Have choice to add auto incrementing version number to saves

Feature requests, and in-depth discussions of features and the way Mellel works

Moderators: Eyal Redler, redlers, Ori Redler

Post Reply
yaxpac
Got the styles thing figured out
Posts: 14
Joined: Sun Apr 30, 2006 7:24 pm

Have choice to add auto incrementing version number to saves

Post by yaxpac »

When saving a document via the File menu it might be handy to have an option of "Save as new version" and have the title appended with a version number.

It could have tow variable.

Main versions i.e.

TITLE Version 1.0

and minor revisions

TITLE Version 1.0 Rev A

Just a thought. For some of my writings I follow this format so I can go back and check earlier versions where I might have made major changes.
rpcameron
Knows everything, can prove it
Posts: 980
Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2005 12:48 am
Location: IE, CA, USA

Post by rpcameron »

You can already do this. But instead of being called a "new version", it's just a new document. Choose "Save as…" instead of "Save". Mellel does not currently implement versioning, so you have to create your own method.
— Robert Cameron
Mart°n
Knows everything, can prove it
Posts: 672
Joined: Fri Oct 21, 2005 2:09 am
Location: Germany

Post by Mart°n »

I think the idea behind the request was that Mellel does the work automatically instead of implementing your own method. I also save versions of my documents for several reasons and actually I use the save as… method and enter the number via keyboard.

It would be nice, if one only have to press a shortcut [command] + [control] + [s] for example and Mellel automatically saves a new version of your document and increments the last number (book v3 › book v4).
So you could write like a maniac and won’t be interrupted by a “save as…” window.
rpcameron
Knows everything, can prove it
Posts: 980
Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2005 12:48 am
Location: IE, CA, USA

Post by rpcameron »

That's what I assumed the OP was meaning. Then this should fall under the category of versioning and tracking changes.

Another option may be to set up a CVS/SVN repository to track your Mellel files. (Especially possible since Mellel is now a plain text file.)
— Robert Cameron
aechallu
Knows everything, can prove it
Posts: 87
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2006 6:38 pm
Location: Bowling Green, OH

Post by aechallu »

The real need, to me, is to have at least some basic form of a revisioning/versioning system. The XML and package format should be a lot of help to this. That is, the package should help making the whole revisions look like one file.

There's no need to duplicate the graphics. The current XML document can be left stored as it is now. But previous versions can be stored in a subversion repository (which I think is already included in MacOSX). As the document changes, Mellel keeps previous versions; and one can also designate "branches" at given points. This system will need a function to retrieve a version/branch on demand.

I hope this makes any sense.
rpcameron
Knows everything, can prove it
Posts: 980
Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2005 12:48 am
Location: IE, CA, USA

Post by rpcameron »

I think it makes perfect sense. Personally, I'd like to see versioning handled within the bundle, and each version/change marked with a diff, and then the user can manage the diffs in an intuitive manner.

I think the move to XML and a bundle format was the first step in this, and hopefully versioning and track changes will find its way into a future version.

[Edit: OS X does not include a CVS/SVN server by default.]
— Robert Cameron
zoul
Knows everything, can prove it
Posts: 120
Joined: Thu Aug 10, 2006 1:48 pm
Location: Boskovice, Czech Republic
Contact:

Post by zoul »

A note by: Keeping Mellel documents in a Subversion repository is currently a huge pain, because the .svn directory gets lost when you save the document. I’ve talked about this with Eyal and the conclusion was that there is nothing Mellel is going to do about this, so I guess we have to count on Subversion developers. See the following links:

http://subversion.tigris.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=707
http://svn.haxx.se/users/archive-2006-03/0079.shtml
zoul
Knows everything, can prove it
Posts: 120
Joined: Thu Aug 10, 2006 1:48 pm
Location: Boskovice, Czech Republic
Contact:

Post by zoul »

Oh yes and I think it could be wise to wait how the Time machine API looks in Leopard? It sounds like it could bring an easy way to implement the versioning, it would be done the “system way” and have a cool interface on top of it.
aechallu
Knows everything, can prove it
Posts: 87
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2006 6:38 pm
Location: Bowling Green, OH

Post by aechallu »

zoul wrote:Oh yes and I think it could be wise to wait how the Time machine API looks in Leopard? It sounds like it could bring an easy way to implement the versioning, it would be done the “system way” and have a cool interface on top of it.
In theory it makes sense. (I guess the specifications are already public). As far as I know time machine takes snapshots of whole files. Is the bundle considered a file or a collection of files for Time Machine? Consider a document with many graphs (my usual case). Only the XML part is constantly changing. I wouldn't want to have a 7MB bundle copied over and over again.

Another advantage of SVN/CVS is that (I think) you can know who did what, so eventually it'd be possible to pull out the revision history.
rpcameron
Knows everything, can prove it
Posts: 980
Joined: Wed Oct 26, 2005 12:48 am
Location: IE, CA, USA

Post by rpcameron »

aechallu wrote:
zoul wrote:Oh yes and I think it could be wise to wait how the Time machine API looks in Leopard? It sounds like it could bring an easy way to implement the versioning, it would be done the “system way” and have a cool interface on top of it.
In theory it makes sense. (I guess the specifications are already public). As far as I know time machine takes snapshots of whole files. Is the bundle considered a file or a collection of files for Time Machine? Consider a document with many graphs (my usual case). Only the XML part is constantly changing. I wouldn't want to have a 7MB bundle copied over and over again.

Another advantage of SVN/CVS is that (I think) you can know who did what, so eventually it'd be possible to pull out the revision history.
It appears that Time Machine uses diffs, much the same way that CVS/SVN handle changes. Bundles would be handled as directories, since that's all they are.
— Robert Cameron
aechallu
Knows everything, can prove it
Posts: 87
Joined: Mon Feb 06, 2006 6:38 pm
Location: Bowling Green, OH

Post by aechallu »

rpcameron wrote:It appears that Time Machine uses diffs, much the same way that CVS/SVN handle changes. Bundles would be handled as directories, since that's all they are.
It would be great if it uses diff's (or a filesystem snapshoting ability); but that's not what I had read when leopard was previewed. Anyway, if a bundle is treated as a directory, it would work out.
joewiz
Knows everything, can prove it
Posts: 199
Joined: Sun Oct 23, 2005 9:42 pm

Post by joewiz »

I just read a review of Versomatic, and it sounds like this might provide a solution to this problem:
Whenever you save a document, Versomatic records the changes as another version connected to that document. Want to go back to an earlier version of the document? Just control-click on the file in the Finder and select the appropriate version from the revision history drop-down menu.
I haven't tried the program myself, but the link to the product page is http://www.acertant.com/web/versomatic/default.htm
simifilm
Knows everything, can prove it
Posts: 93
Joined: Fri Oct 21, 2005 11:58 am

Post by simifilm »

zoul wrote:A note by: Keeping Mellel documents in a Subversion repository is currently a huge pain, because the .svn directory gets lost when you save the document. I’ve talked about this with Eyal and the conclusion was that there is nothing Mellel is going to do about this, so I guess we have to count on Subversion developers. See the following links:

http://subversion.tigris.org/issues/show_bug.cgi?id=707
http://svn.haxx.se/users/archive-2006-03/0079.shtml
Any details why the Redlers wont consider this? I just brought this subject up in a thread ( http://episteme.arstechnica.com/eve/for ... 0000836831) in the ArsTechnica MacAch, and here's what one of the Omni developers said:

This won't help you directly, but you ought to file bugs with Apple and the Mellel developers and ask them to resave .svn and CVS subfolders when they save packages.

All our apps have code to do that, it really isn't hard, and it makes things so much more pleasant for people using svn or CVS to not need to hack around to fix it.
So this doesn't exactly sound like rocket science to me ...
Post Reply