Does ProSeries not auto-save anymore?

[wrightlj]

I entered a good bit of information on a 1065 return last night, took a break, dozed off, and this morning it's all gone. I've been using ProSeries for more than 20 years and they have always offered a recoverable file in the past.  Is there a preference that I should have checked somewhere when I installed?  

Signed,

Discouraged in Raleigh

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

Its in the Options somewhere...Ive got mine set for 1 minute....let me look where that is..........

TOOLS >OPTIONS>GENERAL   right in the center of the window

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

Did you exit without saving or did the program crash? If it was still open on the screen but empty of all data, thats pretty weird.

[wrightlj]

It appears that the machine rebooted overnight as ProSeries wasn't open any longer - some Windows update no doubt.  I've never had this happen in all my years.  Never had to set it up, it just happened.  Apparently, it never saved anything at all.  I realize I'm responsible for saving my own work, but I never had to do it before and ALWAYS had the option of recovery.  

Thanks

[wrightlj]

I have it set to "Save to Automatic recovery file every ...."  10 minutes.

I have a call in to Tech Support.  

Now I don't trust it.

Grrrrr

Thank you

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

Yes, Windows updated on both my systems yesterday, sounds like that was the culprit. 

I always set my autosave for 1 minute, not sure what the default is, so far any crashes Ive had a recovery file available.

I dont think it auto saves as you go like that, its only for crash purposes, sometimes you may want to exit without saving (doing some kind of "what if "scenario), and you wouldn't want it to save random entries automatically like that.

[gary1861]

There was a ProSeries download last night (Form 8606 is now ready for e-filing, printing, etc.), so maybe your ProSeries closed down to upload the new files.  I know that it usually states that it will save the file when that happens so I don't know why it didn't save yours.  In the past I have had instances where ProSeries crashed and didn't save what I was working on, so I feel the pain.  I would try to remember to hit the save icon just in case when I would leave the computer, just to be sure.

[wrightlj]

That makes sense about the what-if scenario, because the recoverable file offered was optional.  It's just a bit disconcerting that the setting was every 10 minutes, box checked.  and nothing is there.  The data file itself shows 1-20-20 as the date modified, as if what I did yesterday never happened.

I'll wait for my call back and then set it for one minute as you did.  

Ugh

[wrightlj]

Thanks, good advice, but they've had me spoiled for all these years!  

Hopefully, tech support can calm my fears.

Glad it's February and not March!

[wrightlj]

So, after talking with tech-support, and experimenting on my own, it seems to be the auto-save function that doesn't work, no matter how many minutes it's set to.  

The only way it will save is if I Ctrl-S, or save on my way out at the Save -Yes/No box.    

If I Ctrl-S, then close the client, it will not ask me Save -Yes/No, presumably because it just saved.  

I have auto-save set to 5 minutes currently and I entered data in a field, waited 10 minutes, then closed the client, chose No to saving upon exit (should have auto-saved by now), then reopen the client, and the data is gone.  

Saving works - Auto Save does not.  

Tech support had me on the phone for over an hour and all I got from that was a couple of links to help me create exceptions for proseries in the firewall, which I did.  The second link was about anti-virus and it's all Greek to me - didn't appear to show any how-to's at all.   If those 2 links didn't solve it for me, ProSeries tech support's suggestion was to call Microsoft, which I did and they will have to call me back in 21 hours and 35 minutes.  

Lisa - can you confirm that your auto-save actually works?  Or are you manually saving on the way out, or when you step away from the computer?  If you've got yours set for 1 minute, enter some data, then after a few minutes, you exit, do you get the Save-Y/N question?  If you do, then it's not auto-saving.  

Thanks

[gary1861]

And Microsoft can fix a glitch in the ProSeries software?  That is an even more lame answer than the last one I got from tech support.  Be sure to give a proper evaluation if they send you the email.  Again, this was an example of you knowing more about the system than the tech support person.

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

I have my auto save set for 1 minute.  Any time my program crashes, when I reopen it, I get prompted to recover the file I was working on at the time of the crash, I can choose yes or no. If i choose yes, I get back just about everything that I had completed prior to the crash.   If I choose no, Im assuming I start over from scratch or back to whatever I had the last time I may have worked on that file (Ive never chosen no in this situation, so Im really not sure)

When I exit a client file, I am prompted to Save and I can check yes or no.  If I check NO, the autosave that's been working in the background to protect me does NOT save anything.  The file will go back to how it was before I started working on it that session.

[wrightlj]

Okay, I understand.  They are two entirely separate operations, with different goals.  Still, though, in prior years, I can't remember the last time I manually saved a file I was working on.  Only when exiting when I answer Yes to the offer to save.  20+ years it's been auto-saving for me.  

What I should have added is that I "simulated" a crash a few times by forcing a restart without exiting proseries the way I normally would.  If it was saving a recovery file for me, that would have been the time it was needed.  It wasn't there.  

So, something's wrong.

When you say "any time my program crashes ...", are you talking about this current 2019 software, or in years past?

thanks again

[Just-Lisa-Now-]

Ive only had a crash once in 2019, I was working on a CA return and the program just up and disappeared, error report popped up and sent it to Intuit, restated the program and it asked me if I wanted to recover the file, to which I chose yes and all my federal renties were still there, the few I made on CA right before the crash were not.

[wrightlj]

Just wanted to report that, after talking with Microsoft (they found no interference with Firewall or Anti-Virus), I called Proseries tech support again and got a very knowledgeable associate who tried several things and then had me reinstall the software. 

That fixed it - recovery file is offered as it should be.  All is well in my world!

Thanks for chatting with me about this -

Laura