Save and Restore

Overview

Save and restore uses XML to save information on the current state of qsas windows and, in some cases, the data objects held as well. Since these files are ascii,they may be written and read back on any platform and exchanged between platforms.

All the major QSAS windows have save/restore implemented. Each window type forces its own unique file extension to aid selection for restore, and places an identifier at the start of the file which ensures that the restore operation can only be attempted from a file of the appropriate content for the active window.

Save and Save As...

The Save option under the File menu on any top level window will record the state of all selections currently made in that active window. QSAS uses a default file name and location. Once a new name and/or location for the save file is selected using Save As... then subsequent use of save will use the last selected file name and directory. Multiple versions of the save file may be created using Save As... menu item.

The default save/restore directory should be set for each user through the Profiles.

Restore

The restore menu item on the File menu on any top level window will launch a dialogue allowing the user to select which save file to restore from. The default start directory is set up the users Profiles. Each window uses a file extension specific to that window to assist in locating appropriate files, but the restore facility also checks the identifier inside the start of the file before attempting to restore from it to avoid confusion from renamed files. Some windows also provide Include, which does not delete any list items in the window before restore.

Save Session

The save session option will instruct all windows to perform a save. These save files are all placed in the same session directory, and the Save Session As option allows the user to choose this directory. Since the Main Window is also saved all the data on the Working List are saved with a session.

Restore Session

The selection dialogue launched is used to locate the directory containing the save files from the session saved. Multiple sessions can be saved in multiple directories. Any window in QSAS which has a save file in this directory will restore itself to the state specified in the save file. The exception are plug-ins which are dynamically loaded and therefore unable to restore themselves automatically. After launching a plugin it can be restored individually using its restore option and selecting appropriate save file withing the save session directory.

Tips/FAQ

Note that when Save Session is used, the actual data is saved with a file rather than a reference to the database. This ensures that the exact same data is restored to the working list, including any data created by analysis within QSAS.
It is convenient to save a Session at the end of a days work and restore session the next working day to continue where you left off.
Frequent session saves are advised as a precaution, particularly when using plugins as a plugin crash will crash QSAS.

Page created by Tony Allen, csc-support-dl@imperial.ac.uk