Auto-save feature for drafts?

[rageasaurus]

Ugh, ugh, ugh. I just had a response that I spent at least half an hour writing eaten by the system. :(

I got logged out while I was typing - probably because I took so long between writing, editing, and multi-tasking - and when I clicked the "Submit" button, it took me to a login screen. o.O I entered my credentials and hoped that my writing would carry across, but no dice. I clicked the "Back" button on my browser, but that didn't recover my writing. :(((((

In the past when this has happened, I must have hit the "Back" button instead of entering my credentials, because in those instances I didn't lose my writing. At least, that's my best guess about how I recovered my writing. In that instance, I can at least copy the writing to my clipboard, log back in, and then paste the writing into a new window and post it.

Questions:

1) Is there a way to add an auto-save feature that saves drafts every so often as a person is typing?

2) If not, can we get instructions on how to not lose our writing in these instances? For example, if I'm right that clicking "Back" instead of entering one's credentials in this situation can save one's writing, then maybe we can add a warning on that particular login screen explaining what to do in that situation?

Thank you!

[King Hotpants]

Hi rageasaurus! Sorry to hear that you lost a post. Over the years, I have lost thousands of words in the same way. I once lost an entire day's work because someone was poking at the database while I was active in it, and I submitted my changes to a file that no longer existed. So I do feel your pain.

To answer your questions:

1. Not without switching forum software, which is a huge undertaking that isn't really feasible right now.

2. Unfortunately, there isn't one set of instructions. That's because this isn't just a "phpBB ate my post" problem. This happens because of an interaction between your computer, your browser, your internet connection, and the forum software. Those are different for everyone, and what works for one person might not work for you.

The best advice I can give you is to compose your posts in a text editor and then copy-paste them into the reply form when they are ready to go. If you don't want to do that, you could also just make sure that you "Select All" and "Copy" before you submit, so that you have a copy on your computer's clipboard should something go wrong.

Best of luck in the future!

[JulieC]

If you use Firefox, there's an add-in called Lazarus that auto saves input. It isn't a forum-specific solution, but it could be a personal one. (There may be similar extensions in other browsers, I just don't know about them.)

[rageasaurus]

Thank you, King Hotpants!

1. I totally understand. I suspected this was probably the case, but I figured I'd ask just in case I might be pleasantly surprised.

2. That makes sense, now that you mention it.

I'll be copy-pasting to my clipboard from now on!

JuleC - Thanks for the tip! I use Firefox, and this sounds like it's all kinds of helpful. I'll check it out.

[Rose Fox]

I was just going to mention Lazarus; I use it with Chrome and it's a lifesaver.