backup programs retain the original date and time stamps of the files that are backed up.

 

Macro Express Pro is consistent with this standard way of doing things. The date and time stamp of the backup contains the date and time the file was last changed, not the date when the file was copied to create the backup.

 

Having been in the IT world more years than I wish to admit …

You may be surprised. Do you remember the days before Windows, before DOS, before CPM? Before floppies (3.5, 5.25 or even 8 inch)? When storing programs on cassette tapes was an improvement over paper tape and punched cards? Batch processing? And when 32K of RAM was a lot of memory? Ah, the tales we could tell.

[kevin]

And maybe this should be on the wish list. Allow us to config the backup nameing convention "OriginalMacrosFileName" & _bakxxx.~mex - I don't like it. Just my 2 cents I would use "OriginalMacrosFileName" & the date and possibaly time. And forget that ~ added to the extension thing.

You can tweak the backup file pattern (well, other than the date and time) by changing the registry value 'Backup File Pattern'. By default, this is set to 'bak###.~mex'.

 

The pattern is appended to the end of the macro file name. The #s are used as a counter to keep track of the number of backups that are kept. The number of #s determines how many digits to use. If you include one #, then only 0 through 9 will be used for backup files. If you include two #s, then the names will be from 00 to 99.

 

You can replace 'bak' with a string of your choosing or even leave it out.

 

You can change the file extension. We do not recommend that you use the same .mex extension as the macro files.

 

This registry value is found here:

HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Insight Software Solutions\Macro Express 4\Backup

Changing 'Backup File Pattern' here will affect only the currently logged on user. In other words, each login for a given computer could have a unique backup file pattern.

 

To set the 'Backup File Pattern' for all users on a given computer create the following registry key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Insight Software Solutions\Macro Express 4\Backup\Backup File Pattern

The usual warnings apply about being careful when making changes to the registry.

Edited March 26, 2010 by kevin
Formatting improvements

[kevin]

I don't like the way the backup works either so I wrote my own backup macro. It logs changes note, dates, and does other cool things. You might consider doing the same yourself.

This is certainly a good option. Use the power of Macro Express Pro to customize how backups work.

[kevin]

One other thing. The backup routines were improved in Macro Express Pro v 4.1.1.1. Now, backups are only made if the macro file has actually changed since the last backup. The date/time stamp of the backup reflects the last time the macro file was changed. And, the restore macro file option was added to the File menu.

[paul]

You may be surprised. Do you remember the days before Windows, before DOS, before CPM? Before floppies (3.5, 5.25 or even 8 inch)? When storing programs on cassette tapes was an improvement over paper tape and punched cards? Batch processing? And when 32K of RAM was a lot of memory? Ah, the tales we could tell.

And I knew a guy who could read paper tape like you and I can read a book!

[Cory]

And I knew a guy who could read paper tape like you and I can read a book!

I once got to learn how to use a special die and a magnifying glass to visually inspect headers and decode data on 1/2" 9 track tape when I worked for a company that made tape drives. So cool to be able to see the data. A good primer on magnetic storage and many of the concepts spilled over to hard drives. But I'm really not that old, just worked for an old tech company.

[redwards]

I don't like the way the backup works either so I wrote my own backup macro. It logs changes note, dates, and does other cool things. You might consider doing the same yourself.

 

But if you have a suggestion for ISS you should submit it on their feature request form on their website.

 

Any change of you sharing this with us?

[Cory]

Any change of you sharing this with us?

Sure. First off I create folders which are macro packages. It's the macro and all the supporting files. One of the first routines in my macros is to get the path of the current macro file and generate a string with just the path. Now all my references to support files are relative. This gives me the freedom to have one of those folders in the package be the development folder. Here I keep a copy of all the support file one level up. But I can meddle with these files without affecting users. And of course one of those files is the MEX. So when I need to make changes I work on the dev copy which is basically the same except I disable some macros. When I have made the changes and tested them in the dev folder I run a macro to deploy. First it prompts the user to describe the changes made then copies the dev MEX to the active folder and the backup folder which is at the same level of the dev folder. It creates a reverse order date stamp string and prepends the backup file to keep chronological and unique. I don’t do it yet but I also plan on adding these files to one big ZIP file. Then the macro logs those changes to a text file in that backup folder as well. Finally it enables those annoying macros in the production MEX. Pretty simple and efficient really. But everyone would have their own way they would want to do it I think.