Skip navigation
Steve Balcombe
Steve Balcombe Calculating status...
Currently Being Moderated

Undo after closing a file - is it possible?

Dec 3, 2012 2:11 AM

I have a document which I deleted most of the content from in order to use it as the starting point for a new edition. Somehow this was Saved, overwriting the original, as well as being being saved with a new name using Save As in the normal way. By the time I discovered the almost empty original file, some two weeks later, my backups had also been overwritten.

 

However - it seems likely that the original content is still in the file, if only I could access it somehow. The file is 18,396 KB, but if I Save As with a new name, the resulting file is just 1,904 KB. Looks like more than 16 MB of 'deleted' stuff is still there in the original.

 

So obviously the question is, can I somehow Undo back to a point before I closed the file?

445 Views   6 Replies   Latest reply: Bob Levine, Dec 3, 2012 4:38 AM
 
Replies
  • [Jongware]
    Currently Being Moderated
    1. [Jongware],
    Dec 3, 2012 2:39 AM   in reply to Steve Balcombe
    Report

    Unfortunately not.

     

    You would indeed think so, because of the fact that changes are not 'applied' throughout a document but rather appended to the end, and all an Undo has to do is lop off the latest changes one by one. However, that only is true for the "working" version of a file, and as soon as you close it, this metaphorical ledger gets closed as well.

     

    If you have a PDF of that older version, you could copy the text out of it.

     
    |
    Mark as:
  • Steve Balcombe
    Currently Being Moderated
    2. Steve Balcombe,
    Dec 3, 2012 3:07 AM   in reply to [Jongware]
    Report

    Thanks Jongware.

     

    I was hoping, of course, that there might be a 'hack' of some kind which might make it possible.

     

    I do have a PDF, and all the contents as external files of one kind or another, so I can rebuild the document. It could have been a lot worse!

     
    |
    Mark as:
  • Peter Spier
    Currently Being Moderated
    3. Peter Spier,
    Dec 3, 2012 3:58 AM   in reply to Steve Balcombe
    Report

    Now is the time to create a template for this project so it never happens again. The template has the added advantage that you don't keep adding to the accumulating errors that may not be enough to bring down the file in the last iteration, but will do so someday an hour before it needs to go to press.

     

    Recycling one version to the next is a bad workflow....

     
    |
    Mark as:
  • Steve Balcombe
    Currently Being Moderated
    4. Steve Balcombe,
    Dec 3, 2012 4:08 AM   in reply to Peter Spier
    Report

    Absolutely right Peter. I cut a corner and now I'm paying the price :-)

     
    |
    Mark as:
  • Peter Spier
    Currently Being Moderated
    5. Peter Spier,
    Dec 3, 2012 4:15 AM   in reply to Steve Balcombe
    Report

    Many of us have learned these lessons the hard way.

     
    |
    Mark as:
  • Bob Levine
    Currently Being Moderated
    6. Bob Levine,
    Dec 3, 2012 4:38 AM   in reply to Steve Balcombe
    Report

    Something else to consider is working in a dropbox folder. Dropbox keeps a record of every version of the file.

     

    This feature has saved my neck a couple of times.

     

    Bob

     
    |
    Mark as:
Actions

More Like This

  • Retrieving data ...

Bookmarked By (0)

Answers + Points = Status

  • 10 points awarded for Correct Answers
  • 5 points awarded for Helpful Answers
  • 10,000+ points
  • 1,001-10,000 points
  • 501-1,000 points
  • 5-500 points