Auto-Save poorly implemented

Auto-Save is impossible to set properly.
 
I have a complex project which takes 10-15 seconds to save. I have Auto-Save on for safety. I set it for every few minutes, but soon discovered that if I am doing nothing, say playing back, for over the length of time between saves, then every time I go to make some edit, Sonar sees the time span has elapsed so it Auto-Saves again, wasting another 10-15 seconds. Then I listen to the piece again, make a single change, and it happens again.
 
So I switched to auto-save every 100 edits. What I discovered was that if you select say, 50 tiny clips and copy-paste them, that counts as 50 edits. Do it twice and Auto-Save is engaged. I was doing a lot of that kind of editing and again waiting out the 10-15 second save. Really annoying.
 
I guess I have switch back and forth depending on what I'm doing at the time. Wish that was unnecessary. Auto-Save should be MUCH smarter.

chuckebaby...use the key command CNTR+S for saving...

Big +1 to that reply.  I save several times every minute, basically every time I do an edit.  I do it without thinking, but I'M in control of it, not some funky auto-save thing which can get in your way - as per your experience, jko.
 
Randy B.
 

chuckebaby
I have never relied on automation to save something that is of importance to me.
in other words, use the key command CNTR+S for saving.
 
it becomes a force of habit after a while, you work a little bit, you save, you work a little bit, you save.

Another +1. I have auto-save engaged for "x" number of minutes just in case I get so wrapped up I forget to hit ctrl+S. Also, I do my own versioning. Every now and then I'll save as projectname2, projectname 3, etc. That way if I did some horrible keyboard shortcut faux pas that nuked the entire second half of the song or whatever, I can go back to a previous version.
 
Auto-save is your "court of last resort" in case you haven't implemented your own saving regimen that's optimized for how you work, because it will in fact save something that would hopefully be of use.

Save early save often...that is my mantra in every computer related task I do. And I do it with <Ctrl><s>.
 
Simples.
 
Regards.

Yeah, I've always  the same way with Ctrl-S, it's almost like I put a period at the end of something I like. Ctrl-S is my way of saying Yesss!! to myself. It's a habit I'll probably never lose, so maybe the auto-save is unnecessary. 

I use auto save. I have it set ofr every 20 changes. Never had a problem. Even if you hit Ctrl+s, it's still gonna take the same amount of time to save, no matter how you save.
 
I also use my own version system. Just in case.
 
And even though I use auto save, I still use Ctrl+s almost after every edit!!
 
We maybe a little paranoid. I wonder what made us that way!!

+1 for Ctrl S. I also use 'save as' every time something substantial is completed (the revised filename documents what happened ).

And back things up with Gobbler too. It gives you a revision history. Not as finely grained as autosave or CTRL-S'ing yourself, but at least if things truly screw up you can go back to a version from a little earlier in the day. 

Bristol_Jonesey
There are a couple of points regarding the above posts.
 
Firstly, autosave only ever kicks in when the transport isn't running.

Correct. It always does it when we're into really concentrating on editing.
That's why it's a PIA and I have it turned off.

If it's a lengthy editing session, I always start by doing a 'save as' with a different name but within the same project folder so I always have something to return to.

mettelus...I also happen not to rely on undo, so when a big change goes awry I simply close and reopen the project and know where it was.

Interesting, Mettelus - Do you work that because you don't trust undo?  Using Ctrl+S is so ingrained in me I'm barely conscious of using it, do an edit - pinky, ring finger, - -But I'm also a constant Ctrl+Z guy, relying on instantly jumping back to before an edit or two or however many I want, without having to open History - and I sure don't want to close and re-open.  Why don't you use Ctrl+Z?
 
Randy B.

Absolutely it's best practice to manually save frequently, but we all forget once in awhile or get carried away in a hot session ... so I also use Auto Save in addition to 'trying to remember' to save after every few edits.  Auto Save has saved me several times after crashes and file corruptions. I really can't do without it.  Which is why I agree with the OP, that Auto Save could use improvement.
 
I have it set for 15 changes. It only takes 1 or 2 seconds to save most projects.  But when Auto Save keeps kicking off all the time during heavy editing ... it does interrupt my workflow and often blows up the key strokes or mouse strokes that I was launching into. After an hour of it, just seems like Auto Save is kind of fighting me. But still, got to have it. Love it / Hate it.

riojazz
Tom Deering said, "I still miss the "save" icon on the toolbar, just me."
 
- Me, too.
 

Just key-bind a single key on your QWERTY Keyboard. Like an 'S'