V5 preview #13: Song Versions

[Support]

Versions of the song can be created, and reverted to later. These versions include the song file and the MIDI and .aem files opened in the tracks.
Typical applications of versions include:

- Create a version before making major changes to the song, so you can revert to the old version if it's not such a good idea after all.
- Try different mixes and store as versions. Note that you can not only change mixer settings, but edit audio and MIDI tracks as well.
- Create a version of any mixes you send to someone, just in case they later feel the old one was better.

Create Version
The Song menu's Create Version option pops up the Create Version dialog which lets you type a name for the version to be created. If there are modifications in the song which haven't been saved yet you can choose whether you want to include the modifications in the version or not. This can come in handy if you open a song and start tweaking the mix: if you think you're onto something good you can still create a version of the song as it was when you opened it, just in case the new mix appears to be not so good after all.

Revert to Version
The Song menu's Revert to Version item lists all available versions. Tooltips show information about the versions, like the date it was created. You can revert to a version by clicking it. If there's no version that equals the song in its current state a version equaling the current state will be created. These automatically created versions are named "Autosave Version 1" etc.

Autosave
Some versions are created automatically:

- Autosave (safety backup) : This version is created every 15 minutes. If the computer crashes you can open the song again and revert to this version in order to minimize the amount of work lost. The version is created when the transport is stopped.
- Autosave (discarded version) : This version is created if you choose to discard the changes when the song is closed. If you regret this you can open the song again and revert to this version.

[Mac]

You've automated my standard work procedure.

I typically save as, "MySong1" then add to it and Save As, "MySong2" etc.

Keep EVERYTHING.



--Mac

[NystagmusE]

This is great stuff. Thanks for these welcome feature additions.

I am also someone who typically makes many different versions of songs, backups have saved my projects from disaster more than a few times. The autosave function is a great idea too, just like in CoolEdit and DDclip, only better. I love this. I am also someone who sometimes regrets the changes made to a song. I am really looking forward to having these features.


Thanks

[Support]

I typically save as, "MySong1" then add to it and Save As, "MySong2" etc.

Keep EVERYTHING.
--Mac

Mac, the Song menu's Save As option is still available, but it's a hidden and undocumented feature

The problem with Save As is that it doesn't do what most people think it does since it doesn't copy the tracks. Furthermore it can be abused to save the .hdr file in a different folder than the tracks, which is a bad idea.

The new song versions are safe even if you edit the tracks or record over them (thanks to the files no longer being truncated when recording). Until now the only way to do this was to copy the whole song folder using Windows Explorer.