Save/restore function - restore button never appears

[ericb]

After activating the Save/restore function in a form, I am able to click the save button to save it (and it asks me for a password if I set it to do so). However, if I then leave the form and come back to it, the restore button never shows up.

This remains true whether I'm opening a new form that is not yet an instance of a workflow process, or if I'm opening the form through my tasklist for a job that is in progress.

Is there something I might be missing? I can provide any further information that's needed to help identify the problem.

[Jon]

I just tried this on the latest V5.2 and it worked OK. You need to have a Restore Button Control on the page where you want it to appear - the easiest way to do this is to add a Page Navigation Panel Control which includes the Save and Restore buttons. It works by creating a cookie so you could check if this is being created. Another thought - you have to re-launch the form to see the restore button.

Which Ebase version are you using?

In general we try to encourage people to use the snapshot facility instead of save/restore. This is more flexible plus it does not suffer from the save/restore restriction that a restore is not guaranteed to work unless using the same Ebase version as the save. See http://www.ebasetech.com/ebase/doc/SnapshotManager.htm

[ericb]

We're using v5.1.1, and I did have the restore button on the form.

I will look into the snapshots, thanks.

[Segi]

I have a question about using snapshots.

Are snapshots stored on the client computer or on the server ?

If the answer to that is server, are snapshots linked to an individual user or can there be a situation where user B restores a snapshot that was made by User A ?

[Jon]

They are stored on the server in the database.

The question of who can restore which snapshot is entirely up to the application. You can tie a snapshot to an individual user if you want to or you can make it more open. See documentation link above.

[Segi]

Jon,

I've been reading up on snapshots at http://www.ebasetech.com/ebase/doc/SnapshotManager.htm and have a concern about using them.

The docs mention "Ebase does not guarantee that a snapshot created in one release can be restored in a different release, although in most cases it is anticipated that this should work without problem.".

If I start implementing them now in Ebase 5.1.1, do you forsee there being an issue with restoring snapshots in future versions of Ebase ?

This is extremely crucial for my application since the form that I would be implementing it on is a form with many different fields that would be filled out by customers. If there was a situation where a snapshot could not be restored, this would be a nightmare since the customer would have to complete the form again which as I mentioned is a lengthy form.

[Jon]

We changed the implementation of snapshots in V5 to remove this restriction so it should no longer apply. I'll get the documentation changed. Our intention is that snapshots can be restored in any future release and that they will auto-upgrade if necessary in the same way as for entity files. Having said that, it's hard to give a cast-iron 100% guarantee as it's difficult to know how Ebase internal design might change in the future.