Autosaving and Snapshots
Autosaving
Sandvox makes use of a feature known as autosaving. In most applications, as you work on a document, you periodically choose "File → Save" (or hit command-s) to save the document to disk. Sandvox is different.
As you work on a site, Sandvox continuously saves the changes to disk. This means that should something happen like your computer losing power, you should only lose a few seconds' work.
Snapshots
On top of this, Sandvox offers a safety net in the form of the "snapshot" feature. It behaves rather like the "File → Revert" command found in many applications.
Imagine you have a fresh new site:
Now, you are about to make some major changes to the site, but aren't entirely sure that you want to keep them. So, you take a snapshot of the site.
To take a snapshot of a site:
- Choose "Save Snapshot" from the File menu.
You can only take a single snapshot of a site at a time. When you take a second snapshot, the previous one is replaced and moved to the Trash.
As you work on the site, Sandvox continues to autosave it as usual, all the while keeping the snapshot around just in case you want it:
Let's say that after you make the changes, you'd rather go back the way the site looked before you started changing it. This is when that snapshot comes in handy. You could simply undo the changes one at a time, but it's quicker and easier to revert back to the snapshot.
To revert to a snapshot:
- Choose "Revert to Snapshot…" from the File menu.
- A sheet will appear asking if you are sure. Once you revert to a snapshot, all changes made to the site since the snapshot are permanently lost. Click the "Revert" button to continue.
- The site is reverted back to the snapshot. The more recent version of the site that was discarded is placed in the Trash.
Preferences
By default, Sandvox is set to take a snapshot of a site document as you open it. This allows you to easily revert back to the site's original state at the beginning of any working session. You can adjust this behavior using Preferences.
Advanced Tip
Sandvox snapshots are kept in the "Library → Application Support → Sandvox → Snapshots" folder in your Home directory.
