[request] Auto-Save Project Scripts

[nixice]

Hello, I am here to of course whine for an improvement of usability/interface, but hopefully this one isn't too cranky...

It might be helpful to have an Auto-Save Project Scripts feature (or alternately a "Save Before Closing?" reminder pop-up) to automatically write to drive the Project Script files of Avidemux work.

I notice I tend to jump in and out of the app most days, with just minor tops-and-tails of videos or a quick run of files through one of my pre-sets, and so I don't think of saving the Project Script most times. When I am doing something more intensive, however, that Project Script might come in very handy ... but because I'm so trigger-happy about closing the app and moving between files, I often forget to save the Script. Sometimes I'm clicking the X to close and feel myself in slow-motion thinking, "Ooooooh nooooo..." but of course, the work is gone and I have to start over.

So, since scripts are so lightweight and write quickly to file, I was hoping that a method of auto-save could be added to the Preferences feature set. That's not something that could be added via a plug-in or script, so my only hope of saving myself from my own stupid habits is to have it added in the app's functions.

I figure there are three possibilities of an Script Save Assist function:

• Save-on-Close (write the script py file, using the first video's file name, before shutting down the application
• Save-at-Start (when you load the first video file in, the py would be saved using that file name) and then perhaps a timing system or a replication of the Save-on-Close method
• Prompt to Save Before Close (not ideal, but probably the easiest feature to add since it doesn't touch the Save system, it would just pop up an "Okay/Cancel" box with text before shutting down

Whichever of these methods is used (if any), there should be a toggle in in Preferences with the the default of course be toggled 'Off' since the feature's value may not be there for everybody (and especially if it was a Prompt Pop-Up, most people would hate it if they don't care for the scripts.) But if it was something that users like me found useful, it'd be handy to see that option explored in a future version of Avidemux.

(*I checked ahead of time to make sure I wasn't feature-begging for something commonly asked for, but this is the only other request I found for a Script Save feature. Hopefully it's not just me and this guy who'd use it though... https://avidemux.org/smif/index.php/topic,10706.msg57526.html#msg57526 )

[eumagga0x2a]

Can it be that you missed the "Restore previous session" entry in the "Recent" menu? It does IMHO roughly what you request here but silently, without any dialogs popping up since over two years.

[nixice]

Did I miss...
_may----be...

That does mostly fix my stupidity problem, thank you. I'm still of the opinion that auto-saving project files would be helpful, though. (A script can have archival value for a while. There are cases, for example, where I'm spotchecking a file after uploading to YT or getting ready to archive and realizing I forgot to add a black lead-out or there was one cut I missed on my cutlist, and would have gone back to the recent project if I could but that could have been several projects back at that point ... I am not above admitting that I am my own functionality problem, but still.) But, if the Save mechanic of Avidemux requires a dialog box, I probably most users would find it too annoying to turn on; and then if it auto-saved any open Project Script, that could be either handy or destructive, depending on somebody's process (there's no versioning to a Project Script, so if you're somebody who tries experimental cuts that you might reject, you'd want your intended Project Script to stay unchanged.)

So, probably Restore will do enough to rescue me from bad habits, and if any other script-saving features were to come along, hopefully I'll have a keener eye to find them since I'm the type that would benefit from such options.

[eumagga0x2a]

I'm still of the opinion that auto-saving project files would be helpful, though.

This is exactly what happens each time you close a video after having performed some changes (even simply changed the position of markers). The mentioned menu option runs this file ("lastEdit.py" in the profile directory) when selected. The file is overwritten once the user loads another video and starts editing, so that it never gets in the way.