Content Saved to iDisk Lost Upon Closing

DB

I keep files on iDisk and regularly save directly from NeoOffice applications to my iDisk account. My MacBook Air is running Snow Leopard 10.6.1 and using NeoOffice 3.0.1 the saved fill is OK when I inspect it before NeoOffice is closed but after it is closed the content of the saved file is removed leaving a bare file name. The first time this happened I actually lost the file I was editing. The second time, I had the sense to save a copy to my desktop as well. The problem does not seem to pertain to the copy saved to my desktop, only the iDisk copy.

pluby · The Architect Joined: Jun 16, 2003 Posts: 11949

In pre-release testing, we ran into a similar problem when exporting to image formats. In that case, NeoOffice's underlying native file locking code that we integrated from the OpenOffice.org 3.1 code was writing the file to disk and then replacing the file with an empty temporary file.

I suspect that you are seeing a similar bug so can you tell us what type of file you are saving to your iDisk? For example, is it a .odt, .doc, or other file extension?

Also, if you select the Tools :: Option menu and in the dialog that appears, select the Load/Save :: General item, is the "Always create backup copy" checkbox checked or unchecked?

Patrick

DB · Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2009 6:41 pm Post subject:

Thanks pulby,

I was using the default ODS file formats (.odt and .ods).

The first time I was a bit bewildered because when I tried to retrieve the file a few hours later, it came up blank. The second time I checked the file after I had saved it to the iDisk to see if it had been saved blank. It seemed to be OK. Then I saved the file on my desktop using the save-as function. After I closed NeoOffice, the file on the desktop was OK but the file on iDisk was blank.

I did check the backup box, but only after I had lost the first file. Fortunately, the file was not critical and was easily replaced. Perhaps the early access version should come with the box checked by default for idiots like me!

pluby · The Architect Joined: Jun 16, 2003 Posts: 11949

narf · The Anomaly Joined: Jan 21, 2007 Posts: 1075

FYI: I have submitted bug 3553 to track this issue.

--fran

pluby · The Architect Joined: Jun 16, 2003 Posts: 11949

I have some bad news: this is an Apple bug. With Mac OS X 10.6.1, I cannot save a file to an iDisk volume from Apple's TextEdit application.

While we cannot fix Apple's bug, what we can fix is the silent save failure and truncating the file to zero bytes bug that you are seeing.

When I have that fixed, I will post a test patch.

Patrick

DB · Posted: Tue Sep 15, 2009 8:03 pm Post subject:

Thanks Patrick,

I didn't mean I thought the problem was my fault, just that it was stupid not to set the backup function even though I am using a new, to some extent untested, version. That is why I thought the default backup setting might be a good idea.

I will be pleased to try your fix when it is finished.

Dick

pluby · The Architect Joined: Jun 16, 2003 Posts: 11949

I think that I have fixed this bug. I found that Snow Leopard has a bug that causes and flock() unlocking calls to mangle any files that you are saving on a WebDAV volume.

Can you install the following test patch and tell us if it is fixed for you?:

Intel:
http://joe.neooffice.org/test/NeoOffice-3.0.1_Early_Access-Patch-0-Test-3-Intel.dmg
http://joe.neooffice.org/test/NeoOffice-2.2.6_Early_Access-Patch-0-Test-3-Intel.dmg

PowerPC:
http://joe.neooffice.org/test/NeoOffice-3.0.1_Early_Access-Patch-0-Test-3-PowerPC.dmg
http://joe.neooffice.org/test/NeoOffice-2.2.6_Early_Access-Patch-0-Test-3-PowerPC.dmg

Patrick

DB · Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 3:16 am Post subject:

Hi Patrick

This is the result I get with the patch: If I close NeoOffice text document after saving a file and then immediately click on the file's icon on iDisk, the file again appears in my editing screen. The fix apparently works. However, if I check the file using Finder, it reports Zero KB on disk and if I then save the file from iDisk to my Desktop, the file is blank. So there is still a problem.

Also, if I close just the file instead of closing NeoOffice, the program crashes.

Dick

DB · Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 3:32 am Post subject:

One additional thing: I tried saving a file to my iDisk from Pages in the native file format (.pages) and from Text Edit in .rtf and both trials were successful. So I did not get the same result as you.

pluby · The Architect Joined: Jun 16, 2003 Posts: 11949

pluby · The Architect Joined: Jun 16, 2003 Posts: 11949

Please ignore my last post as I can now reproduce the same crashing and zero length file size as you.

One question: a can save a new .rtf file in TextEdit to an iDisk, but I cannot open an existing .rtf file, change it, and resave it. Do you get the same behavior?

If so, that is where the bug in NeoOffice is: we need to prevent overwriting existing files when using an iDisk on Snow Leopard.

Patrick

DB · Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 10:02 am Post subject:

Yes.

I do not use .rtf files very much, but I created one using Word 08, saved it to my desktop, moved it to my iDisk. It then loaded correctly in both Text Edit and NeoOffice. However, when I edited the file using Text Edit and saved it, the file turned blank. I then used spotlight to find some old .rtf files on my iDisk and experienced the same thing. The file loads, but if I edit and save it using Text Edit, it is voided.

I tried editing the .pages file I created earlier with Pages. No problem. I also tried editing an extant .doc file using both Word 08 and NeoOffice. No problem there either. Is this problem specific to some particular file formats? If so, I'm glad I do not have a lot of .rtf files. However I do have a lot of .odt files, so I better watch my step until this is fixed. I will also make a backup of my iDisk now.

Dick

pluby · The Architect Joined: Jun 16, 2003 Posts: 11949

DB · Posted: Wed Sep 16, 2009 10:42 am Post subject:

Patrick

Here is the crash report from last night. I tried to duplicate the conditions to make it crash again, but without success (or would it be failure?).

Dick