How to never lose your writing: autosave, version history and backups
Writing usually gets lost in one of four ways: you close the app without saving, or it crashes; you delete or overwrite something and the change gets saved; the device is lost, broken or reset, or the app is uninstalled; or one device overwrites newer work from another. The defense is layered: autosave, a version history you can roll back to, a trash folder for deleted documents, local backups, and at least one backup kept off the device.
Four ways writing gets lost, and how to prevent each
Closing without saving, or a crash
Use an app that saves automatically. If yours needs saving by hand, save after every paragraph or so (Ctrl+S on Windows, Command+S on a Mac).
Deleting or changing something, and then it gets saved
The downside of autosave is that a deleted paragraph gets saved just as quickly as a new one. Three things can undo the damage: undo, for a mistake you just made; version history, to go back to how a document looked a few hours or days ago; and a trash folder, to get back a document you deleted entirely.
A lost, broken or reset device, or an uninstalled app
Everything on a device, including the backups an app keeps there, goes with the device. On phones, uninstalling an app usually deletes the data it keeps inside itself too. That’s why you need at least one backup that isn’t on the device.
Devices overwriting each other
If you open a draft on your computer and keep writing before your phone has finished syncing its newer version, the old version can replace the new one. Before you switch devices, let the one you were using finish syncing, wait for the changes to arrive on the other, and don’t edit the same chapter on both at once. See How to sync writing between your phone and computer.
Sync is not a backup
Sync keeps your devices the same: delete a chapter on one, and it’s deleted on the others too. A backup is a copy from an earlier point in time that you can restore after a deletion or a bad edit. You need both.
A common rule of thumb is the 3-2-1 rule: keep at least three copies of your data, on two different kinds of storage, with one copy somewhere else. For a writer, that can be as simple as the original on your device, the backups your writing app keeps on the device, and a copy backed up automatically to a cloud drive or iCloud.
Habits for long projects
- One document per chapter. A single huge file is slower to open, edit and sync.
- Automatic cloud backup. Don’t rely on remembering to back up by hand.
- A check before big changes. Before you switch phones, reinstall your system or uninstall an app, make sure there’s a recent backup off the device and that it opens.
- A copy at milestones. When you finish a part or before you submit, export a TXT or DOCX file and keep it on a cloud drive or another device.
How to recover lost writing
Work from the nearest option outward:
- Undo. If you just deleted something, try undo first (Ctrl+Z, or Command+Z on a Mac).
- Version history. Look for History, Version History or something similar in your app, and see whether you can go back to a version from before the problem.
- Trash. If a whole document is gone, check the app’s trash, and your computer’s Recycle Bin or Trash.
- Local backups. In the app’s list of backups, find one from before the problem and restore it.
- Backups in a cloud drive or iCloud. If the device is broken or the app is gone, connect the same cloud drive account, or sign in to the same Apple Account, on a new device and restore from there.
Don’t uninstall and reinstall the app while you’re still looking: some apps keep their local backups inside the app, and uninstalling deletes them. If another device may still have the old version, keep it offline so it doesn’t sync, and copy the text off it first.
The six layers of protection in Pure Writer
Pure Writer protects your writing with these layers:
| Layer | What it does |
|---|---|
| Autosave | Documents are saved automatically as you edit; there’s nothing to save by hand. |
| Undo and redo | Undo a deletion or a change, and redo if you went too far. See How do I redo something I undid by mistake? |
| History | Each document keeps the versions saved recently, and you can restore it to one of them. See How do I restore an earlier version of a document from History? |
| Trash | Documents you delete by mistake can be restored from the Trash. |
| Automatic backups | Backups are kept on your device automatically, in tiers by time, and there’s no switch to turn them off. See Why can’t I turn off automatic backups? |
| Cloud backup | Connect your own cloud drive (OneDrive, Dropbox or AliyunDrive), and backups are uploaded automatically; on iOS, you can also back up to your own iCloud. See the Automatic and Cloud Backup Tutorial. |
History has limits. Each document keeps up to a set number of entries, and older ones are cleaned up. History is stored only on your device: by default it isn’t included in backups, and cloud sync doesn’t bring it to your other devices, so it’s no substitute for backups. With cloud sync on, when the same document was changed on two devices, the later change is usually kept, and the version that was replaced can usually be found in that document’s History.
FAQ
If my app autosaves, do I still need backups?
Yes. Autosave keeps only the current version: it protects you from closing without saving or a crash, but a deletion or a bad edit gets autosaved too, and if the device is lost or broken, the writing goes with it. You also need a version history and a backup that isn’t on the device.
Does sync count as a backup?
No. Sync keeps your devices the same, so something deleted on one device is deleted on the others too. A backup is a copy from an earlier point in time that you can restore from after a mistake.
Will my writing still be there after I uninstall and reinstall the app?
It depends on where the app keeps your documents and backups, so before you uninstall, make sure there’s a usable backup somewhere other than the device. In Pure Writer:
- iOS: Deleting the app deletes the documents and local backups inside it. If “Back Up to iCloud” is on, or there are backups in your cloud drive, you can restore from them after you reinstall.
- Android: Uninstalling doesn’t delete the backups in
Documents/PureWriter/Backups. After you reinstall, if Pure Writer asks you to choose a folder, choose the same one as before (usuallyDocuments), and you’ll find them again in “Restore backup”.
How long is version history kept?
It varies between apps, and it’s usually not kept forever. In Pure Writer, each document keeps up to a set number of History entries and older ones are cleaned up; on iOS, History also has a size limit. To back up History along with your documents, use “Back up locally with all history” on Android or “Back Up Now (Including History)” on iOS.