Script Is Gone

Question

Hi,

I wrote a script for my robot to control its arm / manipulator. I saved the script in the editor and the project too and loaded it again today and the script control is not there anymore and I can not seem to find the script. Where are EZ-Scripts saved when the save button in the editor is clicked and how do I load a script? It would be really annoying if I had to write it all again...

Thanks for your help!

thetechguru · Answer

Unfortunately, it is really easy to accidentally delete objects in projects. There is no confirmation if you hit the X button. Only solution currently is to save often, and save a copy to EZ-Cloud so that you have a backup. I am sorry to say it is unlikely you will be able to recover your script. Another tip (I don't think this is what happened to you, but for other readers), if you start with one of the EZ-Robot example projects, be sure to save your own copy with its own name. Every time ARC is updated, the example projects are over-written with the latest version, so if you have modified one without saving your own copy, all your work will be lost. Alan

count74 · Answer

That's bad news and if I may say so, bad software design. I will now use an external editor to write scripts and copy/paste them to ARC. Thanks for your reply!

thetechguru · Answer

We (me and other customers) have asked DJ to fix this several times. He has a very long todo list and I think he considers this one minor. I agree that it is a fairly significant design issue, but he doesn't always agree with me Alan

count74 · Answer

If it is minor there should at least be a big warning sign. If I click save somewhere, I tend to take that for granted and it should be "save". Not save for the moment and forgotten without notice. There are so many subfolders in \Documents\ARC one for scripts would be nice.

thetechguru · Answer

Just to clarify, it isn't an issue with saving, it is an issue with it being too easy to accidentally delete objects from your project before saving (making an assumption that this is what happened because it is the most common cause of this complaint... Could be a new bug or some other problem, but I have never seen it, and we aren't seeing other complaints of it). All ARC objects, including scripts are save in the project name.ezb file, which is a form of XML file, so there would not be a separate file or folder just for scripts. Another option other than saving to the cloud as well as locally, would be to set up a windows task or other script activity to periodically archive copies of your .ezb files to a backup directory with archived names. A lot of work to get around a product bug that DJ really should take care of, but since there are workarounds that may be why it hasn't moved to the top of the todo list. Alan

count74 · Answer

Thank you techguru. I set this to resolved and start typing the script again.

Nink · Answer

@count74 I did the same thing when I first installed ARC wrote a script hit save and shut down. then went back in and file was not saved. Checked hard disk for file name (The name I thought I was saving it as in top left corner of script panel) but no script found. I needed to save the project. Like you I probably invested 3 hours into the script. I think the lessons learned (That I still can't learn) is if you want to do something search for a tutorial first. I agree close versus save would be more appropriate name for the button, especially when you think you are assigning a script name before you save.

DJ Sures · Answer

The original buttons were "close" but users were confused because they didn't know if the script was saved in the control... so the configuration dialogues of controls were changed to save. Now, there's people having a different opinion. So, which one is correct? Since out of tens of thousands of users, two people have brought it up... we're going to keep the button as save @count74 Ezrobot does recommend that you begin learning the product using the robot program in the learn section. We've worked really really really really hard at making the best videos that educate users with robotics - but they are only effective if they're used so check out the robot program and things will be clear and fun!

count74 · Answer

I watched a lot (not all yet) of your videos and read the documentation about the plugins I am using. I closed and opened ARC multiple times yesterday and my script and the script plugin were always there. But today it was gone and I do not see what I did wrong. I answered yes to saving on exit and even if I did not the last time, the script plugin should still have been there from the last saves. I suspect the project got corrupted somehow, because as I tried to rewrite the script I got all kinds of error messages, but I can not get the message window to stay. I try to click on "always show", but it does not react. I will start the project from scratch tomorrow.

thetechguru · Answer

DJ, the issue is that if you click the x on a control, it is deleted without confirmation. The x is right next to the ? so us easy to hit by mistake. I can't count the number of hours wasted re-writing scripts or recreating auto-positions before I learned to save my project after every single change, and make regular backups to the cloud. Alan

DJ Sures · Answer

sounds like you're doing good have fun !

Nink · Answer

FYI I now cut and paste to notepad when writing a long script and save as v1 v2 ..

count74 · Answer

That is what I am doing now too. I use notepad++. Even without a language file for EZ-Script it has some nice features, which make coding much faster.

JustinRatliff · Answer

I gave my robots an auto backup function if anyone wants to use that: Auto Backup

thetechguru · Answer

Quote: I gave my robots an auto backup function if anyone wants to use that:  That's a good solution. You could have it fire in the init script so you always know you have a clean copy to revert to, and then fire every 10 minutes as an automatic backup of any changes. I think I will incorporate that into my projects. Alan

DJ Sures · Answer

Alan - this is what alan wants... i'm on a plane so can't update the release until tomorrow. What do i get in return?  Ps, for those of us who don't drink'n'click, it can be disabled in preferences

thetechguru · Answer

Quote: . What do i get in return  My unending gratitude! Thanks for taking care of this. Alan

count74

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