Backup Autosave - Determine Default Filename Automatically

[mgood]

I use TextPad all the time for scratch work, text that will ultimately never be saved to its own file. I also use TextPad all the time for editing named text files.

For both types of work, I'd like to be able to use the Backup "Autosave every N minutes" option to ensure I don't lose work.

But in practice this is unbearable because TextPad constantly prompts me to provide a filename for every window/tab before autosave can process it. If a window doesn't already have a filename, then I simply don't care what the file is called. I'd be happy to specify a default location, even a default naming scheme, if there was a config dialog for this. But if a file does not have a name already, then I simply don't care, and TextPad should not demand that I provide this. Name it whatever you want--it's only temporary. Many other editors provide this functionality.

If this is too hard (and it shouldn't be), then maybe simpler option is to (optionally) skip autosave in unnamed windows/tabs. Not as desirable as coming up with some kind of default filename, but at least TextPad won't constantly be badgering me to name every little snippet of text that I happen to place in a TextPad window/tab.

Workaround that I've had to resort to for years now is simply not use the Autosave option, but I occasionally do lose work, drives me crazy.

Lot of whining considering I do love the product, have used it for many years.

[jsc2000]

Yes, I'd like a preference setting so that TextPad creates a file name from the first line the file as MS Word does.

[randomousity]

I'd like to be able to keep all revisions of a file, maybe by adding an option to save a file as

filename.ext.001

when backing it up, and then the next backup is .002, .003, etc.

I would also make this feature unavailable if auto backup is turned on, so that you don't end up with hundreds of new files if you keep the file open for a long time, and/or have the timer set to something low, like every 5 minutes.

[wwphx]

If this is too hard (and it shouldn't be), then maybe simpler option is to (optionally) skip autosave in unnamed windows/tabs.

I definitely want an autosave for unnamed buffers having just lost 15 minutes work modifying SQL scripts. Also a INI flag (so to speak) that TextPad did not shut down cleanly and give the user the choice of whether or not to restore their previous session. I'll try the "reload last workspace at startup", but I don't think that's going to do quite what I want.

Fortunately I wasn't creating new scripts from scratch, just modifying several previously saved ones. All I lost was time.