How do I save timestamped backup copies of my job with one click? (Job Backup Gadget Suite)

What it is

The Job Backup Gadget Suite is a set of four small gadgets from the official library. After install they sit together in a Job Backup submenu of the Gadgets menu. Each one saves your work a different way, and each runs the moment you click it.

Steps

1. Download the version 12 build from the gadget library and install it with Gadgets > Install New Gadget.
2. Open or start your job.
3. Run Gadgets > Job Backup > Job Backup Folder Chooser once and pick a backup folder. The library says this must be run before Job Backup is used.
4. While you work, click Gadgets > Job Backup > Job Backup whenever you reach a point worth keeping. Each click writes a new dated copy.
5. Use Save Copy As before you take the design in a new direction. You keep working in the original file, and the copy stays as a branch point.

Judgment: which saving method when

• Job Backup suits long design sessions. The date and time in the name means copies never overwrite each other, and you can see at a glance which is newest.
• Save Copy As differs from the normal Save As because the open file keeps its name. With normal Save As you end up working in the new file.
• Save Copy As 2 is handy when copies should always go to one place, such as a cloud-synced or external folder.
• The built-in Increment and Save does a similar job with numbered versions. See the entry on Increment and Save and pick one habit.

Limits

• Nothing is automatic. A backup is made only when you click.
• Copies pile up. Clear out the backup folder when a project is finished.
• These gadgets save the job file. They do not save G-code or the tool database.

Pro tips

• Assign Job Backup a hotkey under Gadgets > Gadget Shortcuts (the shortcuts are Ctrl plus a function key) so a backup is one keystroke.
• Point the backup folder at a different drive than the working file so one failure cannot take both.