Getting work back after a crash with recovery copies

Computers crash, power cuts happen, and laptops run out of battery at the worst moment. When that happens halfway through a drawing, the question is how much work is gone. In Vectornation by Zaweba the answer is usually very little. It makes a recovery copy every N minutes, and after a crash it offers to recover.

You set how often in Preferences > File handling.

How it works

While you work, the app quietly saves a recovery copy at the interval you chose. This is separate from your own saves. It does not overwrite your file, so a half finished change does not replace your last proper save.

If the app closes unexpectedly, the next time it starts it notices the recovery copy and offers it back. You can then look at what was recovered and save it.

Choosing the interval

A short interval means less to lose but more frequent saving in the background. On a large, complex drawing on a slower computer, that saving might be noticeable. A long interval is lighter but risks more work.

For most people, a few minutes is a sensible middle. If you work on very heavy files and notice pauses, lengthen it a little. If you work fast and a few minutes of work would be painful to redo, shorten it.

When recovery is offered

After a crash, take the recovered drawing seriously. Look it over, then save it, ideally under a new name until you are sure it is complete. Then compare it with your last ordinary save and keep whichever is more up to date.

Do not dismiss the offer in a hurry. Read what is being offered before you choose.

Recovery copies are not backups

A recovery copy protects you against a crash while you are working. It is not a backup. It will not help if a file is deleted, a hard drive fails, or you save over a good version with a bad one.

For those, use other tools. Vectornation keeps earlier saves of a drawing on this PC through File > Version history. The History panel lists the steps of the current session for undoing. And a proper backup of your work folders, to another drive or another place, protects against hardware failure.

Good habits

Save often anyway. Ctrl+S after every meaningful change is a habit that costs nothing and protects more than any automatic feature.

Save a new version before a big change. If you are about to try something radical, a copy of the drawing as it was means you can return without relying on undo.

Keep your work in a folder that is backed up. Recovery copies and version history both live on this computer, so a lost or broken machine takes them with it.

Check the setting now rather than after the first crash. Open Preferences > File handling, see what interval is set, and decide whether it suits the way you work. It takes a minute, and it is the kind of setting most people only think about once it is too late.

And after a crash, if the same action keeps causing it, note what you were doing. A pattern is easier to avoid, and useful to report.