EnigmaTemp error - is my work toast?

[maybedave]

Hi folks,

I know that there are EnigmaTemp error threads in the forum, but my search didn't show any that addressed my concern.

1. Is my work lost if Finale won't let me save or "save as"? I've tried copy/pasting into a new document but there is a ton of formatting stuff that I would have to redo. Any way of saving this file? I've attached it, but it doesn't show the most recent version since it won't let me save!

2. Is there a way to copy/paste to remember the cutaway staff styles that I have used between measures on the same staff?

Thank you!
David

Finale 2014
iOS 10.10

[BuonTempi]

The file opens and saves for me, so that suggests the problem is not with the file.

If you've got an unsaved version, try saving as a Clip File. (Select all, then Alt Command C). You can paste it into this document with Alt Command V later.

Next, try a reboot, which should clear the temp folders that Finale uses.

[maybedave]

Thank you, BuonTempi.

Your suggestion worked, though the Clip File did not take staff styles and lyric fonts with it. I had to reformat that stuff, but way better than losing it all!

Further reading suggests that part of my problem is leaving Finale open for too long. I guess that causes some temp file issues, so I'll have to start closing files more often.

Thanks again.

[BuonTempi]

Rather than use Finale's limited "backup" feature, I use an app called "Forever Save 2", which you can set to save successive version files of any given app at any given time interval. I have it set to save Finale files every 2 minutes, so I rarely lose anything in the rare event that something goes wrong.

[zuill]

If Mac is anything like Win, having a unique, designated folder for the TMP files will avoid this problem in the future. I'm not talking about Backup or Autosave files, but the TMP files that are used for each session, are not usable files for any other purpose, and that are supposed to be deleted when Finale closes. Since there has been a longstanding issue of many TMP files remaining, Finale sometimes tries to access TMP files from earlier sessions, which are now obsolete. Thus the error. I manually clean out TMP files periodically. They are useless files once Finale closes, and are never, ever needed again.

Zuill

[N Grossingink]

BuonTempi's suggestion is a good one and bears looking into.

Dave, if you have Finale's Preferences set to make backups, there should have been a backup that was current to the last time you successfully saved the file. And, if you save often, every 5 minutes or so, you would have saved a lot of trouble.

My own suggestion is to save (Command-S) every 5 minutes or less. Have the backups sent to a drive that's off the machine, like a thumb drive plugged into a USB port. If you'd like to make incremental backups for any reason, open the thumb drive, find the latest backup, duplicate the file, and rename it something that identifies that particular version.

N.

[maybedave]

Thank you, Zuill and N. Both great suggestions.

[David Ward]

Rather than use Finale's limited "backup" feature, I use an app called "Forever Save 2"…

Thank you for reminding about this. As a result of your post, I've just bought it and installed it on two computers (I had meant to do this some time ago when you first mentioned this software either here or at http://notat.io/ ).

[BuonTempi]

My own suggestion is to save (Command-S) every 5 minutes or less. If you'd like to make incremental backups for any reason, open the thumb drive, find the latest backup, duplicate the file, and rename it something that identifies that particular version.

"If it's repetitive and tedious, the computer should be doing it for you."

There's no way I'm stopping my work every 5 mins to do manual file versioning, while CPUs lie idle.

[motet]

Maybe the Windows version is more robust, but I've never had a problem. I use autosave, and on the rare occasions when Finale crashes (usually connected with playback or a plug-in) it's an easy matter to pick up where I left off with at most 10 minutes lost work.

[N Grossingink]

My own suggestion is to save (Command-S) every 5 minutes or less. If you'd like to make incremental backups for any reason, open the thumb drive, find the latest backup, duplicate the file, and rename it something that identifies that particular version.

"If it's repetitive and tedious, the computer should be doing it for you."

There's no way I'm stopping my work every 5 mins to do manual file versioning, while CPUs lie idle.

What I meant was, the working file should be saved often, and it's as simple as hitting Command-S. So far as incremental backups, I might make one at a major juncture in a project, no more than one or two a day. I already said your suggestion of "Forever Save 2" was a good idea.

N.