Accidentally deleted a Scatt file

[Triplef]

Did a training today and afterwards I wanted to export the Scatt file. Unfortunately I pressed the delete button and my training result disappeared.
Is there a possibility to retrieve it?
And an idea to get the question in the future, ask for confirmation when deleting a file?

Using: SCATT Expert software for macOS 10.10+ version 20.05.25 from 22.05.2020 13:11

 

[TimRB]

Don't know about the Mac, but in Windows systems a deleted file goes to the "recycle bin" and stays there until you empty the bin.

Tim

 

[Triplef]

Don't know about the Mac, but in Windows systems a deleted file goes to the "recycle bin" and stays there until you empty the bin.

Tim

No, not on my Mac...

 

[Davidf92]

And an idea to get the question in the future, ask for confirmation when deleting a file?

Good suggestion . This kind of accident should never be possible. And better yet, you should not be able from within the software to delete a file. What about removing the file name from the "previous sessions" list, but never deleting the file itself (or at least only after a caution message and double confirmation).
In the mean time we'll have to resolve to basic backup

 

[AHenricsson]

Don't know about the Mac, but in Windows systems a deleted file goes to the "recycle bin" and stays there until you empty the bin.

Tim

The sessions in Scatt Expert aren't individual files. They are just entries in a database and so when you press delete in Scatt Expert they are removed from the database along with all associated data. In other words the delete button changes the file containing all sessions so that it no longer contains the session you deleted.

The solution is to automatically back up the ~/.local/share/SCATT Electronics/Scatt Expert/storage.dat file.

 

[AHenricsson]

And an idea to get the question in the future, ask for confirmation when deleting a file?

Using: SCATT Expert software for macOS 10.10+ version 20.05.25 from 22.05.2020 13:11

Version 20.05.25 for Linux does ask for confirmation. Maybe this is a problem with the mac version?

 

[Peter]

Right now Expert/Basic users need to very careful when they click around the list with their practice files in order to avoid deleting their practice sessions they don't intend to delete. The software asks whether or not you actually want to delete a session with a pop-up message, which makes it pretty hard to accidentally nuke your library

However, if you rush through the menu and confirm the action, then yes - it is going to disappear forever without any way to bring it back (at least at the moment). I've already communicated to the devs that it would be better if there was an option to retrieve deleted files in case of such an accident, but we'll have to commit to our toppriority tasks first. Therefore, no deadlines as of now

 

[Davidf92]

I would suggest that a quick first step correction at little cost would be for the warning message to specify the number of items selected for deletion, like "Do you want to delete nnnn sessions?" Confirm/Cancel, like in file managers, image galleries etc. When you mean to delete one session, seeing a higher number immediately rings a bell. This way you would notice if you have inadvertently selected items you don't want to delete, specifically when you have a long list of sessions and part of them have scrolled out of view.

 

[Davidf92]

Yet another idea, also at moderate cost I suppose, would be that when deleting, the program uses it's "extract" function to keep an archive of deleted files. Like many office suites do (think of MS-Office). Most of the code already exists in Scatt for that, just the process has to be updated. Library management doesn't have to be modified at all.

In a second time, keeping archives could be added as an option in the parameters, activated by default, and confirmed in the delete dialog. It would mimic programs that use both data files and a database library, such as iTunes. When you delete it asks whether you want to remove from the library or also delete the file altogether.

And to go one step further Scatt could more simply always create a file for each new session, in parallel with adding to the library, using in the background it's extraction function. All these processes are well known by most PC/tablet/smartphone users, as many very common programs already do one or the other.

Seen from outside, these look like simple process updates mostly using existing code and without touching library management (pretty sensitive). Options to do/not do could be second-time updates since they require in addition modifying the interface.

 

[Peter]

Yet another idea, also at moderate cost I suppose, would be that when deleting, the program uses it's "extract" function to keep an archive of deleted files. Like many office suites do (think of MS-Office). Most of the code already exists in Scatt for that, just the process has to be updated. Library management doesn't have to be modified at all.

In a second time, keeping archives could be added as an option in the parameters, activated by default, and confirmed in the delete dialog. It would mimic programs that use both data files and a database library, such as iTunes. When you delete it asks whether you want to remove from the library or also delete the file altogether.

And to go one step further Scatt could more simply always create a file for each new session, in parallel with adding to the library, using in the background it's extraction function. All these processes are well known by most PC/tablet/smartphone users, as many very common programs already do one or the other.

Seen from outside, these look like simple process updates mostly using existing code and without touching library management (pretty sensitive). Options to do/not do could be second-time updates since they require in addition modifying the interface.

Thanks for the input, David! All suggestions certainly make sense, I'll forward this to our shot-callers